Connecting the Dots

A friend and colleague stopped by my classroom this afternoon with her dad. I was grading reading assignments and more than happy to take a break to meet a man I had been hearing about for over twenty years. When he found out that I was an English teacher, he gamely turned the conversation to correct usage and grammar (or the lack there of) these days. In a minute or two we had covered text-speak and spelling and dialects and the power structure.

"I'll tell you who does value exact grammar," he said. "Lawyers! One comma in the wrong place can mean the difference between damages and no damages for their clients."

I nodded. "It's like that old joke: Let's eat, Grandma versus Let's eat Grandma. Commas can save lives!"

We laughed, and then he asked, "How did we get to cannibalism from grammar?"

"Well," I answered, "I was just grading some work on a book about the Donner Party. It might have something to do with that!"

And we were off again.

Authentic Assessment

While the last few groups of students finished shooting and editing their commercials today, the other kids played a couple of online quiz games on persuasive techniques that I found for them.

Not having created the questions, I played along with the first group, confident in my ability and knowledge.

And when I came in second?

Dang!

I was proud of the boy who beat me.

Aw, heck! I'm proud of all of them-- they've done a great job on this project. They almost make me want to buy back my own kitchen gadgets.

Almost.

Talking 'bout my Demographic

"I really like this show!" I said as I clicked off the second episode of The Good Fight. A spinoff of the popular prime time legal drama The Good Wife, so far it can only be seen on CBS's subscription streaming service.

"It has familiar characters," I started.

"And strong women? Relevant political and social issues? Compelling drama?" Heidi added.

I nodded.

"That pretty much checks all my boxes," she agreed.

Too Short

Animated and live-action shorts were the marquis event of the day as we willingly sacrificed another 60+ degree day in winter to sit in a dark theater. Was it the weather, the movies, or the intrinsic melancholy of that third day of three-day weekend that cast the slightest of palls over the feature presentations?

Oh, I wouldn't have missed the anthology of films, and the company was stellar as always, but I found my attention wandering, and I must confess to being a little disappointed when the lights came up and we were a few hours closer to the beginning of another work week.

We'll Be Back

We tried to get out and hike this morning, and it seemed like such a good idea to finally do Section B of the Billy Goat Trail. After over 25 years of hiking the most iconic route of our region, the last time I was there I was astonished to notice a section B AND a section C on one of the trail maps along the canal, located a few miles south of the Visitor's Center.

And so we headed out at a little after nine, but by the time we arrived at the trailhead, all the parking was taken. Many cars were even parked along the road, right under all the No Parking signs. Perhaps the popularity can be explained by the small(ish) lot, which is actually a little bit closer to town, or maybe it's because it costs five bucks to get into the national park, and from here, you can walk in for free. Everybody wants a deal.

In any case, we chalked it up to live and learn and cruised off to find some other way to enjoy yet another incredibly beautiful day in February.

Bonus: We did discover that, unlike on the original Billy Goat, dogs are allowed on those sections of the trail. 

Susie or Sam

The weather was amazingly, unseasonably warm this afternoon, and lots of folks were out to prove it. Dogless as we are, we decided to drive down to a regional park with an amazing wetland boardwalk that does not allow canine companions. As a result, even though we have visited the park on many occasions, we have missed out on its main attraction.

Today it did not disappoint-- we saw geese and ducks and blackbirds, crows, a heron, a bluebird and a couple of turtles, but the star of the show was definitely that cute little muskrat chewing on swamp grass.

Reading Social Cues

My students are busy making commercials to demonstrate their understanding of persuasive techniques. Before shooting video, they were required to create a storyboard to organize their ideas. As they worked, I circulated through the room providing advice and encouragement.

“What’s your concept?” I asked one group of boys.

“We want to convince the audience that this is a fun new toy!” one said.

“Yeah!” his classmate agreed. “We’re going to show kids playing with it and some old person playing with something boring.” He paused. “But we need someone old.”

Four boys turned expectantly to me.

I raised my eyebrows.

“We’re going to keep looking!” another boy assured me.