Remember how it felt to go back to school after summer vacation? Most of us would have preferred the vacation continue. There are very few people who like the rigor and routine of school more than the freedom and flexibility of summer. Yet, like the end of childhood, the return to school is both inevitable and makes the summer break all the more sweet.
Unlike the end of my school year, my summer vacation really does wind down. As the start of school draws closer, I start to go to school more often. I take all the preparations I’ve been working on and put them on the table. I prepare new handouts. I decorate the classroom and dust off my office. I write letters and email students. Like slowly getting into the swimming pool, I move gently back into academic waters.
I savor summer’s end. The end of the summer usually provides my children with more free time. Camp is over but school hasn’t started. So we go to amusement parks and museums and take little “field trips” together. I try to get my preparations accomplished so that everything is ready at school about a week before the first day of class. That gives me that last week guilt free. And I spent much of that time with my children.
Although I love summer, I am not ready to for it full time. I crave the challenge and energy that I find at school. I am eager to meet new faces and find ways to help kids grow and learn. Even when I do retire, I don’t think it will be one long summer vacation. Summer vacation is rejuvenating and relaxing only because I get to use those new energies again. What use is the recharged battery if there is no outlet for its power?
At the end of the school year, I am glad to walk out the door. I am fed up with the papers and politics, the stresses and struggles. But in August, I miss my colleagues and my students. I want to catch up and get back to business. I am ready to return. I know the challenges ahead of me, and I am ready for them. My patience bucket is full again.
By using a nice part of my summer to prepare for school, I create more free time during the year. I call this amortizing my summer. If I can do much of my lesson planning during the summer, I can focus on other concerns during the school year. That could be contacting a parent or taking on a new project. It may mean trying an experiment like using Twitter in the classroom, or creating a literature podcast or working with a teacher in training. This way I can have a tiny taste of summer all year long. And working on schoolwork during the summer doesn’t taint the summer. It allows me to slow down and see things from a distance.
The flip answer to “how was your summer?” often is “not long enough” and that is usually the case for winter and spring breaks. But it is not my summer answer. I will miss the summer, that is certain. Yet, summer would not be as precious if it were year round. As I have written before, the cycles of school are powerful. They rejuvenate me and ask me to reflect and renew.
Am I ready to go back to school? Almost. School starts in one week and I’ve just about memorized my new class lists. I will have difficulty sitting through the pre-school in-services because I am so eager to meet my new kids. Bring on the students, bring on the school year!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
When The Kids Are Away, Dad Misses Them
Soon, I will drive to Michigan to pick up my children. About four weeks ago, my daughter left for overnight camp. A few days later, my son joined her. Tonight, I sit in a very quiet house. Since my wife and I are both educators, when our children are away, we have long days of freedom. It is lovely and we enjoy it. We often spend part of these weeks traveling. Or when we are at home, we try catch up on movies, reading, and finding those wonderful restaurants that don’t serve the orange food that my son requires.
Yet, there is another side to my children’s absence. I do my best not to be one of “those” parents who hover and protect, enable and smother. I work against those instincts when I am aware of them. I think it is important that my children have time away from their home and parents. But I miss them. I really, really miss them.
I love the time my wife and I get to spend alone while they are gone. We usually take an annual “honeymoon” and, while we are away, it seems fair. They are on vacation and we are on vacation. We communicate with our children the old fashion way by the written word. Of course, no matter where we are, we scourer the camp website for their photographs. As long as I am distracted by a novel location and the thrill of new sights, I can fend off the longing for my kids.
But we don’t stay away as long as they are at camp. Yes, I throw myself into work. I prepare lesson plans and get the first two or three (or four) weeks of handouts copied and organized. I decorate my classroom and get ready for the start of another school year. I focus on the children who will enter my classroom and it distracts me from thoughts about my own children.
My son writes us micro-letters from camp. They are a few sentences long and communicate feeling far more than fact. Between his letters and the photos, we get a blurry view of his camp experience. My daughter, however, is a CIT, a counselor in training. She calls us periodically. She tells us about her campers, how the counselors are treating her, what happened during the day. I just listen and restrain my desire to give too much advice. Fortunately, I cannot call her. She must call me.
Recently, a friend’s Facebook status was that he was missing his kids because they were with his ex-wife for the weekend. Since my kids just left for camp, I understood his statement in a new way. I winced, thinking about a system that would make me feel this way every week or month.
Then, another thought occurred to me: college! My daughter is only two years away from leaving the nest for more than four weeks. Oh, yes, but I will not be limited to letters or one way calling. I can call whenever I want or email or send a Facebook message or…uh-oh.
So perhaps the upside of this separation is that is helping all of us see our relationships anew. It is providing us with needed distance and independence. No matter how much you love each other, some time apart is healthy. I must stop writing this blog entry now because I need to get to the camp website. It is my daily fix of my children and I really need it!
