On Principle

I set myself up yesterday for an easy post complaining all about Daylight Savings Time today.

Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately?), such a rant failed to materialize for me: I spent a nice day yesterday with friends and family and never really missed the hour. I went to bed relatively early and woke up right away when the alarm went off. I wasn't too tired today, and my students seemed fine, too. Leaving school at my usual too late hour, I was pleased to see that it was still very light out and enjoyed a sunny walk to my car.

Hmm.

Could it have been the meditation on forgiveness I listened to yesterday? Could such a notion extend to an abstract concept like arbitrary time change?

Naaaaah.

I still hate you Daylight Savings Time!

Happens Every Year

There are certain benefits to participating in a writing challenge the same month each year. One of the least obvious, perhaps, is that certain topics are relevant every time. For example, in March there's usually snow and/or signs of spring, and there's always a reflection about a whole month of writing at the end. Since one of the toughest things about daily writing can be finding a good topic, having these baked in ideas is little like a free space in Bingo.

I've noticed it in my students' writing, too. For them, March always means student-led conferences and district assessments for band and orchestra, and, trust me! I read a lot of slices about both of those.

Of course, March also triggers the granddaddy of all rants for many of my students and their teacher, too. For it is in March that we early-risers are needlessly robbed of an hour of sleep and morning sun when DST is imposed on us!

Oh! The injustice of it inspires hundreds of words all raised in a one united complaint, and the only itty-bitty consolation is knowing that not only will our voices be heard and read throughout the blogosphere, but that our writing is done for yet another day.

Winter into Spring

This morning I took a look in the freezer and found a half bag of cranberries and some frozen turkey stock, and given the cold, gray weather and smudges of snow on the ground, it did not seem unseasonable to bake some cranberry-orange muffins and put a pot of turkey-vegetable soup on to simmer.

Tomorrow is predicted to be much warmer. March is changeable like that around here, but even so, winter is definitely waning and spring emerging. So tonight we'll eat the last of the turkey and cranberries until next November. Marie Kondo-style, we'll thank them for their service, and turn our attention to the pea shoots, parsley, and asparagus that are waiting in the fridge with their spark of spring joy.

Red or Not

Long ago someone told me that red was a power color, bold and unforgettable, communicating conviction and authority. I took the information to heart and always chose red whenever I was feeling a little insecure, for example interviews, professional presentations, and especially back to school night. Maybe it was imaginary, but those crimson duds sure did boost my confidence!

A couple of decades later the jitters are mostly gone, and I like to think of my current wardrobe as casually classic: cool and neutral, maybe a little bit hipster. At this time of year I usually wear dark turtlenecks or t-shirts with jeans and a sweater and boots. This morning, though, as I dressed for parent conference day, my hand hovered briefly over the one bright turtleneck I own, bright red, and purchased for Christmas, before landing on the charcoal gray one to its left.

A minute later, I shrugged on my cardigan and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast before packing lunches. Seeing that it was a bit later than I thought, I chose to pack and eat at the same time, resulting in a big spoonful of yogurt landing right on my turtleneck. Dabbing wasn't doing it, and in the interest of time I dashed upstairs to change my shirt. This time the red was my only option, and I quickly pulled it over my head.

Glancing in the mirror I realized that was confident-- confident that I knew my students and I knew my job and confident that today was going to be a good day. Then I zipped up that cardigan one more time and went to work.

Dinner of Champions

After a full day of corralling aspiring filmmakers as they stampeded from one location to the next, jockeying for that perfect camera angle, the shot that would bring their commercial over the finish line, I raced from a special education committee meeting to a consultation with my teaching intern and her university advisor to the first of my student-led conferences and around to the copy machine, before finally entering the homestretch.

Fortunately, we have a plan in place for dinner on days like these. Scrambled eggs with french fries and tossed salad is a quick and satisfying meal that provides us with a little time to relax and all the energy we'll need for another day at the track tomorrow. 

While Ye May

We had our monthly countywide ELA meeting this afternoon which commenced, as usual, with a warm and rather entertaining video from our Supervisor and Secondary Specialist. "This is our last video!" they told us at the end, and proceeded to explain how the April, May and June meetings would be organized.

And although their focus was on supporting us as we continue the work we do, the end of this school year glimmered, ever so briefly, above the horizon, and I was reminded that, although it is easy to forget when you're in the middle of

planning
and teaching
and assessing
and reteaching
and reflecting,

our time with these
crazy,
wonderful,
challenging,
brilliant
kids

is actually

finite.

Prop Masters

When you're shooting commercials on a shoestring budget, creativity is a must-have. That's one lesson I hope my students learned today as they worked on their media literacy group projects.

"We need cheese!" one group said.

"How about construction paper?" I asked.

"We want it 3D," they replied.

In the absence of any immediate cheese source, I showed them how to sketch a wedge, double it and add tabs to cut out and fold into mock cheddar. Next it was mouse ears, and over the course of the day our construction paper portfolio grew to include life-size fairywings, 2 mustaches, a chef's hat, and 4 giant crab claws.

These last were my favorite. I think you can see why: