Comments (3)

By Kyle, September 28, 2007 10:45 pm

My former roommate Brett. My colleague Jennifer. My Dad. What do these three people have in common? Well, not much except for the fact that all three are currently reveling in the sad state of demise that seems to have enveloped my New York Mets as they have now fallen into second place (to the Phillies no less!) with only two remaining games in the season! [The above picture was taken of Brett and I this evening at the Giants/Dodgers game. With no playoff hopes for either team, an attendance of maybe 30,000 fans, and almost no regular starters playing (I heard that Bonds didn't even make the trip) this game was the closest thing to minor league baseball I've experienced in a while.]

Anyway, I wrapped up another week at school again. This week went very well and the kids seemed to really be understanding the elements we are reviewing from last year as well as the deeper connections they have for algebra this year! It’s very fun to have the same kids again this year.

Some memorable kids of the week:

• E (Period 2), who makes it his goal to try and beat me at my own game. A very bright kid who is always up for a challenge and is the first one to point out mistakes that I make when writing my own quizzes.
• E (Period 1), who struggled with math skills in her extremely dysfunctional class last year and this year seems to finally be understanding and applying the skills and concepts.
• N (Period 3) will be a challenge this year. If only I can keep her motivated! When she’s into the math, she can do great, but when she’s not interested, she’ll fall asleep!!! (“Fo reals!!!”)

Sometimes I wish I could remember stories from school with more accuracy and efficiency, but I have found that they escape from my memory as soon as I leave school often. What remains is the memories and ideas for each kid that is in my class, how they are motivated to learn, and what makes them tick. Even after 3+ years of teaching, it’s still a constant challenge to reach out to my students and help them find meaning in a topic and subject that seems entirely abstract and irrelevant.

Comments (2)

By Kyle, August 30, 2007 11:35 pm

I have been a baseball fan for all of my life. More specifically, I have been a New York Mets fan for all of my life. And just like any loyal fan, I’ve had to deal with my fair share of disappointments. These disappointments have come in various forms such as the disappointment of being 4 years old when the Mets won the World Series, an age in my life when I can’t say I really cared about much at all! And then there was the disappointment called the 1990s, a decade when I sat and watched Mets upper management waste countless dollars on players well past their prime, i.e. Mo Vaughn, Jeremy Burnitz, and Bobby Bonilla. Finally, I can still recall the disappointment of the 2000 World Series, which the Mets arrived at after defeating their arch-nemesis, the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS only to lost in 5 games to the steamrolling New York Yankees.

Given that context, picture now this: This past Sunday night, I come home from the Mayan to find the Mets sitting comfortably atop the NL East with a 6 game lead over the second place Philadelphia Phillies. Fast-forward to this afternoon: I’m sitting in a boring professional development meeting, knowing that the Mets have just lost three straight to the Phils. I’m glancing every now and then at the Gameday program giving me live updates of game 4 in progress. It’s the 8th inning, the Mets are losing 8-5 and somehow manage to score 5 runs in their half of the inning to take a 10-8 lead! “Finally”, I say to myself. Unfortunately, I’ve spoken too soon as the Phillies score a run in the 8th and two more runs in the bottom of the 9th to win the game, sweep the series, and worse yet, pull within 2 games of the now barely-in-first-place Mets.

WHAT’S GOING ON??? Are the baseball gods finally exacting their revenge on me for all that trash-talking I did to my former roommate Brett, a die-hard Braves fan? Are the Mets intentionally trying to raise my stress level (as though it won’t be high enough beginning next Wednesday)?

Anyway, I relax, I trust, and I enjoy the final few weeks of baseball before we enter the long drought of nothingness we call the “NFL”.