Yet, there is another side to my children’s absence. I do my best not to be one of “those” parents who hover and protect, enable and smother. I work against those instincts when I am aware of them. I think it is important that my children have time away from their home and parents. But I miss them. I really, really miss them.
I love the time my wife and I get to spend alone while they are gone. We usually take an annual “honeymoon” and, while we are away, it seems fair. They are on vacation and we are on vacation. We communicate with our children the old fashion way by the written word. Of course, no matter where we are, we scourer the camp website for their photographs. As long as I am distracted by a novel location and the thrill of new sights, I can fend off the longing for my kids.
But we don’t stay away as long as they are at camp. Yes, I throw myself into work. I prepare lesson plans and get the first two or three (or four) weeks of handouts copied and organized. I decorate my classroom and get ready for the start of another school year. I focus on the children who will enter my classroom and it distracts me from thoughts about my own children.
My son writes us micro-letters from camp. They are a few sentences long and communicate feeling far more than fact. Between his letters and the photos, we get a blurry view of his camp experience. My daughter, however, is a CIT, a counselor in training. She calls us periodically. She tells us about her campers, how the counselors are treating her, what happened during the day. I just listen and restrain my desire to give too much advice. Fortunately, I cannot call her. She must call me.
Recently, a friend’s Facebook status was that he was missing his kids because they were with his ex-wife for the weekend. Since my kids just left for camp, I understood his statement in a new way. I winced, thinking about a system that would make me feel this way every week or month.
Then, another thought occurred to me: college! My daughter is only two years away from leaving the nest for more than four weeks. Oh, yes, but I will not be limited to letters or one way calling. I can call whenever I want or email or send a Facebook message or…uh-oh.
So perhaps the upside of this separation is that is helping all of us see our relationships anew. It is providing us with needed distance and independence. No matter how much you love each other, some time apart is healthy. I must stop writing this blog entry now because I need to get to the camp website. It is my daily fix of my children and I really need it!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Street Smart or Street Stupid?
When we say, “street smarts,” we are usually talking about practical knowledge. People who are street smart, as opposed to book smart, have practical knowledge and can handle themselves in rough and tumble situations.
I want to talk about street smarts in a more literal way. I am concerned that people are not smart in the street. In other words, that their behavior as the drive and bicycle makes me wonder if we need a new term: street stupid. My daughter is a brand new driver and is often shocked at how poorly many people drive. I told her, “Not all people are poor drivers, but most of them are.” I think too many of us are street stupid and it could be deadly.
Yesterday, I saw a dad riding bicycles with his two children. Both children were wearing helmets but Dad was not. I can see the situation: Dad hits one of the many potholes in our streets and is incapacitated. Now what do the kids do? Perhaps dad is either so hardheaded or stupid that a helmet won’t make a difference. If we want our children to take proper safety precautions, what message do we send them when we fail to take those precautions ourselves? Unless there is nothing in your head worth protecting, why not wear a helmet? We need to model street smarts for our kids!
As I continue to teach my daughter to drive, I instructed her to always assume a bicycle will ignore the traffic rules. It is such a wonderful and rare exception when a bike stops at a stop sign. It is my experience that many bikes don’t even stop at traffic lights. Forget about riding in a single file line, many bikes are all over the road. Too many times, I come around a curve or turn a corner to find a bicycle heading directly toward me. Usually that rider has no helmet. Duh!
Street stupidity by bikers is liable to get them hurt or killed. When car drivers are street stupid, they are more likely to kill innocent people. How hard is it to turn on the headlights of your car? The car creates electric power, so there is no cost. The bulbs last for a long time. In my state, the law requires motorists to use their headlights if they have their windshield wipers on. Wait a minute. Isn’t that common sense? Next time it is raining or there is fog, count the number of cars without headlights on. Stupidity is rampant.
However, the place where street stupidity is an epidemic is the use of cell phones while driving. There has been a great deal of coverage of this issue in the popular press - using a cell phone, even if it is with some kind of hands-free device, is a driving distraction akin to drunk driving. How many times have you passed a driver going too slowly, driving dangerously, or not paying attention only to see that driver talking on a phone? But of course, we are better than that. We can talk on our phones and drive safely. Can we? Really? Always?
Driving while texting boggles my mind. It is in another universe from any of the other forms of street stupidity. According to the New York Times, people sending text messages will look away from the road for as much as five seconds. Think about how far a car going only thirty miles an hour can travel in five seconds. Think about the damage it can do. According to a Pew Research Center report, 27 percent of all adults and 26 percent of teens report sending text messages while driving! That means that one or more of the drivers near you on the road is probably looking at the phone and not the road.
