Digital Sea

Step Up to the Road

I read all of Cormac McCarthy's The Road last night.  Yeah... all of it.  I bought it after a friend of mine was excited about finishing it and was wishing for someone to share it with.  I just read Blood Meridian, so I was inclined to read it anyway.

It was a good book... a really good book.

Although, I have to admit, it was not at all what I expected it to be.  Well, it may be what I expected, but somehow, it became much more.  I related to the book.  I connected with it.  This point of my life.

I'm not even going to mention how much mental torment I've been in.  I've put off a lot of important issues because I wasn't ready to commit to any one thing.  At this point, I feel like I'm in the shelter (following me? Did you read The Road).  I've got a comfortable place to live--although, it's not "home"--and plenty of food.  It's definitely not going to last forever, that's for sure.  So, like the father and son in The Road, I'm moving on.  I'm not sure where, exactly, but I know I won't survive if I stay.  I'm going to gather what I can carry and move on down the road. The Road.

I've been comfortable, but I haven't been happy at home.  I've been yearning for something for a while.  I know it's teaching now.  I've been editing papers for teens (and Graduate students!) and looking forward to it.  I've read a ton of books and can't wait to share them.

Unlike the father in the novel, I'm not going to die.  As a matter of fact, as I think back, I'm not sure that I'd even be the father (for this analogy).  No.  I am the boy.

The ending of that novel was excellent.  Here's the last paragraph:

"Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery."

The whole book was littered with dark and dank descriptions, and while nothing is certain, the "brook trout" surely are colorful and, in this sense, hopeful.  I am too.

I can't wait to get teens to think about stories like this.

SOS!

I posted this on my student teacher blog but was hoping to get a response here, if possible:

Hey, Folks, maybe you can help me out?  I was planning on making a book for all of the students–a book with all of the one-act plays that they have written this term.  It was going to be my parting gift to them.  I was really excited about it.

Here’s the thing: I went to Staples yesterday (to see how much it would cost to have 60 books bound), and they told me $700.00!  Wowzer!  I can barely pay my rent; I definitely can’t be spending that much money on a “going away” gift.

Does anyone have any ideas?  I wanted to give them something tangible.  I could just publish them on the web, I guess, but I wanted to give them somehting that each one of them could keep (not just the students with web access).  This may be my only option, but I’m anxious to see if any of you have any ideas…

Am I way off here?  Is everyone else giving the students and host teacher a little parting gift?  Let me know… STAT!

Cheers!

For A Minute There, I Lost Myself

It's hard to be a blogger and a teacher.  But, since I love both, I know I'll make it work. :)

First observation went well today, I think.  We did a WebQuest in class.  I think the students were into it; I was.  Take a look.

My friend, Andy, is coming to visit.  That will be a good break for me.  I went to bed at 1AM last night... and work up at 4am.  After a short cat-nap, I'm ready.

Here's the URL for my WebQuest.  One video doesn't work... going to fix that for Monday.  Let me know what you think.

Cheers.

Not THAT Word

I needed to make time for this tonight. 

It's been a hectic couple of weeks: not a this-sucks-I-can't-breathe hectic but more of a I'm-having-a-blast-but-am-super-tired kinda' hectic.  Student teaching is still going really well.  It's challenging to keep the students interested, having fun and really learning something relevant to their lives and future education (high school and above).

So far so good, though, I think.  There are a couple of things that I'm trying right now that I'm not sure if they'll be successful yet or not.  I've decided to write about them here for my own sanity.  If they don't work out, then this post will remind me of why I tried to do it in the first place.  Anyway, these will need some talking about, so I'll do one per post.  OK, so... here it goes:

The first risky practice I've implemented is with vocabulary.  For the first two weeks, the vocabulary words I had to teach the students were from a list that my host teacher and the other English teachers in the building had put together.  They wanted me to use one of those little orange vocab books that I used in high school.  I didn't like those books as a student, so I'm sure I won't like reading them as an adult.  I decided to ditch them.  Ms. B understood.

I really just had the students create their own definitions for the words, and then I incorporated them into mostly every lesson that I did.  I think that I did a pretty good job of putting them in context, and I'm thinking that the students are really "getting it."  That is, I think they know what the words mean.

I'm still not happy with this.  So, yesterday, I had a heart-to-heart with the students.  I basically just told them that I wanted to teach them words that they cared about: words that they want to know the definition of, words that they think will help them. 

So, here comes my idea.  I decided to write "Vocab List" on one of the often neglected panels of the blackboard.

