This year Christmas was different in 2015. First, it was the first time of spending Christmas at home in Minnesota in about a decade. I don't mind traveling at all, in fact I really enjoy traveling, but traveling at Christmas can really tally up the expenses at time of year when with a higher level of financial requirements. The other main reason being that I took a new job this past fall and I simply don't have the same amount of time off as I once did. That really threw a wrench in things, but it was my choosing when I decided to change jobs.
So, the holidays this year started off with a visit to WWE's Monday Night Raw on Monday, December 21st, 2015. I went with my brother, Chris Savoren, and my cousin, Billy Savoren. It was a lot of fun and I think this tradition will continue as more RAWs come to town.
I, then, was able to take a vacation day in combination with some overage worked from the prior week to go to my mom's house on Wednesday, December 23rd. This was the first Christmas my wife and I attended at my mom's since 2014. Back in early November of this year, shortly after the passing of my late grandfather, people finally came together to sort out some differences. While not all participants were in attendance, the bulk of the issues, at least everything that involved the people in attendance was sorted out. I knew it would come together if people would just make the time to sit down and talk. It really only took about an hour or so to patch up some differences that affected relationships for 13 months. The sad reality with technology of our current era is that everything can get misinterpreted easily and also very quickly. If something is in all CAPS then people think they being yelled at. If someone says one thing, and it is read in a different way from a different viewpoint, then a conflict has started. It is really sad because it can make the world so lonely and conflicted.
This blog did contribute to the issues that occurred this past year within my family. However, I don't regret it and I don't regret it for a couple of reasons. The first being that it brought people together to discuss some very tough issues that have been avoided for over two decades. The second reason is because this blog has allowed me to express my feelings in forum where I was able to do it uninterrupted. Many of the topics that caused the issues, often times were not allowed to be discussed or off the table. Had I not started this blog, all these feelings would've been kept inside still eating at me, which is not healthy.
The lesson here today is that it is okay to sit down and talk about differences. If it is done respectfully and if people keep an open mind, then all viewpoints and opinions can be shared, seen, and heard. I will continue to be honest about my feelings with this blog. I will also continue to do it respectfully. If respect is not maintained, then it is suddenly a behavior. If a behavior is occurring then the reactions of that behavior becomes the focus, instead of the topic at hand.
So, Christmas was a much better version in 2015 than 2014. I reunited with some family, I got to spend a Christmas at home, and some long lasting issues were maybe not totally resolved, but there is a much better understanding on everyone's views.
I love my wife. I love my dogs. I miss and think about my grandma and grandpa everyday since my grandpa, Ellsworth Thomey, passed away in late October. Please watch over me grandma and grandpa.
One last plug. Make sure to check out the Bjorn Jobnson Internet Program podcast as I will be a guest on the podcast in the near future. It was a lot of fun talking with Bjorn and it is a great way to get to know even more about me. If you have an iPhone or iPad, click on the Podcast App, open it, and search the Bjorn Johnson Internet Program. It's easy.
If I didn't get a chance to see you during that holiday season, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I will see you soon.
#merrychristmas
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Thursday, December 10, 2015
*BREAKING NEWS!* Hey No Child Left Behind Act, Please Let The Door Hit You In The Ass On The Way Out!
Hey everyone, today was a pretty big day in the world of education. While in many cases, it didn't make the top story on the local news in Minnesota, the news was most certainly top story newsworthy. Today, our President Of The United States put an end to the very dysfunctional No Child Left Behind Act that was passed back in 2001.
Many that are not in the education field may not feel like celebrating this change, but those who are educators and parents of students, should be celebrating. You see, lately I have been attending a number of trainings for my new job. My career change will be a focus in the future. The constant message in all of these trainings I have been to recently was two things. Connectivity and Relationships. The idiotic idea of expecting every single child to accomplish the same tasks at the same rate is mind blowing. This is not the way to accomplish educational improvement and it certainly took the enjoyment out of education for the students.
The No Child Left Behind Act that President George W. Bush thought was a foolproof plan, took every ounce of individuality out of education. It really was a disrespect to the services of Special Education and also to even acknowledging that there are different learning styles that exist. Our President at that time thought everyone should be able to listen to a lecture, take a test, and recall the facts to show that our students can remember facts. In the meantime, the life skills that were so vital to education were placed on the back burner almost instantly due to the fact that if the students didn't remember those facts, then the teacher was on the chopping block because those test scores were not acceptable. What a lot stress for the teachers, and even more stress for the students. Many of those life skills programs such as physical education, music and arts, and many more electives were eliminated to put the focus on those core subjects that those famous tests featured so our students could be champions in the game of Memory.
