Time for a Story: Saluting Mr. Pearl

                           (George Coghill, Link to his website)

So, first, a little backstory. Last year I was teaching an Algebra II class.  It was mostly Juniors with a few Sophomores.  This class was also broken up by a lunch block right in the middle of class.  So we had class for an hour, then lunch for 30 minutes, then the rest of class for 25 minutes.

As students always do, my students complained whenever we were learning a new topic.  They would ask why they needed to know that particular topic.  I would tell them all the different professions where they might use it, and then they would tell me they weren't going to do any of those things.  So, I would tell them that they would need it for PreCalc next year and they would tell me they weren't taking that class.  Then I would try and show them how interesting it was, hoping that interest would drive the learning...they didn't always find it interesting.  So, I finally started answering their question of "Why?" with: "Learning this will make you smarter. And becoming smarter will keep you from becoming stupid." A little dramatic?....Maybe.  But it made them roll their eyes and do what I was asking them to do.

So...at one point during the year, I told them that they should think of me as their leader in the fight against stupidity.  I told them I was their general, and I would bravely lead them to victory over stupidity.  The result from this was that they all started calling me SGT Pearl or LT Pearl or LT Commander Pearl.  Basically, my rank went up whenever I said or did something that they deemed promotion worthy.  Once, it was because I gave them no homework over the weekend.  Then I jumped up to Admiral when I got angry at the class and told them how things would be from now on (they didn't tell me that I got promoted from that until the next class...once I had a chance to cool down).

It should be no surprise that they took this further and further (and I let it continue because it was very awesome and because it didn't slow down the work production...much).  One of the ringleaders of this ridiculousness decided, since he was the closest student to the door and I had nominated him to be the official door opener (because I always kept the door locked so no one could sneak up on me), that he would open the door and ask whoever was there if they had an appointment to see me.  He also asked for some form of ID.  He acted like he was the personal security for the president.

Finally, it all culminated when one of the ringleaders got every student from class back from lunch a few minutes early.  They formed a double row of students in an alleyway from the hall to the door so I would have to walk through them.  When I got close, he called them all to attention and they all saluted as I walked through to the classroom...while taps was being played on one of their phones.  I walked through like I expected them to do this.  I saluted them in return and said, "At ease."  Then they marched into class behind me, like my little math army.  There was about a five minute stretch where no work got done while we talked about the show they put on.  I asked them why they were playing taps, which is supposed to be played when someone passes away.  They replied, "The last 25 minutes of math is going to kill me...so we played taps. But, we saluted and followed you in because we would follow you anywhere."  Hilarity ensued.  They continued this tradition for the rest of the year and all of my colleagues thought it was the strangest thing ever, but were also secretly jealous (I'm assuming).

This is why I love teaching.  High school students are funny and make my life very entertaining.

Healthy Living

I am Trying to Become Healthy:

The Reasons Why-

I have been struggling with my weight for years and have been saying that I would do something to change that. And I would....for a few weeks.  It's not that I don't have the willpower to follow through.  I lost 70 pounds in 5 months during my senior year of high school so that I would be able to get an Army ROTC scholarship and go to my dream school.  I then kept the weight off for 3 years.  The problem is one of motivation.  One of the normal reasons that people have for losing weight is to look better...be more attractive.  That is not enough for me, apparently.  Probably because I think I look pretty good already ;)  So, I needed some good motivation and I think I found it.

1. The first motivator is that I want to have a family some day and I want to be the kind of dad who plays with their kids.  My dad was always going outside to play catch or rough housing with us inside (which we later found out was to show us "better ways" of doing something that just happened to also be much safer).  I want to be able to get up, move around and play with my kids.  Now this hasn't always been a motivator, but recently I have been out of breath when demonstrating something while coaching football, so it got me thinking.  I am getting older and hopefully closer to having a family (If God wishes it), so the past two years or so have made me start thinking about how I want to be an active father, not one that sits on the couch all day.
2. I want to live for a long time.  Not because I am particularly afraid of death (although I am not a huge fan of the idea).  But because I want to be alive long enough to provide my kids with the kind of support my parents have been able to give me over the years.  I want to be around for my future kids for as long as possible.  And I want to be able to hold my grandkids and watch them grow up.  This reason started a couple years ago when I saw pictures of my parents with their little grandbabies.
3. I have been neglecting my body which is supposed to be a temple that houses God.  Right now...I'm not sure he's liking the living arrangements.  So, with a renewed focus on prayer and faith...it would be bad for me to neglect my body, which is the only one God has given me.  It isn't that I lacked faith previously, but over the last 2 years, I have had to fight for my faith like I never had before.  This lead to a reflection of how I had been living my life and what was most important.

The Plan-

I have always been of the mindset that fruits and vegetables were completely unnecessary and didn't warrant their own food group.  They were always more of a decoration on my plate than something I was supposed to eat.  So, I decided that I would eat more of them.  But then I realized something...I don't really like them that much. Then I watched a documentary called "Fat, Sick, And Nearly Dead."  It is about juicing...not the type that pro athletes do, but with a juicer.  I went out and bought a juicer.  So the plan is that I make a vegetable juice twice a day and eat one regular meal.  I also have a snack during the day.  So, that is my eating plan.  The other part of the plan is to work out on a regular basis.  (If you'd like any more info on juicing, I would strongly recommend watching the documentary mentioned earlier in this paragraph)

The Goal-

I have lost a total of 24 pounds since mid-July.  I would like to lose another 110ish pounds.  My short term goal is to lose 60 pounds in one year.


So, I will be keeping you all (and by "all" I probably just mean my mother) updated on my progress...my successes and failures.Wish me luck!

First Blog Post Ever...but Why?

I have never really been one to write down my thoughts.  In fact, if anyone ever suggested that I engage in that activity (which has happened multiple times during my life), I would roll my eyes and say that it was "stupid".  So...the question that has probably gone through your head is, "Why are you starting a blog?". Valid question.  The simple answer is "I don't know".  I don't know why I decided to start a blog or write down my thoughts in a journal at this moment in time.  I do have reasons why I am writing, which I will share...but those reasons have existed before this moment.  I guess I just reached a point where I thought writing would be beneficial to me.

The first reason for this blog is that I love telling stories.  I have always been of the mindset that, no matter what happens (good or bad), it was worth happening if you can tell a good story about it.  I have had many good things and many bad(relatively speaking) things happen to me during my 28 years of life, and I love telling stories about all of them.  I won't lie, I like being the center of attention.  I can't tell jokes, I can't do imitations, I can't sing or play an instrument, I don't have many skills that will give me the limelight...but I feel that I can spin a yarn and read an audience better than the average Joe.  So I plan on telling stories in this blog...probably a lot of them.  I will tell stories of what is happening now, but I may write down some of my favorite stories from the past (so I don't forget them).  So, blogging will be my story telling outlet when I don't have a live audience.

The second is that I am a mathematics teacher at the high school level.  I love teaching. And one of the best parts of teaching is the interactions with the students.  Some of those interactions I have shared with people verbally, but over time I have forgotten the exact phrasing or one little key point that actually MADE the scenario worth sharing in the first place.  I have also said some quotable things (If I do say so myself) that I can't remember now.  So, I guess this falls into the story telling reason...but they are specific stories so they get their own reason.

The third and final reason is that I am starting a new stage in my life, and talking about it might help keep me on track.  I am trying to get healthy (and lose weight).  But more on that in my next post...so I guess you will have to keep reading to find out.