Open letter to parents.

Dear parent,
I am quite confused as to why your child is not here today. You say she is out of town, could it be that you are not aware that she is out of school for the summer in 5 days?

Thanks,

Your child's teacher.

Titanic (not the movie)

So I finally got my hands on last month's National Geographic, which for the record, I loved. Because it was the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic sinking, they had a very substantial story on it.
The story is good - mostly about what they've found since the sinking, new techniques in oceanography that have helped with figuring out exactly how the ship sank and what all that extra stuff on the ocean floor was.
I absolutely loved the pullout that showed the mapped view of the bottom of the ocean. I got goosebumps just thinking about how wide the debris field of this thing is. In fact, I would love to somehow go on a deep sea expedition to see the ship, if it were possible. Which it's not, freezing cold water not withstanding - the ship is on the abyssal plain, and water pressure is 100x higher than air pressure, and it builds as you go down. (my 8th graders know that one!)

Anyway, I started thinking about my fascination with the Titanic. I remember in grade school, and even high school, being incredibly interested to the point of obsessed (albeit quietly - not sure if my friends could recall this about me) about anything Titanic. (except the movie - i was very obstinately annoyed with it. Except the part about being able to get out of school to go see it when our whole high school paid for everyone to go see it. We were a small school.)

I also noticed the fascination does not dwindle as generations pass - I had a student who was so fascinated and excited about the Titanic, they did a science project on rust. It reminded me of my own interest in the ill fated ship. This year there has been countless documentaries and Discovery Channel shows dedicated to the Titanic. And it's not really that much of a phenomenon - boats sink when they get filled with water. This is something we find out when we make paper boats as kids. I do realize that part of the hype had to do with "finding" the ship again, like someone just misplaced it for awhile.  Some of the science-y hype had to do with new understandings of the ocean floor activity, both in general and in freezing waters -which is actually an oxymoron.
But even though I am a science-y type, and am admittedly into 'rediscovery' of once lost or forgotten things *cough* Pompeii *cough*. None of these would have held my attention for as long as this story has. Also, neither of these things would have caused a multimillion dollar epic film to be produced.

So what is it? What makes us so entranced with the Titanic? Is it the cautionary tale it brings - hubris is dangerous, and all that? Or is it the tragedy itself?

I used to think it was the cautionary tale - a big ocean liner being taken down despite the hype is sort of like it was asking for it, like sinking was just God's way of saying, "Ha! that's what you get for calling it 'unsinkable', silly humans..."

However, the most interesting elements about the Titanic has little to do with the sinking on its own. It has more to do with the humanity that added to the tragedy. If a cargo ship had sunk, I doubt we'd care. It's the fact that humans made mistakes which cost the lives of other humans.

So many unfortunate things happened to culminate in the loss of so many lives. I think what really gets us is the fact that most of those lives could have been saved in so many ways. It actually infuriates us when we think about it. From the lack of understanding icebergs and how they are bigger underneath the water, to the jack-holes who ignored the damn distress call the first few times!! Not to mention the lifeboat issues, and the class warfare thing. Also - what were the engineers doing while the boat was flooding? I know, the ship was designed to withstand the flooding of "perhaps" 5 of it's compartments - but still. Water. In the boat.

Ok, admittedly, you can forgive the engineers their mistake. maybe they didn't know how to count to six  I think we can all agree the lifeboat issue was a huge contributing factor to the tragedy.
However, I'm willing to put myself out there and say that what was probably worse was the lack of response to the distress calls. I mean, even if everyone had a lifeboat, would they really be able to survive in freezing conditions while waiting for the single ship that took them seriously to come save them?

Maybe. It is true that those who had disembarked on lifeboats did survive. But it is also true that the boat that answered them would not have been able to fit all the passengers on board. They had a tough time as it was, if I recall correctly. There were bigger boats that heard the call, but decided it was a 'joke'. There must be a new term for this big of an "egg on your face" situation.

So all in all, it's not the sinking of a ship on its own that causes us to delve deeper into the mysteries of the Titanic - it's the haunting tale of human action going incredibly awry. Every artifact recovered reminds us of a person who made the abyssal plain their grave.

However - I do find the images of the titanic at the bottom of the ocean haunting. And the way it sank was really interesting to me, as I think it is to many. So maybe it is a little to do with the sinking of the ship on it's own...

Here's to the Titanic. 100 years later, and we still talk about how it was "unsinkable". 
 

Hello

A list, not in any particular order or measuring any particular degree of anything, at all.

#1.  I feel like I'm not succeeding at being a good teacher these last few days. I'm not caught up on grading, I'm frustrated with the kids for putting forth so little effort because its the end of the year, and my desk is such a cluttered mess. I feel like maybe my principal is regretting hiring me back next year.

Though I think it's just in my head. 

# 2. I constantly have to remind myself that I can't expect out of 5th and 6th graders what I would expect out of myself. Sometimes when I make up projects for them, I have this ridiculous high goal, I think. However, I live in constant worry that I might set expectations too low for them... 

#3. I have to do an inventory of my classroom, as it turns out. As I look at all the beakers, microscopes, microscope slides, rocks, specimens, aquariums, etc, etc, etc... I regret for the first time (yes, including the science fair thing) being a science teacher. 

#4. Today I took a ride with one of my coworker friends in her new/old car. It's a 69 Fiat Spider. and it's lime green. We got some funny looks driving around in it.

#5. I love that I have friends at work. It's fun to talk with people and do things with people you see everyday. Plus, if you knew how I've felt at work earlier this year, you'd really understand this.