The "Not Motown" 30-Song Tribute Challenge

Day 1: A Song About Needing Someone's Loving: The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody

Day 2: A Song About Being Together Someday: Dire Straits - So Far Away

Day 3: A Song About Deadbeat Dads: Jane's Addiction - Had A Dad

Day 4: A Song About Hearing Rumors Through The Grapevine: Timex Social Club - Rumours

Day 5: A Song About The Brokenhearted: Jackson Browne - In The Shape Of A Heart

Day 6: A Song By A Group Comprised Of Siblings: The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Day 7: A Song About Balls Of Confusion: Cracker - Teen Angst

Day 8: A Song About Doing Something In The Name Of Love: 10cc - The Things We Do For Love

Day 9: A Song About Jazz Royalty: Duke Ellington - It Don't Mean A Thing

Day 10: A Song About My Girl or My Guy: Traveling Wilburys - She's My Baby

Day 11: A Song About Reaching Out For Someone: Solomon Burke - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love

Day 12: A Song About A Runaway Imagination: Judy Garland - Over The Rainbow

Day 13: A Song About Getting It On: Brigitte Bardot & Serge Gainsbourg - Je t'aime ... oui non plus 

Day 14: A Song About Brick Houses: Roy Orbison - Oh, Pretty Woman

Day 15: A Song Asking About Something Going On: Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth

Day 16: A Song About Not Being Too Proud To Beg: KC & The Sunshine Band - Please Don't Go

Day 17: A Song About Postmen (Or Postwomen): The Box Tops - The Letter

Day 18: A Song About Wanting Money: Mary Chapin Carpenter - I Feel Lucky

Day 19: A Song About Shopping Around: Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealing

Day 20: An Anti-War (What Is It Good For?) Song: Bob Dylan - Masters Of War

Day 21: A Song About Superstitions: Doris Day - The Superstition Song

Day 22: A Song About Dancing In The Streets: The Tractors - Baby Likes To Rock It

Day 23: A Song About Higher Ground: Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill

Day 24: A Song About Getting A Witness: Grand Funk Railroad - Some Kind Of Wonderful

Day 25: A Song By A Girl Group: The Crystals - Then He Kissed Me

Day 26: A Song About Clowns: Judy Garland - Be A Clown / Once In A Lifetime

Day 27: A Song Asking If Someone Loves You: Chaim Topol & Norma Crane (from Fiddler on the Roof) - Do You Love Me?

Day 28: A Song About Hurrying Love: Janet Jackson - Let's Wait Awhile

Day 29: A Song About Wanting Someone Back: Prince - Nothing Compares 2 U

Day 30: A Motown Song Covered By Another Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Heard It Through The Grapevine

The "NOT by Weird Al Yankovic" 30-Song Tribute Challenge

Day 1: A Song About Food: Ben Folds Five - She Don't Like Jelly

Day 2: A Song About The Medical Profession: Robert Palmer - Bad Case Of Loving You

Day 3: A Song Based On A Headline News Story: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Ohio

Day 4: A Song About A Tourist Attraction: The New Vaudeville Band - Winchester Cathedral

Day 5: A Song About Dinosaurs: Was (Not Was) - Walk The Dinosaur

Day 6: A Song About (Or From) A 1960s TV Show: Little Roger & The Goosebumps - Stairway to Gilligan's Island

Day 7: A Song About Superheroes: Spin Doctors - Jimmy Olsen's Blues

Day 8: A Song About Crimes (Words or Otherwise): The Steve Miller Band - Take The Money And Run

Day 9: A Song About Nuclear War: The Fixx - Red Skies

Day 10: A Song About The Internet: Britney Spears - E-mail My Heart

Day 11: A Song About Daring To Be Stupid: Garbage - Stupid Girl

Day 12: A Song About Bad Relationships: PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me

Day 13: A Song About Stalking: The Nylons - Silhouettes

Day 14: A Song About The "Good Old Days": Bruce Springsteen - Glory Days

Day 15: A Song Featuring An Accordion: Paul Simon - The Boy In The Bubble

Day 16: A Song About A Place With A Ridiculously Long Name: The Four Lads - Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

Day 17: A Song About Pentiums And Computers: Prince & The Revolution - Computer Blue

Day 18: A Song That Includes Celebrity Name Drops: Phil Ochs - Love Me, I'm A Liberal

Day 19: A Song About A Vocation (Plumbing, HVAC, etc.): Styx - Blue Collar Man

Day 20: A Song About Horror Films: Deep Purple - Why Didn't Rosemary?

