In the Still of the Night (#BOTB)

Forget about a Liberal Arts education if you really want to be useful in this world.  Learn a trade or something in the medical profession.  A solid knowledge of computers is valuable.  I wish I'd known all this way back when...

Fall colors in Tennessee trees (photo by Arlee Bird)

           The last time I posted on this site I mentioned that my computer had died and I was looking for a new one.   I'm still going to be looking, but--wonder of wonders--my Lenovo desktop that I've had for the past seven years decided to return to the world of the living (and the blogging).  Not sure what happened, but I guess I've been granted a reprieve for the time being.

         Maybe there's something symbolic or metaphorical here, but I'll just settle for stuff happening in the mysterious (to me) world of computers.  I still want another computer though.  For now there's no hurry.  Instead, in this lull of computer concerns, I'll have another Battle of the Bands.  What better way to pass time in this still of the night...

Battle of the Bands

Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some blogs there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle on the 1st of the month.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

In the Still of the Night


          In the Still of the Night was written by Cole Porter for the 1937 film Rosalie.  Originally sung in the film by Nelson Eddy, the song has been recorded by many artists since.


Tommy Dorsey Orchestra   "In the Still of the Night"  (1937)

          Here's one of those BOTB candidates that might be a tough one to beat.  I know there are more than a few big band fans out there.  I dedicate this Battle to you.   This recording first hit the pop charts on October 16, 1937--82 years ago!  The recording eventually peaked at number 3 on the hit charts.  Is it a hit with you?





Aaron Neville and the Neville Brothers "In the Still of the Night"  (1990)

         When I first heard this version it was on an ABC television special that coincided with the album release of  Red Hot + Blue, which was to raise awareness and benefit AIDS.  The songs on the album were versions of Cole Porter tunes done by several popular artists.  The Neville Brothers blew me away with their version.  I thought Aaron Neville had the voice of an angel.  Still sounds good to me.  How about you? 







Time to Vote!

        Okay, don't just sit there being still.  Get busy and vote!  Which version do you like best?   Pick one and have some fun!  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

         Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.




Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Angel's Bark  

Debbie Doglady's Den

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside





Winner of this Battle Announced on Monday October 21st

         In the meantime I'm going to be enjoying some visiting family in the upcoming week, but I'll try my best to make it for my results post.  That is, computer willing.  I'll still be a bit on edge with this computer thing.  But that's okay.  Things always seem to work out somehow.

           Do you think a college education is a necessity in today's world?   If you were (are) considering going (back) to college, what would you likely major in?  Has fall weather come to your town yet?

Learning (Elements of Blogging) #AtoZChallenge

     The knowledge blogs mentioned in the previous post can be associated with learning while blogs dedicated to learning will include knowledge as a part of their blog posts.   The blogs designated as "Learning Blogs" would have a specific educational intent in what they are posting.   Learning blogs are often hosted by teachers who are presenting a particular curriculum geared toward a specific group.

       For example, a learning or teaching blog might focus on teaching math to elementary students.  Some of these blogs teach science, writing, or even a craft such as crochet.  A learning blog can be highly structured with an orderly approach to teaching a subject or they can randomly teach lessons about specific aspects of the topic.

     Many bloggers explore the topics of life or love.  These can be of a speculative nature, philosophical, psychological, spiritual, or even regarding these topics in relation to fiction.  In other words. blogs about life or love can take a myriad of approaches and cater to a number of different audiences.

        Do you you Learning Blogs for yourself or your children?    What would be some good topics to teach on a blog?    Are there some life or love blog themes that you can think of?  

Here are some learning blogs:

Kids Math Teacher

Mrs Harris Teaches Science

Eclectic (Elements of Blogging A to Z)

       Tossing It Out is what I consider to be an eclectic blog.  I discuss all sorts of topics on this blog and don't limit myself to anything in particular.   My topics range from music and entertainment and to cover the gamut of writing, politics, history, religion, food, or whatever I feel like talking about.  There is no niche in this blog.   This is what I think of as an "eclectic blog".   This is a blog with variety.

