Nine Questions with Michael and Erin Peters

Vox has a series where they ask prominent figures in American society nine questions. I think they're interesting questions, so Michael and I answered them.

What’s the first piece of media you consume every day?

ERIN: I listen to podcasts on my way to work. 

MICHAEL: podcasts

Name a writer or publication you disagree with but still read.

ERIN: A little more than a year ago, confused by Trump's rise toward the presidency, I began reading National Review online. After the election, I subscribed to the print version as well. A lot of the times I'm horrified by the things they say (and even more horrified that they don't think there's anything wrong with saying it), but I also think they occasionally make good points and present a refreshing flip side to the mainstream media coverage. At the same time, anytime I've taken a National Review with me out in public, I've been too self-conscious to pull it out of my purse.

MICHAEL: Robert Rush. He's an economist that worked in the Clinton administration. He has some good insights on things but can be too partisan.

Who is the person who has most influenced the way you think?

ERIN: Thomas Jefferson, even though he and I recently had a falling out.

MICHAEL: Tim Hartford. He wrote The Undercover Economist, and I think he does a good job explaining where markets do a good job and where they don't do a good job in the world.

When was the last time you changed your mind about something?

ERIN: I recently listened to a TED talk about how scientists need to revise how they teach people about science, and I realized that all of the arguments I've had with Michael over the years about why I don't have faith in science are really because my science teachers did a bad job of teaching what science really is. 

MICHAEL: I recently changed my mind about Java being a horrible programming language. Now I just think it's mildly annoying.

What’s your worst intellectual habit?

ERIN:  Even though Facebook's algorithms have turned my Facebook feed into a boring stream of memes and status updates from people I don't even know, I can't convince myself to stop getting on Facebook.

MICHAEL: Confirmation bias.

What inspires you to learn?

ERIN: Everything is awesome.

MICHAEL: That's a hard one because I just enjoy learning. How do you get inspired to do something that you just like doing?

What do you need to believe in order to get through the day?

ERIN: That people are basically good. I don't actually believe it, but since I need to believe it, I lie to myself daily.

MICHAEL: That most people are trying to do what they think is right.

What’s a view that you hold but can’t defend?

ERIN: Mormonism?

MICHAEL: The saxophone is a horrible instrument.

What book have you recommended the most?

ERIN: A Monster Calls.

MICHAEL: The Name of the Wind.

Sibling Wars

SIBLING WAR! Answer how YOU feel about you and your siblings.

1.Who's the smartest one? Dad
2. Most spoiled? Rylan
3. Most sensitive? Rylan
4. Worst temper?  Cole
5. Most social?  Rylan is a Chatterbox
6. Most stubborn?  Cole
7. Most organized? Not Rylan!!!!!
8. Best cook?  Cole makes delicious cookies. Eli makes delicious smoothies and milkshakes.
9. Who's the funniest?  Eli
10. Who was the bad kid? Cole was the worst baby. Rylan was the best baby.
11. Who has the biggest heart?  Eli got the Team Player Award for Outstanding Cooperation at his 6th graduation. Basically, kindest student in the 6th grade. I could not have been prouder.
12. Who's the quietest? Eli
13. Who's the worst driver? Rylan is the only one who has any interest in cars.
14. Who was born 1st? Cole
15. Who is better at sports? Mom. Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!
16. Best hair? Rylan at 6 months
17. Most kids?  Tied at zero for at least 15 more years
18. Coffee drinker? None unless they are sneaky
19. Who is loudest? Rylan
20. Who is most conservative? Cole says he is most liberal in wanting changes in the parental government.
21. Most expensive taste?  Cole currently has an obsession with buying Adidas and Nike.
22. Who's the tallest? Cole for now.

Krispy Kreme Challenge 2017

I ran the Krispy Kreme challenge again this year, and Michael decided to run as well. It was a cold day in February, but we both survived.