Day 21: A Original Of A Song "Weird Al" Has Parodied: The Knack - My Sharona

Day 22: A Polka!: Frank Yankovic - The Pennsylvania Polka

Day 23: A Song About Being Trapped In A Late-Night Situation: Roy Orbison - I Drove All Night

Day 24: A Song About The Television Industry: Don Henley - Dirty Laundry

Day 25: A Song About Shopping: The Clash - Love In The Supermarket

Day 26: A Parody Song By Another Artist: The Rutles - Get Up And Go

Day 27: A Song About Being Nerdy: Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science

Day 28: A Movie Song By An Artist Who Was Also A Lead In That Film: Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling In Love

Day 29: A Song About A Paradise Of Some Sort: Phil Collins - Another Day In Paradise

Day 30: A Song That Takes Place A Long, Long Time Ago (In A Galaxy Far Away): Nerf Herder - I'm The Droid (You're Looking For)

The “NOT By Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band” 30-Song Tribute Challenge

Day 1: A Song About Going To Katmandu (Or Another Capital City): Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London

Day 2: A Song About Someone UMC (Upper Middle Class): Dire Straits - Money For Nothing

Day 3: A Song About Taking Chances: Mary Chapin Carpenter - I Feel Lucky

Day 4: A Song About A Rite Of Passage: Meat Loaf - Paradise By The Dashboard Lights

Day 5: A Song About Being Dumped By A Lover: Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way

Day 6: A Song About A Lonesome Stretch Of Grey Highway: Blackfoot - Highway Song

Day 7: A Song About Being A Brave Stranger: Frank Sinatra - Strangers In The Night

Day 8: A Song About Making Automobiles (For Example, Thunderbirds): The Dead Milkmen - Bitchin’ Camaro

Day 9: A Song About Ramblin’, Gamblin’ Men (Or Women): Suzanne Vega - No Cheap Thrill

Day 10: A Song By Bo Diddley (had to adjust it because it’s damn near impossible to find songs ABOUT specific blues artists): Bo Diddley - Road Runner / Mona

Day 11: A Song About Ain’t Having No Money: Cyndi Lauper - Money Changes Everything

Day 12: A Song About A One-Night Stand: The Four Seasons - December 1963 (Oh What A Night)

Day 13: A Song About Someone Strutting: RuPaul - Supermodel (You Better Work)

Day 14: A Song About “Heavy” Music: Dire Straits - Heavy Fuel

Day 15: A Song About Feeling Like A Number: John Lennon - Working Class Hero

Day 16: A Song About Beautiful Losers: Steely Dan - Deacon Blues

Day 17: A Song About Running (Against The Wind): Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Runnin’ Down A Dream

Day 18: A Song About Getting Out Of Denver (Or Another City): Sheryl Crow - Leaving Las Vegas

Day 19: A Song About A Fire Burning Inside You: Blue Oyster Cult - Burnin’ For You

Day 20: A Song About Being On The Road (Again): Jackson Browne - The Load Out

Day 21: A Song About Sightseeing: Paul Simon - Graceland

Day 22: A Song About Working On Mysteries Without Any Clues: Roy Orbison - She’s A Mystery To Me

Day 23: A Song Taking Place On A Main Street: Doobie Brothers - Taking It To The Streets

Day 24: A Song About Being Strong (Like a Rock): Bryan Ferry - Is Your Love Strong Enough

Day 25: A Song About Bopping (Horizontally Or Otherwise): Nylons - Bop ‘Til You Drop

Day 26: A Song About Life In The Hills Of Hollywood: Weezer - Beverly Hills

Day 27: A Song About Old Time Rock ‘n Roll: The Who - Long Live Rock

Day 28: A Song About Shaking Someone Down: Peter Gabriel and Youssou N’Dour - Shaking The Tree

