Abortion doctor murderer nothing like Jesus

Scott Roeder tried to defend his killing of Dr. George Tiller. He claims to have done it as a result of his faith. Is he following Jesus? Or is he whacked out?

Read here for more of the story and my opinion of whether the man knows Jesus

The sun also rises (or does it raise?)

Today my class and I tackled four of the most confusing verbs in the English language: lie, lay, rise, and raise. Ok, I will admit that I have to use notes every time I teach these verbs. "Lay" is the past tense of "lie," not to be confused with the present tense verb "lay," which is a completely different verb. I drew lovely pictures on the board to help them remember, pictures of suns, chickens, and stick people. These pictures will most likely give them nightmares tonight, after they lie down and watch the moon rise.

To help solidify this lesson in the minds, I asked them each to write a cohesive paragraph that included all four verbs at least once in any tense they chose. Some were very creative (and yes, one student wrote about chickens).

One student wrote a poem. With his permission, I share it with you:

I lay down wishing my love, for you will rise

as beautiful as an emanating sunrise

I've lain dreaming of how our love has risen.

Feels like just yesterday, your lips I was kissing.

By the way, English is this student's second language. True, he didn't get all four verbs in there (I'm not telling you which two he missed. You'll have to figure that one out yourself), but I was still impressed. Most students would groan if I asked them to write a poem. This one asked for special permission to write a poem rather than a paragraph.

If you're looking for an original poem for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day, you may consider commissioning one from him.

Basketball coach sinks half-court shot blindfolded and with class

Yep. It's pretty amazing to watch. What's even cooler is the stellar attitude the coach exhibited even while assuming he was being set up.

Read about it and watch the video here.

Is that appropriate in the classroom?

Inspired by Dr. Bethany Tucker's presentation at our teacher inservice day, I taught my students today about the five different registers, or levels of communication. We spent most of our time on the "formal/academic" register, which is what's appropriate in the classroom, and the "casual" register, which is what's appropriate around friends and family.

To give the students some practice in working in the formal register in the classroom rather than the casual register, I gave them an in-class assignment. In groups of 2-3 they wrote a list of 10 casual phrases, then exchanged lists with another group. They then translated the casual phrases into formal phrases. I was impressed with how well they did with this assignment. Here are a few of my favorite translations:

Casual	Formal
1. I’m post’d on the block	1. I’m over at my mom’s house
2. Bouta see what’s crackn	2. I am going to call to see what everybody is doing
3. Whassup wit it	3. Is there a situation?
4. I’m out the way-way	4. I am very far away at this time.
5. I’m in traffic	5. I’m busy at the moment
6. RU mobile	6. Do you have current transportation?
7. What’s the deal with yo BM	7. What is the matter with your child’s mother?
8. I’m doin a bill	8. I am going over the speed limit.
9. My cell phone pinging	9. I have a lot of incoming calls.
10. My pocket’s hurtin	10. Every day I am struggling.

Have I mentioned lately that I love my students? They continue to bring me joy and laughter.

Curling: it's not just for fancy hairdos

Forget the ice skating, snowboarding, downhill skiing, and cross country skiing (really, who watches the cross country skiing?) Curling is the winter sport to watch. For one thing, unlike the other sports, competitive athletes can be well into their 40's. Yep, no age limit on curling. For another, the sportsmanship rules are just as important as the game play rules, and they could teach us a great deal.

Read my full article (with a snazzy picture) here.

Better than a full ride scholarship

The best friends are the ones your recognize the first time you see them.

This past week was enrollment week, which is always an exhilarating and exhausting week. We welcomed over 100 students into our program, spending time with each individual to talk about education and career goals and how we can help them attain those.

I always love meeting the new students and spending one-on-one time with many. Often they share some of their personal story with me, including why they are now pursuing an education. Their eyes are filled with hope, determination, and sometimes trepidation.

Two students I met were especially bubbling with life and energy. When counseling with one of them, I told her about the scholarship we could offer her to obtain her pharmacy tech certificate. In just a few months she will have a new highly marketable skill that will help her pay her way through college. She returned a few minutes later with her friend. "I told her about the pharmacy tech program and she wants to sign up, too," she told me.

They were both excited and laughing, already talking about how much fun they were going to have in school together and making plans for the future. Assuming they were old friends, I asked how long they had known each other. "Oh, we just met yesterday at enrollment and have been talking non-stop ever since."

