Wednesday Hodgepodge

Every week, Joyce (of From This Side of the Pond) hosts Wednesday Hodgepodge; she shares questions, the answers about which inquiring minds may be curious. I've decided to join in this week.

1. When it comes to good manners, what two top your list of most important?
I'm not sure if it's because I'm a teacher or what, but eye contact is very important to me, as is the avoidance of public nose-picking.

2. Let's open a proverbial can of worms...Common Core.  Are you familiar with the term (talking education reform in the USA)?  If so, care to share your thoughts? In your opinion, what is one of the biggest issues schools (in your home country) face today?

I love the Common Core State Standards, partly because it will finally show how different states stack up with with each other, since so many will be using the same assessment. I also appreciate that rigor of the standards have been raised; my students with special needs will certainly struggle to meet the higher standards, but I think they're necessary. Still, I'm a little scared to see how my school compares to those in other states. I also appreciate that the Common Core is aligned with the Smarter Balanced state test that students will be taking. I think that test is going to freak a lot of parents out, and they will begin to understand the need for the Common Core, as kids are not ready for it.

Funding is clearly a huge national issue for education.

Personally, I think too many people believe that anyone can be a decent teacher; that's another important issue.

3. Name a celebrity whose fashion sense you admire and share why.  
Kelly Ripa always looks amazing to me. I suppose her freakishly-fit body helps, but I still have to give it to her; she always looks classy.

4. How are you affected by the changing seasons? 
The changing seasons don't affect me much, unless you're referring to my bank account.haha

5. Scariest book you've ever read? Hm. 
The Lovely Bones disturbed me, yet I couldn't put it down; I'm sick like that.

6. What time of day are you most hungry? What's your go-to snack?
I'm most hungry around 9:30am. My go-to snack is lemon Greek Yogurt with Qia chia seed blend. (Maybe I'm part canary?)

7. Do you lean more towards being too needy or too independent? Which do you find harder to deal with in others?
I am definitely more independent than needy. In other people, I appreciate independence, but I think I need to learn to reach out to others more--two heads are better than one, right?

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
 I should be in bed.

Visit Wednesday Hodgepodge to answer these questions yourself or meet other podgers!