Whatever happened last Wednesday to make me forget about blogging, I’ve no idea! For all of you who await these blogs with great anticipation – mea culpa! I hate making excuses, but I think I might have been distracted because last week I started teaching a new course. The first half is taught by a young, brilliant, PH.D. in anthropology candidate, and I was VERY nervous about taking over the class…for a number of reasons. Well, first of all, for the obvious reason that I am NOT a very young, brilliant, Ph.D. anthropology candidate. I’m a “woman of a certain age” (insert “old” between those last two words) and I have a masters degree in education. This amazing young woman has three VERY young children, travels periodically to Samoa to conduct reserach, and also teaches part time at Temple U. She DOES do it all! So her half of the course was all about anthropological research concerning family structure in different cultures. My segment is the practical side of the course – getting the students (all of them plan to become elementary teachers) to understand how important it is to get parents involved in their children’s education – regardless of how much or how little the parents have, what language they speak, how busy they are, etc., etc. Teachers have finally discovered that it truly does take a village to educate a child.
My other concern was that this class of 27 students is taught in one of those awful science lecture hall/amphitheater type classrooms that seat a hundred kids and the professor stands at the bottom on this bowl-like room. I AM not a teacher who teaches well in a “lecture hall.” I want to reach out and touch my students.
Well, the class is filled with really neat kids who seemed quite happy to see me. I moved them all down to the first three rows, and we’re doing just fine. (“This is really intimate,” said one young man when he realized that I honestly could reach out and touch him.)
So, there you have it. My elaborate excuse and far more information than you needed.
I am celebrating the fact that our show has been picked up, and we’ll be aired again on Wed., May 16. Hooray! (My semester ends two weeks before that!!!! Double “hooray!”)

It was a true privilege to be able to take in a performance of the Civic Theatre of Allentown’s production of 33 Variations. (I don’t know how to underline that title!) What a fine production! What an excellent cast, set design, intricate and well done lighting and sound. Excellent. My compliments to everyone involved in the show. Of course, we really went to see Kirk Lawrence in yet another fine performance. Have never seen him give anything but a fine performance. The entire cast was excellent. Bravo to all involved!
Wish I could say the same for the Republican political race, but since I’m a liberal Democrat that would be difficult (but not impossible) for me to say even if the present contenders were other than the political characatures presently running. I believe in giving credit to any worthy candidate, whether he or she shares my political ideology, Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative – a candidate who understands the vast majority of Americans and the struggles we face not just to survive, but to flourish. But these guys? Really!? I do hope some talented playwright is already planning a script about this political scene. Sadly, this is American politics today. It would be so much better done by professional actors. Ah! Reagan’s already done that! Perhaps, the good Mr. Shakspeare was correct – the whole world is a stage! If only we could do as good a job as the Civic Theatre of Allentown does with playing our roles!