The E-mail Teachers Despise

I received one yesterday.

It reads something like this:  "Reggie will be out of school all next week. Be sure he has his work today before he leaves your class."

GGGRRRRRR.

Now, if you are not a teacher you may be thinking, What's the big deal? What are teachers going to complain about now??? Well, I have a few very important "deals" to share and yes, I have a complaint loud and clear.  Before I do my venting, let me clarify that this has been a growing issue with me over the years.  My disgust with this e-mail can no longer be contained.  I really do let out a scream when I see one.

The Number One Reason I Despise This E-mail
It suggests that I, Reggie's teacher, am totally irrelevant to his education.  All I have to do is "provide the work" and wallah! Reggie can magically do it, without any prior instruction or guidance.  I am particularly grinded by the fact that very often this directive comes from other educators who I feel should know better.  After all, they of all people should understand our importance to the education of the children in our building -- right?  Why this persistent support of "sending work home" as if what we do in the classroom doesn't matter?  I can understand when parents ask -- they think they are doing a good thing keeping up with their child's education.  But in reality, it is a slap in the face to the teacher who works hard to help his or her child gain mastery.

The Number Two Reason I Despise This E-mail
It makes the assumption that education is a straight line and that every teacher has lessons planned weeks in advance, in perfect pacing and sequence, and knows exactly what will be taught next week when Reggie goes on a cruise or to a funeral or Disney World because it's the off season.  There is no understanding that teachers teach DAILY.  We are constantly adjusting our plans to make them work for the children because, surprise! we do care if they learn.  Teaching is not an exact science, as some would have you believe. It is an art.  Ask an artist what he are painting next week, or a songwriter what song she will write.  They will be hard-pressed to tell you.  Same goes for a teacher.  I have a slight idea of where we are headed, but sometimes even up until a half an hour before the kids walk through the door I am still fine-tuning the lesson and preparing last minute handouts. This is the life and reality of a teacher.  The e-mail indicates otherwise.

The Number Three Reason I Despise This E-mail
Even if I do provide work, the kid never does it.  And in this case, it is truly never.  Kids who are routinely taken out of school for said vacations and other dalliances of import soon learn that all they have to say is, "I didn't understand it."  OF COURSE you didn't understand it.  That's why I am here!  That's my job. What I am paid to do.  Degreed, tested, and licensed to be sure you understand it.  Sorry kid, it wasn't my stupid idea to hand you something you haven't been taught.  I've had to do it because the E-MAIL directed me to.  If I fail to provide you the work, I can be called unprofessional or worse.  I can be marked down on my evaluation for not communicating with your family.   So I purposely gave you work you cannot do, and now you are behind because Carnival had a family discount. I will do my level best to get you caught up now, two weeks later.

Let me share one of my early experiences with the e-mail to shed a little additional light on how I came to feel the way I do.

In my first year teaching I had a student I'll call Willie.  During the first open house before school even started, Willie's mom announced to me that he would talk all through my class -- which he did -- with her blessing.  From his constant conversation, I learned that he was treated pretty much like an adult in the family, although he was just a sixth-grader.

Well, later that school year his mom decided to marry her boyfriend, and needed Willie to give her away.  This involved taking a cruise -- couldn't just have the wedding locally even though it was in the middle of the school year.  I dutifully gave Willie all his work to do on the wedding cruise for a week.  Naturally, I saw none of it when he returned.  Soon afterward, his mother blasted me on the telephone about not giving him credit for all the work he did while away.  She said she spent hours with him in their cabin getting the work done.  I had to inform her he never turned it in. When I asked him about it, he said he had lost it.  I never heard from mom again, and a few months later I heard she was already getting divorced.

I was not surprised.

My final word on this: if the kid has to be out of school for something important, then train the child to do what it takes to catch up when he or she returns. Do not put the teacher through the gyrations of putting together work that isn't even going to be done, just to make it look good.  This teaches absolutely nothing about responsibility and actually trains the kid not to care about the work.  It will really save everyone a lot of aggravation, and will acknowledge the fact that teachers actually perform a service in the classroom -- one that can only be accessed by being there.

I Have Observed I'm Ready to Start Blogging Again

Looks like I'm back from my blogging hiatus.  School has begun in earnest and tons of time and energy is going in that direction. Yet, I felt the need to check in here.

This year I am teaching purely 7th grade. This is a big change -- the last time I taught one grade level was the 2009-10 school year.  I have intensive readers and I have got to say, I am loving it.  

In the classroom we have been spending a lot of time setting up our reader and writer's notebooks.  The writer's notebooks are decorated and covered with contact paper. The students have taken complete ownership, from my observation.

And that is what this blog is about -- observation.  This summer I taught myself to slow down and pay attention, and I'm glad to say that I am remembering what I learned this summer and am continuing to apply it.

My return to writing started today when I was driving to a yoga class. I began to make mental notes on things I observed, and then wrote them down as soon as I got to my destination.

Driving to Yoga Class Labor Day 2014

The town is quiet

A dusty white pony dips his head to graze at the fence by the side of the road

Dry palm fronds sway slightly as they lean over in the late summer heat

"God bless the broken road" plays on country radio

Royal palm tree trunks create shadow stripes along MacGregor Boulevard

I miss my turn-off to my usual parking lot

The road I'm on has a farmers stand with a sign that says "Georgia Peaches"

I realize I have found a better place to park

A shady spot

The mid-morning air hangs heavy

Now some gentle movements

For balance, clarity,

And even deeper awareness

*

This is the kind of thing I started training my students to do last Friday.

I started by asking them to make observations of the classroom, and then observation of themselves. We then proceeded into a listening observation. Each time they were expected to write specific things about what they saw and heard. The listening exercise included me playing my Tibetan singing bowl. One class got into an extended conversation afterward about lucid dreams and deja vu, all brought to mind by the sound of the bowl. It so happened that by 7th period my principal was in observing my class, and she loved it, too.

Then we moved to the poem "Observer" by Naomi Shahib Nye. This poem is about observing the world. 

