100 Outdoor Spring Activities for Everyone!

Spring is here!!! For us bloggers, sometimes its easy to get stuck behind our computers and not venture out into the beautiful weather. Here is a list of my favorite 100 things to do in the spring--some of them are so easy that if you're really wanting to stay inside, you just have to walk out on your balcony and you can complete them!

1. Walk around the block--without headphones in your ears.
2. Listen to birds.
3. Smell flowers.
4. Stop and really feel the wind around you.
5. Stay up late and watch the stars.
6. Fly kites.
7. Start a garden (or window box).
8. Go hiking.
9. Ride bikes.
10. Look for the first butterfly.
11. Have a picnic.
12. Play tennis.
13. Quit work early and go outside.
14. Go to the playground and swing.
15. Grill out with friends.
16. Get up before the sun and watch the sunrise from a mountain top.
17. Go barefoot in the grass.
18. Smell the fresh air.
19. Get too hot outside for the first time.
20. Go to the pool.
21. Look for four-leaf clovers.
22. Go to a baseball game.
23. Walk outside at night.
    
24. Make a bird feeder and put it on your porch.
25. Go wading in a creek.
26. Look for the first firefly.
27. Go fossil hunting.
28. Walk to your favorite coffeeshop in the morning.
29. Stake out a bird's nest (at a safe distance with binoculars) and watch.
30. Drink lemonade on the patio.
31. Do yoga outside.
32. Dance in the rain.
33. When the flower petals start falling, run through them.
34. Open all the windows.
35. Collect small items from outside and make a nature mosaic.
36. Play a pick-up game of football.
37. Eat salads outside on the porch.
38. Go to an orchard.
39. Play frisbee.
40. Join a kickball league.
41. Find pictures in the clouds.
42. Play in the sandbox.
43. Put a drop of pond water on a microscope slide and try to identify everything you see.
44. Drive with the windows down and the music up.
45. Play beach volleyball.
46. Hang your laundry outside on the clothesline to get that outside smell.
47. Sleep in the treehouse.
    
48. Sit on a hill and watch a sunset.
49. Blow bubbles.
50. Go to a state park.
51. Play hopscotch in the driveway.
52. Climb trees.
53. Make a compost pit and learn how food breaks down.
54. Go running in the rain.
55. Write poetry in the park.
56. Play "Pooh Sticks."
57. Go to the farmer's market.
58. Collect leaves and press them for your leaf collection.
59. Finally learn the names of the birds you hear every day.
60. Watch butterflies "puddle" at the edge of a mud puddle after a rainstorm.
61. See a rainbow.
62. Do a springtime photo shoot.
63. Play with water balloons (and pick up all the pieces afterward).
64. Make smores over a campfire.
65. Hold hands with someone while you're walking outside.
66. Go to the zoo.
67. Run through the sprinkler.
    
68. Sit under a tree and read.
69. Go fishing.
70. Find a butterfly on a flower and watch it use its proboscis. 
71. Make your own slip-n-slide.
72. Wear new flip-flops outside.
73. Make rock pets out of rocks you find on a walk.
74. Feed geese at a public pond.
75. Write with sidewalk chalk.
76. Go sailing.
77. Play music outside on the porch.
78. Hug a tree.
79. Create a tiny "world" out of things you find in nature.
80. Find the moon each night and keep a moon journal.
81. Eat outside at your favorite restaurant.
82. Watch bees in the garden.
83. Make a birdhouse (don't decorate it--not always safe for the birds).
84. Wash your car the old fashioned way--with a hose and sponge!
85. Save the worms stranded on the sidewalk after a rainstorm.
86. Squish your toes in mud.
87. Make an outdoor scavenger hunt for someone else.
    
88. Play with hula hoops.
89. Make clover crowns--and wear them!
90. Play catch.
91. Make leaf prints with paint.
92. Ride a scooter.
93. Go for a horse drawn carriage ride with your sweetie in the evening.
94. Walk across a bridge.
95. Make mud pies and decorate them.
96. Eat ice cream while walking outside in the sun.
97. Wear bright new hats out in the sun.
98. Go to a botanical garden.
99. Play capture the flag.
100. Go canoeing.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

App Addiction: Game Edition

I've talked before about app addiction when it comes to social media apps (Twitter, Facebook, etc) and email but I want to focus on games. I have been fascinated lately with the addictive properties of app games.