They have both recently moved to Kansas City from other states, and neither has made any local friends yet. They were instant friends, though, discovering quickly how much they shared in common.

Watching them, I knew that they will both be highly successful in the program, in large part because of their friendship. They will encourage one another, add joy and laughter to learning, celebrate their triumphs together, and challenge each other to aim higher and reach further. That's what healthy, life-giving friendships are all about.

We give our students every tool and resource available to us to help them succeed, but we can not give them one of the most valuable tools, the one I would most like to give each and every one. All we can do is provide the right environment. They bring the shared passion and vision that are the both spark and kindling for kindred spirits.

Will Shani Davis capture gold as he captures America's heart again?

Ok, so antagonism with Stephen Colbert aside (and really, I think that's been blown out of proportion, don't you), Shani Davis may have his best year ever this Olympics. He's crushed world record after world record and is in top form. Watching he and best friend, Apolo Ohno, compete together on the ice will be my highlight for these games.

What's so amazing about Davis?

When I'm with you, I hear music

My quartet is working on a Dvorak piece, his Quartet No. 12 (American). We're a fairly new quartet, so this is challenging us to come together as a group more than other music has. As we were working on the Finale this past Sunday, our violist, a Russian native, explained to us, "Slavic music, it's either crying or dancing. There is nothing in between." We were playing too much in the in between and needed feel the fire.

When we were working on the Mozart Divertimenti we had enlisted the aid of a metronome, but Dvorak resists any such effort to bind or mechanize. He, like Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, is a composer who captures the greatest and most intense of human passion in his music. You can not force him to behave, and a musician devoid of passion herself will bastardize the music.

He stirs fire into the heart and soul. That's probably why I prefer him to Mozart. Don't get me wrong; I adore Mozart, he was a genius and his music does dance (and is easier to whistle). Sousa, now he I could do without. I think he's the reason I chose a string rather than wind instrument. I'm sure the mindless march has its place, such as encouraging people to march mindlessly, but is more than one even necessary?

Crying or dancing, nothing in between. In real life, or course, we are often in the in between, but maybe we spend too much time there, and the music in our hearts slowly dies (or worse, reverts to Sousa. March on, little soldier). You choose where you want to spend your time. As for me, I will cry, dance, even laugh and whistle a little with Mozart when I'm tired.

Now, if I could only get those sixteenth note runs under my fingers.

Jane Roe would be rolling over in her grave if she weren't still alive

Apparently, I've been sleeping under a rock. Yes, I was paying cursory attention to the health care reform debate, but somehow one of the compromises made by the democrats completely escaped me. The House of Representatives voted to include in the health care reform bill the Stupak Amendment , which restricts coverage of abortions for millions of women, even those covered under private health insurance.

Reporters for the Huffington Post summed it up, "As drafted, the measure denied the use of federal subsidies to purchase abortion coverage in policies sold by private insurers in the new insurance exchange, except in cases of incest, rape or when the life of the mother was in danger.

But abortion foes won far stronger restrictions that would rule out abortion coverage except in those three categories in any government-sold plan. It would also ban abortion coverage in any private plan purchased by consumers receiving federal subsidies."

The Senate voted down a similar amendment in their version of the health bill, but now the bills will be combined and the House and Senate will vote on a combined bill that includes the Stupak Amendment.

Strangely, there are no proposed amendments that placed any limitations on men's health care coverage.

Personally, I'm all for funding medical research that will enable doctors to 1. Remove a fetus from a womb while keeping it alive and 2. Enable men to then carry an implanted fetus to term. Then, conservative legislators who somehow believe all women's bodies belong to them can elect to take on the pregnancies themselves.

Until this happens, though, if we want all women, even those in poverty, to have the right to comprehensive health insurance, we will have to encourage our legislators to vote for justice and equality.

e-cigarettes light up the night

Yeah, it was bound to happen. Those trying to quit smoking or at least smoke something that may be less harmful to their health and will definitely be more acceptable in the presence of non-smokers can now turn to e-cigarettes: electric, non-smoking alternatives (no word yet on whether they're safe in the bathtub).

Read more about them and how they could benefit us all here.

