Bless the good CEOs and CFOs of the Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy family. They're having a Give&Get Campaign benefiting none other than... Teach for America!
So, if you're in need of a little fashion in your life, click the link to this coupon. Feel free to email to friends and share the good news...
30% off this Thursday, July 30, through Sunday, August 2.
5% of all proceeds will benefit TFA!
Happy Shopping!
http://www.gapinc.com/giveandget/teachforamerica/
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
take that, liberal media elite
to quote sarah palin... take that, you liberal media elite.
i should be sleeping but instead am writing over-due responses to the editors of the Houston Chronicle regarding inaccurate articles they recently printed about TFA. They have pulled the article from their website or I am completely computer illiterate, or both, but basically to sum up the article for you, on June 24 they ran a story highlighting the strengths of programs like Teach for America and the Peace Corps, and how several factors contributed to the giant increase of applicants for both programs. (40% and 15-18%, respectively, during the past school year.)
Well, they mentioned the economy but they also focused on my generation's dedication to service. The author rambled on about how Obama's new programs created this surge of interest in TFA, Peace Corps, and the like. Really? I applied in August and was accepted TWO MONTHS before Obama took the oath of office. His presidency had not begun before TFA had completed HALF of their admissions process for the 2009 year. Does this reporter own a calendar? did they simply not do their research?
I politely would like to call bullshit, oh Houston Chronicle staff. Obama has merely expanded programs that were put in place by dear Dubya. I can honestly say that I would be just as hot and bothered if the article had credited a new Republican president (say, John McCain) as the reason for all these qualified college graduates turning away from law school, med school, Wall Street, or Ernst & Young, and turning to teaching or serving abroad. Incorrect.
Can the media not give Bush any credit for the things he did well? How hard would it have been for the author to include ONE SENTENCCE regarding the former President's FreedomCorps initiative? Still not convinced?
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bushrecord/factsheets/needs.html
I do not mean to rant on forever, but I find it infuriating that our mainstream reporters believe it is okay to present biases and opinions in places other than the "Opinion" section of our country's largest newspapers. Present all of the facts, or present none at all.
If you haven't already closed out of this blog, (and I wouldn't blame you if you had) please see my letter to the editors below. It had to be 250 words or less, which of course was a huge struggle for me.
As always, thanks for reading. Cheers to freedom of the press. -crob
To the Chronicle Editorial Team:
I am writing in response to Jennifer Latson’s June 26 article regarding the rise in Peace Corps and Teach for America applicants. Latson credited the Obama Administration as the primary motivation for the surge in applications to service organizations, and I feel such inaccurate statements cannot pass by without correction.
This reporter clearly did not do all of the necessary research nor chose not to report all of the facts. The Obama Administration began after Teach for America had completed half of their recruiting for their 2009 incoming group of teachers. How then can Latson credit Obama alone for the 40% rise in Teach for America applicants?
As a White House intern during spring 2008, I received a letter from then-President Bush that sits framed on my desk, and deeply influenced my decision to apply for Teach for America. One sentence from that letter sums up why I sought a job striving to make great changes in our world; the President encouraged us to “continue your efforts to become an active and involved citizen, and to demonstrate integrity and compassion.”
I do not mean to deny Obama’s emphasis on the importance of service, but your reporter should have acknowledged that he is simply continuing and expanding the efforts of previous presidents.
I hope that the Chronicle reporters will remove blatant bias from factual articles in the future, lest they join the mass of other media outlets that have fallen under the Obama spell.
i should be sleeping but instead am writing over-due responses to the editors of the Houston Chronicle regarding inaccurate articles they recently printed about TFA. They have pulled the article from their website or I am completely computer illiterate, or both, but basically to sum up the article for you, on June 24 they ran a story highlighting the strengths of programs like Teach for America and the Peace Corps, and how several factors contributed to the giant increase of applicants for both programs. (40% and 15-18%, respectively, during the past school year.)
Well, they mentioned the economy but they also focused on my generation's dedication to service. The author rambled on about how Obama's new programs created this surge of interest in TFA, Peace Corps, and the like. Really? I applied in August and was accepted TWO MONTHS before Obama took the oath of office. His presidency had not begun before TFA had completed HALF of their admissions process for the 2009 year. Does this reporter own a calendar? did they simply not do their research?
I politely would like to call bullshit, oh Houston Chronicle staff. Obama has merely expanded programs that were put in place by dear Dubya. I can honestly say that I would be just as hot and bothered if the article had credited a new Republican president (say, John McCain) as the reason for all these qualified college graduates turning away from law school, med school, Wall Street, or Ernst & Young, and turning to teaching or serving abroad. Incorrect.
