First day of Spring Semester in Tea at the Cabin in the Woods

I have gotten all my class rosters printed, syllabi ready, binders for each class organized (sort of) and still need to prepare for the first class of each topic. I have an overload again this semester, teaching Introduction to Psychology, Child Psychology (Abnormal child psy), Fundamentals of Counseling and therapy and Human Development (adult). It will be busy and all the classes are maxed out - filled to capacity. That means i need to be careful how many assignments I give out for each class since I will have to grade them all. I am looking forward to seeing the students again and getting back into the swing of things. The break was not long enough, but they never are. Such is life.

Saturday I went with my daughter to stand holding signs in support of the women’s clinic and pro-choice. A photo of the two of us was taken and she posted it on FB. OMG the follow-up posts are incredible and some are just mean. I don’t understand why people are so hard headed and allow themselves to be pulled into group think so quickly. A parade from the Catholic Church marched past the clinic holding signs and called us murders. They had wanted to carry a small casket and lay it in front of the clinic but the city wouldn’t allow that (thank heavens). Pro Choice does not mean pro-abortion, it means begins able to decide for yourself what is right for you and your body, family or situation. Seems pretty clear to me. My sister was the worst of the offenders, claiming that people make bad choices all the time, so they should live with their choices. She even went so far as to say that if a woman was raped that she’s already messed up so carrying a baby won’t re-traumatize her any more.... REALLY? It will be awhile before I speak to her about this. What koolaid has been drinking? Anyway, I am shocked at the people who wrote on this post, who they were and what they said. I hadn’t seen that coming. Shows you what I know about social media. I guess some people think it’s a free for all and they can say anything without consequences, but there are always consequences when you are mean. Than again, if you are only reading the words with out knowing the tone in which it was written, how easy is it to assume it was mean? It may have been written with concern or an attempt to persaude - but without face or body language - how will we ever know?

Speaking of Social Media, did anyone see the article on how staring at the phones all the time is causing physical problems for some people? Slumped shoulders, head hanging down, eyes focused on the ultra-bright LED screens - I have been trying to tell people this for some time, but no one wants to hear it. When their fingers have stiffening of the joints and they can’t text - will they figure it out? Hummm.... something to think about.

Okay, I need to get back to class preparation. I hope you are all well. I will try to catch up with all of you soon.

Later.