Oh No, Not End-of-the-Year-Itis

According to my calculations, we have 45 days of school left. We have completed 75% of the school year and, I think, everyone has started looking forward to 3:30, June 26th. But…

...that also means we still have 25% of the school year to complete, so we still have a lot of work to do.

Let’s not fall into the trap I call end-of-the-year-itis. Don’t get so focused on the end that you forget we still have work to do. Don’t slack off - it’s not over yet. We still have a quarter of the year to complete and that’s a lot.

We have only one holiday between now and the end of the year so it’s going to be a busy and intense rest of the year. 

We still have science MCAS and end-of-the-year PARRC tests to do and that’s time that takes away from our instructional time. We have much to cover in all our subjects so let’s make sure we all focus on moving forward and avoiding end-of-the-year-itis.

Your Time Is Coming

Listen up! 

It’s time you tuned-in and started paying attention.

No, not to me or your other teachers - we assume we already have your attention. 

It’s time for you to start paying attention to presidential politics.

The year of our Lord two thousand and sixteen* - next year - is a presidential election year and you should watch and learn as much as you can about the candidates, issues, parties and process. 

Yesterday, former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton announced she was running for president. She joins Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul in the quest for the White House.

It’s a long and arduous process. The first primary isn’t until next January. The general election is in November 2016 so it’s going to take a while to choose a president.

Here, in Massachusetts, we have a unique vantage point on the process. Our neighbor to the North, New Hampshire, holds the first, and some would argue the most important, presidential primary. The candidates will swarm over the Granite State like ants to a picnic. If you watch, you’ll see them featured in nightly news reports on the Boston stations. The Globe and Herald will provide a great deal of coverage, too. 

Even better, you can go see and hear the candidates for yourself. They’ll do thousands of public appearances over the next nine months. You practically can’t walk down a street in New Hampshire without tripping over a candidate. These folks are so hungry for attention, they’ll stage a media event for the opening of an envelope.

I’ve always found it amusing that in the run up to the presidential election, you can shake hands with any candidate practically any place, but once one becomes “President,” there’s almost no way to get any kind of access to them - at all.

So, pay attention! 

This election cycle is like a baseball player’s stint in the minor leagues. Now is the time for you to absorb as much as you can because your time is coming. 

The following presidential election is in 2020 and many of you will be old enough to vote. So, listen, read, watch - your time is coming and you’ll want to be ready.

* This is not a religious thing - I’m echoing Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, Article VII of the United States Constitution, and at least one speech by President Obama.

Crossing It Off The Bucket List

I have never seen an actual rocket launch - I mean a full-sized NASA rocket. 

It is something that’s on my wish list. I would love to experience that in person.

My parents watched a shuttle launch many years ago. They were about 10 miles from the launch pad and said you felt more than heard the roar of the rockets. They said you could feel the waves of sound passing through your body. And that was from 10 miles away!

I did have the pleasure of visiting the Kennedy Space Center and walking beneath a Saturn V rocket they have on display. It’s over 360 feet tall or, in this case, long, because it is displayed on its side - truly an awesome sight. 

Maybe with the new SLS, I’ll get the opportunity to experience a launch. I hope so; it’s always nice to cross something off one’s bucket list.