I've never really been a big "gaming" person. I had a six month stint of playing XBOX360 games while I was dating a guy who had an XBOX360. I've never owned a gaming system.

But then I got an iPhone.

At first I just used it to be on social media, check email, and call people. Then I got apps for "good" reasons: sleep and food tracking apps, IMDB and recipe apps (so I don't have to pull out my computer all the time!), weather apps (because if I don't like the forecast on one, I can go to the other?!), and the keyring app (so I don't have to carry all those plastic things on my keychain...they're still on it). Then, finally, I heard so much about games that I had to get some of them (just to keep up with what everyone was talking about!).

This is a list of games with which I have had serious addiction problems, albeit some just for a few days. They are classified with these colors: Red = Numbers, Green = Words, Blue = Strategy, Black = Other.

My games folder on my phone.

Tap Tap Revenge
Sudoku
Bejeweled
Bubble Shooter
Angry Birds
Words With Friends
Boggle
Farkle
Word to Word
Hearts
Dot Line
Whirly Word
Flow Free
Chain of Thought
Word Jewels
Domino
Word Wall
Drop7
Number Fill
Number Cruncher
7 Little Words
Eighty-Eight
Take It Easy
Daily Crossword
Dots

The breakdown: 10 word games, 7 number games, 6 strategy games, 1 speed game, and 1 card game. For the record, I only have the last six still on my phone and haven't played "Eighty-Eight" or "Take It Easy" in a few weeks (I just have such great high scores that I can't delete them!). I had to go back through my App Store history to find all the names of the other apps.

But why are they so addicting? This is something I've been thinking about for a while and here is why I think I am prone to obsessing over these particular games:

Word Games - I love the satisfaction I get from completing a crossword or other word game, beating someone in Words with Friends, or even beating my own scores in some word games. I think word games tap into our perception of "smart": "smart people" do crosswords, "I'm playing smart Person X in Words with Friends and I beat them, ergo I am smart" etc. I'm not saying that's a good reason to play word games, but I think it definitely plays a part in it.

Number Games - I have loved numbers my entire life! I just like number games. Why are they addicting? I think I have a propensity to be obsessed with number games because I'm extremely competitive and I love numbers. The way the games are built tap straight into my brain's "pleasure center" because of the built-in reward system: you get this many numbers, you get this much more time.

Strategy Games - Again, these games have great reward systems built into them: more time when you do a certain thing, more points if you do a certain thing, bonus levels if you get a certain amount of points on the previous levels. And that idea of reward is something our brains latch onto very quickly.

I wanted to test just how quickly my brain would latch onto a game I'd never played. I came across the new strategy game called "Dots." It took me less than two times through the game (120 seconds) to become hooked. It literally took me longer to find and download the game than become addicted to it. I kept picking up my phone and playing at odd times during the day: while I was waiting for the microwave to finish, while I was curling my hair (bad idea), during every commercial break, while I was walking from the living room to the kitchen, and then this morning before I even got out of bed! I'm not too concerned about my well-being in the long term. I usually go through a period of a day or two of being extremely addicted and then I get bored with it and end up deleting the app (Drop7 lasted the longest: two weeks and I played way too much.).

So, if you know you have an addictive personality and a lack of self-discipline, I think the above list is probably a do-not-download-these-apps list! They're fun, but unless you can put them down, are they worth it?

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Look (And Feel!) Great for Your June Wedding!

Jett makes sure he drinks enough water.

I'm getting married in June! Here are 10 ways I'm making sure I look and feel my best by next month!

1. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. As the wedding date comes closer, the pre-wedding jitters are going to start setting in. Water keeps every system in your body working at its best! It will also keep your skin clear if anxiety makes you break out. 

2. Sleep. Sounds easy, right? Well, not really. We are so busy getting ready for the wedding and, if you're like me, you're going to want to make sure that everything is perfect. That doesn't make for very good sleep. But, if you make sure you get between 7 and 8 hours of good sleep every night, you will feel better and, by extension, look better. Do not sacrifice your sleep!

Jett and Dorian definitely get enough sleep.

Dorian loves yoga to keep his tone!

