Posts
irony
iro·ny Pronunciation: \ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē\
Date: 1502
3 a (1) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2) : an event or result marked by such incongruity b : incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play —called also dramatic irony, tragic irony
Curious as to why I would open with the definition of irony? I applied for a position as a high school French teacher, but was unsuccessful mostly because I do not coach a sport - it would be truer to say that the successful candidate will bring a lot to the extra-curricular table, whereas my sports experience is pretty limited. In fact, the past thirteen years have been dedicated exclusively to the spectators' side of the gym, and even at that I spend most of my time "connecting" with other parents (some might call it socializing, but I prefer the former). Hey! I've made important friendships with the parents of my sons' team-mates. That would be one example of irony - all that time spent in a gym and no coaching skills to speak of.
The other shortfall mentioned in the brief post-mortem I had with one of the interviewers was that the successful candidate uses "21st century teaching practices". I actually had to ask for an example of a 21st century teaching practice. Not a good sign. The answer? Using Blogs, Wikis, and Twitter (among other things) as teaching tools. Isn't that ironic? Here I am spilling my thoughts on this particular shortcoming on to what? A blog! I'm pretty sure I lost points for my lack of techno savvy. The truth is, using blogs in the classroom was not on my radar screen. Will I run out and sign up for a course on just that? Good question. I am curious as to how they are used to enhance teaching, especially the teaching of a living language, so I will do a little research into the matter. Perhaps then I will be able to make a more informed decision as to its value as a teaching tool.
The most valuable lesson I learned from this latest foray into the job market is that you can't leave the world of teaching for 13 years and expect things to remain the same. Now I hear some of you saying "Duh! Captain Obvious", but on many levels teaching does remain the same. One still has to connect with the students, one still has curriculum to deliver, assessing, evaluating, reporting all still in integral part of the job. It's the approaches that change. And parents are changing. I may one day come back and report something completely different, but that's what growing in one's profession is all about.
What is going in the world of Campbell/Burns cousins?
I received an email form my Dad's first cousin, Susan Smith from Edmonton, Alberta, notifying us of the loss of another of their first cousins.
Hello to my Crowe family -
A note to let everyone know that our cousin, Randy Strause (George Randall), Elsie's son, passed away quietly before midnight last night from a brain tumor.
Elsie would be Grandma Burns's sister.
A whole gang of Campbell cousins travelled to Venice to celebrate Alex Wright's 45th birthday (April 18th). They were of course grounded in the travel bottleneck that Europe became while the volcano spewed ash into the air. Hopefully one of the members of that travel party will share photos.
Norm (my husband) is in San Diego attending a Math conference, and was planning to hook up with our cousin Mary Naimish. We'll see how well they follow directions as they are supposed to take photos as well.
How many of you took the time to click on the link to Benjamin Zander's talk on classical music? I promise you will not be disappointed. In fact, www.ted.com is a great web site to find all sorts of speakers on all sorts of topics.
I will leave you today with a photo of our my boys (David-Louis in the very fashionable blaze orange tuque & Liam) and me with Dad in his last week at Riverview. Some might think it odd to be snapping photos of their father as he lay on his deathbed, but to me he was still very much alive and the moment was right.
Be well!
Love,
Shannon
