Another Top Five

I read Landon’s countdown for the fall semester, and I thought of a variation with a few nuggets I have  learned during the program thus far.

5. If it’s Saturday morning, and the local weather team says the police are encouraging everyone to stay inside, but you have class, then that warning does not apply to you. Go to class.

4. Get used to eating dinner after 7:30 on Friday nights, no matter what diets may say about dining late.

3. If you pay an activity fee, go to as many free-food events as possible.

2. If your spouse is in all of your classes, buy one of every book and share.

1. When you’re on break, sit back and relax while you can. The syllabus always comes sooner than later.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

When moving. . .take note

It’s just two days before Christmas, and I figure that makes it the perfect day to get a tree.  After all, everything is on sale.  My son spotted the perfect tree at a local Kroger’s for $14.  Perfect!  He says, hey dad, do we need to get a christmas tree stand.  I say, no way.  I kept ours.  It made the trip from Cali.

Upon arrival at the homestead, we begin the two hour search for said christmas tree stand.  Nope.  Not here.  No problem.  We will head to Target.  Sold Out.  Lowes.  Sold Out.  Wal-Mart.  Sold Out.  Home Depot.  Sold Out.  Kroger’s.  Sold Out.  Hmph.  At this point I am tired of driving around, so I start calling.  Ah!  Whole Foods has one!  I make the long drive to discover that what they have is the one they used to prop up their promo tree.  Well, beggars can’t be choosers.  To be fair, he gives me a price break and I move on – wishing heartily that when I packed to move across the country I had kept an inventory sheet.  Or the christmas tree stand.  Or gone looking for a tree a bit earlier.

-Ted Murcray

Reflections on Fall 2008

Today, my wife and I looked at our grades today for the Fall 2008 semester of the Ed.D. program. We were happy with our efforts and the results, and even more pleased to see that we’ve completed over half of the requirements. The end is not quite in sight just yet, but comprehensive exams certainly are. While I am taking a break and not willing to think about studying for comps just yet, I will take a moment to reflect on this past semester of Public Policy and Qualitative Research. Here are the top 5 things that I learned over the last semester:

1. If you offer free coffee from Starbucks as incentive for your qualitative project, you will get a number of possible participants, and most of them will be female.
2. The downturn of the stock market has the possibility of changing almost everything you learn about public policy.
3. “Undergirded” is an actual word, and it was probably included in every group report for Qualitative.
4. Some groups will produce 7-1o drafts of a public policy report. Other groups will produce 1-2 drafts. Regardless of the number of drafts your respective groups produce, you and your wife will receive the same grade.
5. Doctoral classes do not stop for College Game Day or games that could result in a possible bowl berth.

- Landon C. Clark

Holiday Blues

At last, the semester is over; all the final papers are turned in and exams taken. As the built-up stress finally releases itself, we can now sit back and enjoy the holidays. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a time of joy for everyone. In case you or anyone you know finds yourself feeling down over the holidays, here are some tips from the University of Maryland’s Medical Center website:

Beating the Holiday Blues

Feelings of sadness and depression are common during the holidays, but not inevitable. UM experts offer a variety of practical tips to help you keep the blues away

Once again the holidays are upon us, which means it’s time for festive partying with friends and family, sharing gifts and laughter — and getting depressed. That’s right. For many people, the holidays bring on feelings of sadness and anxiety that can be hard to shake.

According to the National Mental Health Association, reasons for feeling blue around the holidays are numerous. They range from fatigue — a result of all of the increased holiday activity — to financial limitations and family tensions. Experts say one of the fastest routes to holiday depression is unrealistic expectations.

“People often hold on to what they remember as an ideal holiday from years gone by, and are unable to reproduce it,” said Jill RachBeisel, M.D., director of community psychiatry at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “There are also expectations around the holidays that ‘everything must be perfect’, and perfection is, of course, rarely obtainable.”

To reduce heightened expectations, Hinda Dubin, M.D., clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, suggests that people be honest with themselves about what they can do during the holiday season.

“Set realistic goals,” said Dubin, who is also a psychiatrist at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “If your holiday plans require you to run around shopping and going to parties until you are exhausted, and staying up all night to wrap presents, your plans aren’t very realistic. You need to pace yourself and get enough rest so that you won’t be grouchy and testy.”

Other factors that can contribute to feelings of sadness around the holidays are memories of deceased loved ones and strained family dynamics.

“The holidays are associated with family and togetherness,” said RachBeisel, who is also an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “In today’s world of high divorce rates and fragmented family units, stress is commonly experienced as family members attempt to find some compromise in defining shared time.”

