great.

I love teaching for numerous reason. Definitely one of the benefits of teaching are all the breaks. I have enjoyed my summer break, but am excited about starting a new school year.

Having taught at many preschools and in Metro for one year I have seen some good schools, but many bad schools. I am extremely lucky to be teaching at a school that I enjoy working at, but more importantly one that a truly great school. Even though we lost everything in every classroom due to the flood, we have persevered. Our staff has worked hard over the summer to get everything in working order so we can start back strong in August. This will be my third year teaching at St. George’s. The first year I was an educational assistant to a special needs child. The following year, I transfered with him to MNPS to help him adjust to kindergarten. After working in Metro for a year, I decided to go back to St. George’s. I did not do this because working in a private school is better or more comfortable. Because you can have a private school be neither one of those things without  all the pieces that make a school a great school.

I have been in the education field for about 9 years. Some of that was training in school, working in a church nursery or daycares. The thing that can make or break a great school (or business for that matter) is good leadership. Good leadership is essential to a successful school. And in a case of a school system you cannot just strictly have a good principal. You need good leadership from the board. A good principal can only lead as good as they are being led. I saw this in Metro. Despite having a school in a rich and “comfortable” area, the school still suffered because of the leadership within MNPS and not necessarily because of the administrative staff at the school. The school still had teachers that just showed up to get a pay check and students that did not care about learning. Children that often fell between the cracks because no one was there to motivate them. If you do not have good leadership everything below will suffer.

At my school we have great leadership. We have a group of individuals that strive for excellence and put in everything they have to make our school great. They empower their employees. The teachers feel like they are an integral part of the school. The leaders acknowledge the fact if they didn’t have the great teachers, they wouldn’t have the great school. The teachers feel like they are more than just a test score number they are trying to achieve. They know without them a piece of the puzzle would be missing.

When you have employees that are empowered, you have people that are also striving for excellence for the greater good of the school. They show up to work enthusiastic about making a difference. They are committed. Some schools may have great teachers, but without the proper leadership these people will begin to feel discouraged. They won’t feel like they are making a difference. And a lot of them will stop trying so hard. When you have great leadership paired with great teachers, you are always going to be benefiting the very thing that they are all there to do: the students.

The students will get an exceptional academic experience. They will be thriving in their school environment. The good thing about private schools versus public schools is a smaller classroom size. Instead of having 22+ students you will only have around 15. That way the teachers can give each child the individual attention that they need. Do I think that a classroom has to have only 15 students in order for the children to receive individual attention? Definitely not. But it helps. When you have students that are thriving, the parents will notice. When the parents feel good about their child’s education, they will want to be involved as well.

The parents are every bit of this education community as the children and the staff are. They want what is best for their child. And when they see the child is getting the best, they want to be a part of it. They will be more involved at home as well as at the school.

You can take this equation and strip away one thing and it won’t work. All of these parts are an important part of the school being successful. And great leadership is vital. It is the backbone. The teachers are the heart and the children and parents are the life blood that runs through it. Every part matters.

I am extremely blessed to work in that kind of environment. Not because it is a private school in the wealthy Belle Meade area. But because it is a great school. We were stripped of all of our possessions. The flood left us raw and exposed. But what happened from that was a very beautiful thing… and it was because it is a great school. Because we have great leaders. We have teachers that care. We have a strong community of students and parents. It works whether we have a lot of have little. It works in Belle Mead and out of it. It truly is a great school.

anybody. everybody.

right now you could drive down to your local best buy and buy the latest and greatest digital SLR camera. heck, you could probably even go down to the target or walmart. the new technology for cameras is literally right at our fingertips… and if you have a $1,00+ dollars this latest and greatest technology can be yours. and by golly, you can even call yourself a photographer now with your fancy digital SLR camera.

while that’s great and all, it is killing and completely over saturating the photography business.

now anybody can call themselves a photographer. you have a fancy digital SLR, you must be a photographer. even that soccer mom over there can be a photographer. because all photography must be is pointing a camera at something… snapping a picture and maybe popping it into an online editing site and voila– your a photographer! and if someone notices your ok maybe you can charge someone to do a portrait session. make $50.00. then they tell their friends and you can make some more money. then you have mediocre pictures saturating the market and good photographers that charge a little more are no longer getting any work because their prices are “too high” even if their work is ten times better than the soccer mom’s.

so, what if you are a good photographer not getting any work because your prices are “too high”? your work is good. you have experience. you take the time to make everything look the best it can. but, jane over there runs her pictures through a batch process with some downloaded process of the internet and charges $400 for an entire wedding day. what do you do then, good photographer? do you compromise your work and your ethics to meet the demands of the people? do you lower your standards just to make a quick buck?

honestly, i don’t have the answers for that.

