All Good

At 7 PM the seven and under item line in the prepared food section at Wegmans wound its way halfway back to the bakery. I stepped in the queue with a little dim sum snack to kill the time while I waited to pick up my cousin at her 50th highschool reunion happy hour. With only one cashier, we crept forward slowly. I idly listened to the conversation of the three people ahead of me, a mom with her teenaged son and adult daughter. They had all just gotten off work and they were tired and hungry. It was only then that I noticed they were pushing a full cart toward the super-express lane.

After a fleeting flirtatation with aggravation, I let it go; by this time we had all waited patiently in a long line, and since there were three of them, I reasoned they could rightfully split the cart into separate transactions whiich would ltake even longer. Soon enough I paid for my dumplings and water and headed upstairs to read in one of the easy chairs and watch the rain outside the window, but not before they  apologized to me and the cashier when they realized their mistake.

Action!

My students were working on effective verb choice again today. after reading the poem Same Song by Pat Mora yesterday, I asked them to write a single sentence that relied on the verbs to tell a story. This is not an easy concept, but since it was only one sentence, I was able to engage almost every student in a dialog to critically analyze and revise the first draft.

The boy tip-toed quietly across the room trying not to be seen.

Me: How do you not tip-toe quietly? Isn't that the point?

Student: The boy tip-toed across the room, trying not to be seen.

Me: What room was it?

Student: The boy tip-toed across the kitchen, trying not to be seen.

Me: What did he want in the kitchen?

Student: The boy tip-toed across the kitchen trying not to be seen, took the chips, and ran back to his room.

Me: Didn't they see him when he ran back to his room?

Student: Arghhhh

Me: Try starting with the chips.

Student: The boy grabbed the chips...

Me: Go on...

Student: and tiptoed across the kitchen and back to his room.

Me: Nice!

A few other sentences from the day:

The clean dishes sparkled like diamonds in the dish drain.

"No!" I gasped as my mother collapsed to the ground.

COLLAPSE

The bright orange flames of the fire flickered in the darkness of night, emanating warmth and heat that comforts me.

The young boy trudged through the thick Alaskan snow and clenched his stomach as he fell to the ground in hunger.

Bass Ackwards

"I liked your math class waaaaaay better than I like my teacher this year," I overheard a former student tell my colleague this afternoon as they chatted in the hall outside my room.

He was unflattered, skeptical even. "Why? What's wrong?"

"She makes us watch all these YouTube videos with this boring old man for homework," the student complained.

"Backwards classroom!" The math teacher said. "That's kind of cool-- lesson at home, help with the practice at school. What don't you like about that?"

"We'll for one thing, if you don't do the homework, you're totally lost!" The student explained in exasperation.

I couldn't resist joining the conversation. "Then DO your homework!" I shouted from my desk.

Rare and Unexpected

We did a verb sort in my class today. Using their independent reading, the thesaurus, and small group discussions, students found the three strongest verbs they could and wrote them on post-it notes. Next, their "sticky stacks" were collected and randomly distributed to other kids in the room. Those students were directed to sort the verbs into the categories of "Snaps," "Crackles," "Pops," or "Sings."

We defined the headings beforehand as verbs that insist on your attention or break things (snap), verbs that have lots of energy (crackle), verbs that stand out from everything around them (pop), and verbs that just hit the right note (sing). The next step was for students to begin to curate their own verb collection for their writer's notebook. They chose the ten verbs that spoke to them most and recorded them. Each student also had a tiny green dot with which to vote for their favorite verb of the day.

Lastly, students wrote a sentence, not just using that favorite verb of theirs, but showcasing it, letting it shine in glorious context.

I liked this activity for many reasons. We reviewed a key part of speech and practiced dictionary skills. Kids discussed how published authors use verbs with their peers. They evaluated many verbs and chose the ones they liked, and then used them in a strong sentence.

But most of all, I liked that the number one verb of the day my students chose was wonder.

Zero Sum

"Give me my pencil!" demanded one of my students of the girl next to her.

"Her classmate looked appalled. "Give me my pencil," she demanded in return.

Both girls were talking about the same pencil, an inexpensive, bright green mechanical job.

I intervened. "Whose pencil is it?" I asked with authority.

"Mine!" they chorused.

Considering the impossibility of their stories both being true and the distraction their dispute was causing the class, I asked them to step outside for a moment to work it out. A minute later I joined them. "What have you decided?" I asked sternly.

"We've decided we are going to look back on this and laugh," one of them told me.

"Mm hmm," I said. "Well, whose pencil is it?"

"Mine!" they both insisted.

Maybe they should run for congress.

When Life Gives You Beet Shreds...