I watch how others things travel
to get an idea how I might move.
A cloud sweeps by silently,
gathering other clouds.
A doodlebug curls in his effort to get there.
A horse snorts before stepping forward.
A caterpillar inches across the kitchen floor.
When I carry him outside on a leaf,
I imagine someone doing that to me.
Would I scream?

In the heart of the day
nothing moves.
No one is going anywhere
or coming back.
The blue glass on the table
lets light pass through.
Something shines
but nothing moves.
I watch that too.

We picked it apart a bit as we sat in our gathering place for the lesson, and then I sent them back to their seats to think about creatures and things from nature they have observed-- how a pet snake moves, what a butterfly does, how a tree moves in the wind. During fifth period we had some tech support people come in to fix up something on the smart board. I told the students to observe them and make some notes about what they were doing. 

I think the word for how I've been operating is "emergent."  

Finally, we got to the Marty Stuart song, "Observations of a Crow."  

We listened to the song and followed along with the lyrics. Miracle upon miracle, I did not have one complaint about it being "country."  In fact, my one student, who can do a mean moonwalk, was nearly dancing along as he sang.  We talked about all the things the crow was observing, and that in his dialogue the crow made up some words. They then had to write from the perspective of the creature or a thing--what does that creature or thing observe about the human world? What does it see as it goes through its day?  They were advised to write in first person to make this come alive.

It was a relaxing and easy lesson, and got them writing and collecting ideas in their Writers Notebooks.  The students aren't writing as specifically as they need to, but we have a beginning, a foundation to get us started.  We'll see what emerges from here.

Calling All Superheroes (Prose poem)

Today I passed a church and on its marquee it said "Calling all superheroes"
and as I maneuvered my way through traffic I started to wonder
why does everyone has to be a superhero now? Recently, local teachers were presented
as being superheroes and it had annoyed me a little, but I hadn't really
thought of why. Now local churches are calling for superheroes.
Aren't they just members of the church who wish to contribute?
Aren't I just a teacher trying to do my job?

Years back, I read an article about Superman and Batman and how they
were both introduced during the decade of the Great Depression.
It was said that people needed to believe someone could save them
and that Superman even fought Nazis. We currently have a similar
obsession because superheroes became popular again after 9/11 when we
found a clear line again between good and evil. This had been lost
in the intervening years, especially the 60's and 70's when ambiguity reigned.

So maybe that's my problem. I am a clear product of the age of confusion
and cynicism.  Batman was presented in a campy style on television.
It was comedy. The Dark Knight wasn't so dark. We were beyond it.

Perhaps this is the root of my annoyance.
I am not here to save anyone, nor do I believe I have to be saved.
I don't see a clear line between good and evil--only shades of gray.
Making teachers superheroes implies that there is a clear line and that
we have the ability to fight the forces of evil on our own, that perhaps
the immoral and undemocratic acts that we see perpetuated through the education
system can somehow be eradicated by us. But we are only professional people
trying to do the best job possible. We are not from other planets nor did we
make a vow to avenge the deaths of those we love. We are just trying to stop
the intellectual death of our students through systemic injustice that comes
in many forms. Yes, we fight on the front lines but we could still use a certain
amount of reasonable help, respect, and acknowledgement.

The teachers I know are just regular human beings determined to do
the best they can in admittedly trying times.  I watch as their hearts
break daily, seeing what cannot be accomplished, the canyons they can't bridge.

I don't think the superhero pedestal serves any of us.
The mythology around superheroes demands they live double lives
--they all have alter egos: Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker.

I'm just trying to be authentically me.

I'm a teacher. Not a myth. Not a comic. Not a television show or movie.

All I ask: a little help, a lot more respect, and true acknowledgement of my profession.

Don't make me into something I'm not.  But don't block me from what I do best.

Not me

Walking Poem-- "Gaps"

Called to the woods today
First full day out of school
Seemed to be the most perfect thing to so
Be among the cypress and the ferns that
Make up the southwest Florida landscape I love
Walking walking
Trees and brush and squirrels
Incredible fluffy clouds over a lake
Where catfish lethargically swim around the limestone
Frog calls. Boardwalk winds.
Then...a gap
An area of water, not a lake, just an opening
Where no ferns grow
Where vision is expanded
Where dragonflies dart and play
Herons fly. Naturally occurring.
A place to breathe.

The gap filled me with regret
The regret all teachers know
That my students learned so much
But there was still so much left unlearned
No matter how I try to make it all
Fit and click
There are always the gaps
The openings like a crevice.
They come to me and I do my best
I request effort and commitment on their part
I require them to think.

I left high school teaching because I saw the gaps
I had hoped as a middle school teacher I could better prepare them
And for a moment one day
Reading final exam essays
I thought I had it
I thought, yes, they are ready

But maybe not
For as a reflective practitioner I have to face the truth
There are always gaps
The point is to learn, make a new plan, try anew
Ten years in the classroom...yes, I know more now
But it never feels like enough.

This is why teachers need time away from school
(The idea of year round school terrifies me)
I need time to think, contemplate, investigate
I need to gain the belief that I can do it
That next year when they walk out of my class
The gaps won't be so gaping
That maybe I nearly got it right

August will come.
I will take a deep breath
And begin again.

Make Just One Change

I came across this book, and was rather intrigued by the reviews on it that I decided to splurge and get it for myself.  I believe in having students write their own questions, usually for Socratic Seminar, but have never actually created a system that deepens their questioning.  The QTF promised to do that.

As with the previous blog, I have had my mind on education, literacy, and the various political shenanigans going on that affect my students and yes, me and my teacher friends as well.  So I decided to apply the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) process to something on my mind.  Lately, there has been talk about public education as a civil right, and there have been reminders floating around that we need public education for the greater good of our democracy.  I already believe this, but somehow not everyone does. 

So, applying the QFT from the book, I came up with what is called "the QFocus."  This is a statement -- simple in nature, pretty much like a debate topic -- that students can use to generate questions.

Keep in mind, it was just me doing this exercise.  I can already tell that with others the power of this exercise would be even more evident than I found it to be.  And yes, I found it deepening my thinking on something I feel I have already thought quite a bit about.

Imagine that.

