Still Very Popular… (Rerun)

There have been quite a few searches for Christmas carol quizzes here at WIT. Last year Three years ago I did a series of entertaining Christmas Song Challenges. I won’t post them again but I will point them out in cast you missed them. 

First Letter Challenge (Answer)Figure out what these Christmas songs are, each letter stands for a word in the opening line of the song.

JBJBJATW    

Oh Wait, Could it Be? (Answers)Name the carol depicted in the picture.

#1    

2nd Christmas Challenge (Answers)What carol is represented by a ridiculously long title.

Colorless Yuletide    

Enjoy!

Your Elf Name Is…
Sassy Twinkle Wink

Class dismissed!

Starve Hunger - Make a Comment Rerun

30 Hour Famine

Go HERE to comment.

I will future post this just in case I miss Friday. It bears repeating. To be replacd with a newer post later.

It that time of year again boys and girls, the comment challenge to make me give money to World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine. First some facts about famine issues in the world:

  • The need is great. World hunger is 100% preventable. And yet every day 29,000 children die from hunger and hunger-related diseases. We must choose to stand up for hungry children everywhere and show them compassion, faith and desire for change.
  • The problem is large. The number of children dying every day is so great. But if we each choose to make a difference in the life of just one child, that could make the difference between life and death. The my church are going without food for 30 hours to experience hunger and to raise money to help prevent the problem.
  • World VisionEvery three seconds a child dies because he or she is malnourished or susceptible to disease.
  • As many as 1 in 5 children die before reaching their fifth birthday.
  • Every $30 raised, you feed and care for a hungry child for 30 days. $360 will feed and care for a child for an entire year.

Starve HungerStarting at the time that this post appears (11:30 CST, February 20) I will begin my 30 hours of famine. Since I will be away at an educational conference I am not doing my famine at the same time that the youth group is, they will be doing theirs Feb. 22-23. Myself and the youth group are seeking pledges from people for each hour we go without food. A $1 pledge will make a total of $30 which will feed a hungry child for 30 days or about one month.

One way you can help is prayer. Prayer for those suffering from hunger and starvation. Pray for those participating in the famine and those contributing to the famine.

You can make a financial contribution through the below PayPal link.

If you make a donation and you would like a charitable receipt, e-mail me and I will get that out in the mail to you. All funds given through this PayPal link will go to the Famine. I will also link to the websites of any contributers.Fill the void.But there is another way you can contribute. BONUS: It won’t cost you a thing but a couple of seconds.Make a comment on the first post and I will donate $1 (that will feed a child for one day). This will work on only on your first comment. Any comments after the first comment is just for grins. If you reply to a comment I will throw in an additional two quarters! That is good one time. That is all you have to do! Wanna go an extra step? Make a post about this on your own blog, MySpace, Xanga, or whatever and link to here. Encourage your readers to make a comment as well. The comments will remain open for at least the thirty hours that I am doing the famine but no promises after that until further notice.

Go HERE to comment.

Another BONUS: To anyone who downloads and listens to my class’s podcast and leaves a thoughtful comment or remark about the podcast to my class will get an additional $2.00.

Also, keep your eye on Avoiding Evil. Pressed originated this fun idea and I am betting he will be doing something similar.

Tell your friends!

Class dismissed!

Go HERE to comment.

Ghosts of WIT Christmases Past Vol. 1 (2002-2003)

After five years of blogging, a person begins to sympathize with a minister who has been ministering in the same church for more than a couple of years. Every year around this time, the minister is expected to come up with new sermons using the same source materials about the same thing. It can be a challange.

This is WIT’s fifth Christmas. Before we go make more Christmas memories, let’s take a moment to look back a past Christmas posts. Consider this one of those cheesy clip episodes that TV shows in the 80’s will always do to save money. Let’s jump into the phone booth!

December 2002

Twas the Days Before Christmas 

Twas the days before Christmas,
And all through the school,
The teachers were trying
To just keep their cool.
The hallways were hung
With Christmas art.
(Some made in November
To get a head start!)

Read the rest…

Workin’ in an Elementary School
(sung to “Winter Wonderland”)

Children scream, they’re not listen’
When they go, we’re not missin’ em’,
In all of this pain, we try to stay sane,
Workin’ in an elementary school.

Read the rest…

The QUESTION!
From It Has Finally Happened (From back in the day when I would cover four or five different subjects in one post.)

