A is for Alphabiography Again

This is the last post of my 7th completed Alphabiography Challenge. Over the years I've done my writing in alphabetical order, reverse alphabetical order, and random order. One year, I challenged myself to find quotations as the life lessons, and in 2017, I wrote the ABCs of our new puppy, Lucy. 

This year the twist I chose was to find song lyrics to serve for each life lesson, and with a certain symmetry, I began and (almost) ended with the same song, "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. It was a fun month.

Life Lesson: A B C, It's easy as 1 2 3,  as simple as do re mi, A B C, 1 2 3, baby you and me. ~The Jackson 5 "ABC"

X is for X-roads

Every six months or so we have to change our passwords for our school accounts. It's been my practice for a while to pick a phrase that is hard to guess but easy for me to remember, and over the years my choices have definitely reflected my headspace: a few I have selected are thisisbullshit, bekindalways, and most recently rimtorim2025. 

But when I received the notification a couple of weeks ago that my password would expire in days, I ignored the warning, uncertain about the content of my next login. The prompt has come as I have been struggling with whether or not it is time to retire. 

As many things as I love about teaching, I can't do it forever. The job is well-known to be an enormous time suck, and balancing work and life (never that easy for me) has become much harder as I get older. Add to that a new curriculum, the addition of intensified classes, mandatory professional development on the science of reading, and an IB reauthorization, all happening next year, and it seems like this might be the time for a graceful exit.

And yet.

I have been a teacher for 31 years, literally half of my life. Teacher is a huge part of my identity, and to be honest, my world, and I am really, really good at it.

And, as many personal projects and activities as I have put on hold for lack of time and energy, sometimes lately I look around my house and wonder if my life will shrink to fit within its walls. Who will I talk to? Who will I spend time with? Those social interactions will no longer be built into my days, and as an introvert, seeking them out is not necessarily in my nature. Who will I be and what will I do if not teach sixth-grade English?

Recently it occurred to me that working full time makes it hard to consider the answers to such questions, and it will only be when I am forced by circumstances to consider them that I will find the answers. Of course that means retiring.

But back to my new password. After much consideration, I chose 4mynextact, and I think that kind of says it all.

Life Lesson: I've been afraid of changing 'cause I built my life around you. ~Fleetwood Mac "Landslide"

Z is for Zeit und Gedächtnis

One of my earliest memories is of a time when my parents and I were going to my aunt and uncle's for a cookout. My mom had baked a pie for us to bring along, but in the jumble of packing up a toddler and getting out the door, they left it on the kitchen counter. We were only a few blocks from home when they realized the oversight, and I remember the urgency in their voices. My mom made a quick right turn and then another and slowed to a stop in a place I had never seen. My dad jumped out of the car and ran down a hill. A minute later he returned with the pie. This dramatic crisis and its miraculous resolution have stayed with me ever since.

To this day I'm not quite sure where the shortcut my dad took is located, even though I have looked for it, most often when I find myself on that three-mile stretch of Rte 29 between my aunt and uncle's old place and the community of garden rowhouses where we lived. But I thought about that pie today when Heidi and I took 2-year-old Oliva out for a pizza lunch. 

We walked from her parents' townhouse over to a nearby restaurant, and on the way back we decided to take a different route. Our pathway took us on a little trail behind some of the buildings in their community, and Liv was interested in the crows and squirrels and flowers. She was absolutely stunned when we rounded a corner and entered their little courtyard. Clearly, she was clueless as to where we were, and the surprise made her giggle in delight.

I laughed, too, and I wondered for a moment if maybe that memory might still be with her in 60 years.

Life Lesson: Toast to the ones here today. Toast to the ones that we lost on the way, 'cause the drinks bring back all the memories, and the memories bring back, memories bring back you. ~Maroon 5 "Memories"

V is for the Verge

A student approached me nearly in tears ahead of his second interview for the personal profile piece he is working on. He is conscientious but lacks confidence, and the student he was assigned to interview was not being very forthcoming about her dancing. Seeing how upset he was, I walked over with him and began chatting her up myself, asking whether she would like to pursue a career as a dancer and if so, what sort? they both relaxed then, and he eagerly took over the interview as I stepped back.

