I Read the News Today...

I stumbled across a news story today, while reading about the highlighted events of the week. A freshman in a middle school in Alabama shot a classmate in the back of the head and killed him. A middle schooler. The news report stated that it was an isolated incident, inferring that there was just no need to worry. There were no breaking news reports on CNN, no interrupting stories on network news, and no continual, round-the-clock coverage on MSNBC. While Marilyn Manson once reported of Columbine coverage, “You should’ve seen the ratings that day…” it’s become evident that in America, one 9th grader killing a classmate shouldn’t disturb us.

But I am disturbed. As a teacher, it haunts me. As a human being, it terrifies me, and as an American, it shames me. No matter what this young man was thinking, this isn’t just a parental problem. It’s not a trend that could/should panic teachers nationwide. There’s nothing education systems can do to prevent random acts of violence (though I do believe bullying can be stopped, and thus a large percentage of hardcore retaliatory acts of violence).This is not an issue a Democratic or a Republican government can set straight for future students, schools, and administrations. This is a societal issue that epitomizes what we’re all about – violence, immediacy, revenge. The fact that a child has killed another child in a public school and that isn’t headline news says so much about us as a country, as a people, as human beings.

In the wake of mudslides in California, hundreds of thousands dead in one of the worst earthquakes in history, snow storms referred to as snowmageddon, and ice caps melting at an alarming rate in the Arctic, it sort of makes you wonder what God is trying to tell us…. And are we listening?

Stepping In

Hey, it’s Benson here, stepping in for Barri…Remember me? The dreg? Well, I was, but now, I'm sorta not.

NEway, God, what a lame ass holiday Barri’s had. Hysterectomy, infection, emergency 2nd surgery… It sucks, but she’s also fallen off the grid. Percocet fog, she calls it. Lazy, I say. Try being a freshman juggling soccer, geometry, physics, peer pressure, Tim Silvey’s daily put-downs, a coach’s unspoken comparison to a perfect brother’s memory, hovering under that God-like brother’s eternal shadow, parental ghosts, ex-girlfriends you want in the current category, and the wrath of the Barbie Brigade and all their worshippers. That doesn’t even include coming up with the perfect project for Publications or writing a column for the paper this week… I think I have what big-time writers call The Block. But no biggie. I’m considering exposing Silvey. Him and his dweebs are all caught up in a new scam – he’s figured out that skimming bottom feeders’ Ritalin is big business. Did you know that the elite take Ritalin to focus and speed up so they can study for tests and SATs? How dumb is that? Teenagers will pop almost anything in their mouths, and for what? A better college? An A on a paper? Yep, life as a teenager these days is a piece o’ cake…who wouldn’t want to do it?

Well, I’ve gotta get ready for practice… Big game Friday. Maybe Mallorie will be there. You can bet Silvey will be – ready to wheel and deal his magic pills. I wonder if they can make your parents wake up and notice you? Or the fact that all this crap might just be as hard for you as it is for them?



Westwood’s motto might be that we all fly with the same wings, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that not everybody takes off from the same point. And not everybody has somewhere to go…

Renewed Faith in Humanity

Last week, after learning about the gang rape at Richmond High School, the very same school the movie Coach Carter is based on, I wondered if we had sunk too low to be saved. The idea that people watched this poor girl get gang raped for two hours while not one of them called 911 makes them just as culpable as those who committed this heinous crime. Granted, they didn't commit the rapes, but as proven in the true case behind the movie The Accused, people who fall prey to the Bystander Effect are just as responsible. Witnesses walked by, watched for a few minutes, and then would leave. Even if terrified that the rapists would turn on them, I'm sure every one of them had a cell phone that has a 9 and a 1 on it, and how hard would it have been to dial anonymously? But not one person did. I'm disgusted to be a human being when I hear about tragedies like this. Those people will have to live with themselves for the rest of their lives, and I hope it haunts them every moment of every day.

