The Life and Times of a Newlywed Teacher

It Might Get Loud

2011-12-14T16:18:00.000-08:00

During my third period class today my 9th graders were yelling at screaming.....

They got so loud that the principal came down to my room to check that everything was under control.

Ten minutes later one of the hallway staff also appeared at my door to make sure that everything was ok.

Each time these people peeked into my room today, they saw 32 9th graders yelling and screaming at each other.

They also saw a smiling teacher.

Today was day three of a Constitutional Convention simulation in my Government class. Each day we have used James Madison's diary to guide our debates, focusing on the major issues that divided the delegates in Philadelphia in 1787. The debates have gotten progressively better, with today's debate on representation in Congress being the absolute best. After a not so exciting beginning to the debate, in which almost every student thought each state should have the same number of votes (sounds like "socialism" to me) I pulled a student aside and asked him to make the case for "big" states. What followed was a twenty minute, student led debate over not only how states should be represented in Congress, but the legitimacy of counting slaves towards population. I did jump in twice to share the voice of the Southern slave owner in order to shake the hornet's nest even more but the large majority of this debate was student run. While this did lead to the class being loud, and even a little chaotic, it allowed my students to cover the content I wanted them to cover on their own terms.

I had an absolutely amazing experience with my student's today because of two realizations that I have come to over the past few years: 1)it's great when students are running the class instead of the teacher and 2)yelling and screaming kids are not always a bad thing. I truly believe that one of the biggest problems in classrooms is that there are too many teachers who either don't agree with these beliefs or are too scared to try. Don't get me wrong, there's a time for a teacher to be in the front of the room and for students to be silent, but it doesn't have to always be that way; in fact it should never always be that way. Student-centered learning empowers students in their educational experience while also increasing teacher/student relationship and decreasing teacher work load (if that doesn't sell teachers on it, I don't know what will!) Additionally, when you're teaching adolescent students, taking advantage of their desire to talk and argue with each other makes classroom management that much easier.

During my third period class today my 9th graders were yelling at screaming.... and it was great. It was great because instead talking and yelling about Call of Duty or the fight that almost happened in the hallway, they were talking and yelling about the issues surrounding the creation of our Constitution.

As a teacher, I couldn't ask for anything more.

The BLS SUNY Lock In-2011

2011-10-20T16:33:00.001-07:00

From it's inception, my school has been committed to getting our students to college. Our Office of College Placement (OCP) does a tremendous amount of work to raise college awareness and help our students realize that college can be a reality for them. From trips for high achieving freshman and sophomores to college life classes for seniors. OCP does an amazing job for our students throughout the year, but for me the finest thing they do takes place early in the year: the SUNY Lock-In.

On a Thursday in October, OCP plans and executes a night in which seniors have the opportunity to complete their SUNY (State University of New York) and CUNY (City University of New York) applications, have essays read and edited by staff members and complete other forms they will need for the college process. This night speaks volumes about the commitment to getting our students into college as is evident by the fact that 98% of our senior class and 1/4 of our staff were still in the building at 8:00 on a Thursday night.

As a both a former college applicant and admission counselor, I know too well the daunting nature of the college application process. None of our students have the access to private counselors that some of their peers in New York City have, but the work of OCP make sure that this inequality does not affect their chance to go to college. The Lock-In is one more reason why I'm proud of my school.

Congrats to OCP for a wonderful night and a job well done. Attached below is the video from last year's Lock In. I'll be sure to post this year's video when it's ready.

Wanting to be better/Scared to fail

2011-10-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

I tweeted the following tonight: (cheap plug to follow me @FJM718)

"I'm so impressed with the quality of teachers that I encounter on Twitter. I'm also worried and sad that I might not ever reach that level"

Over the past two nights I have spent time exploring the tweets, blogs and websites of different social studies teachers around the country; the experience has left me torn.

On one hand I am inspired when I see the work that others are doing. Student blogging, the use of digital media and the use of student centered learning are not only things that I want to do in my class but practices that I see as being keys to student learning in the 21st century. Reading about the amazing work my colleagues are doing makes me want to be a better teacher.

That's when I move from inspired to worried.

Can I be the teacher that I want to be? I tell my students everyday that putting the work and effort into any venture in life can lead to success, but here I am wondering if I can become a better teacher the same way that my students wonder if they can be better students. There are many days throughout the year in which I struggle with the management of my class, the rigor of my curriculum and the overall classroom experience of my students. Part of me knows that making some of the aforementioned changes would have an impact on some of my weaknesses as a teacher, but both making the leap to change and more importantly finding the time to develop and institute these changes leaves me stuck.

Now let me be clear, I don't think that I'm a bad teacher. I've worked with amazing coaches, mentors and administrators who have shared with me that I'm good at what I do. I'm at the start of my fourth year in the classroom and I've already become the chair of my department, possibly too soon, but I also believe that I've established myself as a leader on a relatively young, oft-changing staff; I'm on the right track but will I get to my destination?

So here I am.

I know that growth and knowledge come with years in the classroom, but there's still that part of me that worries I might not become the teacher I want to be. I guess the only way to find out to learn more, teach more, reflect and grow.

Luckily I get that chance tomorrow morning.

A Change in My Practice: Reading For Understanding in My Class

2011-09-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

This entry is also posted on the NYC Social Studies Critical Friends Group blog, a new project that I am thrilled to be a apart of.

I am beginning my fourth year teaching in New York City.

During the first two years of my career, I had the opportunity to work with highly skilled students at a school that I described as "suburban-urban." My students came from homes that not only valued education, but made sure that the students' learning carried well beyond the confines of the traditional school day. For these reasons and more, teaching reading skills was not a part of my practice, despite the fact that if you cannot read, you cannot "do" history.

Last year, I was presented the challenge of working with many students who had neither the skills nor the home life of the ones that I left in Queens. Soon after the year started, I realized I need to change what I was doing with my students. After meeting with my new ICT partner, we decided that reading skills would need to be an essential part of our class. Taking a suggestion from our principal, my partner had previously used reading symbols that had improved students' abilities to complete readings and answer accompanying questions. The basic concept had students "Marking Up" readings using symbols such as "*" (star) for information that is important, "?" for developing clarifying questions and "S" for areas of the reading that surprised them (there are three more advanced symbols that students will learn in the future) . My hope was that by interacting with text, students would be able to slow down their process and gain a better understanding of what they were reading. We focused on these symbols for the first month or two of the year, but after falling out of practice using them in class, we learned a cardinal rule of teaching: If you're not consistent with practice and clear with expectations, whatever you are doing will not work.

This year, I returned with a clear goal in mind:

Teach, and be consistent with the use of, the first three "Mark Up" symbols to ensure that my students master them by the end of the first semester in January.

While teaching these classes and skills can often be difficult (and dare I say boring) for both student and teacher, I am committed to this change (within a change) because I believe it can begin to address the greatest academic deficiency for my students. I look forward to gathering data and sharing my findings on this blog in the future.

Living in NYC: Coney Island, The Cyclone and My Cousin

2011-08-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

(Oops! Wrong Coney Island picture)

(That's more like it!)

My father's end of my family is all encompassing. Nine aunts/uncles and thirty six first cousins are enough to make a McCaughey's head spin, forget the poor out-laws like my wife. My mom's side of the family is the complete opposite: one aunt and three cousins. Since my aunt is older than my mom, my cousins are significantly older than me which led me to view as uncles as much as cousins. Because of the major differences, when discussing these relations with friends, I would sometimes refer to them as my "other cousins," a moniker that may have been needed but definitely wasn't fair.

Out of the three (Michael, Thomas and Hank) the cousin that I have the most memories of is Hank. Every Thanksgiving dinner he would challenge me to an eating contest (in which he regularly trounced me up until I hit college) and for most of my childhood he tried to convince me that he was a red belt, the highest degree of martial arts belts that one could attain. "Isn't black belt the highest?" a gullible young Frank would inquire. "Nah," Hank replied, "not only is red belt the highest, but I killed Bruce Lee in order to win it." I kind of believed him for a while, but after finally conceding to my relentless demands to see the infamous belt, Hank produced a red bandanna and the tall tale was over.

As I've gotten older, there was one thing that Hank said that I always remembered. When talking about New York City, he explained that one of his favorite places was Coney Island and that every New Yorker should ride The Cyclone before they die. As someone who takes pride in living in New York City, the mystique and history of the Cyclone intrigued me. It's 84 year presence on the Coney Island Boardwalk serves as living history for the mid-20th century Brooklyn that I only know through old books and newspapers (one that had baseball!) For these reasons, I decided that when I finally made it out to Coney Island, I would ride The Cyclone. There was only one problem:

I don't really like roller coasters.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not as bad as the 8 year old version of me who threw a full blown fit while being forced onto the whitewater raft ride at Hershey Park(you know the one where the worst thing that happens is you.....get wet) but I wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of climbing aboard a nearly 100 year old wooden roller coaster.

Regardless, Kate and I decided to spend today at Coney Island, walking the Boardwalk, having a Nathan's hot dog, and catching a Cyclones game. I knew that this was my chance to live up to to the promise I made to myself many years ago, so before we left I watched a video on You Tube of a first person POV Cyclone ride and even looked up some statistics on the coaster (bad idea: 60 miles an hour? 85 foot drop? Not good) We hopped on the F train, transferred to the D and 30 stops later we were in Coney Island (just like The Warriors!). Based on past theme park experience, I knew I had to head straight down Surf Avenue and conquer my fear before I had too much time to think about it, so I bought my ticket, jumped on and before I knew it I was 85 feet above the Boardwalk, pretty sure I was about to fall to my death.

Well, not only didn't I die but I actually enjoyed it. Sure it's basically getting knocked around at high speeds for two minutes (I had a headache for about an hour after getting off) but it's also gets the blood pumping and lets you scream like an idiot. I stepped out of the cart and proudly headed back to Kate on Surf Avenue, fully pleased with myself for my (rather mediocre) accomplishment. I proceeded to have an amazing day with my wife that will be definitely be a lasting memory of this summer.

Riding The Cyclone today was one of the best things I've done in a long time. Not only was I able to overcome a personal fear, but I was able to step back and remember my "other cousins" who I may not see that much any more but still provide great memories, both past and present.

Thanks, Hank.

Golf and the Irish Border

2011-08-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

During Friday's TNT coverage of the PGA Championship, golf broadcaster and County Down native David Feherty made a simple, but profound statement about Ireland and Irish golfers.

As Padraig Harrington was teeing off, Feherty observed that with the recent success of the golfers from Northern Ireland (McDowell, McIlroy and Clarke) it's easy to forget about the major victories of Dubliner Padraig Harrington, who won the Open Championship in 2007 and back to back majors in 2008 when he won his second Open Championship and followed by a win at the PGA.

While describing Harrington, Feherty, in his distinctly sarcastic tone, noted:

"Here's an Irishman with just the three majors from just 100 miles away from those others. It is one island."

A simple fact that has been easy to forget over the past 90 years. Geographically, Ireland is exactly what Feherty said, one island. Politically, in a way created by man, Ireland is two separate countries. Feherty's astute observation was one that struck me as honest, sincere and beautiful.

History writes a different story, one that challenges Feherty's point of view, but I still loved this comment and it added to the respect that I have for David Feherty as both a commentator and an Irishman.

Football from Across the Ocean Part 2: The Rest of the Premier League

2011-08-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

After previewing Manchester City's hopes for this year last week, here are some thoughts, observations and predictions for the rest of the 2011-2012 Premier League.

-While the Manchester Derby battle for the title will be exciting to follow, I think the biggest story of this year will be the slip of Arsenal. Has coming in fourth place ever felt so bad? The brutal 4-4 draw after having a 4-0 lead against Newcastle (match of the year in most circles, which means the Gunners got to relive it multiple times during the off season), blowing a chance to finally claim silverware against Birmingham City of all teams (who were then relegated!) and finishing just 3 points off of 3rd place following multiple blown leads, resulting in draws late in the season (see Liverpool at the Emirates.) Throw in the near certain departures of Fabregas and Nasri and another year without silverware at the Emirates appears likely. Bold prediction: Arsenal finish outside of the top 4 for the first time since '95/'96

-I'm happy to see Shay Given secure a move away from City and I expect him to have a strong year at Aston Villa. As a fan of the Irish national team, I have a soft spot for Given, but I believe he was given a raw deal at City last year. Prior to his season ending injury in 2009/2010 he had been a tough, gritty keeper who performed well in big spots which is why the fact that he didn't make even one appearance last year was a bit of an insult. I'm excited to follow him this year and see how he does at Villa. Additionally, the importance of getting first team time during such a crucial test of Ireland's Euro 2012 hopes cannot be understated.

-Out of respect to my good friend Steve Lazar, I have to talk about Spurs who seduced me last season with some of the more exciting football I've ever seen. The keeper opening for Given at Villa came as a result of Brad Friedel moving to Spurs. There was no keeper that was more infuriating to watch than Heurelho Gomes. His inept handling of relatively easy balls led to a crucial loss to Chelsea and the nail in the coffin against Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal (don't get me wrong, Spurs weren't going to come back to win but the Gomes blunder helped seal the loss early in the second half) Hopefully Spurs will have another exciting campaign, but I have a feeling that the drop off from the heights of Champions League football to the far off fixtures of the Europa League will have a negative impact. I'm also excited to see what Gareth Bale can do this year after such an exciting half season last year.

-My initial interest in the Premier League came from following Irish players and that will continue this year. Young striker Shane Long will be making the jump to West Bromwich Albion after a 25 goal campaign for Reading in the Championship last year. Also interesting to watch at WBA will be the work of Roy Hodgson after a disastrous half season at Liverpool.

-Fulham will once again be on my radar because of both Clint Dempsey, Damien Duff and my fellow New York/Premier League friend Kent has recently adopted them as his team (check out his Fulham blog as well). Oh and how could I forget the beautiful Michael Jackson statue erected by the owner outside the stadium last year

-What to make of Chelsea? New wunderkind coach André Villas-Boas, who is the same age as two of his top players (Drogba and Lampard are also 33) has inherited a team that was always just within reach of United last season, but could never pull even. Winning a treble at such a young age is impressive but what might be more helpful in his transition to the Bridge is his familiarity with the system, having served there under Mourinho. The offset of a young coach with an aging team should be interesting to follow.

-The other intrigue for me comes from Liverpool who found their stride under Kenny Daiglish after a terrible start. Can they bounce back into the top four? The impressive play of Luis Suarez at Copa America should translate over and a full season of Andy Carroll should help as well. Plus, Liverpool has one of my favorite players in the league, the underrated Dirk Kuyt. If I'm knocking down Arsenal then someone has to move up, my favorite would be Liverpool.

-Dark horses for a nice year? I'll go with three: Fulham, Stoke City, WBA . All showed hints of promise last year and finished the year strong. I've already mentioned my reasons for liking Fulham and I respect any many in England who wears a cap and kind of looks like my dad in Stoke's manager Tony Pulis.

-So who's going to win it? The youth movement at Old Trafford is well underway (average age on the field in the 2nd half of the Charity Shield was 22!) but that doesn't mean they're in rebuild mode because of one man: Alex Ferguson. The one thing that does worry me about United is in the net. While David de Gea might be the keeper of the future, it doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to be the keeper of the present at just 20 years old and in his first season in England. My last post started with my full dedication to Manchester City, which officially means that there is no way that I can choose United to win the title (despite the fact that that is exactly what my brain is telling me to do) Chelsea is also an appealing option but I'll take a what and see approach with AVB. So who's left? Well screw it, I'll contradict what I said last week and I'll take the full plunge with my team:

I'll go with City to win the League.

Official Predictions from Across the Ocean:

League 1)City 2)United 3)Chelsea 4)Liverpool

FA Cup:Chelsea

Golden Boot: Luis Suarez (Liverpool)

Top Newcomers
Sergio Aguero (City)
Shane Long (WBA)

Football from Across the Ocean Part One: The 2011-2012 Manchester City Preview

2011-08-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from a family wedding in Ireland where I had the opportunity to discuss football with one of my cousins. After an initial conversation about Ireland's chances to qualify for both Euro 2012 and the World Cup, the topic turned to the English Premier League. My cousin mentioned that he knew I supported a team but couldn't remember which one. Chelsea? Aresenal? No, I informed him that I supported Manchester City.

His head dropped and it was clear that my response disappointed him.

"City? Oh come on, not City!"

It turns out that he is a fan of Manchester United. He tried to convince me to switch my allegiances but I informed him that I could not do so for a few reasons, the biggest being that I was a Mets fan. I hate the Yankees and since United are basically the Yankees of the Premier League I would be a total fraud if I chose them.

Instead, I chose City.

I started to follow the Premier League 5 years ago and between the amount of Irish players they had at the time (that number is now zero), and the fact that they were clearly the Mets of Manchester, City was a perfect fit. Last season, I flirted with the exciting play of Gareth Bale and Tottenham (the best individual half season I've seen from a player since I started following the Premier League) but towards the end of the season I realized that I had to make a decision, so I bought a City jersey and decided they were my team.

As we sit here on the eve of the 2011-2012 campaign, there are a lot of positives for City which I think can translate to a title push this season.

1)City finished last year very strong after having a mediocre first half of the season that looked like it would be another battle for fourth place. However, by the end of the season, they had won the FA Cup (including beating United in the semis) and come in third ahead of Arsenal in the League, although they technically tied for second and got third on goal differential.

2)I think David Silva and Yaya Toure will both make a step up after solid first seasons in England. Silva is proving himself to me a deft play maker and Toure has shown a scoring touch, especially in the big moment as his proved in both the FA Cup Semi-Finals and Finals.

3)The Carlos Tevez transfer creates a little uncertainty up front (with the unproven Edin Dzeko and the unstable Mario Balotelli) but I think it has a chance to stabilize during the season. Dzeko has shown promise in the preseason but still has a lot to prove in England (just two goals in the 15 games he played after transferring to City in January.) Balotelli is just a total disaster. He seems to have a lot of raw skill but he is also a headcase who has stated the desire to leave Manchester because there aren't enough good restaurants (huh?) Right now the team would definitely be better with Carlos Tevez, but you have to assume he'll be moved somewhere by the end of the August transfer window. If Tevez does leaves and Balotelli self destructs (both highly probable) Sergio Aguero is an interesting replacement, coming over from La Liga after a 20 goal season with Atletico Madrid. I think that by the end of the season (if not sooner) Dzeko and Aguero will be the men up front for City and can be productive.

