Wingin' It

It was just Sunday when a friend's father asked me if I ever "wing it" in the classroom. Uh, that would definitely be a yes, although there are varying degrees to the process. I suppose someone who is truly winging it would enter the classroom without an idea of what will happen.

I can't say I've ever done that although I have walked in knowing what I wanted to teach and been unsure about how that was going to happen.

For example, today I introduced the students to the concept of analogies. I knew I wanted them to be familiar with how analogies are formed, what type of analogies there are and why it's important to know about them.

I also knew I had created a PowerPoint to introduce the topic last year. So, no there was no winging it today, but if I'd been unable to find the PowerPoint I'm sure I could have come up with something.

Procrastinator's Prison

I'm a procrastinator at heart. Isn't everyone? Are there really people walking among us that get things done, the kind of things they really don't want to do, as soon as possible? Maybe they're of the thinking that if it's no fun to accomplish why not just get it out of the way.


That's not me. I think more along the lines of, why do that boring, tedious stuff when I can put it off another day or so.


The non-procrastinators would probably be enjoying the last day of a 1o-day vacation. They'd probably hit the gym or go for a run...maybe even a movie.

Yeah, I didn't do that. I spent most of the day as a prisoner of my couch with a stack of essays and a pen.

Okay, and a few games of Skee Ball on the iPad.

Truly Scattered and Rather Unfinished

Somewhere between Baltimore and DC along 95 South my head was in full-scattered thoughts mode. It was Friday; the setting sun was creating quite a light show with a variety of clouds and colors in the sky. It would be difficult to map my thought pattern but as I passed the exit for the newly opened Inter-County Connector it became quite clear to me that the friend I was thinking about had been a true catalyst in my life. People can make all the plans in the world, but often it's a truly random moment that affects one's path in life.

How's that for a cliffhanger?

Catching Up on November

It's been a month since my faithful readers (all 3 or 4 of them) have heard from me. I'm sure since my last post was all about the excitement of NaNoWriMo you've been wondering what sort of award-winning first novel I've been working on. Wouldn't that be a great fairytale ending? Can't you see the headlines? "Unknown blogger writes of NaNoWriMo and disappears...30 days later she resurfaces with what is sure to be the next great American novel!"

Yeah, that didn't happen. And I'm okay with that. Some other good things did happen though. The writing club at school turned out to be a lot of fun and we did have one student who produced over 25,000 words. We met last Thursday to share our work and she came in with a big smile on her face, clearly proud of her accomplishments. I was proud of her as well...and, of course, just a little jealous.

Anyway, most in the group were able to share a little writing and what I liked most about that experience was the discussion that followed. Middle school students, at least the ones in the writing club, have no problem being honest. Anything that didn't make sense was immediately identified, as were phrases and words appreciated by the group.

In the end everyone left the meeting feeling like a successful writer, even those who churned out a measly 309 words.

This Month's Challenge

NaNoWriMo starts today.  I find it interesting that the start date is only two days after the Marine Corp Marathon was run in my area.  I trained for a marathon once.  My training got me to a slow 18-mile run and problems with my Achilles tendon.  I didn't get to run the race but I think it's possible that I could...some day.

A few summers ago my writing group decided to try the NaNoWriMo challenge.  Since we're all teachers we thought it best to use the month of July to write.  I didn't meet the challenge but I did write the beginnings of what may be a book...some day.

This month I'll be working with a teacher friend and a few students as we all challenge ourselves to write.  The young writer's program, which we're participating in, has a goal of a mere 20,000 words by the end of the month.  Compared to the 50, 000 I tried a few summers ago that sounds pretty darn attainable. 

Technology Moment

Today's technology moment came along when a student asked to use my phone.  He had braces put on yesterday and wanted to ring up his father to ask that he bring him in some medicine for the pain.  Using the teacher's phone can sometimes prove to be a little confusing since most kids don't know they need to first dial 9 to get an outside line.

That was not a problem for the young man, in fact he asked about dialing 9 as he strolled toward my desk.  He started to push the numbers on the keypad and then stopped to look at me with a rolled up nose of confusion.

"Do I have to pick this thing up?" he asked as he pointed to the handset. 

"Yes, pick that up," I responded.  "Do you hear a dial tone?"

Again I was faced with the rolled up nose of confusion.  I moved closer to the phone and took the handset from him to listen.

"Do you hear anything?" I asked.

"Oh, that humming sound?"

"Yeah, that's a dial tone."

It was only then that I realized how the use of cell phones has started to change our own culture.

What's Your Favorite Color?

What's your favorite color?  That's a question posed to children of all ages on a daily basis.  It's a conversation starter, a way to break the ice when meeting new young people.  Teachers ask it over and over in Kindergarten.  In fact I remember watching as a kindergarten teacher sat her students down in a circle and then took turns rolling a playground ball to her charges.  As each student grabbed the ball with their small hands they would call out their name followed by their favorite color. 

I'm Betsy!  My favorite color is black!

Yes, that really happened.  Even though Betsy was adorned from head toe in pink she was harboring a secret love for the color black.

My nephew, Michael, never liked that kind of game.  He would often complain about having to choose one color over all the others.

I don't like one color, he would say.  I like all the colors! 

We suggested just picking one for the sake of the exercise but that didn't sit well.

I can't, he would respond.  I like all the colors!

Fifteen years later he's in art school, a place where he can work with all his favorite colors on a daily basis.