Twenty Years Ago: August 2003

August 2003 was an exhausting mix of summer and school. It was a swirl of family activity, classroom setup, travel, home improvement, socializing, celebrating, and dog drama. I don’t blame any reader who looks at this piece and says, there is no way all of that occurred in the month before school starts. I found it difficult to believe myself. 

This was a very social month! We got together with ten families (one at a time). We went to the Museum of Science and Industry, the Hancock Building, Illinois Railway Museum, Arlington Park, and the Planetarium. Without the kids, we went to the movies and saw the Broadway touring company of Mama Mia. We had dinner with our dear friend, Dorothy. 

We celebrated my mother’s 65th birthday with a big party at the Chicago Botanical Garden. My brother and his family came in for the event which was held in the garden’s pavilion. It was a fantastic evening. I toasted/roasted my mother with a fun ode in her honor. 

My folks, my wife’s aunt, and the four of us took a trip to the Wisconsin Dells. We took two cars and made a stop in Madison where my parents went to college. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, rode the indoor and outdoor water slides, took our “dam pictures” on the Ducks, played miniature golf, got an old-time photo, and saw the obligatory water show at Tommy Bartlett’s. When I got home, I started plans to visit my cousin in Florida for spring break. 

The dog continued to need plenty of attention. I became the sole person to give him shots. He continued to have overnight accidents and thus was crated in the evenings. He was angry with me about that. He developed a sore on his cheek. We moved to a vet who was nearby rather than schlepping all the way down to Wilmette. The dog stayed at our new vet’s boarding kennel while we were at the Dells. 

Home projects continued. We finished replacing both the roof and the siding on the house. We also replaced all the gutters. Of course, it rained as we replaced the roof. The banging above my head was both headache-inducing and shook the house such that things fell off shelves in every bedroom. We replaced and repaired ceiling fans, 

On the school front, I had a workshop with my new teaching team. I prepared my classroom and spent a ton of time at school. I made copies of handouts, sent and prepared emails, created decorations, and made name plates and other welcome materials. I had dinner with the Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) group. 

“I did some work at school and got there just after 11. I stayed until just after 3! That place is a black hole. I didn’t have a ton on my list but I did this and that and the time vanished. It took me more than an hour to send all of my e-mail letters from last year.”

Meanwhile, I was still taking adult Hebrew lessons, scheduling field trips to various houses of worship for my Sunday school class, and organizing the congregation’s Friday night services for the upcoming year. And in August, rehearsals for the High Holiday choir started. 

Sometimes, I wrote in my journal that I was overwhelmed, “I feel at odds and ends, unsettled. I don’t know if it is the approach of school, the lack of structure right now for this family, Sunday School field trips, Friday night services. There are a lot of balls up in the air. I worked on lots of this and that today, but I don’t feel like I put any of it to rest. Yes, I got two small tasks off the list but the big ones remain, and GROW! Each task gives birth to a new one once accomplished! I find myself blocking and wanting to NOT do some of this stuff.”

But at other times, I am just rolling with the coaster, “It is amazing the difference a day makes. I spent the morning in school today and got a ton done. Handouts are ready for the first day. I gave the policy packets to Jean’e and worked on the Power Reading word games. I finished the room signs and gave them to Debbie to laminate. My desk is all set up and I am ready to start decorating the room. If I spend a few hours tomorrow, I’ll be in great shape! The only thing that is not EXACTLY there are humanities lesson plans and those must be done collectively. Friday night services are coming along, I’ve made a variety of calls for Sunday School; I will just need to follow up. I have an appointment to take Q to meet with the camp lady too! All my projects are on the burners and cooking nicely.”

Thank goodness those Augusts are behind me! 

Reading for Treasure: June is the Start of Summer Reading

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

Summer is an opportunity to pick up good books and read, read, read! June is important for many reasons. Now that I am retired, I love having more time to read all sorts of things. Here is a list of articles about books and reading and a few lists of titles you might want to pick up. 

Should the character or views of an author influence our reading choices? Some of my friends will not read books by certain writers because of these writers’ behavior and political involvement. I must say that The Color Purple was one of those few books I read in one sitting. I was dismayed to learn about the author’s anti-Semitism and even more about how the New Yorker treated it differently than another author’s racism: “What The New Yorker Didn’t Say About a Famous Writer’s Anti-Semitism”

I am so glad that I am not the only person who thinks that giving graduates the Dr. Seuss book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go is problematic. Please take a look at the Chicago Tribune opinion piece, “Time to Turn the Page on Children’s Books as Graduation Gifts.”

