Who is that Data Point?

One of the supports we are offering students during distance learning is a dedicated 35 minutes a day with a teacher adviser. Known as TA in our school, this contemporary version of homeroom, and pillar of the whole-child, middle school model, has undergone a lot of ups and downs in the 28 years I've been a teacher. For example, since it is not purely academic, advisory is often the first thing to be cut in the name of remediation and test prep. Even so, the simple truth that spending time with a small group of kids with the intention to forge a personal relationship is a positive and supportive equation has managed to shine through in the darkest of times. 

At our school, we are provided with a lot of guidance as to how to use the time we have. In addition to the conferences and IB orientation we do with our students, this year we have also been given some mindfulness routines and some current events activities, too. Not surprisingly, the current events piece has been very focused on the election. Such discussions are always unpredictable with 11-year-olds living inside the Beltway, many of whom are from other countries. 

Over the years I've learned a few strategies to approach that potential minefield. "How many of you guys have an opinion on the presidential election?" I asked today. "I don't want you to tell me who it is, I just want you to raise your hand if you support one candidate over the other." 10 out of 14 virtual hands flew up, but I felt like I had to check in with the other four. "So you're saying you don't care who wins the election?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral. They all confirmed that was the case.

Later, I considered who those kids were. In my homeroom I have six girls and eight boys. Three of the girls identify as Latina, one is Ethiopian, one is white, and one is from Nepal. Of the boys, three are white, one is of Eritrean descent, and the other four are Latino. It was the last four who did not have an opinion on the presidential election. If we had been in the classroom, there might have been some peer influence on answering my question, but one aspect of virtual teaching and learning with sixth graders is that the students don't really pay very much attention to what the other kids say, and I feel like my informal survey was pretty accurate.

I'm not really sure what the significance of the data is, though, because although advisory is meant to be a time to build relationships, the process can be slow, even in person, and I don't have a lot of context, other than the four of them are hardworking young men who want to do well in school.

But 100% in a demographic? That's got to mean something.

All Dressed Down

Yesterday, I actually wore pants for the first time in months. Like so many others working from home, my uniform has become athleisure wear, mostly tights and t-shirts. In the spring it was so I could work out without changing, but times have changed since we've been distance teaching. Now I just dress that way out of habit, and yes, comfort. My good old jeans slipped right on, and a turtleneck and flannel shirt completed a very familiar look, but I just wasn't feeling it. So today? It's back to the tights and tee, with a fun orange tie-dye sweatshirt and a Halloween buff around my neck. Is it temporary or is it evolution? Only time will tell. I haven't been more than a casual dresser in years, and who knows? I still might go for a run after lunch.

Gourd Heavening

I've had my eye on one of the little pumpkins that came from my garden. It is tall and slender and more of a golden orange than that traditional Halloween hue. When it was first growing, I thought perhaps it was a spaghetti squash, but I concluded otherwise. From the time it burgeons, a tiny fruit on the vine, spaghetti squash is the palest of lemon yellows, but this other fruit had the dark, mottled green of an immature pumpkin. 

And so a pumpkin it was!

Until today, when attention and opportunity collided: looking at that little orange gourd I wondered if there was such a thing as a squash hybrid, and I had the time to look it up. A bit of research revealed that pumpkins and spaghetti squash are crazy cross-pollinators. Plant two vines in a garden, and who knows what you'll get! Spumpkin? Pumghetti? 

I'm looking forward to cooking my hybrid squash in the near future, and if it's any good? I'm saving the seeds! A little squash surprise will only add to the the fun of the garden next summer.

SSDS

"I hate that pan! It's. always dirty!" Heidi growled in frustration from the sink.

"I'll wash it!" I said. "I know you hate it, but it's the best tool for the job." In this case the job was roasting vegetables and the sheet pan in question was non-stick with a circular raised pattern that did a great job caramelizing.

I should have stopped there, but I didn't. "It's not really dirty," I pointed out. "It's like a cast iron skillet, seas--"

"Dirty!" Heidi declared. "People say 'seasoned', but that just means that there's left over shit from other cooking and they're okay with it!" she scoffed.

Did I mention my wife was a bit of a clean freak?

"Seasoned and dirty are not the same thing!" I answered indignantly, searching my brain for a logical reason that I was right. "Dirty means that there's stuff on it that you don't want, and seasoned means that you do want it." I laughed, because it was a clarification I had never considered.

It might be the same shit," I shrugged, "but it's a different situation."

Kitchen Archeology

My brother likes to point out that the days are long, but the months and years are short. I know what he means, and I'm pretty sure his theory of time explains the 2 cans of evaporated milk I found in the back of my pantry this morning. Having no recollection of purchasing them, I knew they had been there a while, but I wasn't prepared for the expiration date, July 2005. Neither was I ready for the golden brown goop I found in the bottom of each can as I emptied them. Aged for over 15 years, I'm sure the thick and cheesy-smelling clabber is probably a delicacy somewhere, but as for me? I was just glad to have a little extra space in the cabinet.

A Hart and no Brain

Lately we have been watching Hart of Dixie on Netflix. Aired on the CW from 2011-2015, this romantic dramedy tells the story of Zoe Hart, a young NYC surgeon who, when she doesn't get the fellowship she was expecting, decides to spend a year as a GP in the small town of Bluebell, AL. 

Upon her arrival, she discovers that the kindly old doctor who invited her has died and left her his half of the practice. Early in the first episode, we all find out that he was actually Zoe Hart's real father. It's a fish out of water story, full of cultural misunderstandings, but surprisingly very few hard feelings. Nobody on the show holds a grudge for longer than an episode or two, even after they've been left at the altar. 

That is not to say that Hart of Dixie is a kind show; it is not-- the characters are mean, and often petty, despite the strong message that deep down they possess hearts of gold. We started watching it because it was loosely compared to Gilmore Girls, but even though the show was actually filmed on the same Warner Bros back lot that was the setting for Starr's Hollow, gazebo and all, I see more of a thematic connection to Once Upon a Time. 

The interesting core of both HOD and OUAT is not a likable heroine, but rather a complex villain. At least that's what it seems like the writers are shooting for. We are only on episode 26 of 78, and it's all still a bit of a muddle. Oh, I'm definitely over-analyzing, and I really shouldn't, because the best thing about the show is that it is pretty brainless, though, and after so many hours a day working, that is what we need right now.

Me Mail Makes Me Smile

I had forgotten that one of the school counselors had asked me to add her to my class call this morning so she could observe a student. How one does that on an MS Teams call with very few cameras on, I'm not sure, but I will say that the student in question participated quite a bit. This afternoon I received a quick email from my colleague with the subject line Fun!

Hoping for a little positivity, I opened it up. Thanks for letting me join your class! it read. So fun-- makes me want to take a writer's workshop from you. 😊

That was nice! 

I also texted another colleague a few minutes before my conference with a student of hers and his mom. I noticed he has several kissing assignments, I mistyped. Is there anything you want me to pass along? Then I hit send without proofreading.

Oh, I sent the obligatory correction with a goofy emoji, but I laughed out loud when I got her email tonight, subject line Solution for Kissing Assignments. She filled me in on her phone conversation with his mom, adding at the end, I can't wait to be in the classroom with real faces. I kiss so much this way!