--Last night I had a virtual seminary class: 2 hours, with a 15 minute break, in my desk chair. This morning, I was deeply sore. I've noticed this phenomena before, and this morning I thought about articles I've read that say the biggest killer of health is too many hours sitting. I spent my first 45 years not sitting; the way I teach has me up and about, and I was a runner/jogger for many of those years. Then I moved into administration. Hopefully that 12 years in administration didn't take too many years off my life.
--Yesterday was my 3 year anniversary of being severed from my last administrator job from a school that would shut down completely in 2024, the job I went to after leaving the school that would shut down completely in 2018. This year, the anniversary slipped by unnoticed.
--I am interested in what happens to the Department of Education. I am irked by what is happening at USAID. I am convinced it's not about saving money, no matter what these DOGE folks say. These are the most underfunded parts of government. If you want to save money consequences be damned, set your sights on the Department of Defense.
--This is the strangest time in U.S. history that I have ever seen, and I am not thinking I will see normal times again in my lifetime.
--But let me remind myself of past times of poor prospects that suddenly brightened. Let me remember the fall of the wall that separated East and West Germany. Let me remember Nelson Mandela being released from prison.
--Today I'm going to write an essay about Laura Ingalls Wilder for my English 102 classes. I'll take it in tomorrow, we'll look at it, and we'll talk about how to turn it into a research paper. In some ways, it seems like a waste of time. In some ways, it delights me.
--I taught 3 sections of English 102 yesterday. The 10:00 class, my first class, was the lowest energy; my last class, the 2:00 section, had the most engagement. In the past, a mid-morning class was always the best, and by afternoon, everyone was snoozing at their desks. My afternoon class has missed the most class meetings because of snow days and the MLK holiday, so maybe that's it.
--Today is American Lit survey day. It is interesting to be teaching the literature of the late 1800s and early 1900s in this time when our current president is praising President McKinley. On Thursday we talked about Upton Sinclair's The Jungle; I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise to discover how very relevant it still is.
--I was surprised that none of my students in the class is a vegetarian or a vegan.
The sky is lightening--let me get ready for a morning walk. We have a week of springlike temperatures, and I want to take full advantage!
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