        Many bloggers approach blogging in this way and that can work well for readers and especially be good for the blogger who is less likely to experience blogging burnout or topic block.  There's always something to write about and when our blog doesn't have focused expectations then the eclectic approach is a good one to take.

        Blogs can be Educating and Entertaining.  An entertaining blog doesn't necessarily have to educate, but it probably helps if an education blog is at least somewhat entertaining.  Blogs don't have to be fun, but if you're not a expert on a subject then the fun approach is more likely to be appealing to your readers.

        Do you think of yourself as someone with eclectic interests?    What do you find to be most entertaining on blogs?    When you are getting educated do you prefer that the learning process be somewhat fun?


Here are some blogs that are educational as well as entertaining:

Positive Letters...Inspirational Stories

Are You Ready to Change Your Plans?

Bower Hill Plantation, West Bretton. These gates were to the Bretton Estate. There are plans to change the designation of this footpath to a road. Bellavista Plantation to the left (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -- Joseph Campbell, American writer and mythologist        One of the biggest problems with planning ahead is that there are always forces lying in wait to screw things up for us.  It might be the weather, a health crisis, or some other unforeseen thing that broadsides us unexpectedly.  Back-up plans are always advised, but sometimes there is nothing else we can do other than accept what has come our way and adapt in order to continue on with our lives.         The alteration of little plans is inconsequential to us.  It's those big expectations that we formulate in our minds--plans for schooling, career, marriage, and family.    Dreams can be dashed or they may fade away, but when those dreams have  become plans and expectations we stride forward toward the goals we envision.  When a roadblock is put in our path, we have to make decisions.   We might even have to change our precious plans.          Using marriage as an example, most who sincerely go into this union are unlikely to do so with the expectations that it will be dissolved in some matter of time.  The typical couple will probably declare a love for one another and, if traditional vows are recited, will declare that love to the world as well as the intention to continue that love until death separates the two.           Over time people change and attitudes change accordingly.  There are times when the relationships are unable to weather those changes and the plans that were made or mentally assumed are disrupted.  Or even death can intervene to wreck the life that we were planning for the future.  A true permanency of human relationships is not something we can always count on.   No matter how strong our own sense of commitment might be, we might not be able to do anything at all to make things right as we see what we think should be right.          The examples in marriage can be applied to any other plans.  Your job.  Your educational pursuits.  The aspirations of fulfilling your dreams.  We cannot write our lives in words that hold any guarantees.  Our lives are written with words of hope and not promises.   Change can come at any time in our lives and the inevitability is that life will change--everyday, sometimes in imperceptible ways and at others with feelings of catastrophic doom.             We can't change where we've already been, but we can make route adjustments if the road is blocked or our destination is changed.    If we don't keep moving forward then we aren't going anywhere.           I'll be frank about my promotional intentions.  This post is a clue hinting toward my song choice for my Battle of the Bands post this coming Saturday November 15.   I'll admit that the song I'm using will be no piece of cake to guess, but the perceptive reader might be able to guess, especially anyone who knows this song I'll be using.   Here's another big hint:   The album the song originally comes from is named after a city.             Do you agree with Joseph Campbell's quote?    Are you a person who easily lets go or do you tend to fight to the finish even if the battle seems hopeless?      Can you guess the song I'll be using in my next BOTB post?    The artist? Tomorrow November 13th!  Big announcement at the A to Z Blog!     Be sure to visit a-to-zchallenge.com tomorrow and everyday!

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Do You Know What Your Children Are Learning in School?

teachers (Photo credit: Mouse)

 
      God bless our teachers!   But I am beginning to think that administrators and creators of curriculum are emissaries of evil.   They may think they are doing the right thing, but then again I wonder how thorough and rational that thinking is.  Or maybe it's just another part of a bigger conspiracy to control the world population.

        Schools are either now back in session or will be soon.  There is an increasing amount of buzz over a new curriculum being instituted in schools across the country.  Common Core is the bane of many teachers who are having to relearn how and what they teach.  Sure, there are some who come to the defense of Common Core, but I am hearing increasingly negative reports as more teachers are introduced to the program.

