"We don't need no education..."

First, let me preface this post by saying I LOVE my job. I LOVE my students, and care for them deeply. I work HARD everyday, even when I don't want to and want the best for every sweet little face that walks through my door. (Even when they are not so sweet...lol) Now, I'm going to complain a bit.
We, as educators are in desperate need of help...I'm not talking about money from the government, or better salaries (the good Lord knows that an educator doesn't walk in to this field because 'it's all about the Benjamins, baby), or even a better school building. All those things could help out, they could increase student achievement, student and teacher morale, and have a positive affect on the whole outlook of education....but what we need are so vital to the process, to the education of young impressionable minds...we need parents to STEP UP. I'm not calling every parent out. I commend parents who come to conferences, who reinforce expected behavior at home and consequences on the negative and I know that there are 1,001 things that could affect that child. I appreciate just a parent who tries. There is not an easy solution for everything and if we (teachers) can work together with parents, then REALLY the whole outlook on education could change. And maybe, you are thinking that 'Hey, I'm not a teacher and I don't have kids so this doesn't affect me', WRONG. If you are a citizen of the United States, it does affect you and concern you. It's not just parents that need to be involved, it's city council, it's members of any board, it's taxpayers, because let's face it....this place we call Earth ain't gettin' any better unless we get smarter. Plain and simple. Education is where you can curb the unemployment rate by creating jobs accessible to students right out of high school, or jobs that cooperate with community colleges. Education is where you can teach people to be better than the last generation. Education is where it starts. And when students feel like teachers, parents, and the general population really doesn't care--well they will develop the same attitude towards it. When students feel like they can just scoot by and aren't held to a higher standard, then they will. There needs to be some major reform in schools, in teaching itself! But we, the educators, cannot do it by ourselves. This has to be a complete group effort from all sides because we cannot do it alone.




"Give a man a fish, and you will feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you will feed him for a lifetime." -Chinese Proverb

The Final Countdown!....well, almost.

Wow! We are t-minus 3 Months and counting until The Baer/Mathis festivities take place! CRAZY! Justin and I just went down to Columbia to finalize things like food, decor, time, and things like that. I know its my wedding, but it is seriously going to rock your face off. The lady we met with was absolutely amazing. She is literally taking care of everything. Honestly, all I will have to do is show up, walk down the aisle, eat and dance, then leave. That's it! SUPER excited. I am most excited about the music, since Justin and I get to decide the playlist....which is a huge deal to me! That means the prelude, the songs in the wedding, AND reception music! You better be ready for some Lady Gaga, Usher, crazy-rap music from my high school years, cute, country-slow dance songs, and some big bad 80s music picked out by Justin Baer himself. I think music makes the whole wedding. I have been to weddings (won't name them here) where the ceremony was beautiful but the music just did not work with the whole theme of the wedding. (Side-note: our wedding theme is FUN-lol) Anyways, music sets the whole ambiance, atmosphere, and mood of the wedding. Music makes the world go 'round. So, if that's true, the importance of it in a wedding is crucial! Music can make some things fun, serious, romantic, and be used in sentimental moments. I cannot wait for y'all to see what we've got planned. It is going to be amazing! Until then..."Music, makes the people, come together, yeah." -Madonna

Quote of the Day

Real friends allow facebook stalking....

Me: I just friend requested them. Hope that's okay.
Katie: Yes!
Me: I also just want to stalk them a bit. Hope that's okay too.
Katie: yes that is so okay!

It's me bitches. -A

As you all should know, I am an avid ABC Family fan. They have some pretty decent shows and some decent original movies (except for Mean Girls 2....blah), One of the best shows they have on TV right now, and probably the one show that is keeping their ratings up is Pretty Little Liars. My Mondays are not complete without this show. It is crazy, weird, high school drama, suspense filled, and all of the awesomeness of high school and so we all can live vicariously through Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria. And it doesn't just amuse people from 13-29....oh no, my MOM watches with me every Monday night. It is addicting. If you don't know what I'm talking about or haven't seen it...look for a Monday where they are having a marathon. They do those often. I think I like it so much because I do get to spend extra time with my mom, but the writers of this show are absolutely fantastic. They always keep you guessing and its just great drama for an hour on a night that usually hasn't been the best day--I mean Mondays suck. So I am glad that I get to look forward to Monday nights with the girls. And one of the best parts of the show is that I get the best text messages from Katie during the show commenting on stuff, like "what is Aria wearing?" I usually get this text or send this text, "Why is Caleb/Ezra so hot?" and "You don't love him/her." This last episode was amazingly awesome and I got this text, "ARE YOU WATCHING THIS?" If you are not watching this show you are missing out on some seriously good TV drama. Plus the dudes are hot.

I'm so in love with you....

It's February! :) Which, as I am a hopeless romantic at heart, is one of my most FAVORITE months of the year! I think it started in middle school with Lizzie McGuire. OH how I wanted Lizzie and Gordo to be boyfriend and girlfriend! Then I went with Katie, Erica, Laura, and a bunch of other people to see the Lizzie McGuire movie and at the end they kissed! I was so excited! Finally! I just love the build up of a good love story-the flirting, and letter-writing (before there was texting!) and the looks, and the over-analyzing everything that he said and that it meant something way more than what it was! I also remember making the statement in middle school that I would marry the first boy I kissed! Talk about a wow statement! I don't know if I actually meant it or thought it would come true, but I guess somewhere inside me, I believed that was the best way to go about it. I don't like to be sad-I like to be happy! So, when I thought about dating people (and yes-I had LOTS of guys that I liked-ask Bai!) I guess I never wanted it to end. I mean you go through all this good stuff, the looks, the flirting, the over-analyzing every single word he says, then you date and you have really good times together--and then it ends?? Oh no. There was no way I was putting myself through that. So, while I might not have understood it in high school, or even freshmen year of college, I never dated. Never went out with a guy, never kissed a guy, nothing. It was so frustrating! I always thought something was wrong with me, or something I said, or that I wasn't pretty enough. Turned out, it actually wasn't any of that. I actually hadn't met the guy! Fast-forward to Junior year of my college career when I started to hang out with a guy, like for real. He was cute, funny, but most of all, he was a better "talker" on AIM than face-to-face--at first. (Back in the day AIM was the way we communicated instead of Facebook-haha) Night after night, I lost sleep because we would be up until 2 am talking about.....anything! That is where it starts people. There has to be a friendship before there can be any kind of lasting to a relationship. He slowly became one of my best friends and by winter break of 06, we were a thing! My first boyfriend! First date! First everything! AHH-It was so exciting, and fun, and I really connected with him. I can even remember our first date and what I wore, our first fight, or the first apartment he lived in, the first time we stayed up all night waiting for snow and just knew class would be cancelled (except it didn't snow and class wasn't cancelled and we had to go to class on zero sleep-rough day). I remember the first time he called me beautiful, and the first year of e-mails because we were long-distance. And also when he printed off all 230 emails and put them in a cute binder for our First Anniversary. He was my first everything. I look back and NOW I understand why all the other ones didn't work out. Now, I understand why it happened the way it did. I am glad I can say that I didn't waste any amount of time or love on anyone else. That I truly saved my heart for The One. And now I am truly living my own fairy tale. I am marrying the first guy that I ever kissed.