Can the media not give Bush any credit for the things he did well? How hard would it have been for the author to include ONE SENTENCCE regarding the former President's FreedomCorps initiative? Still not convinced?
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bushrecord/factsheets/needs.html
I do not mean to rant on forever, but I find it infuriating that our mainstream reporters believe it is okay to present biases and opinions in places other than the "Opinion" section of our country's largest newspapers. Present all of the facts, or present none at all.
If you haven't already closed out of this blog, (and I wouldn't blame you if you had) please see my letter to the editors below. It had to be 250 words or less, which of course was a huge struggle for me.
As always, thanks for reading. Cheers to freedom of the press. -crob
To the Chronicle Editorial Team:
I am writing in response to Jennifer Latson’s June 26 article regarding the rise in Peace Corps and Teach for America applicants. Latson credited the Obama Administration as the primary motivation for the surge in applications to service organizations, and I feel such inaccurate statements cannot pass by without correction.
This reporter clearly did not do all of the necessary research nor chose not to report all of the facts. The Obama Administration began after Teach for America had completed half of their recruiting for their 2009 incoming group of teachers. How then can Latson credit Obama alone for the 40% rise in Teach for America applicants?
As a White House intern during spring 2008, I received a letter from then-President Bush that sits framed on my desk, and deeply influenced my decision to apply for Teach for America. One sentence from that letter sums up why I sought a job striving to make great changes in our world; the President encouraged us to “continue your efforts to become an active and involved citizen, and to demonstrate integrity and compassion.”
I do not mean to deny Obama’s emphasis on the importance of service, but your reporter should have acknowledged that he is simply continuing and expanding the efforts of previous presidents.
I hope that the Chronicle reporters will remove blatant bias from factual articles in the future, lest they join the mass of other media outlets that have fallen under the Obama spell.
"vacation, all i ever wanted, vacation had to get way"
ah, a week of vacation after teach for america institute. just what the doctor ordered. i slept, i read books for fun and not assignment, i laid in the sun, i swam in rivers.
but actually i learned a lot during vacation. sure, none of it had to do with lesson plans or education reform, but still, i learned some things... see below.
i learned i should not be left alone at gas stations with nothing to do but take pictures of myself, the car interior, innocent passers-by.
renza = fun
sunsets are never over-rated.
i learned my dad looks terrible in swimcaps and triathlon shorts. also, that if you're over 50, you have to wear special colored caps because you're at a higher risk for drowning. haha sucka.
FINISH! my dad & brother are cool. never knew that before.
amy really likes the midget. why else would you touch someone that sweaty and disgusting? ew. you couldn't pay me to hug that kid at the finish line.
my brother likes to wear leotards and stuff. and he's tall. 
that's my dad. doing the backstroke and praying to god (literally) that he doesn't drown. way to go dad!! (see those two hands flailing out of the water? that's him.)
but actually i learned a lot during vacation. sure, none of it had to do with lesson plans or education reform, but still, i learned some things... see below.
i learned i should not be left alone at gas stations with nothing to do but take pictures of myself, the car interior, innocent passers-by. 
renza = fun
sunsets are never over-rated.i learned i still love swinging, even at age 23. 
and i don't care that people might point and laugh as your dress blows in the wind.
and i don't care that people might point and laugh as your dress blows in the wind. 
i learned my dad looks terrible in swimcaps and triathlon shorts. also, that if you're over 50, you have to wear special colored caps because you're at a higher risk for drowning. haha sucka.
FINISH! my dad & brother are cool. never knew that before.
amy really likes the midget. why else would you touch someone that sweaty and disgusting? ew. you couldn't pay me to hug that kid at the finish line.
my brother likes to wear leotards and stuff. and he's tall. that's my dad. doing the backstroke and praying to god (literally) that he doesn't drown. way to go dad!! (see those two hands flailing out of the water? that's him.) i'll be returning soon with some teacher stories from earlier this summer. favorite quote of the summer? probably:
"miss robinson, i like your kicks.... you think i could have em??"
