Xtreme Avoidance

I was dragging a bit at 4 this afternoon when a former student stopped by to see me. It had been a long day full of teaching and meetings and an after-school club, and I still had a few things to do for my lesson tomorrow.

Still, it's always nice when the kids come back to visit, even if it hasn't been too long. This particular guy was in my homeroom and my English class just last year, and time had not erased my memory of his struggle to focus, follow directions, and do his work.

Despite all that we have a very friendly relationship, and I was glad to see him when he plopped himself down in the chair by my desk and told me he was bored. I could understand-- he's in the after school program until his parents pick him up, usually at five. We exchanged pleasantries, but it wasn't too long before our conversation wound its way to his progress and grades this year. "I'm doing much better," he told me. "You should see."

"Well, I can see," I said. "I can look up grades for any student in the school. What do you think? Should we take a look at yours?"

"Um," he hesitated only briefly. "Sure."

With the exception of math, his grades were less than stellar. "Your math grade is great!" I said. "What's going on with everything else?"

I wasn't surprised when he had an explanation for each class. That's how it was last year.

"Mm hmm," I nodded sympathetically after every reason. "Well, what about tonight?" I asked when he was done. "Do you have any homework?"

"Actually, I do," he said, and then he shrugged. "But, I need a computer, so I'm just going to do it at home."

I pointed to the lap top next to him. "You can use that one," I suggested. "Since you have some time until your mom comes."

He leapt to his feet. "I gotta go!" he called over his shoulder as he darted out the door.

Catch Phrases

Once when I was visiting my sister, it fell on me to put together lunch for my four-year-old nephew. I knew what he liked, and so I created a little sampler plate with hummus, olives, grape tomatoes, string cheese, and pita chips. "Well," he said when I presented it to him, "isn't that a healthy lunch?"

Even though it was years ago, his comment stays with us as short hand. When I told Heidi what we were having for dinner tonight, she nodded and said, "Well... isn't that a healthy menu?"

Fortunately, they both meant it as a compliment. The same cannot be said for another of our family's common assessment terms. When my nephew Treat was very young, he did not hesitate to tell us when something was not pleasing to him. At three he had a vocabulary and register mature enough to say that the spinach on his plate was "disgusting" in such a way that might have insulted a cook less confident than his father.

Fortunately, those same verbal qualities made him very open to re-phrasing. We gave him a few other options for politely expressing his dislike, and the one he chose is still a standard for the rest of us. "I don't love this," is what we say whenever something displeases us.

Today as I was reading through my students' replies to their peers' writing I saw the same principle in effect. They are using my comments as models for their own.

Well... isn't that a healthy development?

Hometown Homage

Sometimes one of the best things about having guests from out of town is getting the chance to see your hometown through new eyes. That was the case today for us.

This afternoon we headed into Georgetown with our friend Tom, who is here for the weekend from New York City. We've all visited this historic area many times in the past, and for us, the heavy traffic and the constant crowds makes it a place we usually avoid.

We were armed with an online scavenger hunt that I was able to download to my smart phone at a bargain price a few weeks ago. Since none of us had a specific agenda, the 18 questions provided us with just the structure we needed to explore the neighborhood. We spent a fun afternoon walking through the blustery weather visiting and revisiting many interesting sites both on and off the hunt, shopping boutique chocolates and bakeries and stopping for lunch.

The sun was setting over the Key Bridge and all the monuments of the city glowed behind us as we crossed the Potomac on our way back home. I know people come from all over the world to see these things I usually take for granted, and today I remembered why.

Constant Comment

My commitment to my students is that I will read and comment on any piece that anyone posts for our writing challenge. All 82 kids had time in class today to kick-off their efforts, and though I know the number of posts will dwindle as the days pass, tonight that's a lot of replies to compose!

Fortunately, as I read through it tonight, as always the writing is warm and disarming, so personal and sweet that it doesn't take long to remember why we do this.

I Should Know

Today in an attempt to prepare my students for the hundred-day "Centurion" writing challenge that starts tomorrow, I gave them some time and advice for developing possible topics. "Many's the evening when I've sat before my computer racking my brain for something to write about," I warned them. "That can take much longer than actually writing."

They nodded politely, but I don't think they really got it.

Give it four years.

Fizzle Mob

Yesterday in class I overheard a group of students whispering. "Yeah! We should totally do it!" Someone looked at me. "Do you think she would let us?"

A little while later, one of them approached me. "Can we have a flash mob at the end of class tomorrow? Right before lunch?"

I shrugged. "Sure," I said. Truthfully, I was curious.

He returned to the table. "She said, 'Yes'!" he reported. They seemed a little stunned.

This morning another student came to double check on my permission. "Can somebody put a song on their phone so we have music?"

"Okay," I said.

"Really?"

"Yep."

They are very good students, but I was still impressed at how focused they were during class. They did not want to lose the opportunity. Two minutes before the bell, they made eye contact, and I nodded. Tinny music started softly as the five of them stood up. Two immediately lost their nerve and sat back down. The other three did a diffident version of the Harlem Shake. At first nobody noticed, but then a few other kids stood up and did a little Gundum style arm motion. The bell rang not too long after that and everyone filed out cheerfully to lunch.

I was a little disappointed, but they seemed satisfied to have tried and, well, not succeeded.

Coming Soon...

Today I introduced my students to what's become an annual tradition-- the spring writing challenges. Over the last few years, the activity has evolved to two month-long assignments that kids can voluntarily step up to two month-long challenges that might even be combined to one huge writing challenge... Who among these sixth graders might write and post 100 words or more for 100 days in a row?

Who indeed?

The first challenge, which this year is the Alphabiography Challenge, begins this Friday, March 1. Everyone must post ten pieces of 100 words or more, but to win this one, you only need post all 26 letters on 26 different days.

April will be an off month, but May will bring the Slice of Life Story Challenge: write every day for a month. The big one, though, is for any student who starts this Friday and continues to June 8. They will be the Centurions!

I was very pleasantly surprised and heartened by the level of enthusiasm the kids showed today. If intentions were reality, the vast majority of them would be sporting championship t-shirts in June. The trick will be to keep everyone motivated for the next 100 days.

But that's what we call teaching.