Day 29: A Song That Uses Mathematical Equations: The Beatles - Come Together

Day 30: A Song About Detroit: Gil Scott-Heron - We Almost Lost Detroit

The "NOT by Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band" 30-Song Tribute Challenge

Day 1: A Song About Labor Unions: The Simpsons - They Have The Plant, But We Have The Power (The Power Plant Strike Song)

Day 2: A Song About Depressed Communities: James Taylor - Our Town

Day 3: A Song About Atlantic City: The Drifters - Under The Boardwalk

Day 4: A Song About Rivers: Bruce Hornsby and The Range - Across The River

Day 5: A Song By Pete Seeger: Pete Seeger - What Did You Learn In School Today?

Day 6: A Song About Someone Named Mary: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Mary’s New Car

Day 7: A Song About July 4: Aimee Mann - 4th of July

Day 8: A Song About State Troopers: Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name

Day 9: A Song About The Viet Nam War: Country Joe & The Fish - The “I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die” Rag

Day 10: A Song About Running: Pharrell Williams - Runnin’

Day 11: A Song About Cadillacs: Camper Van Beethoven - Joe Stalin's Cadillac

Day 12: A Song About (Back) Streets: Peter Gabriel - Mercy Street

Day 13: A Song About Immigrants: Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song

Day 14: A Song About The Criminal Underworld: Theme from The Godfather

Day 15: A Political Song: Mira Awad and Noa - There Must Be Another Way

Day 16: A Song About Hungry Hearts: T’Pau - Heart and Soul

Day 17: A Song About Highway Wrecks: Roy Acuff - Wreck On The Highway

Day 18: A Song About Disguises (Brilliant or Otherwise): Debbie Gibson - Love in Disguise

Day 19: A Song About New Jersey: Ella Fitzgerald - Jersey Bounce

Day 20: A Song About The American Land: Ray Charles - America the Beautiful

Day 21: A Song About Growing Up: Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band - Night Moves

Day 22: A Song About Dancing: King Harvest - Dancing In The Moonlight

Day 23: A Song About A Hometown: The Michael Stanley Band - My Town

Day 24: A Song About A (Seaside) Bar: Dick The Bruiser Band - Bars

Day 25: A Song About Not Surrendering: Queen featuring David Bowie - Under Pressure

Day 26: A Song With Biblical References or Connotations: The Hooters - All You Zombies

Day 27: A Song With A Saxophone Solo: Supertramp - The Logical Song

Day 28: A Song About A Minimum Wage Worker: Huey Lewis and The News - Workin’ For A Living

Day 29: A Song About Looking (But Not Touching): The Tubes - She’s A Beauty

Day 30: A Motown Song: Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted?

The "NOT by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers" 30-Song Tribute Challenge

Day 1: A Song About the American South: Gladys Knight and the Pips, Midnight Train to Georgia

Day 2: A Song About The Great Wide Open: Noa (Achinoam Nini) - Space

Day 3: A Song About Running Down Dreams: Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream

Day 4: A Song About A High School Dance: The Sylvers - High School Dance

Day 5: A Song About A Road Trip: Weird Al Yankovic - The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota

Day 6: A Song About Waiting: The Rolling Stones - Waiting On A Friend

Day 7: A Song About A Good Girl: Meat Loaf - Good Girls Go To Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)

Day 8: A Song About Artistic Freedom: Frank Zappa - Porn Wars

Day 9: A Song Set In A Lounge, Bar, or Saloon: Barry Manilow - Copacabana

Day 10: A Song About Minimum Wage Jobs: Mary Chaplin Carpenter - He Thinks He’ll Keep Her

Day 11: A Song About Flying: Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly

Day 12: A Song With Parenthesis (As Part Of The Title): Digable Planets - Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

Day 13: A Song About Buried Treasure: Grant-Lee Phillips - Buried Treasure

Day 14: An Acoustic Song: Kansas - Dust In The Wind

Day 15: A Song Featuring A Sitar: Donovan - Hurdy Gurdy Man

Day 16: A TP/TPATH Song Covered By Another Artist: Johnny Cash - Southern Accents