Anyway, the first step is the QFocus.  Here is mine:  Public education sustains democracy.

Now, the questions.  There are rules for this, which are good for guiding students.  Since it was just me, I didn't have to follow any rules except to write down every question the way it came into my mind.  Here are my questions in the order I wrote them:

How did economics become the focus?

Why does the general public not know the real reason behind public ed?

What does it mean to "sustain democracy"?

If charters get public money, aren't they sustaining democracy?

If private schools get voucher money, aren't they sustaining democracy?

How does standardized testing fit into sustaining democracy?

Do we have a democracy to sustain?

What evidence is there that democracy is already a lost cause?

Does comparing the U.S. scores to other countries serve democracy?

Does the Billionaire Boys Club -- those who've invested millions into education -- do it for democratic purposes?

Is public ed in its present form sustaining democracy?

(I sincerely hope that as you read these questions, you thought of some of your own.  Would love to hear them.)

Anyway, the next step for students is to decide which questions are open-ended and which are closed.  I decided my first few questions are closed, but after that they are pretty open-ended and can have many different interpretations.

Following the open/close exercise, the reason for questioning is brought to the forefront.  Is it for a research paper, a project, a debate, introduction to a new unit, conclusion of a unit?   Choices are available for this section to help prioritize, and so I put myself through those as well.

#1  Pick the three questions most important to you 
What does it mean to "sustain democracy"?
How does standardized testing fit into sustaining democracy?
Is public ed in its present form sustaining democracy?

#2  Pick the three questions you want or need to answer first.
How does standardized testing fit into sustaining democracy?
Do we have a democracy to sustain?
Does comparing the U.S. scores to other countries serve democracy? 

#3 Choose the three questions that most interest you.

How does standardized testing fit into sustaining democracy?
Does comparing the U.S. scores to other countries serve democracy? 
Is public ed in its present form sustaining democracy? 


As I concluded this process I could see with a lot more clarity where I need to investigate further.  I found these questions compelling -- and I probably would never have delved into this if not for the QFT process.  I can only imagine how, when working in collaboration with others, the extremel power here.

There is a reflection section that teachers lead students through at the end of the technique, so they can determine what they have learned.  I wrote down that this opened my eyes to see that I could learn a lot more about the public education -- democracy connection. This matters to me because it is my chosen profession, and what I will be doing the rest of my life.  I feel I need to get it right.  QFT set me thinking in a more solid direction. 

Of course, this question crossed my mind:  how does this fit into the teacher evaluation?  Will an administrator understand this is a way to create deeper questioning, without the teacher having to come up with every single probing question?  I have no idea what the answer is.  I just find comfort in this quote from Albert Einstein: "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."  I think if I can produce a few more people in our democracy who understand the power of the right questions and who have a revitalized curiosity, then I have done my job. 

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Poem: "Autumn in the Wilderness"

I.

She is a little weird...okay, maybe a lot weird

sometimes the other kids say crazy while,
circling their finger around their ear.
She can be quiet or talk nonstop.
She gave me a seashell she had painted and
begs to sing songs for the class, which she does
on occasion...they listen politely, knowing this is
what she needs.

She is a reader and some days I barely know she's there.
Smart and mythological and medicated for her Tourette's;
irritated by her brothers and sisters, but rarely her classmates.

I often wonder what will become of her as the years go by.

II.

It begins when I see a look on a boy's face.
"Miss, she's freaking me out," he calls.
We are in the computer lab.
She is not working.  Instead she is trying to cut her
arm with her nails, crying that everyone calls her worthless.
I am heartbroken for her, as I send her to see someone
who can help her more than I can in a computer lab with
twenty-one other students.



III.

It's the day before spring break.  We have not done enough
poetry, so I decide today is the day.
I pull out George Ella Lyons' poem "Where I'm From."
We make lists.
We talk about memories of food and people and La Llorona,
the Hispanic legend.
Then we write, as Tanisha hands out birthday cupcakes and
I handle re-explanations of just what metaphor is.

Class is nearing an end.  We've been rushed again, so not
everyone has finished their poem.  But then Autumn proudly
comes up to me, poem in hand, excitedly spilling out its contents to me.
I take and read:

Wilderness
Wilderness;
a place of friends.
where you can fish
scallops from the river.
"Come on, Michelle.  We need

to listen to White Horse," Autumn says.
Wilderness;
a place of family
where you can hunt deer
in the woods.
"Come on! Come on!" Autumn calls from
a tree.
"Where is the radio?" Michelle calls.
"UP here!" Autumn calls again.
Wilderness;
a place of caring
where others fish the river
Michelle and Autumn listen to
White Horse every spring.
They have a cross as
their symbol.
They lost two dogs and
two family members.
"Mom, I keep my memories in
my soul," Autumn says.

She is glowing.  I am smiling.
"Make me a copy," I tell her, and she proudly does,
so I can share it here and remind myself....
she is going to be all right.
She has mythology and nature, poetry and music,
an essential worth no one can take away from her,
alive and living in her soul.

hms 3/17/14


*Students names changed

Renewing My Vision

Been so long since I have felt like writing.  In my absence I somehow got some readership in France. Go figure.

What have I been doing?  Reading.  Listening to music.  Playing music.  And investigating new avenues in my teaching, sparked by an invigorating professional development I was invited to create and present along with another National Writing Project Consultant, the esteemed Dr. Laurie Kemp.  The day with the teachers at St. Andrew's School in Cape Coral ignited my teaching vision anew.  I am delving deep into the field of literacy and rethinking everything I do in the classroom.

Needless to say, that alone is occupying a lot of time.

So, I've decided that today is just an update and a chance to share a soulful song I heard the other night on Live at Daryl's House.  I've never paid much attention to the singer Gavin Degraw, but he was quite impressive on this Hall & Oates song -- one that was released on an album in 2007, but that I have not been aware of until this program. 

Sit back and enjoy your Saturday afternoon tune:  "I Want to Know You For a Long Time"

A Pete Seeger Moment with Tracy Chapman

As widely reported, well-known musician and activist Pete Seeger died earlier this week at age 94.  I have read several articles about him in the New York Times, and relived in my mind the experience of seeing Seeger perform with Arlo Guthrie at Blossom Music Center sometime in the mid-1970's.  Last night, Palladium channel ran a two-hour program about him, that taught me even more about the man and his music. 

