science — Scheiss Weekly

Say Hello to My Little Friend

August 2, 2011 – 2:08 am

Mamacita says: This is a caffeine molecule. We hang out far too much. I had thought about writing a humorous essay about how I’ve been known to drive to WalMart at 3 a.m. for Diet Coke because we were out and I couldn’t wait for morning to go get some. But that isn’t really funny [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in adult students, Body image, Humor, hyphenated adjectives, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Mentos Geyser, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, Scheiss Weekly | Comments (5)

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, Lessons learned, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, opinions, Scheiss Weekly, schools, 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, Lessons learned, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, opinions, Political Correctness, Politics, Scheiss Weekly, schools, spelling, teachers, teenagers, The real Mamacita | Comments (1)

Frog, Frogs, Arlo & Susie, The Frog Prince, and Me

May 24, 2011 – 3:00 am

Mamacita says: Sometimes I wonder how I ever decided to become a teacher, what with my lower-than-low opinion of people who aren’t interested in lifelong learning, my intolerance and complete disdain of willful ignorance, my disregard of any rule that I personally find stupid, and my total lack of interest in staying inside any kind [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Education, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, memories, Oh No She Dinnit, Scheiss Weekly, schools, teachers, teenagers, The real Mamacita, The Things We Do For Love | Comments (0)

Standardization, Administration, & Other Bollocky Things

April 9, 2011 – 3:01 pm

Mamacita says: Beethoven and Rodin would never make it in an American public school these days. Neither would Lincoln, or Clara Barton, or Thomas Jefferson. Nor Einstein. Or Edison. Administrators have forgotten that ultimately, our culture will be judged on the arts; that’s how we learn about ancient cultures. We did not find any remnants [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Arts, children, Education, fools, Humor, It's Outrageous!, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, music, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, opinions, Political Correctness, Scheiss Weekly, schools, teachers, teenagers, The Arts, The real Mamacita, Things Nice People Already Know | Comments (15)

Audio-Visual was Cutting Edge, and the Projectionists Ran the School. And NASA.

March 22, 2011 – 9:59 pm

Mamacita says: Remember the expression “audio-visual?” Remember the group of kids whose free period each day was given over to the library, and specifically to run the projectors? 16mm movies? Reel-to-reel sound recordings? Filmstrip projectors? (BEEP. Advance. BEEP. Advance. . . .) That big gray square record player? Huge TV’s (the back, not the screen) [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in children, Education, Indiana, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, memories, nostalgia, Scheiss Weekly, schools, southern Indiana, teachers, The real Mamacita, Video | Comments (2)

The Value of Continual Learning

January 26, 2011 – 12:05 am

Mamacita says: When it comes to education, I can be quite opinionated. No, really. I’ll debate with you about all things educational, and you might as well be prepared to back down at least a little bit because I probably won’t. Not unless you’ve got a shiPload of experience to back yourself up. Families that [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Books, Education, Education Buzz, Family, fools, It's Outrageous!, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Lessons learned, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, parenting, Political Correctness, Scheiss Weekly, schools, teachers, teenagers, The real Mamacita, Things Nice People Already Know, Uncategorized, work ethic, writing | Comments (1)

Quotation Saturday: Imagination

January 22, 2011 – 1:42 am

A lot of Saturdays have come and gone lately without Quotation Saturday. How have we managed to cope, I ask you all. . . . Since I stand firmly with Albert Einstein’s “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” this Saturday’s theme is “imagination.” Take the word apart. Do you see it? IMAGE. People with imagination [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Censorship, children, Education, English, etiquette, fools, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Lessons learned, Linguistics, Literature, love, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, memories, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, parenting, Political Correctness, Quotation Saturday, quotes, religion, Scheiss Weekly, schools, spelling, teachers, teenagers, The real Mamacita, Things Nice People Already Know | Comments (3)

The Discovery Channel is responsible for many of my nightmares and disillusionments

November 28, 2010 – 10:04 pm

Mamacita says: I used to be a hippie, you know. Now, I’m just hippy. I’m almost out of detergent, but if I tear open the two little sample packages of Tide that came in the washer when we bought it seven years ago, I think I can finish out the night. It doesn’t do to [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Christmas, Family, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, memories, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, Porn, Scheiss Weekly, southern Indiana, The real Mamacita | Comments (4)

You Want A Creation Theory? I’ll Give You A Creation Theory!

July 19, 2010 – 12:05 am

On my Flickr page, there is a picture of a dulcimer. Mamacita says: Back in the day, all middle school/junior high students had to take shop and home ec. They entered high school, and life, knowing how to use a hammer and nails, how to put together a simple meal, how to sew a straight [...]