This is fun for history buffs – thanks Jim B!
My results:
| You scored as William T. Sherman, One of the Union’s greatest heroes, your capture of Atlanta helped guarantee Lincoln’s re-election and the winning of the war. South of the Mason-Dixon, they think you’re a monster, but you’re really only a *little* crazy…
Which American Civil War General are you? |
Summer time allows me to kick back a little and reminisce about the good ol’ days and how I’m a very lucky man.
Though I’m 38, I still get to chat with my HS photography teacher, Dr. Ted Mannino on a regular basis. We’ve even started a new podcast together with my friend Kel. Ted was the kind of teacher all the other teachers didn’t like: He gave us ‘all-access’ passes to the HS – so we could run around and learn our trade, in true, constructivist fashion. Together, with my good friend Kel, we experimented with Sabatier / solarization, painting with light, and only the divine-knows what other things we got ourselves into. Though we never went so far as to revoke our privilege. On one hand it was because it would be self-defeating to act in a way that would take away our freedom to roam. But I also know there was another factor: Respect for Ted. (I can legally call him by first name now!)
Ted trusted and respected us – and that meant so much.
There were other HS teachers of which I also have memories — however NOT so fond ones. The one that sticks out was my 11th grade trig teacher that basically told us on the first day that he didn’t agree with teaching this ‘non-weighted’ class. It made us feel like we were math rejects and ‘not bright enough’ for advanced math. I had to get a tutor to help me when it came to his class. When I approached him about getting a copy of the test that I bombed (so I could go over it with my tutor,) he said: “Sure, you can have a copy — but you’ll have to come copy it by HAND.” It was an unpleasant experience to say the least.
Vindication: That summer, that same cranky trig teacher came into the photography store (where I was employed) with a ‘camera problem.’ On seeing him walk through the entrance, I experienced many emotions, some of which I will not write here. As I pondered the ways I could get back at him, I heard my mother say: ‘slay him with kindness.’
When he saw me standing behind the counter, I though he was going to walk out. He gingerly approached the counter and told me he was having a problem and couldn’t get his camera to work. Smiling, I offered (in my nicest voice) to help him out and said, ‘let me take a look.’ I tried to turn on his camera, but no luck. One thing I’ve learned about trouble-shooting cameras, computers — anything: try the simplest things first. So, without hesitation, I went right to the battery compartment.
“I just put new batteries in, so I don’t think that’s the problem.” He offered with a bit of a tone.
By this time I already had the battery compartment open and found the problem: He had his batteries in backwards. With a quick flip and a touch of the button, his camera sprang to life.
“There you go!” I said with a smile.
He thanked me politely and quickly made his exit. I could see the confused expression on his face as he walked out. I think he expected me to give him a hard time since he gave me a hard time all year long at HS. Boy did it feel good to ‘slay him with kindness!’
It’s experiences like the photo store that always make me pause to appreciate great teachers like Dr. Mannino. I sometimes wonder how all these things are connected: My favorite teacher was in photography and it was in a photography store that I revisited an encounter with a not-so-nice teacher. It’s weird how things go around in this crazy life of ours.
Thanks Ted.
Ok, so wouldn’t you love to have one place to go get all your favorite videos from Youtube, Google Video, Blip TV, etc? A video portal that contains all the places and lets you search out your favorite videos? A place you can setup your own ‘Channels?’
Enter Chime.tv – the brainchild of software developer Taylor McKnight.
As quoted from Cnet news:
The video portal offers a range of subject-oriented video channels including sports, politics and music, and the content comes from a host of sources from YouTube to Blip.tv.
Very cool !!!
Apparently reading might be irrelevant! Found an article by H. Bernard Wechsler via the Committed Sardines Blog. Check this out:
A 5-year study of the reading habits of 1,050 students (high school and college) and 875 executives reveals reading books is last on their hierarchy of values. It is an old fashioned knowledge technology.
He goes on to say:
Information processing by reading or using your computer appears to be identical. Both are cognitive experiences, yet reading appears to elicit more personal emotions and improved learning skills. Only through reading does comprehension advance and vocabulary evolves into long-term memory knowledge.
I *think* he means that reading via a book appears to elicit more personal emotions, etc. He apparently thinks that reading via a book is the only way comprehension and vocabulary evolves. Well that’s just horse hockey, now, isn’t it ?!?
I had the pleasure of chatting with several students at the Philadelphia School of the Future a couple months back and I asked them, point-blank, if given a book or the same material on a computer, which they would pick:
“With a computer, you can Google the meaning of words (vocabulary) or concepts that you just read, and understand it better (comprehension.)”
Funny thing: At the end of his diatribe, we find out that Mr. Wechsler wants to promote reading of books over computers — mainly because he sells speed-reading courses!
What some folks won’t say to make a buck… 