The thing with Seeger was that he never wanted to sing alone.  He always engaged the audience.  The unifying power of music motivated him to write such powerful songs as "We Shall Overcome" (an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement) and "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" (an anti-Vietnam-war song.) And of course, songs of hope and action like "If I Had a Hammer."  He suffered the slings and arrows of a somewhat narrow-minded society, yet continued with fortitude and fearlessness.

What I remember most about the concert at Blossom Music Center was that it was a night of singing along -- not knowing the words was never a problem because Pete taught us along the way.  I don't remember anything about one singular song -- what I remember is the feeling he gave us.  And isn't that something Maya Angelou is known for saying?  People don't remember what you say, they remember how you made them feel.

Pete made me feel great. Refreshed. Like I belonged.

"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

The unifying power of song.

I wrote about it here -- a memory of a party that ended with everyone singing along to the Eagles greatest hits.  The Palladium program reminded me that I learned many of these folk songs while taking the bus to CYO Day Camp.  Folk music and its spawn are the songs we can all enter into easily and communally. 

Which brings me to Tracy Chapman.

These past couple of weeks I have been doing an exploration with my students into the poem "Fifteen" by William Stafford and the song "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman.  Both songs use a vehicle as a way to dream of escape to a better life.  (See this blog post for explanation of the exploratory concept.)

As usual, my students went crazy when they heard Tracy's voice, thinking she was a man, and totally bewildered to find out she is indeed a woman.  Being 8th graders, this was fodder for plenty of jokes, not the least that she is some kind of transvestite.  The first day I introduced it we read through the lyrics and just listened, then discussed who the speaker was and did a breakdown on the time shifts in the song. A few students told me on the sly that they really, really liked the song and begged me to play it again.  I knew I wouldn't win everyone over, but it never stops me from putting new poems and songs in front of my students -- how else are they ever going to find out about all the great stuff out there?  Certainly won't see it on the Grammy Awards!

But I digress.  I've had to deal with the ugliness of students' judgments before, and by the last day, right before I played the Tracy's live performance of it for my first period class, I asked them to stop with the comments until they do something as well and as powerful as she has done with this song.  That actually shut them up, to my surprise.

But what was even more surprising was that a number of the students started singing along.  And not just the chorus:

So remember when we were driving driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

They quietly sang the entire song and even applauded at the end.  It wasn't all the students, but it was enough for me to feel the power of song right there in my classroom.  And the biggest part of this?  They sang even though many of their fellow classmates -- some who have been very good at shutting down creative expression in the past against my best efforts -- would not approve or think it was cool.  They were singing along to an "ugly" woman whose gender was suspect to them.  They were singing because the song moved them and they could not longer pretend it didn't.

Seeger said something to Judy Collins that I read about in the NYT.  She had asked Pete just recently how he felt about the state of the world?  He replied, "Optimistic."  When she expressed her surprise he said, "Don't think about the big leaders -- look at all the small leaders around the world, and the people doing good things." I had to immediately write that down.  Focus on the small leaders.  Many people are doing good things. 

Small leaders emerged in my classroom that day, as the kids sang along with Tracy and goosebumps rose up on my arms. 

Seeger's banjo had a saying on it: "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."  I am writing this down so that I will always remember the day that hate surrendered to the power of song in my classroom.

Tracy sings "Fast Car" live.

Heartbreak in the Rain

His mother's death hasn't hit him yet. His eighth grade year marred early by tragedy.  He was swooped away to family in another part of the country for a time.

He was goofy, fuzzy-haired, lopsided grin, unfocused on anything related to school -- every thirteen-year-old boy cliche -- before she left him.

Upon his return he is still goofy, fuzzy-haired, and grinning...smart but not productive.  Social and friendly.  Unorganized and scattered.

I pick the class up at the cafeteria, as I do every day.  It has begun to rain. There is a place in our open hallways where the rain comes down -- not hard, just a gentle rain but enough to create a small puddle.

He pulls his hood up on his head and heads to the open area, splashing in the puddle, doing a little skip and trot, dancing in the rain. I see pure joy on his face.

Right there in the main hallway my heart breaks open. These words flood into my mind and heart cavity and are felt deep in my gut...How could a mother leave her child? How could she not want to see his spirit alive and smiling as the drops dot his gray hood?  She will miss every minute of his joyful presence, his growth, his future.  I am full of rage and tears fill my eyes.  Students surround me. This isn't the time.

That day I fell in a little more love with these students of mine.  Especially the one who has seen the rain and is still dancing.

So Much Depends Upon...Poetry!

I have had a love/hate relationship with the poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams for as long as I can remember.  But this week, I have shifted over into the "love" category.  In just three days I saw the power and influence of this poem, and am now awestruck by it.

Here is the poem for those who may not know it:

So much depends 
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

Yes, it is a short poem with mysterious meaning and origins, and about a million interpretations.

Let me back up a little.

As part of getting my 8th graders ready for high school -- my expressed mission for returning to middle school -- I have created a short segment for each day called "exploratory."  Each Monday I present a poem and we notice things about it. For the rest of the week, I will be presenting songs, pictures, paintings, stories, videos, anything else that connects to the poem. On Friday, they will write a letter to me with specific questions to answer about the poem.  I am just getting started with this, and I am encouraged!

We had a short week, so I chose "Red Wheelbarrow" because it was short.

The first day (after they got over laughing at the poet's name), we talked about the imagery, the fact that it is just one sentence, and we even broke down the subject, predicate, and three prepositional phrases.  I pointed out that the design of the poem looks like a series of little wheelbarrows.  I pointed out the break up of compound words: wheelbarrow and rainwater.  We discussed some of the many interpretations of the poem: that Williams, who was a doctor, wrote it when a young girl he was treating was dying.  This prompted what has been traditionally my favorite interpretation -- that the wheelbarrow is the heart and the rainwater blood and the doctors are the chickens because they can't really control any of it. A lot of students really liked that analysis.

