The Hot Seat

As much as I love a school, any school, really, the last place I wanted to be at 8:30 on a Saturday morning was in a classroom. Oh, my role was the reverse of the usual, I am taking a graduate course on word study, but you know teachers these days-- it's impossible to grab a seat in the corner and let the tide of information wash gently over you. It's always ice-breaker this, count off for that, gallery walk, jigsaw, report out, present!

Recognizing the inevitable, I took a seat in the front, well, corner, but there was no one to hide behind. The first activity of the day was a little review called "Hot Seat," and it was just the kind of on-the-spot torture it sounds like. Somebody sat with her back to the screen while other students called out clues to the jargon, er, vocabulary, that was projected behind her.

To be fair, the instructor asked for volunteers, but after the first round, there was a lot of paper shuffling and downcast eyes when the call to fill the hot seat was issued. "I'll just point at the sign-in sheet and call whoever's name I land on, then," said our instructor, index finger at the ready. She stabbed the paper and looked up brightly. "Tracey?"

I groaned, but crossed the short distance to the hot seat with confidence. I was confident that I wouldn't know the answers. And I did not. My fellow students were as helpful as they could be, but the first two sessions of the class were all about emergent and beginning readers and spellers. Contrary to the dire reports on the state of education in our nation, we don't see a whole lot of those in sixth grade. I paid attention, I swear, but as interesting as I find the class, I just can't keep it in my brain that COW stands for Concept of Word, and the mooing didn't help at all.

The Darndest Things

As advertised, today was student-led conference day at our middle school. Here are the golden lines from each meeting:

I love old people-- I always cry when they die in movies. 

Dad! Did you see where I wrote, "My dad was silent"? Isn't that great character development? 

I can't believe how good my grade is!

I think I serve my community by doing the dishes every single night. 

I do pay attention, except when I get distracted. 

I have no goals. 

The most surprising thing? It's how EASY middle school is! I did not expect that. 

Wednesday is my chill day. 

I learned that sometimes your friends are not good workers. 

If you're afraid to be wrong, don't raise your hand to answer, raise your hand to ask.

Oh, never fear! All went well, and as of now?

We are on track to end the year strong and on target!

The View from my Bubble

"I'm sorry I'm a little distracted this afternoon," I told my ukulele teacher. "Tomorrow is conference day at school."

"Oh," he nodded. "Is that rough?"

"Not really," I said, "but for an introvert, like me, it can a little stressful. I'm ready, though!"

"Do you ever have to just lay it on the line for the parents?" he asked me. "Y'know, give it to them straight that their kid is such a pain in the..." he trailed off.

I laughed. "That's not really productive," I told him.

He looked a little disappointed.

"Oh, it's tempting sometimes," I agreed, "but just telling a parent all the negative things their kid does doesn't usually solve any problems."

And even though his eyes began to glaze over a little bit, I continued. "It's best to frame the conversation in terms of helping the student succeed. We almost always talk to the parents and their child together, and we brainstorm ways we can all support the student in making better choices. We're like a team. A good conference should be the beginning of something good, not just the end of something bad," I finished fervently.

"I guess that makes sense," he yawned, "if you put it that way." He paused and shrugged. "How 'bout we try that last song again?"

Sour and Sweet

I thought I was in big trouble a couple of weeks ago when the school secretary called me into her office. Teachers know who wields the authority in the building, and I was racking my mind trying to think of what I could have possibly overlooked or left undone. My wide eyes grew wider and my eyebrows shot up in alarm when she asked me to close the door behind me.

"Yes?" I said.

She lowered her voice and looked at me in conspiracy. "We're having a shower for Jessica," she named a colleague who was expecting and also right outside the door, "and I was wondering if you'd make your famous lemon squares."

I exhaled in relief. "Of course," I replied. I use my mom's recipe which calls for butter and plenty of lemon zest, and the results are always pretty tasty.

A few days later I saw the principal in the hallway at passing time. I smiled, and she waved me over.

"Yes?" I asked, with curiosity.

"I heard you were making lemon squares for the shower!" 

Y2K + 17

For a loooooong time I resisted the use of slide show presentations in my class. Because personally? Although I recognize the advantages of organizing your remarks with a visual aid, I have sat through too many boring power points where the presenter reads from slide after uninspired or otherwise flawed slide.

My opinion began to flex when I saw how engaged my students were when the intern teacher structured his 10 minute mini-lessons with a slide show, punctuated with interesting images and a video or two. Then, when I taught the persuasive techniques unit and used TV commercials to illustrate the concepts, that medium turned out to be the most efficient way to present the information. So much so, that I invested in a wireless remote so that I could roam the room as I clicked from slide to slide.

And now, I'm hooked. Just this morning I threw together a Google slideshow on plot structure, complete with Disney and Pixar movie clips to illustrate the key points. Another upside is that I can also post the presentation in our Google classroom so that students can return to it as they need to, or any absent student who is so motivated can work through the material from home.

There is danger in the approach, to be sure: I know if I'm not judicious, I could end up with too much talking time for the teacher and too much seat time for the kids, but so far, my little digital natives seem to dig the big screen.