Two wonderful pieces about reading from The Atlantic.  We have all had books that stuck with us, moved us, and shaped us. For Lauren LeBlanc, that book was I Never Promised You A Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg. In her article, “The Book That Said the Words I Couldn’t Say,” Ms. LeBlanc talks about the power of this book and the power of reading. Secondly, here is a snarky fun piece from last summer, “Please Don’t Read at the Beach.” 

I am volunteering with Chicon 8: The 80th World Science Fiction Convention coming to downtown Chicago Labor Day Weekend. So I thought it would be fun to think about books set in Chicago. Better yet, you can use this site, recommended by this Lifehacker article to find books set in any location: “This Site Helps You Find Books Set Where You Live.”

Juneteeth comes in June, so here are two Juneteenth reading lists: one from NewsOne and another from Facing History. 

June is Pride Month. Here is a list of the finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards. CNN provided a useful article for LGBTQ+ reading for younger readers: “A guide to LGBTQ summer reading for kids and teens -- from authors themselves.” 

Two good articles from Lit Hub. First, their choices for summery summer reading: “Our 15 Favorite Summery Novels for Summer Reading” as well as their “The Ultimate Summer 2022 Reading List.”

Of course, we must have some genre summer reads! Here are some recent genre award finalists and winners: 

The shortlist for the Nommo Awards, given annually by the African Speculative Fiction Society

The Nebula Winners from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA): 

The fan’s choice: the Hugo finalists! The winners will be announced at Chicon 8: The World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago! 

The books honored by Locus Magazine: Locus Top Ten Finalists

I am currently rereading Time Enough For Love by Robert Heinlein 

Good Riddence to the 2021-2022 School Year

I dreamed last night that I was visiting my old school on the last day of the year. I dreamed that I was going through offices and classrooms, wishing people well, and meeting new staff members. We joked and hugged and laughed and were all dressed in Halloween costumes. I dreamed that things were just as I left them, but different and better.

But that isn’t the school at which my friends and former co-workers teach. That isn’t the reality of education at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. That was my dream (really), but the truth is that my friends are survivors of a disaster. They end this year with anxiety, anger, frustration, grief, pain, and lots of tears. 

And it shouldn’t be this way. 

Teachers, Counselors, and other school staff are asked to carry it all. They are simultaneously hailed as heroes who will save, protect, and sacrifice for their students with opportunities and weapons and love and knowledge, and then derided as groomers and political opportunists, lazy slackers, and self-serving conspiracy puppets. When it serves the sound bite, they are the saviors of society and when it fits the narrative, they are taking our children into an uncomfortable world of race, gender, and masks. 

And it is too much. 

My colleagues have been carrying the pandemic. Their mantra has been “We’ll make it work,” and “We do what’s best for kids.” They have been performing a high wire acrobatic juggling. Sometimes, their administrators and school boards, and communities have stood by their sides and provided a net. But just as often, those who should be their allies have turned on them and thrown them flaming torches and shaken the tent, threatening to bring the entire circus crashing to the ground in flames and flesh. 

And teachers are exhausted. 

So as the end of the school year approaches, as summer rounds the corner, kids are fidgeting in their seats, and classrooms start to smell of sweat and cut grass, as the looming grading deadlines feel like Kuber-Ross’s stages, let us bid a not so fond goodbye bye to this disaster of a school year. 

Of course, we wish you a relaxing and rejuvenating summer, time with your family, and time to yourself. We wish you health, which has been Sisyphean these past two years.

And we thank you. 

I am not sure I know how to do this. As a retired teacher who left just before the sky fell, I can only half imagine what these years have felt like. For the first time, I have heard several school friends say to me, "I hate working here." As a supporter on the side, I have seen the disrespect and destruction, heard the yelling, and unbelievable thoughtlessness. Alice had it far easier. I felt both guilty that it was you and relief that it wasn’t me and anguish it was happening. People say to me every day – every.single.day – that I “got out at the right time.” I wish you could join me. Right now. 

And we should be concerned that you will. 

