Free time

I recently answered some questions for The Lance concerning what I do with my free time on the weekends. Free time has been at a premium lately as this tends to be one of the busiest times of the year for a teacher. However, it got me thinking about those hobbies that we all have that we don't get to participate in as often as we'd like. You know what I'm talking about...those things you really enjoy doing but due to your schedule you just never seem to be able to find the time for?

I go through spurts where I really enjoy photography. The great thing about it is that you sometimes surprise yourself by capturing beauty in a seemingly ordinary object. Take for instance this shot of a random tree branch that happened to be in my way...

What do you do in your precious free time? Is there anything you wish you had more time for?

Top albums of 2007

Most of my students have already figured out that I'm a big music freak. Around the end of each year, I can't help but think back at the year gone-by and recall what some of my favorite albums and concerts were.

2007 was a good year for classic rock albums. John Fogerty came out with one of his best solo discs in decades, Revival. If you enjoy the old Creedance sound, grab this disc for sure. Bruce Springsteen also returned with the E-Street Band to release Magic. While I think it lacks some of the energy usually found on E-Street albums, this is still a great release. The Eagles also didn't dissapoint with their first new album in nearly 30 years. Long Road Out of Eden is a double-CD with some songs that have that classic Eagles sound and also some tracks that sound very "new."

I also really enjoyed Ryan Adams' "Easy Tiger" album as well as the interesting duet album with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. David Gray, Crowded House, Spoon, and Levon Helm also came out with great albums this year.

Is there anything from 2007 that you would highly recommend?

Another holiday themed post...

Since I got more responses to my last posting than any previous post...I'll stick with what works. Next up...holiday music. There is plenty of bad Christmas music out there. How many times can Jingle Bells be covered? And whats worse...there are FM stations that have been playing Christmas music 24/7 since mid-November.

But there are some hidden nuggets out there that I really enjoy listening to. James Taylor recently did a great holiday album. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is also a nice refreshing change from the norm.

So my question is...what Christmas music drives you up the wall? AND...is there any holiday music you really enjoy?

Holiday TV specials

I gotta admit...being a history teacher, I love nostalgia. Nothing brings back memories of being a kid at Christmas like a good old fashioned holiday TV special. I was recently talking to Mrs. Taylor about Christmas TV specials and she said her favorite has always been Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I love those old "claymation" style Christmas specials too, but I think my favorites had to be Frosty and a Garfield Christmas.

Now its your turn. Do you have a favorite holiday classic?

The Grinch? Rudolph? Charlie Brown Christmas? Something more recent?

Your assistance required

Its going to be a tough holiday and winter season for many people around the country, and perhaps even more so here in New England. While I was enjoying Thanksgiving on Thursday, my family got into a discussion about the state of the economy and fuel prices specifically.

To be honest, I'm not sure how some families are going to survive the winter. Here is an article from the Boston Globe from last month which talks about how some families need to make a decision on whether to heat or eat during the winter...

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/10/21/the_heat_or_eat_dilemma/

If that doesn't depress you enough, the following is an article from the Providence Journal concerning recent cuts in state aid which threatens the delivery of meals on wheels to the elderly...

http://www.projo.com/news/content/MEALS_ON_WHEELS_11-14-07_QP7RNA4_v30.29ebf71.html

I could link you to plenty more articles like this unfortunately. My point in all this is a simple one. This holiday season, perhaps more than any other, we all need to think about the state of those less fortunate than us. There are families in our own neighborhoods which suffer from these very issues. This holiday season, please make the effort to make some type of donation, whether it be to a food drive, Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army, etc. The money Norton High raised at the pep rally for the Santa Fund was a great start, but theres lots more work to do.

Veterans Day

I recently attended a social studies professional development day. One of the speakers for the event really stressed the idea that we need to be cautious of who we consider to be "heroes" in today's society. Many people look up to celebrities or athletes who really should not qualify as a hero.

While that topic might be debatable, one thing is not. The need for us to support and honor our veterans in this country. They truly are the heroes.

This is a link to a video clip I recently saw which highlights the importance of veterans in our society.

http://www.military.com/VeteransDay/VeteransDayTribute.html

Democrats vs. Republicans

Recently in my history classes we discussed the election of 1800 and how it was really the birth of political parties in this country. The first "real" presidential campaign took place that year between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. It was the birth of the battle between political parties that continues on to this day.

That led into an interesting discussion about Democrats and Republicans. My concern is that not enough high school students know the major differences between Democrats and Republicans. Many high school students reach the voting age before they graduate, so shouldn't they have knowledge about the two major parties in this country?

After we discussed the basic ideals of each party, I took a quick poll to see which party students felt they fit into. The results were interesting. I had 10 Democrats, 10 Independent/Undecided, and 1 Republican.

I encourage you to find out the differences between Democrats and Republicans if you don't feel you know enough. Here is a link to a web site designed for students who are looking to find out which party they might fit into...

http://wise.fau.edu/~rpwatson/Just_Vote/just_vote_005.htm

Where do you fall?