Watching the Grass Grow

The key for me to a happy summer is to try to do something I consider worthwhile every day. That can be harder than it sounds, but so far I've been successful. For example, on Saturday, I planted wheat grass in a little pot on the deck for our cat, and today it's nearly 2 inches tall. Now that's what I call measurable progress!

This is Happening

Even though it is technically summer vacation, I attended a required 2 hour workshop today. Our school system is providing iPads for all students in grades 3 and 6, and so their teachers have to be trained. This particular session was advertised as a very basic, first step, and so it was, although I definitely learned a few things.

Don't get me wrong. I've wanted more access to technology for my students since I started teaching. I understand what a powerful tool it can be. I don't know if this is the way I would have gone about it, but nobody asked me.

Perhaps most importantly, the management approach of our senior administration was evident in the presentation today. One of the slides actually said that there were to be no "buts"-- we were categorically instructed to move ahead with the expectation that things might be rocky at first (Ya think? Handing 400 dollar toys, I mean tools, to thousands of 8 and 11 year olds...), but it would all work out in the end.

And I'm sure it will.

Did I mention? I got my own new iPad today.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

We were all a little weary, Treat, Heidi, and I on Saturday afternoon after unsuccessfully attempting to see two movies. We were hungry, too, and with some time to kill before our third try, we stopped into a Chipotle Restaurant. Heidi and I had never actually eaten in one, but I have heard very good reviews from kids and adults alike. Treat concurred, and I knew there would be a vegan option for Heidi.

And so there was. In addition to beans and rice and veggies, the chain is rolling out its tofu sofritas nation-wide, and this branch had them as a featured item. As it turned out, the three of us went for that menu item, in its taco form, Treat with soft wheat tortillas, Heidi and I with soft corn. Our meal was delicious (if a little high in sodium), so yummy in fact that tonight?

My own version of it is on the menu.

Buen provecho! 

An Offer We Couldn't Refuse

One of the many joys of summer vacation for us is going to the movies. In fact, we go to so many that sometimes there's really nothing we want to see. This year, though, after a particularly busy spring, we're starting the season with a longer than usual list.

Yesterday we saw the new Tom Cruise-Emily Blunt picture, and the gray skies this morning had me looking up our next show. Imagine my delight to find The Godfather playing in three places. Regular readers may recall that this is one of my all-time favs, but I have never seen it in the theater.

Until today, that is. Even after watching this movie countless times, or maybe because of that, I felt a thrill when the lights when down and those first violin strains sounded as the title, stark white on black, flashed onto the big screen.

And? Two hours and 55 minutes later I was not disappointed.

Worth Counting

Before they packed up all their pencils and binders for good, last week I asked my students to calculate how many pages and books they had read since September. It's an annual tradition, and sixth graders almost always find their numbers amazing; it's as if they had no idea they were capable of such achievement.

This year students in my classes read an average of exactly 5,200 pages each, with a high of 19,456 and a low of 1,001. On average they finished 26 books a piece. Compared to the past, it was not a stellar year, but the requirement is only 3,800 pages, and they surpassed that by 37%. In addition, I would say the figures show that these kids as a group were workers: very few failed to meet or surpass the minimum expectation.

As an interesting frame of reference, I had one student who read nothing but the Harry Potter series. Her numbers? 4,194 pages, and 7 books, of course.

Fair Trade

I finished up at school a little earlier than Heidi today, and so I sat quietly in my classroom and waited. It was all packed up for the summer-- all surfaces clear and bookshelves neatly wrapped in white butcher paper. The blinds were drawn to conserve energy, and I was still enough to fool the motion sensors into turning the lights off.

As I sat in the silence of the cool dim room, I calculated how much time I had actually spent there. Added all together it came out to over three solid years. No wonder I feel so much ownership of it; thank goodness I feel so happy there; it's hardly surprising that it's always a little bittersweet to leave for summer break.

A couple days ago, one of the students asked me how big my garden was. I thought for a moment, and looked around. "It's almost exactly the same size as this room!" I told her. We were both kind of impressed by that. This afternoon, I remembered that conversation, this time as I stood in my garden, puttering around on the first day of summer vacation.

Consensus is Over-rated

This is the time of year for educators that practically demands reflection and reminiscing.  Students move forward; colleagues retire or move on: everything seems to rush to so many endings. At the party I attended yesterday I stood with three other women as they remembered their earlier days in other schools. One told the story of a principal who, faced with the choice of adopting an earlier start time for the school or sticking with the status quo, called a staff meeting and asked for a show of hands. When the earlier time was the clear winner, she shrugged and said, "Well, I'm going to make an executive decision. We're staying with 9:05."

And that was it.