I have not written a single blog during this school year. Sure, I put a decent one out over the summer break, but once school started, the words never seemed to come. Not that the words and thoughts have not been there! Trust me, I have had much to ponder as I stand at one of those proverbial crossroads in life.
Joie Heien said during one of our class discussions (while still on hybrid) something along these lines, "MT, I bet you are someone who knows when it is time to let go and walk away." I cannot even remember what the conversation was about that day, but those words struck a chord. The reality is I am not always the best at knowing when it is time to let go. I hate change. I hate goodbyes. I hate "the last" of anything. So, ever since I ripped that bandaid off and fully committed to taking the "25 and out" reduced retirement package through the PSRS that I had been pondering for most of the school year, I have been on a roller coaster of highs and lows.
The moment we previewed the last BJJTV of this school year was one of the hardest. It hit me out of nowhere that this is the last show I will ever help kids produce. I think I hid the waterworks successfully from everyone except Molly Bauer who came up to ask me a question. That's the thing about a dam holding back tears, once my mouth opens, it's like a floodgate is lifted to release the waterworks. I am sorry you saw me blubber, Molly, but I am thankful you were a calming person in that moment. Just a kind look and "I know..." meant so much to me.
As a goal-oriented person, early retirement feels like a failure. So, all the "congratulations" in the world are not smoothing out my internal conflict. My goal was to teach for 30 years, but life has had other plans. Family duties call and the gravitational pull of the family I have left (especially one spunky almost 90-year-old grandma) is intense. The desire to sit quietly with them or help them with their needs suddenly seems more exciting than helping kids find their passion. Just writing that feels strange. I love helping people find their passion, their calling, and their sense of adventure.
However, along the way, I think I have forgotten that perhaps my greatest adventure is packing a lunch for my daughter and listening to her ramble about her topic of the moment, which is currently some sort of reptile we supposedly need to add to our zoo. My adventures include discussing a book with my grandma, all the while trying to find good new-to-her books for her to read. I even find that listening to my Pop's latest and greatest tale about growing up in Miller County is an adventure. His stories often circle around family, especially his grandparents. Those summers spent with them on their farm were his greatest adventures. Perhaps he is on to something!
School has been all I have known for almost my whole life! Either as a student or a teacher, I have been at home inside these buildings filled with great experiences. I even have early memories of when Big Piney still had their K-8 schoolhouse. My young mom and I would walk there so she could volunteer, while I sat at a desk pretending to read or draw. I actually have one of those small desks that my Pop restored from that school building that helps connect me to my childhood, and much simpler times. So, even though school has been my life pretty much my whole life, right now I need to experience life outside of these walls.
My daughter can be quite profound. Recently when I was having one of my tear-filled moments of sadness over this goodbye to school, she said, "Just because it is comfortable, doesn't mean it is good for you anymore, mom."
I am thankful that 23 of the past 25 years spent as a teacher has been in this classroom at Washington High School. I have taught many students a multitude of subjects, but my constant has been Blue Jay Journal TV. The words for what this class and program have meant to me are abundant. There is not enough room to express them all here! However, do know that even though I never set out to be a Broadcast Journalism teacher, I feel blessed that the plans for me were bigger than the plans I ever had for myself.
Much love, but no goodbye. Instead, I will end it with a "See you Later!" ~ MT
As I write this, to my left I have an excellent view out my deck door. I see few leaves scattered on top of a fresh layer of snow. It is a lovely scene only enhanced by the scent of candles I just lit. This sounds pleasantly cozy because it actually is. While I have been guilty of complaining about winter, I am actually trying to turn my thought process around so I can embrace this season instead of wishing it away. Recently, I have been learning about hygge. If you’ve never heard of hygge before, it’s the Danish practice of coziness during the winter months. According to Denmark’s official tourism website, it’s “creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people.” The Danes actually embrace winter and look forward to it, which is something I am working on. I think one of the biggest reasons winter leaves a sour taste in my mouth is the lack of Vitamin D I get. I often arrive to the windowless room where I work just after the sun rises and am lucky to leave before the sun has set. I have decided this winter will be different because I am going to try these remedies: #1. Take Vitamin D supplements daily. #2. Eat more foods that are high in Vitamin D. Fish, mushrooms, and even some cereals are rich in Vitamin D. And, fish oil supplements are known to help, too! #3. Get more sun! I struggle with this during my work week. However, if it’s sunny during my lunch break, I will sit in another area somewhere near a window, or even go on a quick walk outside. Granted, I cannot necessarily absorb Vitamin D through glass, but I will feel a lot better if I am sitting near sunshine than in a room with no view. Beyond increasing my Vitamin D this winter, I have decided to embrace the hygge attitude! I have a list of “tasks” that I think fits this way of life. Perhaps they can help you, too. #1. Enjoy my kitchen! I will use this time as an opportunity to expand my skills in the kitchen with new recipes for soups, casseroles, and hot drinks. I avoid this type of activity in the summer for fear of “heating up the house.” Winter is the perfect time for this! #2. Read More. Rest More. Watch More. During the other seasons, I find myself busy running here and there. What a gift it is that during winter we are forced to slow down. Being snowed and iced in is the perfect chance to finish that book I have not had a spare moment to read. Feeling tired? Why not let myself take that nap or go to bed