A bigger piece of the pi

A computer scientist in France just broke the world record for calculating pi. Previously, the world record for calculating the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter was 2.6 trillion decimal places. The new record, set by Fabrice Bellard and his PC, is 2.7 trillion decimal places. For you non-math geeks out there, that's 100,000,000,000 more decimal places than before, for a total of 270,000,000,000 decimal places. I usually can't remember pi any further than 3.14.

And what did he discover? That so far, yep, it's still an irrational number.

Now, seriously, why on earth do we need to know the value of pi with that much precision? Of course, as computer nerds usually do, he did state some vague applications for it. But honestly, I think the thrust of his motivation was simply in the challenge. It's the old,

"Why did you climb the mountain?"

"Because it was there."

And really, that's reason enough. The simple, pure joy of discovery, taking on a challenge, accomplishing new heights, is what enflames and sustains the passion of the soul. It separates humans from other animals. Any beast will explore new places for prosaic purposes: new sources of food, water, and shelter, safety from predators, or to remove oneself from competitors. Only humans explore for exploration's sake. (At this point I expect Iggy to contradict me with an obscure example from the animal kingdom).

So go ahead, feel free to explore, learn, challenge yourself, or set life goals that make others look at you quizzically. It's there. Climb it.

do you just fall off the end of the sidewalk?

For class today I pulled out a Shel Silverstein poem, "Where the Sidewalk Ends." This poem is the best invitation into the world of imagination that I have ever read.

After reading it through once, I asked my students, "What is this place?" They struggled, so I said, "Read the first two lines. What is between the sidewalk and the street?" Again, blank stares and a few attempts to answer, "the curb? a yellow line?"

Finally, one astute student said, "There is nothing between the sidewalk and the street!" This place that he's talking about sounds like a dream because it is a dream. He is talking about the world of imagination, of make-believe. It's the place where children play and the place that we all dream of, where we would all like to be."

My heart lifted and joy spread over my face. This particular student has been with me since August. He is a very hard worker and very dedicated, but has struggled with the abstract. An auto mechanic, he's a very hands-learner, and it's been a long time since he's been in school. For him to catch hold of the poem's meaning so well was one of the biggest leaps I've seen him make.

After class he told me, "I don't know where that came from. Everything just suddenly became clear. I have real motivation now, because I have so many things that I want to accomplish and I'm ready to go."

Sometimes growth happens slowly over time, and sometimes we take quantum leaps.

The hidden rules that govern our lives

Sometimes, teachers have the honor of being the students. Today was one of those days. The staff and faculty at KCKCC had the opportunity to attend a seminar given by Dr. Bethany Tucker, author of "Understanding and Engaging Under-Resourced College Students." Since the population we serve includes a large number of students who come from poverty, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college, the information was especially relevant and valuable.

Dr. Tucker spoke of the resources that people have in various quantities and forms that aid or detract from their ability to accomplish what they want in life. We often think of the resource of finances, and this is important, but there are several other resources such as emotional health, a support system, and mental/cognitive ability.

One resource which I found especially interesting is knowledge of hidden rules. Different classes (as well as cultures, genders, races, etc.) follow different rules that work well for those who know them, but can be a barrier to those who do not. Using a broad paintbrush, recognizing that these are patterns and not necessarily accurate for every individual, Dr. Tucker covered some of the hidden rules of the three major economic classes: poverty, middle class, and wealth. As educators, we need to recognize these hidden rules so that we can teach them to our students, not because middle class rules are better than those of the lower class, but because they are the rules followed in college and most professional workplaces. If this is where our students want to be, then they need to learn the language.

One hidden rule, for example, governs time. In general (again, a pattern only) the present is most important for those in poverty. She called this the tyranny of the present. Decisions are based on the current feelings, perceived needs, or crises, so that it is difficult to consider and work for far distant future goals. For the middle class, the future is most important, so decisions today are based on future ramifications.

Each of these mindsets has advantages. A life lived entirely in the present will never be able to enjoy future security or achievement, but a life lived totally in the future will never enjoy all the beauty and joy of the moment. To help our students become bilingual, to help them achieve greater education and exercise more control over their own lives, we need to teach them strategies for planning ahead, setting goals and working toward them.

The hidden rules are almost endless and difficult to uncover and teach. I'm interested to hear about other hidden rules of which you are aware.