So here is the gambit: is the cell phone call or text message worth an accident? Is it worth someone’s life? That is a loaded question. I thought about starting this posting with a quiz on each of these issues. But everyone knows the right answers. No sane, reasonable person would say that a text message or phone call was worth the pain an accident, even a minor one, would cause. Then why are so many people street stupid?
We can only hope that they don’t hurt people close to us.
I want to talk about street smarts in a more literal way. I am concerned that people are not smart in the street. In other words, that their behavior as the drive and bicycle makes me wonder if we need a new term: street stupid. My daughter is a brand new driver and is often shocked at how poorly many people drive. I told her, “Not all people are poor drivers, but most of them are.” I think too many of us are street stupid and it could be deadly.
Yesterday, I saw a dad riding bicycles with his two children. Both children were wearing helmets but Dad was not. I can see the situation: Dad hits one of the many potholes in our streets and is incapacitated. Now what do the kids do? Perhaps dad is either so hardheaded or stupid that a helmet won’t make a difference. If we want our children to take proper safety precautions, what message do we send them when we fail to take those precautions ourselves? Unless there is nothing in your head worth protecting, why not wear a helmet? We need to model street smarts for our kids!
As I continue to teach my daughter to drive, I instructed her to always assume a bicycle will ignore the traffic rules. It is such a wonderful and rare exception when a bike stops at a stop sign. It is my experience that many bikes don’t even stop at traffic lights. Forget about riding in a single file line, many bikes are all over the road. Too many times, I come around a curve or turn a corner to find a bicycle heading directly toward me. Usually that rider has no helmet. Duh!
Street stupidity by bikers is liable to get them hurt or killed. When car drivers are street stupid, they are more likely to kill innocent people. How hard is it to turn on the headlights of your car? The car creates electric power, so there is no cost. The bulbs last for a long time. In my state, the law requires motorists to use their headlights if they have their windshield wipers on. Wait a minute. Isn’t that common sense? Next time it is raining or there is fog, count the number of cars without headlights on. Stupidity is rampant.
However, the place where street stupidity is an epidemic is the use of cell phones while driving. There has been a great deal of coverage of this issue in the popular press - using a cell phone, even if it is with some kind of hands-free device, is a driving distraction akin to drunk driving. How many times have you passed a driver going too slowly, driving dangerously, or not paying attention only to see that driver talking on a phone? But of course, we are better than that. We can talk on our phones and drive safely. Can we? Really? Always?
Driving while texting boggles my mind. It is in another universe from any of the other forms of street stupidity. According to the New York Times, people sending text messages will look away from the road for as much as five seconds. Think about how far a car going only thirty miles an hour can travel in five seconds. Think about the damage it can do. According to a Pew Research Center report, 27 percent of all adults and 26 percent of teens report sending text messages while driving! That means that one or more of the drivers near you on the road is probably looking at the phone and not the road.
So here is the gambit: is the cell phone call or text message worth an accident? Is it worth someone’s life? That is a loaded question. I thought about starting this posting with a quiz on each of these issues. But everyone knows the right answers. No sane, reasonable person would say that a text message or phone call was worth the pain an accident, even a minor one, would cause. Then why are so many people street stupid?
We can only hope that they don’t hurt people close to us.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Be The Friend
Remember those childhood friendship insecurities: With whom do you sit at lunch, who says “hi” to you in the hall, who can you call and who can call you? There were people who couldn’t be friends at school but were fine being friends one on one. Navigating the friendship maze was often harrowing and disheartening. Sometimes, it seems like we have brought those friendship complexities to Facebook.
Of course, I am only friends with people I actually know on Facebook. The issue is not becoming Facebook friends with strangers. The issue is accepting or, more importantly, reaching out to people, often with whom I have a history.
What do you do when the person who hurt you in middle school sends you a friendship request on Facebook? What about people who never really talked to you? What about the acquaintances? Or those with whom you had a falling out?
As I look at the items on my newsfeed and see my friends’ new “friends,” I often ask myself, “Would it be okay for me to befriend that person?” Is requesting Facebook friendship more than saying “hi” in the hall? It certainly could be like sitting down at someone’s lunch table. If I didn’t have those privileges then, should I request them now?
Yes. Yes, I should. More than that, when I ask myself, “Is it okay to send a friendship request to this person?” I have come to the conclusion that I should always err on the side of doing so.
How do you feel when you get the notice that someone “wants to be your friend?” While sometimes there is surprise and sometimes there is that sinking “found” feeling, I’ll bet that most of the time it feels pretty good. It is like being included in the game at recess. Why not share that feeling?
What is the cost of befriending these people? If they are people I knew and are part of my past, what harm could come to me if I add them to my friend list? If they are Facebook over-posters, I can hide them from my wall without any repercussions. If I am crossing some line, then they do not have to accept my friendship invitation.