because here is what i know. i have worked hard in my photography business. i strive for excellence in my work. i edit every single photo by hand. without the handy use of a batch process or some downloaded process. everything you see on my photos is my own work… not a copy of someone else’s. i want my pictures to look great. and i am far from the best, but i am good. and i don’t normally say that because i don’t like to sound braggy and have never felt comfortable saying i am good at something. but my work and time is worth something. it is worth more than $400.00. but what am i to do when people see pictures that are mediocre and expect the same low prices for work that is beyond exceptional?

it is a hard place to be in… even major photographers far better than myself are dealing with this.

today Jeremy Cowart tweeted:

“Just talked to a client who I hadn’t heard from in a while. They said it’s due to the fact that “everyone now has a 5D and can play around”.

“That’s the sad state where photography is coming to. Everyone is now a photographer. I’m now officially hearing it from my own clients.”

“HUGE response to my tweets regarding my client. Obviously it’s a tough time for everyone. Vision is more important than ever.”

our market is over saturated. and it kinda sucks. anybody and everybody is a “photographer” now. and how do you stand out and still make money with out compromising in that?

*sigh*

vacation, not so much.

Last week we had our annual family vacation. This year we were forced to vacation in a different location due to the oil spill. We normally stay in Fort Morgan, Alabama at the beach house we have stayed in for the past 3 years. I was slightly disappointed about the change, but thought it may be fun to visit the east coast. It was decided to go to Hilton Head, South Carolina. We stayed in the Sea Pines resort. The beach house we normally stay in is right on the beach. It is a super convenient walk to the beach whenever you want. It is also not crowded at all. Pretty much the perfect relaxing vacation.

Hilton Head was anything but relaxing. The beach was about a 2 mile drive away at a uber crowded beach club. I hate crowded beaches. The house we stayed in was nice, however.

This trip was stressful for a few reasons. Minor stresses include the island being way busy and crowded. With that much going on all the time, I don’t know how people can relax! Trying to park at the beach club and find a space at the beach was stressful and not worth the effort of going to the beach. Which meant I only went to the beach 3 times during our 7 day stay. We also discovered two nails lodged in our tire. Which meant we needed to get it repaired (while on a day trip to Savannah). This turned into, the tire is too worn to repair… you need a new tire… might as well get 4 new tires. All that equals a lot of money. And a lot of stress. On our way back we stayed the night in Atlanta at the Double Tree. We had to wait a hour for a room to be ready and then it wasn’t even the room we booked. On top of that it was like Madea’s family reunion there. They were loud and super obnoxious.

But, the major stresses were things that I could not control. The night before we left for Hilton Head, I found out my dad was in the hospital. Over the course of our vacation, he became more ill. He had a blood infection, pneumonia, and it was discovered that due to a hernia enlarging, his stomach had become displaced… and found a new home by his heart. He had to have major surgery to replace his stomach back where it belonged. He is also not in Nashville, because he is visiting people in Texas. Which made this event even more stressful, because he is not at a hospital I can easily visit. He is away from his doctors. And a good hospital, like Vanderbilt. It was difficult all week not knowing what was going on with him and if he was going to be ok.

So basically, I needed a vacation from that vacation. It just was not great, due to no fault of anyone… just some crazy circumstances and a new place. Hopefully, the oil will be gone next year and the vacation will be better.

On the bright side, I got to see several alligators near the lagoons. I always enjoy seeing interesting animals in the wild [or in their natural habitats].

Twilight Saga: Eclipse [a review]

This year we were prepared for the crazyness that is involved with going to see a Twilight Saga movie at midnight. We arrived early knowing we would sit in line, then be herded to the auditorium and wait another 2 hours before the movie began. We had the essentials, Twilight shirts supporting Team Jacob [naturally], magazines and snacks. We were ready.

I knew Twilight fans were crazy. And I know there’s bound to be a few annoying people mixed around in that bunch. Remember the girls screaming when Edward appeared on screen and Jacob taking his shirt of in New Moon last year? Yeah, there’s some major Twi-Hards at these things. And this was no exception. Fortunately, for a while, our seats deterred some people from sitting around us. We had this huge partition in front of us that slightly obscured the bottom centimeter of the screen. No big deal if you have good posture. We had several people sit down, complain about it and move. Even one girl that had sparkles on because apparently she thinks she’s a vampire. But then the inevitable happened. And unfortunately for us, it was some super annoying people on both sides of us. To my left the most annoy group of blondes I think I may of ever encountered. Typical teenage girls that cuss for the heck of it and think the world evolves around them. Making snide comments at people and talking as loud as they possibly could. I considered punching one in the face after one of those snide comments was directed at my friend… but later had a much darker thought [that Bethany blew the "therapy whistle" at]. Then on Bethany’s side a girl that talked about inappropriate things much much too loudly. As to draw attention to herself, naturally. And she too had commentary on just about everything on screen. Even about noble Edward wanting to wait to have sex before him and Bella were married. If you have read the books, you know this. Number two, this is not a bad thing. It is wonderful there is something in the mainstream showing the example of waiting. [and ps. Edward is not real. He is a fictional character portrayed by Robert Pattinson. An actor, by the way, that you probably will never meet. And most definitely will never have the chance of dating. So stop daydreaming and get a life]

If I had a few thousand laying around, I would want to rent out the entire theatre as to not deal with these stupid people. So, after we move past the annoying people attending this film, you are left with the best film out of the Twilight Saga yet.

