A day of much-needed Ego-stroking

While today certainly could have been significantly better for a few various reasons, all things considered, it was a fairly pleasant day. My Intro to Lit class was cancelled because of a mix-up in room assignments (we had a foreign language conference which infested our building all day; thus, the classes were forced to relocate or cancel), and I spent an hour talking career and departmental politics with my mentor instead of discussing Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. Afterwards, I met with the Director of the Writing Center over coffee to discuss how the semester has gone so far and what my plans were in the future. She still seems really interested in getting me involved in some form or fashion as some type of administrative presence in the WC. She pitched a couple of ideas at me which I assured her I would consider before making any further decisions. She even re-instated my assistantship in the first summer session (which I have been told off and on that I would/would not get) by going to the college dean and pleading my (or is it her?) case. So instead of sitting around being worthless all Summer I, it appears that I will be gainfully employed. That's good news financially, but I will admit that I was hoping to get a little extra reading done.

Speaking of reading, I have suckered at least one person into tackling James Joyce's Ulysses with me sometime this summer. Even though it is often considered the most important work of the twentieth-century, to academics such as myself, it appears to be nothing more than a feather in the cap, a way of one-upping colleagues by saying "I've read Ulysses." Even the British Lit prof on campus argues that most people haven't read it, and the few that claim to have done so, likely haven't. But I enjoy reading the dead white guys which generally make up the literary canon, so it seems only natural that I should read it at some time. If anyone else wants to join the Eleventh Hour Book Circle, please let me know--I'll forward you the reading list ASAP.

On the ego-stroking front, I also met with my son's daycare teacher and the center director today to evaluate whether or not they felt that he would be ready for kindergarten (he's four and a half). Basically, they gave him a long test to determine his abilities concerning math, vocabulary, speech, logic, comprehension, social skills, emotional stability, etc. It was very long and detailed, much more than I thought it would be, but I did want to share a few things. So pardon me for a little shameless bragging, but here goes:

• Displays enthusiasm about doing things for self: "very independent"
• Allows self to be comforted during stressful times: "We have never seen Tyler to be upset, he has never cried while at school."
  
• Does not withdraw from others excessively: "No, he is an extrovert"
• Initiates activity/play with others: "Tyler will be a leader"
• Shows concern for someone in distress: "Not really. It's not because he is mean, he just doesn't have time to worry about anyone."
• Speaks confidently in classroom: "Tyler, he loves to speak! He may become a politician."
• Speaks clearly enough for adults to understand: "It's like talking to an adult."
• Plays with rhyming words: The teacher told me that rhyming is a very difficult thing for children to be able to do--not only putting words together that rhyme, but understanding why they rhyme--many children don't get this concept until well into kindergarten or later. The teacher said that Tyler went into a long discussion about why "bat" and "cat" rhyme, because they both end with an "a" and a "t". She felt like he was trying to teach her instead of the other way around.
• Writes real alphabet letters (uppercase only): Tyler is the only kid that was able to write both upper- and lower-case letters.

I make mention on occasion that while I love both of my children equally, my son is much different in that he is such a mirror of myself, both when I was a child and even now. While I rarely get emotionally giddy about anything, signs like these that my son is really smart make me feel good. My son is the only one in his school that can read, spends a lot of time learning, and he has a real thirst for knowledge--something which most college students don't even have. The director said that genetics play a big part in things like this, so I feel some personal responsibility for his success, though we do try to foster his advancement as much as possible.

Sorry to go on and on about this, but it's something that is very important and special to me, and I don't get a chance to brag that often.