The Ying and Yang of Teaching: 3

Good people, the universe has placed me in a new school. I am now working in a K-8 school, and will be there the rest of the year, and the following school year. I am back among the K-8 crowd. It looks like my high school teaching days are on pause; for now. As a special ed teacher you are sent where you are needed.

So, after a few weeks of working with the the younger-yungins, this is what my new journey is providing me:

- I'm the new toy in the school, therefore, the students are fascinated with me. I get curious looks and smiles. Moreover, the friends of students assigned to me, want to come to accompany my students to the resource room and/or have lunch with me.

- Occasionally I accommodate my students' requests to bring a friend to resource room, because building a relationship with my students, will be key in getting them to do their work. Just today when my group was a bit rowdy, my student said to the group "Hey! Listen to Mr. S. He's nice!"

- I decided to call my resource room The Dragon's Lair. I had one of my eight-graders draw a dragon, to serve as mascot for the room. She turned it out! I'll explain the dragon concept in a future post.

- In high school I gave many pats on the back for a job well done. Today I find myself giving many pats on the head for a job well done, due to the fact that I am surrounded by students that are rib-cage high. For the girls I bow and say "Well done little mama." Both acts of praise renders a smile. How adorable!

- Many of my students live in a housing project that is known as The Jungle. I kid you not. This community is living with many social ills. Therefore, our students come into school with all kinds of needs, strengths, insights, and emotions, that are shaped by their experiences of living within poverty. Their reality is very much like the one I grew up in. I am them and they are me.

So, I continue to teach my students and learn from them. Good people, I'm living within my purpose.

I'm Just A Jazz Baby

I done messed up on you good people. When I recently posted about the film Thoroughly Modern Millie I should have done my homework and provided you a clip from the movie via youtube. Here I am making amends.

Rent the film and enjoy the kiki. BTW, I so want to host a party and wear Ms. Channing's outfit and act out as she did so brilliantly. Moreover, Isaac Mizrahi mentioned her bejeweled wrists as a fashion option during one of his shows. Take note locas!

A Boy, A Horse and A Monkey

I wonder if I can still get tickets to Leslie Jordan's show. Here is one of the gems of a story he shared:

Thank you Musto for the post.

Pixieish Leslie Jordan (who was Beverly Leslie on Will & Grace) has a one-man off-Broadway show in which he talks about the horror of doing a sake commercial with Boy George in the Mojave desert.

Jordan says he was outfitted with all kinds of suffocating prosthetics, lenses, and wigs in order to play a monkey who accompanies the pop singer (riding on a white horse) through the desert.

Jordan grew tired of waiting for George to emerge out of his air conditoned trailer, from which all kinds of interesting snorting sounds were coming.

The singer finally came out and ended up getting into a snit fight with the director because he didn't want to get on the horse.

The director advised the '80s star to be a good fairy.

"I AM a good fairy," countered George. "Poof. You're a pile of shit!"

Jordan, meanwhile, was going nuts from the sand blowing at him and landing under his lenses and prosthetics.

He told George he could only do one more take, so the singer instructed him of the Japanese phrase to shout at the crew to inform them of that.

Jordan obediently did so, and it turned out he had shouted "How big is your dick?"

Not sure how big Boy George's is, but the balls are definitely large.

Source: Michael Musto's Daily Blog

OMG Austin Has Become A Dandy Andy

Yah remember Austin Scarlett from season one of Project Runway? Good people, I would often see this queen strutting about The Village when I worked at NYU a few years back.

She was rail thin and bouncy. I enjoyed watching Miss Scarlett, enjoy being watched, while she savored her new life in NYC.

Lo and behold, here is Miss. Scarlett doing her thing today. I wonder if she is still designing, or has she settled into a kept life provided by a sugar daddy she met at The Townhouse.

As God as my witness may she never go hungry again.

BTW the kiki of this post is the link to The Townhouse.



Source: Blogging Project Runway

They Better Bring It! - Update

I am so ready for the season finale of Project Runway tonight! I'm torn between Emilio and Seth Aaron. I think they are both very talented and mad cute. I even enjoy Emilio's lisp.

BTW, as we all know Jay and Anthony were chopped, however, they did show at Fashion Week!

Click here for Jay.

Click here for Anthony.

I think they both turned it out and could have easily been contenders at Fashion Week.