Make red sauerkraut!

Let the lacto-bacchanalia begin.

As Vegan as You Wanna Be

Years ago, my friend Leah joked about becoming a semi-vegan. "I think I could do it," she said, "as long as I could have bacon." It turns out, Leah was ahead of the curve. No less renowned foodie than Mark Bittman recently published VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6 PM to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health... for Good, chronicling his own flexible compromise with veganism.

Certainly, I eat more healthy since Heidi's gone vegan. If I had to guess, I'd say upwards of 75% of my diet is animal free and plant strong, but there's no question that I relish that other 25%.

Cooking for other people adds another challenge to finding that middle ground. For example, tonight was Emily's birthday dinner, and so as I planned the menu, I was of two minds. What would everyone enjoy? and What could Heidi eat? 

In the end, the meal I prepared was vegan, except for the parts that weren't. We had potato and pea quesadillas, black lentils with roasted butternut squash coins and green harissa, and for the carnivores among us, crispy slices of braised pork shoulder. Dessert was a duo of mini creme caramel (not vegan) and tiny dark chocolate pot de creme (vegan!), served with balsamic figs and raspberries.

Not a bad compromise, eh?

Come Together Right Now

On Facebook, NPR asks, "What's the best thing that happened to you this week?"

First of all, NPR, I would like to thank you for redirecting my thinking towards the positive and away from the meh.

And now, I am pleasantly surprised that I have a few things to choose from, but the BEST thing would have to be seeing my brother and sister-in-law, talking to my mom, and face-timing my sister and her family, all within 22 hours.

A Little Bird

Since last week I have been live tweeting snippets of overheard dialog along with my own acerbic (yet incredibly accurate) observations of the meetings I have attended.

I like this outlet for my restless (and let's be honest, critical) mind.

#teachingideas #schooloftracey

Fifth Annual RSVP

Wow! We've been doing this a while!

As in past years, I gave the students a writing prompt today to get a baseline of their writing skills. Their pieces will be scored holistically using a modified version of the state rubric. (Shout out to Roula! We're still using your materials.) We'll give them another prompt in early June to measure their progress for the year.

The topic was the same as it has been the last four years:

Your principal wants to invite a celebrity speaker to your school. Think about the celebrity you would choose to speak; then write a letter to persuade your principal to invite this person. Be sure to include convincing reasons and details to support your choice.

And with the largest margin of victory ever, despite the government shut-down:

President Obama (He earned a full 13% of the suggestions, which is also impressive given the wide open field.)

Mr. Obama was followed by his wife,

Michelle Obama (6%)

and then with a couple of vote a piece,

Gabby Douglas
Justin Bieber
Lebron James
Lionel Messi
Dexter King
Cristian Ronaldo
Macklemore
Rick Riordan
Beyonce

and the rest, quite an interesting bunch of folks themselves:

Hope Solo
Katy Perry
Taylor Swift
Lulu Delacar
Michael Jordan
Drew Brees
Robert Griffin III
Michele Leonhart
Stephen Zeitels
Phil Mickelson
Johnny Depp
Lana Del Rey
Alex Morgan
Bobby Hill
Abby Wambach
Nelson Mandela
Morgan Freeman
Suzanne Collins
Jay-Z
Asap Rocky
Kobe Bryant
FloRida
Hugh Jackman
Shakira
Big Time Rush
Dwight Howard
Adam Sandler
Roblox Committee
Jackie Chan
Austin Mahone

Always on Best Behavior

As I go about my business in this big city small town, I am used to being hailed by students and former students alike, pausing in my errands to greet them and their friends and families. I try to be unfailingly friendly.

Years ago I broke the habit of honking at anyone in anger; it was after an aggressive driver flipped me off and zoomed ahead of me to brake suddenly. Clearly dissatisfied with my driving, she had a chance to explain herself to me in detail 10 minutes later when I was introduced as her summer school supervisor.

Cussing in public has been a little harder to give up; I like to think I use profanity effectively with a deliberate wink to its shock value, but other people probably have a different opinion.

Tonight though, I left the grocery store scratching my head a bit. I was searching for tortillas when I heard a clarion voice call, "Ms. S!" I felt the corners of my mouth lift in their public smile as I looked up to greet the young person behind the voice.

"Hello..." I started before realizing I had no idea who I was talking to. She was a bubbly kid of middle school age, but I am quite sure we have never been introduced.

"Mom! This is Ms. S. She's a teacher at my school!" the girl continued with impeccable manners.

"Pleased to meet you," I said, shaking her hand.

"What do you teach?" she asked.

"Sixth grade English," I answered.

"But... not on the Stingrays?" she said.

