A Profile on Erin Pleiman

By Joe Luken

August, 2009.  My dad comes home from work and hands me a folded piece of paper.  It is the schedule for my Freshman year at Lloyd Memorial High School.  I look it over and am pleased:  Gym, English, Social Studies, Math, Spanish and Science.  Not too bad, I think.  Science isn't my favorite class, so maybe I can take a nap at the end of the day from time to time.  Boy was I wrong.

            Over the course of that school year, and plus the following two, not only would I barely get ANY sleep in science class, but I would come to immensely learn from and respect Mrs. Erin Pleiman.

            Mrs. Pleiman started at Lloyd the same year I did, although as I soon found out, this was definitely NOT her first rodeo.  She had taught for many years at Dayton High School in Dayton, Kentucky.  As was earlier stated, I came to respect Mrs. Pleiman, something from her students that is of much importance to her.

            Mrs. Hodges, a Social Studies teacher at Lloyd taught with Mrs. Pleiman at Dayton said, "There wasn't a lot of respect for teachers from the students.  There wasn't much administrative support either."  Thus the decision to look for another teaching position and as Mrs. Pleiman has put it, "I just felt like it was my time to go."  From a recommendation from Mrs. Bryson, a Math teacher at Lloyd, Mrs. Pleiman applied at Lloyd and passed the word onto Mrs. Hodges.

            When asked about what it was that made Mrs. Pleiman appealing to Lloyd, Mr. Riehemann (Lloyd's Principal) said, "It was Dayton's good recommendation because that's what I take the most stock in more than anything.  If I interview someone, I know them for two hours and they tell me only what they want, but if someone I already know tells me about someone they've worked with, then I get years worth of information that is much more in depth and in the same two hours."

            This is when my path crosses with Mrs. Pleiman's; with me walking down first hall and into room ten.  From then on, Mrs. Pleiman was my only Science teacher until my Senior year when I ran out of classes to take that she taught.  She has taught three Science classes at Lloyd:  Integrated, Biology and Special Topics in Environmental Science.  With all of these classes, Mrs. Pleiman has taught a large percentage of the school, from basic to honors and from Freshman to Seniors.  "That's my favorite part," she says.  "Being able to have students multiple years and watch them grow educationally and personally, I just love it."

            Mrs. Pleiman has many positive things to say about everyone here at Lloyd, "The diversity of students here was a big draw to me.  Plus, you all are very accepting of other students, I haven't seen as much of that ever before in a student body.  As I graciously accepted that compliment on behalf of the student, Mrs. Pleiman carried on about the teachers and other staff members. "I love the staff.  I transitioned very well into place because of staff suggestions and their helpfulness.  The staff prepares the students very well because of how well prepared the staff is by the administration."  While she continued, she made clear that she is NOT trying to "bash" Dayton.  "This is a very professional environment.  The administration takes care of the teachers and will do absolutely whatever they can to help us teachers out, letting us focus on really the most important thing, which is teaching.  This is definitely the best staff I've ever worked with.

            When I asked about Mrs. Pleiman's move from Dayton to Lloyd, Mrs. Hodges said, "She was excited.  The shift was a bit challenging, but.  With the move, she finally wanted to feel needed, wanted and appreciated."

            Well, Mrs. Pleiman, I hope that your experiences here at Lloyd over the last four years have been what you wanted, which is exactly what you rightfully deserve.

Tips from Dr.Love

By Brandon Love

·         Floss between your teeth, not across due to the fact you won’t get the nasty out. Because you’ll give the bad first impression.

·         Be organized the whole school year to get that C average… Cause you can. I believe in you.

·         Lock your car, especially at the Wal-Mart… ‘nuff said

·         In school, take out the make out because no one wants to see that

·         Turn the phone on silent, nobody wants to hear your clever jingles

·         Don’t roller skate in a buffalo heard, because buffalos are huge!