Teachers are leaving in droves. They watch their friends and colleagues of decades marching toward the cliff’s edge and feel the pull of gravity. Wonderful, inspiring, passionate professionals are packing their classrooms for the last time right now. As the lockers slam and the sneakers squeak down the hall, they are crying with relief and shame. Accountants are not asked to kill themselves for taxes, but sometimes healthcare folks are. 

And our teachers. 

This is not an exaggeration. I have heard a call for a student strike in the fall. What if students said, “We aren’t going back to our classrooms until it we are safe from gun terrorists.” What if parents said that?  What if teachers, across this nation, said, we will not conduct another active shooter drill until lawmakers stop the senseless stream of school shootings! 

So hear me clearly. Hear it from a retired veteran teacher: Teachers, you have been outstanding. You have made critical differences in children’s lives. You have nurtured, challenged, enriched, advocated – and educated. You have fought the good fight – over and over and over and over. What you have done matters and will continue to matter, even if you are no longer doing it. 

And now it is your time. 

Some of you will return to the classroom in the fall. Some of you will retire. Some of you will watch the stream of buses and kids with backpacks and step out of the line. Some of you will place your own children at the front and focus there. 

And that is okay.

The last bell is ringing. It brings relief and intense sorrow. Set down the load. Rest. Hold yourself and your loved ones. You have been through a war and, although it is not over, we are hoping for a few months of cease-fire. Go to your bunker. Hug your people. Cry. Unload. Recover. 

And this summer – and all that comes after it – do what heals and helps you. 

Back To School: May This Be The Best Year Ever

The school building in the fall, before the children arrive, has a distinct aroma. It has greeted me for more than thirty years. Perhaps it is because my sense of smell is so strong (my nose isn’t so large for purely aesthetic reasons), that it is my first, and one of my strongest, memories of the start of the school year. The building itself has put on its first-day-of-school best waiting to make a good first impression. The classrooms shine with wax and new decorations. The staff’s arms are open wide to receive all students in a place that feels like a second home.

Each year, by the time the middle of August, I found myself yearning to return to school. I started making little trips into the building. I copied schedules for my freshman theatre class. I set up my classrooms. I got my desk ready. Even though I promised myself that I would not, I kept updating my class lists despite the fact they were constantly changing and thus needed more updating. I couldn’t help myself.

After I graduated from high school and since I lived close to my university, I found myself on my college campus over the summer even when I had no need. My former students who are returning to college have told me over and over that they are ready to return. They have had enough summer and want to get back to campus, their friends, and the experiences that make college so wonderful. I know the feeling. 

The gravity of school is powerful and it pulls us back. It is the center of our orbits, even when we are no longer students – or teachers. The start of the school year is, for many, the real “new year.” It is the real transformation and the real change of season. It is exciting and rejuvenating.

As my colleagues prepare to return to their classrooms and my younger students, all former now, prepare to go back to their studies, I have mixed feelings. I will miss them. I will miss the morning rush and the new faces. I will miss the first week updates on the building and the new initiatives. I will miss greeting those wonderful faces coming through the classroom door, the hundreds of new names to learn, and the joy of reunions. I will miss the excitement of opening up the present of a new lesson, of being able to look at kids and honestly tell them that I have something special to explore with them!

My thoughts are with those of you who are going back to school- elementary, middle, high school, college, daycare, preschool, adult education, vocational, or anything else! I share in your anticipation of the year ahead. I remember the special joy of starting all over.

The new school year is a noble endeavor. It is an affirmation of all that is right and good in the world and in this country, even in times of turmoil. We can start again. We can work to help people become their best and most enlightened selves. We can share our passion for the improvement and growth of others. We can look into fresh faces and help them make their way ahead, learn that life is good, that people are here to support them, and that the future is theirs.

May the 2019-2020 school year bring you joy and connection. May your students, teachers, colleagues, and friends help you learn and grow and discover the best in yourself and the best in them. May the new school year reaffirm your noblest goals and passions, and may it transform you and therefore transform the world.

Summer Science Fiction Reading and Viewing - Part 1

I taught a science fiction English class for the first time this year. This Monday is the last day. A student asked for recommendations for reading over the summer. I pointed back to our list of literature that includes more than thirty novels. Yet, there are plenty of novels that did not make that list because they were too long or felt inappropriate for use in class.