Saturday, July 11, 2009
what is time?
life is a haze. i have no concept of time. 6:30 at night feels like midnight. then my second wind comes and 9:05 at night feels like 5:00 p.m. I am wide awake in full conversation by 6:30 a.m. everyday. 10:45 a.m. feels like 2:30 in the afternoon.
friday morning, for our final school day pizza party, i googled pizza huts and dominos. then i proceeded to dial numbers to check prices, as the phone rang i thought...oh, its 7:47 in the morning. no one is going to answer the phone at pizza hut at 7:47 in the morning.
it was a whirlwind five weeks, to say the least. i could have not slept at all and still not done everything I needed to get done. but i learned to prioritize what absolutely had to be finished, and that getting five or so hours was vital to not falling asleep at the front of the classroom.
have you ever been snorkeling? I feel like I just came up from a five week snorkeling trip, where I had my eyes very focused on the task at hand, and now that I've come up for air there is more oxygen getting to my brain. I can see the rest of the real world around me now.I am so glad to be re-entering the real world.
friday morning, for our final school day pizza party, i googled pizza huts and dominos. then i proceeded to dial numbers to check prices, as the phone rang i thought...oh, its 7:47 in the morning. no one is going to answer the phone at pizza hut at 7:47 in the morning.
it was a whirlwind five weeks, to say the least. i could have not slept at all and still not done everything I needed to get done. but i learned to prioritize what absolutely had to be finished, and that getting five or so hours was vital to not falling asleep at the front of the classroom.
have you ever been snorkeling? I feel like I just came up from a five week snorkeling trip, where I had my eyes very focused on the task at hand, and now that I've come up for air there is more oxygen getting to my brain. I can see the rest of the real world around me now.I am so glad to be re-entering the real world.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
pursuing happiness
I found this quote while I was researching facts about America for my fourth-graders last week, preparing a lesson on why we celebrate the fourth of july. ("Because we like fireworks" is not a legit reason.)
John Adams wrote to his beloved wife Abigail: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."
Every July 4th seems better than the last to me. It is one of my most favorite holidays, favorite days of the year. One reason I enjoy it so much is because, compared to other holidays, it is so low-key, low pressure. No long list of gifts to buy. Don't have to find someone to kiss when the clock strikes midnight. No mothers (especially mine) running around the kitchen cooking and vacuuming and setting the table. Last year I was in Washington, the four years before that at Camp, in the hill country with sweet friends, fireworks, and watermelon - what else do you need?
This year, back in the hill country after Charles Roitsch's wedding, I was reminded more than ever of the sanctity of life. We do not live forever. I miss you, Homie.
Yet I am more appreciative of the time we are given: what if I had been born within borders of a country that said i wasn't free? That killed me for being a Christian? That dictated my rights as woman, making me inferior to a man? That told me who to marry? What job I could have? How many children?
I become more thankful and more prideful of my status as an American as each July Fourth rolls around. It occured to me that if I get the change to live to be 90 years old, my heart will literally explode on Independce Day, no room left for any more love or pride for my country. (I will/would turn 90 in year 2076. Wow.)
But an exploding heart would make a pretty cool firework, and a pretty fitting tribute to our great nation. Can I get an "ewwwww??"
Hope you had a wonderful fourth, wherever you were. And I hope your heart had a mini-explosion of pride that you... are...an... AMERICAN. You have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Whoop.
John Adams wrote to his beloved wife Abigail: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."
Every July 4th seems better than the last to me. It is one of my most favorite holidays, favorite days of the year. One reason I enjoy it so much is because, compared to other holidays, it is so low-key, low pressure. No long list of gifts to buy. Don't have to find someone to kiss when the clock strikes midnight. No mothers (especially mine) running around the kitchen cooking and vacuuming and setting the table. Last year I was in Washington, the four years before that at Camp, in the hill country with sweet friends, fireworks, and watermelon - what else do you need?
This year, back in the hill country after Charles Roitsch's wedding, I was reminded more than ever of the sanctity of life. We do not live forever. I miss you, Homie.
Yet I am more appreciative of the time we are given: what if I had been born within borders of a country that said i wasn't free? That killed me for being a Christian? That dictated my rights as woman, making me inferior to a man? That told me who to marry? What job I could have? How many children?
I become more thankful and more prideful of my status as an American as each July Fourth rolls around. It occured to me that if I get the change to live to be 90 years old, my heart will literally explode on Independce Day, no room left for any more love or pride for my country. (I will/would turn 90 in year 2076. Wow.)
But an exploding heart would make a pretty cool firework, and a pretty fitting tribute to our great nation. Can I get an "ewwwww??"
Hope you had a wonderful fourth, wherever you were. And I hope your heart had a mini-explosion of pride that you... are...an... AMERICAN. You have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Whoop.
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