·         Hide yo kids and hide yo wives, and hide yo husbands, ‘cause that’s a great game

·         Stay Classy…

The Tatler Meets the Reds at Media Day

by Sarah Rudd and Staci Stewart


Catcher Devin Mesoraco

On Wednesday, May 2, Sarah Rudd, Staci Stewart and Mrs. Brady attended Reds Media Day at The Great American Ballpark. We met with the head media director Rob Butcher and found out what he does on a daily basis. Butcher’s job is to keep up with lineups and stats. Even though he does not personally keep tally of the stats, there are designated people who do, marking down every single pitch thrown in a game, but when he gets the stats he goes beyond his requirements and keeps his own books on the pitchers’ and hitters’ records. “My favorite part,” he said, “is knowing that what I do affects what happens on the field and that every day is something different.”

Butcher said he spends about eight months with the players out of the year. There are five media workers at any given time; Butcher has two assistants and hires two interns every year. Even though the interns only get paid minimum wage, he said it’s crazy to see how many actually apply for the job. A good candidate for the job can speak Spanish well and has a background in journalism. Butcher admits that being a media director is a very competitive industry. If he were to quit today, he says, there would be hundreds of applications sent in for his job. “The only downfall with this job is that I’m away from home about 150 days out of the year,” he adds.

One of the advantages of going to Media Day was our opportunity to view the Red’s batting practice. We also met Brandon Phillips. The Reds played the Cubs that night but fell short with a 3-1 loss.



Brandon Phillips seconds before sending the ball into the stands

 



Sarah and Staci, ready for their closeup at the press conference table

 

First baseman Joey Votto




 





Why the World Might End in 2012...and Why It Might Not

by Tony Otten

theindiepedant.com

Humans have spent heaps of time and kilowatts of brainpower in giving a name to the Great End of everything that is known: Armageddon, the Apocalypse, Judgment Day, the Rapture, the Big Crunch, Doomsday, Tax Day, and Thanksgiving (turkeys only). What most don’t realize today is that an end-of-the-world hysteria clutches the world every ten to twelve years—and obviously, for this cycle to be noticeable, these panics have to be false. Harold Camping, a California radio-preacher with a devoted following, predicted the world would end in 1988, 1994, May 2011 and, finally, October 2011. The only disaster that happened was that Camping had a stroke last June, which probably led to his prediction for October.

            I am a skeptic myself as to whether anyone can know when the world will end, and would be perfectly happy to live and let live if the antics of some Doomsday believers weren’t so troubling. A man in New York City spent his entire life savings of $140,000 on advertisements for Camping’s May 2011 prophecy. Online “survivor” stores are selling Armageddon gear and solar-powered hippie-ovens like the proverbial hotcakes. A reality show called Doomsday Preppers now documents the lives of these believers on the National Geographic Channel. Most of the frenzy is based around the Mayan Prophecy for December 2012, when the ancient calendar cuts off. Despite much mockery of the prediction, millions are still troubled, and even suicidal, over the upcoming date. I have to ask, though: do any of these 2012-believers take other Mayan customs seriously? Do they think they can cause rain by offering up a jaguar’s heart on an altar, or keep the sun in the sky by sacrificing humans to a hungry idol? If they don’t, they need to question their beliefs; if they do, they need to be arrested, for cripes’ sakes.

            While I don’t trust the Mayan panic, I do have a few suggestions for more practical reasons that the world will end. Just to be fair and balanced, I included a few reasons it won’t.

Why We Will All Face Death in the Coming Year:

—Kim Kardashian and her 72-day husband start a reality show about their divorce trial.

—Either Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, or Newt Gingrich has oozed his way into the President’s chair.

—Lions Gate Entertainment announces they are cancelling all sequels to The Hunger Games movie because they made enough money off the first one.

—Lloyd’s 2012 seniors pick “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey as their class song.