"No! She's a Dolphin," her daughter said. "My friend Maddie has her."

I shrugged and nodded.

"Nice to meet you. Have a nice evening," the mom said, and I was off free to go. Having found my tortillas, I cast a bit of a guilty look over my shoulder and turned down the wine and beer aisle.

Mind-Numb Monday

I don't think my students even woke up until 5th period.

Sunday Night Blues

Yeah.

From Autobiography to Zombie

A big part of the memoir unit we teach in sixth grade reading is helping students identify the theme of whatever story we are reading. Earlier this week, I asked for kids to throw out possible themes for the piece we had just finished, an excerpt from Jerry Spinelli's memoir, Knots in my YoYo String.

We read the part where Jerry considers himself a non-reader because he doesn't like that many books. He reads comics voraciously and sports statistics and he loves words and writers who use them playfully, but in his mind, reading and writing are nothing special-- they simply take their place with the "popsicles, pen knives and bicycle tires" of his life. One day he even writes an extra poem to go with a brochure project on Mexico, and his teacher accuses him of plagiarism, probably because she doesn't see any strength in that area either.

"So, what's the lesson?" I asked the class.

A kid who probably doesn't consider himself very literary raised his hand, and I called on him with pleasure.

"Your greatest strength might contain your greatest weakness?" he suggested.

"Hmmmm. That sounds familiar," I said. "Did you see World War Z recently?" 

He shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah. Last weekend."

"Think about it though," I advised him. "Turn it around a little. You thought of that for a reason."

He considered it a moment, and then I saw the light of an idea in his face. "Your weakness might contain your strength?"

"I think it might," I told him. "I think it might."

Color Blind

"Are Katie and Lizzy sisters?" a student asked me today. I understood why she might wonder that, because both girls happen to have albinism.

"No," I told her.

"Are they cousins?"

"Nope," I said.

"Well, they just look so much alike," she continued.

"Kind of," I shrugged. "They definitely have the same hair color."

"Are you sure they aren't related?" She couldn't let it go.

"Listen," I said, "what you're asking is like somebody wondering if you and [here I named another student] are related."

"Why?" she frowned. "Because we're Asian? We don't look anything alike."

"I know," I said, "and that's the point."

The Reading Boss

I administered yet another standardized test to my students today. Upon seeing our agenda, they literally groaned with disbelief. I shrugged in sympathy. There is nothing I can do about the 20 days (4 full weeks) of instruction and learning in my class that is replaced by mandated testing. Still, I hate for the kids to get discouraged so early in the year.

"Oh! This one's different," I said. "First you pick the type of passages you like so they give you questions you will find interesting."

They did not seem sold. "How many questions are there?" someone asked.

"It depends," I told them. "It's like..." I grasped for a simile. "It's like a video game. You keep answering until you get a certain number wrong, and then they end your test, tell you thanks for playing, and give you a score."

This they found intriguing. "Do they tell you when you get one wrong?"

"Only during the practice test," I said.

They began to strategize. "Do they get harder as you go?"

I nodded, and I could almost hear the gears turning.

"What if you never miss any?" someone asked. "Do you have to keep going forever?"

"No," I answered. "Eventually, you beat the test."

I guess they had never thought of it that way.

"When can we start!?"

Dictionary Skills

What's an antonym for deficit as in Deficit Thinking?

• abundance
• adequacy
• advantage
• enough

• perfection
• plenty
• satisfaction
• success

• sufficiency
• excess
• superfluousness
• proficiency 

I attended a required work shop for English teachers today. As a result, I got to sleep in by an hour, spend time with some of my favorite teacher friends, laugh a little, eat a free lunch in the sunshine, and get out early enough to go to the gym, walk the dog, and cook dinner.

That was enough.

APS ABCs

Kagan, CRISS,
and SRI,
IA, RICA, oh my my,
SOL, AMO,
writing sample, yes or no?
IB, PIPs, ERO,
catch a SMART goal by the toe.
Synergy is EGP
with less functionality,
and don't forget your UbD:
what's
the
objective?

BS in Literature

I teach a one quarter reading course for the sixth graders on my team. They have four reading teachers over the course of the year, each of us focusing on reading in our content area-- reading in math, reading in science, reading in social studies, and my class, reading in language arts. Because the focus is on non-fiction text, the time the students spend with me is focused on memoir and other forms of creative non-fiction.

Since we only have nine weeks together, we read lots of short memoirs and excerpts, as well as other literature that thematically compliments those selections. For example, so far this year we have read pieces by Jack Gantos, Sandra Cisneros, Billy Collins, and John Scieszka. Another component of the course is having the students write about their own lives, and to tie it together, today the assignment was to read a piece that I wrote.