3. Tone. I'm in decent shape; not perfect, but alright. But even if you're small, you can still look not quite "good," if that makes sense. If you want to look good (at any weight), tone. Don't just quit eating and think that will take care of it--that's the worst thing you can do! Lift light weights, do lunges, dance, walk, swim, do yoga; all of this will help tone your body. Let's face it: we're a month away from June--not a lot of (healthy) body changes can be made right now. But anyone at any weight can tone up a little bit! Toning helps your body look better and any exercise helps your emotional state--gotta love those endorphins!

4. Eat healthy foods. I would just like to start out with a disclaimer: I am not a dietician. That being said, it is common knowledge that the more processed your foods are, the less good for you they are. Get fresh fruits and veggies, whole grain breads and pastas, and cut back on the processed sugars. My biggest weakness is chocolate chips (they're so small--how could they hurt me?! haha). I am doing my best to cut way back on eating those. The more unnatural chemicals you keep out of your brain, the better your brain will function, and the better you will feel! 

Also: check your portion size. I realized that yesterday I accidentally ate two servings of quinoa instead of one just because I didn't read the package. Don't eat more than you need to--eating too much makes you feel sluggish and tired.

5. De-stress. Easy for me to say, right? If you're stressed, your wedding photos are going to have worry lines all over them! Well, not really! But the little baggies under your eyes and your skin not looking as good as it could will definitely be real.

Dorian and Jett both like watching TV to de-stress.

6. Tan. With a bottle. Do not go outside and try to cook yourself to get the right "bronzed" or "sun-kissed" look. You're just going to fry your skin (and your hair) and 90% of the time, you won't get it even anyway. And it's Skin Cancer Awareness Month and if you're outside getting cancer for your wedding, you're defeating the purpose. 

If you're going to tan, invest in a good spray tan. Yes, they're on the pricier end of things, but it's worth it. However. Do it at least 24 hours before your wedding (but not more than 48 hours). You do not want orange on your beautiful white dress. That would be devastating. 

Along with this, if you go to the pool before your wedding, wear sunscreen. The last thing you want is tan lines in the wrong place on your wedding day.

Jett thinks he knows what's appropriate
when it comes to hair products.

7. Do a hair trim/color the week before. This example is brought to you by the movie "Bride Wars." We all remember when Anne Hathaway's character switched the dye for Kate Hudson's character and Kate ended up with blue hair. The only reason that was not a complete disaster is that it was a week before the wedding. If you dye or cut your hair the day before or the day of your wedding while you're having your hair done, you might be in for a very unhappy day. 

8. Get the hairstyle appropriate for your wedding style. Now this sounds kind of stupid, but think about it: if you have a 4pm wedding, should you have a formal up-do? If you have a beach wedding should you have a hairstyle that cannot deal with wind? If you have a 7pm wedding should you have beach waves in your hair? If you're planning on doing photos outside in the summer sun, should you have your hair down so that it makes you sweat and get greasy? 

The correct answer to all of those is "no." If you want your hair up, make sure it's appropriate. I have a 4pm ceremony with photos outside beforehand. A beautiful formal up-do is inappropriate and out of the question. Yes, it's pretty. No, it doesn't fit. A low chignon or loose bun with some loose curls is appropriate. For the beach, if you have long hair, sure, it's the perfect time to have those gorgeous beach waves. But, can you handle your hair blowing around? A half-up style is probably the best for you, or if you want it up, a messy bun is perfect. 

This is the area that, having looked at a lot of wedding photos lately, I feel has the most disconnect and leaves the most to be desired, even if it's a beautiful style.

9. Best shoes = wedges. Some ladies go for the glitz and glam when it comes to shoes. If you can stay vertical on those things for 8 hours (and walk down the aisle without tipping over), go for it. But I've seen a ton of brides with beautiful shoes who kick them off halfway through the evening. Knowing what I pay for shoes, I don't feel like that's a good investment. However, going with cute ballet flats or flip flops gives you zero height. 

As a 5'3" bride, I would like height, but I can't stay in stilettos all day. Also, heels are incredibly impractical for photos outside if you're in grass. Nobody wants their heel sticking in the ground and getting dirty. 

Solution: wedges. I found the cutest strappy pair of 4" wedges for $30 that a) give me height without killing my feet because of the platform under my toes, b) I can walk and dance in them so I won't have to take them off, c) I can wear them in grass, and d) I can wear them again with shorts, jeans, or a dress. 

