Spider-Man...and Talk to Me!

"The Amazing Spider-man" is just that--amazing.  Truth be told, when I saw they were making another Spider-man movie, I thought, do we really need another?  So I went to the movie not expecting much--and was very pleasantly surprised!  I love Emma Stone--I think she's one of the prettiest and most "accessible" of today's starlets, and she does a great job as Gwen Stacy.  Denis Leary is terrific as her no-nonsense police captain father, and Andrew Garfield, whom I don't even remember seeing in "The Social Network," is very good in the role of the high-school aged Peter Parker, even though according to IMDB, he's nearly 29 years old!  It was especially fun in IMAX 3-D.

I applied to three more schools in Wake County yesterday--I'm not giving up without a fight.  There is a job opening in Halifax County, but I've heard such horrific things about those schools that I don't know as I could handle working there.  Many of the schools to which I've applied have been closed this week because of the holiday, so I'm hoping that I'll hear from some of them next week.

I wanted to talk a minute about something really close to my heart--communication.  Technology is wonderful--I'm able to share my experiences with you because of it.  I have readers in Russia, Germany, Australia, Mexico--literally all over the world!  And I find that exciting and fascinating.  However, as wonderful as technology is, it can also create problems.  For example, you can't discern someone's tone of voice via a text message or in an email.  It's very difficult to know when someone is kidding unless they write "j/k" or "lol".  It's very easy to misunderstand what someone means, and that's why we should try to do as much face-to-face or at the very least voice-to-voice communication as possible.  I think that there would be much less violence in the world if people just talked to each other; I think there would be less divorce, less anger, less misunderstanding.  I've always encouraged my students to write down feelings--and I do believe that written communication is effective, but more in the form of full letters than in text messages.  Often texts are intended to be quick and to the point--and that's why I think they can be misunderstood!

So the next time you have something important to tell someone, TELL them.  Pick up the phone and call.  Skype with them so that you can see their face.  Make a lunch date and sit down together.  Don't depend on that text message--especially if it's a matter that could hurt someone if misunderstood.  It's Friday--have a fabulous one!