Even with that having just happened, I have renewed faith. I left nearly $500 worth of jewelry in a Brighton tin in a restroom at Wilson's Fitness Center the other day. I was changing to work out, and I simply forgot to put it in my bag. The tin got left on the back of a toilet. When I realized what had happened (at midnight, mind you), I frantically called. The late night worker didn't know, but he insisted I call the manager the next morning. When I did, she informed me that the tin was safe and sound in her desk, and I could pick it up any time. Wow. Whoever picked it up, and I wish I knew who it was, you have renewed my faith that not everyone is like those at Richmond High School who saw and did nothing. Good people still walk among us and remind me that there's still hope.

If only we could send everyone else to Siberia.

Everything Matters

I spent the day with my mom going through a neuro series to determine what her memory issues officially are. It confirms what I've always believed: everything matters.

Tell those close to you that you love them...every day.
Tell people you work with how much you appreciate them...every chance you get.
Hold a hand out for a stranger, open the door for someone who needs it, and pay it forward in all ways possible. Choose your words wisely, because people will never forget them: if they're inspiring, then what an impact you'll have.

The best adage to embrace is one I learned in Hawaii two summers ago: live well, love much, laugh often. And believe Maya Angelou when she said that people will forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

Don't wait to do these things. Someone may need it today more than ever.

Mixing Politics and School...

So I've been mired in a new school year of teaching classes, the last of my PhD courses, and just life in general. But an issue is burning for me...so I'm resurrecting my blog from the brink of obscurity.

So the issue begins... Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you lean toward (and don't many of us actually hover somewhere in that middle space now known as No-Man's Land?), we still live in America. But something a local radio host said in Columbia last week bothered me immensely. (It was either in the newspaper or a magazine, I don't remember, but my MU students were bothered enough to bring it up in class.)

It started when our current President chose to speak to school children, just as a few Republican presidents have done in recent terms. This was not a new innovation on the President's part. However, THIS time, it caused a ruckus in Columbia, and this man (let's call him Barney for ease of identification) said something to the effect of, "That would be a good day for your kids to skip school."

So much for all the rest of the work your child would be doing the other seven and a half hours that day...

If George Bush had still been President, and this statement had been made by a Democrat, he'd be considered anti-American. But with the tables turned, this community leader, er, Barney, just taught his children that it's okay to disrespect this country, his school, his teachers, and his peers. No matter whether I like Obama or Bush or McCain or Palin, once one of them wins, he or she is MY President. And if highly conservative people -- and radically liberal people as well -- can't put aside their differences and embrace every President as their own, then the schism between the parties and this country will continue to grow. Children watch their parents and want them to be role models. Being judgmental, hypocritical, and blatantly disrespectful of the greatest office in the greatest country on the planet sends a horrible message to not only Barney's children, but those who might not understand the political stance and see it simply as a show of disrespect. There are disenfranchised teenagers out there listening, thinking, "Well, hey, if Barney says I don't gotta go to school, then I ain't goin'."

Really, Barney, that's the message you want sent to this community? To your children and every other child who hears it? I'm left wondering, when a President is elected you DO endorse, how will you explain the difference to your children?

Teacher Book Arrives!

I just received the new book My First Year in the Classroom, with a story I wrote in it! I'm excited! You can check it out on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/First-Year-Classroom-Celebrate-Unforgettable/dp/1605506540/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249243851&sr=1-10

Many teachers contributed, and it's got some great insight in it for new and veteran teachers! Since it's a compilation like this, it was a one-time payment to contributors, so if you'd like a copy, please email me at barribum@aol.com and request an autographed copy! It's fun to have a new and different book out!! :-)

Summer Chaos

I've been immersed in the Missouri Writing Project Advanced Institute this summer, and while it's sad to be so busy you don't blog or write about your experiences until after the fact, it's rejuvenating to feel the breath release knowing there's still weeks until school starts with endless days to create.

To surround myself with writers is like a buoy for me. It lifts me, allows me to tread and gawk at those around me with the gift to leave me in awe. These two weeks at the MWP have done that. Amazing writing generates amazing emotions. And on the tail of those, the words that flow can't be slowed or squelched, even if they're rambling. The stream of consciousness that often comes is so refreshing, and then the channeled writing can come.

This is my rambling. Saturday I'll buckle down to work on my new Danna Scanlon book, and all the energy can help her solve her next case. And it's gonna be a doozy...