I took the opportunity then to look over the class as they sat in pairs earnestly working to gather the information they needed to write this last assignment. The energy was subdued but unsettled. Which was hardly surprising for the Friday before Memorial day with just three more weeks of school left.

I circulated, nodding and offering encouragement or a brief follow-up question, focused more on holding everything together than anything else. At last, the bell rang, and they piled out in a jumble, off to their next classes.

I took a breath and prepared for the next group, already rumbling in the hallway outside my door. "C'mon in!" 

Life Lesson: In the middle of a hard rain, a slow boat, or a fast train, I am gonna keep my head on straight. I'm gonna keep my head on straight. Steady on! ~Shawn Colvin "Steady On"

Y is for Yesterday

As the students work their way through their own alphabiographies, I include a question they can come and answer each day once they have written. The reward for them is a Jolly Rancher, but the reward for me is the opportunity to have a brief personal conversation with each young writer. 

I usually try to make a connection between the question and the example title, so on the day that kids might be working on the letter U, the example was U is for Understand, and the question was  What is something that used to confuse you, but now you understand?

I was unprepared for their disarming honesty. Kids told me about being mystified by escalators, military time, their locker combinations, long division, and the rules of football, among other things. And to a one they were so proud of their new knowledge that I was perfectly charmed, and I wished I'd asked the question before.

Life Lesson: But that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone. ~Chad and Jeremy "Yesterday's Gone"

U is for Unquestionably

"Will you make angel food cake?" Heidi asked me this afternoon on her way out of school to meet her trainer.

Looking up from my computer I sighed, and with a trace of a scowl told her I would see what I could do. "It's not a quick thing," I said dismissively.

She nodded understandingly and waved. "No worries. See you at home."

We were talking about our dinner plans. Today is her dad's birthday, the first since we lost him in November. Our tradition is to remember our loved ones on their birthdays by celebrating with a meal they would have relished. We had already agreed on lasagna, but I hadn't even considered a dessert. Even so, I knew that angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream was Gary's favorite.

As soon as she was gone I realized what a jerk I was being. Later at the grocery store, I looked for a cake in the bakery without luck. There was nothing in the freezer section, either. Finally, I hit upon the notion of a cake mix and rolling my cart down the aisle plucked the last box of angel food from the shelf.

"You really didn't have to do that," Heidi said graciously when she got home and saw the cupcakes cooling on the counter.

Oh, but I did. Happy Birthday, Gary.

Life Lesson: Someday, when I'm awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you" ~Bryan Ferry "The Way You Look Tonight"

N is for Not a Good Sign

I was reading the examiner's manual to my testing group this morning, a task I have completed countless times over the last 30+ years. As I started, I thought back to the first time I ever got to use my most official-sounding voice to read directions that I had heard dozens of times myself when I was a student. Today you will take a test... The words were a thrilling confirmation that I had made it to the other side of the big desk and was actually a teacher. 

What I wasn't aware of then was how onerous such tests can be for so many students. As a good test-taker myself, I was oblivious to the stamina and engagement it took for some to complete what I always enjoyed as a way to show off my aptitude and learning. It didn't take long for me to observe how unpleasant these sessions could be for some kids, but like so many in my profession, I considered them necessary, if disagreeable.

In the decades since, the powers that be, both local, state, and national have piled on more and more standardized tests and raised the stakes on them for students, teachers, and school districts. In 2023, testing was a 37-billion-dollar industry. We pay for the tests, we pay for the data, we pay for tests that predict the test results, we pay for programs that remediate predicted deficits.

In the same decades, my experience and observations have convinced me that there is an over-emphasis on these 'snap-shots" of temporal data. The exams don't really tell us much we don't already know. Still, in this data-driven world, mine is a minority opinion. (Although I am joined by many other student-facing professionals.)