4)The defense is strong. It was one of City's strengths last year and more times that not, a one goal lead was enough to win the game. I expect Vincent Kompany to have another great year and Lescott and Richards to be stable forces on the line.

5)Samir Nasri. As I write this, there are rumors that City are close to locking him up on transfer. We'll see how this plays out, but his addition would obviously push City that much closer to the top of the table.

So what's going to happen this season? It should be interesting strictly based on the volatility of Balotelli but the hopes of a title and Champions League football should make it one that's fun to watch. Don't get me wrong, blowing the 2 goal lead to United in the Charity Shield hurt, but I don't think it's the psychological knock out blow that many claimed it was. I don't know if they'll reach the title this season, but I also don't think it's totally out of the question. I think they'll flirt with the top but end up with a solid second place campaign.

Next week, a preview of the rest of the Premiership.

Observations of Our Nation's Capital

2011-07-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

My week in Washington has come to an end. Here are some thoughts and observations I had during my time in the capital.

-It's definitely the history teacher in me, but being in the city where the decisions that have shaped this country for the past 200+ years gives this place a different feel. I know that I live in the economic center of the country/world but economics has never resonated with me the way that history and politics do (after all I was predicted to be a US Senator in my 8th grade year book. Sad but true.)

-Seeing buildings in person that you've seen on TV or in textbooks your entire life is a little surreal. The Capitol (especially at night) is absolutely gorgeous. I suppose that visitors to NYC have the same feeling when they see the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty; I should appreciate those structures more.

-There's a crazy amount of people out running at 7 AM. I suppose this is because by 11:00 o'clock it's 90 degrees with 75% humidity.

-I love old cities for the little quirks that reveal a lot about the past. My favorite from Georgetown was the insurance symbols that are still found on many buildings (I've seen these in Philadelphia) The basic idea is that when you bought insurance back in "the day" you would be given a large metal disc that you would hang outside of your house (this was the time of independent, non-government run fire companies.) If your home was on fire, the fireman would show up. If you had their disc the fire was put out but if you didn't? Well no disc, no water so you better hope you don't have cheap neighbors.

-Georgetown made my list of places I'm going to buy a house when I'm a billionaire, and yes there is an actual list. Apparently the people are pretty obnoxious there but the houses are stunning. If I had a house that nice I'd probably be a jerk too.

-I thought the 10 pence per ketchup packet at McDonald's in Ireland was bad but a 5 cent surcharge per plastic bag? Really District of Columbia? Then again, am I actually complaining about being charged a nickel for a bag when I won't bring back all the cans and bottles I drink? I'll just shut up now.

-I don't know whether it's a summer, southern or politician thing, but there are too many bow ties in this city for my liking.

-Bike racks on buses??? Brilliant!

-Here's a tip I wish I was told before I got here. If you go down to the Capitol reflecting pool to take a night time picture of the Capitol you will get eaten alive by bugs and get a nice whiff of a pool that apparently hasn't been skimmed in 125 years.

-This one has nothing to do with DC but more with being away from home. At the end of each day, I throw change in an office style water jug in my bedroom. Without having that here, I realized how much change you collect over the course of 5 days. My latest count is $6.19 which will be a joy to bring home.

-Favorite part of DC? Hands down, The Capitol. I was lucky enough to go on a night time private tour with my group but I'm sure a regular tour would be amazing as well. The beauty and inspiration of the Rotunda cannot be properly captured in words; it must be seen in person.

-Regardless of political ideology or opinion of the president, seeing the White House up close is awe inspiring.

Overall an absolutely amazing week. Each time that I was amazed by a sight or building, I was quickly blown away by something equally or more amazing. The best part is, I probably only saw about 30-40% (albeit a BIG 30-40%) of what the city has to offer.

Learning in DC- Day 3: Lincoln and Reflection

2011-07-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of the Civil War Washington Teaching Fellows brought me to Lincoln’s Cottage on the grounds of the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen’s Home. The day got me thinking about thinking.

Washington in the mid to late 19th century stunk…..literally. The exposed canal that ran through the National Mall, combined with roving livestock gave the city a smell that, when combined with southern heat and humidity, left the city unbearable.

Abraham Lincoln was well aware of these facts.

It was this knowledge combined with the recent loss of his son Willie that brought Lincoln 3 miles from the White House for 1/3 of his presidency. At a cottage on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home in northwest D.C., Lincoln could escape the noise, heat and stench of war-time Washington and have a place where he could reflect on the experiences and challenges that he faced as the Commander-in-Chief of a country at war. These challenges, which had not seen by any president before him (and possibly since) created a need for a place where he could think about the situation that the country was in and how the decisions he made affected millions of lives. While at the Cottage, all Lincoln had to do was look out the front window to see the results of his decisions. Just four months into the war, land across the road from the cottage became one of the nation’s first National Cemetery; the arrival of dozens of bodies each day, week and month gave him pause and afforded more time for reflection. Although dangerous, Lincoln would often make the daily trip to the White House without any guards so that he could be alone with his thoughts for a precious thirty minutes. This ability to slow down and examine both his life and his duties as president helped to make Lincoln the man who led our country through perhaps our darkest days.

One of the toughest things that we can do as people is step back, take a look at ourselves and evaluate not only what we do, but who we are as people. While this exercise can be very difficult for us, it is this reflection that can help us move forward by looking back and become a better husband/wife, teacher, friend or brother by reflecting on the times when we haven’t been at our best.

In the classroom, getting students to reflect on their work is an invaluable skill and tool that will help them grow as both people and learners. I realized this year that many, if not all of my students were not prepared to go through this exercise. It is essential that teachers, (especially in middle and high school) guide students through this process and help them to see that reflecting on their actions and learning can lead to both personal growth and a better understanding of who they are.

The last part of our tour today was a visit to the aforementioned National Cemetery. It was during this time that I was able to do my own reflection. Looking out across the 14,000 white headstones that covered the land allowed me to reflect on the sacrifice that those men and women made on behalf of our country. The few minutes that I spent there allowed me to see that self sacrifice can lead to things both great and small, whether it’s helping a student become a better thinker or helping the country preserve the freedoms that make America great.

Frederick Douglass: Patriot

2011-07-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

"....he is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse its sins."

Frederick Douglass was many things during his life: runaway slave, famed orator, adviser to presidents but it was after visiting his house today that I learned that Frederick Douglass was a great patriot and one of our greatest Americans.

It's generally accepted that a patriot is someone who loves their country and (in our case) sees the world through red, white and blue colored glasses. In post 9/11 America, we consistently hear that there are people in this world who not only hate America, but also the lives we lead as Americans. The result of this shift in our culture is the development of a bravado that dictates that if you speak out against or criticize America in anyway, you are not a patriot.

Today, I learned the true definition of patriotism and it doesn't look much like the patriotism defined above.

Today, Frederick Douglass taught me that a patriot is not just someone who loves his or her country but someone who can look at what their country is and what their country does and know that it can be better. Douglass lived in a country that celebrated freedom and liberty while keeping slaves in bondage and denying rights to many different types of citizen. He not only recognized this hypocrisy but he also let people know about it through his writings and speeches, specifically the beautiful, scathing and ultimately truthful "rebuke" of our Independence Day in his 1852 speech, What to an American Slave is the Fourth of July? This doesn't mean that he hated America, it just means that he cared about the country and its people. This idea of "tough love" translates to many relationships in life including parent to child and teacher to student. Multiple times during my three years in the classroom I have pushed students to be better because I've seen the potential in them; their response is usually questioning why it is that I hate them. Much like Douglass and 19th century America, I just want them to live up to the high standards that have been set for them.

Sadly Douglass was not alive for Jim Crow in the 20th century but while he was here, he gave America exactly what the country needed and what each of us needs at different times in our lives: someone to get in our ear, tell us we're acting like fools and to cut the crap. Whether it was the abolition of slavery, or the rights of women and free blacks, Frederick Douglass pushed America to live up to the lofty standards set by our founding fathers and by doing so he helped America become a better place.

Thank you Mr. Douglass, for not only changing America but also for teaching me how to truly love my country.

Learning in DC: Day One

2011-07-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

I hated being a student when I was younger, just ask my parents or my sisters. However, this doesn't mean that I didn't like to learn new things.

That curiosity and desire to learn has grown even stronger as I've gotten older (some might call it maturity) to the point where I'm now happy to give up parts of my summer to go away from home to learn new things and try to become better at what I do.

I'm currently down in Washington D.C. to participate in the Civil War Washington Teaching Fellows, a program that brings together some of the best historical sites in the city to help teachers become better at what we do. I'll be here for the rest of the week alongside 25 other teachers from around the country, during which we will make trips to President Lincoln's Cottage, Frederick Douglas' house and Ford's Theatre. Today we started at the Tudor House, a home once owned by the granddaughter (and subsequent generations) of Martha Washington. We got a tour of the house, followed by a walking tour of historic Georgetown. Both provided great insight into the history of both DC and Georgetown, which I now know was once it's own independent city.

As a teacher, the highlight of the day came after lunch when we participated in activities that not only enhanced my knowledge of the city, slavery and the war but also gave me some resources and tools that I can use in my classroom. I've talked on this blog about how the greatest challenge facing a history teacher is making "old" things seem relevant to teenagers. The things I learned today, ranging from the narratives of escaped slaves and the use of various 19th century inventions will no doubt develop as least some interest in my subject and the time period. That is a very exciting thing.

I'll be updating the blog throughout the week, including a list of odds and ends I've observed around the capital by the end of the week.

Cheers.

The Summer Manifesto

2011-07-01T07:39:00.001-07:00

After putting in a few extra days at school this week to wrap up some loose ends, today is my first official day of summer. During the school year, teaching is often an all encompassing profession with grading, lesson planning and a few dozen other things taking up what seems to be all of a teacher's waking moments. With this in mind, I usually try to write down what I want/need to do this summer in order to make the best of my freedom. Here's the 2011 list.

1)Read at least 5 books
-Summer reading was almost non-existent as a student, but now that I'm older I've come to really enjoy reading. I've already started and finished one book over the last week (Animal Farm, which I loved and was only about 130 pages long) so I think I should be able to meet this goal.

2)Write more
-Writing is definitely the interest of mine that gets lost the most during the school year. I don't want to put a number on this one, since I'm usually just inspired to write about something and don't want to write just to hit a number. I'll leave it right now at writing "more" with the hope of writing a few times per week

3)Go golfing 3 times
-I have this goal every summer and never meet, primarily because I look at golfing as more of a social event so I'm not interested in going by myself.

4)Be a better home owner
-There are plenty of things I can do around my house to touch the place up just need to finally do it.

5)Get ready for September
-This will be a mid-August goal. I really want to hit the ground running at school in the fall so I need to get some work done in order to do so. Let's not think about this one for a while.

Throw in trips to DC, Ireland and Maine and it should be a busy and (hopefully) productive summer.

a year in the life of a teacher in 1,452 words

2011-06-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

**I hate reading long blogs. Once I see an insanely long entry I usually tune out. This is one of my most important pieces of writing so if you can make it to the end I will love you forever. Also, check me out on Twitter @FJM718.
Thanks! -FM

Today I completed my third year as a New York City Public School Teacher, a title that I have been and always will be proud to carry. From 2008-2010 I was working in a highly rated middle school with amazingly gifted students who were routinely accepted into the top high schools in the city. I worked with active parents who supported their children both fiscally and academically and with each day that passed in my first two years, I considered myself lucky to be there. I was well received by the administration, my colleagues and most importantly, my students. I can definitely say that as my second year in the system came to a close I was on cruise control, not in the sense that I wasn't working hard but that as a classroom teacher I was pretty comfortable; I was just about to finish my second year and while I knew I had a ton to learn as a teacher I was in a place that made that growth easier.

Then I got kicked to the curb.

With exactly two weeks left in the year, after two years of satisfactory ratings and strong teaching I was told that I was no longer welcome by my principal. The details are something that still sting to this day and I will probably carry with me for a very long time. I won't share them on the blog but come get a beer with me and I'll fill you in.

After going through hell (again beers will get you details) I was lucky enough to find a principal who believed in me at a high school in the Bronx. It was at this point that I realized I would have to put up or shut up. You see, coming out of Fordham (both undergrad and graduate) I was taught and came to believe in urban education. I truly believe that working in an urban school is an honorable undertaking that, while being very challenging, can also be very rewarding. Although I was thrilled to be at my former school and while I loved the students and faculty to death (and I still do), a part of me realized that I wasn't really following through on my beliefs in urban education. When people asked where I worked, I would tell them that I was in the city but it was as close to the suburbs as a city school can get; now it was going to be different. I was going to be in THE BRONX on Gun Hill Road no less (doesn't it just sound menacing?) I was going from passing by manicured lawns to get to my classroom to passing through metal detectors. The question was, "Can I do it?"

I started in September and I truly didn't know what was going to happen. I was teaching 3 sections of 9th graders Government/US History and 1 section English, another new experience that didn't make things any easier. The kids were tough, I was working in a co-teaching partnership for the first time with a total stranger and the wounds of June 2010 were still pretty fresh. I quickly learned that these weren't the same kids I taught in Queens. In many cases one or both parents were absent, many were years behind academically and it was clear that almost none of them had been challenged academically before entering my classroom. During the second week of school one of my students locked himself in a locker and soon after I was told to "go fuck myself" for the first (but not the last) time. I worked with my students, was able to reach some of them but things were still tough. I was lucky because I was one of a number of new teachers at the school who soon became a support group while each of us took turns venting about the latest adventures with our wonderful freshman.

I made it through Christmas (the first major benchmark of the year for a teacher) and was beginning to do better work. I came back in January and before I knew it winter break in February was upon us. The year was flying by and I was positive I could make it.

I was wrong.

It was almost 8 weeks before the next break, the equivalent of three lifetimes when working with teenagers 24 periods a week. Things got tougher, my students continued to test me and I for the first time I questioned whether I could actually teach at my school. It was during this time that another freshman teacher (who was hired at the same time as me) quit, leaving a gaping hole in an already buckling 9th grade team. Staff morale was low and June 28th felt like it was years away. I had my weekly meeting with my department chair and came clean that I was losing it. He steered me in the right direction, letting me know that he had many of the same thoughts during his first year and that it would pass.

He was right.

I came back from spring break renewed. Not only because there were only 6 weeks left in the year but because I realized that I could do this. I mentioned in an earlier blog that working in The Bronx is tough. My students are challenging (the greatest euphemism I have ever used) and at many times all that myself and many of my colleagues could do was sit back and vent (another euphemism) about how impossible our situation was. Make no mistake about it, the students we work with can make you crazy and make you want to run out of the building as if it was on fire however, I soon realized that I was wrong: it's not impossible. It was then that I realized I could either be part of the problem or part of the solution. I chose the latter. I became part of the hiring committee, tried my best to not go crazy with my students and worked with 3 amazing colleagues to create and implement a two day celebration of learning for our Freshman that allowed them to reflect on their work and more importantly share what they learned with their fellow students and the school community. Over the last two months of the year, I realized that I have the ability to help my school, a school that people who I admire and respect have put a tremendous amount of time and energy to build and get where it is today. It's not perfect, but it's also not finished. I know I can help finish the job.

I didn't come to this realization on my own. I had a principal who supported me, not only when I was teaching for him, but last summer, before he ever knew me and I was just a second year teacher with a spotty past. I had a department chair who became my mentor and friend who consistently pushed me to be better personally, to make my class more challenging for my students and to be a better teacher. I had amazing colleagues who helped me through the tough times and with whom I celebrated the good, as rare as they sometimes seemed to be. And I had my wife who was always there to listen to me complain, support me and believe in me.

I made it through the year.

There were times when I didn't think it would happen but amazingly enough it did. I've never been as proud professionally as I am in this moment. It turns out that as a teacher, the events of last June were the best thing that could happen to me. I truly believe that I would not have grown as a teacher as much as I did this year if I had stayed where I was (don't get me wrong it doesn't make up for the heartache of June 2010). With all of that being said, there's a thought bouncing around my head that no teacher should have on the last day of school: I'm looking forward to September. While I am going to enjoy this summer more than any other before, I'm already looking forward to the challenge that will be the 2011-2012 school year. It's not going to be easy but I know that I'm prepared to handle it.....at least until I'm told to go fuck myself.

Happy summer.

My School, My Community, My Pride

2011-06-09T14:18:00.001-07:00

Teaching in The Bronx is not easy.

While I always figured this would be the case, my first year actually doing it made this very simple truth one of the greatest challenges I have ever faced on both a professional and personal level. I'm waiting for the official end of the school year to write my reflection on the 2010-2011 school year but I had one of my best days as a teacher today and I felt the need to share.

Today in NYC was Chancellor's Day, a day with no students where schools hold professional development, or PD in teacher talk. I can honestly say that I have no recollection of what I did on Chancellor's Day for the past two years which lets me know just how big of an impact that type of PD made on me. Today was different and I know I won't soon forget what I did on Chancellor's Day 2011. Our day at BLS was split in two sessions and my participation in both made me more proud of the learning community that I am a part of than anything else so far this year.

Over the past four months, each member of staff has been a part of a Professional Learning Team (PLT) that met once or twice a month during our weekly 2.5 hour PD (another piece of my school that I have undervalued by looking at it as just a half day of teaching rather than what it really is: a whole day of learning) to analyze and discuss an issue or topic that we face as teachers. PLT groups included projects/assessment, classroom management, addressing student apathy, technology, and a few others and today was the presentation of what the work that each group has done. Simply put, I was floored by the amazing work that my colleagues have done over the past few months. Each group presented thoughtful, challenging and insightful information for the staff that can help each member of our community become better at what they do.