Why the End-of-the-World Talk is All a Bunch of Woo-Woo:

—The Mayans couldn’t even see their own end coming. What makes you think they could see ours?

—Jersey Shore’s Snooki hasn’t had her baby yet, and we’re all waiting to see if the kid comes out tanned and sporting eyeliner.

—Anchorman 2 starring Will Ferrell hasn’t come out yet. (Oh, wait—that might be a good reason for the world to end. Let’s go, Mayans.)

Hillbillies, Unite!

by Kelsey Nunn

Hillbilly, white trash, hick, redneck. We’ve all heard these terms. “Oh, you’re from Kentucky, why don’t you have an accent?” The term hillbilly is a derogatory term that refers to the people of Appalachia, and the lovely stereotypes that come along with this term. Overalls, no teeth, drink moonshine, or socially backward are all stereotypes of the common hillbilly. The term hillbilly came about during the Great Depression when many people from the Appalachian region moved west to find work, only to find out that their culture was vastly different from the people of cities like Detroit and Chicago. While other parts of the country were becoming technologically and socially advanced, their area stayed the same. Soon, TV shows, like The Beverly Hillbillies, were making these differences public, causing people from the Appalachian area to seem poor and ignorant.

            Some people from Eastern Kentucky still live up to these stereotypes.  The population in Appalachia still remains very poor, only relying on logging, mining, and illegal moonshining to make a living.  Kentucky also ranks 50^th in the nation for the number of adults who cannot read. 60% of the counties in Eastern Kentucky are consistently poor. The unemployment rate is 45%, leaving many people to rely on welfare or other federal aid, or the selling of prescription drugs, to survive. Poor dental hygiene and diabetes are prevalent.

            Despite these alarming facts, the Appalachian region of Kentucky has developed since the Great Depression. Some parts may still remain undeveloped, and many areas in Pikeville have yet to be established. Regardless, we should be proud of our state and our heritage. We have attractions like Lake Cumberland, Mammoth Cave, and the Red River Gorge. Our state is known for bourbon, whiskey, mint juleps, horse racing, and college basketball. The Wildcats, Hilltoppers, and Cardinals are among the most tradition-rich college basketball teams in the US, with a combined 9 championships, and 22 NCAA National Championships. Even though people from Kentucky are often stereotyped as hillbillies, we still share a common heritage we can all be proud of.

Hail to the Chief: Little Known Facts on our Nation's Leaders

by Keith Wagner

Every president has something to hide. In honor of Presidents’ Day, here are some intriguing facts.

George Washington was the only president ever to win office with no opponent. He also had only one real tooth, at times wearing dentures of various materials such as human teeth, animal teeth, ivory, or lead. Never wood. Guess his dentist had to draw a line.

Andrew Jackson, from Tennessee, was the only president to have been a prisoner of war, and was wounded in a duel at age 39. Beat a would-be assassin to death in the Capitol Rotunda after the assailant’s gun failed to fire.

Chester Arthur, a man about town, entertained lavishly and enjoyed going to nightclubs. “I may be President of the United States,” he once said, “but my private life is my own damn business.”

Teddy Roosevelt had the teddy bear named after him. He lost his sight in one eye while boxing at the White House.

Ronald Reagan was the first president to be divorced.

Barack Obama’s mother was from Kansas, his father from Kenya. Does not like ice cream because he worked in an ice cream shop as a teenager. Collects Spiderman and Conan the Barbarian comic books.

If you would like to read the rest: then follow this link http://www.littleknownfactsshow.com/presidents.html

Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?

By Ajae Tyler

  

In the early ‘60s and even before that, there was no unity among races.  If it was not for Martin Luther King, Jr. we would still be going to different schools based on our skin color.

King was a strong leader, a person who believed in peace and justice to win more freedom for African Americans. We honor his birthday on the third Monday in January.

Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929. Early in his adult life, he became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL. He soon became a member of the NAACP and led the bus boycott that ended segregation in public transportation.