Creating family traditions is one way to bring family members closer together, said Dubin. These traditions don’t have to be formal or elaborate. For instance, she recommends visiting a nursing home to help serve holiday meals to some of the residents, or videotaping holiday celebrations and making an annual event of watching the previous year’s celebration.

Wishing you all a happy and safe Holiday Season!

-Kristina DePue

Surprised it’s Racism? Really?

OK, so these people are surprised that others think they are racist.  All they did was name their children Adolf Hitler, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, and Honszlynn Hinler (names after Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler).  What’s in a name, right?  The parents claim there is no reason to think they are racist.  Really?  Can they honestly believe that, or were these names planned for the purpose of pulling a publicity stunt just like this?

Here’s a news article, and here is a blog commenting on the article.

I am constantly flabbergasted by overt racism.  I think we can all agree that racism exists in a variety of forms; however, I had thought that this type of obvious behavior was so completely frowned upon by society that others wouldn’t dare.  Apparently, I was totally wrong.

It is still so important that we work as a nation, a community, and as individuals to turn our backs on the type of behavior that legitimizes negative stereotypes and images of people groups.  Interestingly enough I found an independent school that has made diversity the cornerstone of their work.  If you spend any amount of time at all on their website, you will see the extent to which they go to ensure that students at their school are well-versed in a variety of cultures and can find value in diversity.  Click here to read more about the steps this school takes to educate a different brand of students for a different type of society.

-Ted Murcray

Slow Night

I am about done with this semester. I technically have one group paper due this week. (If you read my last blog, you would think it was due today, but the professor postponed the deadline.) However, we just need a final edit on our eighth draft (or, maybe, ninth, now). This means after I wash the dinner dishes, I sit down, check my email, or (gasp!) watch television! That’s the slow part.

I have almost all my Christmas gifts wrapped and ready for giving. My husband’s birthday is New Year’s Eve, so I still need to buy his present. This year the holiday bustle seems a little overwhelming. Maybe it’s because of school, maybe it’s because my dad is gone, or maybe I’m getting old. Still, I love December. It’s the most amazing month of the year, busy, but wonderful.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

Choosing a Superintendent

So the three candidates for superintendent of Metro Nashville Public Schools have been announced and have visited for interviews.  For a funny comment from Peabody’s own James Guthrie, click here. 

With the district in a critical position, it will be interesting to see how each of these candidates plans to work through the problems that exist.  Sanctions are looming on the horizon, and this may be a blip on the winning candidates resume if restructuring occurs.

This article noted that even with the interviews, the school board was not able to narrow the field of candidates.  How will they end up making this decision?

-Ted Murcray

Does Anyone Else Do This?

A class has concluded.

You have finished your exam.

You have submitted all your final deliverables.

And now you wait…

And obsessively check OAK for your grades.

Just wondering.

 

-April L. Mollerberg

A Very Different “Dead Day”

Many colleges and universities have what is called a “Dead Day” before finals where students can recuperate from a long semester and begin the preparation for those all important final exams. Yesterday was such a day for my employer, but for over 900 students, faculty, and staff, there was not a lot of studying happening. Instead, many in our campus community took a few hours out our day to help out Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) in the Curb Event Center to package meals that would be used to feed hungry children the world over.

Now, I’ve participated in a number of volunteer efforts over the course of my high school, college, and professional career. None of my previous experiences was as moving or impacted more people than the FMSC event yesterday. During my two hour shift, over 450 volunteers packaged 139,000 meals, which will feed over 400 children for an entire year. The entire event yesterday produced over 400,000 meals in total, which ups the total number of children impacted for the next year to 450.

I would encourage you to look at FMSC if you are interested in a great volunteer opportunity. I know that I will try and work with them again in the future. And I was extremely proud of the students that decided to give something back on a day that is set aside for them to focus on their own interests in academics. In this holiday season, yesterday was a very heart-warming experience.

- Landon C. Clark

Final Rush

As many of you are, I am in the final stages of writing those final papers. (Actually I am down to just one now that is in its fourth draft. I haven’t gotten to the seventh draft yet.) It is stressful and difficult, but it is also a rush. Finally getting those culminating thoughts down on paper is exciting.

In my last class we all presented our papers and topics to each other. On about a fourth of the papers, our professor got really excited. He said that these papers were cutting edge, that he had never heard anyone or read any paper take an idea from that particular angle. He then encouraged those students (I was not one of them – what can I say) to continue with the topic and publish on it. It was one of those defining moments that says, You are in a doctorate program. These people are going to do amazing things for education in our country.

What a rush!

-Ted Murcray