I also shared with them that someone once told me there is no such story about the dying girl, but that Williams wrote it based on a painting he saw.  By the way, there is no dearth of painting and drawings related to this poem.  Here is one:

The second day, I showed them a Prezi that was on YouTube, where a student names Allysen suggests that the poem is really about nothing but the image. 

The third day, I showed them a Prezi that a student named Katie made who said the poem was about the essentials of life:  water, food, production.  It is a cycle we all rely on.  Many students found this interpretation the most pleasing.

Even after all of that, I had a student say that he didn't think any of those interpretations were right.  To him, the poem was about hope.  Said and done.

Then they were put to the task of writing their own "So Much Depends" poem.  I showed them the examples from all age groups available on the writingfix.com website -- but was rather dismayed when I realized that the poems there are very abstract -- hardly any of them truly emulate Williams' concise description of a specific image.  This was a big deal in our classroom because we have been working for a month on discussing and identifying and using concrete language -- so I was very pleased when the poems started coming in.  I simply have to share them with my readers!  I've sorted them into categories.

Oh, and one more thing -- while the students were writing it was quite evident that in the course of the week they had memorized this poem.  I heard some third period students arguing whether the fourth word was "on" or "upon."  An English teacher's dream!

Humorous

So much depends on
this rope
if it breaks
I will fall
and I might die.
-Patrick

Goals
So much depends upon
the newly paved path
that is blocked by
the mean black cat.
-Everett

Concrete Images

So much depends
on a bus glazed
with yellow paint next
to the bus stop.
-Mariana


So much depends
upon
the Silver King
the King of the sea
discovering back bay flats
to in-shore wrecks
Destroying pilch (baitfish) school
When you hook one it will dance
Doing the top water tarpon tango
-Cameron
(Note: that's a true Florida boy poem!)

So much depends upon
a desert camo tank
splattered with blood
rampaging through the streets of
Iraq.
-Kyle

These students inspired by the cycles of life interpretation

 So much depends upon a
sea

shore washing 
up

with fish in 
it

to feed the 
world.
-T.J.


The Bumble Bees!
So much depends upon the
little bumble bees, the flower
depends on the bumble bees to
collect its nectar and pollen,
and the bumble bees depend
on the flower to make the 
pollen and nectar, and we 
depend on the bumble bees to
keep the flowers and trees
alive so we can breathe 
oxygen, and we also depend
on the bumble bees to make
the honey so we can make
candles, candies, cough drops,
and tea. 
-Estephan

Special Interests

So much depends upon
books

All the variety 
with the different choices

All the thrillers and
disappointments

Sometimes it's good
sometimes it's bad

Books are unexpected.
-Brant

So much depends upon

the bass in 
back

Getting into the 
lyrics

it changes the 
mood

spilling your feelings
out

comparing yourself to
others

remembering the past
memories

wishing to go
back
 -McKenna

 A little abstract, but with feeling

So much depends on
A newborn life,
Big shoes to grow in
Steps back and falling down,
Get back up, move forward.
Amazing adventures,
Future is ahead.
Only to know the cycle will start again.
-Tamia

So much depends
upon

a single waiting
person

making other decisions
alone

waiting for their
own.
-Preston

So much depends on a beating heart,
living life and expressing itself.
Loving, hating, and starting over.
Trying to survive the heartbreaks,
no matter how much pain it may cause,
or the happiness it may strive.
Everyone needs a heart,
because a life with love
is a life lived.
-Kelly

Troubling (no name included)

So much depends upon
the sharp pocket
knife
that cuts into
skin
to take away
pain.

The one that provoked the best one-on-one discussion with a student

Two Wolves
So much depends upon
Two wolves
One is jealousy, inferiority, ego, greed, and anger.
The other is happiness, love, friendship, and honesty.
That wolf that wins?
The one you feed.

When I read this poem by Zach, I simply couldn't believe it.  Just two hours before, I had read the Cherokee story that this poem is based on.  It is very short and you can read it here.  So I said, "Hey, you must have been reading that Cherokee story." He was taken aback and said, "Yeah, I have, and I'm part Cherokee." Then he told me how he loves wolves and how he had taken this little test to find his spirit animal and it was a wolf.  I told him that wolf is the spirit animal for teachers as well.  It was one of those great moments when I felt like I got to know a student just a little bit better.

Besides the effort they put into creating their poems, there were two other significant things that day.  First, not one student asked if the poem had to rhyme.  Second, I did not have one student say they couldn't write a poem. Those are both perennial favorite distractors when it comes to writing poetry in class.  Every student wasn't successful, but no one said they couldn't do it.

When class was nearly over, I asked the student of the bumble bee poem what he had learned this week.  His response: that little words can bring big meaning.

I loved that!

Finally, here is my poem, reflecting this experience:

So much depends 
upon

the freedom of
structure

allowing for creative
expression

in a room alive with
learning.

Next week: "I'm Nobody" by Emily Dickinson

Gifts for English Major Me

In all my crazy days of shopping (mostly online) for Christmas, I made sure I picked up a couple of items for me.  My selections appealed to the English Major in me, and both items were new to me so kind of exciting. 

Haikubes

This is a collection of little cubes, with a variety of words written on the sides.  I was so excited when I found this, I bought one for my friend Iris, too.  We played with the Haikubes a little bit when she was here, but there are some things that we had issues with.  I border on being a haiku purest, which means that the poem is written to define a moment as it is, without metaphor.  It is supposed to focus on nature.  Haikubes makes no qualms about being about anything -- a haiku can even be a rant, in their estimation. So that means a lot of words are included which may not fit into a haiku purest's vision. 

The cubes themselves have a wonderful feeling to them, and they are kind of fun to shuffle around.  I have decided the best thing to do is to find a couple of word that go together, that sound good, and then build the rest of the haiku (term used lightly) after that.  Today I wrote this one:

precious time whispers

for any fertile fortune

promises return

Yeah, it's about my last day of break.  A bit abstract, right?  It's a 17 syllable poem. We'll leave it at that.

