Finally Summer

It’s finally, truly, sunny in Beaverton, so I thought I should blog. I have had some time to read, reflect, and relax. Wow, what a combination and what a blessing. I am truly grateful to have the luxury of downtime.

Summer started in Las Vegas. Lucky for us, Dave had a conference, and I tagged along. Hey, he had a free, super sweet room at the Cosmopolitan. Las Vegas is so weird! It’s like you are in some alternative universe for adults. That aside, I loved the sun and view of the water show at the Bellagio from our room’s patio. The highlight was seeing “Love,” the Cirque de Soliel Beatles show. The Beatles music was great and I cried at the end. Why do all the peacemakers die violent deaths? Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lennon. Makes me sad to be a human.


I measure my life in books, so here goes:

“Born To Run” (Christopher McDougall)

While in Vegas I read “Born to Run” on my Kindle. Yes, I’m sorry to admit, I now have a Kindle. I feel little guilty - sorry publishing companies - but I LOVE IT! When I realized I could download the textbook I needed or the on-line class I’m taking, I took the plunge and yes, I love it. If I had more money, I would download tons and tons of books, but I am still reading actual books because I’m not going to spend hundreds of dollars on books.
Back to “Born to Run. “ What a great story. It starts off slow, but once you get into it, you’ll be hooked. You’ll also want to throw your running shoes in the garbage and move to Mexico and run ultra-marathons. So I went barefoot running soon after, just a few strides, and got something in my foot that was rather painful.
I’m back to wearing shoes, but the latest research I’ve read (http://peakperformance.runnersworld.com/2011/07/if-grass-and-shoe-cushioning-cant-prevent-running-injuries-what-can.html), says stride length is all that matters anyway. I’m trying to wear shoes less often. That was an interesting story and kind of gives you inspiration to run and just be a better, more balanced person. And find out where to get corn beer.

“Cultural Proficiency”

I decided to take a class on-line as part of my continuing administrator’s license requirement. The class is titled, “Education and Society,” or something like that. Our text is titled, “Cultural Proficiency”. This is my passion. To put it simply, “Can’t we all just get along?” No, we can’t. Many people, usually white or from an impoverished childhood, will not admit that minorities deal with barriers to success.
The book is OK. I’m still waiting for details on how EXACTLY to help these families. I’ll let you know if I find out.




“For Love” (Sue Miller)

My mom had this book waiting for me to read when I got to Vermont. I really didn’t like it very much at first. I didn’t empathize with the main character, but it had a good hook so I kept reading because I like to do what my mom says and I wanted to know how the conflict was resolved.
The ending was incredible. The main character, a writer, decides to go back to her estranged husband and try to work out their problems, which are not insignificant. She ruminates about love and how love can seem random and that sometimes we just pretend, so we just keep doing what we are doing.
Wow, who hasn’t felt, in those lows of a long-term relationship, that momentum is the only thing keeping the relationship going? I am approaching my 24th anniversary – yes, scary, isn’t it? – and I am truly amazed we have kept our marriage together through children, many moves, financial losses, geographic separation, etc. It has not been easy and there have been rough patches, but we are determined and goal oriented so it has endured. And we love each other, I can’t forget. There are definitely times I stay committed even though I feel as if I am playing a role. I mean seriously, how am I the mom of two adults and supposed to know what is right all the time?

“Uncoupling” (Meg Wolitzer)

This is a fun little satire about a high school in suburban New Jersey producing a Greek play, “Lysistrata.” In the play the women withhold sex in an attempt to convince their husbands to stop fighting a long war. The women in the town of the high school find themselves under a spell and they have to no desire to have sexual relations. It was a witty enjoyable story, especially for a teacher. It made me think about sex, power, and war. Somehow, they are entwined, and it is mysterious and worth pondering. Great writing, good beach read.

“Teach Like A Champion” (Doug Lemov)

I’ve been reading this off and on for almost a year now. For me, it was life changing professionally. I realized I have a huge responsibility to prepare children for college and there are expectations my students need to learn. Truly the best teaching book I have ever read. A DVD with examples of strategies is included. It should be required for all teacher education programs.

“The Heart and the Fist” (Eric Greitens)

This book was total winner for me. First of all, I have never seem my personal philosophy in writing and basically, Eric’s philosophy mirrors mine.
He first talks about formative experiences in his life – boxing, traveling to various impoverished areas of the world, and being a Rhodes Scholar. At 26 he decided to become a Navy SEAL. He describes the training in great detail, including “Hell Week,” which I personally found fascinating. The last part includes some of his experiences as a SEAL and then he describes the foundation he now runs to help wounded veterans get back on their feet by serving their community. I was totally inspired and cried at the end. Greitens is a true hero and leader that is sorely needed in our military and government today. This is how he defines courage, “(When) You do what has to be done day after day, and you never quit.”

“Flow” (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

I’m about halfway through this and the author is describing what optimal or happy experiences really are. They are times we are fully engaged and completely focused. The main point so far is there are many ways to experience the “flow” state – sports, play, sex, music, food, etc. – and we can learn to control our consciousness to experience more happiness. The elements of a flow experience include challenge, skills, reachable goals, feedback, and a couple of other things I don’t remember. As I am reading this it makes me think about education and how we need to provide these elements to have students engaged. Students must learn skills they can use to reach challenging goals with constructive feedback!

Re-reading my list of books can tell you what I am thinking about...learning, love, courage, cultural barriers, and running. Somehow they all tie together: It takes courage to learn, love, and run without cultural barriers. Ha.