Well I got that question that I have been dreading all year from one of my students. No, no THE QUESTION. The question that I have been hoping that I would have to deal with this year, but it popped up the other day. Guessed what it is yet? Brace yourself… “Is there a Santa Claus?” Actually it was phrased like this: “MR. W!!!!!!! Jake says there’s no such thing as Santa Claus, and there is, isn’t there?” UGH! Usually I use one of the oldest tricks in the teacher’s handbook to handle this one, by throwing the question right back at them and making them responsible for the answer instead of me. (I love that trick.) So I replied back, “What do you think, is there a Santa Claus?”

“Well YES!!!”

“Alright then, don’t listen to Jake.”

Basically, the student heard, “Yes, there is a Santa Claus.”

*sigh*

December 2003

Excuses, Excuses

A Charles Story.

Thost Crazy Kids

M: There is something missing from that class and I need to make sure that you didn’t take it.

T: I didn’t! I swear! I just did my math.

Read the rest…

Unwrapping Christmas

December is a busy for most people I know. Along with Christmas comes a huge laundry list of things to do, buy, and make. Christmas heightens emotions well past where they are normally. Good emotions are increased and emotions that we would rater not have are increased in the same way. This time of year can be strain on everyone.

Read the rest…

I Gotta Pee!!!

Another Charles story.

At that very instant in the concert, Charles was aware that he needed to go to the bathroom but he still had to sing two more songs. Nothing could interrupt that sequence of events, not even needing to pee.

Read the rest…

Friday Five LVIV:Holidays

1. Do you enjoy the cold weather and snow for the holidays?
Yes I do. To a point. I don’t like my schedule to be too interrupted. Though sometimes it is nice to have the schedule interrupted.

Read the rest…

To be continued with Volume 2 (2004-2005)

Class dismissed!

Forgot

Whoops! I forgot.

WIT’s Blogday was a while back. March 5 to be exact.

I am starting my fourth year of doing this? Am I the only one amazed at this?

Good gravy!

This is the first entry into my new blog. Now some people may ask, “Well Mr. W, what is a blog?” and that would be a good question. Good thing Mr. W is here to tell you huh? A blog can best be described as an online journal. However, it can be more than that.

Right now, I’m not sure how often I will post, but when I do I plan to post things that have happened at school, things that have happened at church, and other weird and strange occurrences. I hope you like it.

One of the nice features about blogs is that they are interactive. Visitors can drop by and comment on what I have written. I love to hear comments.

[Class Dismissed!]

Posted by Christopher at March 05, 2002 01:29 PM

Comments
Wow, this is a very nice lookin Blog. Hopefully I will have one up and running as well. As soon as you teach me how. :) hehe.

Posted by: {Pressed} on March 5, 2002 09:06 PM

Well, so far so good. Hope to see some entries soon. Thanks for the help with my blog.

Posted by: {Michael} on March 17, 2002 09:38 PM

Gee! I’m getting old.

Class dismissed!

Turn With Me in Your Bibles to Education 5:1

Originally posted: August 22, 2002

Whew, this week is going fast! It seems like Wednesday today! I have had little time to stop moving though. I am starting to get back in the swing of things at school. As a class, we are starting to hit our stride. It takes awhile to get used to each other, especially them to me cause I am not like the teachers that they had last year, but we are getting used to each other. I am ready for school to be out.

Now for the notes on the day:

I was standing next to the door that goes out to the playground at the beginning of recess, receiving hugs from students from last year (there was a whole line of them.) Another student who I didn’t have last year, got so swept up in the moment that he starting giving me a hug… until half-way through the embrace when, I guess he came out of his lemming trance and realized that he didn’t really know me at all and that this situation could be slightly embarrassing for him. So here, we will call him Randy, was in mid-hug with someone who he didn’t really know. So what does he do? Well the only logical thing that one can do in that situation: pat my belly. I was dumbfounded.

I now have a high school student in my class the last two hours of the day. I don’t really want her because she is more in the way than being helpful. Oh well.

{Pressed} (by the way, thanks Pressed) read this at last night’s Loft, turn with me in your Bibles to Education 5:1:

Then Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathering them around him, he taught them saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Then Simon Peter said, “Do we have to write this down?”

And Andrew said, “Are we going to have a test on this?”

Philip mumbled, “I don’t have any paper.”

Bartholomew asked, “Do we have to turn this in?”

John whined, “The other disciples didn’t have to learn this!”