Day 17: A Song About Disc Jockeys: Donald Fagen - The Nightfly

Day 18: A Song That Includes Celebrity Name Drops: Madonna - Vogue

Day 19: A Song About Smoking Cigarettes or Staring At The Moon: Siouxsie and The Banshees - Nicotine Stain

Day 20: A Song About Mary Jane: Cypress Hill & Sonic Youth - I Love You Mary Jane

Day 21: A Song That Tells A Story: Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Day 22: A Song About Apartments: Lana Del Rey - Mariners Apartment Complex

Day 23: A Spoken Word Song: Gil Scott-Heron - Work For Peace

Day 24: A Song About Taking On The Establishment : Public Enemy - Fight The Power

Day 25: A Song About Royalty: Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing

Day 26: A Song About Rebels: Allan Sherman - The Rebel

Day 27: A Song About Gunslingers: The Theme from “ Rawhide”

Day 28: A Song About (Crashing) Planes, (Runaway) Trains, or (Mary’s New) Automobiles: Soul Asylum - Runaway Train

Day 29: A Song About Being Stupid And In Love: Willie Nelson - Crazy

Day 30: A Song By A Fellow Wilbury: George Harrison - Give Me Love

The Spirit of Debate

OK, I'm proud as hell of all my past and present debaters, from my 2020 grads to those that were part of my 2000 South Fork debate coaching indoctrination, and everyone in between. And all are unique, in their own way. But I need to talk about the singularly most unique student I've had the honor of coaching: MiaBeth Rose Gorodetzer-Edelman.

MiaBeth came into the program four years ago from a private school with what I will describe as an extreme case of "I'm not a public speaker" syndrome. Carrie McDaniel and Connor Yeackley tag-teamed her at an incoming freshman class showcase, while I discussed debate with her mom, Jo Gorodetzer. By the end of the evening, both were convinced that taking debate would be a good option.

But that's not what makes MiaBeth unique.

MiaBeth came into the program not only with a lack of public speaking skills, but with a religious background that would prevent her from competing on weekends (and tourneys account for 40% of the grade). No matter, we found a way to get her credit, through allowance by our local middle school league to let her compete on Wednesdays after school, volunteering at Wellington Landings Middle School with Christopher K Cartagena, participating in School Duel and Academic Games, and other such ventures. MiaBeth earned A's every semester in debate. And as a bonus, she was able to compete at our Florida Oceanfront National Speech and Debate Association Congressional Debate national qualifiers, because those tournaments took place on Fridays and did not conflict with the Jewish Sabbath.

That's not what makes MiaBeth unique, either.

Today, MiaBeth had the opportunity to compete at the NSDA Senior Open, a pre-nationals tournament set up to allow seniors across the US who did not qualify for nationals to have one last chance for competition, due to the cancellation of numerous tournaments because of the COVID-19 virus. MiaBeth could compete because the interpretation events were recorded in advance, so she was able to do a 10-minute-long Program Oral Interpretation program on war and veterans ... even though the tourney was on a Saturday and she would not be an active participant during the actual competition.

Today I had the chance to finally watch her video performance, which used the poetry The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Where Broken Soldiers Go by Michael Anderson, and The Last of the Light Brigade by Rudyard Kipling, along with scripts from M*A*S*H, articles from The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, and music by The Cranberries. Because of distance learning, she essentially put together the program on her own, with minimal assistance from me. And she made it work. She didn't advance to the Sunday showcase, but that's ok. It was her first time competing in an "acting" event, and her first time at a national-level tournament. And it is amazing to me that of all my Class of 2020 students, it would be MiaBeth who would be the last one to compete at a tournament.

MiaBeth was honored at our Virtual DeBanquet this week with the Spirit of Debate Golden Gavel, a singularly unique award I present annually to a student in my program who represents all that is good in debate, who represent the NSDA honor code, who assist me in various capacities (often without being prompted), and of which NSDA points and trophies do not factor into the coach's decision. MiaBeth was a no-brainer for the award. She stayed with debate because she enjoyed the activity; winning at tournaments was never an issue, because she couldn't actually compete on weekends. Trophies were never an issue, for the same reason. MiaBeth participated in the classroom, she researched, she assisted other students with argumentation and outlining, she cross-examined, she craved information about different events, and she exuded confidence and self-representation. And while many other students might have stayed with debate regardless of whether they took home accolades, MiaBeth is the only one who participated knowing this was never really an option.

