One of the things I love about Facebook is catching up with my kids. Not, as I often make the distinction, the kids I personally gave birth to, but the ones I have taught in my now 20-year history at my alma mater, Farrington High School. I am sincerely thrilled to receive messages from them, to see pictures of them with their partners and children and to catch up on the many little details that transpired since our last meeting. What's hard to take is how OLD all of this is making me feel!
For a number of years, some of the members of the class of 1998 and I made it a point to meet for dinner several times a year. When we started this ritual, they were 17 or 18 years old. A few years after that, they were ordering alcoholic beverages. Now many of them are married and having children of their own. Perhaps predictably, our meeting for dinner tradition has dropped off appreciably but thanks to FB, keeping in touch has never been easier.
I made a comment about my current students on my status recently and one of my students from the class of 2000 wrote, "How many kids do you have now? A bajillion?" The question made me wonder: Just how many young minds have I tainted in the last 20 years? I did some rough calculations (and those of you who know me well know how rough these probably are). When I first started teaching, we were on a 6 period schedule so each teacher taught 5 classes (approximately 30 students/per class). Then in 1997, we switched to the block schedule (4 classes per term, each teacher has 3 classes) but that same year, I also switched to the Health Academy where I was blessed (for a time) to have smaller classes than the norm AND where I sometimes I had students more than once during their 2-3 year stay in the Academy. By my calculations, subject to extreme human error, I have had (give or take) approximately 3200 students in the past 20 years!
About 7 years ago, I found out one of my students was the son of my classmate. Since then I have had 4 more students come through who were also the children of my classmates. This year I again noted an unusual and familiar surname on my roster but with a noted difference; this surname did not belong to one of my peers, it belonged to one of my very first students. When SGR walked into the classroom on the first day, there was no mistaking who her mother was; the resemblance was striking and I was hurtled back 20 years to a time I often would much rather forget: My first attempts (and I use that word charitably) at teaching.
College did not, in any way, prepare me to teach. It taught me subject matter that I would eventually pass on to my students and it offered theories on how and why the subject matter I found so interesting and exciting would bore the crap out of the not-so-eager young minds I was responsible for nurturing. College did not give me tips on how to efficiently set up my grade book (in the days BC--before computers), offer strategies that were relevant to an increasingly video-oriented generation, teach me how to console a grieving child who just lost a parent or to maintain control over 30 almost-adults, most of whom wanted to be anywhere but in the classroom.
My kids are the ones responsible for teaching me these things. Their behavior, their interest or lack thereof, their cultures and their attitudes helped me to shape my teaching style in a way that best suited my audience: Them. For most of the first few years of my teaching career, I was about 2 lessons ahead of my students and often worlds behind in comprehending who they were and where they were coming from. If I am a confident, effective teacher today, it is due to the contributions of all 3200 of them.
Sometimes, it takes a village...to make a teacher.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Thai Chicken Curry and Savory Lamb Stew
If there is anything I hate about cooking it's when a recipe I am trying turns out really wrong. Sometimes it's the recipe and sometimes it's me but either way it is frustrating and annoying to work so hard and have so little to show for it. Fortunately, tonight was not one of those nights. Yup, it was a double header and I banged homeruns in both games!
I have been struggling to master Thai food recently. I love it, especially the curries, and have tried several recipes on and off over the past year or two with varying results. My last curry attempt was horrid; I think the recipe was actually printed wrong because it had a hugely disproportionate amount of water to coconut milk ratio. The result was very watery and so bland it wasn't worth the effort of swallowing, much less digesting. T doesn't like Thai food so he was spared the experience and A doesn't eat meat so that automatically disqualified her. That left the sampling to E and C who ate it, and like the troopers they are, didn't offer any criticism stronger than, "It's really not that bad." Uh huh. It was really not that good either.
Tonight's recipe came out of a book entitled Simply Thai Cooking and it was a definite hit; a mild red curry that was creamy, smooth, and flavorful with tender chicken strips and crunchy slivers of bamboo shoots and red bell pepper. Very nice. Both E and C had two bowls each and this time, they weren't just being kind.
Lamb is one thing I do feel fairly confident about. I have grilled it, roasted it and made it into stew on a number of occasions. This time I did a sort of combination of things; I cut the boneless leg of lamb into chunks and marinated it overnight. Today, I cooked a few strips of bacon, drained most of the fat and substituted olive oil before I tossed in the drained and flour-dredged lamb chunks. I let the lamb brown up a bit before I added chunks of onion then deglazed the pot with a good sploosh of red wine and the rest of the marinade.