If you're not a wedge fan because of the way they look and you don't feel like we need to be bringing back the 70s, make sure your dress is long. Since my hem is long, no one is really going to be seeing my shoes anyway. Getting this extra length, especially if you're short or a little on the "plush" side of things, is really important if you're concerned about your image. It slims you down and gives you those extra few inches that those of us who aren't supermodels crave. ;-)

10. Have fun! Leading up to your wedding day, make sure you're having fun! If you're happy on your wedding day, it shows. If you're worried about how everything will turn out and making sure that everyone else has a good time, you're going to be miserable, which also shows. The way to know whether or not your wedding day was successful is this: If, at the end of the day, you're married to the person you were supposed to be married to, your day was a success! So have fun!

Dorian has (too much) fun!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

9 Ways to Make Your Mess Your Message

Robin Roberts, anchor of Good Morning America, is one of my personal heroes. She underwent a bone marrow transplant last Fall and has stayed incredibly emotionally strong through it all! My favorite saying she has is "make your mess your message." As I've been going through this year of learning how to come to grips with fibromyalgia and not being able to use my teaching degree, I've been trying to think of ways to make my mess my message. I'm driven and I want to help even if I'm not able to teach, so I've given it a lot of thought. Here are 9 ways to make your mess your message that stretch across a few areas, so hopefully everyone can find at least a couple points that help them.

1. Educate people about your "mess." One of the biggest problems I've come across with fibromyalgia is that it's still very misunderstood. Robin ran across the same problem; she had to educate people about MDS and bone marrow transplants. Helping people learn about whatever you're going through is very important.

2. Start a blog. Even if writing isn't your "thing," blogging is a great way to talk about what you're through and help other get answers. It's also incredibly cathartic--sometimes you just need a place to get something off your chest.

3. Hop on social media. Sure, it takes a while to get a lot of "followers," but once you get going, you've got a lot of people who will potentially see your message about your mess and be able to relate to it.

4. Make sure you're okay. Making your mess your message is great, but if you're not in the right emotional place to talk about it all the time and help other people with their problems, it won't go very well for anyone. Do whatever you need to do to make sure that you can stay strong. Robin not only had her family and friends to help her get through her transplant, but she had all the GMA viewers rooting for her. Now, we don't all have millions of people thinking about us every day, but if we pull together we can at least have a couple hundred strangers rooting for us. :-)

5. Volunteer. I love helping other people! If you are going through something, go find other people who are struggling with the same thing and help them out. It helps them and makes you feel better, too!

6. Create a clothing line. If you're a designer, don't you do your best work when you're inspired and emotionally connected to your ideas? So how great would it be to make a clothing line that had everything to do with your "mess" and then donate some of the proceeds to a charity that has something to do with your situation?!

7. Write a book. Will it get published? Possibly. But even if it doesn't, make it an eBook and just give it to people to help them. And you'll get your message out.

8. Start a charity. Maybe there isn't a charity in your area for your cause. So start one!

9. Be fearless. Here's another Robin quote that I've had as my computer background since February: "You can be fearful or fearless...I chose the latter." Anyone who has a mess that's worth making their message can easily become afraid of all the "what ifs." But being fearful takes a lot of energy and it doesn't let you think big or think forward. So leave the fear behind and choose to be fearless. There will be days that are hard, but if you're fearless, hard days are just little bumps in the road instead of huge hurdles.

I hope this post helps some people choose to make their mess their message. Stay strong and be fearless!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi 

Gunmen Shoot Blanks at Teachers

I came across this story this morning on Twitter. During a meeting at a school in Oregon, two masked gunmen entered the room and started firing blanks at the teachers. The teachers had no warning. No students were in the building during the time. The drill was supposed to see how the teachers would react if a real gunman showed up. According to the principal after this drill, the teachers "failed." Only two teachers would have survived if it had been a real shooting.

I see four problems with this situation (not even mentioning the other two situations mentioned in the article during which students were present).

1. It breaks the trust that teachers have with the administration. As a teacher, after having gone through something like this that my administration has orchestrated as a "drill," how am I supposed to trust my administration ever again? The next time "Code Red" or whatever the code is came over the speaker, even if I was teaching and we followed protocol and got the kids to where they were supposed to be, there would be some part of my brain that would absolutely not take it seriously because I might think that it's just the administration again. I feel like that's detrimental: I wouldn't be trying as hard to keep my kids safe if a gunman came to my room because, while I would be scared, some part of me would think it was "just a drill."

