Studying society via substitute teaching

I've learned many things since I began substitute teaching in August. For one thing, I've come to a 95% positive impression that primary and secondary teaching is NOT the profession for me. Administrations seem to not back up teachers enough, students have too much attitude and drama for me to handle (regardless of the age), and the few schools where I do enjoy subbing are really competitive for teachers to get into. But I'm glad I've learned that now instead of five years from now.

Overall though, substituting is not bad. While it's not my dream job, it does provide an interesting forum to study human behavior and society.Here are a few little nuggets I've gleaned from my experiences.

Often times the one saying, "You need to calm down" or "You're getting too worked up over this" or something similar is usually the one most worked up and yelling.

Students will repeat whatever views they hear at home, particularly those related to politics. Because my last name is Bush, whenever I introduce myself politics is inevitably brought up with students in middle and high school. One day the students pieced together that I was not a Republican and one of the black kids in the class cheered, "Yay! She's a Democrat! That means she likes black people!" While I did laugh I also reminded him that Republicans also like black people. On the flip side, when kids say that all Democrats are stupid and lazy I usually ask them not to hold me as the poster child for the Democratic party; to which they usually sit with a confused/stunned look on their face.

I have also learned that kid are not afraid to ask any question that pops into their heads. I've been asked all kinds of questions such as, "Are you pregnant?" , "Are you married to Reggie Bush" (a daily question), "Are you the new kid in the class?" "Do you hate me?" There have been other ones, but those are the ones that stick out the most.

Finally, my theory has been proven correct; people are getting crazier with the names they give their kids. Here are a few of the gems I've come across:

Missunique

Ya'trick

D'Lish

Martini

Nemesis

Aquanetta

Awesome

Blaise (pronounced Blaze)

Satchel

Fang

Legend

Jonafa

Fragrance

Princess

Aviary

Reminisce

Heifer

Until next time, keep on keeping on and please keep an ear out for crazy names. Remembering them will always bring a smile to your face.

Back to School, Back to School....

I know if you're reading this it means you've been waiting with bated breath for the latest installment on my blog. Therefore I will give you what you've been waiting for.

For those who don't know I signed up to be a substitute teacher this year on the east bank of the Jefferson Parish School System. So far I've had two assignments, both as a sub for PE coaches in elementary schools. I would just like to say I didn't specifically request to sub for PE or to work in elementary schools, but I figured if I wanted to get more assignments it would be best to sign up for every school and well, you never know what a PE coach does until you get there, so I just figured I would take whatever came my way.

My first assignment was at the alternative(problem kids) school for the parish. It was kind of sad to see kids as young as in 1st grade there, but alas they were there. Most of the kids were very well behaved and actually very sweet kids. I generally tried to play whatever game they were playing, but seeing as I was in a skirt and flats some games I just wasn't properly attired for. What made me saddest though was one particular class' teacher assistant. Every class has an assistant that goes with them to every class and for the most part the assistants were very friendly and approachable. But the TA for this class was quite rude to me (yelling at me for having kids near the office door) and treated the children like criminals. In defense of myself the reason I had them by the office door was because the gym was as hot as a sauna and the water fountain's water was lukewarm at best whereas the office I was in (which was really just a desk and chair) has two a/c units in it making it almost uncomfortably chilly. So, when kids got overheated I let them stand/sit in the doorway to cool down. But I'm now fully converted to the idea that if you treat a child like a criminal he would act like one. Later on that day one of the kids from that class was brought in to the principal's office while I was there for trying to start a fight. I realize a certain level of discipline needs to be in every class, but yelling at the kids for no warranted reason is only adding to their motivation to act out, whether for good or bad.

The next day I was assigned to an elementary school near my home and worked along side two other PE coaches. Justin made my day by slipping a note into my bag with a quote from School of Rock (one of our favorite movies) saying, "Those who can't do, teach. And those who can't teach, teach PE." Lo and behold, I was provided with two examples of the second part of that phrase for that second assignment. It comes as a surprise to no one that Math and PE were tied for m least favorite subjects in school and those teachers reminded me why. Whenever a kid came to say they were thirsty, hurt themselves or something the lady would say, "suck it up, it's not that bad" (to 2nd and 3rd graders) and the punishment for acting up in class was to pick up all the rocks in the playground and put it into a bucket (according to the male coach). I mean, they really weren't bad teachers, but it just reminded me of how gruff PE coaches were in comparison to the English and Social Studies teachers I loved as a kid. I have to say the funniest thing about the day though was the male coach with unusual punishments. If he wasn't explaining a game he would stand behind/beside the female coach and stretch. He would stretch his arms, his legs, I'm pretty sure he was trying to stretch his butt muscles at one point because some of the stretches he did were so unusual. It only got better when the band teacher came to speak to the 3rd-5th graders and was playing a flute when this coach, while stretching, asked if the band teacher could play some Jethro Tull. I had to laugh because then they got off topic and were telling the kids about Jethro Tull, but this male coach seriously made me laugh.

