NONCONSANGUINEOUS

Is that not the most awesome word ever?  Wanna guess what it means?  I guessed and I got it right.  I'll give you a minute to think back to high school Latin class or SAT prep.

Have you figured it out yet?

All that really means is not inbred.  Seriously.  It refers to a reproducing couple who are not closely related biologically.  I stumbled across it when I was casually researching ichthyosis and self-healing collodion babies (this stuff).  Really fascinating.  Here's a link to the definition of consanguinity (inbreeding, of course) and a short essay on its occurrence in cultures and effects on offspring.  Really, really interesting.  It's like medicine and genetics and sociology all wrapped up into one.  It makes me wish I'd paid more attention in Francois' SOCI 10 class.

BTW, one of the best parts of that second link is all the way at the bottom:  Questions To Ask Your Doctor About Consanguinity – Inbreeding:  Why is consanguinity undesirable?  What are the genetic risks in this case?  Is there a likelihood of birth defects?  Should a genetic counselor be involved?

Do you think doctor-patient confidentiality covers stuff like that?  Oh, and by the way, did you read the part where it said that offspring of double-first cousins (like when two brothers procreate with two sisters and those kids have offspring of their own) have the same genetics-based probability of birth defects as offspring of a half-sister and a half-brother?  Please tell me they only did mathematics and didn't do any field research.

This stuff is CRAZY.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
School is going well, in case you were wondering.  I feel much more comfortable with things this year than I did last year.  I am more confident in my own abilities (though I could NOT get words out correctly today, and if only I had put a dime in a jar every time I said "okay" or "things like that"), and I feel a little more prepared.  I also am waaaayy more sure of myself as far as classroom management goes.  Don't tell anyone else that, though--it's super gauche to say you're good at classroom management.  It's like saying you know all there is to know about something.  Not only is there always more to learn, so you look like an idiot for thinking you know it all, but you also look like a jerk for being so confident in yourself in the first place.  Plus, you're pretty much just asking to be proven wrong.
 
Here's something that might not surprise you--we started a team blog today.  It's for our social studies classes.  They read online about current events and post their thoughts and reactions.  It's actually pretty cool.  The kids seemed to be enthusiastic about it, and it appears to be something they'll look forward to doing this year.  One of them even said to me, "This is so cool!  I just posted something, just like on Facebook!"  And gracious, if they compare it to Facebook, then you know that means it's a winner.  :-D