Nerdy Book Club Blogger

Today is a pretty exciting day in my "writerly life."  I am the guest blogger at the Nerdy Book Club!  The hardest part of writing the "retro review" was deciding WHICH BOOK to write about!  So, I queried my daughter who QUICKLY suggested that Pooh was the one! 

As I was writing this review of Winnie the Pooh, I really did notice that the challenging vocabulary of this "rigorous" text was probably very much in line with the CCSS and a very important way to stretch our children as readers and thinkers.  I also was reminded of powerful memories of snuggling with my own children on my bed as we explored the magical world of Winnie and his friends.  

However, when I saw my name in print, I felt JUST LIKE TIGGER!  I could have bounced all the way to the Hundred Acre Woods! 

http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/retro-review-winnie-the-pooh-and-the-house-at-pooh-corner-by-a-a-milne/

Connecting: Don't Assume

At first glance, what do you see?  On the surface, you see a family who eats a lot of hummus and is consumed by their technology.  On the surface, they seem unable to connect with each other.   On the surface, this is a sad, sad picture of the state of our lives.  On the surface, this picture would make you cry out for the "good old days" before technology interfered. 

If you made those assumptions, you were wrong, at least on most of them!  Here is the "rest of the story."  This is a family that "connects" in person just a few times a year; however, they connect almost daily via Facebook Scrabble. At the time of this photo, they were loading apps and preparing for another Scrabble game (the old fashioned way - on a cardboard game with wooden tiles) after a day of fishing (the old fashioned way - in canoes).  This is a family that does eat a lot of hummus with taco chips, pretzels and veggie sticks and then drinks a lot of grapefruit Pelligrino after a "long, hard" day on the lake pretending to be catching dinner and at the table playing Scrabble!

Message: Don't Assume ............................................

Rainbows

                                                               Drought, heat, humidity,

Strong winds, intense rainstorms,

Scorched lawns, fallen trees.

Tragedies, illnesses,

Fires, moves, challenges,
Sadness, silence, anger,

Lives disrupted.

   Rainbows,

    Reminders,
    It doesn't "rain" forever, 

      Life, relationships,people are fragile,
       Each day, a gift, not to be repeated.
 We are not promised tomorrow,
    Yet, there will be rainbows,
  After the many
Storms of life.

 Real view after storm.

Real view after storm.

Reflection:

This blog was started to share writing with graduate students in a 21st Century kind of way.  However, my life is full of adventure, sadness, happiness, and drama; thus, there are lots of small "emotionally charged" moments about which I am writing! 

Meanwhile, the CCS ask us to shift our focus to more informational writing..  On one hand, I applaud informational reading and writing as an easier and certainly a worthy genre for many of our students; however, I do not want to give up personal narratives, personal poetry, and fictional texts based on personal experiences.  Writing and sharing has helped me share smiles during the great days and has helped me cope with the darker ones.  Diverse writers need to have opportunities to try it all as they grow and travel the storms of lfe.   Writers are as complex, different and ever-changing as the rainbows that emerge briefly from the sky after a storm.     

Know When to Connect and When to Disconnect

When you go to Walmart, you never know what you'll find.  Some days, the interactions are annoying (trying to use a credit card that is over the limit) and some days the interactions make me sad. Sometimes, the interactions become the data for a mini "ethonographic research"!

The line was long (what else is new) so there was a lot of time to observe her.  She was fiddling with her hair and talking on her cell phone.  Then, she was emptying the contents of her basket onto the counter while talking on her cell phone.  Finally, she was trying to pay, and talking on her cell phone.  Her toddler (about 4) was holding and sharing her iced coffee while attempting to engage in a conversation.

"We go to Namas, after this?"
      pause
"Are we gonna go?"    
     pause
"Can we go?"
    pause
"Can I get this (candy)?"
    pause, puts it in the cart
"Can I get this (gum)?"  
    pause, puts it in her lap
"Can I get this (People magazine)?" 
    pause, pulls off the cover
"Can I help you?"    pause, puts the coffe on the counter
    coffee spills
                                       "Wait a minute, I'm trying to check out.
                                        Stop it now. You are making a mess.
                                        Don't waste that coffee."
"Are we gonna go?"
     pause
"Can we go?"
     pause
"Can I get out?"
    pause, attempts to get out

At that point, I intervened, encouraged the child to stay in her seat and started a conversation with the child about where they might be going next. The mom did not appear to notice that I was talking to her child.  She said nothing to me either; instead, she continued her conversation, stopping only to retrieve and put in her credit card.  She did not say thank you to the cashier nor respond to the cashier's, "Have a good day."  As they left, the toddler waved to me and said, "Bye, see you tomorrow!"  I smiled and waved back.  It's a big world at the mart and I go rarely' thus, I probably will never see him again. 
I got home and wrote this post (thinking I might expand on the conversation part another day).  Then my post was responded to by KT, a young teacher mom who long ago was a student in my school!
KT suggested I check out this mama's blog post. I did and it left me filled with a little sadness, yet hope for the future. 