We also have to put the past in its place. Are you the same person you were when you were going to school? Would you like people to judge you today for your behavior ten, twenty or thirty years ago? When I think back to my childhood (or even my twenties), I am both proud and embarrassed. As a high school teacher, I have daily reminders of how our school years help us to figure out who we want to become. I made mistakes, lacked skills, and stepped on toes. I have forgiven myself for my past inadequacies and errors; I think I can do the same for other people.
Friendships can be renewed through Facebook. While I agree that Facebook may serve as a poor substitute for real substantive contact, it can just as easily be a way to reconnect and foster adult friendships. Facebook friendships have been the catalyst for reunions, travel visits and nostalgic phone calls, all of which are very positive.
I am not endorsing becoming friends with every person you have ever known. However, when you see that name on your newsfeed or in a friend list and you ask yourself, “Would it be okay for me to befriend that person?” ask yourself how you would feel if that person befriended you? If it would make you feel good, even just a little, do it. Be the friend.
Of course, I am only friends with people I actually know on Facebook. The issue is not becoming Facebook friends with strangers. The issue is accepting or, more importantly, reaching out to people, often with whom I have a history.
What do you do when the person who hurt you in middle school sends you a friendship request on Facebook? What about people who never really talked to you? What about the acquaintances? Or those with whom you had a falling out?
As I look at the items on my newsfeed and see my friends’ new “friends,” I often ask myself, “Would it be okay for me to befriend that person?” Is requesting Facebook friendship more than saying “hi” in the hall? It certainly could be like sitting down at someone’s lunch table. If I didn’t have those privileges then, should I request them now?
Yes. Yes, I should. More than that, when I ask myself, “Is it okay to send a friendship request to this person?” I have come to the conclusion that I should always err on the side of doing so.
How do you feel when you get the notice that someone “wants to be your friend?” While sometimes there is surprise and sometimes there is that sinking “found” feeling, I’ll bet that most of the time it feels pretty good. It is like being included in the game at recess. Why not share that feeling?
What is the cost of befriending these people? If they are people I knew and are part of my past, what harm could come to me if I add them to my friend list? If they are Facebook over-posters, I can hide them from my wall without any repercussions. If I am crossing some line, then they do not have to accept my friendship invitation.
We also have to put the past in its place. Are you the same person you were when you were going to school? Would you like people to judge you today for your behavior ten, twenty or thirty years ago? When I think back to my childhood (or even my twenties), I am both proud and embarrassed. As a high school teacher, I have daily reminders of how our school years help us to figure out who we want to become. I made mistakes, lacked skills, and stepped on toes. I have forgiven myself for my past inadequacies and errors; I think I can do the same for other people.
Friendships can be renewed through Facebook. While I agree that Facebook may serve as a poor substitute for real substantive contact, it can just as easily be a way to reconnect and foster adult friendships. Facebook friendships have been the catalyst for reunions, travel visits and nostalgic phone calls, all of which are very positive.
I am not endorsing becoming friends with every person you have ever known. However, when you see that name on your newsfeed or in a friend list and you ask yourself, “Would it be okay for me to befriend that person?” ask yourself how you would feel if that person befriended you? If it would make you feel good, even just a little, do it. Be the friend.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
No More Dopey Disappearing Dads!
Like Rodney Dangerfield, dads do not get enough respect. A father who is active and involved in his children’s lives is emasculated with the title, “Mr. Mom” which implies that what he is doing is really feminine. With some notable exceptions, Dads on television and in other forms of popular media are portrayed as bumbling fools who put the baby’s diaper on the dog. Why is positive fathering so maligned? What is it about a man who is as present in his kids’ lives as their mother that is so threatening that we turn him into a clown?
There may be several answers. The easy and pat one is that we don’t have good role models for this kind of fathering. Most of us had fathers who spent most of their lives working and were only home in the evenings, sometimes arriving after the rest of the household had finished dinner and often when the children were already asleep. Some of these families had stay-at-home moms. And even in the households with working mothers, the wife was still in charge of all the traditional parenting responsibilities. So we men haven’t seen this kind of fathering in action.
Baloney! Involved fathers have been around as long as there have been fathers. Not all fathers who were the primary breadwinners were distant and invisible. As our mothers took advantage of their new found freedom to leave the home, many households were forced to rebalance parenting functions. I would concede that the highly active father in the past stayed underground. He may have seen himself in a negative light. Why is that? Same question.
What about the “men make more money” argument? While it is true that, statistically, men earn higher wages than women, I know many families where the wife earns as much or more money than the husband. If the reason were entirely economic, we’d see families with high earning moms with stay at home dads. Why are stay at home dads so extremely rare? Again, same question.
