Dear _______ Please __________

I discovered the most AMAZING website today.  It will now be the source of all my procrastination.  Enjoy!

http://dearblankpleaseblank.com/index.php


A few of my favorites:

Dear Hogwarts,
Please send me another letter. I'm pretty sure Sarah Palin shot my owl.
Sincerely, It's not my fault I live in Alaska


Dear Obama,
I'm really happy for you and imma let you finish, but Franklin D Roosevelt had one of the best economic recoveries of all time. Of all time!
Sincerely, Kanye West

Dear 2010,
So I hear the best rapper is white and the president is black? WTF happened?!
Sincerely, 1985


Dear Voldemort,
So they screwed up your nose too?
Sincerely, Michael Jackson


Dear Nickelback,
That's enough.
Sincerely, the world


Dear students,
I know when you are texting. 
Sincerely, 
No one looks down at their crotch and smiles. 

7 Years Ago Today....

Dear Matt,  
Seven years ago today you pulled into my driveway in a silver Mustang. I jumped up from the dinner and table and was almost out the door when you were already at it insisting you meet my parents first.  Did I know then that you were the man for me?  I should have, you instantly stole my parent's hearts and quite soon, stole mine.  


Three years later on this very date, four years ago today, you got down on one knee in front of an aquarium and asked me, in my St. Patrick's Day dress, if I would marry you.  You read my favorite Bible verse, and even though my heart knew the proposal was coming, the shock of the words took my breath away.  

(Matt and I 3.17.07- the only photo I have of us on the day of our engagement) 

Two years later, one year ago today, we stood in our nervous newleywed shoes and took in the sight of our first house.  We breathed it all in and knew that it was ours.  



Today, nothing extraordinary may happen, but something extraordinary already has.  Who knew that 7 years later I would be writing this from the comfort of my first home, married, to the most wonderful and caring man.  


You make my dreams come true.  Keep being you :)  


143

sarah  

                                                                     Matt and I - engagement pictures 2008

Critique of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Summary

            In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell examines how certain trends, epidemics, fashions, etc. develop and how those most dominant of trends reach the height of their popularity. Gladwell asserts that almost all of the influential movements begin small until something causes their popularity to “tip” over the edge into an epidemic level. The Tipping Point examines specific circumstances in which a relatively small characteristic had an ultimately large effect on a situation. Gladwell defines the “Tipping Point” as the “one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change at once.”  He then examines specific movements and trends in our society from the prosperity of the show Blues Clues, to the sudden drop in the New York City crime rate, to the rise in teenage smoking, stating that all of these developments came about from one small thing that made them “stick” in our society. One small factor in a situation can cause any epidemic to “tip” and this is why certain people, products, TV shows, foods, etc. have a larger influence than others. It is the one thing that causes it to “stick” to society and grow.

Critique

            After reading Outliers for our first reading assignment, I was quite excited in the ideas that Gladwell was proposing; he looked at things in a way I had never seen before. So I read another of his books. Yet, after reading The Tipping Point I feel like I have heard enough from Gladwell. He makes a great point, and everything in the book makes sense, but he said it in far too many words. After the third chapter of examples, I fully understood what he was proposing and it was clear in the examples. I finished reading the rest of the book hoping for something new, but it was still more cases. He could have said the exact thing in far less pages and it would have still had the same influence. However, there were a few specific stories that did apply to me and my career. The chapter on the success of Blues Clues I found beneficial because it reiterated to me a few key concepts in the education of small children: children learn best with repetition, and children respond well when the activity calls for their interaction. Gladwell examined the difference between Blues Clues and Sesame Street, and sure enough, the former called for interaction of children in each episode, and each episode was replayed five days in a row. Blues Clues experienced more success due to those small factors that caused it to “tip”, and to “stick” in a child’s mind. 

            Another thing I can take away from this was from the chapter on the popularity of teenage smoking. One point Gladwell makes is that our traits are not just determined by our genes, but by the environment in which we live. In fact, he says that half of our traits are determined by our genes, while the other half are from our environment. Parents may try to influence their child and shape their behavior, but the fact is that this influence plays no role at all. Children, for example, have the same likelihood to start smoking if they come from a home where smoking is the norm as they do in a home where smoking is rebuked. Whether kids smoke or not is entirely up to the influence of their peers. This is very interesting to me as an educator of teens. I may try to influence them, but unless what I say “sticks” to the more influential teens, my advice is not likely to be taken. What is popular, and what is deemed “cool” is, and ultimately has always been, up to the teen groups themselves. Perhaps we need to find a way to make our values and ideals “stick” to kids in such a way that they think it was their idea. Maybe then the idea of good morals and values in teens can “tip” and become an epidemic.