Five Questions…..

Ahhh….from my good friend, Mary, at The Eleventh.  There are a couple that really, really stumped me!  If YOU would like to be interviewed, add a comment to this blog and I will post five questions for YOU to answer .  It’s fun…..really!

 

1.  Working in education, what “old fashioned basics” do you wish were still taught, and what “new methods” do you find the most helpful? 

      I sincerely wish there was more emphasis on learning basic Math facts here.  Our district uses a Math program that focuses on ‘doing’ and children are taught a variety of ways to arrive at the answer.  It attempts to reach out to ALL learners and has proved successful in regards to state testing.   I find that my children are much more adventurous in regards to Math and not so intimidated by it…like I was(am!).  However, you can tout geometry and algebra in elementary school all you want but NOTHING beats knowing those add/sub/multiplication facts.  And I know this for a fact.  My 4th/5th grade Teacher was right out of college and had us using a Math program designed by his university.  Heavy on the geometry and pre-algrebra processes.  THEN I was placed in the 6th grade classroom of a very….ahem….experienced…..Teacher that took all of us right back to basic Math facts and basic spelling words.  I di well but still have to count on my fingers for some Math stuff today.

     I love LOVE love the new writing processes that encourage children to use  ‘sound spelling’ to become independent writers…in Kindergarten.  My kiddos LOVED their ‘Writers Workshop’ times.  I love that they are encourages to write about their own experiences.  I just hope that those writing experiences feed into fantasy and creative writing as well.   THAT was always my favorite thing to do as a kid. 

 

2.  What is your most arcane interest or obsession?

 

       Heh….’ER’…or maybe just Maura Tierney?  I have watched ‘ER’ steadily since it’s first rerun season.  My sister talked me into watching it so she would have someone to talk to about it.  The dialog was too fast for me but shazam!  Closed captioning became available!!    I used to watch it while giving the Prince his nightly bottle back then.  He’s almost 15 now.  I have watched actors come and go from the show and have had seasons when my interest has waned.  With the arrival of Maura Tierney’s ‘Abby Lockhart’ in season six , it became an obsession.  Well, maybe for two reasons.  I first took note of her when she was a member of that quirky comedy ‘NewsRadio’….which I loved.  She is an actress whose talent lends itself perfectly to someone who is hearing impaired.  Her acting becomes a physical thing and you can almost tell the temper of the story by the way she moves, her expressions, her hand motions and even the way she stands.  Kinda fun to watch her.  When I first read that she had been added to the ‘ER’ cast I was thoroughly disappointed.  I envisioned her as a comedic actress and never thought she would fit in a drama.  Have eaten my words many, many times since.  Heh.  One of the highlights of my past year was a trip to NYC to see her on stage and I got to meet her….twice!  But like an idiot obsessed fan, I couldn’t put together two coherent words to say to her.  Go figure.

     Secondly, Goran Visnjic was in a movie that I rented back in 98/99 – ‘Welcome to Sarajevo.’  It has adoption theme and takes place during the Bosnian conflict.    We were doing the paper chase for a Russian adoption at the time and I thought it would be interesting.  Hmmm.  Fell hook, line and sinker for the tall Croatian playing ‘Risto Bavic’ (love the way that name rolls over the tongue!).  Felt so very ultra cool in knowing who Goran Visnjic was when it was announced that he would be joining ‘ER” as ‘Luka Kovac.’  Sigh.  The fact that the two of them were paired romantically was just unbelievable.  And I have to say that their relationship on the show really got me writing again.

     I discovered a fan fiction site one night and started writing a story about Luka and Abby…..and posted it on Dec. 22, 2005…..just for kicks.  People posted reviews and I was totally bitten by the writing bug…again.  To date I have an 18 piece collection on www.fanfiction.net that has garnered over 200,000 internet ‘hits.’  Not a week has gone by when I haven’t received a notification that someone has added me to their favorite author/story list or alert.  Kind of fun.  And I have been able to use those stories to practice some writing skills.  I tried writing stories from different character points of view.  Once, in an attempt to focus more on descriptive writing I wrote a piece in which the characters just utter one phrase all the way through – ‘Just looking.‘  And while I still write an occasional ‘ER’ story, I have also been focusing on writing other things as well.  I have a collection of novels in progress….always.  What was the question again???

 

3.  What food do you eat that your family or friends find disgusting?

 

   Oh, it HAS to be squash.  Zucchini, acorn, summer, butternut, spaghetti…I LOVE them all…and can’t get anyone else to eat it, no matter how deliciously I cook it.  Sigh.

 

4.  If you could go back in time, unobserved, to any three moments in history (personal or famous), what would they be and why?

 

     Do they have to be moments?  I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during the Continental Congress  prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  I would have loved to have been a member of JFK’s cabinet.  I would have loved to have been a journalist in China during the Tienanmen Square protests of 1989 .  In every instance it involved young, idealistic people with ideas that would merit change and a new beginning.  I love the fear, the optimism, the excitement, the thought process, the arguments and compromise procedures….and the hope  – even if an idea should fail.

 

5.  Look back on your memories.  You are six years old and surrounded by adults.  Which one did you try hardest to impress and why? 

 

       My grandmother because, I think, I knew I could never please her.  We were too much alike.  And I was bulky, mouthy, hard of hearing, big for my age and obnoxious.  The cousin above me was motherless via divorce, tiny, WAY too smart and classically pretty.  My sister was younger, tiny, good natured – always, and sweet.  Hard to fit in with a crowd like that……

 

Five Question Instructions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. 
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Explore posts in the same categories: Uncategorized