For the second part of the day, we meet with our departments and each teacher presented their curriculum map for the 2011-2012 school year. My colleagues in the history department presented maps that posed thoughtful and challenging essential questions, well crafted projects and meaningful goals that helped me to not only see how amazing they are at what they do, but also how just how much I can learn from them each and every day.

So let me go back to the beginning. Teaching in The Bronx is tough. It is very easy to get frustrated and discouraged when working with challenging students day in and day out. I feel that what can get easily lost in the frustration and (justified) complaining is the amazing work that my colleagues and I are doing. My school is a work in progress, a transitional period for a a learning community in just its 7th year of existence, but the things that are happening there, the freedom we have to be creative and the community of hard working, supportive educators who are pushing both students and teachers to be the best they can be makes my school a great place to be.

Thanks for a great day guys.

Me and My Hats (or Me and My Caps)

2011-04-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

I love hats.

Growing up I had about 30-40 hats all of which I loved for different reasons and would wear all the time. I remember my parents and my grandfather telling me that if I didn't stop wearing a hat it would make my hair fall out. I never believed them although looking back on it my grandfather always wore a fedora and was, in fact, bald so maybe he was on to something.

I imagine my love for hats was probably a result of loving baseball so much since it's the only sport in which the players wear hats (or caps in baseball terms) on the field. As a kid, I always wanted to look just like the players I idolized which lead to me constantly wearing wristbands for no apparent reason and dressing up as Keith Hernandez for Halloween. The only thing missing was the cap.

While I had the plastic "snap" Mets cap, I always wanted an official on-field, fitted one. Besides the fact that my head would not have fit in an official baseball cap growing up, I don't have any memory of them even being sold. In order to make up for this deficiency of head wear (tragic childhood, no?) as an adult I have owned close to 10 Mets fitted caps. Although they represent the same team, each one is a little different ranging from the different colors (blue, black, black/blue and the rare white), the 2000 World Series version, to the one with the American flag that came out after September 11th and most recently the Citi Field Inaugural Season version.

I'm not going to lie, the hat/cap thing might be the craziest part of my personality as is evident in the fact that I'm writing a blog about them. After owning a traditional blue Mets cap through the tragic 2007 and 2008 New York Mets, I decided that the cap was cursed and had a formal destruction ceremony with my friend Mike in which we tore it to pieces (the team suffered one of it's worst on the field years record wise since 2003 which just shows how much of a superstitious idiot I truly am.) I'll spend 10-15 minutes trying them on in order to find just the "right" one which is always a treat for my wife and at this point, I buy a new one every two years, hoping and (genuinely) thinking that this might be the one that brings my forlorn team a winning season but alas they never do. The past two years with the aforementioned all black Citi Field version brought more pain so at last night's game I bought another, this one the black and blue version (which I'm sure you already figured out was next in the cycle unless of course you didn't which would speak volumes about the proper attention you give the hats...none.)

There is an art to breaking in an official cap since they are usually very stiff and don't initially look that good on one's head as you can see in the photo above. I'll be wearing this one for the next two years and possibly longer in case this team begins to turn it around which already doesn't look promising 12 games into the season.

I'm glad that something as simple as a hat can still make me happy but more importantly I'm still happy that I have all of my hair.

The Campaign Commercial for the Non-Existent Candidate

2011-03-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Once a year, we here in America (and other democratic nations) become overloaded on political campaign ads extolling the virtues of candidates of (mostly) questionable character. One will lower taxes, one is blue collar just like me and you and another wants to end a war.

Regardless of the candidate or the message, these commercials exist for one reason: get the candidate elected. Why is it then, that a three term mayor (2 that are legitimate, 1 that is both selfish and immoral) needs to run what amounts to a campaign commercial just over a year into a four year term? I suppose poor approval ratings and $20 billion are the answer I'm looking for as to why Mayor Bloomberg is running these commercials when he can never run for mayor again.

Instead of spending money on commercials to change public opinion, how about you become more aware of why it is that public opinion of you and your policies is so low?

Why don't you spend the "high six figures" that has has been reported as the cost of your commercial and put it back into the city. Even though I'm a math-deficient History teacher, I can still figure out that $900,000 could keep nearly 20 first-and second-year teachers in the classrooms of New York City.

Maybe I'm just foolish to think the "education mayor" would do something like that.

a day in the life of a teacher (well a young one anyway)

2011-02-28T16:37:00.001-08:00

My friend the mayor released a list of potential teacher layoffs in New York City this morning. As I was woke up, trying to will myself out of bed after a week off, I heard the news report and was suddenly even less excited to start my day.

Then I went to work....

.....and taught 60 9th graders in my Civics class how to contact their representative concerning proposed gun control legislation in the House.

Then, I took a look at the aforementioned list provided by the D.O.E. and saw that my school has 5 teachers that could be laid off if the mayor doesn't get his way. Best part? It was just a number so maybe it's me but then again maybe it's not. I spent a small part of the remainder of the day wondering if I was one of the unlucky ones. I didn't necessarily appreciate the suspense of it all.

Then I taught 30 9th graders English. Well kind of anyway. Midway through the day all of the outlets in my room blew rendering useless the PowerPoint that I was going to project onto my board to teach my mini lesson. Can't win 'em all.....or apparently ANY of 'em.

Then I came home had dinner with my wife and watched our friend the mayor on the news. I'm not too sure if the mayor thought about me and my fellow teachers today- well maybe he did, after all he made up a nice list!- but I know he didn't think about my wife, and the grief that his list caused her today.

This is my 3rd year teaching in New York City and my 3rd year of hearing that I might lose my job...it's kind of like an anniversary. Should I get a gift? What is the 3rd year? Leather? Anyway
throughout these sagas, I always took the position that what will be will be. Whatever happens, I'll be prepared and besides it can't be as bad as the end of last year can it? Politics aside (and I do have opinions that I may share in the future), I just want to keep my job. I love teaching, even on the first day back from vacation, when I'm told my job is in jeopardy and the power doesn't work so I can't teach my lessons.

Actually, today kind of just sucked but I am ready for tomorrow and the challenges that await with my classes.

Let's hope I get the same chance next year.

Cairo/The Bronx

2011-02-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

For the past five months, I've been teaching 9th grade Civics/U.S. Government in the Bronx. If you had walked into my classroom at any time over the last five months, you would have heard terms like limited government, democracy, dictator and popular consent. Many of my students see these as just words in a book or on a worksheet they were given in class. Like many of us, they hear terms like "democracy" but not really being sure what that means. Something that comes as a result of hearing but not necessarily thinking about it.

Today my 9th graders (all 90 of 'em!) and I were able to see these terms in action and it was one of best days in my three years of teaching.

The events unfolding in Egypt over the past two and a half weeks have been a microcosm of what I've been teaching this school year. My students have learned about different systems of government, created a government for a fictional nation and discussed the role that government should play in the lives of people (or more importantly, the role that people play in a government).

Today, in a whirlwind of timing and technology, I was able to take my students to Cairo, where what they have been learning this year was coming to life. As my students entered the room, the Al Jazeera coverage from Tahrir Square was playing on the board. We watched for a little bit and then moved into our lesson which reviewed the events of the last two weeks, as well as an analysis of photographs of the protesters in Cairo. We had a chance to use events that were happening in real time to assess their knowledge of democracy and government. During my 3rd period class,as students were completing their exit slips, we watched as President Mubarak officially resigned. With my last period class, we were able to watch President Obama's statement. In the latter case, I was able to sit down and watch it with them.

Today was a great day to be a social studies teacher. Too often, we are teachers of the past; today we were able to be teachers of the present. Now I can't guarantee that my students are sitting at home on a Friday night talking about what's next for Egypt but I do know that during the three hours that I spent with them today, they got to watch what they have learned in my class happen right in front of them. That is a wonderful thing.

Teach

2011-02-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

Another week past, another week of teaching in the Bronx now behind me. (It's also another year of the mayor telling me that I'm going to lose my job but those are thoughts for another post.)

Had an up and down week with my students who were a mix of brilliant and maddeningly apathetic over the last four days. I'm now just past the halfway point of the year and each week/day/class has presented both challenges and rewards, although complete honesty would say there have been many more of the former. Each challenge that I face has built a resolve that makes me ask "How can I make this work?", a question whose answer I have yet to find. However, this question has led to a deeper reflection on both my practice and educational philosophy.

Today a co-worker and I had an extended discussion about the role that home plays in education of a child. As someone who was academically lazy throughout my childhood, I feel that I know better than most just how uninteresting school can be for adolescence (perhaps one of the reasons that I wanted to become a teacher in the first place.) While I thought school was boring at times, I always knew that in some way, it was important. Why? Because my parents told me that it was. Kids are stupid- and I mean that in the nicest way possible,- which is to say that a child between the ages of 5-11 can be convinced about anything (see the Tooth Fairy) so if a parent tells them that school is important when they're young, they just might listen. By no means does this predict academic success, but it doesn't hurt for a student to hear that school and their education have value because if they doesn't happen then, they probably won't care too much when they get to high school. Unfortunately, I work with a handful of students who might not have gotten that message growing up, which leaves an uphill challenge for myself and my colleagues.

So, once again, how can I make this work? I don't know. However, I'm beginning to realize that if I can get them to think,than I would be doing my part in moving them along in life. More on that in the future.

Two more weeks till Winter Break with many more challenges (both known and unknown) on the horizon. As time passes, I continue to learn these lessons which will prepare me for what awaits in the future.

8 Seconds

2011-01-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

**Note, if you were expecting a review of the 1994 Luke Perry movie 8 Seconds, I apologize as I did not mean to deceive you with the title of this post.

One of the best places I've ever been to in New York City was an Eastern European discotheque on Canal Street that my friends and I went to back in college. It was just an odd place that served beer in giant green bottles and played really loud music. We referred to it as "Bulgaria Bar" and although it was a pretty random place, we always managed to have a great time there. It's one of my favorite parts of New York City. There's so much to do that on any night there's a different event happening somewhere in the city.

Tonight, I went to one of those events: Professional Bull Riding (PBR) at Madison Square Garden. My dad and I went last year and had a great time, so it was an easy decision to return again this year. Overall, Professional Bull Riding has a lot to offer. As a sports fan, it's a chance to see elite athletes competing at the highest level of their sport. For the part of me that still laughs at "Jackass", there's people getting knocked around by bulls which is always entertaining. Also last year, I got to see 6 year old kids grab onto a sheep that was then let loose around the floor at MSG, easily one of the funniest things I have ever seen. With this in mind, we returned for this year's Madison Square Garden Invitational.

Having been to a number of sporting events, I can honestly say that attending a PBR event is an excellent time. The PBR puts on a good show, the bullfighter MC is entertaining (yes I said bullfighter, they apparently take offense to the term "Rodeo Clown") and of course there's people being knocked around by bulls. Also, the PBR riders have the best names, including Skeeter Kingsolver, Pistol Robinson and Stormy Wing. Do you know how much better baseball would be if Skeeter Kingsolver or Stormy Wing was the starting second baseman for the Mets? Finally, there's the fun of going to a bull riding event in New York City where you get to see New Yorkers dress up as "cowboys." While there are definitely professionals in the crowd with legit cowboy gear, there's also a lot of locals who borrowed the cowboy hat from their kid/siblings cowboy costume or spent $35.00 on the official PBR one that were sold on the concourse. There's also a ton of flannel shirts in the crowds, as if Brooklyn hipsters really needed ANOTHER reason to wear them.

Well done PBR!

Now back to knowing nothing about bull riding until this time next year.

Change

2010-11-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

I'm now two months into my first year at my new school.

In some good ways and in some bad ways, I am having a much different teaching experience this year then compared to my first two. One of my biggest challenges has been in the handling of my classroom or "classroom management" in teacher talk. At times it's been good, but most times it's been very tough. You see, my students like to talk and while I lay the large, large majority of the blame at their feet, I have to think that maybe, just maybe it's me. Maybe I need to do something different. Maybe I need to be better (I did go to school for this right?)

Over the past few days I've finally realized that what I did in the past can't necessarily be what I'm doing now. Now, there are many aspects of my practice that I am very happy with (planning, learning from my coach) but something just wasn't clicking with my class. In the past I had handled the kids on a regular basis and rarely got publicly frustrated with them. This year, it's been the opposite. My kids can be tough, but it's nothing that can't be turned around, especially since I'm with these fine children for another 8 months.

I'm going to try a new management technique starting tomorrow; one that I've been averse to in the past, but could see the benefit in using. I'm going to post updates on how this change is going for a two reasons:

1)it makes me write/reflect which can only be positive
2)it makes me accountable to you, my (possibly non-existent) readers, because if I'm going to write about it, I'm going to have to do it.

Talk to you next week.

Work

2010-10-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a fraud.

I've been writing this blog for over a year and I've almost never written about teaching, even though it's in the title of the blog. Things got funny this summer and I'm a month and a half into the school year at my new gig in the Bronx. I've learned a number of thing and since I haven't written in a while, I've decided to gather some thoughts about teaching here on the blog. After all, it was at Fordham where I learned that I needed to be a "reflective practitioner" (sounds fancy right? Look at me putting that Masters to work!) I love teaching. It's a challenging, oft-times under appreciated profession that is also extremely rewarding. You learn a lot when your a teacher, I'll try my best to share some of my lessons.

Lesson #1: Teaching is like Flying

It was today that I realized that teaching a class is like taking an hour long flight. If you don't get off the ground, you're going to have a tough time getting where you're going. I had my tough section for Social Studies today and it's usually a challenge to settle them down and get them on task for the opening activity ("Do Now" in teacher jargon). Well sure enough, they sat down quickly and basically got right to work today. The plane was about to take off when a goose went through the turbine.

Figuratively, of course.

One of my kids got up to "get my brush" from another student. Unfortunately it took about 2 minutes to do this, but the student did, in fact, get their brush. Distractions like this can happen any time which is why you must accept them and learn to deal with them properly. Although it was tough to get the class back on track and while I feel that I did, it was definitely not easy.

It was then I learned that I have to learn to be Sully.

Be prepared as you can be and hope that you can land the plane safely on the Hudson. I need to deal with these distractions immediately and get the class off the ground. Sometimes this is easier said than done, (depending on he severity of the distraction) but this is definitely an area in which I can improve. We'll see starting tomorrow.

Teachers....always wanting more

2010-09-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

As a teacher, the past week has been quite a whirlwind and it has nothing to do with my life in the classroom. Oprah, Hollywood and the National Broadcasting Company have all converged over the past seven days to shine a light on one of the most important issues of our time: education. It's a bit surreal to turn on the news and hear people talking about your job but over the past few days that scenario has been a reality. Hearing and seeing the way that many people have been reacting towards teachers has been both eye opening, confusing and upsetting. It seems that just because we have all been in a classroom as a student, it gives us carte blanche to speak about teachers. Most people who haven't been in a classroom in 25 years are now experts on how education should work. I find this amusing because although I've been to the dentist 50 times in my life, I don't tell the good doctor how to fill a tooth. As you can tell, all of this coverage has stirred up many emotions among myself and my colleagues. However, the one topic that has stirred up the most emotion in yours truly is the new dirty word on the lips of many New Yorkers (and Americans) TENURE.

If you were to just watch the news, with their talking heads and "man on the street" interviews you would think that tenure only exists to keep bad teachers in their jobs when in fact, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Now let me be clear, there are teachers who, through their practice or their behavior, have more than proven that they do not deserve to have their job. Does our current system protect these teachers? Perhaps. However, there seems to be a side of this argument that people either choose to ignore or are just completely misinformed about (I'm looking at you Waiting for Superman)and that is: tenure does not guarantee a "job for life". The only thing that our tenure system guarantees is due process for a teacher facing the prospect of losing his or her livelihood (and yes, I said livelihood and not "job" because for many of us, this is our LIVES.) Due process, what an absolutely crazy idea to have in the United States huh? Teaching is not a fly-by-night profession that you can just walk in and out of-or at least it shouldn't be. For many, including myself, working with students is more than a job, it's a commitment that takes up nearly all of our time between planning, grading and worrying about our kids, the least we should get is a chance to have our case heard.

Anyway.

If you're not sure where you stand on the issue of tenure (and even think if you do know where you stand on it) you should ask yourself the following: Would I want to walk into work one day and be told that I have no job? And when I asked why, to not be given a reason AND to have no recourse about it. If you answered "no" to this question then you, my friend, are in favor of tenure for teachers. NO ONE is saying that teachers who do their job poorly or hurt children in anyway should keep their jobs. As a teacher, I would love to have that dead weight gone so that my students could have a better learning experience and I don't have to hear how big of a "have a job for life" jerk I am from John Q. Public on Eyewitness News. But the reality is, without tenure, in the current "high stakes" world of education, an administrator could dismiss a teacher for whatever reason they decide. I know this, because this scenario plays itself out in our schools today. The group that seems to be forgotten in this "tenure is evil" argument are non-tenured teachers (those who have been teaching for less than three years.) You see, at any time, any one of the thousands of new teachers in our city can lose their job, not be told why, and do absolutely nothing about it.

I know this because this recently happened to a teacher in New York City, a teacher who I happen to be very close with. At the end of this teacher's second year, the principal informed them that they would not be returning to the school and since they were not tenured, this teacher had no recourse....ZERO. Without tenure, teachers could lose their jobs at any time for any reason.This should not happen to anyone, and especially not someone who has dedicated their life to working with children. When this teacher informed his students that he would not be returning, there were many tears shed on both sides. The kids didn't understand and unfortunately neither did the teacher. Were the best interests of those students served by their administration that day? If you asked them, I bet they would have a pretty clear answer. If we care about the well being of students, we not only need to think about getting rid of the dead weight but also keeping the good ones who love their kids and are loved right back.

All we want is the ability to have our story heard and let the chips fall where they may. I know that's all that my friend wanted, but he, along with many others, was never given the chance.

The Opening Night Stinker

2010-09-13T19:07:00.001-07:00

Instant reaction to tonight's Jets game: a stinker that made Jets fans sick and thrilled the rest of the country who now hate the loud mouth Jets.