And so this morning I stood in a room of 14 sixth-graders, all with test-taking challenges. Oh, they were as ready and willing as possible to sit still for 3 hours; they have been reared to this ritual since kindergarten. I read from my examiner's manual and watched as they logged in and tapped their way to the sample question screen, which gave them a simple passage and easy questions to practice using the test's functions. 

Scanning the room I saw that half of them had selected the wrong answer for the first two samples. I sighed and kept reading.

Life Lesson: Sign, sign, everywhere a sign, blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind. Do this, don't do that. Can't you read the sign? ~Five Man Electrical Band "Signs"

H is for Huh

"What do you like to do in your spare time?" a student who was interviewing me for the profile piece asked this afternoon.

I dove right in. "I garden and cook and read and walk my dog," I answered. "I also love hiking and pickleball and going to the movies. I used to bike a lot, but I need a new bike. In the summer I swim at my pool. Oh! And I like to do puzzles, too."

I sat back, confident that I had given him plenty of directions to go in.

He looked confused. "Huh," he said. "I would have thought you would say writing."

I laughed. "That too," I shrugged.

Life Lesson: Don't you, forget about me. Don't, don't, don't, don't don't you, forget about me. ~Simple Minds "Don't You Forget About Me"

L is for Lucky

"Today is the luckiest day of the year, astrologically," my sister read from her iPad over breakfast yesterday. "Jupiter is in alignment with the sun," she continued. "But you have to lean into it, it won't just happen," she finished.

"That sounds great!" I said, and our conversation wandered on to other things.

Later in the day, though, it felt for all the world that good luck was the opposite of the prevailing vibe when my sister got stuck in gridlocked traffic just a mile from home. (Afterwards, we discovered that it was the president here in the neighborhood to meet with Atlanta voters ahead of his commencement speech at Morehead University.) When at last she arrived from the grocery store, it seemed impossible that we would be able to make it to the graduation ceremony on time. 

My brother-in-law and his mom had gone on ahead, and my sister dashed upstairs, threw on her dress, and grabbed her cosmetic bag. I punched the address into my phone and took the wheel. Heidi navigated while my sister did her makeup in the backseat and my niece handed over the jewelry she had gathered. 

At first, our route on the map app was crisscrossed with red and yellow lines of congestion, predicting that we would be 14 minutes late. But as we drove, the road cleared before us and our arrival time ticked earlier and earlier.

"It says 4:10 now," Heidi reported as we made it through a light without having to stop. "4:08," she updated us seconds later as we rounded a traffic circle. "4:05 now."

"Is that the church right there?" I pointed ahead of us, and it was. One more traffic circle and a left up the driveway. Courtney and Annabelle leapt from the car just as they were closing the doors to the vestibule. It was 4:02. 

We had made it. 

And that was lucky.

Life Lesson: You'll know how it was meant to be, hear the signs, and know they're speaking to you, to you. ~10,000 Maniacs "These Are the Days"

K is for the Kids

We are here in Atlanta for my youngest nephew's graduation, and last night was the Baccalaureate ceremony where each senior's advisor wrote and delivered a tribute to the graduating student. It might have been excruciating to sit through so many remarks about people one doesn't know, but there were only 40 or so graduates (as well as a 250-word limit), and I found myself surprisingly engaged. 

First, as an educator, I was interested in how each teacher framed their remarks, and I wondered how I would approach the same task. Next, as an auntie, I was very moved to hear how someone else saw and appreciated my nephew as the great guy he is.

As the ceremony commenced, one by one each student and their families and supporters were asked to stand as the senior's character and accomplishments were acknowledged, and I craned my neck to see the honorees and their proud loved ones as they were celebrated. The families were universally thrilled and the graduates were silently fascinating: their wardrobes a range from wacky to traditional, their facial expressions a mixture of stoic discomfort and delight. 

And in their faces and the words of their teachers, I saw traces and heard echoes of so many of the kids I have taught over the last 30 years, and I felt their hope for the future and joy at a job well done.

Life Lesson: You're doing a good job. Don't get too down. The world needs you now. Know that you matter, matter, matter, yeah. ~Alicia Keys "Good Job"

D is for Do I know You?