I have worked with many types of students in the past 10 years. I have seen advanced students who are in high school that are reading at or above a college level, and I have seen even more students who were severely behind due to a number of circumstances. I worked with a home school student who entered a public school for the first time in 9th grade and was reading at a first grade level. I have also seen students who suffered Traumatic Brain Injuries due to severe abuse by people who were supposed to love and support them. I have even worked with students who were screwed from the get go by being exposed to harmful illegal drugs, like heroin and meth, when they were still in the womb. But by all means, lets expect everyone to be machines and perform at the same ability level and at the same pace. This is foolish and a bigger recipe for disaster.
I really hope with the elimination of the No Child Left Behind Act that the focus returns to connecting with students and building those relationships. It should be almost guaranteed that the amount of instruction time should increase simply because of the time eliminated on all these exams that focus on recalling facts. Memorizing, not learning.
It has been very apparent throughout the years that the all important value known as respect has vanished in this process of putting the focus on taking tests instead of connecting with students. Respect amongst teachers and students has taken a licking badly, as proven in St. Paul, Minnesota this week, where there have been 28 student assaults on teachers in Ramsey County in the first 14 weeks of this academic school year. This is alarming and I am glad to see the St. Paul School faculty taking a stand for higher measures of security and safety. Safety should always be the number one priority, not money, and not memorizing facts and recalling them on a test.
In closing, I don't know what the future holds for the education system now that the No Child Left Behind Act has finally been put out of its misery. I hope the opportunity is taken to reinstall the life skills back into education along with the already existent core subjects. I think if we educate with the mindset that there are different learning styles, different ability levels, the need to respect the Individual Education Plans, and get back to recognizing individuals and educating them that way, then I think we will see even better and more successful results. I think the students will start enjoying education again and stopping stressing that they have to pass this, that, and every single damn test that is thrown at them from grades 3 to 12 just to get a diploma no matter what their GPA is. If done right, the focus could be helping a student become a well-rounded educated adult that is able to function, contribute, and succeed as a productive member of our society.
I know that choices are the responsibility of the people that make them, and I am a strong advocate for appropriate accountability, and that will never go away and nor should it. However, it may be possible that the elimination of this act, that didn't get the attention it should have today, may end up being a key step in starting to eliminate the violence in schools. Don't get me wrong, there are many other pieces that need to be put into place to address the violence happening in schools, but I would go out on a limb to suggest that lowering the student and teacher stress by reducing the number of these stupid ass exams, is a good first step.
#ripnochildleftbehindact
Many that are not in the education field may not feel like celebrating this change, but those who are educators and parents of students, should be celebrating. You see, lately I have been attending a number of trainings for my new job. My career change will be a focus in the future. The constant message in all of these trainings I have been to recently was two things. Connectivity and Relationships. The idiotic idea of expecting every single child to accomplish the same tasks at the same rate is mind blowing. This is not the way to accomplish educational improvement and it certainly took the enjoyment out of education for the students.
The No Child Left Behind Act that President George W. Bush thought was a foolproof plan, took every ounce of individuality out of education. It really was a disrespect to the services of Special Education and also to even acknowledging that there are different learning styles that exist. Our President at that time thought everyone should be able to listen to a lecture, take a test, and recall the facts to show that our students can remember facts. In the meantime, the life skills that were so vital to education were placed on the back burner almost instantly due to the fact that if the students didn't remember those facts, then the teacher was on the chopping block because those test scores were not acceptable. What a lot stress for the teachers, and even more stress for the students. Many of those life skills programs such as physical education, music and arts, and many more electives were eliminated to put the focus on those core subjects that those famous tests featured so our students could be champions in the game of Memory.
I have worked with many types of students in the past 10 years. I have seen advanced students who are in high school that are reading at or above a college level, and I have seen even more students who were severely behind due to a number of circumstances. I worked with a home school student who entered a public school for the first time in 9th grade and was reading at a first grade level. I have also seen students who suffered Traumatic Brain Injuries due to severe abuse by people who were supposed to love and support them. I have even worked with students who were screwed from the get go by being exposed to harmful illegal drugs, like heroin and meth, when they were still in the womb. But by all means, lets expect everyone to be machines and perform at the same ability level and at the same pace. This is foolish and a bigger recipe for disaster.