-OFFENSE. And I thought the Mets offense sucked. While they looked terrible during the preseason, the Jets offense tonight was just disgusting. Practically nothing thrown down the field all game (the only completion to Keller was of course called back on a penalty) and Shonn Greene was ineffective and couldn't hold onto the ball. Plus, once he was benched he seemed to lose focus as evident in the dropped pass in the 4th. LT had some nice plays but we shouldn't be relying on the back up RB for offense. Hey guys, I just suffered through 6 months of a team that couldn't score in baseball please don't give me 4 more months of the same shite during football season. And to close it all out, the last drive was a complete JOKE. Every ball was thrown 6-10 yards down the field and to finish it, Keller goes out of bounds one yard short of the first down on 4th and 10.

-PENALTIES. Are you kidding me? How many times did the Jets commit a brutal penalty tonight? Running into the kicker, pass interference, holding and more. For God's sake Braylon Edwards had penalties on offense AND special teams. The worst was probably Wilson's pass interference that led to the touchdown before the half although Edwards's illegal formation hurt as well (the aforementioned penalty that took away the Keller completion inside the 10.) Either way, when you have almost ten penalties lead to first downs and over 100 yards of penalties you're never going to win.

-DEFENSE. It's tough to get on the defense tonight but a good defense gets off the field on 3rd down especially 3rd and long. Tonight that failed to happen about a dozen times. The MNF crew made it sound like it never happens to the Jets and while that might be statistically true, there were many key 3rd and longs last year where the defense didn't get the job done. It might not have cost them tonight but it will down the line.

-THE CB'S. Kyle Wilson did not look ready for prime time (pun intended) and the Ravens took full advantage. Between penalties and just looking plain lost at times, opening night was not one to remember for the rookie from Boise State. Luckily
Antonio Cromartie was brutal as well (and no, I don't care about the interception) Holding, pass interference and being beaten time and time again helped me forget about the interception and return. I'm dying to make a comment about his proclivity for procreating right now but I'll pass for tonight. I find it amazing that the guy who missed all of training camp and showed up a week ago was the most effective corner back tonight. Unreal.

Overall a disgraceful game from a team that has been running its collective mouth for the past 8 months. On top of tonight's stinker they have the Pats (who looked pretty good against the Bengals yesterday) rolling into town on Sunday and I'm sure they're just dying to get their shot to shut up Rex and Company.

Better get it together boys because 0-2 going into back-to-back road games at Miami and Buffalo is not going to look too good.

New Beginnings

2010-09-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

Last June, I lost my job.

I haven't told many people about this partly because it's a little embarrassing and partly because I'm still not too sure what happened. While I wish I could say it was something like budget cuts that led to my unemployment, I can't. In fact, I don't know why I lost my job. I worked hard, I cared about my kids and I took my responsibilities very seriously. For a while, I could not accept the fact that although I had met the criteria for a "good" employee I was still shown the door. I carried these feelings with me until I returned from my trip to the Appalachian Trail last week. A weekend of hard work (both mentally and physically) and strong experiences with my new co-workers/friends let me know that it was time to move on.

The aforementioned trip was a part of my new job teaching high school in the Bronx. I was lucky enough to get the new job (which almost didn't happen due to MORE unreal drama) which I will officially be starting tomorrow. This teaching experience is going to be very different from my previous school. Instead of being in quiet, tree lined Queens neighborhood, I'll be right in the heart of the Bronx, the place where I learned the most and where I grew up the quickest. Most importantly, I'm going to be out of my "comfort zone" which on the surface seems like scary thing but if you look a little deeper....

I was working at a great school with high achieving students whose biggest problem a lot of the time was whether they would be getting a new IPod touch. Now, don't get me wrong, I worked with a lot of students from many different backgrounds who needed a lot of help and support(I'm a NYC Public School Teacher for God's sake!) but at the end of the day I don't know if those kids needed me in their lives. I don't say that from a selfish point of view as wanting to be needed but more from what I feel I can offer my students as their teacher. I'm excited because after talking with my new colleagues, I get the sense that a positive educational experience as well as a strong adult influence might be what some of them need to point these kids in the right direction and at the end of the day that's what teachers are there to do.

Please don't get the wrong idea. I don't think of myself as some savior who's going to change these kids lives in one fell swoop, but I would like to think that the terrible things that happened to me last June can result in a positive. I know that at times it is not going to be easy but I truly believe that I have the skills, talents and life experience to help make a difference for my new students.

Sometimes it's just too easy to be comfortable. Sometimes we need a kick in the ass to jump start the lives we are meant to live as well as the ones we are meant to influence. I got my kick in the ass and it hurt....for about two months. Now it's time to move on. It's time for new beginnings. It's time to help a new group of students.

Game on.

Two Words

2010-08-30T09:05:00.001-07:00

I went on an adventure this weekend and not only did I live to tell about it, I loved the whole damn thing.

In a few weeks I'm going to be taking a group of students from my new school out for an 2 day/1 night backpacking trip through the backwoods. In order to prepare for this trip, I backpacked down the Appalachian Trail for four days to learn the skills I'll need to lead my students. I'll be writing about this experience more in depth sometime over the next few days but for now I just want to list two words phrases that tell the story of this amazing adventure. While some of them may not make sense others represent the nature of this trip. Enjoy

*very nervous
*six strangers
*sore hands
*real tired
*bear bag
*hot spots
*getting "lost"
*tough riddles
*the leader
*reading maps
*scuba woman
*raising tarps
*truckers hitch
*fire tower
*red trail
*head lamps
*hurt back
*green trail
*packs on
*raccoon ridge
*work late
*up early
*always learning
*green window
*walking sticks
*hot sauce
*micro-trash
*forest fire
*no water
*orange moon
*white trail
*everybody poops
*packs off
*morning stretch
*orange trail
*scenic point
*the woofer
*power clap
*challenge & support
*blue trail
*six friends
*so proud

Are You Ready For Some Football?!

2010-08-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

So here we are with September fast approaching and the upcoming fall sports season on the horizon.

NFL preview?

No.

NCAA?

Nope.

The desktop football with the triangle shaped paper that you used to play back in grammar school?

Not even close.

All of the above sports are considered mainstream sports in the United States yet I'm not talking about any of them. Today, I write about the English Premiership! (Waiting for reaction......waiting....waiting....oh never mind I'm going to write it anyway)

If you've read this blog before you may recall that I've developed an affinity for soccer over the past few years, specifically the English Premier League (EPL). Even though it's outside of my favorite sports, I find it very easy to watch and write about soccer. I attribute this to my lack of emotional investment in both the game and the league/teams that I follow. (The flip side of this is that even though the Mets/baseball are my favorite team/sport I have almost never written about them. I think living as a Mets fans is bad enough, I don't really want to re-live it through my writing.)

Anyway.

Soccer has made some strides on this side of the Atlantic recently and I'm not looking your way David Beckham. Many people seemed genuinely enthused about Team USA during the World Cup and with the exposure the English League is getting on ESPN now (2-3 televised matches per week) maybe soccer is about to make the jump from total obscurity to kind of total obscurity. The EPL just finished it's second full week of the '10/'11 season and it's time to take a look at what has happened so far.

The summer brought a lot of action. Benitez is out at Liverpool, Man City spent nearly $200 million on the transfer market, Chelsea remained relatively quiet after winning the Double and Man United is in the midst of a youth movement.

Week Two ended with a match up of the new hot shots on the block and the weary, beat up veteran as Man City hosted Liverpool. Plainly stated, City showed the dominance that a billion dollars should buy, but very often does not. They dominated possession, Adam Johnson shined and Joe Hart was sharp once again in net. Liverpool on the other hand had glimpses of the team that was once mainstay in the Top 4 but were undone by sound defense and some great saves by the aforementioned Joe Hart. You knew it wasn't the Reds' day when their best span of play at the beginning of the second half ended with a goal by City.

While the "Other Guys" (SUMMER MOVIE PUN!) of Manchester looked amazing today, I think we need to wait and see what the rest of the year hold for City. A victory at home against a Top 4 team was seen last year (Chelsea and Arsenal). The real test will be what they do on the road as well as if they can turn some of those draws from last year (13 in all) to wins that will help secure them the Top 4 or better.

Liverpool on the other hand have to be on notice. After a rough 2009/2010 campaign which ended with them finishing out of the Top 4 for the first time since '04/'05, they sacked their manager and started this season by giving away two points to Arsenal in the first game and being dismantled by City in the second. Either way, the next three games are crucial with two against West Bromwich and Birmingham City followed by a trip to Old Trafford and Manchester United.

Other random thoughts about the Premiership so far:

-Chelsea looked dominant in their first two matches with back to back 6-0 wins. Although the opposition may not have been the best (newly promoted West Bromwich Albion and bottom dwellers Wigan) it's never a bad thing to have your coach compare your play to that of a video game.

-I adopted Man City over the past few years as my team (and will continue to support them) but they've lost many of the players that made me a fan of the team in the first place specifically Richard Dunne, Craig Bellamy, Stephen Ireland and now possible Shay Given. For this season I will also be following Fulham. They have American favorite Clint Dempsey, pesky Irishman Damien Duff and a possible transfer of Shay Given from City.

-Nice to see Newcastle back in the Premiership. When I first learned of English football in the mid 90's, Newcastle was one of the top teams lead by Alan Shearer. They crushed Aston Villa 6-0 on Sunday after an opening loss to United. Speaking of Aston Villa....

-They're season might have ended before it started when their manager, Martin O'Neill, resigned. After a few top 6 finishes in a row, '10/'11 might be one to forget for Villa. Rumors of US national coach Bob Bradley taking over could add some excitement to a (possibly) tough season)

So that's about it for now. If you made it all the way to the end then you must really like me or really like soccer. The EPL is the perfect way to start a weekend with matches on Saturday mornings on ESPN and Fox Soccer (check your local listings!) I'm sure I'll write about the league a few more times before the end of the year.

Next blog up: The summer wrap up with the Best and Worst of the summer of '10.

Desserts (that's with two S's because you want more of it!)

2010-08-05T13:59:00.000-07:00

Like many people, I love the establishments around where I grew up. The diners, delis, movie theaters and malls all provided great memories from my youth that I still remember today. One of those establishments was Friendly's. Whether it was after a St. Anne's Christmas Concert or a Chaminade dance, Friendly's was a place where we would usually end up between the ages of 11 and 14--not old enough to do something cool (well I wasn't anyway) but too old to want to be at home. While it may not be considered 5 star cuisine, Friendly's always hit the spot, especially their desserts. The Reese's Pieces and Peanut Butter Cup sundaes were always a must during any Friendly's visit. However, the one dessert I always remember seeing but not getting was the Wattamelon Roll. For those not familiar with the Wattamelon Roll, it is basically lemon and watermelon sherbet shaped like a piece of watermelon with chocolate chips acting as seeds. See picture below.

Although I like sherbet, I was never interested in having the Wattamelon Roll but, like many things in my life, that all changed when I met Kate.

When talking about Friendly's one day, Kate began extolling the virtues of the Wattamelon Roll. The only problem was that there were no groceries that sold them around Kate's place in Woodside. One Sunday, we were on our way back to Kate's when we realized that we could pick one up in Stewart Manor and bring it back to Queens. Although it was a muggy June night, we were both confident that we could make it back without any serious melting. We were wrong.. Once we hit traffic on the LIE we went into crisis mode. We jacked up the AC and Kate held the Roll next to the vent. but it didn't do much to help. Traffic eventually broke up and while we didn't have Wattamelon soup in the car, our dessert was just about ruined.

Here we are in 2010, again living in Queens without a Wattamelon Roll to be found. When we came back from Ireland last week, we crashed at my parents house then drove home the next morning. We stopped to pick up groceries at Key Food and there she was in the Frozen Foods aisle. A cool, refreshing Friendly's Wattamelon Roll--and on sale no less! We were both a little bit hesitant about trying the drive again (this time in sweltering July heat) but we both believed it could be done. We got the Roll out of the freezer (last stop on while shopping to maximize "frozen-ness") and just to be safe we did what any rational, dessert loving couple would do: we bought a Hot/Cold bag and threw it right in. I'm happy to report that the roll made it home safely and was enjoyed by the aforementioned rational, dessert loving couple.

I've always loved memories. I'm still amazed by how the sight of a house or the smell of food can bring me back to a place from my past. Things like Wattamelon Roll are what I love about life. Ok, maybe not literally, but I do love what that simple dessert represents: great memories from my youth and new memories with my wife.

God Save the King

2010-08-02T08:01:00.001-07:00

So I realize I'm about a month late on the whole LeBron thing but better late than never. Here goes!

When we were over in Ireland, Kate and I would always end up watching the World Match Play Darts Championships. It was on in every pub as well as our various hotel rooms and we completely enjoyed watching it. We were just reminiscing about dart watching, specifically about a player named Phil Taylor. Although he is the fifteen time world champion, we somehow never saw him play. When I told this to Kate I wanted to make a sports analogy to show how huge this guy apparently is in the world of competitive darts (maybe the worst two word phrase I've ever typed).

My first instinct was to call him the "Michael Jordan" of darts but I figured that comparison might be a little dated. I wanted someone from the modern day who was equally as feared and dominant in their sport as Phil "The Power" Taylor is in darts. I eventually settled on "He's the Kobe Bryant of darts." What does this have to do with anything? This statement not only lets you know how dominant Phil Taylor is, but it also says alot about the legacy of LeBron James. When I tried to come up with a non-Jordan athlete, the name that popped into my head was LeBron. After all, since 2003 (and before if you want to count his high school days) we've been told how "King" James was the heir apparent to Michael Jordan; the man who was going to do things that nobody had done since #23 left Chicago for the second time (we're going to erase the Wizards MJ from our collective memory). Hell, he even took the same number as Jordan and proceeded to win Rookie of the Year, a scoring title and now two consecutive league MVP's. Although he had yet to win a title, the future was bright for King James, especially with his upcoming free agency

While all this was happening, Kobe Bryant was winning championships. Sure, his first three rings were won when he had Shaq in his prime but he's now won back-to-back on his own--not with any other superstars (like say Dwayne Wade) but with a three time All Star in Pau Gasol and a cast of complimentary pieces. Kobe is a winner. With their backs to the wall, athletes will show their true colors. Down 1 with 25 seconds left? Kobe will clench his teeth, break out the "Kobe Face" (which hilariously enough has its own Facebook page) and bury an impossible fade away three that closes a game. By signing with the Heat, LeBron has proven that he doesn't want to do that. Come next June, if the Heat are down 1 with 25 seconds to go, LeBron won't be burying that shot. It's not his team, it's Dwayne Wade's team. LeBron gave up that shot when he told Jim Gray that he would be "heading to South Beach" There will be no "LeBron face" and the only teeth being clenched will be the ones of abandoned Cavs fans as they burn their #23 jerseys and curse their televisions. LeBron might win his ring (no guarantees there at all) but he won't have done it on his team.

I think we all should have been on notice about what LeBron's summer plans might be back in November. It was at this time that he submitted the paperwork to change his number from 23 to 6. Maybe the weight of that immortal number was starting to get too heavy for him to carry around for 40 minutes a night. Maybe he realized that he wasn't the player that he was built up to be or maybe he just didn't want to be "the man" anymore. You can't blame LeBron for wanting to win a championship but you can question the way he's going to try to do it, especially since we've been force fed his "greatness" for the past 7 years.

God save the "King".

One year down.....

2010-08-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

Kate and I got married one year ago today.

It's crazy to think that the time has gone by so fast but here we are, one year removed from our big day. During the madness of the wedding day, the last thing that I was thinking about was (oddly enough) my marriage. What was life going to be like now that I was married? If I had stepped back last August and tried to predict what our first year of married life was going to be like, it would be pretty similar to what the past 365 days have been.

We've been as near as Stewart Manor and as far as Scotland. We went up to Connecticut and down to Virginia. We've been to Citi Field, Nassau Coliseum and even Croke Park. We spent time with family and friends. We went to birthday parties, Christmas parties and hosted an Olympics party (which,I might add, was pretty awesome.) We saw U2 and the Saw Doctors and had a few sing songs of our own. We've eaten Polish Platters, spicy tuna rolls and enough Italian Ice for to last a lifetime. We went through some very tough times but lived to tell about it because we had each other. We've cooked and cleaned; we've laughed and loved. One year ago, we started this brand new life together and it has been a beautiful experience ever since.

Marriage is not easy. Each time the statistics come out it seems like the divorce rate climbs higher and higher. But like a lot of difficult things, there are some obvious answers that can help. Over the past year I learned that marriage is similar to charades and the $100,000 Pyramid: if you have the right partner it can be pretty easy. The last twelve months have confirmed what I knew a long time ago: Kate is the right partner for me. She picks me up when I'm down, and she puts me in my place when I need putting. At the end of day, I love Kate and I know that she loves me and that's a pretty amazing thing to be able to say.

One year down, many more to come.

UVA/Images

2010-07-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to spend a week down at the University of Virginia last month. I was blown away by the beauty of the campus. Red brick with white borders featured on nearly every building throughout the school. When walking around the campus on a warm summer night, as the setting sun breaks through one of the many trees, you can feel Thomas Jefferson around you (he designed the university and established it in 1819.) The neo-classical architecture, statues of Greek figures as well as Washington reveal the finger prints of the 3rd president.

Additionally, UVA has three secret societies (Seven, IMP and Z) that are very active in the school. You can see their marks on buildings around the campus and in pictures below.

If you ever have the chance, I was would make sure to check out UVA as well as Monticello (about an hour west of Richmond) Enjoy the pics.

Tunnel Beneath the Rotunda

The Lawn

The Rotunda

Window/Sun

Courtyard

Mr. Jefferson

The Church

Rotunda/Z and IMP

How is it......

2010-07-25T15:12:00.001-07:00

....that the worst pint of Guinness I had in Dublin (and perhaps all of Ireland) was at the Guinness brewery?

Bed for now. Home tomorrow.

Purple Sky

2010-07-25T08:29:00.001-07:00

Sitting in the hotel in Dublin. We're leaving for home tomorrow and I haven't sat down to write in a week. Once I'm home I'll be writing about the West and the Saw Doctors and maybe about spraining my ankle like an eejit (as the Irish would say) Today though, I'm thinking about our trip and the wonderful time we had in Dublin last night.

