Trampled to death...

What the heck is wrong with people? A walmart employee was trampled to death yesterday when they opened the doors for the "Black Friday" specials. I can't believe that people would be so cruel and ridiculous just to save a few dollars. And, I also read last night that 2 people were shot in a toy store. I have never shopped on Black Friday and I'm pretty sure I never will. I hate massive crowds of people because then stupid stuff like this happens. Seriously, walmart is so cheap anyway, I just can't believe people can be so inept. I hope that they can file criminal charges from the video surveillance cameras. Those people deserve to go to jail for what they did! Read more details here.

What do you think?

If I have any international readers or visitors, I want to ask you, what do you think about the results of our recent presidential election? Please comment and let me know. I'm curious to know what the international scene thinks. I've always thought elections were interesting and I've never seen any like this before, with the random street celebrations and this much excitment. I've been watching CNN and heard some of the international buzz but I want to hear from you, let me know. Even if you're a U.S. citizen, you can comment too :)

11/04/08 - A Moment in History

Last night I was on the edge of my seat for 3 hours as I watched the voting results come into CNN. I was tired and wanted to go to bed but I knew that this election was historic and I wanted to be a part of it and experience it. I'm sure glad I did. Last night, the United States elected its first African-American president. It is so awesome!! As soon as the polls closed on the west coast, CNN projected Barack Obama as the winner. By that time I was thinking, "finally." I love when we are able to experience events that we know will have historical significance and be studied in history classes in the future, and thankfully, this was a positive moment in time.

Many of my friends do not agree with my support of Barack Obama, they think he is too liberal and wants to make the U.S. a socialist nation. To those people, if you think that, then you have no idea how our government works. Our nation is full of checks and balances and separation of powers so it would pretty much be impossible for one person to change a nation in such extreme ways. I fully support Obama and think that he is just the personality type our country needs right now to fix the many problems we have. In my opinion, it's a miracle that anyone would even want the job right now. I certainly wouldn't want to be president and take over the mess that's been created.

John McCain gave a wonderful concession speech. I really appreciated it because I felt the campaign became so nasty so it was nice to have him be a good sport and realize the people have spoken and he wasn't our choice. Although, he did gain a ton of votes. Good for him, he fought hard and he's served a long time but a presidency just wasn't in his plan. Here is a video of his speech, it really was very good.


After watching all of the political analysts speeches and break downs of what happened, everyone has to appreciate what Obama accomplished. Even if they disagree with him, he accomplished something that candidates haven't been to do in ages. He got the young voters to get off their bums and register and vote. He got the African Americans to register and vote and the Latinos and the Asians. Instead of targeting the typical voters like traditional candidates do, he went after the nonvoters and that is a larger population than voters, and it gained him a victory. He has a long road ahead of him but I think that he is just the man for the job. And, if you don't like it, we didn't die after the 8 awful years of Bush, we will survive Obama if he isn't successful, although I find it very hard to believe he won't be. So, Barack Obama, congratulations to you. YES WE CAN!

Here is my favorite Obama Ad:

Career Considerations & Step Team

I haven't died, I've just been busy with my first year teaching. Any teachers can relate, I'm sure. Our school is going through some major changes and although I support my administration with their philosophical changes, it's overwhelming and I feel like they are expecting a lot more than us teachers are capable of and a lot more than they lead us to believe earlier in the year. We are transitioning into a professional learning community (PLC), which basically means that teachers work together with the other teachers of their subject matter, collaborate and give common assessments and focus on student learning. We were told it's going to be a 3-5 year transition but now that we are 1/4 of the way through the year, I'm feeling like we are expected to have this down pat. It's extremely frustrating. And, even all the veteran teachers are having a hard time this year so at least I'm not the only one. So, Tracy, it's not as easy as you remember it!

I think the idea behind PLC's is great but it doesn't seem to be happening that way right now. It's supposed to make less work for the teachers but I know we all feel like we have more work than every before. The major problem I have with it is I feel like there is no student accountability. I feel like I'm bending over backwards to help kids that aren't doing their part. I want my students to be successful but I also think they should have to work for it. Anyway, I don't want to vent about all my teaching frustrations on here. However, I do like teaching and have spent a lot of time working on my teaching career, I'm starting to think that maybe I don't want to be a teacher for the long haul.

Where are these crazy thoughts coming from? Well, I am the step team coach/sponsor at my school and I love it. It can get a little crazy at times with so many students but I think I've implemented a lot of new things this year to make the program run smoothly. I have 45 members, split into two teams. One team is better and they will be our traveling, competing team and the other is a home-based team and will perform at school functions. I really enjoy that part of my job and now I've started to think about jobs in the county that would allow me to do more of that kind of work. I'm starting to research other positions in the county. Right now I'm looking into athletic directors. They coordinate all of the clubs and sports in the school and I think that would be so fun. It's also an administrative position so I would have to go back and get my administrative certifications but that would also make me eligible for more admin positions. I like the classroom but I think for the long run I would prefer doing more administrative work in the future. I don't know yet, these are just some thoughts I'm having.

Let's see, what else? I went to Palmyra, New York a few weeks ago with my church for a singles' trip and had fun. I'm still dating the same guy I have been since January and am enjoying that as well. The only down side is I don't have time to do all the things I would like to do but that's okay. I think my time will free up soon enough. That's the latest report :)