Education and Culture

It seems to me sometimes that we - this huge, cultural, ambiguous "we" - really want everyone to be and act the same. Ah...But we celebrate diversity, you say. Um, true...if you count celebrating MLK day and Cinco de Mayo as celebrating diversity. Or maybe they're just reasons to take the day off work or drink yourself into a stupor.

We live in a country where it used to be (very, very recently) all right to hang a man from a tree in his front yard because he made a pass at a white woman. One of the largest terrorist organizations in America founded on the principle of a singular nation comprised of middle-class, white, male Protestants - the KKK - still operates today. Our government right now is trying to ban people who love each other from marrying - in the case that these two people share the same sex. When foreigners travel to America we expect them to speak English and (heaven forbid) if they move here and don't speak enough English, we think they should "go back to where they came from." As children with disabilities go through school, they are not instructed in ways to learn, work and study in a way that works best for them; children with disabilities are taught how to get along in a world where people are "normal" and no one needs handicap ramps or special bathroom stalls or little bumps on the keypad at the ATM or extra time on a test. Essentially, they are taught how to pass the standardized exam with the same expectations as everyone else. Don't make waves. Keep your mouth shut. Wear the right clothes. Only share what's appropriate.

Yet we value individualism? We celebrate diversity?

Gifted students too are expected to conform to this "norm" - the umbrella standard we have set up for all students to conveniently fit under. In doing so, we abandon those students in this field of boredom where school becomes for them a waste of time. Perhaps it's because teachers are afraid of progressing this elitist movement that GT students are thought to have - even though research and testimony show that that's not true. Perhaps it's because as adults, we're afraid to acknowledge that a child is more gifted than we are with our college degrees and super-important business suits...which points more to pointless and destructive pride on the part of the adult more than anything else. Perhaps it is a way of avoiding another underserved portion of our population - which will only work for so long.

My point is simply this: diversity is here and it is around us and it should not be ignored. To ignore it is to lump everyone together in this mold that meets no one's needs. All categories of students - ESL, gifted, special needs, at-risk, jocks, emo, preps - need to be specifically targeted in the classroom to make the school experience and learning in particular significant to their lives. This means not giving everyone in the class the same copy of the same novel and requiring them to be at a certain point by Wednesday for a test. If we really are celebrating diversity and taking care of each individual's needs, we cannot continue to treat all students the same, because it does nothing but alienate the students that fall outside of that umbrella and teach them to hate school.

And then we wind up with more idiots who think that homosexual marriage is destroying the sanctity of marriage as a whole, foreigners are stupid for not speaking English, immigrants should bow in reverence of all that is American, owning guns with the intent to actually kill another human being is all right, and we can really get a good feel for what people know by having them take a bubble-sheet test in two hours or less.

From the London Bridge to Mexico!

For our week of Thanksgiving, K and I drove to Arizona, visiting old friends and spending the holiday with family.

Saturday, we drove. And drove and drove and drove. Or, rather, he drove. I sat in the passenger seat reading the last Harry Potter book aloud. That's how we've gone through the whole series. Now we can't wait for the fifth movie next summer - and the seventh book! While driving through Nevada we stopped at three casinos in little towns between the Idaho border and Las Vegas. At each one we each spent a single dollar in quarters. I think I came out negative a dollar fifty, but K ended up winning about five bucks. Obviously, we weren't at all serious about the gambling; it was a great way to break up the drive, though.

Sunday, we arrived around midnight at Billy and Michelle's in Lake Havasu City and went right to bed. Sunday morning, Michelle made breakfast, which we ate out on the porch in tank tops and flips.

After breakfast we walked around the downtown-ish area a little and around the London Bridge. Evidently, some guy thought it would be a good idea to buy the London Bridge for a million dollars a few decades ago when they tore it down in London and have it reconstructed over Lake Havasu.



That evening we went to a wine tasting at a little wine shop where the guy gave us far more than just a little taste of the wine - between us, we finished off a couple of bottles. I think he was amused by us and knew that the store would return to boring once we left.



Before dinner we took the ferry across the lake to a reservation in California. Michelle and I didn't do much gambling because we sat in the bathroom talking for about a half hour until K came looking for us. I know at one point Billy was ahead twenty dollars, but kept pushing that little button and lost it all.



Monday morning we woke up super early and drove to Williams, where we boarded a train and rode the train to the Grand Canyon. After eating lunch, we started our trek along the eastern side of the canyon - well, from where we were we walked east for about four hours. I think it would have been impossible for us to get to the eastern side of the canyon by walking in one day. It seriously is huge.






Tuesday we hiked. We took a trail actually into the canyon for about two miles. I don't have a whole lot to say about it except that it was a giant hole in the ground. K and I decided that after this trip we don't need to return ever until we have kids old enough to also appreciate a giant hole in the ground - so in about fifteen years or so. I am pretty sure it won't change much between now and then. It was beautiful, though, and I'm definitely glad I can join the ranks of individuals who have seen this marvel. Then came the trip back to Billy and Michelle's - a reverse of the trip to the Grand Canyon - and our last night in Havasu.