Ireland is a land of experiences. Beautiful landscapes, classic cities, amazing people and of course pints make this country a special place. A trip to Ireland is also a case of sensory overload, Your ears are filled with the tunes of guitars and fiddles while the air carries with it the scent of fields and farms. Very few places carry with them the sights that this country does. For my favorite Irish experience, all I have to do is look up. The sky in Ireland is beautiful. It stretches out across the hills, mountains and church towers that dot the landscape of each town. As I drove out the road in Clones the other day the conversations around me faded away as I got lost in the endless Irish sky. Looking up, you can see the curvature of the earth, not something you see living in New York City. Summers in Ireland also bring 18 hours of sunlight. You can be out for pints at 9:30 and find a clear blue sky above your head. If you've had a good night you might look up around 5:00 and see a beautiful purple as the dawn begins to crack the blackness of the night sky.

Yesterday was a busy day. We woke up in Cavan after a long night of partying (I forgot that Irish weddings last roughly 27 hours) and headed down to Dublin. Myself, Kate and cousins Eamon, Eileen and Jimmy went to Croke Park (the "home" of Irish sports) to check out the 4th round football doubleheader featuring Monaghan/Kildare and Louth/Dublin. A disappointing performance by Monaghan and Louth sent us out of the Croker and into the streets of Dublin. We started at Temple Bar, worked our way up and down the city and ended up visiting what seemed like a dozen pubs along the way. We talked, we laughed and we had the type of night that makes me love being a McCaughey. The girls went home around 3:30 but the boys stayed out for more action. Although the pubs were all closed we made our own fun along the way. We sang "Streets of New York" with a bum who knew half the words and we paid a busker ten Euro to give Eamon her guitar for a few tunes. Eamon wailed away on some tunes from the Pogues, Christy Moore and Damien Dempsey. A few strangers gathered around, we all joined in on the choruses and we were soon on our way. Jimmy and Eamon stayed out for a little bit more but I turned around and headed back to the hotel. As I looked up I saw the purple sky. Any night you're around for the rising of the sun is a great one and last night was no different. I'll be at Dublin Airport in a little more than twelve hours and although I'll be said to leave I won't soon forgot the time spent with cousins, drinking pints and waiting for that purple sky.

Old and New

2010-07-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

Back on July 4th, America celebrated it's 234th birthday. While this may sound like 100 life times for some people, 234 years is just a small bump on the time line of civilization. This always becomes clear when you travel outside of our fine country. We're wrapping up our weekend in Edinburgh and the impression that I will take with me is the "oldness" of everything in this beautiful country.

Scotland is old. Like OLD, old. There's a part of Edinburgh called New Town which was built in 1765. Even that which is "new" is actually quite old. Walking around Edinburgh you pass by statues from the 17th and 18th century as well as architecture from as far back as the 1500's.

Yesterday we went out to St. Andrews and the aptly named Old Course for the Open. It was pretty amazing to walk around a course where people have been playing golf for almost 500 years. We could tell that the Scots had a sense of that history as well. We had been to Bethpage last year, home of perhaps the rowdiest golf fans of all time. The Old Course was most definitely not like the Black Course. Shouts and screams were replaced by polite claps. They appreciated the game and although I was itching to scream out to Phil Mickelson,we appreciated them.

The tradition and the age spread to the kitchen as well. I had heard of haggis before and like most, I swore that I would never try it. For those that don't know, haggis is a made up of sheep's "pluck" (heart, liver and lungs) mixed with onion, oatmeal and spices and cooked in a sheep's stomach. Haggis is as Scottish as The Proclaimers golf and scotch. It dates back to the 1500's and was a staple of cattle drivers in the Highlands. In the midst of experiencing all of these ancient things, I decided that I couldn't leave Scotland without trying it. Haggis is old, it's traditional and it's actually pretty good.

Not to pontificate about America, but one of our faults as a people is a lack of appreciation for old things. We're always looking for the hottest new car, cell phone or television without stopping to appreciate the things that came before us. Edinburgh has helped to appreciate the old.

Other random musings of Scotland

-There are more Italian restaurants here than anywhere I've ever been. I'm saying that per capita, Edinburgh has more Italian restaurants than NYC. Possibly because of the aforementioned haggis

-There's a ton of statues in the city, including one of Abraham Lincoln. It's in a cemetery and is built to honor the Scots who fought in the Civil War. Pretty cool.

-I always heard about the room temperature beer but I had never had it until yesterday. No need to try it again because it was gross.

-Scottish accents rule.

We're up early tomorrow for a flight back to Ireland. Can't wait.

Dublin Airport/Welcome Home

2010-07-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

Whenever I speak, I tend to be painfully aware of coming across as cheesey or corny. I'm not totally sure why but I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that I like to smash overly cheesey or corny people. Many times, while talking with Kate, I'll find myself starting with the phrase "Not to sound corny, but...." I guess it's just a defense mechanism that a wise ass uses to keep himself in check.

So, with that being said......

Not to sound corny, but there is just something about flying into Dublin Airport that gives me a sense of home. Breaking through the clouds to see the symmetrical patterns of lush, green fields fills me with excitement but also calm. Moving through the familiar sections of the arrival terminal always brings back memories of past trips and adventures. Although I wasn't born here, there is always a part of me that feels like I'm coming back home everytime I cross the Atlantic. I suppose in a way, Ireland is a little piece of home. It could be the aunts, uncles and cousins who greet me with a "Welcome home!" when I arrive or maybe it's that piece of identity and culture that is sometimes missing in the melting pot of New York City. Also, I'm my father's son: he's Irish so I'm Irish. Coming back here reminds me of the place he left 50 years ago to start the life that I now have in America.

When Kate and I got through security we stepped outside to take a breath of "Irish" air. It was great, although it did include some cigarette smoke, which is one of many ingredients of Irish air along with peat and cow manure and others. We're getting on a plane to Scotland in a few hours but we're going to be right back here on Monday, ready to re-discover the land of our people.

(Wait, did that sound corny?)

Away We Go

2010-07-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

Kate and I are taking off on a ten day trip to Scotland and Ireland. I'm going to try my best to keep a running diary of our adventures over the next week and a half. You can be sure that you're going to hear plenty about golf, Guinness and family. Here we go!

Changes

2010-07-13T09:00:00.001-07:00

I've had this blog for almost one full year so I decided to change it up a little bit. I had never really liked the templates that Blogger offers but after messing around with it for a while I decided on this one.

The name of the template is "Awesome Inc."

Please do not mistake this as a belief that I'm awesome. I just liked the way it looked.

Enjoy.

Images of Virginia

2010-07-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week of June studying the Civil War at the University of Virginia. I'm sure I'll write about it at some point but for now I'm going to post some pictures. These ones cover the battle field at Bull Run, Appomattox Court House, Monticello and various sites around Charlottesville. A full tour of UVA will be posted later. Enjoy

Bull Run

Stonewall Jackson

Bull Run II

Appomattox Court House

The Road to Appomattox

Path (Monticello)

Garden (Monticello)

Monticello (Check the Back of Your Nickel)

Confederate Cemetery (UVA)

60 Seconds

2010-06-23T16:48:00.001-07:00

The 91st minute.

If you don't know anything about soccer, I should inform you that soccer matches are technically 90 minutes long. However there is something called "extra time" or "injury time" in which the referee adds additional time due to stoppages in play or injuries. Sometimes a minute can seem like an inconsequential blip in life; something that passes without you even knowing. Other times a minute is a lifetime or all that you need to survive. Today in South Africa, a minute was huge.

Watching the US/Algeria match brought me back to London in June of 2002. My buddy Kevin and I were at the beginning of our month long tour of Europe and I dragged him down to an Irish pub at 7 in the morning to watch Ireland/Germany in the World Cup. Germany, the heavy favorite, struck early and held a 1-0 until that pesky injury time. A long ball in, headed down by Niall Quinn to the foot of Robbie Keane and into the back of the net. Just like that the game was tied. Usually explosions involving Irishmen in London pubs are a bad thing but on that day it was great. Everything changed in a minute.

Many Americans can't understand why people like soccer but games like today and back in 2002 make me love the game. Working and working and working for 90 minutes just waiting for that chance. Sometimes you get it and it's pushed wide or the goalie gets a finger on it to deflect it away. Other times, the bounce goes your way, the ball ends up in the net and madness ensues. The U.S., much like Ireland in 2002, got what they deserved. Ireland busted it that day and got a draw which helped them advance. The US worked hard and got the goal that moved them into the last 16 and even won them their group. They boys in red, white and blue were on the verge of going home but now they're going on. Everything changed in a minute.

The U.S. got a miracle today. Now all that stands between us and the semi-finals is Ghana and Uruguay or South Korea none of which are soccer powerhouses. I don't know what's going to happen but it's anywhere near as good as today I can't wait.

Do yourself a favor and watch the game on Saturday afternoon but don't miss the extra time because sometimes a minute is all you need.

a boy and his beard

2010-06-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

A few months into our first semester at Fordham, my buddy Mike and I decided we would grow goatees. After all, we were now grown up college MEN, not the "kids" that we had been just a short time before. We started to grow and as Mike's goatee began to fill in nicely, I came to a realization: I could grow a mean neck beard. Yeah, apparently normal facial hair wasn't in the cards for an 18 year old Frank McCaughey. At different times over the next 10 years I would grow my facial hair in but could never commit to it, probably because I was thinking back to my failed attempt years before.

After my wedding last August, I decided that I would take a break from shaving for the remainder of the summer and let the beard grow in. As the beginning of the school year closed in I had a decision to make: keep it or shave. While this may sound like a relatively simple decision, there is nothing simple about your appearance when you teach 150 6th and 7th graders (when I cut my hair short last year it caused quite a reaction from the students). If I were to keep it, it involved a 10 month commitment. After much debate I decided I would stick with it. School started, students commented (with my favorite being called "Sasquatch" by a former student)and overall I was well received....as far as I know.

Well sometimes life calls for change and after one of the worst/turbulent/maddening/saddening/every other emotion in the world weeks of my life I decided to shave my beard. Kate seems to be happy with it, saying that she "missed my face." I think she's just happy that she doesn't have to deal with my neurotic weekly beard trimmings in which I was convinced that I had messed it up. Either way, I'm happy that I kept it for the year and I'm sure 18 year old Frank is too.

Hi, my name is Ulysses, and I'm an alcoholic?

2010-06-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

For the past week I've been caught in a shit storm at work for two incidents that are not my fault. Wait, isn't that what the guilty guy always says? Well maybe in movies but I swear, I'm an innocent man.

As I sort my way through this mess I'm brought back to a lesson I taught just today. The topic was Ulysses S. Grant and his life before and during the Civil War. Popular history paints Grant as a drunk who resigned his position from the Army in 1854 because of his drinking problem. After reading a biography of Grant, I learned that while he indeed drink from time to time, he was no drunk. His worst drinking came as a result of a difficult commanding officer who made his life a living hell and a longing for his wife and child in Galena, Illinois over 2,000 miles away from his post in the Oregon Territory. Grant resigned, moved to St. Louis where failed in business before returning to Galena to work at his father's tannery. When the South seceded, Grant returned to the Army, first as a desk worker then as the Commander of the 21st Illinois and later the savior of a fledgling Union army. Even so, Grant is still remembered in many accounts as a drunk.

Is drinking when life gets shitty a bad thing? At the end of the day Grant drank too much because his boss was an asshole and he missed his wife and kids, including a son whose birth he missed. Can't we all kind of relate to family issues and an asshole boss? I guess like everything else in life, it's all relative.

Benny the Barber

2010-05-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite parts of growing up in a small town was the mom and pop businesses that helped make the community. In Stewart Manor we have a great little deli, card store, bagel store, hardware store and of course, a barber. Any guys around my age in the greater Stewart Manor area go to (or went to) Benny and Mike's Barber shop. I started going there as a kid and was there just last week getting my monthly hair cut. As a kid, Benny and Mike's was made up of three older gentleman straight off the boat from Italy. I always went to Benny. He was my barber when my mom would come to the shop with me, he fixed the mess I made of my hair with manicure scissors before our family vacation to California in '88 (yes I cut my hair with manicure scissors. What can I say? 8 year old boys are curious) and he cut my hair before my communion, confirmation and graduations from grammar school to college. I figured that Benny would cut my hair before my wedding but when the time came, Benny wasn't there. Since he often went home to Italy during the summer I figured that we just missed each other and that I would catch him for my "first day of school" hair cut.

When I went back in September, I learned that Benny had died. He had been sick with cancer and he went quickly over the summer. When I learned of this, I was both shocked and saddened. Benny was a genuinely nice man and although we weren't exactly friends we did have a relationship that covered 20+ years. He would often remind me that he had cut my hair "since I was this big" while holding his hand a few feet off the floor. My mom always told me that any time she passed the shop when walking down the avenue Benny would give her a wave. Time passed, the two other men retired but Benny kept working with his sons and grandson joining him in the shop.

A few months back, Benny's grandson was cutting my hair and we started talking about soccer, specifically the Champions League. His grandson was a fan of defending champion Barcelona who would be playing Inter Milan of Italy in the semi-finals. Since I had just watched Inter defeat English powerhouse Chelsea, I told him that I thought Inter was the team to beat. It was at that point that his grandson told me that Inter was Benny's favorite team. Although they hadn't won the European Championship since 1965, the combination of a great coach, a good team and Benny confirmed for me that Inter would indeed raise the cup in Madrid.

Yesterday was the final between Inter and Bayern Munich of Germany. Behind the plan of coach Jose Mourinho and two wonderful goals from Diego Milito, Inter Milan won the Champions League. Throw in winning Serie A (the Italian league) and the Italian cup and Inter did something that only 5 other European clubs have done by winning all three titles or the "treble" as it's known in world of soccer. After the match I couldn't help but think of Benny. Although he was no longer cutting hair on Covert Avenue, I'm sure he was somewhere celebrating the victory.

LCD Soundsystem @ Terminal 5

2010-05-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

Most of the time, music can be easily defined. You can have your traditional four piece rock band, a DJ with an MC on the mic or even 5 pretty white boys singing and dancing in unison with the McDonald's drive thru microphones wrapped around their finally gelled hair. Music that is not easily definable? Well that's a horse of a different color! (did I really make a Wizard of Oz reference?) Finding this rare breed is not a common occurrence, but last night I found it and it was fantastic.

LCD Soundsystem played Terminal 5 last night (sold out shows through Sunday)and the show that I saw left me slightly confused, a little bit drunk and overall ecstatic at the performance. I was confused because my ears told me one thing but my eyes told me another. Upon listening to LCD Soundsystem you would immediately classify them (or more accurately HE, James Murphy who is LCD Soundsystem by himself in the studio but brings a band on the road) as dance music, which it absolutely is. But after seeing them up close I realized that they are much, much more. On stage you have Mr. Murphy and all the makings of a traditional "band" including guitar, drums, bass, keyboard and synthesizer. However when you hear the music they make (looping beats, heavy percussion, and synthesizer) your mind is drawn to dance music; then, it gets really weird. If you listen closely and move past the beats that are making you dance (awkwardly in my case) you realize that they're playing real SONGS complete with verses, refrains and stories about life and love. A rare combination that places LCD squarely in that area of "undefinable" which is a beautiful thing in both music and life.

This really was one of the best shows that I've been to in a while. In addition to the great music, we were perched up in the balcony which enabled us to look down at the crowd simultaneously moving to the beat. I've always found the idea of a large number of people (in this case 3,000) focused and committed to the same thing at the same time to be, in a way, quite inspiring. It's the beauty of music, bringing together the hipsters of Brooklyn and the social studies teachers of Queens.

LCD closed with an acapella version of "Empire State of Mind" complete with hundreds of balloons falling from the ceiling. A surreal end for a surreal show that made me appreciate live music that much more.

Hello Again

2010-05-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't written anything in a month so I figured I'd write a quick blurb about baseball as I watch the Mets game.

Basic rule of baseball: If you don't take advantage of your opportunities you will not win games. It sounds simple but the Mets have become masters of this over the past four (miserable) years.

Although the game isn't over the Mets are currently losing 4-2. The big free agent acquisition Jason Bay has come up 2 times with a chance to drive men in and hasn't come through. After the Mets didn't come through, the Reds hit two home runs to take the aforementioned 4-2 lead.

As I'm typing this, David Wright hit a home run to make it 4-3 which just goes to show that I pretend like I know things when in fact, I'm just a boob.

Haven't posted in a while since work and life in general have been a bit busy but I plan on getting back into it.

Thanks for reading.

(I'm pretty sure I just said that to myself since no one reads this shite)

Opening Day or How I Soaked a Stranger

2010-04-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Bottom of the first, one on and one out. My buddy Mike turns to me and says that David Wright was going to hit a two run home run and when he did I jumped out of my seat. I also knocked the beer out of his hand which went all over the guy in front of us. Now, while I felt like a complete idiot for soaking this guy (and still kind of do) it turned out to be a good thing. How can dumping beer on a stranger be a good thing? Well based on being a Mets fan over the last few years, it could have been much worse but Opening Day 2010 proved to be different.

When I think about Opening Day 2010, I think nothing but good thoughts which, if you're being honest, has not happened much since Game 7 of the '06 NLCS. However, Opening Day '10 brought a new start for the both the players on the field and the fans off of it. It's been a long ten months since the meltdown of '09 featuring a dropped pop up, a bases loaded walk to Mariano Rivera, and a shirtless/wrestling assistant general manager. When you throw in a long spring, complete with the apparent foregone conclusion that this team will be sub .500, it became clear that it was time for the new season to start.

Well yesterday the new season started and the Mets came through. A dream first at bat for Wright, amazing new additions to the stadium and an overall positive vibe in the park (minus the booing of the medical staff and Ollie Perez which were both hilarious and deserved) left the feeling that the darkness of 2009 had lifted. It's a new season and it's time to see what this group of guys can do. Can they make the playoffs? Probably not but I don't think an 85-87 win season is completely unreasonable if they stay healthy and get good pitching (great pitching might push them up near 90 a maybe a wild card, and yes I did just say that.) Overall, yesterday was a great day; the Mets were back and life was good in Queens.

I can't wait for the next 161. Let's Go Mets!

Lucky Me

2010-03-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

The following is a guest blog from my wife Mary Kate. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.- Frank

My parents were married on March 17, 1973. St. Patrick’s Day in our house, then, became twice as big of a deal (as if it wasn’t big enough on its own). My early memories involve sips of wine during dinner, with music from the Chieftain’s and Tommy Makem playing in the background. And my later memories involve pints of beer during dinner, with the same music from the Chieftain’s and Tommy Makem. Every memory in between is a good one – the year that we gave my parents green jellybean-filled wine glasses and the Riverdance soundtrack (one of the first CDs in our home!), or the year that my sisters and I cooked dinner for them and I almost dropped the cake we made because I insisted on dancing a jig while bringing the cake in from the kitchen (note: I’m a Lenihan School of Irish Dance drop out and have not fully come to terms with it). Sure, some years have been better than others, but the day always guarantees delivery of a few basic things: having some drinks with family, enjoying good music, sharing memories and being proud of being Irish (or half-Irish, as the case may be…).

Since 2005, I’ve been fortunate to share March 17 with Frank, the only person I know outside of my own family who knows what the day means for me and, more specifically, my parents. Each year since 2005, he’s been ready with a whiskey if ‘The Parting Glass’ or ‘Galway Bay’ is played, knowing that it’ll calm me down as I’m reminded of my dad. He’ll sit through watching ‘The Quiet Man,’ hokey as it is, because I get to hear John Wayne say my name. He always offers an invitation to my mom for any of his family’s events of the day (she especially enjoyed the year that we found ourselves in the private party for the pipers at the Roosevelt Hotel after watching the parade. I remember her saying, “Your dad would be like a pig in poop if he were here!”). He sings a mean ‘Streets of New York’ and is perfecting the art of Irish coffee. In all, he’s a catch. But on March 17, he’s exceptional.

My parents would have been married 37 years tomorrow and I hope that I have at least 37 more March 17ths with Frank, my proud Irish man.

Cosmos and Beer

2010-03-12T21:47:00.001-08:00

I'm just home from an incredibly long day (teaching during the day then working at Trinity at night.) I'm quite tired but I had to share one story from my shift tonight.

A woman ordered a cosmo, which I always hate because of my notoriously shakey hands (thanks Mom!) and also because I can never remember what fruit goes in it. When I asked the bartender, my fellow server chastised me for not knowing that a lime goes in a cosmo.

"You don't know a lime goes in a cosmo?!?!?! Haven't you ever seen your wife drink one????"

To which I replied: "No, my wife doesn't drink cosmos. She drinks beer. That's why I married her."

That exchange made me smile. So will bed, which is where I'm going now.

Good night.

Hot Dogs and Shame

2010-03-03T16:35:00.001-08:00

Kate has classes on Monday and Wednesday which leads me to fend for myself when it comes to dinner. Now don't get me wrong, I can cook (just ask anyone who has had my fish tacos or meatloaf.) However, as we all know, sometimes all we want is something easy. Upon inspecting the freezer, I found some hot dogs. I left two out to be defrosted and finished up some work.

As it came time for dinner I realized that I was not that hungry. It could have been my late lunch or it could have been the leftover Swedish Meatballs I had when I got home but either way I wasn't that hungry. Since I had defrosted two hot dogs I decided that I would at least cook the two and if I didn't have room for the second one I would dump it.

Then I saw some cheese in the fridge, so I decided to make cheese dogs.

Then I ate both of them.

Now I'm washing them both down with a beer.

As I barrel out of my twenties it's nice to see that I have total disregard for the horrendous middle aged gut that will be upon me in the blink of an eye.

But damn those cheese dogs were good.

Do You Believe in Miracles?????

2010-02-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

Ok so maybe it wasn't THAT big of an upset but it was a hell of a game. Just finished watching USA/Canada in the Olympics and it was everything that makes hockey such an amazing sport. Some thoughts:

-When played at its highest level, hockey is better than every sport, and I say this as someone who considers baseball his favorite sport. The speed, hitting and amazing skill that these guys show is just off the charts.

-You could say that on paper, Team USA is the 4th or 5th best team in this tournament (behind Canada, Russia, Sweden and possibly Finland) however I used those two dirty sports words....ON PAPER. There's nothing that can win a hockey tournament, whether it's the Stanley Cup playoffs or the Olympics, better than a hot goaltender and Ryan Miller was outstanding tonight. He's been the best goalie in the NHL all year and if he keeps it up, the US will definitely walk out with some kind of medal, maybe even the gold.

-Even though they can't fight, these teams have been crushing each other with nice, clean hits. The US team has been hitting everything in sight from the drop of the puck against Switzerland.

-Although Drury and Callahan were great tonight, I still think Kyle Okposo should be on Team USA.

-Love the jerseys that the US has in this tournament. The throwbacks from 1960 were excellent as are the blue ones. Especially love the "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" stitched into the wrists.

-It has to kill Canadians that the US beat them at a sport which is religion to them but 90% of our population cares nothing about. I guess there's a reason we're the USA and they're Canada.

-"USA! USA!" is a classic sports chant. Not a classic? "CA-NA-DA!" Sorry guys it just doesn't work.

-No one is a better play by play man than Doc Emrick. The knowledge, passion and enthusiasm add so much to an already amazing experience.

-I basically love all Olympic sports (except cross country which is just boring) but nothing is better than Olympic hockey. Having that much talent, playing for their countries on a bigger rink is fantastic. The first game today (Russia/Czech Republic) was great and I'm sure the last one will be too (Sweden/Finland). Unfortunately it's back to work tomorrow so I'm going to bed soon.

So now the US wins the group and gets the extra day off while Canada gets Germany. The final week of this tournament is going to be great with it all coming to an end next Sunday afternoon, hopefully with the Red, White and Blue finishing on top.

Avatar

2010-02-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

When Avatar first came out, I wasn't very interested in seeing it. After hearing more about it and realizing that the last 3D movie I saw was "Captain Eo" starring Michael Jackson, I figured I would check it out. Unfortunately Kate wasn't interested, so I had to do what any (sad) normal (lonely) person would do: go to a matinee by myself on a Friday afternoon.

I usually try to have some theme or story running through my blogs but this movie really didn't do all that much for me so here are some random thoughts:

-The film was visually amazing; everything else was just....eh (with shoulder shrug)

-So it's the highest grossing film ever which leaves me a bit confused. If that many people saw it then it MUST be good right? (herd mentality after all) After seeing it though, I barely categorize Avatar as a good movie forget it being a great movie. So then what is it? It's the perfect movie for its time: looks great, not much else there.

-Giovanni Ribisi really did a great Ari Gold impersonation in his role of the evil corporate guy. It's as if he just watched the box set of Entourage to prepare for this role. I wonder if he did that same thing with "Life Goes On" when researching for his stellar turn in "The Other Sister."

-If this is a front runner for Best Picture then this truly was a weak year for film. I haven't seen "The Hurt Locker" but I would have to imagine that it's a better movie than Avatar. Hell I would put "Inglourious Basterds" ahead of it. I respect what Cameron did with the technology but I just don't think it was that great.

-Were we supposed to feel bad for the Navi? I was more upset that I gave up candy for Lent and had to get popcorn, the lesser of the movie snack choices.

-They had some 3D previews including "Piranha 3D" which is about killer piranhas attacking swimmers at a beach. This movie looks atrocious. The worst part? Richard Dreyfuss is in this movie...about a fish....that is threatening the safety of swimmers.....at a beach. Did he forget he was in JAWS?!?! Should we be concerned about the mental and financial well being of Dr. Leo Marvin? Equally as bad? The movie poster I saw for "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" the sequel to the 1987 Oliver Stone film, except instead of Charlie Sheen as the young hot shot it's.....Shia LeBeouf. What did he do to get all of this work?

-CAPITALISM! IMPERIALISM! I get it Mr. Cameron, America is evil. This gives some perspective as to why this movie has done so well overseas (it broke the world box office record weeks before it broke the domestic record)

So to sum it up, Avatar made a lot of money.

Yup.

2.12.05

2010-02-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

Kate and I first met each other when working at Fordham. Now, we were also students at Fordham at the same time (me an '02 grad, Kate in '03) but Kate studied and I drank, so it wasn't until we worked together that we met. Just a few months in, Kate and I became friendly and soon we had entered the phase that Kate calls "courting." We shared stories about our families, our shared Irish heritage -Kate telling stories about drinking whiskey, me making casual comments about the IRA- and the many common people, places and things that made up our lives.

Fast forward to February 11th, 2005. I invited Kate out to see Shilelagh Law at Connolly's. I also forgot to mention that my two best friends and my sister/future brother-in-law would be there as well. Strike one. We hung out for a bit, watched the show and soon it was time for Kate to head home. As she got up to say goodbye, I stood, said goodbye and sat back down as Kate made her way towards the door. Soon she was gone and my friends were asking me what I was doing. "Why didn't you walk her out?" Strike two. Throughout my life, I have not exactly been a ladies man and this incident immediately made me question myself. Did I blow it? Why wouldn't I just walk her out?

Well, even with this faux pas, Kate and I made plans to hang out the following day. I did some work on campus, went to the basketball game and then made my way over to her old Bronx apartment behind the Jolly Tinker. We hung out for a while but neither of us made a move until finally it was time to go. As I left we said goodbye, we kissed. I made my way back to Long Island, nervous and excited as a 7th grader, and the following day I was on a plane to Florida for work. What a guy! Blow her off and when you do make a move, disappear to Florida for a week....well done. We talked throughout that week, we soon were dating and we haven't been apart since.

We've shared amazing times together from the craziness of the Chief's Dinner to a quiet night at home. We've been to thirteen states, two foreign countries and Montauk 50 times. We've eaten Dairy Queen in Stratford, Carvel in Stewart Manor and Italian ices in Forest Hills. We planned our wedding, bought our apartment and (barely) lived to tell the stories.

When August 1st rolls around, I imagine that I will get a little nostalgic thinking back to our wedding. We had an amazing day and our anniversary will always give us a chance to think about when we started our new life. However, when I think about my wife and the amazing life we have together, I always think about back to February 12th, 2005.

It's now February 12th, 2010. I'm off to have dinner with my wife and this time, I'm going to walk her out.

Let it Snow

2010-02-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

(the view from our window)

During fourth period yesterday, while I was completing my daily round of yard duty at school, I received a text message from my wife. "You have tomorrow off." While the possibility of a snow day had raced through my mind all day, I hadn't considered it becoming a reality. When I asked whether she was messing with me, Kate replied with a screen cap of "Eyewitness News" that confirmed the beautiful truth. Tomorrow was going to be a snow day.

There are few things that can make an adult feel like a child. For some Christmas does the trick; for others a softball beer league brings them back to their youth. For me, it's all about a snow day. Everyone can remember the snow days from their youth. First the 5 day forecast mentions snow, then you start hearing about possible accumulation numbers and finally, the day before the storm arrives and all you can think about is no school. You wake up early the next morning and flip on the TV in hopes of hearing the good news. Once you hear that school is cancelled you rejoice and start making plans for how to celebrate this joyous event. Sledding, snowball fights or even the always fun snow football game.

When the principal announced the cancellation over the PA, my kids broke out in applause and cheering. Although I didn't cheer along with them, I was celebrating on the inside; happy for them that they would experience the aformentioned joy of a childhood snow day but also happy for me that I would get to have an adult snow day. Throw in the fact that Kate would also have the day off and I was as happy as any of my students.

The following picture was taken at 5:30:

Not 5:30 AM. That's 5:30 PM.

Our door has been locked like this since we went to bed last night. We haven't even thought of leaving today. On most days this would be viewed as lazy and slovenly, but on a snow day it's totally acceptable. I was in my pajamas until 4 o'clock. Who does that? Well someone who has a snow day that's who! (Although if I were being totally honest, I would disclose that I did the same thing when Kate went home to Connecticut last Saturday....maybe I am lazy) Kate and I love each others company and both really enjoy relaxing at home. For us, snow days as perfect.

We got out of bed around 9:30 (late for us), had breakfast and watched 1.5 hours of Game Show Network including Match Game, Family Feud (Ray Combs edition) AND $25,000 Pyramid. SNOW DAY! Thanks to hitting the grocery store the night before we had plenty of drinks and food so we made a great child-like snow day lunch (see pictures below.) SNOW DAY! Since then we've each done some work, watched a little TV and overall had a great day. Throw in that we still have dinner, the Islanders game and "Modern Family" and the snow day (now snow night) still has a lot to offer.

Mayor Bloomberg just announced that schools will be open tomorrow. While I was hoping that we might somehow get another day off, I had such a great day today that it makes the disappointment a little better. Snow days are bonus days in life. Whether you spend them sledding, shovelling or shutting yourself in, snow days are a great day. For now, we'll enjoy the rest of the night and wait for the next time we get the chance to lock ourselves in, watch 30 year old game shows and enjoy the times that make life a little bit better, even if it's just for a day.

Some photos from our snow day:

(Child's Snow Day Lunch)

(Adult's Snow Day Lunch)

(73rd Road)

Our Turn

2010-01-22T14:45:00.001-08:00

There's an amazing pattern among New York sports fans. The large majority of New York fans fall into two groups: Yankees/Giants/Rangers fans and Mets/Jets/Islanders fans. While there may be some exceptions to this rule, most fans usually fall in line with this grouping. Why is this? Could be geography. Most people who grew up within the city limits are in the Yankees group while many suburban fans (especially on Long Island) lean toward the Mets group. It could be how long you and your family have been fans for since Group #1 is home to all of the traditional franchises that have been among the premier teams in their respective leagues since the early 1900's. Conversely none of the teams in group #2 were around before 1960. Regardless of how and why people are fans of these teams, there is one fact about these fans that cannot be denied. Group #2 never wins championships.....ever; in fact they rarely even play for a championship. If we take away the two hockey teams (since the Rangers have been MUCH less successful than the Islanders since the Isles started playing in 1972) you would find championship numbers that are just plain pathetic. Since 1962, (the first year that all four teams were playing at the same time) you would find that the Mets/Jets have won 3 championships while the Yankees/Giants have combined for 12. In fact, even if you threw in the amount of times the Mets/Jets have played for a championship it's still not close (12-5)

Not only does this give us insight into how poorly the former teams have been run for the past fifty years but it also tells us a lot about the psyche of the fans. Yankees/Giants fans expect to win championships on a regular basis, always assuming that they have the superior team. Mets/Jets fans are always waiting for the other shoe to drop, just one fumble or September collapse away from another off season of despair.

This brings us to the 2009 New York Jets.

Although we saw success with the rookie quarterback/rookie head coach experiments in Atlanta and Baltimore last year, I think it is fair to say that not much was expected of the Jets this year. I don't think that Jets fans thought they would suffer through a 4-12/3-13 type season but instead 8-8/9-7 would be more realistic, with both records leaving the Jets short of the playoffs (especially since an 11-5 Patriots team missed out last year.) While looking great at times- see the 3-0 start- the Jets were a source of frustration throughout the year. The list of bad losses runs long from both Miami games, the Bills game at the Meadowlands, Jacksonville and of course the week 15 loss to the Falcons. Hell that was so bad that the coach even eliminated his own team from the playoffs. But then Santa came and delivered a present that no Jets fan could have dreamed of..... a rookie quarterback from Purdue called Curtis Painter. When Bill Polian (yes I'm giving all the credit/blame to Polian not rookie head coach Jim Caldwell) decided to rest his starters all fortunes changed. I truly believe that there is no way that the 7-7 Jets team that walked into Indianapolis on December 27th would have beaten the Colts that day with Manning and company on the field for four quarters.

However, Peyton wasn't on the field for four quarters. Painter came in, the Jets took over and everything changed. Now the Jets are 11-7. They walk into Indianapolis on January 24th as a different team, having won four in a row including two playoff games on the road. The coach has gone out of his way to build this team up with everything from bold predictions to itineraries that include a victory parade. They believe, but do I?

I fall into the Mets/Jets/Islanders group mentioned above. I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. In my life, I have two legitimate memories of my teams playing for the championship: the '86 and '00 Mets. While it's not fair to say the Jets have been terrible in my lifetime (especially in recent years), the Mets have pushed me to the point of insanity and the Islanders were the worst team in the NHL last year (although I am very confident about their future) Long story short, I'm always waiting for the worst, primarily because I have never experienced the best. I hate to say it but these Jets might be changing that. I was basically a giddy 6 year old after the San Diego game and I have been counting the minutes until Sunday's kick off since then.

The Jets are going to win on Sunday.

The best part is, I truly believe that. Maybe I'm just sick of watching my teams lose. Maybe it's what I have to believe when faced with the daunting prospect of facing Peyton Manning. Or maybe, just maybe, it's finally our turn. Either way, I can't wait for Sunday. I'm not going to think about how it's been a great season win or lose, I'm going to think about winning the AFC Championship. It's our turn.

Next stop Miami.

Jack is Back.....and I couldn't be happier

2010-01-19T13:46:00.000-08:00

(Insert Clock Ticking Here)

As we enter the winter TV season (did this even exist 10 years ago? I thought all shows started in September) we see the return of two of my favorites: Lost and 24. Since Lost doesn't start for another two weeks and I'm probably not smart enough to write a good blog about the mysteries of Lost, I'll start with 24.

I started watching 24 after getting season 1 on DVD off Netflix back in 2002. I loved Season 1. The introduction of the "happening in real time" format, the action and suspense and of course one of the greatest surprises/twists in television history with Nina Myers, all made season 1 one of my favorite seasons of television ever. Over time I got a few people hooked on the show, including my parents with whom "Jack" on Mondays became a winter tradition. Although the show has its good seasons and bad seasons, I love Jack Bauer and so should you. What have we learned through the first four hours of Day 8? Let's take a look. (Side note before you start, 24 seasons are referred to as "Days" since they all happen in 24 hours.....terrible? Not for me!)