Oh! I expected it to be well-received, but with this sly group the flattery was so deep I needed a shovel.

"Can you sign mine?" one student started.

"Wait until you read it," I advised.

"Wow!" said someone else a little bit later. "That was the best thing we have read all year!"

I raised my eyebrows. "Realllllllllly?" I replied. "Better than... Jack Gantos?" He nodded vigorously and I continued.

"Sandra Cisneros?

... John Sciesszka?

... BILLY COLLINS???"

He continued nodding and I waved at him a bit dismissively.

"Really!" he said. "I don't know what you're doing here. You should be on a book tour!"

Economy of Energy

Shout out to Sonic dog who figured out there was really no reason to climb all the way out of the pool after fetching the tennis ball-- if you wait on the stairs, someone will toss it again so that you can do what you came for... swimming.

Others may briefly soar, but plugging away offers its own rewards.

School v. Learning

Say what you will about NPR, but whether or not I always agree with them editorially, over the years I have learned a lot from public radio. Today alone is an excellent example. Within 20 minutes this morning, I understood the concept that art is something that puts off more energy than went into making it, and I was also introduced to the narrative structure of Leonard Bernstein's second symphony, Age of Anxiety. Whoa.

As a (okay, sometimes jaded) person of letters, I found these insights into those other arts, visual and music, very instructive, but it was only a few hours later that I was thoroughly schooled in the themes and writing of Ken Kesey in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a novel I thought I was pretty familiar with.

Educators today are fond of saying that we want our students to become life-long learners, but like so many things in public policy, what we mean by that lofty phrase is not always clear. Earlier this week I wrote about the joy of vicariously experiencing my students' ah-ha moments.

Today I had a few of my own.

That's what we're talking about.

Or You'll Sink Like a Stone

My students waded in for their first dip into our electronic community today. In the years that I have been using this online mix of formal and informal writing opportunities with my sixth graders the response of any given group has been unpredictable.

When my colleague and I created and introduced "Write Here Write Now" to our students on a Friday seven years ago only to log in and find a staggering 1000+ posts the next day we were stunned, but we buckled in for the ride and it was one of the most rewarding years of my career in terms of student engagement and growth.

Of course times and technology have changed a lot since then, and being able to communicate remotely with friends is no longer novel for your average 11-year-old, as a student reminded me today when I mentioned that they could use WHWN to write to classmates anytime, anywhere.

"Why would we do that?" she wondered (quite politely). "Don't we have phones?"

Six Degrees

The other day a young colleague stopped me at the copy machine. "Hey!" she said, and it was clear that she had something she really wanted to tell me.

"Hey!?" I answered expectantly.

She took a breath. "Let me go back. How are you?"

I laughed in appreciation of her manners. I am, after all, her elder. "Fine. And you?"

"I was at a comic convention this weekend," she started.

"Oh yeah, I read about that," I told her. "How was it?"

"Fun!" she continued. "I was a volunteer, and I met another girl who was volunteering, too. We started talking and I told her I teach in Arlington. She asked where, and when I named our school she said that she went here!"

I nodded, following along.

"And then she asked if you were still here," she reported breathlessly. "She didn't even have to think about your name! She knew you right away!"

I gave a little ta da look. "Who was it?" I asked.

When she mentioned the name, I remembered this former student immediately, too. She was one of the kids from my very first year of teaching who used to hang out in my room after school that year. Later, she and some of her friends were volunteer helpers in my summer school classrooms for several years. I had lost track of her, but it was great to reconnect, even once removed.

Today I sent her a message on Facebook:

Hey! KB told me she ran into you at the Comic Convention last weekend, so you know I'm still doing

exactly
the
same
thing

twenty years later.

Fortunately, I still like it. Your class must have broken me in well.

I hope all is well with you! Stay in touch.

I hope she will.

BSN Fantasies

Having just finished my 21st back-to-school night I arrived home with mixed emotions. Relief, certainly, that it was over, and happy, because it was kind of fun seeing former parents, some who have become old friends; I've been at my school long enough to have established a history.

Once again, though, I was mostly disappointed in my presentation. It's very hard to distill a year of English into a ten-minute presentation. I always feel like I have been long-winded and worse, boring. Every year I vow to find the perfect way to convey the essence of my class in a witty and enjoyable nine minutes, leaving just enough time for questions.

Or perhaps, applause?

Maybe next year.

