A Teacher's Failure

Since being tossed into the classroom at the tender age of 19 with a small group of high school students that no one else in the school wanted, I have learned to cherish the “misfits” of each school that I have been a part of. I have only lost two students, one to prison and one to death that have been categorized as one of my misfits.

That was until this past spring when another student that I had worked so hard to get through to turned his back and walked away without earning a diploma and with no hope within his beaten soul.

He is a cocky Mississippi teenage boy who had been dealt a pretty tough hand, but he seemed to be able to pull himself up and weasel his way into the hearts of those trying to help him. He is a charmer and a manipulator, then again, most of my misfits are that way, that is why I love them and work so hard to push them along.

He was one of 30 something students in the alternative program. He made bad choices, viewed the world with the hard edge of tough love and worked hard at being charismatic to the adults in his life. While I have build bonds with my students, I could feel that he was always pulling back and hiding. He tended to hide behind the victim persona whenever things got tough and while many of the teachers wanted to protect him, there also came a time when he needed to stand firmly on his own two feet.

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American Health Care Academy

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The last quarter of the spring semester was crunch time and I tried my hardest to push him towards the finish line. As the last few weeks dawned, I realized that he was not standing on his own and he would never succeed. He just was not ready. Needless to say, the end of the school year loomed and the news was delivered that he would not receive his diploma. He needed to come back for one more semester.

Best wishes to all of my misfits!

He imploded and made rash decisions that will have adverse affects on him the rest of his life. His goal was to be the first person in his family to graduate high school and in his mind, he failed. He could not see that his goal was still firmly in place and it was just going to take him an extra six months to achieve.

His charm evaporated and he became a petulant child who pouted and threw a temper tantrum. It was an expected reaction because of the swift personality shifts that I had seen in the past. But it hurt nonetheless. He was one of my babies and to see him hurting and all of us were helpless to soothe him.

In my 15 years of teaching and working with my misfits, this was my third failure and while there is still hope that he will figure it out and push himself up to stand on his own feet, I still feel as if I have utterly failed.

These failures have not defined me though. I see the hundreds of students who have graced my door and wiggled into my heart. I hear their successes and share in their triumphs. They are the ones who push me to continue doing what I love and putting myself out there year after year.

5 Grilling Tips for Great Food

With grilling season about to begin in full swing, I recently wrote an article for Yahoo Contributor about the 5 best grilling tips. Read my take on making the best tasting grilled food for a summer full of making memories and sharing meals.

Rumors Fly Around Washington Capitals’ Jaroslav Halak

The most interesting thing about the Internet is that anything can be put out there and immediately be seen as truth. There are numerous online posts circulating about Washington Capitals goaltender, Jaroslav Halak, regarding his not playing against his former team, the St. Louis Blues. The media jumped onto the frenzied bandwagon and sensationalized a non-story to make Halak out to be less than loyal to his current team.

In an article posted on Puck Daddy, Jaroslav Halak asks out of start vs. St. Louis Blues, former teammates, writer Greg Wyshynski states, “it should not be too surprising that Jaroslav Halak asked Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates not to play him against his former team, the St. Louis Blues…” Wyshynski goes on to state that Halak is “admitting that he’d harm the Capitals’ changes of winning this game if he started.” It has always been my belief to gather all of the facts prior to blowing something so nominal out of proportion.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Here is the full statement made by Capitals head coach Adam Oates. Oates’ full comments, for the record: “We know the feelings when you go into your old stomping ground and it’s not always easy and you’re not always comfortable, at least the first time. We talked to [Halak] and he just wasn’t 100 percent comfortable. Unfortunately this time of year and where we’re at, we can’t afford that and Holts has played great lately. We feel really good about that and Holts is playing.”

