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Postcards for my Niece

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by TonyPSchaefer, Sep 5, 2008.

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  1. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Hey everyone I have a favor to ask.

    My niece is in the third grade this year. To help teach geography, her teacher is asking them to collect postcards from all over the world. If you're up to it, I would appreciate if you could drop a postcard in the mail to the address below.

    You can write something or nothing on it. It's entirely up to you. In some way at some time I'll try to make it up to you. Those I see at Hybridfest or other events I'll buy a coffee or something.

    Thanks!

    Eliza Brooks
    c/o Walker Elementary School, 3rd Grade
    120 S. Walker Avenue
    Clarendon Hills, IL 60514
     
    #1 TonyPSchaefer, Sep 5, 2008
  2. Proco

    Proco Senior Member

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    Tony -

    What a clever idea by your niece's teacher. I'll try to find a good Jersey Shore one for her.

    It's a shame I won't be at Hybridfest. A cup of coffee sounds good. [​IMG]
     
    #2 Proco, Sep 5, 2008
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Thanks, Proco. Are you near Florham Park? We have an office there and I head out that way occasionally.
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, Sep 5, 2008
  4. sdtundra

    sdtundra Senior Member

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    Hmm, I know i can get some nice San Diego ones and i think i may have some from Greece layin around somewhere from 2004.
     
    #4 sdtundra, Sep 5, 2008
  5. Proco

    Proco Senior Member

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    Florham Park is about an hour or so north of where I live (Allenhurst, NJ -> Florham Park, NJ). But it's only about 20 minutes (8 or so miles) from where I work. (South orange, NJ -> Florham Park, NJ).

    The next time you're out this way, I'd love to meet you. It's too bad I wouldn't be able to meet Priapus at the same time.
     
    #5 Proco, Sep 5, 2008
  6. Neicy

    Neicy Member

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    I will try to get some Boston historical ones, and also Cape Cod if I can find some around here.
     
    #6 Neicy, Sep 5, 2008
  7. PA Prius

    PA Prius Active Member

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    Hmmm. Maybe I can get her a picture of an amish hybrid* here from Lancaster County.

    PA P



    *mule
     
    #7 PA Prius, Sep 5, 2008
  8. mingoglia

    mingoglia Member

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    I'll get one in the mail this weekend from the Grand Canyon State. That's a pretty cool idea. :)
     
    #8 mingoglia, Sep 5, 2008
  9. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Thanks everyone. Yeah, I think it's a really cool idea. I'm planning on hitting up the international crowd personally. I've already sent some international requests to coworkers. I really wish my teachers would have had ideas like this when I was impressionable.
     
    #9 TonyPSchaefer, Sep 5, 2008
  10. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    1 from SJ on the way.
     
    #10 JimN, Sep 5, 2008
  11. Proco

    Proco Senior Member

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    OK ... this just begs the question of what kind of ideas they did have when you were impressionable. :eek: :p
     
    #11 Proco, Sep 5, 2008
  12. Prius 07

    Prius 07 Member

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    Hi Tony,

    I plan to buy a bunch of cards and mail them in one envelope. Is this Ok or the idea is to have them individually postmarked?

    Great project - when I was a young lad I collected postcards and still have some.
    Gabe
     
    #12 Prius 07, Sep 5, 2008
  13. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Gabe, there is no need to individually postmark each one. Though I don't know for sure, I suspect the teacher has a big world map on the wall and postcards will be placed near their point of origin. At least, that's the way I would do it. Thanks for pitching in.

    Proco, there's plenty of room for jokes here but I'll choose to be serious just this once. I attended Catholic elementary and junior high. I was taught by nuns and lay persons none of whom - I later investigated - held a single teaching degree or had any formal training in childhood development. Therefore, the way they taught was "sit down, shut up, memorize." I did not fit into this box and was often punished. In the evenings I would skip doing my menial homework and soak up episode after episode of NOVA, read illustrated biology texts, study deep-space astrophysics, and monitor the developments of advanced computer technologies.
    I graduated high school with a C- average.

    I've since earned a degree in Computer Science, English Language and Linguistics and hold a BE in Secondary Education. I worked a couple years in public education and got into more than few arguments with the "Honor Roll Teachers" who were Honor Roll students themselves and cater to Honor Roll students. I argue that they have no idea what it feels like to actually try to learn something but still flunk the test and/or the course. They simply have no idea what that's like. And yet they rarely hesitate to tell a student "you failed." How many times do you think a student needs to hear that phrase before it becomes a statement of who they are?