I added chicken broth, a couple of bay leaves and a good sprinkling of dried thyme and let the whole thing simmer for about an hour and a half. I thickened the broth with some of the flour that was left after the dredging, added chopped carrot and potatoes and simmered it until everything was cooked through. The broth is rich and savory and the lamb is falling apart tender. E, C and I were too focused on the curry to get to the lamb stew tonight but there is always tomorrow; lamb stew is one thing that just gets better overnight. If I am patting myself on the back over these culinary triumphs tonight, just wait till tomorrow's dinner. I'll be insufferable by then. :-)
I have been struggling to master Thai food recently. I love it, especially the curries, and have tried several recipes on and off over the past year or two with varying results. My last curry attempt was horrid; I think the recipe was actually printed wrong because it had a hugely disproportionate amount of water to coconut milk ratio. The result was very watery and so bland it wasn't worth the effort of swallowing, much less digesting. T doesn't like Thai food so he was spared the experience and A doesn't eat meat so that automatically disqualified her. That left the sampling to E and C who ate it, and like the troopers they are, didn't offer any criticism stronger than, "It's really not that bad." Uh huh. It was really not that good either.
Tonight's recipe came out of a book entitled Simply Thai Cooking and it was a definite hit; a mild red curry that was creamy, smooth, and flavorful with tender chicken strips and crunchy slivers of bamboo shoots and red bell pepper. Very nice. Both E and C had two bowls each and this time, they weren't just being kind.
Lamb is one thing I do feel fairly confident about. I have grilled it, roasted it and made it into stew on a number of occasions. This time I did a sort of combination of things; I cut the boneless leg of lamb into chunks and marinated it overnight. Today, I cooked a few strips of bacon, drained most of the fat and substituted olive oil before I tossed in the drained and flour-dredged lamb chunks. I let the lamb brown up a bit before I added chunks of onion then deglazed the pot with a good sploosh of red wine and the rest of the marinade.
I added chicken broth, a couple of bay leaves and a good sprinkling of dried thyme and let the whole thing simmer for about an hour and a half. I thickened the broth with some of the flour that was left after the dredging, added chopped carrot and potatoes and simmered it until everything was cooked through. The broth is rich and savory and the lamb is falling apart tender. E, C and I were too focused on the curry to get to the lamb stew tonight but there is always tomorrow; lamb stew is one thing that just gets better overnight. If I am patting myself on the back over these culinary triumphs tonight, just wait till tomorrow's dinner. I'll be insufferable by then. :-)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Slip me some tongue, part 2
I was expecting to make the tongue into sandwiches but today I got a better idea while I was mixing up a batch of guacamole. I would make soft tacos! I heated corn tortillas in my griddle pan, sprinkled them with a mixture of grated cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses and topped them with the sliced tongue that I had quickly reheated by tossing around in an oiled pan. Some finely chopped lettuce and salsa to finish it all off and ta da! Tongue tacos!
The heating of the tongue in an oiled pan made a huge flavor and texture difference; because the slices were so thin, the edges quickly seared which gave the overall dish a nice grilled taste and the meat more of a "chew". Judging by how quickly the guys ate 'em up, I would say it is a hit with the humans as well as the canines. Yes, Rusty and Farley got a few nuggets as well...no guacamole for them though.
The heating of the tongue in an oiled pan made a huge flavor and texture difference; because the slices were so thin, the edges quickly seared which gave the overall dish a nice grilled taste and the meat more of a "chew". Judging by how quickly the guys ate 'em up, I would say it is a hit with the humans as well as the canines. Yes, Rusty and Farley got a few nuggets as well...no guacamole for them though.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Slip me some tongue
The first time I realized people eat animal tongue was when I read one of Beverly Cleary's books. I don't recall the title but I do remember Beezus and Ramona's disgust when they realized the delicious, tender pot roast they were enjoying for dinner was tongue their mother had cleverly hidden under brown gravy. At that time, I shared their disgust. Fortunately, I grew up and my, uh, taste buds did, too.