1/19/17 (Distracting myself from thinking about the inauguration by worrying about other things instead)

Do y'all remember that horrible viral video that was going around a couple years ago where the school resource officer was called into a classroom to remove a stubborn student, and he ended up throwing her across the room? And afterward, how there were a bunch of people commenting about the girl's home life and criticizing the teacher for not being more aware of the girl's personal problems because if the dang teacher had just called home he would have known to handle the situation more sensitively and it all could have been avoided? Thinking about that today...

In just the past couple of weeks, I've had students uncharacteristically come into class, put their head down, and refuse to work. I've had students disappear from school for a few days with no explanation. I have a senior that I've begged to stay after school with me to bring up his grade, and he never shows. I have a student that I know is functionally illiterate and scared to death that his peers will figure it out, and I'm plagued by the fact that there is so little I can do. I have a student with 20+ absences and a baby at home who just got suspended for who knows what. I worry about every single one of them every single day. But I have 75 students.

As a teacher, there's a constant nagging worry that the time you choose to nurture your personal life or your family life rather than making sacrifices for your students - that's the time it will turn out that you've neglected a student who really needed you. There's this constant pressure as a teacher to save every single child who passes through your classroom. But you can't. You just can't.

The SRO behaved badly, the teacher didn't handle the situation exactly right, but also...it's really complicated.

Snow Week 2017

2 Facebook posts from the 2017 snowpocalypse:

January 7: I don't understand people who mock the South for our inability to handle snow. I mean, you Northerners go ahead and pat yourselves on the back for your ability to drive in snow while I spend the next 48 hours lying in bed drinking hot cocoa and watching a Gilmore Girls marathon.

...

Two days later: Dear snow and ice, I've enjoyed the lazy days we've spent together, but now I need to be able to back out of my driveway. It's time for you to go.

50 Books in 2016

I'm continuing to challenge myself to read 50 books a year. I made it to 48 this year. Not bad!

One of the best books I read this year was The Orphan Master's Son *****, which was theoretically about North Korea. Although slow, it was extremely thought-provoking. For months, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I wouldn't mind reading it again.

Another interesting book was The Luminaries ****, which just had an interesting structure. The plot itself was meh, but the structure was incredibly impressive.

After re-reading A Monster Calls, I read a bunch more by Patrick Ness:
A Monster Calls *****
The Rest of Us Just Live Here ***
More Than This ****
The Ask and the Answer ***
The Knife of Never Letting Go *****

I was also on a Rainbow Rowell kick:
Attachments ****
Landline ***
Fangirl ****

I got in a few non-fiction books this year (including one I couldn't finish):
In Cold Blood ****
Pushout ***
Mindset * (1 star means unfinished)
Between the World and Me ****
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind *****
Behind the Beautiful Forevers ***

But mostly I read YA fantasy series:
          The Infernal Devices (Embarrassingly, I love this author)
                     Clockwork Princess ****
                     Clockwork Prince ****
                     Clockwork Angel ****
          The Selection
                    The One ***
                    The Elite ***
                    The Selection ***
          Daughter of Smoke and Bone
                    Dreams of Gods and Monsters ****
                    Days of Blood and Starlight ****
                    Daughter of Smoke and Bone ****

I actually am not much of a fan of fantasy series, so this is annoying. Also, I didn't read much real literature this year - a fact I hope to remedy in 2017.

Here are the rest:
Epic **
If I Stay **
The Bluest Eye **
One Second After **
Parrot in the Oven ***
Maus I ***
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend ***
A Trick of the Light ***
Next ***
The Husband ***
The Wonder ***
Tell the Wolves I'm Home ***
The Underground Railroad ***
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet ***
Fever 1793 ***
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children ***
Station Eleven ****
The Supreme's at Earl's All You Can Eat ****
Please Ignore Vera Dietz ****
The Truth about Forever ****
Monster ****
We Were Here ****
Mexican Whiteboy ****

Selfie with the 'Rents