Banditos' Masquerade

How strange it was to go into the grocery store just a few days ago and see all the folks wearing masks and scarves and what not over their mouths and noses. These were the early adopters of what the CDC is now recommending for us all when we venture out in to public places. Already the price of bandanas has tripled on Amazon, if you can find them in stock at all. Here at home we have a couple of buffs, courtesy of Camp Jefferson, our end of the year activity for the sixth graders (and another casualty of the pandemic). We also have a few bandanas, lots of cloth napkins, and the hair ties to transform those into masks for when we go... not outside (yet), but indoors to public places, when we must.

Could this situation get any more surreal?

Wise Beyond Their Years

Since today was the last day of *school* before *spring break* rather than give my students a quote of the day to respond to I asked them to post their own. In many ways, their replies to that task reveal more about how they are than anything else they've written in the weeks since our world turned upside down.

"You will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory" ~Dr. Seuss 

What lies behind us and what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Henry Stanley Haskins 

“The way I see it if you want the rainbow you have to put up with the rain” -Dolly Parton 

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." ~Nelson Mandela 

"Do or do not, there is no try." ~ Master Yoda 

“Fortune favors the bold.” ~Virgil 

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~Confucius 

"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have." ~Cayla Mills 

“For a valiant heart nothing is impossible.” ~Jacques Coeur 

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”~Mahatma Gandhi 

“A diamond is just a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.” ~Henry Kissinger.

I think they've got this.

Language Please

Admittedly late to the party, we have started pandemic-watching The Mandalorian, and yes, I totally see what all the baby Yoda fuss is about. There was an even more memorable moment in the first episode for me, though.

In our school district we have a lot of students who are English Language Learners. These kids have the formidable task of learning both a second language and the curriculum content at the same time. As their teacher, I have been to lots of training sessions that provide strategies to help me help those learners.

When it comes to training, teachers can be a pretty tough audience. We expect you to engage us, but please! No cutesy icebreakers or trite introductions. We do appreciate a good empathy activity, though. If you can give us just a sliver of what our kids might be struggling with, you have a captive audience.

And that's where The Mandalorian comes in. (Did you think I'd forgotten?) The show takes place in the Star Wars universe, a place I'm somewhat familiar with, but not a native by any means. Since it was a first episode, I expected to have to pay attention and learn my way; I know how important exposition is, and I was following right along until this bit of dialogue:

"A pauldron would be in order. Is your signet revealed? This is extremely generous. It will spawn many foundlings."

Uhhh

I know 18 out of 19 of the words in those sentences, but I'm not sure if 3 of them (signet, spawn, and foundlings) are being used with a meaning that I am familiar with. As for pauldron? No idea. And I couldn't figure it out from either the language context or the action context.

In short? I was lost.

But I did what most kids do in the same situation. I decided it wasn't that important right then and kept watching.

I just hope it's not on the test!

I Know it Well

On April 1, I'm the loneliest blogger around. All my other slice of lifers have packed up their  white hot keyboards and amazing writing for the year. Sure, there might be a new post here and there, but that month of connection is gone.

Of course, so is the pressure to write something better than just okay. Even so, I'll tough it out for now and continue with my daily writing, because like I told my students (remotely, of course) as they embarked on Day 32 of their 100 Day Writing Challenge: A bad day of writing is better than a day of no writing at all. 

Just Like Us

I like all these videos on social media lately of celebrities singing, reading poetry, and just talking from their homes. The content is... okay. I have definitely come to realize just how important editors and scripts really are, though. (And I won't even address the no makeup thing. Just. Wow.)

What I like best about these recordings is the inside of the houses. It's fascinating to see the paint, the furniture, the floors, the cabinets in the kitchen, the art on the walls, the knick knacks on the shelves. Kind of like walking in the evening and catching a glimpse of your neighbors through the light in their windows, it reminds you that everyone has a whole life as real to them as yours is to you.

Like one of Heidi's students said at the beginning of their first teleclass, his mind completely boggled, as images of his classmates and teachers tiled the screen. "Hey! Everyone is in a house!"

Space and Time

The facilities director met us at the front door of school this morning in disposable gloves and a mask. He apologized for having us sign in and politely requested that we limit our time in the building to no more than 15 minutes.

Heidi needed some materials from her own classroom further down the hall, and so we agreed to meet in mine when she was done.

I was only there to pick up my plants; they could have survived the 4 weeks away that had been announced when we left on March 13, but now that school was canceled for the rest of the year? Well.

When I opened the door to my classroom the sun was shining brightly enough that I didn't bother with the lights. It smelled like a school in there, a mixture of books and chalk and pencil shavings and crayons, maybe. It was a smell I recognized, but not one I expected. My room used to be odorless to me, like the water to a fish.

It didn't take long to pack up the assortment of succulents, cacti, philodendron, orchids, [un]lucky bamboo, and my Douglas Fir and Joshua Tree that I had grown from seed, and so I stood in the unlit room and looked around at the unfamiliar familiar. I have been teaching in that very classroom since 1994, longer than I've lived anywhere in my life, but today I felt my connection to that space fray just a bit.

And then Heidi was at my door, and we headed out into the deserted, but brilliant, spring day beyond.

Same Boat, Different Deck

When asked about her low during their virtual social skills class last week, one of Heidi's students answered, "Being nice."

"Being nice to who?" Heidi questioned. "Your family?"

"Yeah," the little girl sighed.

Her mom, who was sitting at her side, laughed ruefully. "It's been a bit of a challenge," she confirmed.

And of course, they aren't alone. Everywhere you look there are tales and tips of how to survive quarantine with your nearest and dearest without going crazy.

Here at our home, the situation has been quite pleasant, although our cats and dog may disagree. Heidi and are getting along just fine, but after 2 weeks of our undivided attention, our pets may be ready for a break, Lucy especially. That dog must be walking at least 10 miles a day when you add up the morning walk I take her on, the midday walk we all go on, and the early evening walk Heidi takes with a few neighbors and their dogs.

Some of our neighbors seem a little lax on the social distancing. Nobody wants to get sick or infect others, but everyone is creating their own playbook based on personal ideas of acceptable risk.

For example, yesterday afternoon we were returning from a 5 mile stroll through the neighborhood when we crossed paths with 3 women piling out of a car loaded with plants. Together, they had been to a local garden shop-- no social distancing possible on that ride. But we knew that the three of them each live alone, and such a break from complete isolation must seem more than acceptable.

I guess in a time when everyone is struggling, but not with exactly the same issues, the only remedy is empathy.