I really hope with the elimination of the No Child Left Behind Act that the focus returns to connecting with students and building those relationships. It should be almost guaranteed that the amount of instruction time should increase simply because of the time eliminated on all these exams that focus on recalling facts. Memorizing, not learning.
It has been very apparent throughout the years that the all important value known as respect has vanished in this process of putting the focus on taking tests instead of connecting with students. Respect amongst teachers and students has taken a licking badly, as proven in St. Paul, Minnesota this week, where there have been 28 student assaults on teachers in Ramsey County in the first 14 weeks of this academic school year. This is alarming and I am glad to see the St. Paul School faculty taking a stand for higher measures of security and safety. Safety should always be the number one priority, not money, and not memorizing facts and recalling them on a test.
In closing, I don't know what the future holds for the education system now that the No Child Left Behind Act has finally been put out of its misery. I hope the opportunity is taken to reinstall the life skills back into education along with the already existent core subjects. I think if we educate with the mindset that there are different learning styles, different ability levels, the need to respect the Individual Education Plans, and get back to recognizing individuals and educating them that way, then I think we will see even better and more successful results. I think the students will start enjoying education again and stopping stressing that they have to pass this, that, and every single damn test that is thrown at them from grades 3 to 12 just to get a diploma no matter what their GPA is. If done right, the focus could be helping a student become a well-rounded educated adult that is able to function, contribute, and succeed as a productive member of our society.
I know that choices are the responsibility of the people that make them, and I am a strong advocate for appropriate accountability, and that will never go away and nor should it. However, it may be possible that the elimination of this act, that didn't get the attention it should have today, may end up being a key step in starting to eliminate the violence in schools. Don't get me wrong, there are many other pieces that need to be put into place to address the violence happening in schools, but I would go out on a limb to suggest that lowering the student and teacher stress by reducing the number of these stupid ass exams, is a good first step.
#ripnochildleftbehindact
Sunday, December 6, 2015
The Bjorn Johnson Internet Program
Hey everyone. Long time, no talk. I have no excuse for my recent absence from my blogging, other than I procrastinated on it. Today, I visited with a good friend of mine as I was invited to record an episode on his podcast program. The message from today that stuck with me out of all of our conversations is that Bjorn Johnson reminded me that I should keep writing. He pointed out how he enjoyed getting to know me through my blog writings and how he had seen the improvement in my writing in the short amount of time that I have been blogging.
I really have been impressed with Bjorn. While Bjorn has been dealt with some challenging situations in life, he always looks forward. Bjorn was in a position in his life where he could've truly mailed it in and just went through the motions, but he refused to do that. That my friends is much easier said than done and Bjorn made it look easy, even though I know it wasn't.
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to be a guest on Bjorn's podcast called "The Bjorn Johnson Internet Program." The arranged date for the recording was today and when I visited with Bjorn prior to doing the recording today, he explained to me how recent it was that he didn't know anything about podcasting and how quickly he learned. He and I share the same interests by always being intrigued by wanting to do something on the radio, and he made that happen through the internet.
There was two reasons why I was excited about today. For one, it has been far too long since I have had the opportunity to sit down and visit with Bjorn. Second, I was excited to check out his podcasting studio in his home and it was great. The thing I really respect about Bjorn is that he takes things that are important to other people seriously. It doesn't matter how stupid or ridiculous that it may be, he respects those interests.
So my message here today is that I am back. I am making a pledge to get back to blogging on a regular basis. I feel very motivated today and it was good for me to have a reminder on why I chose to start blogging in the first place, which is to share my stories with myself and also with those who care to know more about me. I will never derail from that reasoning. My goal with my blogging is to be personal and honest as the blogging has been a great sense of healing for me and it has allowed me to put closure on some things that I have been battling internally for up to the past two decades. Yes, I said that correctly, two decades. My intentions will never be to go after anyone or to be disrespectful and my goal is not to stir up controversy. With that being said, sometimes the truth is a little harder to hear and accept.