Wednesday we put on swimming suits and planned to lay out at the lake, but after we ate and dressed, the clouds had moved in. Since it was still in the upper seventies outside, we still went to the lake - just to enjoy the scenery and the experience, not so much for a tan. That afternoon we packed and drove to Phoenix where Kim and Chief live with their little girl Hailey. Charity and Elizabeth were also there. It was wonderful to see old friends again and catch up on everything. Kim is expecting her second baby in January; it's fun to watch my friends' families expand and change as we all grow older.

Thursday morning we woke up before everyone else at Kim's and sneaked out before sunrise to drive to Tucson. When we arrived at our hotel (the fourth different bed we slept in on this trip) we met up with Rex and Liz for breakfast before heading to K's sisters house. Laurie and Dwayne and their two kids have a great little house in the traditional southwestern style - stucco and cacti. It was great spending a quiet Thanksgiving with family and getting to know one of K's sisters and her family a little better. K and seven-year-old Patrick played video games a lot that afternoon and Laurie prepared a delicious Thanksgiving feast that we all enjoyed. That night we played board games - one of which Miranda made as a middle school science project.

Friday was Mexico day. We all met that morning at Laurie and Dwaynes and drove to Nogales, a little border town about an hour south of Tucson. I took a ton of pictures of both Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico, to show my students who for whatever reason think that people coming from Mexico have so much at their fingertips once they cross the border. Honestly, there wasn't much difference in the two sides of the town. We wandered, we shopped, we talked with strangers.






After Mexico we went miniature golfing in Tucson. We went in two groups - the four youngest and the four oldest. The four youngest made a bet with the four oldest - the losers had to make dinner. Well, suspense aside, we lost. On the way back to Laurie and Dwayne's, Patrick kept coming up with every excuse he could not to help. He was too short, he didn't know what to do, he had never made dinner before. The list went on, but K and I just kept telling him that we could surely find something adequate for him to help with. He turned out to be very good at setting the table and stirring things - much to his chagrin.

Saturday brought more and more driving, as we wound our way home through the desert. On the way we crossed the Hoover Dam and stopped at more casinos to spend our dollar. The trip home was much less eventful, as we were both tired of driving and no longer had the excitement of a trip as motivation. Home at last, we went straight to bed just after midnight.

Bubble Butt

Lucy ate four packs of Bubbalicious Bubble Gum yesterday. Since she has been eating - or should I say terrorizing - more things around the house (the corners of the coffee table, the rug, any paper within snout's reach), I've been trying to take her out on more walks. This morning when walking her at seven, before coming to school, she decided she couldn't hold it any longer and pooped in the neighbor's yard. It's a good thing I was prepared with a baggie in my pocket, otherwise that poor old man would be so confused as to why there was blue and green swirled poop with pink flecks in his front lawn.

Here's my full holiday article for anyone interested in Boise fun...

As leaves fade from bright green to shades of gold, orange and red and the air develops that crisp coolness that makes people pull out scarves and contemplate winter jackets, there's something about a cup of hot cocoa that justifies an evening inside under an afghan more so than at any other time of the year.

This is the season not for bursting shopping bags, checking off lists and sitting in the car listening to carols while waiting for a break in traffic as television commercials may tell us it is. This is the season instead for turkey, apple cider, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. This is the season for pine trees and candles and wishing for snow. It is family, friends, community and charity.

It is winter again in Boise and regardless of how you spend your holidays, here are some events happening in the City of Trees this holiday season worth checking out on one of those cocoa-on-the-couch kind of days.

Boise Lights
The Idaho Botanical Garden covers the garden grounds each winter in an array of lights perfect for a family outing or a cozy winter evening walk for two. They supply hot chocolate, caroling and cookies while visitors view the spectacle of lights from around the garden. "My husband and I go every year," said Trina Clifford, Eagle resident and self-proclaimed Christmas romantic. "It feels like magic to walk through the rose bushes and under the trellises, everything glittering with so many beautiful colors." The Winter Garden aGlow runs from Nov. 24-27, Dec. 2-4 and Dec. 9-Jan. 1 from 6-9 p.m. nightly.

To see holiday lights around town, Boise Tours will carry you in heated trolleys and mini-buses to tour Boise homes. Tours run from Dec. 14-Dec. 23. The tours will only run on the west side of town this year, picking up spirited holiday tourists at the Moxie Java at Cole and Ustick. Tickets for the trolley rides are available through Select-a-Seat.

There's always the option of enjoying lights from the comfort of your own vehicle, too! It's a fun way to spend time with someone close by, sipping warm beverages from travel mugs and enjoying a holiday-inspired conversation.

Christmas Celebrations
Each Saturday from Nov. 25-Dec. 23, downtown Boise will celebrate Christmas in the City. The holiday party features downtown Boise glowing in a festive array of holiday lights with Santa roaming around visiting with kids young and old and the Holiday Trolley offering free rides between downtown locations.

