The Road Less Traveled

Last week, I handed out the edublogs manual to my night school English class.  This is a class of 30+ students who have failed a semester or more of English and need to make up the credit.  Simply put, it is mostly a group of intelligent and talented students who just either hate English (especially reading and writing) or don’t care for school work.

I was not surprised, however, when a good number of them expressed interest in signing up for blogs.  I plan to use them as a place for students to post their writing, comment about what they are currently reading, and just write whatever is on their mind.

We’ll see how this goes.  I already have two students who have responded to my entries.  Now I have the great pleasure of responding to theirs.

Until later — There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.

I can’t believe I didn’t post about this before (or at least I don’t think I did).  The CWVWP has generously given me a digital video camera in lieu of a $100 stipend.  It is called a Flip and has a built in USB port that allows me to upload videos to my computer almost instantly.  I have already used the camera to record video writing prompts for my students as well as record my students reading some of their writing.  I’ll figure out a way to upload a few of my video prompts and post them on here for you.

Oh, and I also realized that I haven’t followed through on a few of my promises about pics of Aryanna and Bianca on their day out with daddy.  So enjoy:

Lately, I’ve been playing the observer.  Those who know me understand this is no simple task.  I am usually the one talking, but recently I have been working on my listening skills.  I listen, and later on I pull out my little notebook and write down interesting phrases I remember hearing that day.

Here are a few of my favorites:

“I think you should pick me because my favorite number is five.”

“We both did it, but he’s the only one who got in trouble and that makes me mad.”

“Here’s a question for ya?  Do you see the same sun set every evening or do you see a different sunset every evening?”

“I feel like I’m stuck in a balloon and all the air is being sucked out of it.”

Said about the movie Halloween:  “I loved it.  It was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.”

Aren’t those great?  I love the randomness of the first one, the sense of justice in the second, the optimistic outlook of the third, the profundity of the fourth, and the hilarious contradiction of the last.

I think I’ve found a new way to spice up my writing.  Barry Lane says, “Good dialogue reveals character” (Reviser’s Toolbox, pg. 110).  All of these little snippets say something about the person who spoke them, about their personality or their condition.

 I love this sort of in-depth character study.  I’m going to assign this to my students, ask them to listen to conversations and write down statements that really intrigue them or just make them laugh (I loved it.  It was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.)

Until later– “There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

I only have a few minutes, so I’ll make this quick.

Right now I am sitting in a computer lab, getting ready to be trained for edline, a program that allows teachers to upload grades and lesson plans for parents to use.  I am hoping this eliminates a lot of the problems I have had in the past.

As always, I am trying to get a few steps ahead of everyone else.  I was ready to type in my activation code for edline when the instructor says, “Please do not log on to edline yet.”  Ooops.

 Got to go.  I’ll post more later.

Not sure if I told you or not…  A few weeks ago, I attended a writing workshop taught by Barry Lane.  I know I wrote about going to the workshop, but I don’t think I’ve written about it since.

Wow!  That about covers it.  Barry is a hilarious, delightful writing teacher who may just be the breath of fresh air all teachers need.  He is funny and even encourages humor with students as an educational tool.  His new video series Hooked on Meaning is a treat for me and my students.  The DVD menu has a catchy tune and every time I play it, my students smile because they know it is “Barry Time.”  “Barry Time” equals “writing time” since his video series is filled with useful writing craft strategies and activities.  The greatest thing about Barry, though, is that he is very humble, an average guy who just loves to write and teach writing.  While watching the video, my students feel as if they know Barry personally, laughing at his jokes, occasionally making fun of his silly ways.  But that’s okay.  They’re watching and listening.  And best of all…  THE STRATEGIES WORK!

I had the pleasure of sharing lunch with Barry at Whitewater Grill in the Marriott Hotel.  In addition to being a great teacher, he knows how to build friendships, as well.  He talked little and listened often to everyone at the table, to the stories of teaching, family, and anything else we wished to share.

At the end of the workshop, he interviewed me and asked me to share one of my recent lessons with dead verbs.  He held the camera close to my face and again said very little as I rattled on about burying dead verbs in a hole outside my classroom window.  The video should be coming up on YouTube soon.  When I find it, I’ll post it here.  Barry also gave me a copy of The Essay Manifesto, an excellent book about reclaiming the student essay and avoiding formula, and Why We Must Run With Scissors, a great book on persuasive writing that he wrote with Gretchen Bernabei.

I also just checked my e-mail, and Gretchen Bernabei (one of my all-time heroes) just sent me a reply.  Seeing it made me cry.  I can’t express in words how lucky I have been lately to meet and read books from teachers who have revolutionized the way I teach writing.  Teaching is a joy again and it is mostly because of the CWVWP and all of the opportunities I have been given because of it.

Thank you again to Barbara, Carol, Sharon, and most of all to Paul for striking my match so many times and finally got it lit.

Until later… “There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

What have I gotten myself into? Yesterday, I travelled with Paul to Nicholas County to assistant coordinate a writing workshop on the 6+1 Traits. I am proud to be a part of this, but man it is hard starting my day at 6:30 a.m. and not walking through my front door until 10:00 p.m.

However, the first day is always the best, I think.  It reminds me of how my students feel on the first day, nervous but curious.  I could tell that every one of the teachers at the workshop were curious.  Paul and I were the nervous ones since we arrived at 5:30 and realized some of them had been waiting since 4:45.