We start by looking at the man himself: Jack Bauer. This season opens up with "Grandpa" Jack babysitting his granddaughter. Stop right there. The Jack Bauer I know and love is a cold blooded, win at all costs federal agent. No one wants to see Grandpa Jack. We want the man who tortured his own brother, got so deep undercover that he became a heroin addict and would probably waterboard his own mother in order to get "THE TRUTH!" I was thrilled to see him bury an ax in that guy's chest during the first hour but was a little upset that he wasn't on board when Renee cut that Russian's hand off at the end of hour four. Hopefully, Jack will turn it around over the next twenty weeks.

The highlight of the first four hours was definetely the introduction of the new characters. In the interest of time and reader boredom, I'll focus on three.

President Hassan
President Hassan gives us the leader of a radical Islamic state that is open to talks with the United States over nuclear proliferation. This is an interesting character considering the current state of our world and shows that the writers and producers can incorporate real world issues into the show. However, I was completely taken out of it by constantly thinking about becoming a MILLON-AIR! I'm sure Anil Kapoor will have a fine career but I all I could do during the first episode was think of ways to mix President Hassan with his character from "Slumdog Millionaire" such as "When President Hassan leaves office he could write a book that would make him a MILLON-AIR!" or "If his wife finds out that President Hassan is cheating on her with that reporter, the divorce settlement will make her a MILLON-AIR!" Also, I always love the fictional country that they create for these world leaders. My wife deemed President Hassan to be from Quagistan but after a little research it looks like he's from "Kamistan." (It goes without saying that I prefer Kate's by far.) I would love to see them choose a real country and stick with it. I mean they have no problem picking on the Russians! During Hour Four, we again learned that the Russians have their dirty, commy hands in this one. Why is it that they can't name a real Middle Eastern country but they can always drag "The Russians" in? Twenty years after the fall of the Iron Curtain and it's still the god damn Russians!

Cole Ortiz
Freddie Prinze Jr. reprises the same basic role that we see each year. The young CTU hot shot that gets to work with Jack. We can only hope he can pull it off as well as "Cut Your Arm Off" Chase from Day 3 or Rick "Don't call me Ricky" Schroeder in Day 6. I'm hoping Day 9 will bring us either Josh Hartnett or if we're really lucky Chris Klein.

Dana Walsh
Had to save my favorite- and most ridiculous- character for last. Dana Walsh is a Senior Data Analyst at CTU New York who is hiding a secret past including a former identity. What is her secret? Well her van driving white trash ex-boyfriend or perhaps her single-mother sister will let us know. Either way, it's absolutely ridiculous. Now I'm not one who goes out of his way to find plot holes, but I'm having a tough time accepting that someone who works for the Counter-Terrorist Unit wouldn't have some type of background check done on her. Is there no type of vetting process for a federal agent??? Additionally, who gets harassed/stalked and threatened by ex, but then proceeds to give him the keys to her place? It's clear that the ex boyfriend angle is this season's version of the "unneccessary storyline" that was previously taken by the director of CTU has a crazy daughter in Day Four and Wayne Palmer is president in Day Six.

Other highlights? The always fantastic Chloe O'Brian (again played perfectly by Mary-Lynn Rajskub), the bit roles from the cable TV all stars especially Captain David Aceveda from "The Shield" and Vincent Chase's scumbag cousin from Entourage and finally Bubba Gump himself as the head of CTU New York. When you throw in a mentally unstable Renee Walker sawing hands off while undercover with the Russians and the rumored return of President Charles Logan, I know that I will be enjoying Day 9.

(Insert clock ticking here)

Pretending I Know Stuff About Football

2010-01-13T15:48:00.001-08:00

Whether it's the way we here in the United States define it (with the oblong shaped ball) or the way the rest of the world does (where you can only play the ball with the foot), football is dominating my sports world right now.

A quick blurb about soccer before we get to the big story. Liverpool's terrible 09/10 campaign has finally hit a nadir after being bounced out of the FA Cup by Reading in the 3rd round at Anfield. So to recap, the Reds have now been knocked out of the Champions League, the FA Cup and currently sit 7th in the league. Prediction? The slide continues and ends with one or both of Benitez and Torres departing at the end of the year. On the opposite end we have Manchester City (my adopted English team) who have a new manager, are on a four match winning streak and are now fourth in the League. Although they haven't beaten any teams of quality over the last four, they seem to have a new spark under Mancini. When you throw in the play of Carlos Tevez (recently named Premier League player of the month) and the transfer addition of Patrick Vieria things are looking good for the other Manchurian team. Prediction? The Citizens win the Carling Cup and finish 3rd in the League ahead of Arsenal.

Now, onto the big stuff.

How about those Jets. Dominating offensive performance on Saturday, especially since they left 10 points on the field thanks to penalties and Braylon Edwards, the man who can't catch a cold (I made that one up myself.....like it????). The defense was good but not great -almost 200 yards rushing- but they got the job done when they needed to. Now, as we move our sights west to San Diego, we as Jets fans are like the kid standing with his toes curling off the edge of the high dive. We want to believe that we can jump but we just can't commit ourselves to doing it. We don't want to admit that there's a tiny piece of us that believes we might be on the verge of a magical run ala the '07 Giants. This is the beauty of Jets fans. To paraphrase my buddy (and Jets season ticketholder) George, Jets fans are idiots because they get insanely overly optimistic after one win and then complain that the team let them down when they eventually lose. Would I be surprised if the Jets go down on Sunday? Absolutely not. The Chargers are a first class offensive team, playing at home, that hasn't lost since October. However, with the running game working the way it is and Norv Turner on the other sideline I'm going to be the aformentioned idiot Jets fan and predict a Jets victory and a trip to the AFC Championship game. This victory will allow Jets fans to take that plunge and make us believe that this is truly our year, which will inevitably lead to the crushing, heartbreaking loss that defines out existence as Jets fans .

Can't wait for Sunday.

Stew Leonard's

2009-12-28T18:39:00.001-08:00

Kate and I enjoy going to the supermarket. We went to one of the best in the tri-state area today (Stew Leonard's) and I decided to bring the camera along.

(Juices)

(Honey Teddy Bears)

(Green Beans)

(Scale)

(Asparagi)

(Clover the Cow)

(Mangoes)

(Naked Chicken)

(Fake Plastic Tuna)

(Check-out)

(My Darling Clementine)

And so this is Christmas...

2009-12-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. Everything about the season makes me happy; the lights and songs, the family gatherings and even going to church throughout Advent and on Christmas Day. I still enjoy it today, but nothing compares to Christmas when you're a kid.

The excitement would start after Thanksgiving and come in waves for most of the next month. I tried to not get too excited, knowing that the "big day" was two or three weeks away but once we got within a week I was ready to go. Christmas Eve always seemed to be the longest day in the world (with the day you get the phone call from Chaminade informing you that you have to go to summer school a close second) which would plod along until it was time for mass. I always thought of mass as the last hurdle that separated me from the full joy of Christmas morning. "If I just get through this...." I would wonder to myself while driving to the church. Mass would come and go, dinner with the family followed and soon it was time for bed.

4:13.

A quick peek at the clock would lead to disappointment as it was much too early to bother the sleeping parents. I remember laying in bed, falling in and out of sleep just waiting for when the time was right.

If I close my eyes, I can still see the view from the top of the stairs into my living room, barely being able to see the presents underneath the tree. This was always a time of nervous energy as I waited for my parents to deem it late enough for the big trip downstairs. Sometimes it was just a peek, then maybe creep down a few stairs to get a better look; on really exciting mornings I might go all the way to the bottom of the stairs, convincing myself that it was alright as long as I didn't go into the living room. After finally coercing the parents out of bed, my father would do the unthinkable.....make us wait longer so he could set up his video camera for the big "kids walking down the stairs on Christmas morning" shot. During this time my sisters and I would conference about what was waiting for us downstairs. We would then line up (in height/age order) and walk down the stairs. Going back and watching these home videos now always crack us up because the ones from the early 80's feature squinting childrens that are blinded my the 5,000 watt lightbulb that was used the light the scene. Eventually we would make it down the stairs (half-blind) and begin the fun.

The joy of opening the presents would lead to the hours of playing with the new toys while waiting for company to come over. Some cousins would come for dinner, even more would come for dessert. When we were young we would compare presents, when we were older we would drink beers. My cousin Jimmy always had a party back at his house. What started as an excuse to drink with his friends when his parents were at my house would turn into a lasting Christmas tradition that at times seemed to have hundreds of people there. It was just another part of the great day. Sadly this party ended a few years ago once we started getting older although I bet Jimmy could pull it off again.

Christmas obviously changes as you get older. In high school you still get excited but don't let anyone know about it then in college (and beyond) you just want to sleep late. For Christmas 2009 I found myself in the second to last phase....marriage.** My wife and I just finished our first Christmas together and although it wasn't always easy, it was great. We decided long ago that we would split the holiday in two....Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with hers. We each missed our traditions but we once again learned the life lesson that just because it's different, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad. We had a great time celebrating with our families and closed out the weekend with a quiet night at home watching the Islanders beat the Rangers which always makes everything better. Now it's time for sleep which will be easy after a weekend full of Christmas memories of the past and present. For the last time until next year, Merry Christmas.

**If you were wondering what the last stage of Christmas is, it would be having children which kinda resets the whole thing since you get the share the excitement with the kid.

Soccer? You really watch soccer?

2009-12-19T09:05:00.000-08:00

The title of this blog is the question that is usually asked when I tell people that I watch soccer. The World Cup is one of my all time favorite sporting events and over the past few years I have started following the British Premier League. Watching the Premier League on Fox Soccer Channel every Saturday/Sunday morning has become a favorite weekend activity. What has happened so far this year?

Two of the "Big Four" have found their usual success. Chelsea has clearly established itself as the top team in the league with Manchester United a close second. Arsenal have dealt with injuries and Liverpool have just been a disaster both in the league and in Europe. Assuming that United and Chelsea will remain 1/2 and as Liverpool's miserable season continues (as it did today with a loss to bottom dwellers Portsmouth) it is becoming more and more apparent that 3rd and 4th place in the league-and the Champions League qualification that comes with it-is wide open. A quick glance at the table shows only 6 points separate 3rd through 6th place. Who's in contention?

Manchester City now sits in 6th with 31 points (but could easily have 34 or 35 but for a Premier League Record 7 straight draws.) Arsenal sit in 5th but are coming off a win last weekend over Liverpool at Anfield. Tottenham has come down from a great start to settle in at 4th with 33 points. Aston Villa now sit at 3rd after a week that included their first win at Old Trafford in over 25 years. United lost again today (this time to Fulham) so Chelsea will have a chance to extend their lead to 6 points tomorrow.

All of the action on the field and the upcoming January transfer window should make for a good second half to the season.

TV and Sports

2009-12-16T17:31:00.000-08:00

Been a while but I'm back on the blog. I realize that I have to write a lot more and I plan to.....starting now

I'm currently watching the Islanders/Rangers game on MSG+2. For those who don't know, this is the secondary sports channel in New York that is only used when all three local hockey teams are playing on the same night. I HATE this channel. I don't have cataracts, but watching MSG+2 (as opposed to just plain MSG+) is what I imagine having cataracts is like. Everything is blurry and it actually hurts my eyes. This is a legit complaint coming from a man that only 4 months ago was watching everything on the 16 inch TV/VCR combo that his sister got him for his freshman year in college......11 years ago.

So why do I continue to hurt my already strained eyes? Well one of the great parts of following sports is the home broadcasting team. Those who don't watch sports probably can't appreciate just how important a good broadcast team can be. For example, the Mets SNY team is FANTASTIC. Nice play by play, insightful analysis and even a laugh or two. Compare that with the obnoxious "JORGE JUICED ONE!" commentary of John Sterling and you see (or hear) the difference. This brings us to tonight. Billy Jaffe and Howie Rose are terrific companions for the game. Just like Gary, Keith and Ron, Jaffe and Rose make you feel like you're watching the game with them, not just being talked at. They're so good that I would rather strain my eyes than hear the homer dreck that comes out of Sam Rosen. This whole topic drives home the point that sports are more than just men with sticks and/or balls, running/skating around for two hours. Appreciating the work of the broadcasters is just another part of the overall experience that makes me love sports.

Back to the game and my straining eyes. Let's go Islanders.

Thank You

2009-11-11T08:22:00.001-08:00

Over the course of my life, I've been lucky enough to do some pretty amazing things. In 2006 and again in 2007 I had the opportunity to visit Walter Reed Medical Center, Bethesda Naval Hospital and Camp LeJeune to visit with wounded soldiers recently returned from the front lines. On this Veterans Day, I wanted to take a moment to write about these experiences and what our soldiers mean to me.

My involvement in the Stewart Manor Fire Department (SMFD) has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Through this work, I not only get to serve the community in which I grew up but I also get to meet and work with some amazing people. One of these men is Bill, an ex-Marine who initiated a great cause to our village. As an ex-Marine, Bill became involved with Wounded Warrior, a project that helps our returning, wounded soldiers adjust back to civilian life. Many of these soldiers are rehabilitating their injuries and need everything from basic items such as toiletries and t-shirts to entertainment items such as books and DVD's for their stays in the hospital. Starting in 2005, Bill and a few members of the SMFD made a trip down to Bethesda Naval Hospital outside D.C. to deliver items for these soldiers. The following year, the trip expanded to include the Wounded Warrior Barracks in Camp LeJeune and Fort Bragg, North Carolina as well as trucks full of goods donated by the people of our communities. With each year that has passed, the project has grown bigger and bigger. This December, the fireman of Nassau County, including 2 dozen departments and cargo trucks filled with goods will be making their trip south to thank our troops in person. These trips will continue until as Bill puts it, "all soldiers have returned from overseas," a true testament of the commitment to this cause.

I made my first trip in 2006 where, along with fellow fireman, I visited with and dropped off goods for soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital. The following year, I made the weekend trip down to Camp LeJeune to visit the Marines. These two trips were both eye-opening and extremely inspirational. On these visits, we meet with soliders in various stages of rehabilitation from injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some were badly burned; some were missing limbs; some were even blind. However, ALL of them were in good spirits. Amazingly enough, they were thanking US for coming to visit THEM. The courage that these young men showed in the battlefield was nearly exceeded by the courage and positive attitude they were now showing during these difficult times in their lives. On our trip to North Carolina, we made a separate stop at the home of Sergeant Eric. Sergeant Eric was injured in Iraq and due to complications from operations, can no longer walk or talk. Additionally, Sgt. Eric was recently married and has a young daughter. Upon hearing of his situtation, his community rallied together to raise enough money to build him and his family a new house that fully meets all of his medical needs. Visiting him in the house that his community built for him helped me to fully understand what makes this country the amazing place that it is.

I was recently watching "Section 60" an HBO Documentary (ironically enough made by someone who grew up in Garden City, just one town over) on the section of Arlington National Cemetary reserved for soliders killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Each headstone they showed revealed a soldier who was 20, 21, 24, 25 years old. I think of the impact that these great young men would have made on the world if they had not died in battle. However, those thoughts are quickly swept away when I realize the impact that these great young men made on the world during their all too short lives. By placing their country before themselves these soldiers show us what true courage is as well as all of the things we should be thankful for.

So here we are on Veterans Day. I want to say thank you to our soldiers and their families. Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for fighting for our country and defending our freedoms, in distant lands, far away from your families and loved ones. Most of all, thank you for making the sacrifices and decisions that I know I do not have the courage to make. The sacrifices that allow myself and everyone else to live the lives that we are lucky to have.

Thank you veterans and God Bless America.

Congratulations (I still kind of hate you)

2009-11-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

I love sports. Whether it's hockey, football, basketball (college not NBA) or soccer, sports takes up a tremendous amount of my free time. Above all of these, stands baseball. Playing Little League, practicing pitching against my stoop, being Keith Hernandez for Halloween in 2nd grade or being a Mets season ticket holder are just some of the ways that baseball has played a huge role in my life. It's impossible to be a baseball fan without at least thinking about the Yankees. They're the most storied franchise in the sport and if you live in New York, they've returned to being the city's most dominant franchise over the past 15 years.

I didn't always hate the Yankees. As a child of the 80's, during my entire childhood the Yankees were basically a non-factor in New York during the days when Doc, Darryl, Keith and the Kid ruled the city. When the Yankees became good again in the mid-90's I was actually rooting for them, especially in the '96 World Series against the hated Atlanta Braves. However, as they kept winning my hatred of them began to grow but I soon realized that it wasn't because of the team, as much as it was their fans.

Yankees fans. So many words to describe them. If I had to pick three, I would choose......

1)Entitled. I would attribute this to the Steinbrenner propaganda that "any year without a title is a failure!" Shut up. Listening to the game last night on the radio and hearing John Sterling explain how Yankees fans have been waiting "a long time" for this title was just a bit too much for me. Hey John, this franchise has won 26% of all the World Series ever played.....get a grip. As Kate said to me last night, "the same team isn't supposed to win every year." Very true Kate, just don't tell that to a Yankees fan.

2)Uninformed. If you ask 70% of Yankees fans one question about ANY other team in baseball they wouldn't have a clue. Asking a Yankees fan who the rightfielder for the Phillies was before this series would be the equivalent of asking them who the goalkeeper is for Portsmouth in the English Premier League. Of course this is a "Yankees Universe" so how could I blame them.

3)Obnoxious. This is really the big one. Yankees fans love to remind you just how much your team sucks. These are the same guys that who have pinstripe jerseys with the names of the player on the back.

Anyway, the point of this blog is not to trash the Yankees and their fans, it's actually a tip of the cap to them. From the beginning of the year you just got the sense that this team was for real. Championship teams usually have a mix of comraderie (see corny/obnoxious cream pie ritual), late inning comebacks (see every game against the Twins) and even a little bit of luck (see Luis Castillo). Oh yeah and this team had the added bonus of spending 1/4 billion dollars on three players this year. (there was no way I could write about the Yankees without a mention of their payroll) Sure enough, after stumbling out of the gate, the Yanks steamrolled through the summer, won the division and the pennant. As if this season wasn't bad enough for Mets fans, we had to endure a World Series featuring the other team in our city with the jerk off fans vs. our division rival with even bigger jerk off fans (Phillies fans seem to have forgotten that they're the most losing franchise in the history of American sports and that they've won a grand total of 2 championships since 1883) Well sadly enough, I came full circle from 1996 and I wanted the Yankees to win, or more accurately I wanted the Phillies to lose.