Sun Valley welcomes the public to come out and experience the magic of the area. Holiday events include a Gingerbread Decorating Party, tree lighting, Torchlight Parade and caroling parties. The holiday events are free to the public and occur throughout the month of December.

For an unexpected holiday venue, check out Zoo Boise Dec. 9 for Claus N' Paws - a day with great Zootique discounts, holiday music, hot chocolate, photos with Santa Claus, and much more! "My daughter and I used it as a fun day for just the two of us last year," said Boise resident Krista Monroe. "Neither of us had been to the zoo during the winter before. Sipping cocoa and seeing our favorite animals while all bundled up in our caps and mittens was definitely a trip to remember!"

Holiday Productions
Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre presents The Magic of Christmas Dec. 1-16. This KED production turned holiday classic offers performers in a variety of skits, readings and holiday songs people love to hear and delivers a traditional message of love and peace.

Opera Idaho Sings Christmas! Dec. 2-3 at the Egyptian Theatre. The Opera Idaho resident company and children's chorus join voices for this holiday tradition. Together, they will sing selections from Handel's Messiah, familiar holiday tunes and ask the crowd to pipe up for a sing-along.

Prairie Dog Productions presents Scrooge, Older but Miser! a play set in the 1950s in Dickensville, USA Nov. 24-Dec. 30.

Dec. 15-17, Ballet Idaho will perform the holiday classic The Nutcracker at the Morrison Center. "I go every year," said Boise resident Mike Brown. "It's a holiday tradition my mother started when I was little and is one I just can’t get out of - even as an adult. It isn't Christmas until I've seen The Nutcracker." Ballet Idaho performances will combine talents from Ballet Idaho, the Capital City Children's Chorus and Opera Idaho's Children's Chorus and the Boise Philharmonic plus a spirited new cast of little mice, angels and dragons.

And, because every holiday is more fun when celebrated with a high school band performance and unicyclists in goofy hats, the Boise Holiday Parade will be Nov. 25 at 9:45 a.m. The route begins at 10th Street and Jefferson Avenue, traveling east to 5th Street, south to Idaho Avenue and then west on Idaho back to 10th Street.

Giving
Toys for Tots will have donation sites at all Boise Toys R Us stores and all Treasure Valley fire departments, Albertson's, Wal-marts and Big Lots. Operated through the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Toys for Tots aims at collecting new, unwrapped toys and delivering those toys to needy children in the area.

The Veterans Resource Network is sponsoring Operation Care Packages - a project that attempts to send care packages to deployed Idaho service members. To help fill boxes for the first round of mailings scheduled to be sent before the holidays, call 376-0753.

Plus, there's always the option of giving through a local school or church community or directly to a local shelter or community agency such as the WCA or the Boise Rescue Mission.

City of Trees!

Sunday, K ran the City of Trees Half Marathon! He accomplished both of his goals: to finish in less than two hours and to finish without stopping. It was pouring rain all day, but that didn't stop runners or spectators from having a good time. K says he's still hurting from it (he thinks he may have injured his right foot), but I think he's stoked about accomplishing something like this. To see the race results, check out the bottom of the COT website. But for the real fun of the event, here are some photos I took.

Here he is around mile two on Warm Springs Avenue. This is after only about a half hour in the rain, so he isn't completely soaked yet.


This is on Americana - around mile eight.


This is mile twelve at Capitol and Main. K told me afterwards that when he saw me here, he thought he was almost done - he had forgotten that he still had a mile left to go.


And here's the finish line! K finished in one hour and fifty-four minutes! And, in true K fashion, he raced the guy running next to him for the last 0.1 miles, even thought they were both exhausted and had just been running for two hours. K sneaked past the guy for a little personal victory.


After the race, K declared that he was not running again for the rest of the week. He had some problems with stairs (mostly descending them) for the rest of Sunday and all day Monday, but he's better now. I'm a little worried about his foot pain, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him so much that he's mentioned going to a doctor. If it still hurts next week I think I'll make him go in and get it checked out. K has even mentioned perhaps wanting to take part in the City of Trees Marathon next year - spending the next year or so training for the full 26.2 mile run...and I think it would be fun to train for the half next year.

Here's the opening of my newest article. Thought I would share.

As leaves fade from bright green to shades of gold, orange and red and the air develops that crisp, coolness that makes people pull out scarves and contemplate winter jackets, there’s something about that cup of hot cocoa that justifies an evening inside under an afghan more so than at any other time of year.

This is the season not for bursting shopping bags, checking off lists and sitting in the car listening to carols while waiting for a break in traffic as television commercials may tell us it is. This is the season instead for turkey, apple cider, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. This is the season for pine trees and candles and wishing for snow. It is family, friends, community and charity.

It is winter again in Boise and regardless of how you spend your holidays, here are some events happening in the City of Trees this holiday season worth checking out on one of those cocoa-on-the-couch kind of days.