One real reason that active Dads are undervalued is that many households are still stuck in the 1950s (or it could be 1850s) gender role rut. I still can’t figure out why, when a family goes out in Mom’s vehicle (sometimes a mini-van) that Dad has to drive. Does Mom drive when they go out in Dad’s car? Why do so many professional women take time out to raise their families when their husbands would not think once about doing so? Even in homes where both partners work, it is often mom who is solely in charge of the child related responsibilities. Why?
Because, let’s face it, men just aren’t good at those tasks. Women are more naturally maternal and they can better schedule the babysitter, drive the carpools, call the doctor and attend the school nights. Wait a minute! What is maternal (or paternal) about any of those things? None of those tasks is at all based in anything biological or even sociological. Men can schedule, drive, and go to meetings just as well (or badly) as women.
One real reason is that moms have kept dads off their turf. For a long list of reasons, many men get the clear message that they shouldn’t tread on their wives parenting territory. No one is good at changing the first dozen diapers. No one is born knowing how to confront parenting challenges. We learn by doing and if we don’t do, we don’t develop parenting skills. Men get this message from their wives, mothers, and the popular media. However, they get this message from each other as well and that is really sad.
Every couple has its divisions of labor. Sometimes these are divided by aptitude. One is just better at certain tasks. Sometimes these are divided by desire. One likes or dislikes certain chores. However, sometimes there are those plum or poison tasks that both partners want or want to avoid. Parenting is both of these and frequently mom takes them all.
Shouldn’t the main goal be what is good for the children? Is it good for the kids to have both parents active and present? Is it good for the kids to have positive nurturing female and male figures? Wouldn’t kids benefit from role models of both genders?
Men need to take responsibility and insist on being as active in their children’s lives as any other adult (including mom). Women need to welcome men as their equal partners in parenting. When they do, the big winners will be families!
There may be several answers. The easy and pat one is that we don’t have good role models for this kind of fathering. Most of us had fathers who spent most of their lives working and were only home in the evenings, sometimes arriving after the rest of the household had finished dinner and often when the children were already asleep. Some of these families had stay-at-home moms. And even in the households with working mothers, the wife was still in charge of all the traditional parenting responsibilities. So we men haven’t seen this kind of fathering in action.
Baloney! Involved fathers have been around as long as there have been fathers. Not all fathers who were the primary breadwinners were distant and invisible. As our mothers took advantage of their new found freedom to leave the home, many households were forced to rebalance parenting functions. I would concede that the highly active father in the past stayed underground. He may have seen himself in a negative light. Why is that? Same question.
What about the “men make more money” argument? While it is true that, statistically, men earn higher wages than women, I know many families where the wife earns as much or more money than the husband. If the reason were entirely economic, we’d see families with high earning moms with stay at home dads. Why are stay at home dads so extremely rare? Again, same question.
One real reason that active Dads are undervalued is that many households are still stuck in the 1950s (or it could be 1850s) gender role rut. I still can’t figure out why, when a family goes out in Mom’s vehicle (sometimes a mini-van) that Dad has to drive. Does Mom drive when they go out in Dad’s car? Why do so many professional women take time out to raise their families when their husbands would not think once about doing so? Even in homes where both partners work, it is often mom who is solely in charge of the child related responsibilities. Why?
Because, let’s face it, men just aren’t good at those tasks. Women are more naturally maternal and they can better schedule the babysitter, drive the carpools, call the doctor and attend the school nights. Wait a minute! What is maternal (or paternal) about any of those things? None of those tasks is at all based in anything biological or even sociological. Men can schedule, drive, and go to meetings just as well (or badly) as women.
One real reason is that moms have kept dads off their turf. For a long list of reasons, many men get the clear message that they shouldn’t tread on their wives parenting territory. No one is good at changing the first dozen diapers. No one is born knowing how to confront parenting challenges. We learn by doing and if we don’t do, we don’t develop parenting skills. Men get this message from their wives, mothers, and the popular media. However, they get this message from each other as well and that is really sad.
Every couple has its divisions of labor. Sometimes these are divided by aptitude. One is just better at certain tasks. Sometimes these are divided by desire. One likes or dislikes certain chores. However, sometimes there are those plum or poison tasks that both partners want or want to avoid. Parenting is both of these and frequently mom takes them all.
Shouldn’t the main goal be what is good for the children? Is it good for the kids to have both parents active and present? Is it good for the kids to have positive nurturing female and male figures? Wouldn’t kids benefit from role models of both genders?
Men need to take responsibility and insist on being as active in their children’s lives as any other adult (including mom). Women need to welcome men as their equal partners in parenting. When they do, the big winners will be families!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
My School Year in Tweets
This year, I tried an experiment. At the end of each class period, one student in class would write a tweet that summarized the class period, captured an important moment or connected to something we were doing. Once in a while, I wrote a tweet too. Here is my school year in tweets:
• Ready to go! I am looking forward to meeting everyone and learning together!
