G is for Getting S#*! Done

Why in the world does it take so much time to attend to the details of our lives?

I took today off to catch up on some personal business-- bill paying, phone calls, errands, etc. A chunk of my to-do list involved making various appointments for me and my dog. Can't we say it's a little outrageous when I have to wait until June for a physical, July for a vet appointment, and August for an eye exam?

On the phone, I was on hold for an average of 6 minutes today (times four), except for the call that was busy seven times until I got through. The post office? 15 minutes in line. Goodwill? Ten minutes until an attendant was available to accept our donation. The grocery store was full of Monday shoppers who were trying to avoid the weekend rush.  And when all that was done, I still spent close to two hours answering emails and grading student work.

Some point proudly to our current economy which is producing more with fewer workers. They call it efficiency.

Life Lesson: I call it unsustainable.

F is for Friends Who Do Stuff Together

Our principal is retiring at the end of the year, and so each team has been tasked to come up with some kind of "presentation" for her farewell assembly next month. One of the teachers on our team suggested having the students sing something, but a few others were sure that these particular kids would never be willing.

It seemed to me that this was one of the singingest bunches of sixth graders I have ever known. In addition to the Poem in Your Pocket Day song just last week, I remembered a bus ride not long ago where I was glad we didn't have far to go because of the enthusiastically loud singing.

So the next day I decided to ask them, starting with my homeroom. I explained the whole presentation thing to them, and ended with, "What would you guys think about singing something?"

NO NO NO! It seemed unanimous.

"But I thought you liked to sing," I said. "I hear enough of it around here."

"Oh yeah," one student laughed. "Remember yesterday? When we were thinking of Alphabiography titles? F is for..."

That's all it took. The whole group joined in on that Sponge Bob classic, even the ones that weren't there yesterday. "U is for you and me!" they thundered.

I had to wait until the song was through to be heard above the raucous racket. "See? You love singing! How about it?"

They said they would think about it.

Life Lesson: Sometimes N is not for anywhere and anytime at all.

E is for End of the Road Trip

We have a tradition around here. When our travels take us farther than a couple of hours or so from home (as they did today when we drove up to New Jersey for a first communion), and the timing of the trip back gets us in past our usual dinner time (which is already on the continental end of the spectrum), the minute we walk in the door, I throw on a quick Putanesca Sauce and boil some water for pasta. Then, in the time it takes to unpack and unwind and pour a glass of wine, we have a home-cooked meal to clear the dusty taste of the road from our palates.

Life Lesson: Cue the ruby slippers.

D is for Draw Something

Back when we were doing the Slice of Life challenge in March, several students posted about how much fun they had with Draw Something, an app for their smart phones and tablets. They were convincing enough that I downloaded it, just to discover that it was a cooperative game, and I would need a partner to play.

I was so busy that I let it drop, but over spring break one of my fb friends started a game with me, and it didn't take long to get hooked on this pictionary-style diversion. In fact, I contacted my sister right away and got her playing, and my brother was next.

The object is to choose one of three options and draw it as quickly as possible, and then send it to your co-player. When it's your turn to guess, you get to see a real time recording of the drawing, and there are letters to choose from to help find the answer. As my students said-- it's really fun. Of course, there are rules about simply writing the answer down, but no one polices your game. Even so, I like to follow the rules.

Back at school, I mentioned to a couple of kids that I was playing, and immediately they wanted to challenge me. Hmmm. What to do? This was not really a school-related activity, but I couldn't see the harm in it.

Today, the New York City Department of Education released their social media guidelines for teachers. In so far as they apply to the largest, most high-profile school system in the country, I read them with interest. And, as extensive as they are? They don't mention Draw Something or any other games.

So... bring it, kids!

Life Lesson: Rules are rules... Right?

C is for Cooking Calamari

I read quite a few alphabiography drafts today, and perhaps my number one suggestion to my young writers was to add details. One student wrote that, "if you see someone cooking it, it's nasty, but calamari is delicious to eat." We talked a little about the piece, and then I asked him if he minded if I used it as an example, and he agreed.

"Do you know what's yucky about cooking calamari from this passage?" I asked, and all the students acknowledged that they did not. As a former cook who has cleaned and cooked quite a bit of squid, I was only too happy to fill them in on the details of grasping those eight slippery legs and two trailing tentacles, tearing them from the slimy water balloon-shaped mantle, scooping out the snotty purple guts of the animal, and throwing them away along with the milky eyes that stare at you with blank accusation as you amputate them from their body.

"EW!" someone said. "That's disgusting!"

"Exactly," I answered.

Life Lesson: "I get it! I get it!" another student raised his hand. "The writer has to use enough details so that it's the reader who says, 'Nasty!' Right?"

B is for Blowing it Off

I'm a pretty conscientious worker, but this afternoon I could not face what, in my mind, would be one more meaningless meeting, so I didn't go. I stayed at my desk and answered questions for a couple students who stopped by, graded papers, met informally with a colleague about writing workshop, and then, when my contract day was over, went to the gym and the grocery store.

Once, in a conversation I had with non-educators about education practice and teacher time, I complained about what I perceive as the generally inefficient use of meeting time. In response, someone said that the school system had no responsibility to make meetings relevant. Technically, he pointed out, teachers are merely public employees who serve at the pleasure of the school board and commonwealth, and if we were paid to be in a certain place at a certain time, then that is where we should be.

Not today.

Life Lesson: (See below) Engagement is everything!

Corollary: Relevance is essential to engagement.

A is for Away We Go

The first of May brings the second annual "Alphabiography" Challenge for my students. They are assigned to write short (100-250 word) "chapters" of their lives and title them by letters. The requirement is to write twice a week, but the challenge is to write either 20 times this month or all 31 days.

Each piece closes with a life lesson. This part is a good way to encourage these young writers to consider their purpose or message. Theme is an abstract concept that many sixth grade kids are just beginning to grasp, and these short, autobiographical vignettes give them a manageable and concrete step up to that higher order thinking.

Such consistent writing will help build their fluency and confidence, but I'm hoping it will be fun, too.


Life Lesson: Engagement is everything!

(Follow the Alphabiographica link to the right to see some examples of my students' writing.)