George & 2 Oldest Daughters

George & 2 Oldest Daughters
George, Oldest Daughter, and Me, 2nd Daughter 1968.

Caroline and Oldest Daughter

Caroline and Oldest Daughter
Caroline and Oldest Daughter in Photo Booth 1964

Boy George

Boy George
George and younger sister in 1940's

George and his Oldest Daughter

George and his Oldest Daughter
George and His Oldest Daughter 1964 in Photo Booth

Friday, June 27, 2014

Checks and Balances

Life is full of checks and balances. Today I finished my final required class for my undergraduate courses, and am preparing for my final semester in the fall of 2014. While I am excited to begin in the fall, it is bittersweet to look back and go over my transcript, remembering classes I loved (and didn't particularly enjoy). I have met so many fine people and while we all interacted at the same university, we are not guaranteed to see each other again. So today, I begin gearing up for the final part of my undergraduate journey, and look forward with joy to meeting the next batch of classmates that come my way. Upward and onward!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Bias in the Classroom

I have been very fortunate to attend university finally, and have some fantastic tales to tell. In no manner, shape, or form, am I the expert in content or pedagogy, however, I certainly believe that a professional and encouraging atmosphere requires a professor to leave their opinions and bias at the door, and present all sides and possibilities of a situation. Truly, I find it insulting to take out student loans and receive financial aid that is to be spent on required curriculum when bias is clearly present in the classroom. Paying for someone to have a moral and political pulpit in the classroom is not what I feel I signed up for. An educated and well thought opinion is always appreciated, and cultured expertise in a subject welcomed. Who you are voting for and what your personal preferences are in life are not what I am there to learn about.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Coffee Shop Talk - Gossip - Identifying Others - Awareness

Here I sit in my local coffee shop using the Internet alone to conduct some quick email responses and searches between appointments on this wet Friday afternoon. I have been coming here off and on for the past five years, and usually, only stopped in for a brief moment. Within the past two months I have been sitting here for a few hours at a time working on homework or other projects away from my home office. Generally, I am by myself, and quiet. Thereby, everyone else's conversations are amplified, laughter echoes, and my lack of headphones evidently keeps me from blocking out the din that surrounds me. So, why don't I just leave and not worry about everyone else's conversations? After all, they are paying guests, just as I am, however, the conversations that I have overheard lately leave me speechless and flabbergasted.

Identity:

I don't know how aware people are, especially in small towns, how viral their conversation can become. What I overhear in the coffee shop when people's names are involved, jobs, illness, financial situations, and so on and so forth, are not what I ever expect to hear so brazenly unfiltered in public. Where are people's filters? How would you react if it was you or a family member being so openly discussed in a very public forum with an echo factor amplifying the conversation? You never know when the next table over will tweet a photo of you, video, or make your topic of conversation their next blog or Facebook post.

Gossip:

What purpose does gossip serve? Aside from posturing one's self as an authority, or the one to be listened to for more juicy details on a hot story, I see no service that gossip provides in the public. This is how people are potentially genuinely harmed. Watch your words for they carry power.

Awareness:

These past two months have really made me aware of what I say, where I say it, and the content and context of what I share. I would find it interesting to record an hour in a coffee shop, and then play back the conversation for those having it. I may have my back to you, but I am not deaf.