the missing trash can
just a quick chain of thoughts, desiring to leak out of the head of john osio, just to show how my twisted mind works...
so PUC hired a new catering company to manage the cafeteria this year. Bon Appetit. like i've said numerous times, their food has yet to disappoint me entirely. 9 out of 10 meals have been amazingly delicious, and i enjoy the rations they give, b/c they leave you satisfied, but allow you to have a personal debate whether or not you want to return back for more. i usually opt for the latter, but i should learn some self discipline.
anyways, i digress. back to the point, i walked into the caf tonight, to grab a late-night dinner. as i walk into the lobby, i see signs plastered all over the place, suggesting, or rather demanding that we do not leave our dirty dishes in the cafeteria lobby. i choose the word "demanding" b/c not only is the lobby plastered with signs that state their purpose, but the trash can that stood in the lobby is completely gone. taken away. vanished.
now i wouldn't be as irked as i am right now, if it weren't for certain things. i understand that clutter isn't a welcoming sight for those coming into the caf, and to give them the benefit of the doubt, the management was probably thinking along those lines. however, they were the ones that encouraged us from putting our cutlery and dishware there in the first place. they put out a nice, fancy black metal tub, to serve as a disposal area for the mentioned items. in fact, it was there for almost a week.
quick tangent, before i get back to my point. now that they got rid of the bin and the trash can, three things can happen, two of which are negative:
*one, people can listen to their demands and bring their dishware to the carousel. desirable.
*two, people can leave their dishware on their tables, because they do not want to make the extra effort to go out of their ways to bring their items in the opposite direction in which they are heading, due to a busy schedule. undesirable.
*three, people can just flat out take it to their dorm rooms and use it as their own personal dishware, resulting in raised tuition to make up for the necessity to reorder new dishes and bowls (bows head in guilt). definitely undesirable.
now, the rebel in me wanted to, in the future, purposely leave my dishes in the spot where the trash can once stood, in protest. but i'm better than that. so i just rant. but getting back to the point, and the object lesson this has taught me, in correlation to other recent events:
i've learned from this experience, that a person, or people, shouldn't establish or encourage something that could encourage undesirable outcomes in the future, when recanted or withdrawn. the caf made the mistake of trying to help us out by placing the bin there, only to pull the rug from under our feet and take it away, and cause people like me to rant. now people are going to complain even more.
so i've made a couple of choices in the past that have caused me to slap my forehead in frustration, but they've helped me grow. right now, the issue i need to tackle is to develop a firmer personal presence, which could serve as an effective leader figure, particularly in the classroom.
today, mr butler said in the nicest way he possibly could, that i lack a certain presence as a teacher. admitting to being a shy person himself, he said he's had to figure out the things he's willing to do in front of a class, or the techniques that work for him that push the boundaries of comfort, but at the same time enable his students to have an effective and positive learning situation. he knows that i'm still trying to figure things out, and trying to find that perfect way of expressing myself, and i'm glad that he understands that. knowing that though, i shouldn't be comfortable, and i need to shift gears here, and really take initiative in becoming effective.
i confessed to mrs setervang today that i see myself as a softy, and classroom management might become a problem for me. she told me that mr rogers had a horrible temper back when she first started working as the department secretary. sheesh, it's like a broken record with experienced music teachers, i guess. mr mohr, dr narducci, dr kibble, mr rogers. she suggested that it's easier to set a tone of firmness, then back off. it's common educational practice, that you read in books. it's just so hard to implement that in practice, when one isn't naturally firm.
i guess i just need to stop being a shy person, and say hi to the students that make eye contact with me, get to know their names, not settle for whimpy sound, or even get off my fear of portraying a certain image to them. i just need to be more assertive about this. mr rogers keeps saying that as singers, we need to be actors in portraying whatever the songs may be discussing. i guess as a teacher, i need to become an actor in getting the point across as well. now that the novelty's worn off from being at napa high, it's time to make this experience more positive for me, and for the students. i want this to be a success story, not another failed student teacher on mr rogers' long list. i need to make this happen.
and all that from a missing trash can.
so PUC hired a new catering company to manage the cafeteria this year. Bon Appetit. like i've said numerous times, their food has yet to disappoint me entirely. 9 out of 10 meals have been amazingly delicious, and i enjoy the rations they give, b/c they leave you satisfied, but allow you to have a personal debate whether or not you want to return back for more. i usually opt for the latter, but i should learn some self discipline.
anyways, i digress. back to the point, i walked into the caf tonight, to grab a late-night dinner. as i walk into the lobby, i see signs plastered all over the place, suggesting, or rather demanding that we do not leave our dirty dishes in the cafeteria lobby. i choose the word "demanding" b/c not only is the lobby plastered with signs that state their purpose, but the trash can that stood in the lobby is completely gone. taken away. vanished.
now i wouldn't be as irked as i am right now, if it weren't for certain things. i understand that clutter isn't a welcoming sight for those coming into the caf, and to give them the benefit of the doubt, the management was probably thinking along those lines. however, they were the ones that encouraged us from putting our cutlery and dishware there in the first place. they put out a nice, fancy black metal tub, to serve as a disposal area for the mentioned items. in fact, it was there for almost a week.
quick tangent, before i get back to my point. now that they got rid of the bin and the trash can, three things can happen, two of which are negative:
*one, people can listen to their demands and bring their dishware to the carousel. desirable.
*two, people can leave their dishware on their tables, because they do not want to make the extra effort to go out of their ways to bring their items in the opposite direction in which they are heading, due to a busy schedule. undesirable.
*three, people can just flat out take it to their dorm rooms and use it as their own personal dishware, resulting in raised tuition to make up for the necessity to reorder new dishes and bowls (bows head in guilt). definitely undesirable.
now, the rebel in me wanted to, in the future, purposely leave my dishes in the spot where the trash can once stood, in protest. but i'm better than that. so i just rant. but getting back to the point, and the object lesson this has taught me, in correlation to other recent events:
i've learned from this experience, that a person, or people, shouldn't establish or encourage something that could encourage undesirable outcomes in the future, when recanted or withdrawn. the caf made the mistake of trying to help us out by placing the bin there, only to pull the rug from under our feet and take it away, and cause people like me to rant. now people are going to complain even more.
so i've made a couple of choices in the past that have caused me to slap my forehead in frustration, but they've helped me grow. right now, the issue i need to tackle is to develop a firmer personal presence, which could serve as an effective leader figure, particularly in the classroom.
today, mr butler said in the nicest way he possibly could, that i lack a certain presence as a teacher. admitting to being a shy person himself, he said he's had to figure out the things he's willing to do in front of a class, or the techniques that work for him that push the boundaries of comfort, but at the same time enable his students to have an effective and positive learning situation. he knows that i'm still trying to figure things out, and trying to find that perfect way of expressing myself, and i'm glad that he understands that. knowing that though, i shouldn't be comfortable, and i need to shift gears here, and really take initiative in becoming effective.
i confessed to mrs setervang today that i see myself as a softy, and classroom management might become a problem for me. she told me that mr rogers had a horrible temper back when she first started working as the department secretary. sheesh, it's like a broken record with experienced music teachers, i guess. mr mohr, dr narducci, dr kibble, mr rogers. she suggested that it's easier to set a tone of firmness, then back off. it's common educational practice, that you read in books. it's just so hard to implement that in practice, when one isn't naturally firm.
i guess i just need to stop being a shy person, and say hi to the students that make eye contact with me, get to know their names, not settle for whimpy sound, or even get off my fear of portraying a certain image to them. i just need to be more assertive about this. mr rogers keeps saying that as singers, we need to be actors in portraying whatever the songs may be discussing. i guess as a teacher, i need to become an actor in getting the point across as well. now that the novelty's worn off from being at napa high, it's time to make this experience more positive for me, and for the students. i want this to be a success story, not another failed student teacher on mr rogers' long list. i need to make this happen.
and all that from a missing trash can.