Matthew asked, “Can I go to the bathroom?”

Judas complained, “What does this have to do with anything?”

And James said, “I don’t get it.”

Then one of the Pharisees who was present asked to see Jesus’ lesson plan and inquired of him, “Where are your theological imperatives and long-term objectives in the cognitive domain? Be sure to activate prior knowledge and align it to the curriculum.”

I changed it a bit.

Mr. W, out!

Posted by Christopher at August 22, 2002 06:58 PM

Original comments below.

Continue Reading

The 21st Century Teacher Applicant

Originally posted on July 29, 2002

Let me see if I’ve got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning. Not only that, I’m supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, behaviorally modify disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and T-shirt messages.

I am to fight the war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for guns and raise their self-esteem. I’m to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, how and where to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook and how to apply for a job.

I am to check their heads occasionally for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of potential antisocial behavior, offer advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and scholarships, encourage respect for the cultural diversity of others, and, oh yeah, always make sure that I give the girls in my class 50 percent of my attention.

I’m required by my contract to be working on my own time summer and evenings at my own expense toward advance certification and a master’s degree; and after school, I am to attend committee and faculty meetings and participate in staff development training to maintain my employment status.

I am to be a paragon of virtue larger than life, such that my very presence will awe my students into being obedient and respectful of authority. I am to pledge allegiance to supporting family values, a return to the basics, and to my current administration. I am to incorporate technology into the learning, and monitor all Web sites while providing a personal relationship with each student. I am to decide who might be potentially dangerous and/or liable to commit crimes in school or who is possibly being abused, and I can be sent to jail for not mentioning these suspicions.

I am to make sure all students pass the state and federally mandated testing and all classes, whether or not they attend school on a regular basis or complete any of the work assigned. Plus, I am expected to make sure that all of the students with handicaps are guaranteed a free and equal education, regardless of their mental or physical handicap. I am to communicate frequently with each student’s parent by letter, phone, newsletter and grade card.

I’m to do all of this with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a 45 minute more-or-less plan time and a big smile, all on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps in many states. Is that all? And you want me to do all of this and expect me NOT TO PRAY?

Source Unknown

Continue Reading

Harry Potter is Evil (Rerun)

Original post date: June 6, 2002. Just in case you were wondering how many seconds till The Order of the Phoenix comes out:

A debate of the ages continues to rage! Is Harry Potter evil or are his stories imaginative and fun that get children engaged in reading? I would land in the latter group. However, Mary Ann (scroll down near the bottom) feels that Harry is EVIL!

Please understand that I give Mary Ann a hard time about this issue (hence, the bold evil above) and she has no problem giving me a hard time back, but it is an interesting issue.

Harry’s world is filled with magic, creatures, interesting and in my opinion a well written and engaging story line. The magic is what some Christians have the problem with. They suggest that the books are an introduction to witchcraft. Witchcraft is evil and extremely dangerous (I agree with this). However, I find it interesting that the people making these claims have not read the books. They simply jump on someone elses ill-informed bandwagon.

The magic in Harry Potter is portrayed in the classic fantasy way, the way seen in many literary pieces that they regard highly. In works like the Narnia Chronicles, Alice in Wonderland, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, numerous fairy tales and nursery rhymes, the magic is evidently ignored.

There are movies, TV, and other media that are portraying magic in a real and less fantastic manner, and I would agree that this type of programming is dangerous.

In my opinion, Harry Potter has gotten kids excited about reading. Finally a series of books that does not pander to kids (as a result there are more books that take kids more seriously like The Series of Unfortunate Events). The brand of magic is clearly of the fantasy variety that is seen as fake and imaginary. Every child that I have talked to that have read the books have felt the same way and understood, without me explaining it to them, that the Harry Potter books are pieces of fiction. None of them went out and bought an Ouji board after reading the books.

Do I think parents should be reading the books with their kids? You bet! Especially as the series progresses, there has been a trend in each of the books getting progressively darker. I don’t know what the fifth book will hold but parents should be reading along with their kids.

Want some further reading on this? Try out these articles:

Please give your opinion below. I would love to hear both positive and negative responses as long as you know what you speak of. Please do not comment on the quality of the writing if you have not read the books! Or flame other people because of their opinion.

Class dismissed!

Update: Please read the sequel to this entry Harry Potter is Evil and the Chamber of Fear for additional comments and discussion.