A moment of silence, please

Today, dear friends, we mourn the loss of an important part of the Pancost family. After 13 years, our Mitsubishi tv has finally died.

We first met our dear Mitsu in Texas. Brian had talked me into shopping for a new tv. This shopping trip sequence would be an important lesson that has impacted our marriage together. First, I realized that we had very different ideas of the necessity of electronics in our lives together. Secondly, I learned some very important tips about shopping with Brian. (I'm not going to share these tips here, because I can't let him know what it is that I learned. The rules might change!) Let's just say this shopping trip was an extremely important step in the development of our relationship.

After many visits to the store, and Brian finally convincing me that yes, we really did need a 50 inch tv, our dear Mitsu was delivered to our house. I have to admit that after lots of protests in the store about how it was way too big, my first thought was "Wow, that's not nearly as large as I thought it was. How disappointing."

Since then, our Mitsu has travelled with us, from Houston, to Garfield Heights, to Amherst, and finally here to our permanent house. It has definitely been a commitment, as moving a 50 inch projection tv isn't exactly easy. We have also been judged by it, as at least one friend has visited us, looked at the tv, and stated "wow, that's big. I'm not really a tv person, myself."

So yes, our Mitsu has helped define us. We ARE tv people. We are movie people. We have spent many hours as a couple, and a family, cuddled in front of the tv. Kuky, our first pug, learned early on that if she needed to go outside, she should park herself directly in front of the tv so that we would see her. Judge us if you must, but tv is a part of our lives. It has taught us compromise, as we do have different tastes in entertainment. It has also taught us to broaden our horizons, as I learned that maybe action movies aren't so bad, and Brian learned that sitcoms aren't too awful. Tanis also truly loved seeing a life sized Elmo on the screen while watching Sesame Street, and family time playing Super Mario Brothers on the Wii is priceless.

We were told when we bought it that the Mitsu would last 7, maybe 8 years if we were careful. We were told that it didn't move well, and to make sure that we got it tuned up every year or two. It was also highly suggested, of course, that we buy an extended warranty. Of course, we promptly disregarded all of this advice, and managed to get 13 wonderful years out of her.

Alas, last Sunday, we noticed red squiggly lines across the top of the screen. Brian fiddled with the settings, but things only got worse. Today, the entire screen was essentially red squiggly lines, and anything on the screen also had a turquoise shadow. It was, admittedly, an interesting effect, but we had to face facts: our beloved Mitsu was dying. We discussed several options, including carving out the screen area and just putting in a new tv, but finally, the Mitsu was moved to the garage and a new, albeit smaller, one was put in its place.

So, our dear Mitsu, we thank you for so many years of your service. You will be missed.

This summer, so far (edited)

Things we've done:

visited Kelley's Island with mom and dad
Harry Potter movie marathon, followed by
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 on opening night
Cedar point
Soak City (but not nearly enough)
the family waterslide at S.C with mom and dad (she swears every time that she will NEVER do it again)
visited with Joelle, Danielle and their families
landscaped the front of the house
planted the butterfly garden, replanted hostas and lanscaped the path
waterproofed the pool deck
bought, assembled, and enjoyed new furniture for the pool deck
rode the tandem bike with Tanis
stayed with Robyn and helped her buy an Ipad
read A LOT of books on my Nook
played a lot of legos with Tanis
drove Tanis to and from science camp
drove Tanis to and from the Huron Playhouse for "King and I" practices
killed time while Tanis was at play practice
delivered Frostys to my dad at the new store
took the box of light fixtures that have been sitting in the garage to Habitat restore
cleaned out cups/mugs/glasses and took them to Goodwill
played golf (sort of) for the first time
rearranged living room/bought new couch
helped Tanis paint his shield from swordfighting class with the family crests
finished making my last yearbook ever

Still need to do:
finish painting the house -sort of. I need a taller ladder. and a reduced fear of tall ladders.
lanscape the horribly weedy side of the house - done
repaint wooden chairs - done
waterproof deck - um, next year
get rid of the old hot tub - done
get rid of the damn fleas! - done, maybe
clean out Tanis's closets
paint Brian's bathroom - Christmas break, perhaps?
go to Valley Beach
ride Millenium with Tanis
go to Kelley's Island and letterbox
play tennis
buy frames for assorted art
scrub kitchen cupboards
read stuff for school
take a nap in the hammock
have a campfire
go to the zoo and see the new elephant exhibit
go to the westside market
go to imagination station
go to Cosi
see the new Winnie the Pooh movie
have a picnic at the res
host a playdate
host a grown up dinner




now I've only got 3 weeks left!

End of another school year!

Natalie Monroe

Natalie is a teacher who has been fired for expressing her opinion about her students on her blog.

I haven't actually seen what she wrote, as her blog as been taken down, but here's what I do know.

1. I don't remember signing away my freedom of speech in order to be a teacher. I would never publicly ridicule specific students in a public forum, but to state my opinion about students in general? I really don't see the problem.

2. Why is it perfectly acceptable for students to say whatever they want about teachers in a public forum, to make completely unfounded accusations, to video their teachers in the classroom, and then tamper with it to make it appear their teachers are doing/saying things that never actually happened!!!!! - but it's not okay for a teacher to publicly state general statements about things that are wrong with students?????

3. Why is our society so quick to blame everything that's wrong with society on teachers? We wonder why kids today don't value education - well, as an impressionable kid, if you constantly hear that teachers are no good, what are you going to think?

I went into teaching because I cared. I wanted to help kids be better people, like so many of my teachers helped me. Were all of my teachers fantastic? no, some of them were spectacularly bad. But I never, ever would have been disrespectful to them.

I still care about kids. I still care about helping them experience the joy of learning something new, of understanding the world around them. I want to help them be better people. But I can't be the only one in the relationship who cares. The student has to have some form of internal motivation. And I firmly believe that it's the parents' job to instill that in them, not mine.

I don't know all of what she said. I don't know what she was really like in the classroom. Maybe she was a horrible teacher, maybe she was a great one. But should she be fired for stating her opinion in an generalized, anonymous way?

Freedom of speech is a precious thing. We are supposedly free in this country to say whatever we want, even if it offends someone. If what I say offends you, then I am sorry. But instead of preventing me from saying it, wouldn't it be a better use of time to think about why if offends you?

In my classroom, I have to put up with all sorts of offensive things being said to me and about me. I can try to educate those students, and yes, parents who say these things. But at the end of the day, it is opinion, and they have the right to express it.

I think teachers need to be smart about the things they say and do, both in the classroom and in public. However, Natalie did not use her full name on her blog. She did not identify any student specifically. She also did not identify where she worked. She was making generalized statements about students in general. True, it may not be the smartest thing to do, but I don't think she should be fired for it.

This is my opinion as a teacher, and as an American. Hopefully I will not lose my job because of it.