So, with that pledge of being back, I have had a lot of things go on since I had been last in touch. Some of things that I will be touching on is topics such as my grandfather's passing, my recent decision to end my college courses, and my recent career change just to name a few.
I also will be writing more often on my second blog that I started recently called, "Minnesota Sports Scene." My most recent post on that blog was a tribute to Phil "Flip" Saunders, the Minnesota Timberwolves Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations. Flip was a great man and lost too soon. I also will be publishing my blog postings from both blogs on both Facebook and Twitter. If you are interested in following me on Twitter, my handle is @SARYCHT.
To close this blog post, my episode of The Bjorn Johnson Internet Program that I recorded today will be available either right before or after Christmas. Make sure to check out the official website of The Bjorn Johnson Internet Program at www.norsestar.net to check out his production company and podcasts. Bjorn also has been doing a family Sundin Farmcast podcast as well that can be checked out. Finally, Bjorn has a link to Amazon on his website, and if you access Amazon through his website, the Norse Star Network (Bjorn's podcast company) will receive a little kickback to help with production costs.
Finally, one of the topics covered on today's show was my collecting of Hot Wheels. It was funny, because after I left Bjorn's house, I went to the local Dollar General in Milaca and found a regular Treasure Hunt car that I had not yet found. The timing of it was appropriate.
Have a great day and week everyone. Please remember that we are all human and can only do things one day at a time. Talk to you soon.
#motivated
I really have been impressed with Bjorn. While Bjorn has been dealt with some challenging situations in life, he always looks forward. Bjorn was in a position in his life where he could've truly mailed it in and just went through the motions, but he refused to do that. That my friends is much easier said than done and Bjorn made it look easy, even though I know it wasn't.
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to be a guest on Bjorn's podcast called "The Bjorn Johnson Internet Program." The arranged date for the recording was today and when I visited with Bjorn prior to doing the recording today, he explained to me how recent it was that he didn't know anything about podcasting and how quickly he learned. He and I share the same interests by always being intrigued by wanting to do something on the radio, and he made that happen through the internet.
There was two reasons why I was excited about today. For one, it has been far too long since I have had the opportunity to sit down and visit with Bjorn. Second, I was excited to check out his podcasting studio in his home and it was great. The thing I really respect about Bjorn is that he takes things that are important to other people seriously. It doesn't matter how stupid or ridiculous that it may be, he respects those interests.
So my message here today is that I am back. I am making a pledge to get back to blogging on a regular basis. I feel very motivated today and it was good for me to have a reminder on why I chose to start blogging in the first place, which is to share my stories with myself and also with those who care to know more about me. I will never derail from that reasoning. My goal with my blogging is to be personal and honest as the blogging has been a great sense of healing for me and it has allowed me to put closure on some things that I have been battling internally for up to the past two decades. Yes, I said that correctly, two decades. My intentions will never be to go after anyone or to be disrespectful and my goal is not to stir up controversy. With that being said, sometimes the truth is a little harder to hear and accept.
So, with that pledge of being back, I have had a lot of things go on since I had been last in touch. Some of things that I will be touching on is topics such as my grandfather's passing, my recent decision to end my college courses, and my recent career change just to name a few.
I also will be writing more often on my second blog that I started recently called, "Minnesota Sports Scene." My most recent post on that blog was a tribute to Phil "Flip" Saunders, the Minnesota Timberwolves Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations. Flip was a great man and lost too soon. I also will be publishing my blog postings from both blogs on both Facebook and Twitter. If you are interested in following me on Twitter, my handle is @SARYCHT.
To close this blog post, my episode of The Bjorn Johnson Internet Program that I recorded today will be available either right before or after Christmas. Make sure to check out the official website of The Bjorn Johnson Internet Program at www.norsestar.net to check out his production company and podcasts. Bjorn also has been doing a family Sundin Farmcast podcast as well that can be checked out. Finally, Bjorn has a link to Amazon on his website, and if you access Amazon through his website, the Norse Star Network (Bjorn's podcast company) will receive a little kickback to help with production costs.
Finally, one of the topics covered on today's show was my collecting of Hot Wheels. It was funny, because after I left Bjorn's house, I went to the local Dollar General in Milaca and found a regular Treasure Hunt car that I had not yet found. The timing of it was appropriate.
Have a great day and week everyone. Please remember that we are all human and can only do things one day at a time. Talk to you soon.
#motivated
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