Every time they come across a word that they don't know the definition and would like to know it, I'll have them write it on the board.  Hopefully, by the end of this week--we'll start the new list on Monday--I'll have a list of ten or so words that we can use for their vocabulary.

I'm really not sure if this is going to work, but it's just a feeble attempt for me to keep things in context.

So far I have three words on the board.  After one full day, I don't think that's too bad.  The words are as follows:

"tedious"
"pacifist"

I know, I know... that's only two.  Here's where it gets tricky.  When you do things like this, there are certain repercussions.  One of my most respectful students took me aside and asked me if he could add the word "queer" to the board.  I was shocked to hear this from him because, at first, I honestly thought that he was just trying to gain some attention.  That wasn't the case.  He confided in me that he heard one of his parents' friends say that one of his parents was being "ignorant" for using the word queer.  My student then heard his parents' friend say that they were using the word wrong and he was really curious what the true meaning of the word is.

As of right now, I'm going to play it by ear.  It'll be tricky, especially considering I had another student yell the word "faggot" today in class...

I'm going to see how many words I get and et ceterea.  Just some more food for thought.  Any ideas?  What do you think about all of this?  Cheers.

A Whole New Meaning to the Word "Work"

Something really awesome happened today in class.  One of my students--one that I hadn't really connected with (or so I thought)--confided in me.  This 8th-grade girl told me that she wanted me to read her book.  She told me that it means a lot to her and asked if I would read it.

I would be honored, are you kidding me.

So here it is--well, a picture of it anyway.  This young girl has really produced fifty-something pages of material.  It's really impressive, and I'm honored that she wanted me to read it.

I think I know why she gave me this honor: our journals.  I think I've done a good job at making the journals a place where students can write anything and feel comfortable with it.  Sometimes I'll start them with a prompt:

For example, today, I wrote this on the board:

"The course of true love never did run smooth."
--A Midsummer Night's Dream

So I then tried to relate the quote to the students, spoke a little about relationships and love.  Then I gave them 7 minutes to write about the quote in their journals. 

Because this isn't something that they're truly interested in--hey! I'm honest--they write the bare-minimum then daydream for the rest of the time.  Well, instead of having them daydream, I ask them to fill in the time when they're done writing about anything.  I mean... ANYTHING.

I told one student--to make the point that they can write about anything--to write about how ugly my tie was.  I recommended to a young girl to write to me about her favorite band (she had scribbled the logo all over her binder). 

Now, instead of getting a bland response about love (which we'll discuss and argue about later), I get over a page of carefully thought-out response (on all sorts of subjects).  It's really great.  Really great.

Some of the responses I get in the journal are priceless, and Miss Burgess agrees that they are incredibly effective; it's like pulling teeth to get some of these students to write a sentence or two.  Students get excited to write in their journals now... not too shabby, huh.

We're going to start doing some cool tech stuff too (for those who were concerned that I wasn't being techy enough... you know who you are).  No, seriously, it is important to have the students create and collaborate.  I have plans for both.  The wiki will come in early October (for the plays they are going to create and perform--I have the auditorium booked and everything... PARTAAY!), and we'll be weaving in important apps throughout.

Whew... that's a long one. Cheers.

Oh, and by the way... you can check out some pictures of my classroom on my Flickr page.

So Perfect... Almost

I really can't describe it: my first week of student teaching.

It's been surreal.  Everything went so well.  My students are incredible; my host teacher is "da bomb;" the staff has been super helpful; my lessons have been successful.

There have been some interesting developments, though.

This morning, before even the homeroom bell rang, I had a student run in hysterics!  She hurled herself into the corner of a room and started screaming "I WANT TO GO HOME! I WANT TO GO HOOOMMMEEE!"

This is what was going through my mind:

A. Oh. My. God.
B. Where is Miss Burgess!

There is definitely no schooling that could prepare a person for something like that.  I get to school annoyingly early--I don't know, I just like to be early.  So, I had no idea how to handle this (considering Miss Burgess wasn't in yet).

Of course I walk over to her and try to calm her down initially.  I just wanted to ask her what the problem was.  Between a mouthful of tears and mumbles, I heard something along the lines of "she said she was going to kick my ass because my shoes looked like hers, and her boyfriend's going to kick my ass because I told him to layoff with splashing people with water."

So because I didn't know how to handle this, I decided to use my instincts: change the subject.  Before I could do this, I had to calm her down.  SO, I fabricated this story (yes, completely made up a story) about how something similar happened to me recently.  I told her that people can be "jerks."

I then promptly steered her towards my desk.  I told her there was something I needed to show her.  Then, without a clue what to do, I improvised.  I grabbed one of the many YA lit books on my desk and told her that I thought she would like it.

