Posted on March 2, 2020 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

One of my many walking buddies

 

“Here’s a little song I wrote,
You might want to sing it note for note,
Don’t worry, be happy.”
Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Bobby McFerrin

Some days, it’s hard to put on a smiley face. Family problems, hassles at work, or illness can easily put a person in a funk. Some people have a knack for exuding a cheerful disposition regardless of how bad things are going while there are others can turn a sunny day into a dark one with a shitty attitude.

Worry can be insidious. It’s normal to worry. Worrying all the time can be detrimental to a person’s well-being.

I’m quite lucky. I’m not a worrier by nature. The last four months have provided a stern test for my worry meter. Returning to teaching after 40 years has been demanding to say the least. It might turn out to be one the craziest things I’ve ever done and possibly one of the most rewarding, a classic case of the risk/reward continuum.

Hiking seems to be the latest craze of the Baby Boomers. You know what it’s like to climb a mountain. It can be very strenuous but when you finally reach the pinnacle and take in a panoramic view, you realize it was all worth the effort. Then you get to go downhill which is the good part, unless you have gimpy knees.

I am extremely reluctant to say that I have crested the mountain up here in the arctic. It could be the lengthening days (and 2 straight weeks of sun filled days) that have improved my mood or the fact that I’m finally more comfortable in the classroom but for whatever reason, I feel a bit lighter. My belt buckle would argue.

Early last week, I met with one of the youngest teachers in the school. As mentioned in an earlier post, she has “it” whatever “it” is. In my estimation, she is a superstar teacher. She is wise beyond her years. I met with her to discuss classroom management issues. She gave me lots of great tips. She saved her best for the last. It wasn’t a classroom management tip at all. It was more of a pep talk. She assured me that I was making a difference in the lives of my students. She suggested that at the end of each day, I write down three positive things that happened. Even on our worst days, most of us can find a few positives. Try it. I think that the conscious act of writing down positive things might help lift more people out of their malaise.

Don’t worry. Be happy.

As part of teaching English as a second language to Inuit children I use music. This past week, I dug out three old tunes and added them to my students’ song books which I’m compiling for them: Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, “Let it Be” by the Beatles, and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin. They seem to like these, especially the refrains which they’ve mastered. They snap their fingers and whistle along with Bobby McFerrin.

The very first song that I taught them last November was John Denver’s “Country Roads”. They never seem to get tired of singing this and most of them have aced the words without even using their songbooks.

It’s March and I can see spring in the distance.

There’s a spring in my step.

March break is coming up… in April! I’ll explain this seemingly contradictory statement in a later post.

Have a great week.

P.S. On the count of three, I want everyone to whistle the refrain from “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. Please send me you best feel good song.

Posted on February 27, 2020 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

Learning new lessons every day

 

“The best laid schemes of mice and men go oft awry.”
To a Mouse. Robert Burns

I would respectfully like to add children to that short list.

Speaking of creatures, I am a creature of habit. I am a big fan of order, structure, and routine. At least I used to be. After a few days of teaching up north, I packed these notions away along with my summer clothing.

This is not to suggest that order does not exist at my current place of work. It’s just defined differently.

When I look back, my working life has been spent almost entirely in meetings. My jobs all involved meetings. Ditto for my years as a town councilor, school board member and the countless non-profit Boards that I sat on. I won’t count the thousands of hours at various choir practices, masses and funerals. All of these things had a defined start and finish time. Some weddings didn’t start on time but I found funerals pretty reliable.

My school runs by a schedule but within these boundaries, each teacher must figure out the internal rhythm of their class depending on class size and composition. As the newest (and oldest!) teacher in the school, I did a lot of observing trying to find the right balance between compassion and strictness. I figured that the compassionate route suited my status as an elder but lately I realized that it was time to tighten the reins a wee bit. After a lot of trial and error (more errors than trials) I decided that a new set of rules need to be implemented.

I met with a young teacher in the school. She is one of those people who have “it”, that elusive quality that makes some people especially suited to their craft. I asked her for suggestions on classroom management. The topics were cereal, water and bathroom breaks.

Armed with fresh strategies and renewed vigor, I addressed the class, clearly articulating the new rules. I was firm but fair. One of these new rules was about trips to the washroom. These have become almost as common as trips to Costco at Christmas time. Now, if this was a class full of senior citizens, I might buy the notion of frequent pit stops to the can. If a septuagenarian put up his hand and asked, “Can I go to the bathroom?”, I might be inclined to answer, “Depends.”