Last night the Yankees won the World Series and in some strange way, the sports universe seems normal again. Maybe it's just that I had grown so used to them winning all the time that it was strange to seem them lose for so long. Perhaps it's because that scrappy franchise with tough blue collar guys came together and won one for their likeable owner.....wait scrap that one. Even though the next few days will be full of parades, keys to the city and those entitled, uninformed, obnoxious fans, in a weird way, it's kind of nice to have the Yankees back on top. For now, all I can do is survive the cold winter, waiting for the ice to thaw, the sun to come shining through and baseball to begin again.

109 days till pitchers and catchers.

The Seventh Day

2009-10-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

Throughout my life, certain events and times of the year have affected me in different ways. For example, each season of the year has a clear and precise "feel" for me. I love brisk fall days that make me think of football. Those first few days of the spring when the winter starts to thaw out are among my favorite days of any year, especially since my time at Fordham. For those of you who aren't Rams, I swear to you that there is NOTHING like the first few days of spring at Rose Hill.

Along these lines are the days of the week. Each day not only brings the different activities of my life but also distinct emotions. Out of the seven, the day that stands out the most is Sunday. Sunday speaks volumes of the religious foundations of our nation. It is celebrated by almost all Americans, regardless of their religious beliefs, as a day of rest. Our friends in New England still have Blue Laws that ban the sale of alcohol on Sundays thanks to their Puritan predecessors. Everything takes on a slower pace on Sunday, from driving to maybe sleeping a little later. The only thing that's a bit mad on Sundays is the supermarket....total craziness which I have learned to avoid.

Sunday also brings with it a massive clock that just ticks off the seconds until Monday. The moment you wake up on Sunday morning is the beginning of the end of your weekend. Sunday mornings are fantastic. Coffee, CBS Sunday Morning and a nice breakfast are just some of the things that make Sunday mornings my favorite. During the fall, the 1:00 football game starts the afternoon but once you hit the 4:00 game you realize that the weekend is quickly disappearing. In my life, Sunday nights have started with a nice dinner (once with my family, now with my wife) and finished with Barry's tea and 60 Minutes. It's about this time that I wish I could punch 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 into a computer and restart the timer on the day (hopefully my readers are also viewers of "Lost" otherwise that fantastic reference was a total waste.)

I don't like Sunday nights. I used to hate Sunday nights but now I just don't like them. Sunday nights used to make me feel sick, primariy because I never did my school work and would soon have to pay the consequences for my laziness. Sunday's nights don't make me feel sick anymore but they do make me long for my favorite time of any week: Friday at 3:30 PM.

It's now 7:30 on Sunday night. The Jets game is coming to a close, with 60 Minutes and a cup of Barry's soon to follow. It's time to get ready to go back to the grind tomorrow and start the countdown until Friday afternoon.

Hope you have a great week.

From the Back to the Front

2009-10-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

School

It was a word that filled me with dread everytime I heard it. Grammar school was not necessarily a very impressive time for me. At best I was a relatively bright kid who was just a little lazy. At worst I was a wise ass who didn't do any work and more importantly, didn't know when to shut up. The word that was used the most during my adolescence was "potential." I heard it all the time from my parents and teachers. "If you just worked to your potential....." which quickly went in one ear and out the other. I could never focus on my school work even when I knew that I had to. I would procrastinate all day and as the school day approached I would make myself sick over the thought of what it had in store. Missed projects, poor test grades and not reaching my "potential" were just some of the things that plagued my time as a student. I was also caught up in being the class clown. In 5th grade my friend and I managed to play a full game of "Blades of Steel" on a Gameboy we had snuck into class. In 8th grade I pretended I had a twin brother during a class with a substitute (note: I did this by coming into the room multiple times either with or without my glasses on and sitting in a different seat. I feel this says much more about the mental capacity of the sub then it does about me.)

Many teachers just plain gave up on me and didn't want to deal with me or work with me any more. Can I blame them? Yes and no. Having a student in class that not only doesn't do work but also disrupts class is enough to drive a teacher up a wall but it's part of the gig....just like having the summer off. You're there to work with ALL of the kids in that class, not just the ones who raise their hands, do all their homework and ace every test. Fortunately, not all my teachers waved the white flag. There were others; the ones who would pull you aside, let you know that you were acting like an idiot but also tell you that if you just focused a little bit you might just succeed. The actions of these teachers made me realize that I wanted to teach. I wanted to help the lazy wise guys that maybe talked too much but still had a lot to offer.

So here I am. Two years ago I completed my Masters in Adolescence Social Studies Education and I am currently in my second year of teaching 6th and 7th grade social studies. I absolutely love it. I somehow managed to land a job at one of the best middle schools in the city, working with students, parents and fellow teachers that actually care about the work that we're doing. Additionally, working in a school provides comic relief that you don't get in many other places. During my training I was consistently told to not smile for the first few months of the year or to "Be mean 'till Halloween" but I just can't do it. The enjoyment I get out of teaching along with the things that these kids say is just too much. The comedy and awkward moments that a middle school dance is enough to make any one crack a smile.

The passion that I feel about my work is something that I never thought I would find and it's also something that I feel is mandatory for all teachers. If you go into teaching so that you can have a lot of time off, you're not only hurting the students in your class but also yourself. You need to want to be in that room, working with those kids and helping them grow. Also, teaching is A LOT of work. Outsiders see the time off and assume it's an easy job but there's a tremendous amount of work that goes into it, a lot of which has nothing to do with instruction. Calling parents, grading tests, extra help, after school programs and just becoming a better teacher takes a lot of time and effort. If you're not interested in fully investing yourself in the process then you probably shouldn't be there. After all, school is not just what is in textbooks. It's the experience of learning that helps students grow. I know that my kids are probably never going to need to know who won the Battle of Bunker Hill, but they will definetely need to know how to work with each other, respect each other and grow into teenagers and later adults that will make do something great. Having the right adult influence in the classroom can help them achieve these goals.

I sometimes wish that I would run into some of my old teachers. I think about the reactions they would have when I tell them that I was now a teacher. If you told them or anyone else in my family back in the early 90's that I would end up in the front of the room instead of sleeping in the back they probably wouldn't believe you, yet here I am. The impact that teachers had on my life is now full and present. It is now my turn to say "thank you" by doing the same.

Making a Home with Cheap Swedish Furniture

2009-09-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

On August 8th, the Mrs. and I returned from our honeymoon and moved into our brand new apartment. Unfortunately, on August 8th our new apartment consisted of the following: a bed, a card table, two chairs, two juice glasses and two coffee mugs. At this point it wasn't much of a home as much as it was 1,000 square feet of emptiness. Over the next 3 weeks, we set out to make this apartment our home with a little help from some Swedish imports

IKEA is a crazy place. Where else can you shop for furniture and sit down for a meal of Swedish meatballs? In fact, it led one of the best exchanges between me and the Mrs. when I told her that I got the Swedish meatballs and she asked if I ate all 15 followed by her complete disgust when I responded with the inevitable "yes". We took a trip out, participated in the scavenger hunt that makes up an IKEA experience and purchased a number of items including a table, bookshelf and wardrobe. Now it was time for me to test my handyman skills and put these things together. While I will admit that I am talented in some areas, being handy is not one of them. The purchase of a home brought this issue to the forefront and it was now time to face it head on.

The Table

First up was the entry way table seen above. Overall it was not that difficult and I was able to complete it with relative ease; then I went to screw the doors on and realized I had a problem. It turned out that I had put the middle piece (marked as "A" in picture below) in backwards which mean the holes to screw the doors on were conveniently located inside the table. Well luckily my mother-in-law had given me a drill so I found the local hardware store, bought some drill bits, drilled new holes for the doors and screwed them right on. (I would have had to take the whole thing apart to flip that piece hence the drilling.) Sure, I needed to drill four holes and probably drilled six but that's not the point. The point is I saw a problem, improvised, fixed it AND it worked! You can also say that I'm an idiot for putting the piece in backwards but I was choosing to be positive as I moved on to the next piece: the bookshelf.

Exhibit A of my stupidity (note the uneven hinges)

The Bookshelf

The bookshelf appeared to be pretty straightforward. It had no doors and few pieces so I felt pretty confident. I put it together, stood it up and realized I had a problem. In order to protect our floors from scratches, I had put blankets down when putting these items together. Unfortunately, when I had the bookshelf standing up, I noticed that a piece fo the blanket had gotten stuck between two pieces of the bookshelf (see picture below)

Check out the bottom right corner.....Boooooooooo

Have you ever had the thought "I suck!" race through your mind? That was all that I could think of when I saw what I had done. Unfortunately it's still there as I still haven't figured out what to do with it. So far, I've come up with two options: 1)take the bookshelf apart and remove the piece or 2)try to match the color of the wood with a marker and make it blend.

The Wardrobe

The wardrobe was the last to be assembled and with good reason as well. The wardbrobe was big. The wardrobe was complicated. The instructions for the wardrobe included 57 steps as compared with the 25-35 for the table or bookshelf. After having my clothes piled on the floor for a week and a half I decided it was time to give it a try. I'm proud to say that I learned from my mistakes and put the wardrobe together without any major incidents. In fact I'm so proud that I've sadly included not one, but two pictures to show off my work.

Last week our couch was delivered, (a VERY important piece for us due to our love for laying on the couch) and we picked up more furniture from Stratford and the Manor. That was when it became official: we had a HOME. There's still more to do but our place is really coming together. What was once an empty apartment became a home for the McCaughey's and all it took was some cheap Swedish furniture (and 15 Swedish meatballs.)

Mr. and Mrs. McCaughey

2009-08-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

WARNING: The following blog is about being married. If you're an old grizzled veteran of marriage and you're not interested in hearing what some greenhorn has to say, I suggest you quit reading now. On the other hand, you can just think of this as a war movie. I'm one of the new recruits whose uniform is clean, has every possible piece of gear in his pack and wants to see what war is really like. You're the two tour vet who laughs at me while smoking a cigarette, shaking your head and while thinking "This kid has no idea what he's in for."

As we were driving to the resort for our honeymoon a thought came to my mind. As is usually the case, I ran this idea by the Mrs. to see what she thought. "You know that we're never really going to say good bye to each other again? All the trips, the visits to Connecticut or Long Island, Mets games there was always a formal ending to the time we would spend with each other before we would go our separate ways. Now we're stuck with each other." She laughed, agreed and maybe had a passing doubt about why she married someone who would come to such a childish conclusion. However, I now realize that driving in that car that day (one of the best unnecessary spendings EVER, I highly recommend renting a convertible at least once) I came to my first realization of what marriage is: never saying goodbye.

I understand this isn't exactly a groundbreaking idea but on the surface it can be quite intimidating. I'm going to spend EVERY day with the same person for the rest of my life? What if we fight? More importantly, what if we run out of things to talk about??? GASP! I knew I should of thought of these things before I proposed! (Actually I always thought the latter should be one of the factors when deciding if you should stay with someone long term. It's one of my favorite parts of my relationship with the Mrs. We have great conversations and she listens to most of the stupid things I say.) Issues will definitely arise but I suppose that most of the time how you handle these issues will prove to be more important than the issue itself, especially because of the never saying goodbye thing. Arguments, disagreements, etc, must be met head on because that person isn't going anywhere. Once you say "I do" -which now that I think about it you don't actually say- you've locked yourself in for eternity and I say eternity because divorce isn't much of an option. In fact, we have an informal agreement that we'll just be miserable together instead of the whole divorce thing; it really is the Irish-Catholic thing to do.

Anyway I can honestly say that things aren't all that different then they were before other than the fact that we live with each other (for those of you who don't know three people made sure that I didn't live with the Mrs. before we got married 1)Jesus 2)the Holy Father and 3)my mother and those are in reverse order) When people have asked me how married life is, I usually answer "So far so good." This answer is usually reserved for questions such as "How is that book you're reading?" or "Enjoying the play Mr. Lincoln?" but it summarizes my married life to this point; everything is good. Will this be different one day, week, month or year down the road? In many ways I'm sure it will be but in the important ways I know it won't.

So these are some of the things I've learned about being married. I must admit that I've thought about these ideas before, now I'm just getting the chance to practice them. I must also admit that I've never felt like a bigger ass then I do now, blogging about relationships while drinking an iced caramel macchiato at Starbucks. I bet that five years ago I would have bookended that statement with "If you ever see me......I give you permission to shoot me" yet here I am typing away. The difference? Maybe my wife and this marriage thing.

158 Days

2009-07-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

On February 21st myself, Kate and my sister Anne looked at three apartments in Forest Hills (it was supposed to be 4 but one of the residents at the fourth building threatened to murder the agent who was showing us the building.) After looking at the apartments and emotionally recovering from the death threat, we headed up to Fordham for a basketball game. On our way to dinner on Arthur Ave. the agent called us to inform us that there was another apartment that was just listed and suggested we take a look at it. Although it was a little out of our price range, we figured there was no harm in looking.

Later that week, I looked at the apartment and fell in love. Great sized rooms, beautiful building and an ideal location near Austin Street. Now about that price......

One of the many beautiful things about my relationship with Kate is the flexibility that we have in many situations (no, I'm not being filthy thank you very much) However, one of the areas where we didn't necessarily meet eye to eye was the financials of our home buying. I was lucky to have someone who was looking out for the two of us and didn't want to drive us into foreclosure; Kate was lucky because this apartment totally kicked ass and she would love to live there once I convinced her. And thus it became my mission: make the apartment much more then just a price tag and convince her that this is the home where we were meant to start our new life together.

We scheduled another viewing, checked it out, and no sooner than the door was closed on the car ride home, did Kate tell me she loved it; but could we afford it? Well sure enough, your humble narrator became "Mr. Excel" and started creating spreadsheets left and right.....20% down + maintenance + mortgage= this per month etc etc etc. We could eat Raman for dinner right? Food comes and goes, a beautiful apartment is forever (or until we buy house.)

We placed our bid on March 14th and on March 17th, after a little back and forth, our offer was accepted. What an omen right???? Two Micks have their offer accepted on St. Patrick's Day. This should be a piece of cake! Unfortunately it didn't quite work that way. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months for this process to unfold.

I could spend this blog venting about Chase and the plague of locusts that I wish on them but I'm not going to do that. Why? Because I'm thrilled. Today Kate and I closed on our apartment and are now proud owners of Apartment 5L. So what that it took us 158 days.....we did it, it's ours. My dad (who we could not have done this without) took us for a pint of Guinness after the closing and then Katie and I headed over to the new place. When we got into the car, we turned to each other with the same look that said the same thing....."Holy shit...we did it."

Now let's get married.

My Home

2009-07-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

"At the early age of thirty-eight me mother said Go West!"

Those who know me are well aware of my love and respect for my Irish heritage. As I sit here just short of my 29th birthday I realize that I have more than lived up to the stereotype of Irishmen found in the Christy Moore lyrics cited above: a tendency to live at home with their "mammies" well past the age when most people have left.

Living at home post-25 is an interesting experience. Television and movies tell us that it is for unemployed losers who can't get their acts together (see George Costanza) Others say that it's a smart move because it's a great way to save money. Personally, I always had everything I needed here in Stewart Manor: family, friends and the support that comes along with them.

Stewart Manor NY 11530. This is the only address I have ever known. This is my home.

This is where I threw tennis balls against the stoop to practice my fielding for Little League, shot tape pucks at garbage can nets and played tennis with my sister Anne every summer during the US Open

This is where I come home (even to do this day) late at night and in various stages of sobriety to let my parents know that I'm home safe even though they don't always remember it in the morning.

This is where I would sneak outside for a late night cigarette after everyone had gone to bed (DISCLAIMER: I did this when I smoked which I no longer do)

This is where my parents set the example for what married life and family should be.

This is Manor Brews and Carvel

This is where my sisters treated me like a prince even though I rarely reciprocated.

This is where I spent all of my Christmas mornings; walking downstairs before dawn as a child and being dragged out of bed to walk upstairs as an adult.

This is where I became a lifelong Mets fan after watching Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS with my grandmother.

This is where Monday nights were for 24 with Maureen, Frank and Jack Bauer.

This is the town where I played Little League, was a Boy Scout and am now a fireman.

This is where my father, perhaps after a few cocktails, would sing "Dirty Old Town" while cleaning up in the kitchen after a family party.

This is where it took me 25 years to get my act together academically and provide my parents with the Masters they deserved much more than I did.

And finally: this is where I spent my entire life.

I'm getting married on Saturday which fills me with more excitement then anything before. I cannot wait to start my new life with my wife Mary Kate. However, it would be dishonest for me to say that I'm not a little sad right now. I'm sad for this amazing chapter in my life that will soon be just a memory.

It is now my turn. Saturday starts a new chapter that will present the challenge of being as good of a spouse as my father is to my mother and my mother to my father and to one day provide my children a life that just might make them want to live at home until they're 29.

Hello

2009-07-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hello my name is Frank McCaughey and I am now a blogger.

My original aversion to blogging was that I could never comprehend (and still kind of don't) why anyone would want to hear what I have to say. I lead a rather uneventful life and fundamentally have a problem with people who run around thinking that others want to hear about their uneventful life.....I suppose I found it a bit presumptious.

Then something happened......I grew up. In one quick year I went from an unemployed, single grad student living in his parent's basement to an employed, (almost) married full time teacher.....living in his parent's basement (although that will soon change as well)

In two days I will offically own a home. In five days I will be married.

I feel that I've always been one to reflect on the events that have shaped my life and I now stand at the precipice of two of the biggest; this is what has lead me to this blog.

I will update as I move through this exciting time in my life that wil provide a tremendous amount of joy but also a little sadness. If you take the time to read this, I thank you in advance and hope that I don't bore you too much.

Cheers

-Frank