What does test taking anxiety look like in the virtual world?

In order to expand my repertoire as a teacher, I signed up for a class at my college this quarter: "Teaching Online." In just 8 weeks, I will be fully qualified to teach an online course.

It makes sense that, in order to teach us to teach online, we ourselves have to take an online course. Yep. Complete with reading assignments, deadlines, tests, and a final project. We should feel the pain that we will be inflicting on our students.

Actually, I love it so far. As we were warned, an online course requires at least as much, if not more time as an on ground course, but it has the inherent bonus of flexibility. I can read my assignments, engage in class discussions, and take tests any day of the week at any time I want or can.

But, with great flexibility comes great responsibility. Or something like that.

We don't meet regularly as a class where I can be reminded of upcoming due dates and where I will be missed if I don't show up. I have to make my own schedule and stick to it. I have to take the initiative to look for what's coming up.

And I have to pay attention.

It's going to take me a little while to get back into the groove of concentrating on one thing for an extended period of time. I was halfway through my first online lesson with embedded quizzes when I was distracted and left the website to carry on with that other oh so important something else, though what it was I can't remember for the life of me. Imagine my consternation when I returned later to discover that I had to start the lesson all over again! I mean, this lesson was likely going to take the better part of an hour! And the instructor expected me to do it all in one sitting??!!!!

Oh, yeah, just like school. Just like what I expect from my students. Dang. This could get ugly. But it will be so worth it.

Oh for god's sake, let them build their mosque in peace

Seriously, are we a country of religious freedom or not? The fact that this has become such a huge deal is absurd. What's really pathetic is that we have a Kansas politician out there saying incredibly stupid things. He's an embarrassment to the midwest.

Read my story here.

Billionaires for BP

A couple of weekends ago, a small band of us headed out to First Fridays in the Crossroads District of Kansas City to have some fun and stir things up a little. The calamitous oil spill in the gulf was our motivation, and the long-standing performance/demonstration organization Billionaires for Bush was our inspiration. We were Billionaires for BP.Thanks to some very creative souls, we were quite a sight. Dressed in silk, satin, and sequence, brandishing oil-tinis (chocolate syrup in a martini glass), we waltzed around Crossroads chanting things like “more blood for oil,” and “drill, baby, drill.” Some of us carried signs proclaiming such niceties such as, “how many species do we really need?” and “today’s disasters are tomorrow’s dividends.”

Two children joined our crew, but as they are innocents, they chose to be our counter-voice. Aliyah dressed as a sad mermaid, face smeared with crude oil (more chocolate syrup- I had the hardest time keeping her from eating it), and carried a sign that said, “homeless mermaid, will work for fish."

According to one of our leaders, it was not really a protest, as we didn’t have an agenda. It was street performance whose purpose was to generate conversation. There we succeeded. We received strange looks, laughter, honked horns, many thumbs up (especially from the group selling “BP sucks” t-shirts), and several questions from passersby. I also learned the valuable lesson that high heels are not the footwear of choice for a demonstration, even if you are in an evening gown.

It was fun, to be sure, and it served as an outlet for us to express our frustration over the continued violence committed against the earth and its creatures resulting from our insatiable appetite. I

suffered slight discomfort, though, expressed best in a sign that one of our members carried. “Is it BP, is it the government, or is it us?”

Yes, I believe that the greed of corporations and the top echelon of society contribute significantly to our nation’s ravenous consumption of energy that rapes the earth, but none of us is free from guilt. Most of us benefit from a seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy, whether from fresh fruit in November, cheap shoes produced overseas, or a weekend of boating on the lake. The economy that supports our lifestyles, even the most modest of which is luxurious compared with much of the world, is largely driven by energy consumption. It’s almost impossible to opt out.

What continues to run through my head is a phrase from my first Calculus class, “simplify, simplify, simplify.” It’s not an easy or effortless task, but it’s the new direction we must head if we want to live in peace and harmony with the earth that existed millions of year before us and will continue on for millions of years with or without us. I think I would prefer that we learn to get along before it jettisons humanity for its own sake.

The ultimate summer

Last Saturday was the end of summer league tournament for KC Ultimate. And what’s a summer league tournament without a heat advisory? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. By the second game some of us (especially those of us over 30, I’m just saying…) felt like we were running in molasses. And yes, we probably looked like it, too. But! We had a great time. A beautiful day with beautiful friends. Here are some of the highlights.

• The Karen Marcus Interiors team defeated some other team (what was their name again? Not worth remembering) in the mixed team championship game. In their final huddle after the game, they dedicated their win to the memory of Karen Marcus, who ended her battle with breast cancer earlier that morning. This team is to be admired not only for their awesome disc skills, but for their big hearts. “This is a family team,” captain Barrett Davis said.Not only did the team sport several married couples and a mother/daughter combo, but week after week their sideline was filled with team members’ children. They even borrowed children from other teams to boost their family-friendly image. You guys rock.
• Team Gotham Printwear walked away with the championship in the men’s open division. Pictured here is the second place team, MWM Consulting, because, frankly, they were cuter.
• Completely disregarding child labor laws, we hired a fewchildren to walk around the fields pulling a wagon full of ice water, splashing those who looked like they were on the verge of passing out. Experts estimate that up to 10 incidents of heat stroke were avoided thanks to these hard working kids. All they requested for compensation were Cheezits and Gatorade.
• My own team, Walsh’s Corner Cocktails, won the spirit award. League directors assured me that this wasn’t just a pity award handed to the team with the worst record. I’m going to believe them on this one. My pride demands it.
• Lunch was catered by one of our sponsors, Westport Flea Market. The hamburgers and chicken sandwiches were good, but the pasta salad was to die for. Thanks!

If you weren’t there, I know you wish you were. The good news is, you don’t have to wait until next summer to join the fun. Fall league starts in just two short weeks, and beginners are welcomed and encouraged to join. There’s no better way to get an incredible workout, meet a ton of wonderful new friends, and enjoy this sunshine while we still have it. Your body and soul will thank you.