• Wow! An all male Freshman English class!
• First day of Senior Year!
• Keep Sesame Street clean!
• Ewww, college essays and recommendations. Personality not generality.
• All guys and we all got A's for today!
• We read together. It was weird but awesome.
• Started off OF MICE AND MEN. Loved it!
• Broken Gourd, culture, personal essays: personal and show me, don't tell me.
• Bad essays!
• Taste test of essays - boy was that boring.
• Use your phone, take pictures of notes.
• “Grammar Girl and grading system.
• Success today does not guarantee success tomorrow.”
• " The best laid schemes o' mice and men go astray.
• Who got in" activity was helpful
• Looking back, self grading, feedback; our fingers are exhausted!
• We wrote essays and expanded our minds.
• Spoilers don't always spoil.
• Extreme thesis writing!
• Pull the trigger on Facebook
• Ayn Rand is confusing; being great is bad? :)
• We controlled the Dominican Republic - twice.
• The stapleless stapler saves staples.
• What is politics? We were political.
• Not enough pink!
• Kick me, literary terms, puzzle, and name game.
• Inner-outer discussion and super sheet fantastical quiz.
• Principal visit!
• What do you watch? Mr. Hirsch loves Star Trek, a little too much.
• Musical chairs with responding to the book. Grammar Girl is coming!
• Dictatorship bad!
• Aliens in Toronto.
• We are powerful!
• Silence is golden....or is it?
• Blithe Spirit presentation: Love Triangles!
• Mr. Hirsch is a frightened freshman, WERCS visit.
• Quiz (which was pretty fun)
• EEEEdipus's acting is a tragedy.
• Brain vomit
• No plagiarizing! Don’t tell freshmen!
• Is it Thursday yet?
• Major research. Shakespeare is fun!
• "Ethnomusicology is the study of music of ethnic groups."
• There is a Raisin that is in the Sun
• Grammar Girl is coming to town!
• Major work, major questions, major grades.
• Scene cut because of racism.
• Protestant or Catholic ghosts?
• Previously on RAISIN IN THE SUN...
• Modern Shakespeare, 2009 lingo!
• Ouch! RAISIN Act 3 Quiz didn't go well.
• Thanks for a fantastic visit, Grammar Girl!
• "More than kin but less than kind."
• Hamlet and his women!
• Live the Creed!
• "Hamlet is a whipper snapper."
• Read Creed.
• "Oh, no. Here comes Dad."
• Hamlet in a hurry.
• Is Creed dead?
• Yorick!
• Hamlet's dead!!!
• Creed questions and Creed connections!
• In class essay test: WWHD?
• I support school chest!
• Influences on Torey, quiz, NO SNEEZING!
• Heads!
• Everyone's here! We took a picture.
• Chocolate (and questions and killing a fly and themes and rubrics)
• "There were answers everywhere you looked."
• Clever Hans is a smart - - - donkey.
• I'm on a boat!
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead - for real!
• Santa is magical, he breaks all rules of physics!
• Snow day, PLEASE!
• Projects, projects, projects
• The final: put up or shut up.
• Work, work, work!
• Online grading is crazy.
• For my senior project, I will be stalking my ex-boyfriend.
• Poetry is..
• Dandelions? Really!
• You're insane if you don't vote for McMurphy.
• Romeo loves himself.
• We want the radio voice!
• Pimped out Romeo and Juliet.
• Dead people everywhere!
• Research makes us have to go to the bathroom.
• What about Officer Krupke?
• New people Mr. Hirsch scared away.
• Herro very botiful Amellican girl!
• Watch that sarcasm!
• No one has any ideas about what they want to say in their graduation speech.
• Mr. Hirsch is a _____ teacher. Feedback survey.
• Sack to your beats, gadies and lentlemen.
• Light’s out, school’s off!
• Mr. Scott killed with lots of knives in the elevator
• Recalled to life.
• (creative and thoughtful tweet)
• We got grilled!
• Fake quiz; scared us all!
• Weedy for the geekend!
• Echoes, shadows and colours, oh, my!
• The end is nearer.
• Still knitting!
• "Bush Pigs"
• Quotes, quotes, quotes, and more quotes!
• What does catfish mean?
• Senior Project day 386543
• Shopping for essays.
• Darney – should he stay or should he go?
• This essay is bad, this one is good
• We were small but mighty!
• Unexpected no school day. How nice!
• Senior's last day! Thank you for flying Senior English!
• Tale of Two Cities is heating up!
• Congratulations to the Deerfield High School class of 2010!