I Don't Know How She Swallowed a Cow

Part of the fun of teaching is seeing the light in someone's eyes when they understand something completely new. I will never grow tired of that moment. In sixth grade there are many such opportunities; one of the reasons I enjoy that age is because in most kids, it is really the transition year between childhood and the next step, and so they are primed for paradigm shift-- something during our time together will totally blow their minds. It might be as simple as opening a combination lock for the first time or having the privilege of walking down the hall not in a single-file line, but it's not an exaggeration to say that these tiny events open their eyes to a new world only before imagined-- you can take the double-takes to the bank.

I have twins in my homeroom this year who are in our school's life skills program. The 20 minutes we spend together each morning is an opportunity for them to interact with kids outside their program, even though they are behind their peers cognitively, socially, and emotionally. Tuesday is a reading day, and I have books of all levels in my classroom. This morning I gave one of the girls a copy of There Was an Old Woman who Swallowed a Fly.

It was before most of the other kids had arrived and she began to read it out loud. Her decoding skills were very good, and it was soon clear that she was comprehending what she read as well. What was also clear was that this was a totally new story to her and her sister. Their shock and amusement as the story progressed was charming. They had no idea how it would end. She swallowed a spider? She ate a cat?! Imagine that! 

Their enthusiasm and appreciation completely revived what I considered to be kind of a dumb story; I will never again hear about that silly old woman without a little giggle.

Time Marches On

I laughed about our culinary disagreement the other night, but to be honest, I totally got where Heidi was coming from. She was not yet ready to give up our bright summer cuisine, and so it should be no surprise that her menu was the one we went with that night.

Since then we have continued our hang-on to summer approach to eating with eggplant and tomato last night, zucchini tomato and pasta tonight, and gumbo on the menu for tomorrow. I'm doing my best to work in the transition to fall, though; this crisp weather practically demands it. We had a crunchy little roasted butternut squash julienne garnish on our salads the other night, and it's kale and apple salad tonight.

So be it.

Public Display

In general, Heidi and I are an amicable pair; in many ways our strengths compliment each other. I don't mean to imply that we always agree, far from it, but it was a rare occasion yesterday when we walked into our local grocery store bickering about what to have for dinner. As luck would have it, the first person we saw was a friend from work, Renee, waiting at the check out line. She was on the phone, but her eyes widened as we approached. Our moods changed completely when we shifted our focus from ourselves to our friend, and we greeted her with genuine cheer.

"What are y'all doing here?" she asked, and then pointing to the phone she added, "I'm talking to Nik." (Who is her adult daughter and also a friend.)

"We're just fighting about what to have for dinner," Heidi laughed, and I joined her because it was so ridiculous. She continued with excellent imitations of our cranky exchange, and we laughed even harder.

Renee looked relieved. "They're fighting about dinner," she said into her phone. "Tracey wants roasted butternut squash risotto, but Heidi wants grilled bread with heirloom tomatoes and a salad." She paused. "Nik wants to know what time she should be there."

An Irving Berlin Kind of a Day

We decided to take advantage of the PERFECT weather this afternoon and head down to the national mall. At 5 PM there an almost carnival-like atmosphere prevailed beneath the cloudless sky. A street musician played Linus and Lucy on his keyboard while four little children danced on the grass. A young man carefully placed a wine bottle in his shoe and rapped it sharply on the ground next to his picnic blanket while the pretty girl he was with looked on. The cork remained firmly in place as we passed, and the rapping became pounding. I always wondered if that trick really worked. A little further on, another man passed us juggling three tennis balls as he went, and right after we rounded the west steps of the Capitol, we caught up with and passed two guys chattering in Italian and also practicing their operatic la-la-la-la-las as they strolled along the gravelly path. 

Nothin but blue skies.

Hashtag

Is "pie hole" an example of metonymy?

Open yours and discuss.

Coming to You Live

A neighbor stopped by the other night to chat. She was giving us the latest on her 5-year-old niece who recently started kindergarten in another state. It seems they have a behavior plan in her class that involves a 10 point system. Her niece is never quite clear on how many points she has or where they went by the end of the week. The family suspects a bit of truth-stretching here and there; it's hardly surprising-- who wants to report unflattering news, especially when you're five?

That's okay, though, our neighbor told us, because the point system is going to be online in a couple of weeks with live progress reports for every kindergartener.

Of course it is.

(Shakes head and turns off the computer.)

The Whole Story

I got a look at the first examples of my new students' writing today. After we read "The Follower" by Jack Gantos, I asked them to identify a possible theme of the story. Don't follow a bad leader; be yourself; monkey see monkey do; listen to good advice, were all accurately offered. The next step was for them to write the story of a time when they learned that lesson themselves.

Given the nature of the prompt, it's hardly surprising that many of their pieces included the sentence, We got in big trouble. Every single story left it there, though, and because I don't know these kids very well yet, I was curious about their definition of "big trouble."

