A word of thanks

Dear Mr. Hunter,

Words can not express the hearts full of gratitude across Minnesota. You came up to a team that only the most devoted baseball fans still clung to and made it shine again. Three cheers to our face when we so desperately needed one and to the leader to our current stars.

Thank you for nine years of power, speed, agility. Thank you for nine years of thrills, chills, diving catches in center field, and making us believe that Spiderman is real. Thank you for stepping into the big shoes of Kirby and keeping his legacy alive. Thank for the losing seasons, the winning seasons, and the playoffs, because in every season, Minnesota knew that you left nothing on the field.

Thank you for not giving up a team headed for contraction. Thank you for your generosity, for becoming a light and a reason for hope for so many in this community. In an age where the player sometimes forgets who comes to the games, thank you for showing your love and your time to the fans.

Most importantly, thank you for nine years of smiles and a genuine love for the game of baseball.

It is my sincerest wish that you will continue to be superhero in center field next year, but if another team is lucky enough to include you on their roster, you will always have a least one Homer Hanky that waves for you!

Minnesota loves you, #48 and hopes to see you in our uniform for many years to come.

Proper Writing Utensils

I am still working at the Learning Center. Today, one of my middle school students brought in her math homework so that I could check to see that she was indeed doing the problems correctly. I noticed that her homework was being done in pen and inquired to her about it. This girl's math teacher told her that she must complete all homework in blue or black ink.

Needless to say, I was stunned and had a difficult time stating a polite response. It is wrong of teachers to have students complete homework, especially math homework, in pen. This implants the idea to students that they must be perfect and there is no room for error. Homework is the time to practice the new concepts learnt in the classroom. It is the time to make mistakes; after all mistakes are an important part of the learning process. Therefore, homework needs to be written so it can be refined, so it can be erased!

Attention, everyone! There is this new-fangled tool that is great for homework. It is made of graphite and comes in a variety of styles (I prefer mechanical or natural wood). It is cheap. The best part, it erases. Three cheers for the pencil!

Catch-22

So...I didn't get a teaching job for the fall. As a fairly recent college grad (just over one year ago), I don't have any experience and ALL districts give preference to those with classroom experience. However, if I never get hired by a district, how am I supposed to get teaching experience?