Q & A 2017

Let's get right to it:

Would you be amenable to a Toga Taco Party?
It would depend on who was attending. But most likely not.

What is your favorite piece of classical music of all time?
Maybe not the most original answer, but I suspect it’d be Pachelbel’s Canon.

What are the 5 coolest nicknames you’ve ever invented?
Wow. Of all the nicknames over the years, that’s difficult. Two that stick out in my head are Walbert and Joefus. One of my favorites would have been a nickname a kid gave himself: Stinky Gary. The best part? His name was Kyle.

If chipmunks suddenly ruled the world, what would you do?
Invest in heavy books and tennis racquets, then join the resistance.

What’s your favorite soup?
My mother’s chicken and dumpling soup. 

What is your favorite thing to do?
This was tough, but I think my best answer is anything that pushes me into a flow state. I don’t know how many people are familiar with this; I tend to assume things I experience are fairly universal, but I had to change that assumption a year ago when I learned not everyone has their brain automatically begin narrating their thoughts and actions after they’ve been reading for a long time, while mine does. I first heard flow described as a state of being when what you are doing comes so naturally you don’t have to even think about it and somehow things just fall exactly into place. It happens for me sometimes when a lesson goes really well. It happens when I have a writing idea that takes off and I have to struggle to catch up. In my experience, it’s related heavily to creativity, but I’d have to think other people would experience a similar state in different ways. So the answer today: My favorite thing to do is to be in the flow state. That's when I feel like the best version of myself.

If you had to choose a career all over again not knowing the outcome, what would you choose?
This question did not preclude my choosing education again, or pursuing writing. Just in case I’m not supposed to get those choices, I think I would probably go after something to do with sociology. I find almost everything about that fascinating.

What is the best nickname you have given a student?
Best is impossible to choose after I have worked with well over one thousand students and don’t even remember all of them anymore. If I’m being honest, I suspect the best nickname would have been one that I’d never dare say to that student’s face.

If you decided to grow facial hair, what type would it be?
First: I’ve had facial hair for going on ten years, but I see where you’re going with this so I’ll play along.
Follow up: With that new facial hair, what would your nickname be?
Eduardo.

Why do you write?
Because I can’t not. Sooner or later I need the outlet. I need the purge. I need a way around and out of the introspective mind.

What’s your favorite scene from the entire Star Wars saga?
The last moment of The Empire Strikes Back, when Luke and Leia are watching Lando and Chewbacca fly the Millennium Falcon away from the Rebel ship. It was a great teaser of things to come, the pause of recovery and regrouping. Having said that, I was in ninth grade when Return of the Jedi came out, so I can’t deny that Princess Leia’s costume as Jabba the Hutt’s prisoner didn’t make an impression on me.

Why are there people starving when there is enough food produced in the world to sustain us all? 
The stock answer about geopolitical greed would cover it too easily, but this question reminded me of a quote from the book “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman. I remember it because I’ve always thought it perfectly captures why people try to maintain some distance when confronted with the problems of other people: "If we were not islands, we would be lost, drowned in each other's tragedies...we draw our lines around these moments of pain and remain upon our islands, and they cannot hurt us.” I think people are invested in protecting themselves and their immediate loved ones, and the idea of such massive starvation is too abstract of a concept for most to appreciate. Otherwise I’d suspect more would be done.

Why hasn’t 45 been impeached yet?
Because McConnell and Ryan are partisan hacks, and, as of today, he's not hurting their agenda. Yet.

Where do the missing socks go when you lose them in the dryer?
They either never make it into the wash or they end up getting mixed in with a different load. The biggest cover-up about the Missing Sock Theory is how those socks are always eventually found.

What do you think is the greatest humanitarian crisis issue at this time?
I would think any population not having access to clean water would count as a crisis.

What was your first reaction to hearing “Two Broke Girls” has been cancelled?
“Please God, let 'The Big Bang Theory' be next.”

Explain why you don’t start a music/concert review website and put your writing and music passions together.
(1) My favorite music is well outside of the mainstream. (2) Most of the posts I write about music here on Summer Vacation are largely ignored, which doesn’t provide a lot of motivation to take the idea further. (3) However, I’ve been inspired by conversations with one of my colleagues this year to begin an Album of the Week feature on this blog, starting in just a couple days. So there’s that.

What day are you getting your dog?
I’m still not sure I am. If I rolled out the good old Fifth Grade Probability Meter today, I’d put the chances on unlikely right now.

Why do the congressional republicans have their heads up their…….?
Like I said yesterday, I have to steer around certain language usage here in case a student, or one of their wonderful parents, would ever discover the blog. But to answer: Because they’ve been so singularly focused on political gamesmanship for the past eight years, instead of doing their jobs as lawmakers and leaders, they’ve lost whatever perspective they may have had in the first place regarding their responsibilities to their constituencies and the country overall. 

What is your favorite TV series finale and why?
The one that sticks with me the most is probably The Office. It wasn’t overdone and either wrapped up all the character arcs or left space for them to continue beyond the series just right. The idea that even a person as pathetic as Michael Scott could find someone and have a happy ending was beautiful and hopeful.

Are you a “method” writer?
No. I’ll put on music to try and find a tone, but beyond that I just sit down and do the work. 

What is the most interesting place you have ever traveled to, and why?
2608 Oakes Avenue.

Taboo in our culture today?
This could have been a bigger answer, almost a complete post, a year ago. But with the way society has fractured off into such radically different and clearly defined ideological divisions since the presidential election, I’m not sure if there are many universal taboos left. There are too many divergent opinions accepted by too many splinter groups for any real consensus anymore.

Please explain your eternal disdain for the Beatles in 180 characters or less, preferably in haiku or 10-word review format.
No hatred. Just don’t think the universal worship is deserved.

Trends in instruction and parenting styles by the decade you felt was the best time to be a teacher.
I disagree with the idea of data-driven instruction. Whenever the science in anything is overemphasized, the art is negated. Data informed? Absolutely. Data guided? Sure. Data driven? No. Too far. I think the best period of my career to teach would have been that sweet spot of years when teachers were allowed more professional judgement and flexibility and creativity than they usually are now, and had some minimal formative and/or summative testing data to help them understand the needs of their students better. And don’t even get my started on parenting styles. So I guess I'm saying that for me, as far as teaching goes, my best days are probably behind me. There's a happy thought.

I did skip one question: Someone suggested I provide a list of answers, and let anyone reading the blog come up with matching possible questions. This idea intrigued me enough that I’ll be expanding it into its own post sometime soon. I hope people will come back again when you see that one go up. 

I think that covers the whole list. Thanks for playing, everyone!