I had my first taste of beef tongue at a Japanese yakiniku-style restaurant several years ago. It was grilled, tender and absolutely delicious. Since then, I have made it a point to order it when I spot it on a menu; that doesn't happen as often as I would like. This past Tuesday was the third of the month and that means Ladies' Night Out (LNO). LNO is deserving of a blog post all its own so I will simply say that we ate at Gazen Restaurant, an izakaya-style eatery and tongue was on the menu. It was delicious but 5 slivers of meat for $12 made me decide I needed to learn to cook this thing on my own.
I purchased a tongue yesterday and did the cooking today. I have to admit that a tongue, seen in its entirety, is intimidating and more than a little disgusting. Cow tongues average 3-4 pounds so that is a significant hunk of flesh! Undeterred, I gave it a scrub, immersed it in water along with a bay leaf, some peppercorns and a generous handful of salt. I brought the water to a boil, reduced the heat and simmered the pot, covered, for almost 3 hours. I drained off the cooking liquid, soaked the tongue in cold water for a bit and then peeled the thick white skin off. Most of it came off extremely easily and the few bits that did stick were taken care of with a few scrapes of the knife.
The fatty underside was sliced away and after a few judicious swipes with my knife across the top surface (to skim off the bumps that so disgusted Ramona and Beezus), I sliced the remainder into thin slices. The majority of the meat was refrigerated for sandwiches tomorrow. The bits that did not make it into the fridge were appraised by Quality Control; Rusty and Farley were extremely attentive during my tongue-in-cheek performance and judging by the small pool of Farley-drool at my feet, they appreciated the smell, and samples, as much as I did.
I had my first taste of beef tongue at a Japanese yakiniku-style restaurant several years ago. It was grilled, tender and absolutely delicious. Since then, I have made it a point to order it when I spot it on a menu; that doesn't happen as often as I would like. This past Tuesday was the third of the month and that means Ladies' Night Out (LNO). LNO is deserving of a blog post all its own so I will simply say that we ate at Gazen Restaurant, an izakaya-style eatery and tongue was on the menu. It was delicious but 5 slivers of meat for $12 made me decide I needed to learn to cook this thing on my own.
I purchased a tongue yesterday and did the cooking today. I have to admit that a tongue, seen in its entirety, is intimidating and more than a little disgusting. Cow tongues average 3-4 pounds so that is a significant hunk of flesh! Undeterred, I gave it a scrub, immersed it in water along with a bay leaf, some peppercorns and a generous handful of salt. I brought the water to a boil, reduced the heat and simmered the pot, covered, for almost 3 hours. I drained off the cooking liquid, soaked the tongue in cold water for a bit and then peeled the thick white skin off. Most of it came off extremely easily and the few bits that did stick were taken care of with a few scrapes of the knife.
The fatty underside was sliced away and after a few judicious swipes with my knife across the top surface (to skim off the bumps that so disgusted Ramona and Beezus), I sliced the remainder into thin slices. The majority of the meat was refrigerated for sandwiches tomorrow. The bits that did not make it into the fridge were appraised by Quality Control; Rusty and Farley were extremely attentive during my tongue-in-cheek performance and judging by the small pool of Farley-drool at my feet, they appreciated the smell, and samples, as much as I did.
My Child is a Monkey
Nope, not making disparaging remarks about my own progeny though T's nickname was "Monkey" for quite a while. He forbade me to continue calling him that about 4 years ago. Anyway, that is the title of a program I just saw on National Geographic; yup, humans who keep monkeys as pets. Or as one woman said, "He is not my pet, he's my lifelong companion."
It was even worse than the dog owners who treat their dogs as children: the diapers, the bonnets, the hugs and kisses were bad enough; allowing them to eat off of the same plate, allowing them the same (bad) human diet and putting the animals before the human children? No, no, no! I actually yelled, "You have to be kidding me!" I've often made fun of people for talking back to their TV sets. Now look at what I have been reduced to.
Several primate experts on the show described monkeys as perpetual infants so it was no surprise to note that most of these monkey fanatics are women--especially the middle-aged women whose own children have left the nest. One owner surprised me though; early 40s with 7 children of her own! This woman's friend has 2 monkeys, both of whom are entering puberty. One of these monkeys attacked one of the children and got put in "time out". Lovely.
The self-proclaimed "Monkey Whisperer" extolled the virtues of primates as companions (see quote above) and then emphasized the need for precautions, especially around children. She strongly advised that animals be altered--in the canine world, this means desexing. In the monkey world it means desexing and removal of the canine teeth and sometimes the others as well. After all says this primate fan, "Would you rather have a ripping, tearing wound or a bruise?"
