Empathy

So, I did a cursory job on my homework last night (read it took nowhere near 45 minutes), but it all turned out fine today. I knew enough to do the activity, and I knew the activity was for my own benefit, so I took what I could from the whole experience.

Later, at lunch, one of my best teacher buddies said, "I don't know about you, but I was feeling pretty negative about the homework last night.

I nodded.

"It really made me think about our students and their attitudes toward homework," she continued.

I agreed with her completely. "I like this class," I said. "I find it relevant and engaging, but after being in it all day, I didn't have any real desire to continue the work at home. Imagine how kids who don't like school must feel." And so started a conversation about rigor, stamina, and attention in class.

To be honest, homework is not the only area where I have struggled this week. As part of the class our instructor has led us through the process of really composing a personal narrative. You would think that with as much writing as I do this task would be a breeze, and I have carefully followed the instructions, but darn it!

My piece is just not working.

You know what, though? I'm kind of glad. Because there are a lot of kids who struggle with writing, and it's really good for me to be one of them for a change. 

Unprepared for Class

"And tonight your homework is..." said the instructor of my course this afternoon.

I felt myself cringe. Last night's charge to just take a look at your writing piece and see if it's the one you really want to work on this week and if so add a little to it was bad enough, but this assignment would take a good 45 minutes to an hour.

Or will it?

What's Right and What's Easy

I'm spending the week at a writing workshop workshop put on by the Teacher's College folks. It's a nice refresher of the structure I strongly believe to be the most effective for teaching kids to write. Unfortunately, teachers today are bombarded with so many competing initiatives and requirements that a visitor to my classroom last year might have had a tough time recognizing any such thing.

Ten years ago, when I applied to the summer institute of my local writing project I wrote about the slippery slope that my career had skidded down when it came to the workshop approach. Those five weeks reaffirmed my commitment to student-centered instruction with choice, daily writing time, and a classroom set-up that supported the work, and my instruction changed radically (for the better) as a result. I was much happier teaching and my students were a lot happier, too.

But oh! that slope and ah! that slip. Now I find myself in the same situation with the anti-workshop structures even more firmly entrenched and only a week to break that hold.

Will it happen?

Stay tuned!

A Whirr and a Blur

I was in a bit of a funk this afternoon. I sighed and sunk into the arm chair in the living room. The girls were gone; it was nearly 100 degrees outside; I had a week-long class starting at 8:30 in the morning, and the summer was nearly over, and I really missed my dog.

Just then a movement on the deck caught my eye. A hummingbird darted purposefully around the petunias in one of our hanging baskets. It's been a hot, dry summer, and we have several hanging and potted plants on our various porches and balconies. As such, watering them is a daily, sometimes twice a day, chore. And yet, this summer I have embraced this duty, patiently walking from the sink to the deck and back again 6 or 7 times until all the containers feel heavy and full. The plants are thriving.

I don't think I've ever seen a hummingbird around here, and yet there it was this afternoon, zooming and hovering in and out and all around, right outside the sliding glass doors. Some believe that the hummingbird is a symbol of renewal and joy, a reminder to live in the present and drink deeply of the nectar of the now.

Maybe.

Benefits of a Heat Wave

"Soften the butter," the recipe read.

I took a stick from the refrigerator and put it out on the deck for five minutes.

Et voilà! Parfait!

Girls and Boys, Continued

And today...

we shopped

for hours!

Girls and Boys

We have the goddaughters visiting here this weekend, ages 16 and 12. Times have changed in the nearly ten years since "the boys" Riley, Treat, and Josh were that age and regular guests during the summer. For one thing, every kid has some kind of electronic device, and their attention is very divided. Being away from home does not mean being out of touch with friends or parents and that definitely changes the dynamic of the visit. Truthfully, it's much more challenging to engage them when we are competing with such technology. 

We do our best though.  One of our favorite activities has always been to go to the pool, and since you can't have a device with you in the water, there's not much else to do but play and talk. And that's how we spent the late afternoon-- playing, yes, but mostly talking, which is the reverse of those hot summer days we spent in that pool with the boys. It actually turns out the biggest difference between this set of house guests and their past counterparts has nothing to do with gadgets.

 "If I had to describe myself in three words they would be intelligent, quirky, and caring," said one of the girls out of the blue as we treaded water in the deep end.

"Mine would be funny, silly, and nice," replied her sister in a conversation none of the boys would have initiated ever.