Buckle Up!

Since I was out of school today (#familyoscarholiday), one of the activities I left for my students was a little survey to gauge their interest in our up-coming writing challenge. With three options, required, reward, and full-on commitment, 48% are in it to win it. 22% are minimalists, and the other 30% are hedging their bets.

The data is interesting, but the comments explaining their choices are way better!

Definitely will:

I love to write so doing this is going to boost my writing. I also love challenges.
I want to go for 100 days because I want to push my self to my fullest potential.
Because I want the shirt.
I feel like this can improve my writing techniques to help me be a better writer
I might still thinking
I don't know exactly what it is but I will try to go all out.
I love writing and want it become a better author!
I think it will be a valuable experience and will help make my writing better.
I want a challenge
I will do it so my mom does not yell at me
I'm gonna try to write 100 days so my grade in english can go up.
I want extra credt
I might
I want to challenge my self
I want a t-shirts
I really want to challenge myself and I want to get fun prizes and a T SHIRT-!!!!!!!!!
I want to do the challenge because i want to grow as a writer and I don't think I will be able to do it so I want to prove myself wrong
I will try hard
Because I don't want to get a shirt but my mom she wants one so I'm going to do it for her.
I will try by best to do the 100 day challenge to the best of my ability
Because I want to
I do need a little writing help
I'm wanting to get the shirt and I already got a few designs in my mind.
I feel that it will boost my writing skills
I really want the funny t-shirts
I want to challenge myself in writing
I'm pumped and wanna get a shirt.
I want to get the cool shirts and get good at writing.
I want to do the 100 days but I'll probably not be able to do it
I'M SO PUMPED FOR THIS, I WOULDNT MISS IT FOR LIFE
I want to see if I can REALLY become a better writer and see if I can write everyday.
I am going to try my best complete the 100 day writing challenge
I think It will be a grI will do atleast 20 times and if I like it , I will do more.
It's hard for me sometimes to figure out what to write and I might miss a lot of days
I want to try it, and 100 days seems like after a I wouldn't want to do it.
I don't think I'll be able to do 100 but I guess then I can do 20.
I want to become a better writer, but I have already committed to other activities and I know I won't have enough time some days
Because I feel like it'll be a fun challenge and if I'm into it I'll go for the 100 day writing challenge!!

In the middle:

I will do at least 20 times and if I like it , I will do more.
It's hard for me sometimes to figure out what to write and I might miss a lot of days
I want to try it, and 100 days seems like after a I wouldn't want to do it.
I don't think I'll be able to do 100 but I guess then I can do 20.
I want to become a better writer, but I have already committed to other activities and I know I won't have enough time some days
Because I feel like it'll be a fun challenge and if I'm into it I'll go for the 100 day writing challenge!!
I want to do more than the required amount but at the same time I don't want to do more than the limit. Just in the middle,
I have so many activities after school so I don't have enough time to write 100 days.
I'm happy whith 20 days and a prize
I don't have the time to do 💯 days but I don't just want to do the bare minimum of 10 days
cause you get a prize
I don't know if I'll be able to do it every day
So it's a bit easier
I will do 20 days.
Because I don't want to but it might be fun
because i dont have 100 things exiting about my life so i will do te 20 day challenge
I have never really enjoyed writing but if I do the 10 days that won't challenge me enough.
I am trying to write 20 days or more t improve my writing
I'm gonna try hard to get 100 but I might be busy
I definitely will do the 20 days, but I will try to do the 100 days because I want to improve my writing.
Because I am not that good and this will be a good goal for me

Just the minimum:

i think its best for my mental health
I will do this because I write a lot anyway
I don't like writing
I can't really because I'm going to have baseball games and practices in Spring
I going to do 10 days because if I do 100 days I can't think any ideas or i might give up
Because I want to
Because I don't like writing.
I don't want to put to much pressure on myself
10 days are required so I will do 10 days
Because I don't know if I want to right for a long time
I'm not sure what I'm doing yet
I'm not big on writing but I know I have to improve in writing
I'm going to start with the ten days and then if I like it I will continue to write.
Because I can go buy those prizes from 7 11

Head v. Heart

Every year we face the same dilemma: enter the Oscar pool using strategy and conventional wisdom, or vote for the films and performances you have loved. Oh, there is certainly money and bragging rights at stake, but after seeing so many movies in a relatively short time, it's hard not to support the ones that made you laugh, or cry, or think, and hope that they touched the members of the academy in the same way, too.

This year Bill finally pulled the trigger on what we have been considering for a long time-- he filled out two ballots-- one for his head and one for his heart. As for me, as I looked over my ballot this evening I realized how fond I really was of so many of the nominees, and for this year, at least, my head and my heart were not the conflict.

And in the end? It was a riveting race until the final award was announced. Bill's heart was never a contender, but his head edged us all out.

But it was close!

Congrats on the two-fer, Bill!

UPDATE 12:10 AM: After that stunning reversal of the best picture award, there was a change in our results as well! Victor ended up tied with Bill, because his heart made him pick Moonlight.