On the second to last day, my co-teacher and I asked our science fiction students to give us feedback by filling out a form. One student asked about Star Trek. This student thought since I am such a big fan, that there would have been a Star Trek unit.

I struggle saying goodbye to my seniors. I feel like anything I say is inadequate. And while I invite them to return for a visit, connect to me on social media to stay in touch, and to email me with updates, I fear that, when they walk across the stage at Ravinia, that will be the end of the story. And that makes me sad.

There are only a few things I treasure more than the gift of a good book (or movie or television show). So, for my almost former students, my actual former students, and for anyone else who is interested, here are some ideas for some science fiction summer and future reading and viewing. Beyond the joy of our relationship and time together, I can think of nothing better I can give you:

Consider reading the works that have been nominated for the Hugo award. The Hugo awards are open to anyone who participates in the World Science Fiction Convention. These novels, stories, and other works were all published or released last year. There are novels, stories of various lengths, non-fiction, artwork, television shows, and movies. If you like this list, look at past finalists and winners, too! Similarly, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has its own awards called the Nebulas. Professional science fiction and fantasy writers select these awards. You’ll see there is some overlap between the two lists.

There are some titles on the class list that students have loved, and if you haven’t yet read, you might enjoy. I am not going to summarize or sell each book. I will leave it up to you to do a little research. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was a big hit this year. Several students have suggested that it become required reading. Every group that read Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison loved it.

A few years ago, I made some lists of books that I love. Some titles from that group that we couldn’t put on the list for the course that you might enjoy include Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, Hyperion  (and The Fall of Hyperion) by Dan Simmons, Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie, and American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

Going beyond the lists, here are a few more titles to consider:

Dune by Frank Herbert (give it at least 250 pages – be patient!)

Contact by Carl Sagen

Redshirts or Lock-In by John Scalzi

Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin

Bellwether by Connie Willis

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffery

Remember, short stories work, too! I love the collection Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Ray Bradbury has several collections including Illustrated Man, I Sing the Body Electric and The Martian Chronicles. The Locus reading list even links directly to many pieces of short fiction!

Yes, I know that my recommendations could be more diverse and I am working on this. Stay tuned.

Speaking of tuned, here are a few movies you might want to add to your summer viewing:

2001: A Space Odyssey

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension

Arrival

Brazil

Galaxy Quest

Gattaca

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Nightmare Before Christmas

The Princess Bride

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Star Wars (the original)

Sleeper

Finally, if you want to know what Star Trek is all about, here is a list of episodes and movies to view that will give you an idea of why I love it so much.

Begin with episodes from the original series:

"Where No Man Has Gone Before"

“Balance of Terror,"

"Shore Leave,"

"Devil in the Dark,"

"City on the Edge of Forever."

Look at a few of the films:
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Then you are ready to move into the other series, which I will include in a future post like this.

I also strongly recommend The Final Reflection by John Ford. It is a Star Trek book, and it is outstanding science fiction. It is worthwhile even if you are not a Star Trek reader.

I know this collection leaves out very important novels, movies, and television series. It is woefully incomplete, thus the “part 1” in the title. The most important thing is to keep exploring: books, movies, graphic novels, and anything else – and then share them!

Letting Go of the School Year

People ask me if the school year is winding down. My school year never seems to slowly come to a gentle stop. It feels more like a roller coasts that twists and drops and then, with a jolt, stops suddenly right where I got on.

May and June are intense, packed, and stressful. As the weather gets more pleasant outside, it becomes more difficult to remain inside. The rooms feel stuffy, and the end of the year can’t get here soon enough.

My calendar fills up with year-end events, banquets, and graduations. Some students just can’t hold it together any longer: some seniors struggle to get to the finish line; some freshmen can’t juggle one more assignment. We have another family crisis, spring case of mono, and all that prom-a (prom drama).

And like a bad tease, summer dangles before us.

On top of it is the reality of letting go. Sometimes, seniors can become quite difficult at the end of the year. They find fault in everything. They instigate disagreements. Pleasing them can be impossible! They are making it okay to say goodbye. If high school was really that irritating and unhappy (even if it wasn’t), then it is time to leave. If everything “sucks,” then it is less painful and scary to cross that stage, accept the diploma, and step out into the great unknown. The process of leaving is new and kids don’t always know how to handle that mixture of emotions.