This is not an unusual occurrence in regards to a goaltender facing their former team for the first time. St. Louis Blues’ Ryan Miller did play when his former team, the Buffalo Sabres, came into St. Louis. Common sense tells us that a goaltender’s former team knows too much about the mental preparedness and the physical pitfalls of their game. So why is Halak sitting out of the St. Louis Blues game such a big deal? It is not. The big deal is that the media blew it up and made Halak out to be an unstable head case.

Halak has had his fair share of melt downs, but then again, find a NHL goaltender that has never had a melt down. For the media to persecute him, I felt it was uncalled for. Halak is a strong goaltender and I still stand behind my opinion about the intelligence of the Ryan Miller/Steve Ott and Jaroslav Halak/Chris Stewart trade. It was not the best move that Blues’ General Manager, Doug Armstrong, has made in recent history.

I am proud of Halak for standing up and saying that he never asked to be removed from the line-up against the Blues. In an article for the Washington Post, Jaroslav Halak’s agent ‘bewildered’ Adam Oates broke trust between player, coach, Halak’s agent, Allan Walsh, spoke up and defended his client. Even if comments given to the media were twisted and the internet being what it is blew the story out of the water, there is a thing called trust that must exist between a player and coach. By Oates admitting that Halak was not “100 percent comfortable”, he divulged a private conversation and probably made Halak a little more wary of going to him. This situation could cause hard feelings between the two and make Halak’s stay in Washington short-lived.

Fans Experience Different Treatment During St. Louis Blues Game

COMMENTARY | This past Tuesday, April 1^st, the St. Louis Blues faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers and I decided to conduct a little experiment during the game. I was there with my sister and partner in crime; we had glass level seating and all-access to the Blue Note Lounge. We have never come across a Scottrade employee that has been rude, unkind or unwilling to go the extra mile for our comfort and enjoyment of the game. I gave three young men tickets to the game as well. Their seats were located in the upper bowl of Scottrade Center. They were dressed like typical young guys; clean clothes, baseball caps turned backward, clean cut albeit a little loud and somewhat rough around the edges.

Kristy and I arrived first and enjoyed a nice meal in the Blue Note Lounge. The guys arrived with the general admission when the gates opened at 6:00 p.m. We met up near the Lounge entrance and I watched usher and security reaction to the guys. Security guards remained close and ushers seemed to guard their areas with extra caution. This to me was interesting because I have been able to move freely around the concourse and club sections of the Scottrade Center without feeling as if I were under surveillance or would be barred from certain areas. The guys tried to enter the club level and were immediately barred by the usher. The usher went so far as to physically put his hands on one of the guys. Prior to the start of the game, I invited the guys down to the glass level seating to watch the players warm up before the start of the game. As they enjoyed being so close to the ice, I observed the reactions of those around us. The ushers were friendly and helpful to Kristy and me; however, they kept a close watch on the three guys.

The "Guys" enjoying the game!

We parted company after the warm-ups, the guys made their way to their upper bowl seats while I once again enjoyed the amenities of the Blue Note Lounge. I stopped and spoke to our usher, a very nice gentleman who had just had hip replacement surgery. Kristy came through a different section to get to our seats and was met with helpful and friendly ushers and event security. After enjoying the first period, we all met up again and I had another experiment to try. The game day photographers who snap photos of the fans and hock their wares have a green screen set up where fans can be placed in the locker room or at ice level wearing quirky jerseys and holding beat-up hockey sticks. Kristy and I have had this done before simply for the fun of it. The photographers at the green screen have always been quite funny and easy-going. When we arrived with the three guys in tow there was an immediate shift in the attitudes of the workers. I noticed it immediately as did Kristy. This being the first game for all the guys, they did not know anything was amiss. After getting the photos taken and hearing the sales speech that is always given, one of the photographers became absolutely irate with one of the guys who snapped a picture of the photos that was on the screen for us to look at. Rather than explain to him that it was not allowed, the photographer started yelling at all three of the guys. I will point out that there are absolutely no signs posted that states taking pictures of the photos on the screen is prohibited. Kristy and I walked away unscathed and finding the situation very amusing.