We had a morning flight to Atlanta and as I stood at the gate at DCA, surrounded by people, I had the thought that if I looked for a celebrity I might find one. But I also had the thought that if I looked at my phone I could solve a sudoku, and that notion won out. I maintained my oblivion to those around me all the way down the jetway, onto the plane, and into my seat, where once the sudoku was solved, I read a fascinating book about the lost history of Arlington County and enjoyed coffee and then soda water and potato chips. 

The flight went by quickly and soon we were taxiing to the gate where I sprang to my feet, eager to deplane and find my sister. As I waited, I made eye contact with a platinum-blond woman a few rows ahead and then quickly looked away with a vague feeling of familiarity. How do I know her? I wondered and looked back. She was asking another passenger to fetch her carry-on from the overhead bin, and while I could not make out the entirety of their conversation, I did hear him say "Oh, you're in Congress aren't you?"

She sure is. I realized I was looking at Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. By then we were into the aisle and on our way to the terminal where Ms. Greene melted into the crowd. 

Years ago my sister took our oldest nephew, who was 3 then, to Minneapolis to visit my mom. All of his life he had heard about this place called Minnesota, and who knows what his preconception of it was, but once they got to my mom's house he was surprised. "Minnesota looks just like a house!" he said with wonder.

I thought of that story today as I walked through the airport. My preconceptions were clear: despicable, cynical, delusional monster, but when I actually saw her, Marjorie Taylor Greene looked just like a person.

Life Lesson: I'm only human of flesh and blood, I'm made. Human, born to make mistakes. ~Human League "Human"

Q is for Queen

For years I've capitalized on the anecdote of the time I cooked for the queen. It's my go-to surprising fact about myself, the thing any student journalist can interview me about, something my students love to repeat. I can't believe I've never written about it here, but while a quick search of the 5,638 posts has turned up quite a bit about the show The Crown (too much, maybe?), there seems to be not a word about how food that I prepared was served to Queen Elizabeth II.

"Did she like it?" the kids always ask. "What did she say when you met her?" But the tale itself is a step down from the premise. I was working as a cook in the flight kitchen for United Airlines at Dulles Airport back in the early 90s when the queen came for a state visit. In addition to United, our staff prepared the meals for Lufthansa and British Airways, too. The queen and her entourage were chartered on the Concord, and when they returned to London we did the food.

Don't get me wrong; it was not a normal, run-of-the-mill day in the kitchen. The executive chef made the menu and he inspected every plate before it was loaded into the trolleys or portable ovens. Another question the kids always ask is what did you make? I personally worked on searing the duck breasts for the a l'orange, which was said to be a favorite of the queen, and I helped with the peach melba for dessert. Whether she liked it or not, I never heard, but no one got fired that day, and 30 years on, it's still a pretty good story.

Life Lesson: Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? ~Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody

M is for Mouse

I recently listened to a short novel called Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy. The gentle story was a welcome change from the previous novel I'd read, The Vaster Wild by Lauren Groff. 

Vaster is the story of a young woman who flees from Jamestown in the winter of 1609-10, the "starving time." The premise seems appropriate for a YA survival novel, but the book itself is no such thing. Before she runs, food is so scarce during a siege by the native people that the Jamestown immigrants resort to cannibalism. The flight itself through the winter wilderness is also brutal, and the story is not about survival, but she has no choice.

Sipsworth, on the other hand, is the tale of an 83-year-old woman who accidentally befriends a field mouse, and the novel is very much like a children's story for adults. It is sweet and somewhat unpredictable in its exploration of aging and living with loss through the relationship between Helen and the mouse she names Sipsworth. 

I thought of Sipsworth a few minutes ago when a little mouse ran across my classroom. By this time of year the mice typically have moved outside; their appearances, so common in the cold winter months, dwindle to few or none. Rather than timidly hugging the walls as his kin usually do, this little one today explored the open spaces fearlessly, scampering within a yard or two of my desk until I raised a hand and it retreated behind one of the bookshelves. 

Years ago, when a cat of ours deposited a white mouse, stunned but unharmed, on the doormat on his way in for dinner, we kept him in a tank of cedar shavings for the rest of his life. Even so, despite Sipsworth and Fibber (our mouse), I do not want to make any mouse my pet, although I guess I would if it became necessary.

Life Lesson:  If you ever look behind, and don't like what you find, there's something you should know: you've got a place to go. ~Michael Jackson "Ben"

J is for Joy

"My sister just got her driver's license," a student told me after school today, "and you would not believe how ridiculously overjoyed she is."

"It's exciting to get your license!" I defended her.

"She sent the family a video," he replied. "You'll see."

He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, then turned it around so I could see a young woman in a very bright orange jacket recording herself as she sat in a driver's seat. "You'll never guess what I just did," she reports breathlessly. "I drove myself to the... grocery store! Then I bought 140 dollars worth of groceries-- Mom gave me the money-- and carried the three bags across the parking lot and put them into my car! Which perfectly matches my jacket, by the way. And now I'm going to drive home!"

The recording ended and I laughed appreciatively. "She is pretty excited," I agreed, "but I'm happy for her. She is finding joy in an everyday chore."

He rolled his eyes and put his phone away. "I gotta get going," he sighed.

"It's raining pretty hard," I told him. "Maybe your sister would come pick you up."

"I'd rather ride my bike in the rain," he scoffed, "than give her the satisfaction."

Life Lesson: Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth. ~Pharrell Williams "Happy"

I is for Impressive

"What can I do for a piece of candy?" That refrain rings through my classroom every day for those ten minutes between the last bell and the bus departures. Students try to beat my roll in dice, guess the card on the top of the deck, shoot mini-basketballs or magnetic darts, all in an effort to "win" a Jolly Rancher.

They're not wrong to try; they know I will not simply hand out candy for the begging, but I will reward a winner in fair (or lucky) competition. In general, they are very good sports, too, understanding that time is short and they only get one attempt per game per day. And it's fun to play, so much so that our games have evolved over the year as we look to add new ones. 

Today it was a group of four boys who stood before my desk. "Wanna try this one?" I asked, picking up a small deck of cards. "These are movie quotes and you have to name the film."

"How many?" one asked. "Five," I decided, "but you can work together."

"How many chances?" calculated another.

"Seven?" I shrugged. "Let's see how it goes." I drew a card. "Hasta la vista, Baby" I read in my best Austrian accent.

"Predator!" shouted one.

"No!" his friend immediately corrected him. "Terminator 2!"

"Yes!" I drew another card. "My mama always said, 'Life is like a box--"

"Forrest Gump!" they cut me off.

"Right again," I nodded. "Heeeeere's Johnny," I read.

"The Shining! I love that movie!"

"How do you even know these?" I asked. "They were made years before you were born!"

"They're classics," I was assured.

They missed a Harry Potter and a Mrs. Doubtfire quote but got "Just keep swimming," from Finding Nemo. We were on the last card. 

"It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit--"

"and keep moving forward!" they finished together. "Rocky! We win!"

"Yeah, you do!" I agreed. 

"Can we each have 2 Jolly Ranchers?" one asked.

"Nope," I told them, "but I am impressed."

"I guess that's pretty good," he replied and held out his hand for his reward.

Life Lesson: I've known a few guys who thought they were pretty smart, but you've got being right down to an art. That don't impress me much. ~Shania Twain "That Don't Impress Me Much"

O is for Old School

The email was framed as a request for collaboration. Some colleagues were "crowdsourcing" concerns that staff had about the physical condition of our school building. "Unfortunately," they wrote, "duct tape and prayer can only go so far.​"

I was not surprised; our school opened in 1971, and as state-of-the-art as it was then, the last 50+ years have seen a lot of wear and tear, as well as the implementation of countless quick-fixes resulting in the division and re-division of many of the larger spaces in the school. As a result, there is not much natural light, despite a renovation project 15 years ago that added some windows and skylights. In addition, a minor earthquake a few years ago damaged the foundation, and the construction of a whole elementary school in our parking lot has made access to our building less convenient and less welcoming. 