For my presentation, I read a story of Hokusai, the famous Japanese artist (reminder: post on blog later).  At the end, I asked the teachers to write what they thought the moral to the story was, and then write a story from their life that also illustrated that moral.  Some of the teachers were reluctant to share, but the ones who did had excellent stories about parenthood, teaching, etc.

Other than dreading another late night, I am looking forward to our next class.  Paul is an amazing teacher and I’m not sure he knows it.  I have been wanting to work with him for a few years now, and I finally have the opportunity.

 Until later– “There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

Download Video: Posted by creatively at TeacherTube.com.

Have you ever had one of those weekends that just seems extra long?  Last weekend was a three-day because of Labor Day, but I feel as if this weekend lasted three days.

That’s not such a bad thing, since I have to prepare for tonight:  Back-to-School Night.  I think every teacher, no matter how long they have been teaching, gets butterflies on this night.  I’m not really nervous about meeting the parents.  I am just wondering if I have everything under control, syllabuses typed (yep), room clean (nope), class expectations and rules typed (yep).

Everything will be fine, I know it.  Friday evening I prayed for a long weekend, so I could have time to spend with the family as well as get the work done I needed for tonight.  It must be proof of a higher power when a two-day weekend feels longer than a three-day weekend.

Time to go make some copies.

Until later… “There’s no turning back, now that you opened up to your mind.”

Today was probably one of the best classes I have had so far.

As a warm-up activity, I asked my students to write their own personal mission statements.  I shared mine with them:

1.  I will be the best educator I can be.

2.  I will know no limits.

3.  I will learn something new every day.

4.  I will write habitually and passionately every day.

5.  I will foster creativity and curiosity in everyone I meet.

6.  I will believe that everyone, including myself, has the ability to succeed.

I wrote this more than a month ago, at the CWVWP Summer Institute.  As I read it today, however, one of those unavoidable but unexpected light bulbs went on in my brain.  These students have the challenge of helping me accomplish missions 3, 4, and 5.

The best teachers are those who knew their students have just as much (if not more) to teach as they do.  Also, since I write with my students and have promised to respond to all of their blog posts, I am compelled to write every day and with enthusiasm.  And, of course, a big part of my job is getting them curious about the world and encouraging them to create.

I love my career.  I really do.  Harry Wong says in his book The First Days of School that there are two kinds of people:  workers and leaders.  “The two things that matter most to a worker are time and money.”  However, “The two major concerns of a leader are enhancement and cooperation.”

For a while, I wondered if my career was pushing me in the direction of becoming a worker.  But now that I have stripped myself of the negativity, now that I have had an experience that shows how much my students can change me and how much I can change them, I am certain that I control which person I will be.

I’ll let you guess.

Until later… “There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

I can’t stress enough the importance of attitude on the success of your day.  Yesterday, as an experiment, I deliberately placed myself in a bad mood, I will complaining about things, putting myself down, just so I could see how that affects my responses to others and how I feel at the end of the day. 

Yesterday, I was in a pretty bad mood, whining about the same things that have been bugging me for months, wondering if I will ever climb out of this hole I have buried myself in.  By the end of the day, I was exhausted.  I didn’t want to be bothered by anyone and just curled up on my sofa and watched television.  I tossed and turned late into the night, unable to sleep because I had allowed everything to bother me.

This was totally out of the ordinary for me.  I am usually a cheerful guy with an unusually positive attitude.  I take things in stride, always with a smile (unless it’s severe) and my faith in myself and my abilities are usually relentless.

The other day, I introduce a word to my students:  corroding

cor·rode [kuh-rohd] –verb (used with object)

That’s what a negative attitude does.  It corrodes, it eats away gradually the more you allow it to take control.  I have seen it happen to so many other teachers and people in professions that are stressful and demanding.  In fact, I remember some of my worst teachers who just seemed so miserable because they had a negative attitude.

Charles Swindoll said, “I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it…  We are in charge of our attitudes.”  There is a book by Mac Anderson titled The Power of Attitudethat stays in my possession more than any other book (besides my Bible).  There is an amazing section of the book titled “Emotional Baggage” where he says that we have to unload our emotional hangups, forgiving those who have caused us harm or trouble.

So, that is where I am right now.  Forgiveness.  Unloading my emotional baggage.  I’m just… not angry anymore.  Do I trust the people who have hurt me?  No, but I no longer hate them nor am I angry with them.  If they have a problem with me, then I hope some day they will be able to unload their emotional baggage, as well.  But I’m through being angry, with myself and with others.

Until later… “There’s not turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

I logged on this morning and checked to see if any of my students had posted to our class blog.  I was surprised to see that four students have already posted.  I am hoping this will be something that takes off with a bang.

 Yesterday, I watched a cool video on Teacher Tube.  It is a video introducing a project that a teacher tried with his students called the “Nickname Yourself Project”. I am currently working on this activity with my students.  They share their nicknames tomorrow.  This is a great activity to encourage kids to find new and interesting words as well as use a thesaurus and a dictionary.  Most importantly, though, it is their first opportunity to get to know each other better and present their ideas to the class.

Download Video: Posted by scttwisdom at TeacherTube.com.