I do commend anyone who goes into teaching. I don't mean to criticize them because I realize their jobs are somewhat similar to mothers in that they often go unthanked and under appreciated. But I couldn't help but almost take these two experiences and use them as learning tools/social science research regarding interaction between adults and children. I really didn't see it as a job because it was a lot of fun to work with these little kids and do stretches with them and play soccer with them.

Politics and Family

Recently an acquaintance of mine posted a link to an article written by a girl who attended a Tea Party rally with her father. In it she discussed how despite the fact that her father is a Libertarian she is a liberal and that the experience was very eye-opening for her. While I can’t say I see completely where both sides are coming from (and honestly, who would be dumb enough to wear a t-shirt saying “Don’t hate me because I’m a liberal” to a Tea Party rally??), it was interesting to read things in her article that kind of resonated with me.
For those of you who do not know, I am a registered Democrat. While I can’t say I agree completely with the Democratic Party, it is the party I agree with the most when it comes to different issues today. For those who do not know my father, he is a registered Republican. Given our somewhat tenacious attitudes and tempers, this issue has come up once or twice. I specifically remember an evening in the Fall of 2008 when over dinner my dad and I got into a relatively heated argument over the presidential elections. Finally after my mom and cousin sat in awkward silence for a bit (I think a bit appalled by the situation) my mom finally raised her voice to put an end to the confrontation. She told us to both be quiet, stated her reasons for why she would vote the way she would, and then told us not to talk about politics again. It wasn’t the first time my political views have been brought up by family and friends, but it was definitely the most heated situation. I’m embarrassed to say things got so heated. I guess my frustration got the best of me.
The majority of Mormons in the United States tend to vote Republican (while many Mormons outside of the States, interestingly enough, would be considered socialist by American standards)and being from the South, there are A LOT of Republicans. In my family’s close circle of friends, they’re all Republican. I think the first people I ever met who were both Mormon and Democrats were my sister-in-law’s parents. So needless to say when I came out of the closet as a Democrat, people were a bit miffed. I don’t blame them. It’s understandable. But I didn’t really appreciate the treatment I received like, “How can you be Mormon and a Democrat?” “You’re just young, naïve and impressionable” “You’re too dumb to think something other than what the liberal media tells you” “You obviously haven’t read anything about history or politics to know otherwise” (and yes, I have heard the last two). While I had my own decent answers to all of those questions and more I just felt frustrated that I felt my answers were getting brushed aside or not really listened to. But whatever; I guess that Fall evening I had just gotten tired of the Winston Churchill quote about being a liberal when one’s young because you have a heart and being conservative when you get older because you have a brain.
But the aforementioned article did make me think about the role politics play in my family relationships, specifically with my dad. My father is an extremely intelligent man. I’m not saying you have to get a degree (bachelor, masters or otherwise) to be well-read on something, but it usually doesn’t hurt (having to read numerous articles, books, etc on a certain topic tends to help you get a better knowledge of it than, say, someone who gets their information regurgitated to them via the news channel with their various slants and biases). Despite the fact that my dad didn’t go to college, I find he is probably the most well-read individual I know. It’s not uncommon for people to ask his opinion on different issues because of his breadth of knowledge and growing up I loved how our dinner table conversations often included a brief history lesson of some sort (I blame those on my decision of major) because the man voraciously read (again; I think it’s genetic) about all sorts of things. So what went wrong with me that I chose to go down the other path politically?
I won’t say I’m the most well-read person I know, but I am my father’s daughter. My love of reading anything and everything has fed me continually. I pride myself at looking at both sides of an issue and then doing what my individual conscience tells me I should do and how I should vote. Am I saying everyone should vote the way that I vote because my conscience told me to vote that way? No. One of my favorite principles taught by the Church is that of personal revelation. What may be right for one person may not be right for another. And, as stated in an editorial by the Church’s official Public Affairs director (no, not Glenn Beck) Michael Otterson, political choices are not purely theological, but really are based more on your personal experiences and how you interpret the world around you.
My father grew up in communist Cuba. I grew up in the lively and eccentric city of New Orleans. My father had to sneak away in the night, leaving his parents and other family members behind to escape to the United States. I grew up in a house where gospel principles, patriotism and the ability to think for oneself were highly valued and encouraged. My father had to provide for himself from the time he came to the States and has worked every day since to make life comfortable for my mom, brothers and I. I was fortunate enough to go to a great university and study the subjects I wanted. My father was taught the gospel by sister missionaries after looking elsewhere for religion. I was a sister missionary in Belgium, partly because of the gratitude I had for those sister missionaries and the hope that I could find someone as amazing as my father to share the gospel with. As you can tell our lives have obviously been a bit different. Because of our different experiences and even the different books we’ve read on the same topics, we know different things and have interpreted said things differently. Because of our different lives we vote differently. But the fact remains the same that I am a product of him. I am his daughter.
I do not want political differences to divide my dad and me; my love for him and the hope that my family ties will last long after everything is said and done push me to want to avoid political talk with family members. So we don’t see eye to eye on every minute thing. Variety is the spice of life. Besides, in my opinion, when I am judged on how I lived my life, I think that how I loved and respected my family and those around me will be held in great balance than how I fought for my political ideals.