    Due to the educational experience I was forced to endure for 12 years I jump at every opportunity to enhance the learning experience and work with the children I call "Latent Geniuses" who, like me, don't learn through the passive memorization techniques lazily employed in far too many classrooms. Many teachers are unwilling or unable to change their teaching styles to incorporate these "out of the box" students into their classrooms so it's important to me that the children understand that they have the ability within themselves to exceed the expectations put upon them by those who don't understand them.
    So that's it in a nutshell.
     
    #13 TonyPSchaefer, Sep 6, 2008
  14. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    I'm sending a postcard I brought back from Seville, Spain. Sending it in an envelope so it does not get a Spokane postmark. I added the saying, "Quien no ha visto Sevilla no ha visto maravilla."
     
    #14 daniel, Sep 6, 2008
  15. Proco

    Proco Senior Member

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    Tony - I (OK ... my wife) finally got to one of the little shops around home & got a postcard. I'll be sending it out today.

    Re: your educational experience. I understand where you're coming from. I didn't have the type of schooling (public school all the way), but in many ways my experience was similar to yours. I went to school in a very rural area of PA. So rural that we had to import the sticks. Many of my teachers were old-school, by the books types of teachers.

    School bored me. Homework bored me. I was bright, but I now realize I wasn't challenged enough. To make matters worse, in 3d grade I was classified as "gifted". Far from being a gift, it became a curse. Because I was "gifted", many teachers assumed I should automatically understand everything and get good grades. In 7th grade my vocabulary teacher used me as an in-class example for the phrase "flash-in-the-pan". And my parents weren't equipped to give me (or my sister, who was in the same boat) the support we needed.

    To make matters worse, I discovered I could get decent grades without trying. So I didn't. I put myself on cruise control and graduated with a B- average. To this day I struggle with both the idea that I'm not as smart/good as others think and with the whole "cruise control" way of doing work.

    The next time you're in Florham Park, I don't want to just meet you. I want to take you out to lunch or dinner.

    Mike
     
    #15 Proco, Sep 11, 2008
  16. Stev0

    Stev0 Honorary Hong Kong Cavalier

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    Continuing this aside, my own favorite example of the power of Formal Education:

    My Mom has her master's degree. She owns a small house way in the suburbs. My Dad has his master's degree. He doesn't even own a house. I have my associate's degree. I own two beautiful houses. My brother doesn't even have that, and he also owns two beautiful houses.

    Yeah, I was also on "cruise control" in High School.

    btw, I sent in my postcard from Western Mass. a few days ago.
     
    #16 Stev0, Sep 11, 2008
  17. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Sounds like we have a bit in common. As for the seventh-grade teacher comment: isn't it just scary how long those things stay with you? That teacher has long since forgotten that day but you never will.

    Thank your wife for the postcard.
     
    #17 TonyPSchaefer, Sep 11, 2008
  18. Proco

    Proco Senior Member

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    It's annoying how long crap like that stays with you. Of course there's a bright spot from that teacher ... she also taught Home Ec. My enjoyment of & aptitude at cooking comes directly from her. She was anal about some things, but it gave me the tools. She was just horrendous at motivating students to do better.

    I also have to give my dad some props. For as ill-equipped as he was, told off a teacher at a meeting when that teacher suggested that "gifted" students should automatically be placed in "accelerated" or "advanced" classes" because they can handle the work.

    I'll be sure to thank my wife. :)
     
    #18 Proco, Sep 11, 2008
  19. Prius 07

    Prius 07 Member

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    Hi Tony,

    I sent 2 international ones from my collection. They are from Lillafüred and Lake Balaton both in Hungary as well as 2 of Niagara Falls and 3 more from Canada. I'll upload photos to share with PC readers.

    Enjoy,
     
    #19 Prius 07, Sep 17, 2008
  20. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    Man. *I* was going to do San Diego.

    Too bad she can't wait. I'm going to Guatemala in April.

    I could look around the house and see if I have duplicates of anyplace I've been.
     
    #20 Godiva, Sep 17, 2008
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