Tuesday, January 26, 2016
me. circa 1997 or 8.
Labels:
Personal Narrative
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
Monday, January 25, 2016
think like a little girl
Labels:
Personal Narrative,
Poetry
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Gender Tales: Pink Tax in Budapest
Hold on, I will get to the Pink Tax.
When my daughter started first grade in Budapest in 2014 there was a steep learning curve for both of us. My expectations about the first-day experience were not met and I was I was deeply shocked by what I considered to be profoundly misguided traditions inconsiderate of children's needs when entering the care of a new school and a new teacher.
Over time I developed a love-hate relationship with the system. No school is perfect. But those striving toward perfection earn my respect. I worry about a system that doesn't seem self-aware, self-critical, or open to the changing needs of its population. However, it should be noted there is a growing teacher rebellion against the nationwide reforms imposed three years ago. The movement is worth your attention and support. Teachers are revolting and parents are revolting by turning away from the public system to open independent new schools.
Back to my local school and my kids. I think it is fair to say that a public school is a perfect microcosm of its culture. (And this will lead me to the Pink Tax, pinkie-swear.)
My current analysis of Hungary is that at the center of its cultural identity is this word: Tradition. My theory about America is that its central word is: Independence. These words function in ways that are fascinating to explore and tease out from the news and the arts. These identity tags function.
At the center of the Hungarian school is the notion of tradition with a capital T.
One example of this is the required sports class and its requisite uniform. I was instructed at the parent's meeting to purchase for my daughter a "torna ruha," white socks, and gym shoes with white soles. I get the gym shoes requirement, as it keeps the floors clean.
My first task was to understand "torna ruha." It translates to "gym clothes." However, in the Hungarian tradition (Tradition), this means the girls wear a leotard and the boys wear gym shorts and a white t-shirt. In a classroom of thirty kids they all strip down to their Star Wars skivvies and put on the gym uniform. Right away this signals the gym class is not a play class but a workout. Physical fitness is another lesson, as rigorous as math or reading. I have theories about this too. Seriously, how effective can that be? I know my husband learned to skip gym classes as soon as possible when growing up in a Hungarian school system. But let me stay focussed on the Pink Tax. We are getting there.
After much discussion about the gender imbalance related to requiring girls to wear body-revealing leotards while boys wear comfortable sports clothes, I dutifully went to the sports store. I had resigned to buy my daughter the leotard as well as the shorts and t-shirt. I would pack both and let her decide what worked best for her.
I found the display for the gym clothes. And there it was: The Pink Tax. The leotard cost 2,999 forint (about 10 dollars), which is not cheap. The shorts and the t-shirt combined cost 2,789. A lesson in the marketplace before the first day of school: It is expensive to be a girl and have the "right" outfit! Granted, the price was only slightly more for the girl outfit. But there it is. Not only does the Tradition expect her to wear a body-revealing costume, it expects her to pay more for it (for less material).
It still makes my blood boil, roiling with pink bubbles of indignation.
#worldwidepinktax
#ugh
#gendertales
#budapest
FYI: More on the pink tax: http://time.com/4159973/women-pay-more-everything/
Labels:
Ideas,
Izabella,
Personal Narrative,
Transylvania/Hungary
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
Friday, January 22, 2016
this is marriage
Labels:
Personal Narrative,
Videos
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Thunderstruck
or, my high school homecoming theme song circa 1990-ishsomthing. only cooler.
although the hundreds of foil-covered lightening bolts we made by hand and hung from the lunchroom ceiling were very atmospheric. and the bold choice of an AC/DC song instead of say, Extreme's "More than Words," was absolutely cool. this video, however, still cooler.
although the hundreds of foil-covered lightening bolts we made by hand and hung from the lunchroom ceiling were very atmospheric. and the bold choice of an AC/DC song instead of say, Extreme's "More than Words," was absolutely cool. this video, however, still cooler.
Labels:
Entertainmnent,
Personal Narrative,
Poetry,
Videos
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
portraiture: 40
Labels:
Personal Narrative
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
Thursday, December 03, 2015
Dear Girls
This piece was created for a talent competition for high schools in Reykjavík, Iceland.
This piece was created for a talent competition for high schools in North Carolina, America.
This piece was created for a talent competition for high schools in North Carolina, America.
Labels:
Issues,
Personal Narrative,
Videos
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
Janet's Stovetop Mac and Cheese
INGREDIENTS
· 3 tablespoons butter
· 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste) and pepper (to taste)
· 4 cups milk
· 2 pinches nutmeg or cinnamon
· 1 bay leaf
· 3/4 pound small shell pasta or elbow macaroni
· 3 - 4 cups coarsely grated sharp yellow cheddar
DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is pale golden, about 3 minutes.
2. Whisking constantly, pour in 2 cups milk; add 2 more cups milk and whisk until smooth. Add salt, nutmeg, and bay leaf. Cook mixture, stirring constantly until just boiling, 6 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Set to lowest heat. Stir in cheese.
3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until not quite al dente; drain thoroughly and return to pot. Reserve a cup of hot water to thin sauce as needed.
4. Remove sauce from heat and pour over pasta and stir to coat. Add hot pasta water as needed to reach the consistency you prefer. Cover pot and let set for a few minutes so the pasta can absorb the sauce and finish cooking (on low heat if needed). Add more salt and pepper to taste.
· 3 tablespoons butter
· 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste) and pepper (to taste)
· 4 cups milk
· 2 pinches nutmeg or cinnamon
· 1 bay leaf
· 3/4 pound small shell pasta or elbow macaroni
· 3 - 4 cups coarsely grated sharp yellow cheddar
DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is pale golden, about 3 minutes.
2. Whisking constantly, pour in 2 cups milk; add 2 more cups milk and whisk until smooth. Add salt, nutmeg, and bay leaf. Cook mixture, stirring constantly until just boiling, 6 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Set to lowest heat. Stir in cheese.
3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until not quite al dente; drain thoroughly and return to pot. Reserve a cup of hot water to thin sauce as needed.
4. Remove sauce from heat and pour over pasta and stir to coat. Add hot pasta water as needed to reach the consistency you prefer. Cover pot and let set for a few minutes so the pasta can absorb the sauce and finish cooking (on low heat if needed). Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Labels:
Food
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
Wednesday, December 02, 2015
F.art
Labels:
Transylvania/Hungary
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
The Story of My Teeth
The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli
Translated by Christina MacSweeney
Coffee House Press, 2015
"The teeth are the true windows to the soul; they are the tabula rasa on which all our vices are inscribed." p. 50
"I am Gustavo Sanchez Sanchez, I said. I am the peerless Highway. And I am my teeth. They may seem to you to be yellowed and a little worse for wear, but I can assure you: these teeth once belonged to none other than Marilyn Monroe, and she needs no introduction. If you want them, you will have to take me along too." p. 62
Ah! I see that you're going to be a good writer too.
Why do you say that?
Because when you smile, you don't show your teeth. Real writers never show their teeth. Charlatans, in contrast, flash that sinister crescent when they smile. Check it out. Find photos of all the writers you respect, and you'll see that their teeth remain a permanently occult mystery. I believe the only exception is the Argentinian Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis.
Borges?
The selfsame. Blind and Argentinian. But he doesn't count because he was blind, so he probably couldn't picture himself smiling--at least, not with the smile he had when he was blind, if you know what I mean." p.111
September 11, 2015 New York Times Sunday Book Review:
Welcome! I am an American writer and high school teacher. Please comment and share, as you wish. Taint: A Novel available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.
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