December 3, 2009

Put that in Your Pipe and Celebrate!!!

There is NOTHING more exciting than watching an idea come to fruition. Last week, I sent an email inquiring about the Jazz Fest in our area. One week later, our country club is a venue and we're featuring an awesome band. It is going to be awesome, and I feel like it is just the beginning of all the new and exciting things that are going to happen at the club. I'm hoping it's the first of many cool things I can help to get going at the club. It is certainly a week to celebrate, with the Jazz Fest actually happening for us and it being the last week of class at the university where I teach.

Today was my last day of class. When I arrived on campus, I had students who were still putting their writing portolio's together. Unbelievable. I actually had to raise my voice on the last day of class. Truly unbelievable.

My speech class showed up and was more prepared. During the last day of each semester for my speech class, I allow my students to create impromptu speech questions for me. I review them, discard the inappropriate ones like "which one of your students would you date and why?" and do some impromptu speeches for them.

This semester I answered the question about my most embarrassing moment (which I'm just not prepared to discuss on the blog yet-who knows if I ever will be ready to share that horror?). I also answered the question about who my favorite Flyers hockey player is: Rick Tocchet. No brainer there. Finally, I answered the question, "If you could smoke weed with one of your students who would it be and why?"

Shocked that I received that question? Yeah, so was I.

When I told them I was going to answer it, there were nervous giggles all around; but they didn't get quite what they expected. I told them that I wouldn't smoke weed with any of them because I don't smoke weed. Then I used it as a public service announcement to tell them that I thought they were all amazing people and that I truly hoped they would quit smoking weed since it's clear so many of them already are doing so. I said I didn't understand why any of them would feel it necessary to use drugs to have fun. I told them that in my experience, I've seen weed make people act stupid, that it would probably make them lazy and dumb, like the kid who did an impromptu speech in class a few weeks ago who actually said the reason he was failing all his classes is because he's been smoking too much weed. I also told them that if they are education or nursing majors, they better knock it off now. Getting caught once will ruin their future careers.

When I was finished, I reviewed my main points and wrapped up my little speech. They sat there stunned and obviously thinking. I'm glad I gave them something to think about on the last day, which is typically a wrapping-up-loose-ends-day.

I should have concluded my speech with "stick that in your pipes and smoke it."