This evening a friend invited me along to a local 'Women for Obama' party. I went out of curiosity as much as anything. While my leanings are definitely Democrat, I wouldn't call myself an Obama Mama. There were some true believers at the party, but I'm too cynical (realistic?) to think any politician is going to get everything right. I hope he wins, but I don't find him as inspirational as many others clearly do.
What I think is entirely academic, of course, since I can't vote here.
But I met some interesting people - teachers, an author - and the discussion took in books and movies and education and cultural diversity as well as politics. There were a couple of brief speeches urging us to spread the word. The main motivating force for this particular group, I think, is the hope that Obama might set about the provision of affordable healthcare-for-all.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan featured too, and it was good to hear an acknowledgement of Iraqi and Afghan losses in these wars - so often overlooked in political pronouncements over here (even, alas, by Obama).
To my surprise the Governor of Alaska didn't get much overt mention, though clearly the Women for Obama are decidedly not for McCain's bizarre running mate Sarah Palin. Poor old Palin, she looks less like a bulldog and more and more like a rabbit in the headlights with every interview she gives. A propos Governor Palin, you might enjoy this if you haven't seen it yet...
From Cheaper Tyre:
ReplyDeleteComing in 3 days late on the numbers discussion...I am dying to know if Albaniana found out the second way to do it?
By the way, you will be glad to hear that I refer constantly to the number line WHEN I NEED TO i.e. with directed numbers! You will be happy to see that I am as entrenched as I ever was!
I also still haven't worked out how this naming thing works!
Other people around the table came up with various ways to do the calculation - rounding up and taking away the difference etc. I just sat glumly.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came away and thought about my experience with maths, I realised that never once had I been taught that maths could be creative, or that numbers could be fun. We learnt rules, but I for one never understood how or why they worked. By the age of eight I was totally switched off maths. I think it's a shame, and I think the great challenge for teachers today is to give children a sense of enjoyment around numbers.