Turns out, it doesn't take much more than a few harsh words or a tap on the wrist for these kids to call it hot water. Well, either that, or they were taking creative license. It doesn't matter though, because it was a great opportunity for me to remind them to elaborate.

"Tell me everything!" I encouraged one student. "What did the principal say? How did you feel? What happened then?"

He frowned and shrugged. "Details, details," he sighed.

I laughed. "Exactly."

Late Summer

What to do when the high temperature for the whole year falls in September?

Fire up the grill!

Traction

This is our fourth year of doing Tolerance Club, and today's meeting was full of surprises. In other years, we have embraced the largely sixth grade participation as a good thing, hoping that we could count on their commitment as their middle school time progressed. That was never the case, though. For some reason, Tolerance Club just wasn't appealing to 7th and 8th graders, and all but our most faithful participants dropped out. This year, we made the conscious decision to be happy with whoever we got-- everyone can use a little tolerance, right? So, imagine our delight when the majority of the kids who showed up were in seventh grade, most of them our alumni from last year.

Could it be that this tolerance thing is finally catching on?

Laying Odds

And so the weekend ends...

with a wet and happy tired dog,

and a homegrown butternut squash casserole.

If the week ahead is half as satisfying, we'll do just fine.

Standard Time

Getting used to a 48 hour weekend?

Gonna take some practice.

Rolling with It

A long time ago I heard a piece on the radio about how you can calculate the temperature by counting the rate of the crickets chirping. I was driving to the mountains on a beautiful fall Saturday in the September of my first year of teaching, and everything seemed so perfect already that this information was as intoxicating as spiked koolaid-- the blue skies, leaves turning in the golden light, and the slow but steady singing of crickets marking the entrance of Autumn was all almost too much.

Today, the first Friday of the school year, was an equally lovely day, and tonight I hear the peeping of crickets outside my open windows. I paused a few moments ago to count their chirps and applied the formula I heard so long ago.

48 degrees? That seems a little off.

Out of the Running

September 5:

What happened!!!??

Just wait till next year, Charlie Brown. You'll see! Next year at this same time, I'll find the pumpkin patch that is real sincere...

Haters Gonna Hate

Having attended high school long ago and far away, I appreciate FaceBook for its easy access qualities. There are so many people that I might never have heard from again with whom I'm in touch. I have to be honest that for many of them, the reality of busy lives in distant geographic locations might not be a great loss for either of us, but I do value the connection I have with more than a few folks.

Even so, this morning when I got a message that the administrator had posted to a private group nominally set up for anyone who attended our school from 76-79, I was a little appalled. He was asking about someone who was requesting to join.

Does anyone know a MC. No recolection of guy nor does he have high school info about himself?? 

Not only do I remember MC, but I happen to know that he's made a concerted effort to connect with other alumni both on and offline. I rolled my eyes and closed the app, but by the time I checked again this evening, there were even more comments.

I don't recall either. So I didn't reply to friend request.

and

I believe I graduated with him in 1980... he was a rugby player?

and

he was a fat slob. he probably is still a fat slob. I owe him something that I hope to give to him someday.

Seriously?  I felt as if I had been transported back to high school again. The popular kids were running the group, posting their pictures, admitting their friends, and keeping the wannabes out. 

I only had one question.

How did I get in? 

I may never find out though, because right after that? I quit.

The Linus Project

Here's a visual update on my bid for the sincerest pumpkin patch of the year:

August 8:

 

September 1:

He's gotta pick this one. He's got to. I don't see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see.

That's a Wrap

"It's been a good summer," I said to Heidi this morning. "The weather's been great, the food's been excellent, and the company has been generous and fine."

She nodded.

"Let's do it again next year!"

Soft Ball

I'm a big fan of Sixty Minutes; I generally find their choice of stories interesting and their coverage unobjectionable or better. It's always different, though, when a news organization covers a topic of which you yourself have personal experience, knowledge, and (dare I say?) insight, so of course I'm much more critical of their education segments than of any others, even though they probably interest me the most.

Tonight they re-ran a piece on Khan Academy, the on-line, non-profit educational website that was created by a guy who was just trying to tutor his cousin in algebra. When his YouTube videos took off, he quit his job as a hedge fund analyst to focus full time on this endeavor. Salman Khan's efforts were noticed by no less a power player than Bill Gates, and so a movement was born.

Flip teaching, backwards classroom, reverse instruction, flipping the classroom, and reverse teaching are all terms for the method of instruction where students access the content (or lecture portion of a class) at home and then come to the instructor for support or coaching as they practice (traditionally the homework part of a course).