I constantly tell my program that, while trophies and winning are nice, they're not the most important thing. MiaBeth personified this attitude infinitely.

And that's what makes her unique among the hundreds of students that have been a part of my program the past 18 years.

Virtual Ending

Today endeth my 18th year teaching at Wellington High School. Not with a celebration, but with a thud.

The past 11 weeks have been, to be honest, exhausting beyond belief. I've felt like a first-year teacher in so many ways, and what's scary is I'm fairly tech-savvy. But like my peers, and our students, I've had to relearn and reinvent the wheel, sometimes daily, in order to try and offer some semblance of a positive educational experience to close out 2019-20.

Eleven weeks. Seventy-seven days.

This paradigm shift has been stressful for educators, students, and their families in a plethora of ways. Between hoping the Internet works and having enough computers, to juggling financial responsibilities, to learning to prioritize academic challenges differently, to in some cases moving to other areas of the state or nation, to the stress and/or monotony of being quarantined, to restructuring lesson plans and teaching methods, it's been one hell of a way to acclimate to the new world order.

This pandemic has brought out the best in my profession, and I am so very proud of my peers (at Wellington and across the nation) who have stepped up to the plate and made solid attempts at a positive learning experience. It's been more time consuming than the usual routine, and there's been many a morning I dreaded firing up the computer, because I just didn't have anything meaningful or new to discuss that day. (Or maybe I did, but just didn't feel like it was there that day.)

It's been doubly challenging on my end, because (and I've not mentioned this on Facebook at all) I've spent most of this time at my mother's Boca Raton condo, serving as a caregiver of sorts after she had an emergency appendectomy on March 25. So taking on distance learning while simultaneously working to help plan and coordinate my mom's post-surgery nursing and PT/OT appointments, shopping, cooking meals, paying her bills, and so much more, was an interesting and at times stressful process. (It also included multiple calls/texts daily to family and a few of mom's close friends over the two weeks she was in the hospital and rehab, during which time I was not allowed to visit due to the virus.) BTW, mom is doing great now! (And on the plus side, no food poisoning as a result of my cooking! Yay!)

Despite this, I think the most difficult part of this endeavor has been the lack of personal contact. I'm an introvert by nature, but usually I sequester myself in my condo by choice. I've missed seeing my fellow teachers in the hallways, the courtyard, the office, the teacher's lounge. I've missed seeing my students - yes, even the PITAs who make what's left of my hair fall out. I've missed interacting with other human beings. I've missed proctoring exams (OK, that's a lie, lol). I've missed seeing and working with my debate coach peers from other schools on weekends. And I've missed ... just the benign normality of life before COVID.

Wednesday night was my debate program's end-of-year Virtual DeBanquet and Senior Celebration. Yesterday was my last day teaching virtually. And I feel like a part of me will never find closure from this year. I cried May 18 when, after being allowed a three-hour window on the WHS campus for the first time in what seems like ages to close 4-104 down for the summer, I turned off the lights to an empty room and walked down an empty, dark hallway to exit the campus until August. I laughed and cried during the banquet's superlative announcements and senior speeches (especially during Jordyn Bergman's speech). I cried again, silently, after my last Google Meet class concluded yesterday. To paraphrase Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, "The end of this school year was like having part of me amputated. I've heard that old men wake up and scratch itchy legs that been dust for over fifty years. That was me.”

So here I am ... with grades submitted and an online faculty meeting Monday morning, and virtual commencement that evening, to try and bring some semblance of closure to a year where none really seems possible. It's not the way my students wanted to end the year. I know it's not the way the Class of 2020 wanted to wrap things up. But it is what it is. And my peers and I will come back refreshed and stronger in the fall, ready to take on whatever challenges face us. I salute you, my educational warriors. You mean the world to me.