You Can Be Whomever You Want on All Hallows Eve

Sorry, but I am not and have never been a big fan of this holiday.  Feeding kids gobs of sugar and scaring the be-geezers out of them, just does not align with my safe minded thinking.  Yet, after "skipping" the holiday for the past two years in my neck of the woods due to weather related disasters, I am looking forward (I think), just a bit, to this stressful, strange, scary, but still enjoyed holiday! 

While All Hallows Eve has both religious and secular roots in our society, our Halloween practices are in stark contrast to its dark and sinister roots.  

We carve pumpkins because they look really cute on dark October evenings.   We trick or treat in neighborhoods long after dark scaring ourselves just a wee bit, but gaining candy to nourish parents' sweet teeth all year long.  On this day alone, we can be whomever and whatever we want! 

And so, just in case you were wondering, Beary will be Gerald for today.  He lives in a Reading Room and reads all day long.  Elephant is one of Beary's favorite characters; so, it just seems fitting!

#sol14 50 years

Long ago, when I Want to Hold Your Hand was the rage,

Before the The Long and Windy Road was clarified,

They looked into each others' eyes,

They held on tight,

They took a leap of faith, 

Promising to love, honor, and respect

They could not imagine the piles of toys, 

Immense joys, 

The hills they would climb together,

The travels and travails they would share,

The breathtaking moments and 

Unimaginable heartaches, 

They would share.

They could not imagine the power of faith,

The love of family,

The guidance of friends

That would bridge the worry, 

Help them overcome their fears, 

Surround them in glorious moments

As well as the dark days of life. 

They could not have imagined

Holding each other more tightly now,

Than 50 years ago,

They could never have imagined 

Kenny Rogers would write their story,

Through all the good and bad

I knew how much we had...

I've always been so glad

To be with you...

As long as it's okay

I'll stay with you

Through the years.

One Organic Mama: Finding the 'it' Factor in Teaching

One Organic Mama: Finding the 'it' Factor in Teaching

#celebrately2104 Perhaps I was a little scared

As I reflect on this busy week, I realize that even though my sinuses are working overtime and I am exhausted from my day "off," I am also excited about the "challenge" ahead and reflective as to why we all need to "step away from the classroom" and into the role of "learner" every once in a while.

I took a bit of Dayquil before I headed to the Google Apps for Education (GAFE) conference yesterday and sure was glad that I could "override" the side effects of the little-people in my life who graciously share their colds. I wondered, for a bit, if I were too ill to go....but, perhaps, I was a little scared?

Of course, you have to "prep" to take a day off (if you are a teacher and caregiver) and then there are the logistical issues of carpooling and traveling to a "new" location by 8 AM.  Between all the work and the cold, I was thinking it was not worth all the effort......plus, perhaps, I was a little scared?

The presenters talked fast about the magic they had created with Google Apps and the potential to transform learning environments.  I took notes, on my tablet and contributed to a shared Google Doc about the day, but I also jotted a few things in a notebook. ........perhaps I was a little scared of remembering it all?

I am embracing the challenge of becoming a Google Educator even though I have a longer, steeper learning curve than many.  I am NOT a digital "native" and thus that "intuitive" part is not really there.  I have to have some explicit instruction, guidance, and feedback in order to "navigate" this digital work.

Certainly, I was disappointed I did not win the Chromebook give-away.

Certainly, I am a little scared because that is HOW we ALL feel when we are learning something new outside of our comfort zone.  

Certainly, I inadvertently sent a Google Hangout request to my "virtual friend" Linda Baie. Sorry about that. But, certainly, I would love to do that someday!

Certainly, I am reminded that my response is similar to my students, reluctant readers and writers, who do not find navigating the reading-writing world "intuitive." 

      

Certainly, it is easier to stay in our comfort zone, avoid risks, and avert failure.  It's hard to embrace "new" roles, relationships, and routines.  Even if you think you want something, it can be overwhelming when you finally have it!  

Perhaps, Certainly, Perhaps, Certainly I am a life-long-learning and I will get "there" - wherever it is I am going - with a little scaffolding, guidance, help.....  

#sol2014 On Monday Morning

The morning light was just clearing away the darkness on Monday morning and I was stopped in traffic (as you can see from the brake lights in the picture) while listening to 880 radio news repeat sad, but real, updates on Isis, Ebola, and traffic. 

To be honest, my thoughts were scattered like glass on a tile floor as I sat there not-so-patiently that morning, making mental lists of what I needed to do to get through the day.  There were doctors to contact and Caremark prescriptions robots to call.  There were caregivers to address and agencies to contact.  There were papers to grade and progress updates to complete for meetings.  I stared at the brake lights ahead and wondered if I should have stayed home just to get it all done?

Then, those scattered thoughts seemed to focus on the back of the car ahead of me.  It wasn't a normal sports car, that was for sure.  Its brake lights were huge, too bright and perhaps even a bit obnoxious; yet, the back of the car was incredibly sleek and to be honest, a bit "sexy" in its appeal.  So........

Stopped in traffic, I pulled out my cell phone to get a closer look at the kind of car sitting there in front of Al (my car) and me.  Zooming in...........perhaps a metaphor or what I needed to do to get through the day.......I realized it was a Bugatti sitting there, just like me, waiting for the problem to clear.  