early? I also have several movies and TV shows I never seem to have the time to watch because of the hectic pace other seasons tend to have. Winter is the perfect time to savor these activities that some people may view as “unproductive.” #3. Walk. Hiking trails and walking trails rarely close for Winter. The landscape looks so different with vistas even more grand since the leafs no longer block the view. Winter is a great time to get out and move! Thankfully, I have many options near my home base in Union. It is my sincere hope that this blog post inspires you (and me!) to beat the Winter Blues and embrace this season. Missouri may not be Denmark, but we certainly can embrace the hygge spirit! Fashionista I am not, but I am thankful it's FINALLY sweater weather here in Missouri. Yes, I quoted Saturday Night Live's classic moment with Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler as two Bronx talk show hosts celebrating the arrival of temps that allow for ample sweater use! Confused? Click this LINK. Ok, back to the topic of fashion. Let's explore my style, or lack there of. It's not that I don't like clothing, it's just that I like comfort more than being "in" style or fashionable. Nothing beats an oversized, over worn, soft sweatshirt on a chilly evening. Not only does it feel great, but it's something that I can wear while I think back on fun times I've experienced while wrapped in its warmth. Beyond the sweatshirt, let's talk yoga - yoga pants that is! While bending and twisting myself in to various poses isn't my game, those pants sure are. I know anytime I pull on a pair that I am not fooling anyone. I am not jetting off to yoga class, I am more likely to be sitting on my couch or in a cozy camp chair by a fall fire pit under the stars. While my not-so-stylish ways may annoy some people, they are pretty friendly on my bank account. I tend to fall in love with a specific shirt or pair of pants and wear them down to the point my pop eventually uses them as his "shop rags" to apply wood stain or other manly woodworking activities that require a soft cloth. This is pretty good for my finances because the cost per wear is pretty amazing! (If you have never heard of cost per wear, click this LINK and educate yourself!) Additionally, my clothing habits are better for the environment. By dressing comfy in clothing I like and wearing those clothes until they are pretty worn out, I am not feeding the throwaway fashion culture that is filling our landfills and harming our environment. Yes, even fashion can be harmful to our planet! In fact, the WHS Environmental Club is going to be holding a "Clothing Swap" sometime during this fall semester in hopes to bring about awareness and put some "new to you" clothing into your closets instead of in dumpsters that eventually are dumped into our environment.
So, let's be honest here, maybe my lack of style and love of all things that are comfortable is a good thing after all, eh? Certainly something to ponder! Until you decide to read my BJJTV blog again, ~ MT
This conversation makes me a little nuts.
Person #1: "How are you?" Person #2: "Busy! You?" Person #1: "Same here!" What is that? That's not a conversation. No depth was reached and no real connection was made. We are living in a society that is so busy that we don't take time for deep conversations, or even proper amounts of sleep. Heck, half the time people aren't even focused on the tasks at hand that require full attention, such as driving a motor vehicle! When did we feel the need to have stores open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? When did we suddenly feel the need to have CONSTANT access to entertainment, news, and games? Maybe there isn't an EXACT DATE when this all happened, but I've watched this new lifestyle phase into popularity over the last 20 years and I've seen the damage it has done to people of all ages. The truth is that both rest and stillness lead people towards many amazing things. It helps us heal emotionally and physically. Quiet and still moments where we can savor life deepen relationships and strengthens our connection to a higher power. It brings about less anxiety and more peace. I don't know how we can rewind and go back to the time that sitting on the front porch listening to the wind in the trees (without an electronic device in hand) was a perfectly acceptable activity. However, I do believe it's time to take a step back and reconsider the glorification of "busy" before we all burn out from the lack of rest. Everyone is an expert. They will tweet about how to raise children. They will comment on your pet turtle's Instagram page about how to properly feed it. They will even post on Facebook about what's wrong with education these days. For the record, I want to say that just because someone on social media has a nice professional-looking profile photo and they use proper grammar in posts, that does NOT make them an expert. Case in point, this summer I read a tweet by someone who dabbles in education that teachers should NOT have kids memorize things they can just look up the answers to on Google. Really? I cannot believe this person said that. So, if I see someone driving down the highway Googling how to turn on their car's headights or how to use their brakes, I guess I can thank her. The next time I hire a photographer for my family photos, if they have to pause to Google how to use their camera settings, I'll really be patient and understanding because they must subscribe to that woman's school of thought. Better yet, the next time I get my back adjusted by Dr. Kim Jaquin, I'll feel great if she has to Google what the spine should look like. That will really bolster my faith in her skills! Yes, I am being sarcastic here (what's new?), but memorization matters. Is Google a great tool? Of course! How else would I know how to make some kickin' enchiladas or why turtles need a proper basking platform/light combo!? Yet, I will dare to say that Google is not going to replace the need to memorize important facts that will pertain to your career or even how to operate a vehicle. Blanket generalized statements like that on social media about education (and many other topics) really get under my skin, especially when I do a little background research on those who post them and see they have no real-world experience in that subject they are claiming to be an expert in. Do your homework kids, don't just accept posts as fact. And, last but not least, you will need to memorize some stuff in your life. It'll keep you employed and looking less like an idiot on the job site. Just sayin'. Ya can't always "Google" it.
