And Just What Was it that Made all the Difference?

As we ran some errands today, the Sunday drivers and general weekend road congestion began to grind on my nerves. Stopped at a light I considered our usual route, and since the thought of the stop and go traffic at a certain point was almost too much to bear, I decided to take another, hopefully less traveled, way. Not so far from home, we remembered another stop we had to make, and my mental GPS was recalculating when Heidi said, "That was a stop sign back there."

"Not for me," I laughed just before the whoop whoop and flashing blue and red pulled behind me.

"I'm sorry I missed that Stop sign back there," I told the cop when he walked up.

"How did that happen?" he asked. I don't think either of us was prepared for the long rambling explanation I provided about the confusing placement of the sign as well as what I was thinking at the time of the infraction, but hey, he asked. He shook his head and took my license and registration back to his cruiser. In a little while he returned with the dreaded clipboard. "I ran your information," he said, "You have five points on your record."

"How did I get those?" I asked. "What did I do?"

"It's five positive points," he told me with raised eyebrows. "That's good. Are you sure you're all right to drive?"

Clearly I am with all those points, I thought, but I actually said, "Yes. I promise I'll be more attentive."

"Then get out of here," he waved his hand, "No ticket today."

Always Leave Them Wanting More

Last week, one of my students posted about the weekly web show he does with his buddy and sister. We broadcast live every Friday night at 8! he wrote and gave the web address. As it happened, I was sitting in front of my computer a little before 8 last night, and so I navigated over to the site. Even before its official start time, the webcam streamed a lot of activity as the three of them prepared for the show, moving bicycles and other stuff out of the way of their set in the garage. As they worked, they chatted and spat at each other, as kids do; this time it was mostly about why someone was so mean, nuclear bombs, and what Mom said they had to do. All of a sudden a huge blurry face appeared in the screen and then disappeared. "Oh my gosh we have two live viewers!" an excited voice announced. "Somebody else is watching!" he said, and then the feed went dead, replaced by a test pattern.

Oh, how we crave that audience, and still we panic when we see them.

Introduce Yourself

This week marked the beginning of Write Here Write Now, the web-based portion of my sixth grade English class, and so once again the end of the day finds me in front of my computer clicking through hundreds of student posts. A friend of mine and I collaborated six years ago to create this secure online community where our students could use writing both formally and informally to communicate with their peers. Now in its sixth iteration, WHWN has been tangibly different every year, inevitably shaped not only by the personality (and size!) of each group students, but also by where the two of us grown-ups happen to be professionally and personally.

One of our main premises has always been to encourage students to write by giving them a place and an audience. The first assignment is for each kid to write at least two paragraphs introducing him or herself to the group. When they finish, they must read and respond to some of the other kids. Then they can post to other topics of their choice, including music, sports, and pets. What I always love about this writing is how surprising and revealing it can be. Reading through their initial posts, I learn an enormous amount about my students both as writers and people.

Let me give you an example; this particular little girl seemed pretty average until I read her intro.

some times when i feel like the world is ending, i will drag my fat cat over to the widow( this is the part were it gets really dramatic) and look and him and i will study how his sea blue eyes are so sea blue and how his long, gray, tail seems to tick to the rhythm of the clock. And when he yawns I check and see how many teeth he still has. 

How extraordinary is that! But, really-- that's the point. Who isn't an incredible individual when they have the opportunity to show it? Lucky for me, it's my job to give kids that chance.

Legacy

Today was the day when my old homeroom kids came back on a quick errand to pick up their IB Binders so that they could transfer them to their new seventh grade digs. It is always a bittersweet day for me: there I am working hard to build relationships with my fresh group of sixth graders when their predecessors come busting in the door, so familiar and with all that awkward newness out of the way. I am always so happy to see them and so sad to see them go.

This time there was a twist on that old story, though. All of last year's kids asked if they could stay for a bit, and of course I was delighted to have them. They sat in the extra chairs, chatted with their former classmates, and even joined in on the activity, helping the younger kids who had taken their places with their pinwheels for peace. For a few minutes my homeroom was a warm blend of the past and the present, and I couldn't have been happier.

When the bell rang, and my double-sized group of students set off into their days, I smiled when I heard a bunch of the sixth graders tell each other that they were coming back next year, too.

Picnic

Every year for the last four or five, the two sixth grade teams at our school have put on a picnic on the first Friday afternoon for our new middle schoolers. This year, the one-two punch of Irene and Lee left our fields a bit soggy, and so the event was re-scheduled until today. The students took a reading test in the morning and then were treated to an hour and a half outside to play and eat hot dogs. The weather was warm and sunny, the grill was hot, the chips were crunchy, and the watermelon was sweet. There were screams of glee from the playground and friendly banter on the soccer field and basketball court. Although the day was not without a misunderstanding or bruised feeling here and there (probably inevitable with 250+ kids) it went off without a hitch and we were cleaned up in under 10 minutes. Not bad for 15 public employees.

Kickball

When I was a kid, I loved everything about the game-- the dusty orange field, the bases scuffed in with the heel of your shoe, even the schoolyard pick of the players. I loved the line of players that formed behind the backstop; in batting order we crept slowly forward until we were nearly at the right baseline. I loved the call of the pitcher, How do you want it? and the response of the kicker, Slow and bouncy! or Fast and smooth. No one ever wanted it fast and bouncy, although such a delivery might have set up a mighty, mighty kick that soared up and over the infield, defying gravity until at last it arced down and to the ground. Then there might be the solid thump of the soft red rubber ball and that little puff of rust-colored dust into your eyes when you caught it in the cradle you made of your arms and then held on tight to keep it from bouncing away, because you knew it was almost impossible to make a play from way out there, although it was kind of fun to sprint forward and fling that ball directly at the runner just hoping to hear the satisfying thwump of the tag and the chorus proclaiming, You're out!

A Little Friendly Advice

Of all the things I've learned as a teacher, there is one that continues to amaze me. People do not listen. Just because words are coming out of your mouth does not mean that they are being registered by a single ear in the room. Small group, large group, one-on-one, whatever-- do not take it personally; do not get frustrated; as ridiculous as it may seem to respond to the most sincere question that you literally just answered, try to remember that your voice is but one stimulus in a world exploding with sensory details, and the difference between focus and distraction is all in the brain of the beholder. Scolding such an inquirer will not ensure increased attention in the future, probably the opposite, so therefore check for understanding as frequently and as patiently as possible, stay on message and repeat as necessary, and whatever you do? Remove the phrase "dumb ass" from your vocabulary.