After leaving the green screen area and the rather irritated photographer, I noticed that a security guard was following us as we made our way through the crowd towards the Blue Note Lounge. We parted ways again; the guys back to their seats and Kristy to the Lounge while I headed back to my seat. This time I went through a different section to see if I would get stopped trying to go down to the glass seats. The usher, a smiling, older woman, let me walk right past her without looking at my ticket or questioning where I was going. I walked back to my seats to find an interloper parked there. After telling the enthusiastic fan that he was in my seat, a security guard came up and asked me if I were experiencing a problem. I told him the other person was just a little lost. The security guard told me that if I needed anything, just find him and he would be happy to help. An interesting note is that the security guard allowed the interloper to remain down at glass seats even though he was bragging that his seats were “way up there”. 

With about ten minutes left in the game I sent a text message to the guys and told them that there were three seats open right in front of us. The seats had been open the entire game. The usher and security guard refused to allow them down to the seats even though there were others who had been allowed to sit down there. This was a little frustrating and showed a bias against these three young men. They were finally able to “sneak” down before the shoot-out started and the usher let them stay.

I admit that I used these three young guys as an experiment because I had heard other fans complain about their experiences with employees at the Scottrade Center. I have only had one issue with a bad-tempered employee in all the years that I have attended Blues games and events. I do admit to trying to sit in sections where my favorite ushers are located. My absolute favorite usher is a young college student named Scott. He is always so upbeat and willing to go the extra mile to make sure that the game is enjoyable. Watching the trials that the three guys went through during their visit to the Scottrade Center, I can fully understand why people do complain. These guys were followed by security everywhere that I observed them and they were treated with disdain by several employees. While the Blues pride themselves on great game day experiences for their fans, there are preconceived prejudices that prevent certain fans from being free from scrutiny and being shadowed while in the Scottrade Center. I was truly surprised that not every person had the same level of courtesy and enjoyment while attending a Blues game.

I do apologize to the three guys that I observed during the game. I used them for my own investigative purposes and while they claim they enjoyed the game, I did purposely place them in situations just to watch the reactions of the employees. My findings helped to rip the rose colored glasses off my eyes regarding a fan’s experience during a Blues game at the Scottrade Center.

**Also posted on MickiHolleyBleedsBlue.Blogspot.com 

Success of Alternative Programs in Public High Schools

With the inception of No Child Left Behind, the need for alternative programs rose sharply within the past decade. I have the privilege of working within one such program and I documented three students who have shown without a doubt that this particular program is successful. It is successful because it is geared more towards credit recovery and life skills rather than a study hall of sorts to house the students until graduation. The students that I work with have to study and be motivated enough to want to reach out and grasp the opportunities that the alternative program offers them. I have altered names of both the students and the teachers since these kids are currently in high school. These are fictitious characters created for your reading enjoyment, they are real students who are becoming successful individuals due to the step up provided by their teachers and administrators.

This piece was published on Yahoo Voices and can be viewed here:
http://voices.yahoo.com/success-alternative-programs-public-high-schools-12572955.html?cat=4

Team USA Hockey Players to Watch at the Winter Olympics in Sochi

There are articles that cause an uproar, especially when the topic deals with sports. Every fan has their favorite team and player, to slight that player or downplay their skills is considered a crime. While this article published on Yahoo Sports where I am a recurring contributor was written voicing my opinion, it received numerous comments and heated debates.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/team-usa-hockey-players-watch-winter-olympics-sochi-202600943.html

Jaroslav Halak for Ryan Miller: Are the St Louis Blues Trying to Deal

Blues fans are loyal to their players and this article published by Yahoo Sports where I am a recurring contributor led to very strong emotions. Halak and Miller fans all weighed in on this trade rumor.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jaroslav-halak-ryan-miller-st-louis-blues-trying-184000665--nhl.html