UPDATE: I'm cool with the outcome. I totally agree with the reasoning. I also have to say what Jay said in the reunion show about one of the models was totally tacky. Eww!

Helvetica

I just saw a very interesting episode of Independent Lens on PBS about the font Helvetica. Look for it.

Who knew a font had such a history. Moreover, how this font has had such an impact, possibly, on how we think about things.

BTW, head over to Aaron's blog for a kiki about the use of fonts. I suggest you click on the image on his blog to get the full picture.

To Get You Going On Monday

This is Off-Time written by the legendary Fats Waller and Harry Link. This version is from the amazing production of Ain't Misbehavin' that starred the late great Nell Carter.

There is a full video of the entire show that you must look for. It was a great show. I actually listen to this soundtrack to put me in a good mood, and it never fails.

The Ying and Yang of Teaching: 2

Recently, Renee (the blogger formerly known as Miss Kitty), posted about the pending graduations of two of her nephews. I offered my congratulations. However, I also shared that far too often young men of color don't make it to graduation.

There many reasons why so many young people disengage from their K-12 education. Here is my first attempt at shedding some light on what I think ails the public education system.:

- First and foremost it starts with the attitude the family has about education. If doing your best in school does not hold value within a student's parents, chances are that child will not engage and/or give up when content becomes challenging. I can't stress enough how important it is for a parent to check to see if homework was completed, and offer assistance the best way they know how. Sadly, this rarely happens with many of my students at home. The message sent by this lack of involvement from the parents is not a good one.

- As a special education teacher, I customize my lessons around the interests of my students. If you engage a child in reading content that matters to them it makes a big difference. If you structure a math lesson around real-world applications, you have a fighting chance. While I know there will be some courses and content that won't resonate with students, we should make attempts to offer something that will motivate students, because it matters to them.

So, consistent parental involvement and engaging content that is reflective of a student's interests is a step in the right direction. Mind you I know many educators that have been fighting the good fight to support these ideas for quite sometime. Along with them I stay committed to using this approach to improving my students formal education experience.

A Queen Waves And Touches Pearls

I so enjoy Leslie Jordan (aka Beverly Leslie from Will & Grace). This queen is a scene stealer and has a very interesting story to tell.

Michael Musto interviewed Lesile, and I enjoyed every line of text.

She is quick witted, had her shares of trials and tribulations, while keeping the lovely sex worker boys in business through her philanthropy. Click here for the kiki of it all.

Just A Thought

Isn't it awesome to have an appreciation for life's lessons learned? It especially rocks when you see how using wisdom enables you to truly shine and love the skin you are in.

Now, I need to summon this good feeling into motivation to get this house in order. It's a mess up in here!

Gandhi's Seven Deadly Sins

Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi, one of the most influential figures in modern social and political activism, considered these traits to be the most spiritually perilous to humanity.

- Wealth without Work
- Pleasure without Conscience
- Science without Humanity
- Knowledge without Character
- Politics without Principle
- Commerce without Morality
- Worship without Sacrifice

Source: Gandhi's Seven Deadly Sins

Forty-Deuce

I turned 42 today! I was rather low-key about this milestone. My 40th birthday was more of a celebration. I'll save the next extravaganza when I embark on my 45th year on this earth. As I reflect on moving further into mid-life, here are some thoughts:

- I actually truly feel cute! I made peace with my lips, my tits, my body and my hips. I am grateful to accept myself in a way that allows me to navigate, with self-love, the moments of feeling the ups and downs of seeing yourself.

- I am extremely grateful that I have developed a relationships with my nearest and dearest where I brave being honest about myself . I show them the madness and they have returned love with no judgement. In this honesty we have found many moments when we say to each other "you too!"

- I'm still excited about experiencing that loving someone allows learning from seeing that person raw and real and smiling about the gift you are given. The gift of seeing realness gives me a connection to that person, and the ability to understand my own life-journey.

The Ying and Yang of Teaching: 1

For the past several weeks, I've been working at a new high school. It's a very different environment from the high school I've been at during the past four years. This school is very small, and has a rather relaxed attitude towards managing the student body.

What remains the same is that I still get immediately invested in seeing my students do well. There is also a wide-range of academic ability and interest among the students.

There are four students that I absolutely enjoy working with, because they are in a headspace that makes them available for learning.