You've Been Sentenced

This game holds more promise, and is a grammarians dream.  It consists of over 500 5-sided cards with variations of the same word.  Each player gets 10 cards and attempts to make a sentence that is grammatically correct, while using as many cards as possible since they all have point values.  I bought this hoping to use it in the classroom.  Not sure when that will happen, but it is definitely a possibility. 

The thing about You've Been Sentenced is that you can't help but make crazy, silly sentences.  It isn't meant to be serious by any means.  The main point is to get it put together in a grammatically correct fashion.

Here is the one I put together today, with 10 cards I randomly gave myself:

Hairy ducks changed quickly to playing with saucy necklace.

May not make a great deal of sense (no way to include what they were doing before they changed), but I believe it is grammatically correct. This game takes some practice, yet I'm still interested in bringing this to my students as a table activity one day.  They really do love playing with words, and it will give us another way to talk grammar.  We need that!

Free the Mind, Equip the Heart

This is an incredible speech by a young man named Ethan Young from the state of Tennessee.

He nails it.

Addressing the issues with Common Core, teacher evaluation, standardized testing, and overuse of data he speaks for every teacher I know.

Teachers that are tired.  Teachers that are scared. Teacher that are looking to flee because of the incredibly outlandish and unworkable demands being made on them.

And a question that needs to be addressed:  Haven't we gone too far with data?

Everything this man says is true, and what teachers have been saying for years.  Somehow we are always met with the refrain that we somehow don't want to be "accountable" -- a word we've come to abhor because nothing is further from the truth.

Ethan Young gets it, and speaks of the disconnect quite elegantly. Here are other gems from Mr. Young which bear repeating:

As a craft, teaching is an interaction. Thus, how can you expect to gauge a teacher's success with no control of her students' participation or interests?

The task of teaching is never quantifiable.

If everything I learn in high school is a measurable objective, I have not learned anything.

(Are all the people who insist we post an objective, explain the objective, repeat the objective, and quantify if the students learned the objective listening???)

My favorite part is when he does the takedown on school only being useful to prepare for college and career.  He rightfully evokes the Founding Fathers "screaming from their graves"...

We teach to free minds.
We teach to inspire.
We teach to equip.
The careers will come naturally.

Yes, they will.  I believe that because I've seen it and experienced it myself during my many years on this planet. 

****

I first saw this video the same day that I read about Microsoft dumping their hated stack rankings -- the same kind of ranking used now with teachers.  In fact, right here in Florida the court has ordered the state to release the unstable VAM scores used for teacher evaluation, known to be unreliable, leaving media outlets open to publishing this data--as if it really said anything valid about teachers.

This happened in Los Angeles last year.  A teacher took his own life over it.

Public shaming is now what you get with a career in education.

With all of this being said, it is easy to believe that the point of all of this is to bring public education to its knees so that private firms can take over.  Legislators have already starved the schools of any meaningful funding, made pay increases nearly impossible for teachers, and are now implementing unproven standards at a pace that no reasonable human being can keep up with.  I am only in my tenth year, but the changes in funding have produced noticeable negative effects, and more so every year.  All of that while the pressure increases on everyone involved -- especially the children.

It's insanity.  It's misdirection.  It's confusing to the public. It's confusing to those of us in education who can't figure out how anyone thinks any of this is a good idea.

Is there any other profession that has outsiders dictating everything?

I've known some teachers who have bailed for other opportunities, and I defend their right to do so.  Everyone has to follow their own heart. And let's face it, sometimes the decision comes from the financial stress of teaching without raises and spending so much of our own money on classroom supplies and fundraisers.

But I won't be walking away.

When others talk of leaving, I know I'll stay.

Why?

Because I teach to free minds.  I teach to inspire.  I teach to equip -- with communication and critical thinking and writing skills.  I know I am not a data point, a VAM score, a tick mark on an iPad.  I know what I do is not quantifiable -- yet, I can see the results.  I like that the greatest minds come together in a Language Arts classroom -- and not just all those famous guys, but the great minds of our young people who truly do have something to say if you give them a chance. 

I teach because this is who I am -- and life is simply too short to be someone else. I teach to free the mind and equip the heart -- mine and my students.

I came a long way to make my teaching career happen.  It was forged out of years of doing every other kind of job imaginable. When I found this mission for the second half of my life, I knew it was the right and perfect thing for me.  I have said for years that God has not brought me this far to see me fall on my face.  I believe there are still many lessons for me to learn and perhaps an influence I can have.  I just cannot get sidetracked from what I know.

This is my mission.  As hard as it is and may still become, I'm sticking to it.

The Classroom Playlist

The students in my third period brought up playing music in the classroom several times, before I finally decided to do something about it.  Shuffling items on my iPod -- even specific genres -- simply was not cutting it with them.

In the past, my classes have been able to agree on at least one artist I could safely play:  Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, John Legend, and in spring 2012, Adele.

Michael only.  No brothers allowed.

But these 8th graders are not that easily pleased.

We began with a brainstorming.  The #1 Rule: everything is listed while we gather ideas -- nothing is tossed.

Immediately someone said, "Can we all agree that Justin Bieber does not go on the list?"

Against the rules. Let's start again.  EVERY SUGGESTION GOES ON THE LIST WITHOUT COMMENT.

The list begins: Miguel, Future, Ciara, Boyz II Men, Jeremih, Michael Jackson, Jay Z, Johnny Cash, Def Leppard, Aerosmith, 3 Doors Down, Pierce the Veil, Korn, Lorde, One Direction, Filter, TLC, Drake....on and on.

I take the list home and go to trusty iTunes.  Some bands simply have no clean versions of any song, so they get eliminated immediately.  I do find a new clean Drake song, and old Chris Brown ("Forever") that I really like, and I discover that I am a fan of Papa Roach and 3 Doors Down.

So, I create a list: Drake, Lorde, TLC, Linkin Park, Ciara, Boys II Men, 3 Doors Down, Papa Roach, Nicki Minaj (just one: "Starships"), Chris Brown, Blue Oyster Cult, Johnny Cash.  I add several of my own that I think they might be able to handle.  Soon I have a playlist of over 80 songs.