From 1957-1968, he traveled six million miles and spoke over 25,000 times, with one massive protest in Birmingham, AL.

King is most famous for his seventeen-minute “I Have a Dream” speech that he delivered on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. In it he called for “racial equality and an end to discrimination.”

Dr. King died from an assassin’s bullet on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, TN while standing on the balcony of his hotel room.  Even though his life came to an abrupt end, he died fighting for what and who he believed in.

The legacy of Dr. King lives in each of us, and we are responsible to promote, teach and live the American dream he envisioned.

The Annual Emergence of Debbie Downer

By Ellen Woodward

            As the winter months come upon us, people often feel a little more depressed and less carefree and exuberant as they had been in the previous summer and spring months. But why? 

            Scientists don’t have an exact answer to that question.  It is thought to be an involvement of genetics, brain chemicals and ions in the air.  Some studies have shown that people who are suffering from Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD), or seasonal depression, feel better after significant exposure to sunlight.  This makes sense due to the shorter hours of sunlight in the winter.

            To fight winter depression, try to enjoy the time of day when the sun is out.  Also, think about socializing and exercising as much as possible, and find activities that will get you out of the house and reduce the risk of developing “cabin fever.”

Would You Like a Report Card or a Pink Slip? A Look at Merit Pay

by Tony Otten
With the economy still sore and countries such as China, India and South (but not North!) Korea rocketing ahead of the U.S. in academics, many states are looking for ways to boost test scores and cut costs at the same time. A few, including Florida, are pushing to put a “merit pay” system in place in schools—mostly this means that teachers would be paid according to what grades their students make, and principals would earn money based on their school’s ranking.

The system might sound strange, but because many states are strapped for cash, it could become a reality. In Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, legislators are putting forth bills that would take away the rights of teachers’ unions (among others) to make deals for salary, working hours and benefits. This would leave teachers unable to have much say in what they make or how their pay is calculated. Some states, mostly with Tea Party governors, believe merit pay will keep teachers on their toes and force them into making their students successful. But is it fair? That was my survey’s subject.

Instead of interviewing students for this poll, I talked to teachers and school staff—after all, it’s their livelihood at stake. 66% of the teachers said no to merit pay; 33% said yes. However, the ones that answered yes said they would only consider supporting merit pay if the plans were fair and well thought-out, rather than a type of teacher-punishment; no one I spoke to felt very positive about a hard-and-fast system of “If Bobby makes an A, I get $50,000 this year; but if Bobby gets an F, I have to hide my car from the repo man and eat SPAM for six months.”

I can definitely see a teacher’s point of view on this—yes, they want their country to succeed, and yes, they want to prove themselves as hard workers, but no, they don’t want their pay determined by somebody who can’t spell contraception, much less use it.

Governors have no business sinking their teeth into education when most of them were mediocre students themselves—even if they did (like a certain former president) go to Yale. Before they get to decide how much teachers get paid, they should have to be a substitute teacher for one week—oh, and they can’t teach gym class, and they’re not allowed to bring duct tape or a Taser with them into the classroom, even if they beg.

I think even having this argument is ridiculous. If Congress banned earmarks (those trusty blocks of fine print that sent Billions-with-a-B to their pet projects every year), then the U.S. would have so much extra money it could double teachers’ salaries, let them keep their unions, and attract new, high-powered college graduates into education, when they would normally look for jobs with higher pay.

 

But wait! Congress screams. We can’t do that!  How will we pay the psychics we use to predict terrorist attacks? How will we research pond algae in Connecticut cemeteries for $6 million? And for the love of God, how will we survive if we don’t have environmentally-sound spoons in the Capitol Hill cafeteria? To them I say, That’s tough. (These examples are all real, by the way). It comes down to the old maxim—You get what you pay for.

Plus, those spoons melt in the chili, anyway.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally supposed to appear in a March 2011 Tatler, but just didn’t “make it.”