Today, I had to spend the entire school day with one student that has written off the whole learning thing. In fact, when we first met in January, and I brought class assignments, he looked at me with a smirk and said, "Didn't they tell you that I don't do work?" To which I said, "Oh really, well that's not going to work with me."

He has been fighting me all along, and it's been a struggle. Today, while he was confined to one room, due to an in-school suspension, I made that boy work. He showed a level of ability and potential. I acknowledged this to him and encouraged him to keep trying to get back into his studies.

The fantasy in my head is that our day together will become a turning point for him. Then, I snapped myself out of Oprah mode, and realized I need to be ready to see him roaming the hallways and cutting class on Monday.

What I do know for sure, is that when I see him I will urge him to go to class, and I will always have a stack of class assignments ready to engage his mind. I will not be another adult that threw their hands up in surrender when it came to him.

A Snow Day with Millie

Okay, so I am going to reveal, yet once again, my inner-nerd. I was fortunate to have yet another Snow Day. So I took care of some minor plumbing issues with the help of a handy-dandy man, ordered Chinese food, and getting ready to watch one of my favorite films on TCM.

Believe it or not folks, I really get a kick out of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Here is why:

-It's silly
-Has classic songs such as Baby Face
-I love Carol Channing as Muzzy. Raaaspberry!
-An elevator that you have to dance in so it can move.

It's not a pc film, the plot involves Asians selling white women into slavery. I am also aware of the fact there is corn all over the place. However, it makes this bitch happy. Damn! Too bad I didn't get some Tapioca pudding to finish my dinner

A Girl Interrupted

Muchisimas gracias to Senor GoGo for turning me onto this. I wonder how other plays by Shake-A-Spear would have turned out, if a fab queen turned out the main characters, and halted the impending drama.

NY Fashion Not Weak

Bravo to the American designers that showed during the NYC Fashion Week. I was really impressed with what came down the runway. Good people, I know the price tag on these clothes are out of many of our reaches. However, look to them for inspiration in terms of color, texture, cut and silhouette, when you go shopping.

Isaac Mizrahi impressed me. I was totally blown away by Marchesa (see image above). Click here for the full spectrum of fashion inspiration.

I also want to share my sadness regarding the death of Alexander McQueen. I love what he did for fashion. I also appreciated he was a child of a working-class family that did the work, put in his time on Saville Row, and created fashion that was truly inspired. I hope his spirit finds peace on the other side.

Let It Snow

The image above is from in front of the house. I walked out into a dreamy world covered in snow. I loved it. Gino bounced about and I snapped this pic from my cell phone.

I've been watching the Winter Olympics. I remain forever amazed at what these athletes can do. To fly down a mountain side at tremendous speed, or glide across the ice with grace and elegance, this is truly amazing.

Snow Day

I had a snow day from work today. Which means I got to chillout and do my own thing. I'm sure my students were busy texting all day without having me reprimand them. Everybody is happy.

I went to the gym, which was a good thing, the days started out rocky.

I was inspired by Todd to share some of my own random thoughts:

- My cat Geronimo has been working my last nerve. He is giving me another aerobic workout with my doorman duties.

- Gino had a blast bouncing around in the snow. I love that dog. He makes me smile just when I need it.

- The locker room at the gym was such a turn on today. What a wonderful display of the human body and it's many variations. The hottest was a 50-something daddy. Woof!

- I realize I do a lot of positive visualizations and it make my aspirations come my way. Mind you, I also do the work needed to make these goals happen.

- I'm way overdue for a visit to my friend that is battling breast cancer. I just gave myself an eye-roll and sucked my teeth. Amdends will be made asap. I adore her.

Couture Junkie Got A Fix

So, the 2010 Paris couture shows have spread their magic into the atmosphere. I was really impressed with Gaultier. My baby's daddy Galliano left me feeling a bit frustrated. He didn't bring the heat. I felt as if I had been texting him to bring me some money to buy diapers, and he was not responding.

Click here for the fabness.

A Book That Changed Me ~ 1

When I heard today about J.D. Salinger passing away, I recalled how his classic book The Catcher in the Rye, changed me as a person. So I decided from time to time I'll share how a book made me think differently about the world.

The character of Holden was so tortured. I saw myself in him when I met him at the age of 13. I also hated phonies and felt I was surrounded by them.

This moment in the story turned on the lightbulb in my head and made me realize certain realities about life:

“Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.”
“Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.”
Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game.

Thank you J.D. Rest in peace.