Eclipse was good. It was so much better than the other two. I was hoping it would be good. I was hoping David Slade could pull this one out and make it work. And he did. He, along with Melissa Rosenberg made the book more real than the others. They brought the intensity of Edward and Bella’s relationship to life. They brought the passion Jacob has for Bella to life. And most surprising of all, the actors brought it this time. Even Kristen Stewart had a few good moments. But it was Taylor Lautner that gave a really great performance. The cinema-photography was pretty awesome. The movie did not lack in action or in romance. As a fan of the books above the movies, I was disappointed with the arrangement of somethings. I liked the anticipated tent scene, with the exception of how Jacob finds out Bella and Edward are engaged and Bella’s reaction after THE kiss that finally takes place between Bella and Jacob. It missed some key points in the pure devastation that Jacob faces in knowing Bella’s choice. Everything was better in this movie. I walked away from New Moon highly disappointed. Even though I bought the movie, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to anyone. But, I would recommend going to see Eclipse. Finally, a good one.

dentist, i abhor thee.

i seriously dislike the dentist. like most people, my idea of fun does not involve sitting in the dentist chair while someone pokes around in my mouth.

i also try super hard to take good care of my teeth. but it seems no matter what i do there is always something that needs to be fixed. always. i even had those sealant things put on my teeth when i was a teenager, and they did NOT work. i think i grind my teeth, so they may have worn off, but goodness! never fails, i always have something.

before last year, it had been about 6 years since i had been to the dentist. dental work is expensive and my parents didn’t have dental insurance. so, i didn’t go. last year, i was provided with dental insurance through my job and finally went. as you may have guessed, i had a lot of work to get done. did i mention i hate going to the dentist?

last year i had some stuff done and am finishing it up this summer. generally if you have insurance, they bill you for the amount you owe. they did last year, so when i went today, i was expecting the same thing. they proceeded to tell my they are trying to get away from billing and that i was required to pay the balance then. um, come again? i am glad these people think i have a few hundred laying around to pay for their services. [thankfully, i do, but still.] what if someone didn’t? because we don’t use any credit cards, if i didn’t have the money then, what would they do? if you are expected to pay in full at the time of services, they should inform their patients. most people cannot afford to drop several hundred on dental work at one time. it is customary if you have insurance to be billed for the balance. and you can either pay a little at a time, or in full when you receive your bill.

they also overprice EVERYTHING! a little tiny filling generally cost about $60… not there! it is around $100+. i hate it for the people who really need a lot of care and no insurance. how can they even pay for all that? it is just not fair to penalize everyone for a few people that may not pay their bills. i pay mine. and i pay it on time.

i also, may or may not be passive aggressive.

but! my birthday is tomorrow and i am going to eat at pie in the sky with the fam! i LOVE the buffalo chicken pizza from there. best. thing. ever. [salivating just thinking about it... or maybe it's cause my mouth is numb?]

and next tuesday at midnight, i will be in line with a ton of crazy girls going to see ECLIPSE at MIDNIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! yay!

the reason…

i know i talk about how i don’t think it is right to judge one another a lot. i may be in the minority for thinking that way and if any of you care, here’s why:

it started when i was younger. 8 or 9. i saw injustice all around me. i saw family members being treated unfairly. my dad has MS. he is in a wheel chair. his side of the family is a typical southern family that grew up in the bible belt. truth be told, they can be slightly prejudice and judgmental. as my dad’s health began to deteriorate further, he became wheel chair bound. this was a difficult time for him and understandably so. but some of my family members did not like the choices he made out of loneliness and despair at this time in his life. he had a few girlfriends. none of them the family approved of. i was only a child, but i could see he was happy. and the women may not have been perfect, but as family, we need to stick together. i struggled each holiday about spending time with the family as a whole or down at my dad’s— who was all alone. the family had turned their backs on him during his time of need. when he needed love the most. it was painful. i hated it. “how could you judge someone you love like that?” i would think. and no one could see it. no one wanted to see it.

