A day off

I took a personal day today and did personal stuff.  Refiling prescriptions, making dr. check up appointments for myself and the dog, changing sheets, knitting sleeves, etc etc.

Mr Sophanne did a pick up of Chinese food for lunch.  Next to the Chinese food place is a Christian Charities outfit where he browses while waiting for food.

Several months ago he found a nice love seat which we very much needed and paid only $100 for.  Cute, cozy, perfect for the space, and it felt good to be in the reuse-recycle phase of the world.

Today he saw a church pew.  He convinced me to have a look and I was pleased.  We have no real decor in our lives.  It's mostly items gathered before and after marriage- two people living alone throwing their stuff together and slowly deciding what to keep and what to toss.

We now have a church pew.  And I'm not unhappy about it.

Too dumbfounded for a title.

We had a staff development meeting today. A primary focus of the training was that when students come to school, they need to feel welcome, supported, accepted, and safe.

At the end of a discussion regarding policies and practices, the presenter shared this video about mirror neurons. In essence it says that scientists believe that what separated humans from other species as we evolved were these mirror neurons which allow us to feel what others are feeling, even when we aren't actually experiencing it ourselves.

I can verify my experience with this phenomena as I remember nearly diving off my chair during the Summer Olympics and lunging from side to side with the Winter Olympic lugers.  I also regularly twitch with Super Mario when Mr. Sophanne is playing video games.

The main reason for sharing this video was to demonstrate (with the support of scientific research) that the moods and dispositions of teachers have  direct effects on those of their students.

To me, science = cool. Science of the brain = more cooler.

At the end of the presentation, my colleagues were asked to comment and discuss. One teacher said "I quit listening once he said evolution. I didn't come from a monkey." Eight (or more) others said "Me too."

I was incredulous. When I shared this incredulity with what I falsely assumed to be one of my more forward thinking colleagues, she said, "they are entitled to their opinions but they should be informed of the other side."

The most horrifying part to me was that I was the only one that was horrified.

It's science people.

Chicken Bob and the Chicken Pox.

I was principal and secretary at the same time today for about 45 minutes. I saw the action.

 

During Chicken Bob's first grade class, a child came in to see the nurse approximately every 7 minutes (fortunately for all involved I am not and never will be the nurse.) All were complaining of rashes (slightly invisible rashes.) One student lingered after being dismissed by the nurse to tell me that "chicken Bob wants to know what we have and why we all have it." Again, summarily dismissed.

At the end of class Chicken Bob sat down next to the nurses desk and said, "I think we've got chicken pox going around" (something that's has all but vanished since the vaccine). The nurse asked "why do you think so?" Chicken bob replied "that's what the kids told me."

The nurse did some investigating in the first grade classroom. It's common knowledge in the building that first graders learn about life cycles and hatched some eggs just a few weeks ago. Healthy chicks living happily. Not surprisingly, it was interpolated by the first graders that those chickens were indeed the cause of the chicken pox epidemic.

And Chicken Bob, being chicken Bob, believed it.

Here's the cool thing about living where I live.

 

 

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