So, we test it out. They are working independently on storyboard projects and I put on the playlist.  They are happy to hear some of their favorites.  But they are not without complaints.  I had put Jackson Five's "The Love You Save" on the list.

Miss, we said Michael Jackson, NOT the Jackson Five.

The Funkadelics "Atomic Dog" made it through first period, but third soundly rejected it.

What IS this?  

The only acceptable Johnny Cash

They were mixed on Florida-Georgia State Line's "Cruise," even though I had the version with a rap by Nelly.  I'm leaving it on.

And they didn't know what to do with Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."

Miss -- we want OLD MAN Johnny Cash, not YOUNG MAN Johnny Cash.

So, "Hurt" has been downloaded to the list.

Songs I added that passed:
"Love Shack" by B-52's  (My mother loves this song!)
"You Make My Dreams" by Daryl Hall and John Oates
"Separate Ways" by Journey
"No One" by Alicia Keys (they were all singing along)
"Friday I'm In Love" by the Cure
"Breaking the Chains of Love" by Fitz and the Tantrums
"Mystery Train" by Elvis Presley
"Who Do You Love" by Bo Diddley
"Radio Nowhere" by Bruce Springsteen

Surprised ol' Bo made the cut!

"Train in Vain" by the Clash
"Radar Love" by Golden Earring
"Refugee" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Still to be determined:
"Bang the Drum All Day" by Todd Rundgren
"Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.  (I predict this will get tossed)

I've just added three Queen songs, one being "Under Pressure" with David Bowie.  We'll see.

The strangest comment of all...I had put "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown.  One boy said, "Please turn this off.  They are talking about how they hate white people."

Huh?

Bottom line -- I love having the music playing.  It makes the day much more enjoyable.  The key to the "right" song for them is a strong beat.  I seem to be able to get away with just about any song as long as the beat is catchy enough.  So be it.

I'm learning!

Like Herding Cats --The Rise of the Dynamic Learner

This past week my eyes were opened to something I didn't expect -- and a challenge was presented.

Previously, I had been in a meeting about intervention strategies for a student.  The guidance counselor suggested that we find out the girl's learning style.  It brought to mind a survey I learned of in National Writing Project -- the 4Mat Learning Styles -- so decided I would give this survey to all my students.

The last few years I taught high school, I would give this survey the first day.  This year I decided to skip it.  The 4Mat narrows learning styles down to these four: Imaginative, Common Sense, Analytical, and Dynamic, and then suggested activities for each learning style are given.  I am clearly an Imaginative learner and in the past, most of the students in my classes were Imaginative (sometimes called Innovative) learners as well.  Imaginative learners work well collaboratively, are sensitive to others, seek meaning and activating knowledge. This means that when I create lessons that I would work for my style of learning, they were being reached as well.  The collaborative set-up and nature of my classroom supported this well.

The second most popular was the Common Sense learner, so I would include certain organizational and practical applications for them. Since the study of literature and writing has an analytical component, those students were served, and the few Dynamics I had over the years -- well, there was always so few of them, they just fell in with the others, or did their own thing with my constant redirection.

On Monday I gave the survey to my 7th graders and, lo and behold, more than half of them were Dynamic learners.  Second up was Common Sense.  Hardly an Imaginative in the group.

This explained a lot.  Dynamic learners are risk-takers and game-changers.  They are not interested in the way that you're "supposed" to do something -- they want to do it their own way. They are adventurous, competitive, inventive, wanting to experiment and originate. This explained why, when I asked them to sit at their round tables and discuss and complete activities together, there was little of that going on.  They either just worked independently or they got little done, just arguing for their own position.  I had thought it might be the difference between middle and high-schoolers.  Or maybe demographics.  But it flew in the face of what I learned about middle-schoolers and what I had experienced in the past -- that this age group likes to be social and learn together.  I had been baffled and frustrated, until I realized that the rise of the Dynamic Learner is changing the game for all of us. Good to be aware.

My first period of 8th graders has been the worst cats to herd, so I put them on a task. They grouped up with others of their learning style, and had to present a lesson to the class -- just a little thing on our class motto: Effort Creates Excellence.  As may be expected, the Dynamic teams got little done, could not agree on a thing, and their presentations were -- well, not exactly presentations of anything but drawings of "Taco Man" and the "Mountain of Effort."  Yeah.  Made no sense to us, either.

The group that performed best was a group comprised of one Analytic and three who were balanced combinations of more than one. They pulled together and did quite well.  This lends credence to what we have already been taught -- when grouping students, it is imperative to mix up the learning styles. How exactly I am going to do that in three classrooms where more than half are one style -- that is a challenge.  And reformulating the way I do lessons is high on the priority list as well.  I have never had to reach out to Dynamic Learners before.  I am already incorporating more competitive activities, but still have to figure out how to engage them in their experimenting and inventive natures.

I asked my students who had to present to this wily class to write a reflection on how it was to plan a lesson, and then deliver it.  Here are responses by categories:

Imaginative Learners
 It was easy working with my group.  They were very easy-going.

 I found it easy putting together a lesson.  Delivering the lesson was nerve-wracking, because everyone wouldn't engage in the activity.  So like, you can't make them...so I don't know.

Analytic Learner
 I thought that the exercise was fun.  I might not have been able to do it alone, but doing it in a group was fun.

Common Sense Learners
I thought planning the lesson was easy in your head, but once you get up there and try to explain something, it is actually harder than I thought it would be.

It's honestly hard to get everyone's attention! Because a lot of people don't understand how to be quiet when people are presenting.  But it was kinda fun overall.

Dynamic Learner
It was really difficult to plan it because we all felt like drawing.  It was easy to present because it was all in good fun.

It was very hard to prepare it and pretty easy to deliver it.

I think that it is a bit easier planning the lesson.  When you go to teach it, not many pay attention and you don't ever say exactly what you practiced.