• May the farce be with you!
• Our last class. Thanks for flying Freshman English! It has been a fantastic year.
• Ready to go! I am looking forward to meeting everyone and learning together!
• Wow! An all male Freshman English class!
• First day of Senior Year!
• Keep Sesame Street clean!
• Ewww, college essays and recommendations. Personality not generality.
• All guys and we all got A's for today!
• We read together. It was weird but awesome.
• Started off OF MICE AND MEN. Loved it!
• Broken Gourd, culture, personal essays: personal and show me, don't tell me.
• Bad essays!
• Taste test of essays - boy was that boring.
• Use your phone, take pictures of notes.
• “Grammar Girl and grading system.
• Success today does not guarantee success tomorrow.”
• " The best laid schemes o' mice and men go astray.
• Who got in" activity was helpful
• Looking back, self grading, feedback; our fingers are exhausted!
• We wrote essays and expanded our minds.
• Spoilers don't always spoil.
• Extreme thesis writing!
• Pull the trigger on Facebook
• Ayn Rand is confusing; being great is bad? :)
• We controlled the Dominican Republic - twice.
• The stapleless stapler saves staples.
• What is politics? We were political.
• Not enough pink!
• Kick me, literary terms, puzzle, and name game.
• Inner-outer discussion and super sheet fantastical quiz.
• Principal visit!
• What do you watch? Mr. Hirsch loves Star Trek, a little too much.
• Musical chairs with responding to the book. Grammar Girl is coming!
• Dictatorship bad!
• Aliens in Toronto.
• We are powerful!
• Silence is golden....or is it?
• Blithe Spirit presentation: Love Triangles!
• Mr. Hirsch is a frightened freshman, WERCS visit.
• Quiz (which was pretty fun)
• EEEEdipus's acting is a tragedy.
• Brain vomit
• No plagiarizing! Don’t tell freshmen!
• Is it Thursday yet?
• Major research. Shakespeare is fun!
• "Ethnomusicology is the study of music of ethnic groups."
• There is a Raisin that is in the Sun
• Grammar Girl is coming to town!
• Major work, major questions, major grades.
• Scene cut because of racism.
• Protestant or Catholic ghosts?
• Previously on RAISIN IN THE SUN...
• Modern Shakespeare, 2009 lingo!
• Ouch! RAISIN Act 3 Quiz didn't go well.
• Thanks for a fantastic visit, Grammar Girl!
• "More than kin but less than kind."
• Hamlet and his women!
• Live the Creed!
• "Hamlet is a whipper snapper."
• Read Creed.
• "Oh, no. Here comes Dad."
• Hamlet in a hurry.
• Is Creed dead?
• Yorick!
• Hamlet's dead!!!
• Creed questions and Creed connections!
• In class essay test: WWHD?
• I support school chest!
• Influences on Torey, quiz, NO SNEEZING!
• Heads!
• Everyone's here! We took a picture.
• Chocolate (and questions and killing a fly and themes and rubrics)
• "There were answers everywhere you looked."
• Clever Hans is a smart - - - donkey.
• I'm on a boat!
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead - for real!
• Santa is magical, he breaks all rules of physics!
• Snow day, PLEASE!
• Projects, projects, projects
• The final: put up or shut up.
• Work, work, work!
• Online grading is crazy.
• For my senior project, I will be stalking my ex-boyfriend.
• Poetry is..
• Dandelions? Really!
• You're insane if you don't vote for McMurphy.
• Romeo loves himself.
• We want the radio voice!
• Pimped out Romeo and Juliet.
• Dead people everywhere!
• Research makes us have to go to the bathroom.
• What about Officer Krupke?
• New people Mr. Hirsch scared away.
• Herro very botiful Amellican girl!
• Watch that sarcasm!
• No one has any ideas about what they want to say in their graduation speech.
• Mr. Hirsch is a _____ teacher. Feedback survey.
• Sack to your beats, gadies and lentlemen.
• Light’s out, school’s off!
• Mr. Scott killed with lots of knives in the elevator
• Recalled to life.
• (creative and thoughtful tweet)
• We got grilled!
• Fake quiz; scared us all!
• Weedy for the geekend!
• Echoes, shadows and colours, oh, my!
• The end is nearer.
• Still knitting!
• "Bush Pigs"
• Quotes, quotes, quotes, and more quotes!
• What does catfish mean?
• Senior Project day 386543
• Shopping for essays.
• Darney – should he stay or should he go?
• This essay is bad, this one is good
• We were small but mighty!
• Unexpected no school day. How nice!
• Senior's last day! Thank you for flying Senior English!
• Tale of Two Cities is heating up!
• Congratulations to the Deerfield High School class of 2010!
• May the farce be with you!