I wondered where the Bugatti was headed.  I wondered if he/she had a mental list for the day, like me, or if they had some sort of computer in that car that made the list from your thoughts!  

I wondered if he/she had struggled to find warm clothes on this first cold morning, like me, or if they had an orderly closet organized by some "housekeeper" who season and color coded their clothes.

I suspect our lives are vastly different; yet, at 7:15 in the morning, that Bugatti driver and I were "connected" for a brief moment in time.

I suspect I really needed to "stop" for a moment on my commute in order to focus my scattered self and prepare for the day ahead,
I suspect the Bugatti driver may have "needed" to slow down and take in the moment too.   

When traffic, or life's events make you stop in your tracks, I guess it really doesn't matter how much money you make or what kind of car (Bugatti, Maseradi, Mazda) you drive or how many lists you have (or where you keep your lists).  You stop and focus, a little more clearly, on the path (or the car) ahead!   

#sol2014 When you hold on tight

 

Long ago, when I Want to Hold Your Hand was the rage,

Before the The Long and Windy Road was clarified,

They took a leap of faith, 

Promising to love, honor, and respect

They could not imagine the piles of toys, 

Immense joys, 

The hills they would climb together,

The travels and travails they would share,

The breathtaking moments and 

Unimaginable heartaches, 

They would share.

They could not imagine the power of faith,

The love of family,

The guidance of friends

That would bridge the worry, 

Help them overcome their fears, 

Surround them in glorious moments

As well as the dark days of life. 

They could not have imagined

Holding each other more tightly now,

Than 50 years ago,

They could never have imagined 

Kenny Rogers would write their story,

Through all the good and bad

I knew how much we had...

I've always been so glad

To be with you...

As long as it's okay

I'll stay with you

Through the years

#celebratelu2104 Moments

Ruth Ayers continues to challenges us to take a few minutes each Saturday and Celebrate the Week.  I have a "to-do" list a mile long and laundry a mile high, but I have a few things I want to celebrate, anyway.  

• There were nine (9) accidents on the way to work one day this week and I was late for school. While traffic was a nightmare as we all struggled to regain time, they were just fender benders and thousands of us made it to work a bit stressed, but unharmed. It could have been much worse on a dark, rainy, leaf-strewn highway.  I told myself I deserved one (1) pumpkin flavored D & D coffee one (1) day this fall as a reward for my careful driving!  
• As I finished a reading record on one of my struggling readers, I realized he had grown from a level D (92%) a month ago to a level E (94%) now.  As is often the case with kids who struggle with reading, he was reading a text he had seen before.  The best part was his comment at the end.  "This used to be hard for me. Now I can read it."  He was too happy to see the tears well in my eyes as he reached for a pencil he knew he had earned.
• As part of my Beginning Reading and Writing class, I always teach one class around phonics.  I try to do hands on projects and use real materials that allow my grad students to try experience the subject outside of a theoretical framework.  Yet, they always seem to glaze over one hour into the class. This week, I brought some "concrete reinforcements" (candy) that I passed out throughout the evening for "hard work, great answers, and good effort" to make it fun!  I was reminded that even grad students, hungry ones in particular, will wake up and work much harder for a tiny Tootsie Roll!  One of my students will forever more be knows to me as "candy girl."  

#sol2104 Notes and Phone Calls

On Friday afternoon, moments before dismissal, on the eve of a long weekend, at the end of an unannounced observation, a student asked me if he had earned a "happy note."
I suspect I looked like I didn't understand (because I didn't)!  So HE leaned in and offered, "You know, the green polka dot note that makes me and my mom happy!"
I thought about the power of a note all the way home.  Taking home that physical piece of paper (with green polka dots) made this student and his mom happy in a way no email could!

Then, yesterday, after days spent beside the sickbed, as I wrestled with my own guilt about undone chores, as I struggled to get ready for the week, on the end of a three day weekend, I got a phone call!
"How are you," the little voice asked.
I suspect I sounded a bit surprised and at first I wondered if it was a wrong number; however, it became clear that the call was intended for me!
We talked about Elephant and Piggie, what we had done on our day off and how we were feeling about life.  That little voice certainly cheered me up  in the way no email could!

The "central message" I took from these events sandwiching my long weekend is this:

While social media keeps us all connected, 

Phone calls, notes and letters have the power to reach out and touch us all.

Small acts of kindness can indeed reap enormous benefit.

  

10 Tips for Delivering Awesome Professional Development

10 Tips for Delivering Awesome Professional Development

It's a Three Day Weekend, So Why Would I Be Even Thinking of Homework

Spent some time this weekend, "killing time" so to speak, reading Twitter newsfeeds like this one....and oldy but goodie

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/26/homework-an-unnecessary-evil-surprising-findings-from-new-research/

 It's worth your read, but here are a few startling quotes from this article about homework
1. No research has ever found a benefit to assigning homework (of any kind or in any amount) in elementary school. 
2.  Even at the high school level, the research supporting homework hasn’t been particularly persuasive.  There does seem to be a correlation between homework and standardized test scores, but it isn’t strong.
3.  There was a correlation between the amount of homework that high school students reported doing and their scores on standardized math and science tests but it was “very modest.”  The author concluded that it was not worth the family struggles or strife.  

Makes you stop and think about WHY we provide SO MUCH homework....?
Perhaps we should just let kids READ!