Ms. Taylor Says

"Ms. Taylor hates Robin Thicke.  And Miley Cyrus."  These were the words my students busted out with when Matt Wertz (an awesome singer/songwriter who graciously visited our class last week) gave them a quizzical look after an off-handed comment about Thicke.  I didn't really deny it.  I don't hate them as people per se.  I more hate what I see their messages doing to my kids.   Between my classes, the writing center, and coaching, I talk to hundreds of kids every year, and the more time I spend with them, the more they become my kids--the cause of my worry, the audience for my unsolicited advice, the people I am cheering for as they decide what it means to be a good human--an adult.  And the longer I teach,  the more vocal I become about messages from pop culture that concern me. And when I see my students absorbing lies about their value or place in society, I begin to panic a bit.  I fear they are buying in to a dangerous understanding o...

This week of spring break has truly been a break.  And I love that spring break is always Holy Week.  It, most of the time, gives me a chance to move slower through Christ's last week.  On Tuesday a friend and I took her precious daughter over to one of our favorite pizza places.  As we chatted about the Supreme Court, I made faces at the baby, and we devoured delicious food, the baby chomped on some pita bread.  After we had finished eating, we were sitting around.  The baby girl is in the stage in which she grabs whatever is around.  She grabbed a paper napkin and did what all babies do--she tried to eat it.  As my friend and I laughed about it, my friend made a good point.  "It can't taste good.  You would think she would stop doing that."  I thought, "Yeah!  I know."  I then told my friend one of my favorite stories from picking strawberries last year.  A mom had brought her 18-month-old son to the berry...