I have to admit, I didn’t think the Giants would win the game.
I also have to admit, I didn’t watch much of the game. I’m just glad we only a little more than a week away from Spring Training. In fact, opening day is less than 2 months away!
1. Favorite Moment of the Game
2. Favorite Commercial
3. Least Favorite Commercial
4. Thoughts on the Halftime Show
5. Did you watch The Voice afterward?
I didn’t see too many commercials. Of the ones that I did see, I’d say this one was my favorite.
The Halftime show was pretty good in my view. I just wish they would actually let the performers sing and not have to lip sync.
It’s Superbowl Weekend. I’m sure some of you will be coming in to school bleary eyed after watching the game and all of the commercials. Don’t forget to check out the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. It is always a fun show (at least for a few minutes).
We even watched a few minutes of the Puppy Bowl and Kitty Halftime Show during Laughs and Lunch.
Speaking of the Superbowl, I’m going with the Patriots on Sunday. It might not be a popular decision but I think they are the better team at this point.
We finished watching Batman. We’re now going to spend a few weeks watching Looney Tunes cartoons. Our next session is Friday during Lunch.
Politicians need to watch what they say at all times. Even when they have the best of intentions, a sound bite can come back to haunt them. Mitt Romney experienced this earlier in the week when he said that he didn’t care about poor people because they have a safety net in place to help them. Of course, the media outlets just focused on the first portion of that statement.
Check out this political cartoon about Mitt Romney and his need for a safety net.
It was nice to see an article recently on the Port Washington Patch about Schreiber students participating in a technology competition. Four of those six students are former Green House students. Congratulations (and good luck) to Greg, Matt, Paul and Peter.
Click here to read the article.
My worst nightmare!
I finished reading another book this weekend. The book was Making Inclusion Work: Effective Practices for ALL Teachers. This was definitely a teacher book and not something a student would want to read. In fact, it read like a textbook more than anything else. There were a few ideas/thoughts that were helpful. Overall I was disappointed. I was looking for a book that would give me examples of lessons or assignments that I could use in my classroom.
Giants
I’m not a Giants fan but I’m glad that they are going to the Superbowl. Any time a New York team is in a big game there seems to be a little extra juice for it.
Anthony A. from Hofstra has his work cut out for him to get the Giants to win on February 5. We set the bar pretty high this week for a Giant victory. Anthony needs to correctly answer 37 questions in class before Superbowl Sunday. He’s already down to 35 (with 9 more class sessions).
Fittingly, last week he did not meet his goal until he came in early on Friday morning to answer 4 additional questions. It was a form of overtime you could say. Oddly enough, the Giants won in, you guessed it, overtime.
Anthony and I might be on to something here.
The Reds signed Willie Harris to a minor league deal. Mets fans, what can you tell me about Willie Harris? Is he good? Will he make the team? What kind of player is he?
I don’t see him making the team but it is early.
Since it is Superbowl time I’ve decided to dust off the old Socialstudieswithasmile.com Superbowl Commercial. Check it out.
Still working on grading the tests. The results seem to be below expectations. Some of the essays were written as if we never discussed/practiced DBQ essays. We spent more time this year than any other year that I’ve been a teacher discussing how to write an essay. Those lessons weren’t just to prepare us to write a slavery DBQ. They were to prepare you to write DBQ essays for the rest of the year and beyond. If you get your test back and you did not do well on your essay, you need to see me.
As far as not finishing, you must work at a more productive rate. State tests and the SATs are timed exams. Giving your additional time would be doing a disservice to you. You can’t become an Olympic swimmer without ever getting into the pool.
Football Predictions
It looked grim for awhile, but Anthony A. from Hofstra came in on Friday to make sure that the Giants would win on Sunday. He had to answer 9 questions over 2 days of class this week. Not exactly an easy task for anyone. I’m going with the Giants. The superstition has worked for a few weeks now.
In the AFC, I’m going with the Ravens.
Giants vs. Ravens Superbowl.
Interesting Fact I Read This Week
This came from a Cincinnati Reds blog that I read:
Barry Larkin’s induction means the Reds had at least one Hall of Famer player on their roster every year from Frank Robinson’s rookie season in 1956 to Larkin’s retirement in 2004. Junior’s eventual induction will make it 2008.
Neither the storied Dodgers, Cardinals, or mighty Yankees can put up a streak that comes close.
Very interesting. Perhaps it will be Joey Votto that will extend that streak beyond 2008.
Eating Dinner With Your Family Is Important
Check out this article on the importance of having a family dinner.
