Some Thoughts on Mascots, Yes Mascots

Prepare thyself for a broken record.

Ok, ready?

Why are all mascots male? I know, I know, the feminist rage, it's like always here. Sorry. This is, apparently, my cross to bear. But seriously, there are no wacky-colored, felt-covered ladies capable of leading festive crowd nonsense?

I grew up in Kansas City, home to a bevy of male mascots. The Chiefs have KC Wolf, the Royals have Slugger, the Blades had...a chipmunk? I think it's name was Chilly? I don't think the struggling minor league hockey team had big mascot priorities.

A quick Wikipedia search produces a list of the mascots in your American professional sport of choice. Practically every team in the NFL has a mascot. The overwhelming majority are male. If their name doesn't specifically denote them as male (Sir Purr, Freddie Falcon) their physical representation is pretty clearly supposed to a guy. I understand that many of the mascots are dressed the same as the players on the team (see Blitz, Swoop, Big Red) and all of those players are male (Of course, whatever, I don't have time right now). Is it ok that the mascot is only representative of the members of the team? Or are mascots more about the fans? Certainly kids don't care whether the giant, colorful animal is a boy or a girl. Right? Should they? They just want a hug and their picture with it. It.

Sure, a lot of the mascots in pro sports are technically gender-less, but even some women's sports have male mascots. Meet Freddie Fever and Sky Guy. (blargh) To be fair, the WNBA also has Maddie. Why is female fandom's only representation so often cheerleaders? Male fans are either dedicated and serious or the life of the party. Female fans have one speed: cute. Marketing folks for American professional sports have only recently taken note of the fact that including women as fans means more than selling replica jerseys in pink.

I was pretty pumped to find out that the Pawtucket Red Sox have two mascots, one male and one female. Sox is a white bear who wears a blue baseball jersey, red skirt, giant tennis shoes, and a visor. She has exaggerated eye lashes, but those and the skirt are really the only differences between her and the male mascot, Paws. Kudos, Pawtucket. Way to make an effort.

Next time I'll rant about gender specific team names. Lady Broncos? Seriously? I'm looking at you, Lee's Summit North.

Know of other female mascots? I'd love to know about them!

I Don't Think it Can be Separate.

As I've told you, I recently completed my master's degree in elementary education. The desire to do so came from a gradual realization that I was not passionate about the field I'd chosen to study as an undergrad. Teaching had always been in the back of my mind and so I went for it. When we moved to Indiana I took a job as a teaching assistant, starting applying to the master's/certification program at IU, and counted down the days until I would qualify as an in-state student. Then I worked my ass off for a year and a half, met some wonderful people who reinforced my love of teaching, and fell head over heels for being in the classroom. 

I've considered starting a separate "teacher" blog or turning this one into a more education-specific place. That's not how my life is, though. There is not one clear, tidy space for my professional life and another for my personal life. I don't think I'm alone here. As an educator, I'm always thinking about what my students need, how can I change, add to, rearrange what I am doing to better serve them. So, there will be more posts about my thoughts on teaching, the education system, wonderful children's books, and the like right alongside stories about our travels, wedding planning, and terrier ennui (It's real and it's hilarious.)

Thanks for being interested in my whatever. 

P.S. I'm totally a broken record, I know, but listen to podcasts. Right now. There are so many good ones. Nightvale, Invisibilia, everything else from my one true love, NPR, Babble-On, (Fat Man on Batman, if you're into that kind of thing) Stuff You Missed in History Class. We live in a glorious time of free audio nerdiness. 

Full

Well, student-teaching got the best of the blog.

I will say, if something had to halt my hopes for a successful blog, this was a good interference. I spent four stressful, exciting, wonderful, confidence-building months teaching and learning in a second grade classroom. If it were up to me, I'd still be there. Alas, finishing my master's degree had to take precedent. Hey, by the way, I have my master's degree. That's pretty awesome and since I couldn't stay on another semester in second grade I was fortunate to find another great opportunity before I apply for actual teaching positions this summer. I'm now a teaching assistant in the 4/5 classroom at a local charter school. The initial few weeks were full with finalizing things for school and preparing to leave for Christmas with our families in addition to learning about my new position. I'm excited to challenge myself with this new job. It allows me to work with a different age group than in my student-teaching experience and in a school with a different set-up.

What I look forward to most though, is finally earning a classroom of my own. I get so excited looking at activities and projects on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. I think about all the magical books I have (thanks in huge part to an unbelievably generous aunt) for eager students to explore. Maybe I'll eat my words someday, but right now I can't wait to be busy going over student work and preparing lesson plans. I love that kind of busy.

While the blog has been silent, I've been busy with a few non-job items. We've continued planning the wedding. We have a date, a venue, a bridal party, and a continuing argument about the playlist. I found a dress over a trip to Kansas City for Thanksgiving. It's exactly what I hoped to find and didn't cost as much as a car! So far, wedding planning has gone very smoothly. I hope the planning continues to be this peaceful.

 I'm going to do my best to breathe life back into this blog.

Name Changes

I suppose there needs to be a small change made here in blog land. Boyfriend's title is no longer entirely accurate. The best way to describe him now is Fiance. That's right, after five years together, three states, a pup, and buying a house he and decided to make it official. We're pretty jazzed.

We'll be tying the knot (jumping the broom, getting hitched, and other assorted euphemisms) in Kansas City next summer. I'll have a brand new (easier for kiddos to pronounce) name just in time to be teacher all on my own. Hooray!