Lessons learned — Scheiss Weekly

That Time Machine At Your Fingertips. . . .

January 18, 2012 – 9:06 pm

Mamacita says: I’ve always liked this quotation. I also believe it is absolutely true. I think about it whenever I’m feeling particularly cowardly. It helps me overcome it. Words help me overcome it. I’ve always stood in awe before the power of words. With words, simple words, we can delve into the past and the [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in adult students, children, Jane Goodwin, Little House, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, memories, metaphors, nostalgia, Scheiss Weekly, writing | Comments (0)

Hope is the Thing That Is Left to Us, In a Bad Time

January 13, 2012 – 12:35 pm

Mamacita says: I have discovered another wonderful website: Letters of Note. This site is edited by Shaun Usher, whom I would invite over for dinner every Tuesday and Thursday night if only he knew I existed, but of course he doesn’t, so I can only pay him homage this way. In March of 1973, E. [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Jane Goodwin, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, quotes, Scheiss Weekly, Website homage, writing | Comments (0)

Playground Politics? Really.

January 4, 2012 – 5:17 am

Mamacita says: Let’s start the New Year with some opinionated rants. I am not an A-list blogger/social network updater. I’ve always been more than just a little bit quirky and nerdy, and I still am. I don’t care. I’ve never been cool. Not then, not now. I don’t care. (much) In my Reader/friend list/etc. are [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in fools, Friendship, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, opinions, Scheiss Weekly, Social media, The real Mamacita, Things Nice People Already Know | Comments (5)

Wherein I Mourn the Death of Common Sense, and Admit to my Fogeyness

September 29, 2011 – 7:45 pm

Mamacita says: I hate to think I’m turning into a fogey, or, even worse, am already there, but it seems to me that people are getting more and more ignorant by the minute. It doesn’t seem as though they’re doing it accidentally, or against their will, either; it seems as if they’re happy being ignorant [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Education, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, opinions, Political Correctness, Scheiss Weekly, The real Mamacita, Things Nice People Already Know | Comments (1)

Where Were You When The Planes Hit?

September 9, 2011 – 12:05 am

My tribute to Craig Damian Lilore can be found here. Mamacita says: I’m guessing that many most bloggers will be posting tributes this weekend, and telling the blogosphere ‘where we were’ when the planes hit the World Trade Center. Here is mine. This is actually the second third fourth fifth sixth seventh time I’ve posted [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Education, grief, It's Outrageous!, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, memories, music, Not the imitation Mamacita, Political Correctness, Politics, Scheiss Weekly, schools, southern Indiana, teachers, The real Mamacita, The Things We Do For Love, Things Nice People Already Know, Uncategorized, work ethic | Comments (11)

Good Teaching Is Like Good Stand-Up.

July 18, 2011 – 3:20 am

Mamacita says: I love children, and I love students of all ages, and I love teaching, and I love genuine education in all of its 6-degrees-of-separation wonder. Everything is connected – everything in the known and unknown universe is connected. Nothing exists only within the four walls of a classroom. It often happens – I [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in adult students, children, Education, English, Indiana, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, opinions, Scheiss Weekly, schools, science, teachers, The real Mamacita | Comments (2)

What Do I Really Want To Do In My Classroom?

June 3, 2011 – 8:26 am

Mamacita says: Finally. Someone has finally asked me a question I’ve wished for years someone would ask. It’s a question that’s right up there with Ed McMahon asking if he could come inside and give me a surprise. (Shut up, pervs.) Someone asked me what I really wanted to do in my classroom. What do [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Education, English, fools, grammar, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, opinions, Political Correctness, Politics, Scheiss Weekly, schools, science, spelling, teachers, teenagers, The real Mamacita | Comments (1)

Back Off – Your Kids Don’t Need An Adult Best Friend

May 27, 2011 – 12:05 am

Mamacita says: I can remember being really little, and I can remember my parents playing with me. (Those are my parents; aren’t they pretty?) They played with me whenever they could, but it wasn’t very often. I can remember Mom sitting on the floor, playing paper dolls with us, and showing us how to dress [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in children, Education, etiquette, Family, fools, Humor, It's Outrageous!, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Literature, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, memories, My daughter, My son, nostalgia, Not the imitation Mamacita, parenting, Political Correctness, Porn, quotes, Scheiss Weekly, The real Mamacita, The Things We Do For Love, Uncategorized | Comments (6)

The Cream Deserves the Perks. The Dregs Do Not. Nice People Rule

May 19, 2011 – 6:00 pm

Mamacita says: Most teens are far nobler and kind than the media would have us believe. The creeps, jerks, and bullies are the minority. I wish this minority didn’t get so much publicity. I know! Let’s give the majority of our attention, time, and money to the nice kids! What a novel thought. The lowest [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in children, Education, fools, heartbreak, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, Scheiss Weekly, schools, teenagers, The real Mamacita, The Things We Do For Love, Things Nice People Already Know | Comments (0)

Some End-of Semester Thoughts

May 13, 2011 – 8:59 pm

Mamacita says: I teach in a community college, and I have found that my hardest-working students are, for the most part, the older ones, the ones who have been out of school for many years, the ones who have been busy out in the workforce, or raising children. Now, for one reason or another, they’ve [...]