I cannot help but notice that these responses have subtle differences, representing the learning styles.  The Imaginative students took it personally -- how they got along, how they reached others, and how they felt.  The Analytic Learner analyzed how she was able to complete the task.  The Common Sense Learners wanted to be useful to the group, and felt they failed in that regard.  And the Dynamic Learners thought they were all that and a field of catnip, even though their presentations were perfectly pitiful, and didn't even fulfill the requirements.

See what I'm up against!  I am sure many teachers are nodding their heads in agreement.

But, honestly, I see this as my Call to Adventure.  I became more energized to pursue my passion for creative approaches to teaching than I have in a long time.  This week has been a turning point -- and I am well aware that I have a lot of work to do!

EPILOGUE
In putting together this blog, I was looking for images for herding cats.  This metaphor has always been presented like it is the teachers trying to herd the kids.  What I learned in my research today is that it is actually used for how hard it is to get TEACHERS to do what they are supposed to in this world of top-down reform.  At first I was a little offended...but then, I had to admit there is some truth to that.  ~~meow~~

What I Learned About Teaching from My College Professors

At age 42 I realized that I wanted to be a teacher.

Spent a lot of time by this lake on Edison campus after classes

At age 43, in January 1999, I began taking classes at Cuyahoga Community College: Psychology and Comp I.  I took 27 credit hours at Tri-C before moving to Florida and finishing an Associates Degree at Edison Community College in 2002.

Knowing that I wanted to be a teacher, I was highly aware of what my college professors were doing right, and I documented that in September 2001.  Some of the items made the list because a prof was doing the opposite! I like to revisit this list often because there are great reminders here of what works in education, and there are always things I find I can be doing better.

(Side note: this list is just from my first couple of years in college.  Suffice to say, many of my later college professors used the same techniques that helped me learn.) 

Here is the list:

Honor diverse styles of learning

Always choose encouraging words

Don't pander to the lowest common denominator

Collect ideas from every direction

Visuals are vital

Let students discuss openly -- encourage differing opinions

Make review and learning fun

Expect class to be disciplined in study habits

Break learning down incrementally

Be a great storyteller

Somewhere in a Middle School Classroom...

Can I get a drink?
Can I go to the bathroom?
Get out your books and read
He has my pen.
Who took my backpack?
Shut up
We don't say shut up
Be quiet and read
Can I go to the library?
Can I go to the office?
Can I get a drink?
Quit talking and read
There's a lizard in the room!
There are ants on my table!
He threw something at me
He has my pen
Quit touching her hair
What does "ye tang che" mean?
Totally hopeless
Shut up!
We don't say shut up
What do we say?
Be quiet
Can I print something off the computer?
Can I do TeenBiz for my Civics class?
Can I go to the library?
Can I go to the bathroom?
Can I get a drink?
Can I turn this in to the office?
Turn in your homework
Keep your hands to yourself
What does "ye tang che" mean?
Utterly exhausted
What page are we on?
Open your book
Get to work
Turn in to the tray when you are done
Where do I turn this in?
In the tray for this class
Can I sit at this table?
Can I sit outside and read?
Can I sit in the corner and read?
Can I go to the library?
Can I go to the bathroom?
Can I get a drink?
Can I do TeenBiz for my dance class?
Do the work for this class
She took my pencil
He took apart your pen, Ms. Sadler
Shut up
We don't say shut up
What do we say?
Be quiet
Signal
Listen for instructions
What were the instructions?
Uhhhh....
5...4...3...2...1
Listen for instruction
What was the instruction?
Uhhh.....
How come we don't do the orange vocabulary books?
How come you don't give us a list of vocabulary words?
Do you want a list of vocabulary words?
NO!
Why do we have to do Springboard?
Why do we have to do TeenBiz?
When are we going to write in our writer's notebooks?
Every class is like you're trying to teach us to be politicians or something, we are always discussing issues.
It's called critical thinking. It's what we do.
Why would anyone ban Captain Underpants?
I don't understand why they would censor Fifty Shades of Grey.  It's just about sex and that's natural.
No, I don't think everyone should get a trophy for showing up.
Yes, I think physical activity does help my brain.
Yes, middle-schoolers should be tested for drugs.
Can we have a brain break?
Can we play the Q & A game?
Can we debate?
Is there a debate class in school?
This is that class.
Can I go to the library?
Can I turn my homework in tomorrow?
Can I still do that assignment?
Can I go to the bathroom?
Can I get a drink?
What does "ye tang che" mean?
Be Fearless.

Making the Right Moves

Today I take a step forward to begin incorporating writing back into my life.  I had a blast this summer getting into the writing life, and this blog is a big part of that.  I knew that with school starting it would be tough, so I gave myself a bit of a break.  I managed a couple of posts, but in general I was overwhelmed with getting to know new students, new curriculum, new computer programs, and a new schedule.

I am finding the most important aspects of life are rising up, and that is the best I could have imagined when I made the decision to change my life by returning to middle school teaching.  I have started a daily meditation practice -- on the cushion, just 10 minutes in the morning for now.  This clears my head and calms me before the craziness begins.  Today I started walking again for exercise, and keeping a food diary to help myself eliminate some extra pounds that creeped in over the summer.

I am also cooking again. That wasn't even an aim -- I just started planning and putting together meals again. Cooking used to be a favorite activity of mine, but it had fallen out of favor with me the last couple of years.  To see it making its way back without effort on my part is interesting to me!  I'm reading books of my choosing (just finished Brewster by Mark Slouka -- fantastic), and I even got to see two new movies released this month:  Jobs and Les Daniels' The Butler.  Enjoyed them both.

The last couple of years had produced a burn-out in me that was so gradual, it was nearly undetectable.  I just kept having a "knowing" that something big was missing in my life.  Slowly, step-by-step, I am finding what has been missing.  A good GOOD feeling!

In general, I am loving my new school, my new students, my new colleagues.  The pace of middle-school has a hectic quality, but certainly not the intensity I've been used to at the high school level.  I feel an incredible amount of support from my wonderful department chair -- Heather Millican -- and my administrative team, as well as our tech support person.  There is always someone available to answer a question.  I love that.

Cypress Lake Middle School is a special place.  My life is more relaxed, and I feel more in-tune with myself and my teaching.   It is clear to me that I have made the right move.