As a teacher, I am not threatened by this approach in the least. On some level, it makes a lot of sense. I am skeptical, however, of the great gains proponents claim when they champion such programs. As it is right now? All their data is based on students who were motivated to access such online support; it's not rocket science to teach people who want to learn.

That speaks to the largely ignored challenge of American public education today-- it's not so much that our teachers or schools are unqualified (although admittedly, some are)-- no, our system is failing because for so many reasons there are a lot of kids who are not ready and willing to learn what we have to teach them.

Fountain of Youth

I spent some time today going through pictures from the last ten years or so. They weren't in albums or shoe boxes or even special envelopes with a little pocket for the negatives, every one of the photos that I looked at was on my computer. I didn't sort or shuffle; I scrolled and clicked.

At first, it was simply amazing to me that it's been ten years since we went digital; it certainly doesn't seem so long, but actually looking back convinced me otherwise. In part it was looking at the kids in my life. What a cliche to say they grow up so fast, but there it was in 3000 pictures. At one point in my trip down memory lane, I decided to focus on the changes in myself rather in them, because, to express another common sentiment, I don't feel any different than I did back then. That was a short-lived initiative, mostly because whether I feel like it or not, the last ten years have wrought some undeniable alterations in me and the other adults in the photos. (Sorry guys!)

I have a lot of pictures from school, though, and they are like a little time capsule. To me, most of those children will always be in sixth grade. That's part of the illusion I think-- the kids I teach never grow older; every September they are simply replaced by another group of eleven year olds.

An Economy of Teaching

When I first started teaching, we always had a four-day weekend after the teacher work days and  before school officially began for kids on the Tuesday after Labor Day. Back then, the time off was wasted on me. I was always so anxious to meet the students and begin the year that I could never enjoy the long weekend.

That luxury was dispensed with long ago when we hit the first of several economic bumps in the road over the last 20 years. Today I worked from 8-6, and as I walked out the door this evening, it was with a heavy backpack and the feeling that I just wasn't quite ready. It almost seemed like the week was spent training and preparing for everything except my actual lesson plans.

Even so, I am going to relish the next three days. If I've learned anything in the last 20 years, it's to embrace the down time, because once school starts it will be scarce.

Platitudes Aside

In the last four days I have been bombarded by peppy platitudes. As a returning teacher, I have been encouraged to Engage Educate Empower and also to Believe Engage Succeed. I've been urged to strive toward being the Guide on the Side rather than the Sage on the Stage. I've been asked to don the four hats of the effective teacher, Facilitator, Presenter, Coach, and Evaluator, and I have been informed numerous times that PLC (Professional Learning Community) is a verb, not a noun.

That last one? Just dumb and patently false. I get that they want us to know that our active participation in our PLCs is crucial, but don't tell an English teacher to call a noun a verb; I couldn't possibly PLC a damn thing.

You know what is a verb? Teach. And once again, on this sixth grade open house day, as I stood outside my class room greeting so many of our students and their parents and answering their questions when they turned up to see their new school and figure out just where they must go on Tuesday morning, I knew that I was born to do just that.

New Again

When I was a sophomore in college it was my habit to meet friends at our campus pub 3 or 4 times a week. We usually made it at 9:30 or 10, after studying or as a break in studying. I always had the same thing-- one Heineken Dark. There was something super satisfying about the mahogany brew, a little bit bitter, a little bit sweet, and awfully smooth going down.

I also learned to play Space Invaders then; the only two arcade machines they had were that and Asteroids, and the spinning carat trying to blast those chunky blobs of the latter game simply did not appeal to me. No, I much preferred the precision of destroying the linear ranks of those crab-like aliens and their flying saucers.

One of my friends, Todd, was particularly skilled at Space Invaders. He gave me valuable tips like stay to the left or the right and systematically shoot the invaders column. He also told me about counting my shots-- 22 exactly before destroying the first space craft and then 14 for each one after would make each ship worth the maximum 300 points. Of course it was a cheat, but in those days waaaaaay before the internet, how did he even know that?

Regardless of its source, it was all I needed to set the high score on that machine. Oh, how my friends cheered and celebrated seeing TAS at the top of that list! Heck! I probably had a second Heineken Dark.

Today at school, I hooked up an old plug and play TV version of some classic arcade games to the LCD Projector in my room. I figured that the kids would enjoy it on game day. These particular games were a few years beyond Space Invaders, but it did have Galaga, which in my mind was always the next step up from my old favorite. I turned out the lights and played a few rounds, and it was fun, but it was missing a little something...

Yeah, I cracked the beer open when I got home.

Wishful Thinking

Today I received the following message on my school email account:

I would like to discuss a business opportunity that offers the potential for considerable returns.