Compared to teens who eat family dinners 5 to 7 days per week, those who only eat family dinners fewer than 3 per week are:
* Nearly twice as likely to use alcohol
* Twice as likely to use tobacco
* One and a half times more likely to use marijuana
When I was growing up, my family always had dinner together. It is a tradition that I’ve continued to this day. If you aren’t doing it, encourage your parents to do it, even if it is only on the weekend. There isn’t much that is more valuable than family but we don’t always treat it that way.
Question of the Day: Do you have a family dinner frequently?
Enjoy the weekend. Hopefully we don’t have too much snow.
Good luck on your Math Midterm today. There will probably not be a blog entry tomorrow so good luck on tomorrow’s Science Midterm as well. If you studied/prepared/attended extra help/paid attention in class since September you should be fine. If not…
Did you hear about the tissue boxes that had traces of radioactivity that were found in local Bed, Bath and Beyond stores? This cartoon pretty much says it all.
It always worries me when such things happen. I suppose I have too much trust in the government to regulate the safety of items that we are going to purchase.
Earlier this week, the Reds signed outfielder Ryan Ludwick to a one year deal. He’s going to split time with Chris Heisey in left field. I don’t hate the deal, but I don’t love it either. I would have liked to see Heisey get the bulk of the playing time in left to see what he is capable of during a full season. Also, I don’t think we’re getting the Ryan Ludwick from 2008 when he hit over 30 HRs and drove in over 100 runs. If he can be anywhere near those numbers this year I will be thrilled.
Bottom line, with the Reds adding Mat Latos, Sean Marshall, Ryan Ludwick and Ryan Madson, the team should be improved and ready to compete this year. I can’t wait for the season to begin.
Lots of random thoughts today. Here’s another one: I like kettle corn. Sweet and salty together as one. Can life get any better?
Speaking of food, what is your favorite food to eat when you go to a sporting event? I usually just get a soda and maybe some peanuts but last time I was at CitiField I had a burger from Shake Shack. It was delicious.
I haven’t gone over the rules for the blog in awhile so here goes…
1. In order to post, you must provide your name and an email address. In order to get your comment approved, this must take place. Sadly, there was a well thought out post that was written last night. The writer did not post his name. As a result, the post was trashed.
If you intend to share your thoughts, you must share your name. I want to maintain the safety of this blog as much as I possibly can.
2. Respectful comments only.
3. Since the blog is a school-related blog, I expect as close to good grammar as possible. We’re not going to be the grammar police but we should use proper English as much as possible.
4. Have fun.
Today in class we will be introducing the Political Cartoon project. I think this has the potential to be a fun assignment. I enjoyed looking back at the work of former students yesterday while preparing for today’s lesson. You will see some of their examples today. However, I don’t want to show you too much because I want you to be as creative and original as possible.
The American Struggle for Independence practice test is now available on socialstudieswithasmile.com. Be sure to get the Reds question correct. There is also a practice test that will be available in class. It will be made available on Friday. If you want one before that, simply ask for it.
There will be a review session Tuesday morning and we will be reviewing in class tomorrow (Friday).
Remember, a small amount of extra credit can be gained by reading outside reading books. For more information, see the Outside Reading Extra Credit category to the right.
There have been a few opportunities for extra credit this quarter. I noticed that last quarter, the extra credit (which is added to your test scores at the end of the quarter) made a difference for a few students. I recall students going from a B to B+ and A to A+. Take advantage of it while it lasts. There are fewer and fewer extra credit opportunities as the year goes on.
DJ now knows Barry Larkin, Bret Boone and Pete Rose from our Reds Room at home. He’s definitely a die hard Reds fan in training.
Did anyone watch the Firm on Sunday night? I loved the movie but the show seems to be missing something. I’ll give it another shot tonight (DVR’d of course).
Last night the Reds managed to sign closer Ryan Madson to a one year deal. I like the moves the Reds have made this offseason. Adding Mat Latos, Madson and Sean Marshall should help to put the Reds in the hunt for post season play. Having Madson and Marshall in the bullpen also gives Aroldis Chapman the opportunity to start, which could potentially help the Reds.
I doubt the Reds will make any other moves this offseason. That means Chris Heisey will get the bulk of the time in Left Field. I’d like to see what he can do in a full season.
I went to the Board of Education meeting. It appears that the district is looking to cut over $2 million. That won’t be easy. While watching the two presentations last night (one on Elementary education and one on the Middle School), there didn’t seem to be many cuts that I would be willing to make.
In fact it seemed that the Board was looking to ADD to the program.
If all of the cuts come from the Middle School (which I doubt), the school would have a drastically different feel to it next year.
Question of the Day: I heard this one on the radio yesterday. What unusual food combination do you enjoy? Examples that were mentioned were Doritos on a bagel and french fries dipped in ice cream. Can’t say I’ve tried either one of those.
