Cottage Industry

"What are you doing?" Heidi asked as she walked into the kitchen this morning. 

I looked up from the crowded counters and stove top and took a breath. "Well, I spiraled the sweet potatoes and roasted them, then blanched the greens and chopped them. I also sliced the extra bread to freeze before it goes stale, but I toasted the heels and other small pieces to grind for breadcrumbs. And I melted some beeswax to season the canele´ molds so I can bake off the leftover batter. I think I'll put away the Christmas decorations next." I paused. "Oh, and here's your coffee and some avocado toast."

"Thanks, Babe," she said. "I'll do the dishes."

Tails or Heads?

I reported yesterday about asking a group sixth graders if they would choose heads or tails in a coin toss. The results from my first set of classes were 55% heads to 45% tails, which I found surprising because I expected closer to a 50-50 break, like the odds of a coin flip. What I also found interesting, if unexplainable, was the break down by gender: 75% of the boys chose heads and 67% of the girls chose tails.

Well, the results are in from my second group of kids. Today 57% of the students chose tails, leaving heads in the dust with just 43%. But the amazing statistic is that when both sets of data were added together? It ended up being the very 50-50 split I predicted! 

Today, only 39% of the boys chose heads, and the girls were split 50-50 heads and tails. BUT... the overall data showed that 61% of the boys chose heads and 61% of the girls chose tails! The symmetry of the numbers is a little astonishing, still mystifying, but also wonderful in its perfect balance.

Heads or Tails?

The chat snap today was In a coin toss, do you usually choose heads or tails? 

I was introducing counterclaims, and my segue way was Just as there are two sides to every coin, there are also two sides to every argument (see what I did there?), but the hook was to record each student's answer and then flip a coin at the end to see who "won". 

An inveterate tails-picker myself, I wondered if I was imagining it, but as I was marking the Hs and Ts next to the names on my roster, I noticed something odd. It seemed like most of the boys were choosing heads and most of the girls were choosing tails. As soon as I was done teaching for the day, I had to crunch some numbers. 

Turns out that 55% of the kids chose heads over tails, which surprised me, because I thought it would be closer to the 50-50 split that occurs when you actually toss a coin. Digging deeper into the data, I found that a full 75% of the boys chose heads, and 67% of the girls chose tails. I have no explanation for these anecdotal results, but I do have a chance to conduct the experiment again tomorrow with my B-day classes. 

Are you on the edge of your seat?

Nowtimes

As I cooked this evening, I listened the latest reports of the demonstration that had devolved into a mob and stormed the Capitol. The measured voices of the reporters and the emotional voices of those they interviewed on the scene were interrupted several times by the shrill alert of the emergency broadcast system. It was not a test; the governor had ordered a curfew for our county beginning at 6 PM. It would be a misdemeanor to leave my house until 6 tomorrow morning. 

Fortunately, I had no plans of doing so. It's my dad's birthday today, and even though he's been gone since 1987, we still honor him each year by preparing his favorite meal of chicken with white gravy and biscuits. This year I threw in an apple crisp galette, too, because I knew he would have liked it. It's a comforting menu, and I have confidence that even on this, his 86th birthday, he would have relished it. 

But what he would have thought of the rest of the world? 

I have no idea.

A Tragic Twelvetide Tale

It's always a little sad this time of year to see holiday trees stripped of their lights and ornaments and tossed out onto the curb. I get it that everyone has their own timeline for winding down the decorations, but even so? 

On this twelfth day of Christmas I do admit I gasped when I saw a lady, walking her schnauzer all decked out in his fancy sweater, let her dog take a leak on one of those discarded, curbside trees. 

Where were those drumming drummers when you need them?

Trim the Sails

Every year for the last 14 One Little Word has been the first assignment of the new year in my sixth grade English class. The premise is deceptively simple: find a single word that means something you want for the year ahead, post it to the discussion along with a brief explanation. 

I love this assignment because it offers a soft reopening to school after the holiday break, it is easy and engaging, and it also often results in some of the wisest and most honest writing my students have done so far in the school year. 

This time was no exception; one of the most popular words of the year was friendship along with several poignant explanations about how much the kids miss their friends and classmates. Other popular words were kindness, happiness, and joy. There were also several riffs on success and winning, and a few honest confessions that more responsibility was necessary along with some patience and change. 

In general, though, there was less variety than in past years, and much less creativity, too (although one student did choose creativity as her word.) I was a little disappointed by this latter development, I love it when kids choose crazy words that capture something special about them and what they hope for. 

When I mentioned the assignment to her, my sister shared with me an Instagram site belonging to artist, poet, and podcaster Morgan Harper Nichols with a hundred words on loop. The idea is to take a screenshot as they play, and that will give you a word to contemplate in the year ahead. The graphics and music are wonderful, and the words are inspired, too. 

My word was wind, defined as "the perceptible movement of air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction".

I think I'll keep it.

Meeting Adjourned

Nothing beats a pandemic like an hour and a half on FaceTime with your siblings!

As such, be it so resolved:

• Veterinarians may want to rethink their business model.
• Raccoons and storm drains are definitely a thing. 
• Any words of the year should be illustrated.
• We will find a vacation place for TWO weeks this summer.