I work for a privately held manufacturing company, which at this time purchases a product imperative to its processing operations, at a price significantly above the manufacturing cost. In my proposed business venture, you would assume the role of stand-in supplier, providing this key material while retaining the same profit margins. My role would be to introduce you to my company as the supplier and to establish a contract between you and my employer.

I understand that your previous experience may not immediately relate to my field. However, this venture is more in line with your personal capabilities rather than your professional experience.

Please send a return email verifying your contact number and to arrange the most convenient time to discuss these possibilities in detail.  I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Kindest Regards,
Edward Wassermann  

Wasn't that nice of Edward Wasserman, complete and total stranger that he is, to extend such a generous offer? I do have a couple of questions, though. First, I would like to know who actually falls for such bogus bullshit, and second, I'd like to know why opportunities like that don't really just show up in your inbox.

It's Brain Science

We had an all-day packaged training at school today. As it happened, there were many practical ideas offered, and spending the day in the library with my colleagues actually relieved a lot of my usual first day back stress-- there was really no other choice, so I just went with it. My group of four was also awesome, making it that much easier to relax and enjoy the day.

Oh, I still have a philosophical objection to the merchandising of education; I believe we paid a lot of money for nothing more than a common sense set of strategies and the common language that goes along with a whole-staff orientation, but I am glad that we did not buy any test-taking and remediation advice from any subsidiaries of test-making companies. (That will come later.)

The session itself was generally engaging; the presenter very effectively used the strategies she was selling to get her message of structured cooperative learning across, and although I do have some concerns about extrovert bias, this introvert had an okay time. I even learned a few things, like for example your brain is constantly evaluating your experiences and sorting them into threats, opportunities, or neither (which are things to be ignored). Once you perceive a threat, your amygdala goes into hyper drive, resulting in a mental state where it is impossible to think clearly or even learn for up to three hours.

Later, when Heidi and I were debriefing at home, I asked her about one of the activities. "So, what did you say your ideal job would be? Dog training?"

"Yeah, with Cesar Milan," she said. "What about you? Park ranger?"

"Yeah!" I said. "How did you know that? I could barely think of ianything to say myself this morning."

She shrugged. "I know you."

Better than my own amygdala, apparently.

Stupendous, Indeed

Not content to sulk my way into the new school year, I invited my brother's family over for dinner tonight. They were just returning from a week at the beach, and so the timing was perfect, especially since Riley and Treat are off to college tomorrow and Thursday, Bill has business in Buffalo on Tuesday, and Heidi, Emily, and I will be in the library at school at 8 AM sharp tomorrow. Only Isabel and Sonic will be left to this life of leisure.

We had a really fun time, and a fun menu, too-- my dad's family recipe of tomato sausage sliders, served with fennel slaw, sliced tomatoes, and pickled peppers, delicious corn on the cob, and kale salad. We washed it all down with cold beer and followed it up with a South Jersey style peach and blueberry crisp and a variety of homemade ice cream, including a new one, cherry cordial.

We were definitely missing the other five of our family, but even so, I can honestly say that the evening took all the sting out of having to set the alarm in the morning.

Yeah, it Is

We're partial to Life is Good merchandise in our household. Each of has several T's, we also own pajama bottoms, water bottles, dog collars, pool toys, and a tire cover that bear that eponymous slogan. Oh, over the years there have been cynics among our friends wondering where the Life is Crap gear might be found, or criticizing the motto for being overly simplistic, or too optimistic, or just plain wrong. "They're just so bossy," someone once said to me. "I feel pressured to be happy whenever I see their shirts."

As for us, we take it as a reminder, an intentional way of looking at things, even when doing what we like and liking what we do seems impossible. Plus, they sell really comfy stuff.

Today, on our way out of the market, a young girl of perhaps 11 or 12 read Heidi's shirt. "Life is Good?" she asked. "It should say life is great! No! Life is awesome!"

We nodded and laughed and then parted ways as we turned to the parking lot. She popped up a moment later a few cars down from us. "Life is... STUPENDOUS!" she called.

"You're right about that!" I answered, glad for the extra reinforcement.

Buzz Kill

"Hey, did you see they caught a couple of sharks down at Point Lookout?" my friend Mary asked me yesterday.

I hadn't heard the news, so I whipped out my smartphone to discover the details. Two 8-foot bull sharks had indeed been caught just a few hundred yards from where we spent that idyllic day last Wednesday.

According to Wikipedia, the bull shark is known for its aggressive nature, predilection for warm shallow water, and presence in brackish and freshwater systems including estuaries and rivers.

And I was worried about the jelly fish!