I admit, I didn't have to worry about the distraction of cell phones when my own kids were little as I didn't have one; however, it does fill me with mama guilt for the times I was reading a book at a game and for all the times I was abrupt or too tired to play.  (Please forgive me kids). We all could take note of this mama - even us older moms - with older kids - even busy teachers - with lots of kids - each day is a gift - to listen to the kids - to talk with them - to use the moments wisely.

http://www.handsfreemama.com/2012/05/07/how-to-miss-a-childhood/

As hands free mama says:
"The recipe for “How to Grasp a Childhood” requires only one thing: You must put down your phone. Whether it is for ten minutes, two hours, or an entire Saturday, beautiful human connection, memory making, and parent-child bonding can occur every single time you let go of distraction to grasp what really matters."

Connecting: With Nature and Birthdays

August is the month of the connected educator,
So, I connected with nature,
At a state park,
A pristine lake, powerful views.
I connected with memories,
Riding those trails,
To the ice cold lake,
With children,
Speeding along on bikes with only one gear,
A strange but wonderful choice,
A better than an amusement-park-birthday-activity.
The views were breath-taking
The memories were powerful,
This time I took pictures.

Connected and Unconnected

This summer, admittedly, I am more "connected" than ever before.  I've reflected more (online), written more (online), and shared more (online) than EVER before.  At times it is downright scary and at other times, it is downright addicting!  It is also VERY time consuming and I will have to significantly cutback on my blog reading, Twitter reading, online sharing, personal writing, professional sharing, as well as my Words With Friends and Scrabble playing if I am going to have time to teach kids and teachers! 

This article, retrieved from a Twitter link, made me stop and think about my own connectedness and about the ever increasing number of ways we try to stay "connected" to a circle of personal as well as professional "friends" :
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/national-survey-reveals-consumers-are-overwhelmed-by-social-media-2012-08-01  I'm not sure that the service they are hawking is THE solution to a growing trend. However, at home and at school, we need to have ways we can connect on multiple media efficiently. 

We also need to have times when we are UNCONNECTED from technology in order to CONNECT with those we love.  Perhaps we could start a movement to encourage shutting off phones during meals at home and at restaurants unless people are awaiting very important calls / messages (doctors on call). Perhaps we could encourage everyone to talk to kids (rather than to the phones) when they are grocery shopping?  Perhaps we could encourage everyone to turn off their phones during read aloud time? 

Sir Ken Robinson

I can now say for sure that my summer reading is eclectic.  I just finished reading an article by Sir Ken Robinson in a COSTCO magazine! You don't have to be a member to read it. 
http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201208#pg35
While the concept of encouraging imagination, creativity and problem solving skills is not a new one, it is an important one as we prepare learners for jobs that we cannot even imagine today.  You should know his messsage and consider ways to encourage thinking outside the box - even in our era of using tests to measure learning.
   

The Connected Educator

If I hadn't been reading the tweets and blogs in my own P.L.N (Personal Learning Network), I would have missed that the US Department of Education has deemed August as "Connected Educator Month."  I can assure you there were no emails about this from school and to the best of my knowledge, the NEA did not send out information about this initiative!  I have read a lot of references to student achievement and to teacher evaluations in my local paper; however, there has been nothing about this US Government month-long focus.

In reality, this "silent" initiative is pretty sad because as it stands now, those who are already pretty "connected" will likely become "more connected" and those who are "out of the loop," in terms of educational technology, will likely fall "farther behind!"  How sad it is that after many years of working hard to leave no children behind, the attributes of learning described long ago in the "Matthew Effect" of education now represents the growing disparity of teacher preparedness to use "Internet based connections" for both their own and their students' learning.

We can all agree to at least this:

There is a need for ALL teachers to create and use their own P.L.N

to grow professionally and support student learning in the 21st Century. 

So if by some chance you come across this blog post AND if you, like me, want to try to be "connected" when we start school in a few weeks, here are a few links I plan to read.  I will save my own P.L.N. for another post; however, you too can use these links to begin connecting!
Happy Connecting.

1)
 
Department of Education Site with some (I think) amazing links.  So far, I have only checked our a few.  I will be reading more. 

http://connectededucators.org/cem/
2)

---

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/for-connected-educator-month-tips-from-33-educators-we-admire/?partner=rss&emc=rss

3)

Connected Educator Month to Launch With Virtual Conference                                                                                       

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2012/07/connected_educator_month_to_la.html

4)  Beyond Physical Space
http://dogtrax.edublogs.org/2012/08/02/connected-educators-beyond-physical-space/#.UBpRDFC7ko0.twitter

5)
I’ve Copyrighted “Flipped Classroom”

http://edreach.us/2012/07/31/ive-copyrighted-flipped-classroom/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EdReach+%28EdReach+Network+%29

The Connected Me Webcomic

The Connected Me Webcomic
This is the new face of education! 
We are NOT alone anymore! 

I Wonder

I wonder if

He knows we are thinking of him,
He is playing golf on verdant pastures,

He grins when I have "book talks" with mom,

He smiles when I "re-tweet" a NY Times article, 

He uses guardian angel powers to protect us,

He knows we are buying houses, forging futures,
Earning degrees, inventing, creating,
Learning, reflecting, adjusting,
Sharing our lives, getting married, having babies,
Reading the NY Times on Kindles,
He is proud of the way we are carrying for each other,
In his absence,
He will continue guiding us through the days ahead.