I hate Virginia Creeper. To me, it's a nuisance. It literally will overtake a flower bed, consume a tree, and cover anything in its path. There's a batch of it that keeps coming back in my back yard. I have pulled it, dug it up (or so I thought), sprayed it, and I am pretty I sure did some sort of ceremonial dance begging for it to go away last week. It just keeps coming back.
The persistance of things we do not want in our lives can be quite frustrating. Sure, I could give up and let it overtake my back lawn, but I know the nature of Virginia Creeper and keep fighting the good fight to keep it at bay. Virginia Creeper reminds me of the acts I saw take place in my own country just a few short weeks ago. Sometimes, I get comfortable and think that hatred in our nation is at bay. Haven't we pulled hatred up by its roots, so no new growth can occur? Yes, there are times I am lulled into this false sense of security. I actually start to believe that we Americans have learned from the past and will not repeat those same sins. I have hope that our nation is not a broken record playing the same anger-filled chorus over and over. Then, I am lulled out of that state of mind by images of white supremacists marching with both Confederate and Nazi flags. The noxious weed of White Supremecy and hate is back in my metaphorical backyard. Do I give up? Not at all! I keep trying to pull it out by its roots and end new growth. Just like that darn Virginia Creeper, it will take over and consume anything in its path. Yet, myself and a whole lot of "someones" out there need to take a stand and say, "Not on our watch. Not in our America. Not in our backyard." It's time to rip out hatred in America and not let it sprout up again and again. This isn't about political parties or who you voted for. This is about doing the right thing and standing against those who would strip their fellow man of their basic rights. As my friend Forrest Gump said, "That's all I got to say about that." A recent poll by Gallup reports that 62 percent of Americans believe Journalists are biased in the arena of politics. The majority of those polled feel journalists favor Democrats in their reporting.
This isn’t a shocker. Poll after poll has similar results: Americans believe Journalists are biased and weave a web of fabricated tales. Where did we go wrong? Recently, I engaged in conversations with several individuals who remember Watergate. All expressed that the majority of the Americans they knew didn't feel the events surrounding Watergate were "fake news" and the "liberal media" was out to destroy President Nixon. Fast-forward to 2017 and the question I posed earlier: where did we go wrong? I walked away from these discussions with a common answer. With an abundance of news sources running 24/7, to fill time, commentators are included in the lineup. The lines between commentary and news have become blurred. Former politicians, lawyers, and other professionals are sitting in the chair formerly reserved for unbiased Journalists. They are providing political commentary in the same manner former pro football players analyze and provide insight during nationally televised games. It's safe to say that news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc. are pulling an ESPN by bringing in the color commentators. Unfortunately, the general public sees them as biased Journalists instead of the commentators they are. How do we, as educators, raise up a new generation of Americans who can tell the difference between commentary and news? I think the answer is as simple as taking the time to explain the difference between the two, then watch and read examples of both. Afterward, have a class discussion or a quick written assignment that gives students the opportunity to share what they have learned in the process. Just like the instructions on a shampoo bottle tell us we may have to repeat the process, the same applies to this. Teachers covering a variety of subjects from History to Journalism can implement this topic into their curriculum to help students know the difference between an unbiased Journalist and commentary. There are several resources that can help guide educators through this process: The Difference Between Reporting and Commentary: https://collegian.com/2013/02/the-difference-between-reporting-and-commentary/ Opinion Journalism vs Objective News Reporting: http://www.mediacompolicy.org/2013/08/15/opinion-journalism-vs-objective-news-reporting/ Quora: What is the difference between a Journalist and a Commentator: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-journalist-and-a-commentator Some Journalists Blur the Lines Between News and Opinion: http://www.toledoblade.com/MarilouJohanek/2013/10/19/Some-journalists-blur-the-line-between-news-opinion.html |
Ms. TurnerStarting year 25 as a Journalism educator. Photographer. Mom. Nature-Junkie. Super Fan of Missouri State Parks and Conservation Lands. As a wise BJJTV alumni says, "Treat People Like People." Archives
February 2022
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