SOL 26 Some Learning Required

My new toy is dangerous.  Late Saturday, I downloaded a book, Some Assembly Required for 12.99. I read voraciously that evening and I would be reading right now....except I can't seem to find the book!

It used to be that I had a LIST of books to borrow or buy.....time passed...and often they were loaned to me.....I bought books and loaned them to others.....I see all this changing...but at least I will be helping the e-economy!  Specially if I have to order NEW books because I can't find the old ones!

Hold on world...I hope to figure out this App thing when I am no longer consumed by my SOL challenge and I have a little more time.

Could get expensive.
A bookstore with disappearing books
Just a few clicks away
Late at night
After hours
Scary
Amazing
Exciting
Dangerous
Some Learning Required 

 Order date: Mar 24, 2012 10:46:44 PM
 Google order number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Qty                               1
Item                              Some Assembly Required
Price                             $12.99
 Paid with: XXXXXXXXXXX

SOL 25 There Are Times When You Just Want to Make It All Better

Long ago, my sister-in-law (and chosen mentor on raising children) and I were sitting on her couch trying to plan a 50th Anniversary celebration. "Little kids, little problems; bigger kids, bigger problems,"she volunteered as she sat trying to comfort my colicky infant.  At the time, most of her kids were already teenagers, and thus her wisdom usually put my bawling baby or tantrumming toddler in proper perspective. 

Today, those words resonate clearly with me as I watch my now "big kids" maneuver their ways thought life's obstacle course - from afar.  While there are many "helicopter" parents out there who planned their children's lives, scheduled sports lessons, wrote papers, filled out college applications and micromanaged decisions, we were quite simply, the opposite.  

I really am not sure which came first, our decision to raise independent children or our, by nature, strong-willed and fiercely independent children.  "I do it myself" and "Don't help me" were probably the first phrases out of their mouths!  Now, as adults, they are usually a bit more polite, but the message is the same, "I'll figure it out,"  and they do.

This month, they have each maneuvered their ways through intense housing "crises" that have disrupted their sleep (and mine) and their thoughts (and mine).  They are making big decisions and maneuvering the gauntlet of life that they have been preparing for since those early phrases, "I do it myself!"  I am proud and happy and sure they have will make their way through the obstacles and challenges....but there are still times when you just want to make it all better or easier! 

SOL 24 A Fine, Fine Lady

Most days, I stop to visit my mom and aunt on my way home. I usually start with my mom, because frankly she gets cranky if I don't. I love my mom dearly, but as she has aged, and dealt with sadness and crises, she has become increasingly cranky.  But this post is not about about my mother (perhaps another day).  Today's post is about the slice of my life that takes place after I leave my mom's condo and walk next door to see my Aunt Gert. She is many things, but she's not cranky. 

Yesterday, she turned 89, but you'd never know that.  She's still got that translucent Irish skin with nary a wrinkle.  In that way, she reminds me of my dad who looked pretty great at 84 even after the ravages of illness.

She was the 9th of 10 children of Irish immigrant parents on a tiny farm in upstate NY.  I doubt they knew if they could provide for another child; yet, she has outlived all of her siblings, including my dad.  The ironic thing is that she left her apartment in Brooklyn to move next door to my dad, her baby brother, about 10 years ago so he could "take care" of her!  

She never married and shared an apartment with her sisters after the farm was sold.  While she says school was not her thing, I am pretty confident that my aunt is as smart as can be.  She worked in a bank for many years and does a great job managing her finances, even now.  When she asks me to research some financial plan, I am really researching! 

She's also a major league movie and baseball buff and the queen of trivia.  She is equally cconversant about Derek Jeter, Justin Beiber's antics and the religious preferences of political candidates.  Her mind is as sharp as a tack thanks, I guess, to her daily crosswords, her vocation and avocation.

She is a fine, fine lady who never has a harsh word about anyone.  While she too has seen a lot of sadness and her world turned upside down, she still greets each day ware of the potential that day will hold, even if it is just a great crossword puzzles and Doctor Oz. 

My Aunt Gert is gentle, kind and accepting.  She is a fine, fine lady.  If I am lucky enough to grow old, I want to be like her.  

SOL 23 Promises

 Green shoots from the resting earth,

Pink and white signs of the future.

Small reminders of renewal after rest,

Hiding during dark and gloomy days.

Perhaps it's the strife and discontent,

Perhaps it's the angst of so many,

Whatever the reason,

Tiny signs, promises.

 

SOL 22 Testing 1, 2, 3,...

In some states, they're over and people await the results.  In New York, they're looming.
I keep searching for the best way to  prepare for this annual event that challenges students and teachers.  In my searching, I came across the article by Guthrie at this site:
http://www.education.umd.edu/literacy/Home/Faculty/book2.htm

It's long, but filled with lots of great points.  A few (familiar) points are with putting on posters in the teachers' lounge!

* Students who read widely and frequently are higher achievers (Guthrie, Wigfield, Metsala, & Cox, 1999).

* When students are provided opportunities to connect reading and writing in integrated language arts, their reading increases and achievement improves (Morrow, Pressley, Smith, & Smith, 1997).

* Scores may be low for motivational reasons (Sugrue, 1995; Waid, Kanoy, Blick, & Walker, 1978).

* While some exposure is effective, excessive time in format practice is not (Yen & Ferrara, 1997).

* Effective teaching strategies (encouraging, connecting, questioning, modeling, scaffolding) for reading and writing are the best way to prepare for high stakes assessments!

                                   Got a poster maker? 

SOL 21 My husband thinks I might have SCRIPTURIENT

I'm sure you have heard that people who live together for a long time start to look or act alike!      While our physical and political attributes are still quite different, my husband, the engineer, is starting (after many years) to really appreciate words! 

