Friday, October 20, 2006

music help needed?

In a random turn of linkage, I stumbled across this site. Somewhat of a Michael Buble fan, I kept the site up through "Feelin' Good" on their music player, and afterwards came "Swinging Piano Bar." I really liked this song, but I can't find who sings it anywhere on the site.

Some internet investigation tells me "Piano Bar" might be the original song, but I'm not really a fan of the version of that I can find (Peter Sterling Radcliffe). So, I doubt this will turn up any answer... but if anyone happens to know who plays "Swinging Piano Bar" or has an idea where I can find out, that would be fantastic. :)

*edit* I found an mp3 download of this here, but I don't know if it's worth trusting this random site, or if it's even the same song. :-\ rawr.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

intermission

I've been a Green Bay Packers fan since I have understood the game of football. My family is full of Packers fans, since my mom and her siblings were raised in Wisconsin. I wouldn't consider us extreme fans- I've known a few far worse- but we do have cheeseheads, jerseys, wall hangings, special edition quarters, pillows, bedsheets, hats, clothes, even a bobblehead in our collection. I'm very proud to be a Packers fan, despite the fact that they haven't been doing so well this year.

My roommate recently saw me curled up in my Packers blanket and joked that I should trade it in for a Colts blanket. I kind of chuckled and casually mentioned that I wasn't going to be a fair-weather fan... and while I said this nicely to her, in my mind, I was much more adamant.

Don't get me wrong; I like the Colts. I've lived in Indiana all my life, and I have always cheered for the Colts and hoped they play well. Except against the Packers, that is.

But some people seem to expect me to suddenly change, now that the Packers aren't doing well and the Colts are doing extremely well. I don't get it-- I wouldn't be able to consider myself a true fan if I didn't like the Packers no matter what. I've seen them win a Super Bowl, and I could see them go a season without winning a game and still be a fan. Part of what I love about the Packers is that they have an extremely devoted fanbase. Year in, year out, winning, losing; cheeseheads support their team. Every Packers home game since 1960 has been sold out. The current wait for season tickets is 35 years.

Meanwhile, Colts 'fans' have miraculously doubled in the past couple of years. It's great if they've truly gotten some new fans to follow the team, but I wonder how many of them will disappear back into the woodwork the moment Manning retires.

It drives me crazy. I definitely see myself as a true Packers fan. I'm certainly not the most dedicated fan out there, but I definitely keep track of the season and almost always watch them whenever I can (oh, how I wish I lived in Wisconsin sometimes!). I receive email updates and discuss the team with members of a LiveJournal community. I regularly refer to the team as "we" or "us." I'm not afraid to scowl at or argue with Bears fans, friend or not. I've been to Green Bay once, and would love to go back for a game on the frozen tundra to see some fantastic football, a Lambeau Leap, the crazy fans, and the retired numbers and memorabilia of some of the Pack's greats.

I'm thrilled to see new people become fans of a team, no matter when it is. Really. It's just tough for me to see so-called fans jump on a bandwagon, Colts of otherwise, and then jump ship as soon as the team isn't doing so well. It may be more fun to cheer on a winning team, but if you truly have an "intense, overwhelming like" for a team, it doesn't depend on their record.

That all said... go Packers! Here's to turning around the season, learning to finish out a game, and tackling in the secondary!

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

creepies!

In case I haven't mentioned it in this blog before, I'm an elementary education major and as part of my classes, I spend a couple of hours a week in an actual classroom to gain real experience. I think it's fantastic- there's nothing like actually being there, and it's great that I'm going to have at least 4 opportunities to see different working classrooms before I'm leading one.

That said, sometimes I see or hear something about a student that makes me sad. There is a student in my class now who apparently was moved by his family to the school he's in now because his previous school had diagnosed him with 'autistic tendencies' and wanted to give him special services. I'm not sure if they had him in a special classroom or still the general education classroom, but his family decided that they didn't want him to be classified like that and moved him to another school.

I can understand that families are afraid of the stigma that comes with a diagnosis of a learning or emotional disability, and they're often worried that teachers or other students will treat their child differently. I'm sure it's hard, because every family is naturally going to be somewhat defensive when it comes to their child.

I have a really hard time understanding how families can deny the opportunity to test their child or let their child receive special services to help them, though. I think an involved parent can be very involved in the making of the IEP (Individualized Education Program) and making sure that it's fair for the child and also keeps the child in the LRE (Least Restrictive Environment). The law requires this anyway, but a parent who's concerned can be very active in the process and can choose not to sign the IEP if he or she doesn't agree. It's not like the school or teacher is going to make all of the decisions concerning the student's treatment.

It just makes me sad for students that could receive therapy or academic help of some kind and don't. Especially nowadays, most children with some kind of disability spend most, if not all, of their time in the general education classroom, alongside children with no diagnosed disability. Sometimes the special treatment for these kids will include working with them to understand what they have difficulties with and how they can combat them. It's something the student is going to be living and working with all of their life, so it makes sense to me that we should help the child (especially if he or she only has mild disabilities) learn strategies to help themselves succeed so that they eventually don't need any extra help at all.

It's a difficult position, because parents are naturally going to be defensive when it comes to their kids. But parents should realize that most teachers also want what's best for their kids, and teachers have the added perspective of seeing many other children at that same age level. A teacher in a third-grade classroom knows, probably better than most anyone else, what a "typical" third-grader looks like, and so it's probably easier for the teacher to see differences between children than the parents, who most likely have had less experience with third-graders. It's not to say the parents are wrong... I just think that in some situations, the parents are misguided, and what they think is best for the child isn't necessarily right.