For years students have asked me if it was true that our school was built as a prison, because of the square tower-like features it has in the rear. "No," I always laugh, "I'm pretty sure the architects had more of a castle in mind, kind of like the concrete version of ivory towers." 

They are not convinced, but truth be told, having spent the last 30 years there, I love the old place, and so I was appalled when I clicked the link to the document my colleague had sent and read the title: Reasons why our building sucks!

Life Lesson: Be true to your school, just like you would to your girl or guy. ~Beach Boys "Be True to Your School"

W is for Wait, What?

I was messing around in a music app today when I saw that Randy Travis had a new single. How can that be? I thought as I clicked on play and heard that familiar baritone singing "There ain't no more where that came from."

I love Randy Travis's music and I'm fan enough to know that Travis, just a few years older than I am, had a stroke 10 years ago that left him unable to speak, so I marveled at the medical miracle this turn of events seemed to imply. However, a little research quickly revealed that the record was created with AI, albeit with Travis's participation. To get to the final release, the producers input a bunch of Randy Travis singing and then ran a base track of the new song, sung by another guy, through the AI to switch the voice. After that, they tweaked the recording and got Travis's okay.

Wow. I guess there is more where that came from. 

But should there be?

Life Lesson: Oh, but now I know There was only one. And there ain't no more where that came from. ~Randy Travis "Where that Came From"

S is for Slang

"I'm boosting, Chat! Chat! I'm boosting!" my students were playing a group review game, and although this chatter was unfathomable to me, it seemed to amuse the group considerably. It didn't seem inappropriate, and so I let it go, eventually discovering that they were parroting live game streamers who ask their viewers to chime in using the chat feature. 

Skibidi Toilet, appearing as screen names that kids were choosing for themselves, was a bit more questionable but much easier to research online. The bizarre, viral series featuring toilets with heads coming out of them is notable for several reasons. It is the first big trend from Generation Alpha (its popularity is driven by viewers under 10) and remarkable in its structure: a narrative told completely in 60-second episodes. Some reputable news sources have even asked if this format might be the future of entertainment.

I was already in on rizz, slay, GOAT, flex, cook, and bruh, but it made me laugh when a seventh grader offered quite earnestly to translate any slang that might be confusing me. "These Gen Alphas," he shook his head sadly, "they are going to be out of control." He paused and then added with genuine relief, "I'm so glad I missed that by two years."

Life Lesson: (talking 'bout my generation) And don't try to dig what we all s-s-s-say. ~The Who "My Generation"

C is for Coincidence

At the end of our recent poetry unit, I chose the poem Hope is the thing with Feathers, by Emily Dickinson, as the text for students to analyze by applying their newly-minted knowledge of poetic form and devices.  Once we got through the snorts and side-eyes about the poet's last name (sixth grade!), we worked through it together and the poem was on the test, too. 

Today, as they were slogging through the onerous standardized reading test we are required to administer three times a year, the one where they tell kids up front that they will probably miss 50 percent of the questions, a student turned to me with wide eyes. She gestured excitedly to the screen. "It's Hope is a thing with Feathers" she whispered.

"Nice!" I replied. 

"Did you know?" she asked.

"No," I shrugged, "but you're welcome!"

Life Lesson: The future's not ours to see. Qué será, será ~Doris Day "Qué Será, Será"

R is for Real Time Reflection

The bonus question of the day was What is something worth celebrating? In addition to the usual birthday and holiday replies, I also heard some more thoughtful answers, too. 

"My aunt just finished chemo," said one young writer.

"My friend got a good grade on a test," offered another.

"The school year is coming to an end," said a third, but then she paused. "I guess that's good? But it's sad, too. I'll really miss this class."

"Thanks," I smiled.

"But not on days like today!" she scoffed. "When we have to take standardized tests? I'm going to celebrate finishing that!"

"I'm glad you got a chance to work that out," I told her and handed over a Jolly Rancher. "Do you feel better?"

"I do," she nodded. "I really do."

Life Lesson: Bring your good times and your laughter, too. We're gonna celebrate and party with you! ~Kool and the Gang "Celebration"