Had a mix of teachers, a few were ex military and I think they thought we should be doing drill! Then the new 60s generation of flower power graduates , chalk and cheese!! Public secondary school.

Tanya, I think you nailed the keyword that joins both sides, "advocate".  I like this meaning:

"Advocacy means getting support from another person to help you express your views and wishes, and help you stand up for your rights."]

Davina, I know what you mean. I was a victim of 12 years of Catholic education, the first eight years by the Sisters of Mercy, who showed anything but. My high school was taught by the Christian Brothers.  Like the Sisters, many were great, a few were drill sergeants, and some were sociopaths.

In other words, it was a normal education experience at that time.

Thankfully, that world has moved on. 

I had a very similar education to you, Emma, which left me with a lifelong impression that having a vocation and having the talents needed to be a teacher don't necessarily go together:-)

Plenty of my teachers were challenged enough by the job that some kids completely fell through the cracks. I felt for them then and I feel for them now.

Sadly, it's all a battle of nurture vs. nature. Some have the skill to persevere under pressure and others don't.  I had a friend who was a sergeant in Vietnam tell me the guy who acted like John Wayne in boot camp was the first to crumble in combat while the mousy guy with glasses turned out to be the toughest soldier under combat.

Being transgender is a lot like being in combat, except we are fighting societal stereotypes.  Some of us do it better and we need to be there for those that are having a tougher time.  We leave no one behind, at least we try and that is what matters.

We are "The Band of Sisters".

Sorry Tanya, I got diverted from the "teaching" subject.

This brings back a fun memory. As a kid I used to be scared I would get one of these 'vocations'. I didn't understand vocations any better than I did gender incongruence back then, but our teachers left me with the definite impression you could wake up one day and find you had a vocation.

To my immature mind, this made a vocation sound like some kind of infectious disease, which you could get whether you wanted it or not.

So I used to pray I would not get a vocation and end up like my teachers, which was tricky because half the time at school when we were at prayers they were asking us to pray for more vocations. Imagine my confusion. Honestly, I am not making this up.

Quote from: Emma1017 on September 29, 2024, 10:18:10 AMBeing transgender is a lot like being in combat, except we are fighting societal stereotypes.  Some of us do it better and we need to be there for those that are having a tougher time.  We leave no one behind, at least we try and that is what matters.

This I like. Now we are going to cook pizza...

Looking back at Sephira's school experience, Emma, your '...we need to be there for those that are having a tougher time.  We leave no one behind...' is key. In your analogy, if we fight as a team and everyone knows we'll go back and pick up the wounded, so to speak, morale will benefit.

The stove is lit, the dough is ready, now its time to chop the toppings!

"If we fight as a team and everyone knows we'll go back and pick up the wounded, so to speak, morale will benefit."

Absolutely true Tanya!

Also you are getting like Davina.  When I read her blog I always get hungry! 

With pizza, there's always the arguments. 'Why has my slice only got three capers when yours has ten?' It's the same with our bodies. When I ask if I can borrow hers for the evening she just rolls her eyes the way she does over the caper question.

Quote from: TanyaG on September 29, 2024, 11:44:57 AMWith pizza, there's always the arguments. 'Why has my slice only got three capers when yours has ten?' It's the same with our bodies. When I ask if I can borrow hers for the evening she just rolls her eyes the way she does over the caper question.

Wish I could wear hers but my sweetie, she is a bit more petite than me.  I can maybe use a scarf of hers!

Chrissy

Emma ,brownies and yogurt for pudding tonight!!

Emma, I just read every page of your blog. Wow. Somewhere in there you wrote about doing a dig at Haltwhistle? Or do I misremember?

I did a dozen years excavating at Vindolanda and finished off in York (more pubs). I have since retired, knees and back suggested I should stop.

The Black Bull pub was my go to in Haltwhistle. 

Davina you got me again!

I know the area well, what a lovely part of England.

@Emma1017

I think you might enjoy a documentary called Dinosaur 13.

It is about the discovery of the largest and most complete T-Rex ever found. It was discovered here not far from the Badlands of South Dakota where I do a lot of rockhounding. The skeleton was named "Sue" after the paleontologist who discovered her. Pete Larsen is a local hero who runs the Black Hills Institute and Paleo Museum in Hill City which sponsored the hunt.

The problem was that there was a dispute over where the find was located. The find was confiscated by the government and sat packed in crates here in Rapid City at the South Dakota School of Mines. Eventually, it was sold at auction. Sue now resides in the Field Museum in Chicago. SUE the T. rex

Of course, they will never tell the story the way locals here remember it. Dinosaur 13 tells that story. It is a great story even for those who have no interest in paleontology. Highly recommended.

I absolutely will watch it Lori.  My addiction is Roman archeology.  There is usually a pub or bar nearby.

Here's why I retired:




We have to hand dig the excavation to remove 1600 years of accumulated debris.  Then there are 400 years of Roman debris to dig through.

If that hole was less square and had a river running through it, that could be me! 

Archaeology always fascinated me. There isn't much of that going on around here. We had dinosaurs, then Natives, then white people settled in. The Natives and whites recorded their history. The dinosaurs just left a bunch of bones.

We have a Mammoth Site down in Hot Spring, SD and they let you go in and sweep dirt off a fossil. The kids love it. My back and knees say NO. 

The Lakota tribe of the Sioux Indians has an interesting Creation story. They claim to remember when they lived underground. They emerged from Wind Cave and they set up camps to begin hunting bison. Once their camps were set up, the opening to the cave closed so that they could not go back. Other openings to the cave are large, but one particular opening is very small. It is considered a holy place to them where them emerged from. Lakota Emergence Story

I also enjoy the stories where treasure hunters discover sacks of old Roman coins. Treasure and history come together.

They found some round houses doing road works the other side of the river, hill fort on the Malverns and just by my old primary school is a Norman castle tump.

Lori, we have to dig a lot deeper to find dinosaur bones! America may not have Roman ruins but we have a lot of fossils!

Davina, England is riddled with ruins everywhere.  I love excavating there because I speak English, well kind of, and there are lots of pubs!

 

Quote from: Emma1017 on September 30, 2024, 06:55:02 AMbut we have a lot of fossils!

I am one!