Teachers don’t either. I should be good at this by now. I remind myself not to miss my students until they are actually gone. I bring my camera to school a little more often. I relish the conferences where I can tell my students how wonderful they are and thank them for putting up with me.

I am happy for them at graduation. I love the handshakes and hugs afterward. I am so grateful for those who connect on Facebook or in other ways as a means to stay in touch. I don’t want to let go. I joke about finding a teacher who will fail them so they will have to stay for another year.

That is what the end of the year means. It is not just about seniors. It means letting go of our yesterday selves. It means acknowledging the passage of days. Time passes quickly but that doesn’t just mean we’re having fun. We can’t go back and, even when kids insist they can’t wait for the year to end, the present is safe, known, and comfortable. Tomorrow, whether in a new place or a new year, is unknown and a scary.

When I come back to school in the fall, I have a period of adjustment when I mourn my classes from the prior year. I don’t know my new students well. I am excited to learn about them and with them, but there is a little shock, as I enter a classroom, and I wonder who these strangers are and where is MY class?

Sometime in October, I will turn a corner and see a student I haven’t seen since June and it is as if I have been given a gift. This meeting will soothe an anxiety that I wasn’t aware was sitting in the background.

Starting a new school year takes energy and work. Finishing one is like cashing out an investment. We have our routine. We know each other well. Yes, maybe we are now a little sick of each other. Yes, maybe things have lost their shine. But all my hard work is paying off! The growth is now visible!  Do I have to let it go and start over again?

That is the beauty and the burden of the educational cycle. It affords us time to reflect, relax, and then do it again a little better and a little differently. It is time to meet some new friends and be reborn.

Graduation is an end. The last weeks of school are chaotic and stressful, summer is a time to recover and rejuvenate, and then we do it again – hopefully better. And we miss those who are not doing it with us this time around.

Summer is Waning

August always creates a little panic in the Hirsch household. August means that school is no longer a distant concern. August means that all of those school tasks we have been putting off now require our attention. August means that our days of flexible and varied schedules are going to be replaced with the 5am wake up and the 7 to 4 school day. Summer is waning.

As the days start to shorten again and I find that my evening walks are in the dark, I am pulled in two directions. I love my summers. They are one of the great perks of being a teacher. I have a list of things I could not or did not get done during the school year and I get through many of those throughout the summer. I review my school plans, too. I go over all the student feedback, evaluate my lessons and calendar, look at those many lists of  things I have been meaning to incorporate in my teaching, and read, read, read, read, read! Summer is a very productive time.

Sometimes at the end of July or the beginning of August, our assistant principal will open the electronic grade book and let us peek at our class lists in progress. The lists are not done. They are not finalized. It doesn’t matter. Now, instead of just school waiting for me at the end of August, specific students are in my future. This changes everything!

While I am still enjoying my summer flexibility, I am now thinking about the students with whom I will spend most of the year. Most of the students on my teaching load are freshmen, so I don’t know them at all. I recognize some names; some are neighbors, and a few I have met in other contexts. But they are strangers. My seniors, on the other hand, are not. I want to run outside, down the block, and knock on doors and say, “We are sharing class this year!” or “We are back together!” They don’t see their schedules for another week or two, so I can’t do that. Yes, there are names that elicit less enthusiasm, too, but that is rare. In my thirty plus years in the classroom, I can count on one hand the number of students I really did not rejoice in teaching. And students, like all people, grow and change. No student should be stuck with last year’s (or two years ago’s) baggage. At the beginning of school, everyone deserves a fresh start and a clean slate. I roll out the red carpet for every student with whom I work.

Getting ready for all these fresh faces takes a ton of work! August, and the appearance of these draft lists, means that I need to start getting ready – beyond writing lesson plans, ordering books, and reading articles. I need to create role lists. I need to make nameplates. I need to share documents on Google drive and create classes in turnitin.com. I need to set the table and put food on it! Hungry kids will be here soon!

I start making little forays into the building. I get my rooms ready. I print out materials and make a few copies. I sent kids welcome emails. I see my colleagues and catch up. I realize how vital my school community is and how it energizes and renews me. And despite my love of summer, how much I have missed it.

In two weeks, I will greet my new freshmen and their families. I can barely wait. I will savor the waning days of free summer, but now my focus is on fall. Time to go back to class!