This morning's coffee brought to you by one man's dreams

As I sit here this morning sipping my freshly ground, french pressed Roasterie coffee (Kansas City blend: "an invitingly buttery aroma breaks into an acidity that is bright and electrifying.") I recalled a summer morning when my friend/cousin/barista Hannah and I toured The Roasterie's hub of operations.

We began in the cupping room where staff and owners taste coffee samples to determine whether a bean is up to Roasterie standards. Our tour guide, one of the founders of the company, gave us a brief history of coffee and explained the complex ritual of cupping (it's not as simple as it sounds). Before moving on to the warehouse (or as I call it, heaven on earth) and roasting room, he told us the story behind The Roasterie.

Danny O'Neill founded The Roasterie in his basement in 1993. He was driven by two great passions: traveling and coffee. An entrepreneur at heart, he decided the best way to combine these passions was to begin a company that not only roasted its own coffee, but that also traveled around the world to buy coffee directly from the farmers.

You will want to take the tour to hear the whole story, especially about how he uses the success of his business to invest back into the communities where he buys the coffee, but what has always remained with me is the idea of choosing a career, business opportunity, life direction, by living out one's greatest passions. It may be hard work, but the work is enjoyable and life-giving rather than wearying. Success is not based solely on monetary return, but instead on an increasing zest for life.

I think I need another cup of coffee.

Yes, but who wants to bring back the corset?

Last night during a wandering conversation with a good friend (who will be a guest poster here if he gets his act together), we innocently bumped into the topic of social freedom. Taking a bird’s eye view of history, we examined the many ways in which people have more freedom now than a hundred years ago, especially women and minorities. We also uncovered, though, that in several ways our freedom is more limited. For many reasons, our culture has an increased need for black and white definitions for undefinables such as family, relationships, political stance, success, roles, and art. With the need for stricter definitions has come heated debate as to what is acceptable and what is not as well as the need to legislate these definitions. Combine that with our insidious paparazzism (his new word, not mine) and our natural voyeuristic tendencies, and many people feel trapped in a very small glass box afraid of every move they make and every word they utter.

So where do we go from here? How do we recapture the linguistic and stylistic subtlety of the 19^th century that gave people more license without reverting to the oppression that held so many back? Is there a third way that brings together the best of all worlds?

You call this a hamburger?

Who doesn't love a good story of rage gone wild in McDonald's? A local McD restaurant was trashed by a woman who was upset that they wouldn't refund her for her incorrect order (they offered to replace it instead). Luckily for us, and the police, the whole thing was caught on surveillance camera.

What do you think about this story?

War, what is it good for? (you know the answer)

I've never comprehended what instigated World War I. Yes, I've read the history several times, but it still confuses me. After she spent several hours at the WWI museum today with her grandmother, my six-year-old daughter tried to explain the cause of the war to me. I'm sure her description was fairly accurate, and yes, it still confused me as much as ever.

After the explanation, my daughter was quiet for a few minutes, and then she shared her thoughts. "Mommy, we learned in school that Native Americans see all people as one family (I cannot attest to the accuracy of this), and that makes sense to me, because people have babies, and they grow up and have babies, and then those babies grow up and have babies, and this happens over and over so we're all part of the same family. And if we're all one family, we shouldn't have wars. Families shouldn't fight each other." She was near tears by this point.

I was speechless. She was right, of course, and the inner workings of her mind will never cease to amaze me. Then she ended with,

"I think the only wars we should have are wars of hugs, where everyone hugs each other."

As she grows, I know her mind will expand, but I hope her heart always remains this way: pure, loving, and grieved by violence.

Missouri Senator leads forum about progress in LGBT legislation

Missouri Senator Jolie Justus was joined by two local advocates to report on the progress of legislation that affects the LGBT community. At this forum, held at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, they shared updates from the federal, state, and local levels.

Click here to read a summary of their report as well as their answers to questions from the audience.

a picture is worth 1000 words, 100,000 emotions, and a million tears

On New Year's Eve, I visited the Truman Library with a few family members. It had been years since I had visited, and it was as interesting and informative as I had remembered. We were preparing to leave when my uncle noticed that we had missed the downstairs exhibits, which take you through Truman's personal life from boyhood on. So, we walked down there and wandered around. While down there, we stumbled into the entrance of their special temporary exhibit, one that should have been much more prominently featured (or did I miss a big banner on the outside of the building): Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize photographs.

Click here to read my review of the exhibit and watch a short video of some of the photographs.