For those following, Mitt Romney won the New Hampshire primary. The next step is South Carolina in a little more than a week from now. The picture is becoming clearer but we still have a long way to go before we know for sure that it will be Romney vs. Obama.
Congratulations to Barry Larkin. Larkin’s enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame is very fitting. He was the greatest Reds player of the 80s/90s and is arguably the greatest Reds player I’ve ever seen. In a year or two (hopefully more), I might be saying the same about a guy named Votto.
It is tough to explain what Larkin means to the Reds. He wasn’t a slugger every year. He didn’t bat .300 every year. He wasn’t always healthy. But when he was on the field, he was one of the best. His baseball IQ made him into a top player his entire career. In short, Larkin is to the Reds what Derek Jeter is to the Yankees.
This past week I’ve spent several mornings (and one lunch period) working with students to re-organize their binders. It has not been an easy task for some students. If you need the help, let me know and I will set aside time to help you get organized. It may take awhile at first but all you need is simple daily maintenance.
We finished The Karate Kid Part II during Laughs and Lunch yesterday. We’re now going to be watching Looney Tunes on Fridays for the next few weeks. If you are interested, join us. All you have to do is sign up at the beginning of Period 4 and get a pass. It’s a good time.
Have a ever mentioned that I do not like field trips? To me, it is a lot of wasted time to get very little reward. Long bus rides, student desire to have lunch and visit an over priced gift shop just doesn’t seem worth the time/effort.
On the other hand, I do enjoy the Hall of Science. I haven’t been there in years and look forward to going back.
This week is an exciting one for Reds fan. Monday will be the day that the Baseball Hall of Fame Announces the class of 2012. It is very likely that Reds legend Barry Larkin will be chosen to join the Hall of Fame. Larkin was the man when I was growing up as a Reds fan. In fact, he is the reason I wanted to be a shortstop when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I was left handed. However, I do recall a few games here and there in little league when I played shortstop and even 3rd base.
When I played baseball at Old Bethpage Village, I played 3rd base…without a mitt under the rules of the late 1800s.
There were quite a few differences.
Anyway, Larkin definitely deserves enshrinement in the hall. He is a 9 time Silver Slugger winner, a 3 time Gold Glover winner (he would have had more had it not been for a guy named Ozzie Smith), the 1995 MVP, the first shortstop to have a 30-30 season and a 1990 World Champion. To top it off, he spent his entire career with one team.
NFL Playoff Predictions
I’m going with the Bengals and New Orleans tonight.
It may seem that I favor Cincinnati teams but I’m not a Bengals fan. I just feel that they have a good chance of winning tonight. If the Bengals do win, it will be the first playoff win for the city of Cincinnati since 1995 when the Reds beat the Dodgers.
Tomorrow, I’m going with the Giants and Denver. I feel least confident about the Denver pick. Tebow is due to have a big game but he (and the rest of his team) have struggled the last few weeks.
What are your predictions?
I just finished reading Educational Leadership: Promoting Respectful Schools. While I did not meet my goal of completing a book during the vacation, I did manage to finish reading this lengthy magazine on respect in the school.
This magazine had great articles written by teachers, administrators and even a college student on promoting anti-bullying, tolerance of differences and how to promote a positive classroom environment. Obviously, this wouldn’t be a magazine for students to read as it is geared to educators but I found that there were great ideas that will find their way into my classroom, parent meetings and my every day life. Speaking of Tolerance…
I only heard about this early this morning. Apparently, after the Winter Classic, an NHL game that is put on annually at an outdoor venue, a bunch of Philadelphia fans beat up a guy who was wearing a Rangers jersey.
Check out the article here.
These stories bother me and they happen more and more often. It is a game, a sport. This isn’t life or death. Why fans have to shout insults, profanity or resort to violence is beyond me.
As a fan of a team outside of my local area, I often have to see the Reds play in other ball parks, CitiField being the most common place for me to see games. A game doesn’t go by that doesn’t involve someone yelling something, throwing something or being belligerent. And a lot of this is taking place in front of children. Guess what they will be doing in about 10-15 years…Aren’t we great role models!!!???!!!
Part of the problem is that Philadelphia fans have gained a reputation for being rowdy and nasty and some of those fans are doing everything in their power to maintain that “lofty” status. Time to grow up!
Hopefully some of these people will wake up and realize that sports are designed to take our mind off of the stress of everyday life, not add to it. Just enjoy the game, win or lose.
As for me, to avoid confrontations where it is 5 guys against just me (alone with Mrs. Dowling), I just don’t wear Reds gear any more to ball games. It is much safer but sad that it has to come to that.
