Monday 16 August 2010

Al-Gebra

How nice is it to sit here this morning planning my day, wondering what I will do with it. Will I go down and do the much needed clearing up at my plot or will I paint. One thing I will certainly do is head out for a run. I may not be losing the weight as fast as I would like but I am at least getting a feeling of well being and fitness.


It is such a pleasure because I know that all my friends who are teachers are heading off back to the various schools where they teach. How I loved this day in the calendar.

Two in-service days and the students will arrive and all will be well. I always used to begin the first lesson of the new academic year with a reminder to all my students of the wonderful value of education. Not just to get a job, but to enlarge them and expand their horizons. To give them visions of how things could be. Education the doorway to enlightenment.

I remember on year a student saying to me, “You do not have to be clever to be in a position to change the world. Look at George Bush.” What could I say?

Reminded me of the really funny tale of the math teacher.

Headline from the national paper, New York – Man arrested boarding a plane a member of Al-Gebra.

A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, the Attorney General said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement.

He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. "Al-Gebra is a problem for us", the Attorney General said. "They desire solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values."

They use secret code names like 'X' and 'Y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.

As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'There are 3 sides to every triangle'.

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, he would have given us more fingers and toes."

White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the President.

To all those math teachers who are packing their weapons of math destruction best use your hands fingers and toes.

Have a great day I will think of you as I enjoy the fresh air. To all my artists friends, rejoice we are free to use our hands to create.

This blog is linked to my other:   Hands

6 comments:

  1. Ok...made my head spin this a.m. LOL

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  2. Ha! This made me laugh, Ralph!

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  3. Good morning Ralph! Pretty sad state of affairs,
    and made me laugh so hard! The really sad part is it could get worse! There is always Sarah Palen! Count to ten? Well, maybe to five twice!

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  4. Good to hear that you are feeling well and fit -- nothing to sniff at and especially appreciated when you've not been feeling that way recently!

    I resisted the urge to buy a 2011 Sarah Palin calendar when I was in Alaska. I think it was a gag gift, but I wasn't sure and didn't want to ask...

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  5. I loved your sense of humor... that made me smile:-)

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