2. It wastes money. Schools have zero money right now. I don't know how much it costs to get two guys (or gals) to dress up as gunman and get guns and shoot blanks for a while, but that is an unnecessary cost. When I was in school we had drills in which the code word was said over the loudspeaker. We would do what we were supposed to do and then after a few minutes, we got the all-clear. That cost no money.

3. It could potentially harm someone. I understand that some experts say that you don't really know how you'll respond to a high stress situation until you're in it. But this seems a tiny bit overdone. If I was a teacher at that school, I would quit. I don't do stress well and I would have easily gone into shock if I had been there. I would have nightmares for weeks. Does the school cover the cost of therapy for their teachers after it puts them through something like that? Does the school cover the cost of an injury that a teacher could sustain if they're trying to get away during the drill (e.g. broken wrist, broken ankle, etc.)? If a school really has the best interest of the teachers at heart, it probably shouldn't put its teachers in potentially harmful situations.

4. If we live in fear, terrorists win. To me this drill seems insanely fear-driven. If I was a teacher at that school (and didn't quit after this) I would be scared all the time. The repeated mantra after the September 11th and the Boston bombings was, "We will not live in fear, or the terrorists will win." But having masked men "shooting" up a staff meeting generates fear! Any time I was in my classroom after that and I heard a quick footstep in the hall, I would tell my kids to get down. Any time someone moved too quickly in my peripheral vision, I would jump. Any time anything weird happened, I would freak out. And the terrorists would win, because we would be living in fear.

We can do better than this. If a principal wants to see how their staff reacts during a crisis, do drills. Change the drills up. Do them during class changes. Do them during lunch. Do them during different classes. But bringing gunmen, even fake gunmen, into a school is not acceptable.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

16-Year-Old Arrested for Science Mistake

Photo: WTSP-TV

This story was brought to my attention late yesterday afternoon by a few people, as a possible topic for today's article. To summarize, Kiera Wilmot, a 16-year-old girl at a high school in Florida mixed some chemicals in a water bottle "to see what happened," according to this source. It exploded with "some smoke." It hurt no one, it damaged nothing. The principal says that she has never been in trouble and is a good student. She was expelled, arrested, and charged with two felonies: "possession and discharge of a weapon on school property."

Are you kidding me?! This could have been anyone. It could have been me! I did stupid stuff in the name of "science" all the time while I was growing up. Even if it wasn't an experiment for a class, if she did something during class that piqued her interest and then wanted to take it further, it's still an experiment. This is a great example of kids being curious and getting in big trouble for it, for no reason. I think sure, she should have been reprimanded, maybe even given a detention, but expelled? Come on.

This is the statement the school district made, following the incident:

"Anytime a student makes a bad choice it is disappointing to us. Unfortunately, the incident that occurred at Bartow High School yesterday was a serious breach of conduct. In order to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment, we simply must uphold our code of conduct rules. We urge our parents to join us in conveying the message that there are consequences to actions. We will not compromise the safety and security of our students and staff."

It was a "serious breach of conduct"? Really? If they really want to have a "learning environment" and still show that there are "consequences to actions," why didn't they give her a detention and then hold an assembly for everyone who saw it and teach them the chemistry behind why the water bottle blew up?

This might not be the most appropriate thing to say in light of recent events, but don't you think if a smart student wanted to make something blow up, she could have done a better job? A little bit of smoke and no damage? That's not an intentional bomb. There was no compromise of "the safety and security" of everyone at the school.

This story makes me sick, both as an educator and as a future parent. If this happened to a kid in one of my classes, I would be a little bit freaked. I would want to know why she did it, but after her explanation along with her well-known background (model student, not a trouble-maker), I would not be upset. If one of my own kids did this because they were curious and then got expelled for it, I would lose my mind. I am lucky I never did anything this explosive during school, but if I had, I don't think I would have deserved expulsion.

If you want to let the Polk County Public School District know how you feel about Kiera's situation, here is the appropriate contact information.

If you want to sign the petition to get charges against Kiera dropped, click here. I did!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

A Fourth Grader's View on Teaching

My sister (Emily) and me around the time
this was written.