i also did not live the ideal childhood of the rest of my family. my mom’s side of the family did not like my dad. his family turned their backs on him. i grew up with an alcoholic mother. they judged her, they judged him and ultimately they judged me because i was different. i didn’t stand by and put up with their hatred towards either one of them. i may not like what they do, but i love them. i always will.

my dad later married a woman who the family honestly despised. she made bad choices. but she was good to him. and to me. a few years later, she died. i will never forget the look on my dad’s face at her funeral. he was completely devastated. and my family… they had the nerve to talk about her. judge her even though she was dead and my father was in pain. years later he found another woman. she is very kind. but, they still don’t approve. no matter what they always have to find something wrong with him and with his lifestyle. it is heartbreaking.

i also have family members that are gay. and even if my religious beliefs teach me one thing about that, i love them with all my heart anyway. who am i to judge their lifestyles? they are wonderfully beautiful people inside and out. they need love and respect just like anyone else.

my cousin was accidentally killed in january 2007. a gun went off that was held by her very own boyfriend. by accident, he killed her. some of my family members chose to hate this hurting boy. some chose to love him. if there was a time to judge and hate someone, this would be the case. but regardless of what happened, there is always room for love. always.

going back a few decades ago, my family members were killed in the holocaust. i don’t say this to be trite and dramatic, but to point out something that is relevant to history. history that you learned sitting in school. because of hatred and judgement thousands of innocent people were murdered in horrendous ways. my own family members were killed. because they were different. because they were Jewish.

so you see, i have seen injustice. i have seen hatred. i have seen judgement. i know what it leads to. it leads to people being broken in spirit or even worse. wars are started over people judging a group of people and the hatred building up. i have always been passionate about not judging others. i think is terribly wrong.

as a Believer, i believe it is my job to love. love everyone. regardless of their skin color, what they believe, or how they choose to live their lives. who am i to judge? i am merely a sinner like they are. i am no better.

love. always.

If your a Christian and you put down a person’s religious beliefs people aren’t seeing Jesus when they look at you. Always pushing your beliefs onto other people may make you seem super religious, but they are not going to see Jesus through you. Thankfully in our country people can practice their own religion whether or not you agree with it. But as Christians it is not our job to judge their beliefs so ruthlessly. If the desire of your heart is for people to know Jesus like you do, love them. Jesus always loved people first. Once you show that love to people the rest can come naturally.

[and this is not going to sound all profound or whatever , but.... the way I believe in Jesus to my core is the same way other people believe in their religions to the core. I personally don't want someone telling me my beliefs are wrong and pushing their faith on me. They may pray one day I have some awakening deep in my soul that an alien is god or a rabbit even... and I may pray they realize Jesus is their Savior. But at the end of the day people can believe what they want. Even if I don't personally agree...]

ok. i think i got it out of my system now…

“i do” yada yada yada

have you ever thought about how our traditional wedding ceremony came to be? who ever thought to themselves, “i am going to have these girls called bridesmaids. they are going to wear a dress that they will probably only wear this one time for my wedding. then they are going to walk down the isle before me to some music. oh yeah, and hold flowers.” because that makes 100% sense. and guys should wear tuxedos. and have boutonnieres. the whole wedding process is very odd to me. this is coming from a girl who has had a ceremony, been to plenty, and photograph weddings. each bride tries to be creative in her own way, but the ceremony is still weird.

let’s think about this for a minute…. you get engaged. you pick a date for the wedding. you plan and plan and plan for this event that only last a couple hours. the ceremony only lasting 10 minutes (if your lucky). you spend a thousand+ dollars on a dress you will only wear once. ONCE. for a couple hours. get bridesmaids and groomsmen. send out invitations to people who think it’s nice to see you get married but are truly just more concerned about getting to the reception so they can eat all that food you paid a couple thousand for. and the cake of course. you have to have a cake. and you have to slice it for goodness sakes while everyone takes pictures… but really they are just waiting for you to get out of the way so they can eat the cake already! then after having your first dance, tossing some flowers to single girls then it is almost time to leave. everyone lines up ready to blow bubbles at you and you run out to your awaiting vehicle that says some “charming” stuff like “just married”. congrats. you just spent a ridiculous amount of money for something that lasted a few hours. was it worth it?

most couples say they would have rather eloped after it is all said and done.

because here’s the truth about wedding ceremonies: the wedding itself becomes more about the act of getting married rather than the celebration of love. i have only been to one wedding that was less about the wedding and more about the couple. one out of about two dozen.

i had a wedding. sure sure it was nice. whatever. would i do it again? never. maybe i am cynical. i don’t really care. the point is that most weddings are just an event. nothing more. it is so much about the act of getting married. the love has been sucked dry due to all the ridiculousness of planning that “perfect day”. marriage is great. it should be celebrated. my advice to you if you are a bride-to-be or plan to get married one day is not to get caught up in all the details, celebrate! celebrate! celebrate!