Christmastime is here, by golly

Disapproval would be folly, and indeed my weird mix of Christmas spirit and "Bah, humbug" attitude has served me well thus far, and this year is no different. Along the Christmas spirit thing, I help out by wearing a scarlet suit in our annual Christmas parade. The whiskers kind of itch and we always run out of candy before the end of the trek, but it does get the blood pumping and gets me feeling Christmasy. This year, we had several local tots on the float with us, and that helped significantly with the candy-chucking duties leaving us (Mrs. C and me) to do more "Merry Christmas"ing and Ho-ho-hoing. That was a bonus.

Christmas shopping this year has been a mixed bag. The little woman decided that since I started working recently we would blow $500 apiece on each other. Now, I don't know about you, but for little old me, $500 is a significant wad of cash to simply go out and spend on stuff. I struggled with my usual downfall of shopping for me while shopping for her, and I think I made out pretty well :)

I - er - she got a DVD recorder, a new power drill (hey, she asked for that one specifically), a Sony Commander (it's a slick all-in-one remote with an LCD screen - we're getting way too many remotes floating around to keep up with them all) and the board game Clue - a notable deficiency in our game arsenal.

Just for her - I got a nice little bracelet/earring set and a tiny jewelry box to keep it in. I also got her an air filter, because she has terrible sinus problems. I got her a Christmasy addition to her shot glass collection, some romance novels, trivia questions...(oops, we're moving back into my territory again!)

On the downside of Christmas shopping, there are the CROWDS. Of course, that's what everybody complains about, but I hate going to the shopping center or Wal-Mart and not finding a parking place.

Also, we haven't mailed out presents yet, and it's getting a bit late. Mail-outs are definitely going to be late. Oh well. At least they'll get there eventually.

The whole "Merry Christmas" versus "Happy Holidays" scandal is a big downer for me. My God, what does it matter? If you want to say "Merry Christmas" then say it! If you prefer "Happy holidays," go with that. There should not be a negative connotation to either one. They are both well-wishes, and nothing negative should be read into either. If you really want to be a jerk about it, I guess you could say "Sorry, I don't celebrate Christmas" whenever someone wishes you personally a "Merry Christmas," but even so you should be polite about it. This is the whole Seinfeld Festivus thing all over again. Everybody is celebrating at this time of year, so whenever someone wishes you Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Kwanzaa etc., just go with it and take it in the spirit it was given.

On the other hand, don't be an ass and go saying "Merry Christmas" to Jews or atheists just to get them riled up. That sucks and is about as unChristmasy as terrorist children with bombs.

Oh well. Merry humbug.

Science Academy

This week, the science department of the high school at which I teach science is going through the annual process of science academy. For those that are unfamiliar with this, it's not a hoity-toity private school, but a necessary result of standardized testing - students in the testing range (sophomores and juniors) are subjected to a day and a half of intensive "cramming" for the test. Science teachers are subjected to four days (two for juniors, two for sophomores) of teaching the same whirlwind review lesson 22 times - seven times then four times for the juniors, seven times then four times for the sophomores.

The reason this process is necessary is that it is apparently impossible to convince the majority of students at this age that standardized testing is a) a reality or b) will affect their future. Or c), if they believe in the TAKS, they just don't care.

So the question is, how can a teacher or a school get students to understand and internalize the fact that science is important? Indeed, IS science important to most of the students at this school?

I've got an idea that I'm going to try for next school year, and that's to get people from the community to come into the school and give a brief chat about how their profession needs at least a basic understanding of science. Of course, doctors, nurses, and actual scientists will be easy, but some students may not expect? Firemen, lawyers, city personnel, store managers, etc. will be on the list. How difficult will it be for us to find a "science connection" for these personnel? I don't think it will be too hard. For example, in IPC we learn about how power is related to energy and time. So a store manager might talk about using this knowledge to manage a store's electric bill by choosing settings for the air conditioner, lights, etc. Lawyers need to be able to understand at least a basic level of whatever scientific evidence they may use in court. etc. etc.