I found a journal I'd written in my fourth grade class. The way I talked to my teacher about what I thought about the way she taught was both hysterically funny and horrifying for me to read! I think the entries from 11/5/98 and 1/13/99 should have probably been sent to every subsequent teacher for the rest of my educational career to see exactly what they were getting for a student.

The italics under each entry are what my teacher wrote back to me in the journal. Every "typo" you see is just a misspelling on my part back then. I have changed the names of teachers to protect their identities.

10/6/98

The best part of my day is math. I like it because I get to study algebra. I like algebra because it gives me a challenge. I don’t quite understand it but I like learning. Thank you for giving me a challenge. good

10/9/98

I had a grand day when I finished the sixth grade curriculum in spelling. I was the only one in the third grade to do it. I just felt so free. It felt good to be done! I couldn’t wait till the next year to do more spelling. good.

[Note from me today: This previous entry is how I used to be passive-aggressive. I loved spelling and in third grade I was allowed to go ahead and made it all the way through six grade spelling. And then I had to repeat fourth grade spelling in this class because she "didn't do" accelerated stuff in her class. So this was me saying, "I've already done this and I liked how my other teacher did it better."]

11/5/98

I would like Mrs. Jennings to know about “difficult first”. What it is, is that the teacher picks out maybe oh lets say about 6 or 7 problems out of a 20 problem assignment. If the student gets 0 or 1 problem wrong, than they do not have to do the rest of the assignment. If they get more than 1 wrong, they must do the whole thing. I want you to know this because I know most of the stuff you teach. Mrs. King does “difficult first” and I would like you do start it too. I[t] would give me time to get a book written, but also it wouldn’t give you so much to correct. As soon as we get into a routine I’m starting this, and bonus work.

11/24/98

I was thankful when Dad helped me with geography. I was (and still am) greatful because I want to at least make it to the geography bee. I would like to get to the test. I want to get to state. Maybe I will get to national. I doubt it. If I were a betting person, I would bet that you will make it to national.

[Note from me today: I ended up winning the school bee, taking the test, and making it to state. I got 12th at state because I got out on a question about rice being an important crop in Ukraine. Yep, I still remember it. I said, "corn."]

1/13

I would like to skip Reading. Why I want to is because it is so easy. I am wondering if I can test out of it and do things like book reports instead of worksheets. Book reports are much more challenging for me. I am more excelled in Reading than most kids.

[Note from me today: This was after I got in trouble for reading ahead in class one time while our teacher was reading out loud to us. I hated reading out loud! The book was "The Trumpet of the Swan." I'd just done a book report on a different book and loved it.]

1/27

Do we have a day when we could have a poetry reading? That could be really awesome. Everybody could bring a dollar and we go to the Blue Star Café. We could each buy a hot chocolate. You should have each kid write a couple of poems to read aloud while we are there. This would be fun. Only I’d want a latté! (Fifth grade does this)

[Note from me today: This was not my idea. My dad was a fifth and sixth grade teacher in the same school and as an alternative to going to the Miss Montana speech, he would take his classes to the coffee shop for a poetry reading. The other teachers in the school didn't really like him much--he broke the mold and didn't like playing the game. He did things above and beyond the call of duty of a teacher and the other teachers were threatened by him. My fourth grade teacher made me go to the speech instead of letting me go with my dad. Again, this is fourth grade level passive-aggression telling her that I think she's not doing enough.]

Looking back, I can see why all my teachers didn't really like having me in class all the time. In all honesty, though, my opinions haven't changed one bit. The fact that in November my teacher was saying "when we get into a routine we'll get to this" shocks me. We'd already been in school for three months! When do you "get into a routine" as a teacher? I think the first week or so is what we learned in college. I still think that kids should be able to test out of something if they already know it, and they should never be punished for deciding they want to accelerate themselves. 

Reading back through this journal made me grateful that I had the family I have. I always had support at home when it came to me being excited or upset about what we were (or were not) doing in school. However, I don't think I ever developed the filter I needed to have a good relationship with teachers I didn't respect. I never had a problem telling them when they were wrong, that I already knew what they were teaching, or how I thought they could teach it better. 

So, teachers, don't make your kids do stuff they don't need to do just because you don't want to work harder. Yes, it will be more work for you, but if you're in the profession for the right reason, you won't care if you have to work nights and weekends to make sure that all your students succeed to the best of their abilities!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi