I had the same concern, Dana, which is why I dropped it. I am actually impressed that Aims has been handling it so well.

I just had a tv-dinner-ish lunch: Tortellini Roman. It wasn't very good. I wonder if there's any frozen dinner thing that tastes good nuked....

I like the Safeway Select meals. The orange chicken especially tastes surprisingly good. The Eating Right meals aren't bad either.

When I was in high school, Sister Mary Hope had "automatic F errors." First day of class, she laid out what they were and we were warned that if we committed any of these unpardonable sins, she stopped reading and we would receive an F. End of story.

Of course, now I can't remember what any of these unpardonable sins were, except for spelling "a lot" as "alot."

except for spelling "a lot" as "alot"

Eeek, the typo of death.

for two years she has tried subtle and if there is one that she has learned about her students, it's that they don't get subtle.

Dear me, no. NO they don't. Students in general and middle school students in particular need everything spelled out directly. You cannot assume they know anything and you cannot do subtle.

And, if they're 6th grade or younger, they don't get sarcasm. Which is the main reason I can't teach kids that young. I need my sarcasm and I need kids who understand it!

For those interested in community statistics by state, USAToday has a fascinating graph reflecting census information and shifts.

[link]

According to this, Utah has one of the highest median incomes in the country, which I take to mean as "We have an assload of millionaires in this state."

Thanks Dana and Amy and P-C. I appreciate the speak-up.

I am actually impressed that Aims has been handling it so well.

Well, I've been here a long time and know that there are things that people get passionate about and teaching methods is one of those things. It's not necessarily personal.

I do want to say this about my sister, though: Sis is a young teacher - only in her third year - and maybe it wasn't the best way to handle the situation. She's still learning her ropes. But she's a damn good teacher. She's a favorite among not only her students, but the entire middle school and high school in her district. Kids clamour for her math classes. She's one of those people that teaching is just innate for. She's my idol in that respect. I hope to be half as good a teacher as she is.

I like the Safeway Select meals. The orange chicken especially tastes surprisingly good. The Eating Right meals aren't bad either.

Cool. Too bad there's not a Safeway near where I work.

Almost every chicken-based frozen dinner I've had has tasted like crap - the chicken ends up all rubbery when it comes out of the microwave. But I'll have to try the Safeway orange chicken, as normally I love orange chicken....

The Trader Joe's chicken burritos are also awesome.