• Our last class. Thanks for flying Freshman English! It has been a fantastic year.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Summer's Arrival, Students' Departure
While almost everyone in school is aching for summer break and the end of classes, this time of year also has a sad side. Although graduation is a celebration and a joyous landmark event, it is also a good-bye. With very few exceptions, I don’t want to let go of my students.
This year, I have a dynamic Freshman English class. Although it would be wonderful to stay together for Sophomore English, it is not possible. Yes, I have taught Sophomore English as recently as last year. However, all my freshmen are not all taking the same variety of Sophomore English. They are signing up for specialized classes that make each of their schedules unique. Whatever period we put our “year two” class, it would not work for some of them.
Yet, I will see them in the halls. Some may become involved with the club that I sponsor. Some will be back in my class later in their high school careers. It is only an ending for this group.
With seniors, the departure is far more real and, in a vast majority of the cases, permanent. I tell my seniors that I expect them to come and visit me and let me know about their college progress. I ask them to help advise my new seniors on the Senior-Alumni Dialogue page on Facebook. After class ends, but before graduation, I send them an email congratulating them and leaving the metaphoric door open.
I wrote them a letter on their first day of class, so it is fitting to send them a letter as they finish their time in high school. I tell them, “I have great faith that you are ready for the challenges that lie ahead. Some of these may seem daunting but I fervently believe that you have the capacity to meet the future with intelligence, humility and compassion.” The letter goes on to remind them about some of the skills we studied together and the values that drove them.
The rest of the letter is a thank you note: “I don’t think you, my students, realize the remarkable impact you have on me. People often talk about special teachers who touched their lives. We remember them and honor their influence. What you may not realize is that students are just as critical in the shaping of teachers. Teachers carry the lessons they learn from students from class to class and year to year. How I interacted with you, just a few years or days ago, changed me. Likewise, my classes next year will color my future decisions. When I make these choices, I think of the students who taught me how to be a better teacher. To a great degree, my past students have made me the teacher I am. I will think of you as I return to those lessons we shared. You may be graduating, but I will carry you into next year’s class and all the classes that follow. Thus, I want to say thank you; thank you for all you have taught me. If I am a “decent” teacher, it is due, in large measure, to you, the fantastic students with whom I have studied. You have generously and unselfishly taught me what it means to learn and study. Every day, every semester, year after year you are with me and I am eternally grateful.”
While I hope that each student will stay in touch with me, I know this is my last contact for a vast majority. However, a part of them will be with me in class. And when I see them again, it will be an opportunity to tell them, “I was just thinking of you!”
This year, I have a dynamic Freshman English class. Although it would be wonderful to stay together for Sophomore English, it is not possible. Yes, I have taught Sophomore English as recently as last year. However, all my freshmen are not all taking the same variety of Sophomore English. They are signing up for specialized classes that make each of their schedules unique. Whatever period we put our “year two” class, it would not work for some of them.
Yet, I will see them in the halls. Some may become involved with the club that I sponsor. Some will be back in my class later in their high school careers. It is only an ending for this group.
With seniors, the departure is far more real and, in a vast majority of the cases, permanent. I tell my seniors that I expect them to come and visit me and let me know about their college progress. I ask them to help advise my new seniors on the Senior-Alumni Dialogue page on Facebook. After class ends, but before graduation, I send them an email congratulating them and leaving the metaphoric door open.
I wrote them a letter on their first day of class, so it is fitting to send them a letter as they finish their time in high school. I tell them, “I have great faith that you are ready for the challenges that lie ahead. Some of these may seem daunting but I fervently believe that you have the capacity to meet the future with intelligence, humility and compassion.” The letter goes on to remind them about some of the skills we studied together and the values that drove them.
The rest of the letter is a thank you note: “I don’t think you, my students, realize the remarkable impact you have on me. People often talk about special teachers who touched their lives. We remember them and honor their influence. What you may not realize is that students are just as critical in the shaping of teachers. Teachers carry the lessons they learn from students from class to class and year to year. How I interacted with you, just a few years or days ago, changed me. Likewise, my classes next year will color my future decisions. When I make these choices, I think of the students who taught me how to be a better teacher. To a great degree, my past students have made me the teacher I am. I will think of you as I return to those lessons we shared. You may be graduating, but I will carry you into next year’s class and all the classes that follow. Thus, I want to say thank you; thank you for all you have taught me. If I am a “decent” teacher, it is due, in large measure, to you, the fantastic students with whom I have studied. You have generously and unselfishly taught me what it means to learn and study. Every day, every semester, year after year you are with me and I am eternally grateful.”
While I hope that each student will stay in touch with me, I know this is my last contact for a vast majority. However, a part of them will be with me in class. And when I see them again, it will be an opportunity to tell them, “I was just thinking of you!”
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