"Interesting add to your blog," read yesterday's email.  "At first, I wasn't quite sure why he was sending me a link for a poster of the word, scripturient selling for $160. I read the poster again and noticed the definition: processing a violent desire to write!

Dear husband,
While I am pretty confident that my desire to write is not violent, I will admit this SOL thing has become a bit of a compulsion! I went looking for a a word that describes a compulsion to write for a community of writers that you will likely never meet.  I think I found that word: blog. 

SOL 20 Going strong at 98

"She just turned 98," he noted proudly as he stared down at her red head. "It seems like yesterday she joined our family!"

My husband was referring to Matilda, my 3 year old VW.  She, like Roald Dahl's character, is magical!  She gets upwards to 50 mpg (amazing)!  We have been "personifying" our cars (and tractors) for as long as I can remember. 

Back when I first met my husband, he was driving "The Cutty" but over the years their names have increasingly reflected our family's interests!  There was  Clifford, the "big" red Focus (pun intended, he really was quite small) and the Silver Bullet (an aging Volvo P1800 who really yearned for movie fame).  There was Heidi (who loved to take off her top like the Heidi Klum poster that snuck into my house).  My daughter still drives Stella (from a Streetcar Named Desire) and my son drove Patty (named after an inside out peppermint patty) for a few years. And, these days, my husband takes Johnny (Deere) with him to help with the yard work!

I guess back in the old days, it was not really necessary to name cars.  You had one per household and you took THE car if you were going some place.  Not so anymore.  It's very helpful to state clearly which car you are taking and why.  SO we call them by name!  As soon as I shower, Matilda and I will begin our daily mini-marathon. She loves to run fast and play in the traffic (loves those tractor trailers who use the same fuel she does) so we get out there and run 5 days per week.  All this running is why she is aging faster than your average car! 

SOL 19 In a dresser drawer

During dinner the other night, he mentioned that he'd cleaned out the ol' pink dresser, the one that sat at the bottom of the basement stairs.  It was filled  mostly with mouse droppings. 

Then, he said quietly that he'd found an old cigar box in the bottom drawer.  I breathed deeply as he took the box from under his chair.  Cigar boxes were storage containers for his dad - and remain treasured relics for my husband and his son, too.  He asked if I knew about the box - but he already knew I did not.
It was filled with memories...of aunts and uncles he did not remember.  He found glimpses of party dresses from his mother's youth and his father's first car.  He found a love letter SWAK from his mom to his dad - long before he was a glimmer in their eyes.  His own eyes filled with tears as he remembered. 

Somehow, those who are no longer with us, reminded us of their love.  I am not really sure how that box got there or why he looked inside that bottom drawer before putting the ol' dresser at the curb... sometimes you just have to smile...and remember. 

Internet-Based Technology for Teaching

Today, I finished planning your online class. It's not the first time I have planned for this class.  It's likely not the last!  Everytime, it's hard!  It's hard on students too. Frankly, it's more work than going to class.  I am not sold on the idea that teachers will be totally replaced anytime soon BECAUSE this online learning requires SO much planning and SO much work.  I really admire teachers who do a whole undergraduate or graduate class without watching their students' faces and engaging in small group discussion, fishbowls, and last word protocols (wait for that one next week!)
HOWEVER, I am also pretty sure that we can not be effective teachers in the 21st Century without technology.

 I dream of having iPads for my students to use for individual reinformecemnt and reading. 



Wikis, webquests and Teacher Tube vidoes are the way we can engage our diverse learners. 

As one of my fellow SOLbloggers observed, we write so we can be better teachers of writing.  I am willing to risk making my ideas public JUST like I ask my students to do!
Frankly, without Google images, my ELLs would not know what we are talking and reading about.  Just the other day, we got to a section in Freckle Juice about the freckles all over the back of Nicky Lane's neck.  I have a few freckles, but not the kind that would evoke a neck full of freckles!  All it took was a quick Google search in images and we were all talking about the same thing! 
 


What role do you think technology will have in your classroom? Did you read, learn, or do anything this week that helped clarify your thinking? Let me know!

SOL 18 Real Men Cradle Infants on Facebook

His image on Facebook spurred memories so different that it made my head spin. Cradling his infant daughter in the crook of his arm, he smiled the kind of smile you think about all day. It was not an ear-to-ear-cat-got-the-mouse smile but rather a this-is-what-life-is-all-about smile.  He pretty much looked like he was destined for fatherhood all his life! 

I sat remembering the pudgy teenager in a football uniform.  He was a kind soul even then; quiet, respectful and grateful for the rides I offered and the Wendy's trips I sponsored.  At one point,  he offered a solution for a car problem even though he did not yet drive.

I remembered that kid's father screaming about "hitting hard" and "blocking harder," rather than embracing approximation of grid iron greatness.  I remember feeling sorry for that kid as I sat in the stands.  His mom, appeared to be a kind soul herself, although she rarely said a word.
I have wondered about that kid over the years and mentioned his name when I read the father's obituary a few months ago.  He lived down south, i was told, and worked as a mechanic.  Married his high school sweetheart, he was doing just fine.  In fact, they were having a baby!

So, I guess it was destiny that I his image appeared on a social network. His smile made my day.  I don't think I ever saw his father smile like that; yet, I hope he was proud of his son. I don't think I ever saw his mother smile either; however, I am think she might just smile that same smile if that image popped up on her Facebook.

I wish I had known back then what I know now.  I might tell him, right there in the stands, that manhood is not determined by how hard you hit.  Real men gently cradle their children and glow with love at their every achievement and moment of glory...it's a love that is as deep as the ocean and as wide as they sea....a love they could never have imagined when they were trying to "hit 'em hard " and "hold that line"!