I told my young charges that there would be no bathroom breaks while I was teaching. The instructional parts of my class typically last 20-25 minutes. I went so far as to suggest that I wouldn’t entertain a request let alone grant one during this short window of time.

I started teaching my lesson.

The oxygen had barely been expelled from my lungs when one of my bathroom “regulars” put up her hand. “Can I go to the bathroom?’ I was slightly dumbfounded with the timing of the request. The request was quickly denied. I didn’t even have to utter the word “no”, such was the scowl on my face.

I turned to face the Smart Board to continue teaching when I heard this deafening bang which almost caused me to wet my trousers. The student hadn’t taken kindly to my rejection and unceremoniously tipped over her desk, including a fresh bowl of cereal, a bottle of water, and the contents of the desk.

My capable and ever reliable classroom aide was able to take the student to the office.

As I was leaving the school, I was stopped in the hallway by the teacher who had given me the sage advice earlier in the day. “Well Len, how did the new rules work out this afternoon?”

I just grinned and slipped quietly out of the school.

As Staples would say, “That was easy”!

Have a great weekend.

P.S Please put your hand up if you need to go to the bathroom.

Posted on February 24, 2020 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

Fawlty Showers?

 

“Cleanliness is next to godliness.”

Quote attributed to the ancient Hebrews and Babylonians.

Shower versus bath? It is the question for the ages, right up there with the toilet paper roll. Should it be facing up or down?

I obviously have a fair bit of time on my hands when I can ponder such weighty matters. Maybe this is what isolation does to someone from “the south”.

Last week, I moved into my new apartment. Well, it’s new to me but by the looks of it, it may have been constructed around the time I was born. You’re right. I was supposed to move into the brand new fourplex built by the School Board, but I ended up in one of their other buildings. You have far better things to do with your life than hear about the machinations that led to my change of address.
I am not unhappy with the move.

Someone who walked through the apartment at the time of the move said that it needed some love. I was thinking that a Caterpillar D8 dozer, a lightning strike or a tsunami sweeping up Wakem Bay might be more appropriate. The apartment is dated but so am I so we’re a perfect fit. The floors need to be levelled and replaced. (The D8?) So do the windows and many appliances. But there is one gem – the bathroom. It is fairly modern. This is a relative term.

When I think of the great joys in life, I imagine a fantastic meal, a good night’s sleep, true love, or a Wheel Pizza. I’ll add one more to the list: a hot shower with good water pressure. One would think with evolution and natural selection that we would have perfected this creature comfort but “we haven’t come a long way, baby”, as finding a great shower can be elusive.

Hotels are notorious for faulty showers. Hey, maybe I’ll approach the BBC and start a new comedy series with this catchy title. Not that I frequent fancy hotels very often unless there is no choice, but keyless entries, remote controls, and mysterious shower fixtures keep staff busy running back and forth to my room.

I also found some interesting configurations during my time in India. I could eventually get them to work but was never certain on any given day whether I would be taking a hot shower or a cold one.

During my walk across Spain, I encountered some of the tiniest shower facilities on the planet. I have come to realize that the Conquistadors did not come to the New World seeking gold but rather bigger showers.

Forty years ago, I had my first knee operation. Back then they immobilized you, keeping you in a cast for 3-6 months. Taking a shower was a tricky endeavor, wrapping the leg and cast in green garbage bags. After a month of sponge baths, having a shower was pure ecstasy. I also remember clearly my first shower after having the cast removed. My leg looked like a toothpick on the Scarsdale diet!

So many shower heads just don’t work well. Add to this, shitty water pressure and you get an intermittent stream of water that couldn’t satify a squirrel.

My “new” old apartment has an awesome shower. I don’t care if they renovate my place (which they are threatening to do) and install crystal chandeliers along with a Dolby sound system playing Charley Pride. I will give them strict instructions to keep their hands off the shower.

Some of the new shower heads are bigger than the one sitting on my shoulders… and just as inefficient.

A great shower washes away one’s worries, cures aches and pains, soothes the spirit, and provides inspiration for writing stories and songs.

It also improves a person’s attitude and makes them smell better!

Before you shower your friends with praise, have a hot shower first.

Have a great week.

P.S. Don’t forget. It’s a leap year. This Saturday is February 29th. I have pledged not to drink any red wine on February 30th or 31st!