If it's all the same to you, I'll stick with turtles.
It was even worse than the dog owners who treat their dogs as children: the diapers, the bonnets, the hugs and kisses were bad enough; allowing them to eat off of the same plate, allowing them the same (bad) human diet and putting the animals before the human children? No, no, no! I actually yelled, "You have to be kidding me!" I've often made fun of people for talking back to their TV sets. Now look at what I have been reduced to.
Several primate experts on the show described monkeys as perpetual infants so it was no surprise to note that most of these monkey fanatics are women--especially the middle-aged women whose own children have left the nest. One owner surprised me though; early 40s with 7 children of her own! This woman's friend has 2 monkeys, both of whom are entering puberty. One of these monkeys attacked one of the children and got put in "time out". Lovely.
The self-proclaimed "Monkey Whisperer" extolled the virtues of primates as companions (see quote above) and then emphasized the need for precautions, especially around children. She strongly advised that animals be altered--in the canine world, this means desexing. In the monkey world it means desexing and removal of the canine teeth and sometimes the others as well. After all says this primate fan, "Would you rather have a ripping, tearing wound or a bruise?"
If it's all the same to you, I'll stick with turtles.
Flash Fic
My two good friends, L and N, are great writers and they convinced me to give Flash Fic writing a try. For those of you, who like me, are novices to the art, the procedure is as follows: we take turns sending out a trio of words then give ourselves 8 minutes in which to create a quick story utilizing those words. Eight minutes. It's supposed to be quick, fun, painless. That's what they said. That's not what it's been.
I have not written for pure, creative pleasure for years. All my writing is teaching-related, emails or instructions to the family for animal care when I am off on business trips. When you write for other people's instructional purposes you have to be very clear, concise, and organized. I've been teaching for 20 years and the amount of editing that goes into the handouts I create for my students is monumental. Writing step-by-step pet care instructions for 2 dogs, a cockatiel, 2 tortoises and 3 box turtles to make sure they are user-friendly and ensures that none of the animals die from want of care also requires review and revision. This writing off the top of my head stuff, with a minimal of editing or the benefit of time to let ideas simmer and mature...it's tough. Not to mention scary.
I was pleasantly surprised with my first attempt. I utilized the requisite 3 words and went just slightly over the allotted 8 minute time frame. In addition, I was happy with the characterization and the development of a plot with future potential. Not too bad for a greenhorn. But the problem with Flash Fic? There's always another round.
The 3 words for the second round were submitted by yours truly; I selected words that popped into my head during a shower: grin, spice and arrogant. Why these words would come to me in a shower is best left to the imagination. I refuse to self-analyze too deeply. Well, I have just completed my second installment and found to my dismay that it was even more challenging to write than the first. That's because I was too proud of my first attempt and have now set a personal standard that will forever need to be met or beaten. I have upped my own ante. And it's only the second round...
I have not written for pure, creative pleasure for years. All my writing is teaching-related, emails or instructions to the family for animal care when I am off on business trips. When you write for other people's instructional purposes you have to be very clear, concise, and organized. I've been teaching for 20 years and the amount of editing that goes into the handouts I create for my students is monumental. Writing step-by-step pet care instructions for 2 dogs, a cockatiel, 2 tortoises and 3 box turtles to make sure they are user-friendly and ensures that none of the animals die from want of care also requires review and revision. This writing off the top of my head stuff, with a minimal of editing or the benefit of time to let ideas simmer and mature...it's tough. Not to mention scary.
I was pleasantly surprised with my first attempt. I utilized the requisite 3 words and went just slightly over the allotted 8 minute time frame. In addition, I was happy with the characterization and the development of a plot with future potential. Not too bad for a greenhorn. But the problem with Flash Fic? There's always another round.
The 3 words for the second round were submitted by yours truly; I selected words that popped into my head during a shower: grin, spice and arrogant. Why these words would come to me in a shower is best left to the imagination. I refuse to self-analyze too deeply. Well, I have just completed my second installment and found to my dismay that it was even more challenging to write than the first. That's because I was too proud of my first attempt and have now set a personal standard that will forever need to be met or beaten. I have upped my own ante. And it's only the second round...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
In the beginning...
...Judy created this blog. Not because she had nothing better to do with her spare time but because she had things to say and needed a place to say it. Reading this blog is purely optional. Writing it is turning out not to be. Stay tuned and you'll get my opinion off the top of my head and always, straight from the hip.
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