Oh my goodness...I am just floored. I couldn't wait to write, and it's bizarre what I'm writing about!

Background: I have had nothing to do since the AP test was over. So, I've planned for Ireland, cleaned my room (FINALLY!), organized my backlogged paperwork (bank statements, credit card statements, tax documents, etc), and have been researching apartments almost incessently since I found out I need a new place. I have used the internet to get everything else I need for my trip...AND...I realized my total lack of work ethic at school and decided to remedy that. Unlike some of my colleagues, I feel guilty and unethical if I'm not using my time at school. So, I decided that since I work best under pressure, I'd either give myself some pressure or use my time in a way that will benefit my classroom but still be enjoyable.

The search began. What do I like doing that is relaxing? Easy answer. I like reading. I need to find some engaging articles for my class. So, while the kids were in the library I went through a year's worth of back issues of The Economist and photocopied them...but I still wasn't as engaged to read them. Instead I turned to colleages. As a government teacher still trying to develop a richer understanding of world issues, what can I read that will keep my attention and still add to my knowledge? The overwhelming response was The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. I had read an excerpt from this book for my AP seminar last summer and had to admit that it was fascinating. So, I logged onto my credit card rewards program, gave myself an Amazon.com giftcard with my rewards points, and then bought the two books that were recommended to me:


and

Oh yeah...and I also bought this. I saw a clip of it from Frontline...I couldn't resist. =-)


Anyway...tonight I came home from work and felt tired. It was a cloudy day so I decided to grab a chair on my patio, grab a cup of tea, and start my book. A few hours later I finished Chapter 1 of The World Is Flat AND OH MY GOODNESS!! I'm freaking out! You HAVE to read that book. Well, actually, I've only read Chapter 1 but I am totally hooked and...as you can see... totally freaking out.

The book is about globalization. I know, it can be a boring subject. Actually, I have a very hard time reading books about the things I teach. I would rather have someone tell me the information and then I'll tell the kids. However, this book just dumbfounded me. It's about how the world is coming closer together. I am TOTALLY having my kids read part of this book next year. It's all about outsourcing and homesourcing. There is story after story about training Indians to have American accents, adopt British names, and teach children math with online tutorials. It's about Indians doing the number crunching for investment banks, giving your personal assistant in Bangalore an assignment to research a merger right before you go to bed and having a presentation and powerpoint in your inbox when you wake up because of the benefits of the time difference. It's about reporters outsourcing financial headline reporting, about middle-sized accounting firms outsourcing your tax information without you knowing, and about a person in Colorado asking you "May I take your order?" while you're going through the McDonalds drive-through in Ft. Lauderdale!!!! AHHHH!!! I can't take it! I'm blown away by this flat world!

I kept "Huh"ing and "No way"ing my way all the way through. And then, as I came to write about it I floored myself....MY LIFE IS SO GLOBALIZED!! Look at my background info:

• traveling to Ireland. That alone...then, I booked my flight online. The information probably went to some database somewhere else in the world to process. Someone in China probably designed the website while someone in India developed the software.
  
• Organized my backlogged paperwork. Bank statements, credit card statements, tax documents...all probably outsourced!!
  
• apartment searching...internet. Global marketplace! I checked the news while I searched for apartments, all of which are updated constantly on craigslist, bringing us closer together. I can't find an apartment because of Microsoft employees...who, speaking of them, happen to be overwhelmingly Indian!!
  
• I ordered everything I needed on the internet. Who knows where that info went. Who knows where it came from. For all I know just ordering my Chacos on the internet could have gone through 4 different countries!!!!
  
• I'm not even going to touch my credit card rewards program and I'm not even going to touch amazon.com and globalization with a 10-foot pole!!
  

The moral of this story is that technology has indeed made the world flat. It's freakin' me out. Second, read The World Is Flat and not just if you like history.

In other news, my students discovered today that most Russian leaders are incredibly short. I'll let you know more about it when they finish their magazine.

I explained my map but my blog erased it. Here is the brief summary. Ginny freaked out about apartments so she researched. She ended up with a google map with all the apartments she found within a certain price range so that she can see the locations in context with the others. Oh...and because she was inputting them anyway she added size, price, and then color coded them...

:-) I like things organized. Now I can go look at them all and at least have an idea what I will be looking at when I get back.

View Larger Map

I can't afford to live. My gas tank takes $40 to fill. My roommate is abandoning me and I don't have enough time to find a new one. I've been searching for apartments and I'm scared. I couldn't even find a one bedroom apartment in Renton for under $1000 a month. Well, I did find a few, but they were around $850 per month and in bad areas with horrible reviews. At this rate, I might as well stay in my apartment complex. To get a one-bedroom here is $1100 (which is only 150 less than what we pay now) and it's safe and close to work. If I got a one bedroom in Renton I will have to drive farther to work every day, pay more gas and have to get up earlier. Plus, rent will be comparable.

Woe is me! How I dream of maintaining my $625 a month rent and returning to the days when I could fill up my tank on $20! Now I am righteously ticked off that our district won't give us a raise. Everyone else is...our district is stalling. Maybe I should quit my job and move somewhere where they appreciate their teachers and I can pay lower rent.

But seriously...whose brilliant idea was it to make ethanol? I CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE!! Well, I guess I can...but it may cost me damages to my property (like poor Rosie...my car...who was keyed twice and got tires slashed twice when I lived in Renton). Even more seriously, if it's so hard for ME to live...what about people who make less than I do?

This scares the daylights out of me. Ok, I have no real huge problem of mixing faith and politics, although I do not agree that politics should dictate religion. I am not a fan of a marriage amendment, however, I find this disgusting.

Those of you who are in more constant contact with me know that I hate Obama. The passion merely increases the more I read about him. I could vent about Obama's declaration that he will sit down to talk with Iran, Venezuela and North Korea though he won't talk with "terrorists" but instead I want to include a link to Betsy's page, which has an interesting article on Hamas and Obama. It's not incredibly illuminating, but it's interesting. For some reason, Hamas has been supporting Obama...I find that scary.

http://betsyspage.blogspot.com/2008/05/hamas-and-obama.html

Last week my students took their AP tests for my class. They both went fairly well. The kids came back freaked out about one test question, but that seems to be a pattern. Besides, these things aren't meant to be easy...just manageable. Anyway, the kids were all excited and when I got their essay test booklets back, I couldn't help but smile at some of the things I found. I have scanned them and am including them for your amusement.

Sadly enough, this was day 1 and they were already sick of testing!

A nice story from Sneha

Rachel's annotated drawing of our class. Can you guess where she and her friends sit? =-)

A note to let me know about the test.

This student is obsessed with Uganda...seriously. But, that's not a bad thing. Here is her travel list. She was voted 'most likely to save the world' by her classmates.

Alex's more brief summary of AP essay directions.

And then his illustration of an aspect of the test...which I laughed quite heartily when I saw.

Yikes! The test got to him...:-)

Crystal's daydream of being rescued from the clutches of AP

And....my ultimate favorite:
Ways in which the gym is like a prison.

For those uninformed of AP practice, the kids file in, pick up their materials, take the test in a regulated environment, file out for a 10 minute break, and then finish their test. They must remain in the room until the time is up, even if they are already finished with their test.

Now I present to you: