I am trying to basque in this short-lived but much loved season: fall. You wouldn't think that a teacher would name this time of year as her favorite, but... ;) Every summer the heat suddenly subsides, you miraculously no longer need A/C, and you begin wondering if you will need a jacket. It is always short lived in St. Louis but it always puts me in the mood to "buy a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils" - Tom Hanks.
Fall is kind of a "New Year's" celebration for teachers. (I have floating in the back of my mind kind of a mental milestone - when I start to loathe this time of year, it is time to retire.)
My husband and I are starting to take longer walks around our favorite parts of town. We live in St. Louis Hills and our home base route includes Francis Park, Holly Hills, a nostalgic trek past the football field at DuBourg (go Cavs!). We do however, like to drive to The Hill and marvel at the tiny, manicured, Virgin Mary-laden yards as we eat an entirely too large gelato. We also enjoy this time of year walking round Lafayette Park and drooling over all of the century old, amazingly well rehabbed, homes always trying to find the one that looks most like the set of Meet Me In St. Louis.
Sometimes when we are feeling truly energetic we traverse across Kingshighway AND Gravois and venture to the Carondolet neighborhood - hoping to run into the mayor.
But the true family favorite walking spot is Forest Park. We will jump in the van, grab our chocolate lab, Tony, and go to Forest Park on a random Thursday afternoon. The kids always want to climb trees near our favorite picnic spot by the Muny lower parking lot - great trees and waterfalls you can walk across. No matter the season they will play on Art Hill - warm weather, somersaults down the hill; cold weather, a sled. The recently restored Cascades by the entrance to the golf course is our final hike on every visit. I remember my dad taking me there when I was 8 and taking some nifty fall pictures of me. Now I take my kids there and tell them about Grandpa taking me there when I was a kid - you tell that story every time, MOM! And it never fails on our walk back to the van when we all admit reluctantly that it is time to go because it is a "school night" - the discussion ensues of how sad it is that all of their friends that live in the county aren't allowed to go there because it is too dangerous in the city. To quote my seventeen year old son, "What a bunch of wussies!"
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
...and they're off, or is it 'their', or 'there'????
So this is my first blog and inspired by the new found time in my life because my husband is working nights and my children are growing older, I though I would start with one of my pet peeves.
There, their, they're - Really, people. I was reading an email recently and spotted a there-mistake, or as I like to call them in my classroom "therrors". I try very hard to teach (my children well...) all of my students about common grammar, syntactical, and spelling errors. But when they goof it up, I remind myself... they are still kids. So, as I read emails from my friends, letters to the editor in our hometown rag, and emails from my colleagues, I think to myself again, they are kids, what's your excuse? I like to think that the mistakes I see are just people rushing their writing and not taking their time. I hope and pray that adults really do know which there/their/they're to use and in their haste they have just mis-typed. But even that is NO excuse. I think everyone needs to slow down, take a breath, and take pride in everything they do, even if it is just an email. I am raising my kiddos to know that even if you aren't good at it, spelling and grammar do count. Like my dad always said, "take pride in what you do-if you are a ditch digger be the best darn ditch digger you can be." If you are going to perform brain surgery, certainly I would hope that your effort would be top notch every time you walk into the OR. Therefore, even if it is just an email or a note about your kids' absence, take the time and the pride to do it right. It is after all our mother tongue!
Saving the English language one 9th grader at a time,
Jenn
There, their, they're - Really, people. I was reading an email recently and spotted a there-mistake, or as I like to call them in my classroom "therrors". I try very hard to teach (my children well...) all of my students about common grammar, syntactical, and spelling errors. But when they goof it up, I remind myself... they are still kids. So, as I read emails from my friends, letters to the editor in our hometown rag, and emails from my colleagues, I think to myself again, they are kids, what's your excuse? I like to think that the mistakes I see are just people rushing their writing and not taking their time. I hope and pray that adults really do know which there/their/they're to use and in their haste they have just mis-typed. But even that is NO excuse. I think everyone needs to slow down, take a breath, and take pride in everything they do, even if it is just an email. I am raising my kiddos to know that even if you aren't good at it, spelling and grammar do count. Like my dad always said, "take pride in what you do-if you are a ditch digger be the best darn ditch digger you can be." If you are going to perform brain surgery, certainly I would hope that your effort would be top notch every time you walk into the OR. Therefore, even if it is just an email or a note about your kids' absence, take the time and the pride to do it right. It is after all our mother tongue!
Saving the English language one 9th grader at a time,
Jenn
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