Healthy Life part 1: A Weighty Issue

Recently I've been thinking a lot about health. Not just physical health (although it is a big chunk of what I think about) but also mental, emotional and spiritual. I've kind of been wondering what other people have thought on these issues, so I figure, why not put it on the blog and see if others have thoughts or comments? If you don't mind I've kind of split things up so it's not one super long boring post, but multiple, shorter, less interesting posts.

Being asked to be in a wedding party is great. The bride having to buy you the largest size the store offers and still having it not fit you, not so great. I mean, I knew I wasn't in an ideal form (when have I ever been) but having 8+ inches of it face you like that is only so much fun. The dress was the final kick in the over sized gut to get me to take some action and consider things on a deeper level.

For the majority of my life I've been overweight. I can't say I've ever been one of those people who tries to fade into the surroundings because of my weight, but I've also never been one of those people who is proud to be out of shape; that just seems so strange. At the same time I've never cared enough to try and take permanent action. I was comfortable the way I was. While sure it did kind of suck having to be the funny, smart, quick-tongued and/or dateless one in my group of friends, I didn't have to push myself to exercise or worry about what I ate. In addition, I finally got married and because I have such a wonderful husband who tells me I look good when I've been sick in bed for three days and haven't showered since I got into said bed (yeah, TMI, sorry) I figured. "Well, why worry?"
To give some reason behind my lack of desire to make drastic changes.. I've never been one of those people who drinks soft drinks a lot or ate white bread or despised fruits and vegetables. To the contrary, my mother has said numerous times she was lucky to have kids who never argued about eating vegetables (unless is was my brother and Lima beans). I prefer wheat bread to white bread, and despite my love affair with red meat, I eat pretty healthy stuff. Too much of it in certain circumstances, but I ate pretty well. But then a few things began to run through my head.

1) Chances are if you're reading this blog you know my family pretty well so it comes as no surprise that in January of 2009 my mom had a triple bypass. I never knew my mom had heart problems, much less problems that serious, so it came as quite the shock. My mom eats the same way I do! We exercise about the same amount! And while neither of us could be considered "tall and statuesque" (despite our running jokes of being so) our profiles didn't mimic beach balls either. How could something so serious happen to my mom who in my mind wasn't in bad shape?

2) In the past year it seems like every few weeks I find out another friend/family member/random person from the mission, ward or school is pregnant. While I know Justin and I don't plan on having kids in the very near future, the goal is there eventually. However, it turns out, I have some female issues and need to take medicine so that eventually I can have kids. I'm not throwing myself a pity party. In fact, I'm kicking myself because it turns out that being overweight exacerbates this condition. Adding to this, a girl I knew in high school has been putting up the typical "pregnancy profile" pictures on Facebook and I thought, "If she wasn't holding her stomach like a pregnant woman I would have never guessed she was pregnant.." Sad thing is she was 8 months along in the picture! I really don't want to be like that! When I'm pregnant, I want people to be able to tell I'm pregnant!
With thoughts of heart disease and pregnancy looming over my mind I decided to actually try making a new year's resolution (I've honestly never tried to make one). And, as luck would have it, my office also decided to start a "Biggest Loser" challenge around the middle of January.
Growing up I cannot count how many weight loss/health books I saw around the house. While I never actually read any of them, I remember my mom suggesting one to me not too long ago. It was called You: On A Diet. I went to Wal-Mart and thought I'd pick it up to see if it said anything interesting. All I can say is "WOW". This book has really changed my vision of things.

The book goes into detail of how hormones in your brain effect your appetite, what exactly happens with fat stored in your body and other interesting things. For instance, did you know that sugar also effects your veins? Maybe I'm the last one to hear it, but I found what they said quite interesting. In addition it pushed me to straighten up on my eating and exercise habits and sign up at a gym (I've never been one to exercise at home; for some reason I need the structure of a gym).

I'm proud to say that I'm the only person who has lost consecutively at work, totalling almost 10 lbs. I realize this isn't a huge amount, but it's a start. I've also become a regular at my gym by making sure I don't skip two days consecutively (I take off Sunday and normally a day during the week). It's worked out pretty well so far. The goal though isn't so much about losing a lot of weight as much as it's about not having health problems; being thinner is only an added bonus. So bring it on, bridesmaid dress!

How about you? Have you made a conscious effort to lose weight? What helped you stay motivated?