       When I initially heard about Common Core I had my usual suspicions, but didn't give it too much thought.  Then I began to hear some odd reports about the program.  I began doing some research on the internet.  What I found left me incredulous. If you're not familiar with Common Core do the research for yourself.  This is especially important if you have children or grandchildren in a school system where the program has been or is going to be added.

       I still don't know too much about Common Core so that's why this is my topic for today.  Maybe some of you can enlighten us about the Common Core program.  To me something smells fishy.   Now I'm tossing out the bait to see if anyone will bite.

      You can find many videos on YouTube about Common Core, pro and con.  The following excellent video was brought to my attention at the site Old Virginia Blog. I think the indoctrination they suggest sounds very suspicious and creepy.  This is the stuff of speculative or science fiction.  The video here concerns first and third grade.  What I've seen about middle school and high school text books is outrageous and highly disturbing.


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          Do you keep up with what your kids learn in school?   Are you familiar with Common Core?    What do you think is the intent of the federal government regarding education?

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Are Our Schools Doing a Lousy Job of Raising Our Children?

education (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

          

          This post will continue the debate about guns as the cause of violence.   Mass shootings inevitably lead to an outcry against the accessibility of automatic weapons.   My argument is that guns are not the problem--people are.   In my post Should We Ban (Insert Topic Here), I suggested that before the nation takes an overly reactionary response in attacking the Second Amendment rights laid out by the founding fathers of the United States, we might want to consider some other things that could be contributing factors to the violent incidents that have been seen in the United States.  Should we blame guns or something like the topic of this post?

Are Schools Doing a Lousy Job of Raising Our Children?

       I would imagine more than a few eyebrows were raised by the ridiculous question that is the title of this post.   Schools raising our kids?   Shouldn't parents be raising kids?   And what kind of job are they doing?

      The best they can would be my answer to the last question where it comes to a good many parents. Parenting can be a real challenge and there is no clear cut one size fits all manual handed to new mothers and fathers when they receive their child.  Raising kids is often a trial and error work of blind faith.

       Part of that blind faith comes into play when we send our children off to school.  Often we assume that the educational system has the best interests of our children in mind.   The question is whose mind and what mind?   Is this collective interest in sync with the minds of the parents?

         Don't get me wrong--I am not scapegoating the teachers.  For the most part they are just pawns caught up in the system.   My biggest concern is administration--there is way too much power in the controlling aspect of the educational system and too little left for the ones actually dealing with the kids.  Teachers and students are the ones victimized by screwy state programs and one-size-fits-all standards.  Performance measured by testing is detracting from the actual job that teachers should be doing.   Schools are becoming more like factories mass producing cookie-cutter uninspired graduates.

          Now I know this is not true across the board, but I hear more complaints about stressed out teachers who are burdened with more nonsensical work to appease the system as they have to deal with students who often don't care about education.  And frequently the parents are oblivious to the actual problem.  They'd just as soon blame the teachers before looking at themselves as parental figures or the ersatz childcare of television and video games.

          Many kids are left to sort things out for themselves with the dubious help of equally misguided peers and bad cultural icons.   When youth goes wild it seems easy to blame the ones who have had the biggest hand in raising them--the schools.  And when we think of schools we think of teachers.   They must be doing something wrong.

          Let's not forget that administration is a hefty part of the typical school system budget.  Pundits of educational theory come up with silly ideas that sound good in their brains and in the boardrooms.  Administrators fall for the nonsense and the politicians dish out the big bucks.   The teachers and students are the unfortunate beneficiaries of the great governmental hoax.

           After all, what do any of us know?   Government is here to take care of us all.  They will tell teachers how to teach and what to teach.   They will tell us what to eat and what to do.   Then the administrators will make sure it all gets done according to the governmental rule book.  

           There is still something missing here that is the common denominator of all the issues I've been bringing up.  I'll eventually address what that is sometime in May.   We shouldn't be blaming the educators for the way our kids our turning out and some of the anger that can eventually lead to violence.   But we might want to take a closer look at the ones who are tying the hands of those educators.

         To what extent do we need government telling us what we can do?    How much influence over nationwide education should the federal government have?   To what extent should state government dictate what needs to be done at a local level?     Do you think many kids become frustrated with school life?

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