After about two minutes, I got her talking about other things; the situation was at hand. Phew.

I have no idea if this is a good thing to do or not, but I sure am happy she didn't have to run out of the room or freak out, etc.  Any ideas on what I should have done differently?

One last thing...

Like I said, I brought in all of my YA Lit texts (the ones I had in Cortland; I'm going to get the others tomorrow).  I book-talked a handful of them and put around a sign-out sheet.  By the end of the day, I had kids basically fighting over books.  They were excited, and Miss Burgess was happy!  We even put a list of the ones they were fighting over in the library.  They'll be there next week! 

I can't describe the feeling of seeing those kids so excited... I love this.  Cheers.

Razzle: Maker of Plans for Lessons.

Ya know, I've made a lot of lessons plans; no really, I have.  The problem is, they're all so out of context, that it's hard to gauge just how effective they will be... or are.  Well, now that I'm going to start student teaching tomorrow, I guess I'll get to find out how good I really am at this.

I made my first legitimate lesson plan, and I feel pretty good about it.  I'm pretty good at hypothetically planning how things are going to go, no matter how ambiguous the circumstances (that's basically what I did all summer).  I'm hopeful, but I'm not sure how well I've done.

There are no students tomorrow, so I can go over my first lesson with Miss Burgess; I'm also going to show her the calendar of events I've started for my whole unit.  Hopefully, she'll like my ideas have have some constructive criticism for me.

Also, in the English Journal--again, I'm too lazy to get it to point out the author's name--I've read an article in which a current high-school teacher made a list of why he teaches.  I think I'll do that on this blog after a couple weeks of student teaching.  That'll give me a real taste of what it was like when I got back to it months from now.

Looking forward (but kinda' nervous) to tomorrow...

Hopefully I'll be able to blog about it tomorrow.  See you then.  Cheers.

Teach to the Test!? Well, I Just Winged It.

I forgot to write about this a while ago, so I just wanted to take the time and write a quickie on the NYSTCE.  So, I decided to take two of the Teacher Certification Tests a couple weekends ago.  It was such a hectic summer, that I didn't get to prepare at all.  I was told, by multiple--well everyone I know who's a teacher or pre-service teacher--people, that there was no need to study.  Well, let me tell you... they were right.

It was kinda' insulting, to be completely honest.  I guess they're just checking that future teachers are competent.  Some of the questions were ridiculous.  I don't want to get into this, as this isn't what I really wanted to write about, but on a side note, the tests were incredibly easy.

What I really wanted to talk about was the test itself: a non-contextualized multiple-choice test.

As I mentioned above, these tests were astonishingly simple, so I didn't have a hard time.  But, there were a lot of questions--especially in the English sections--that I hesitated.  I knew the answer "they" wanted me to give, but there were others that could have easily been defended as being the "correct" answer.

So what about the Regents.  I'm trying to teach these kids not to be mindless-drones, and now they have to pick out ambiguous answers that have no relevance to anything?

I read a great article in the English Journal today--I'd love to tell you which one and by who, but I'm way too lazy to get up out right now.

They author basically just stated how teachers don't work together and should.  Basically his theory was that if teacher's work together--without being offended, bickering, and all the other child-like issues--they will be able to teach English the way they feel it should be taught.  But for now, he is stating the obvious: teachers do their own thing, teach the way they want during the year, then at the last minute teach to the test... awesome.

Well, just some food for thought for moi.  Cheers.

Who Needs Class?

It's been a lonely week with my girlfriend home on her Spring Break, but I have been able to do some serious reading and get a lot of work done.  Which reminds me that I'm almost done for this semester.

The craziest part about that is that this will be these will be my last "classes" in a while.  I student teach in the fall, so that means I won't have any true-to-form classes in the fall.  This is a bittersweet feeling for me: I really want to get in the classroom and teach.  I need to do that.  I yearn to be in front of the classroom; however, I really will miss class.  I love learning.  I'm hoping that I'll impact my students in this way.

Thinking about this really pushes me to stay in touch with my personal learning network.  Even without formal instruction, I should be able to stay up on all the "new" theories and applications that will be important for me, as a teacher.

This reminds me of my fieldwork at Moravia.  My host teacher said that she liked to have student-observers and student teachers because they help her develop professionally.  This is her opportunity, save from going to conferences, to learn what's "new" in the field.  I would love to encourage her to get online and start creating her own learning network.  Maybe it will be reading blogs, watching movies, listening to podcasts or something else completely.

This is how I continue to learn, and I wouldn't give that up for anything.  So, while I won't techically be in class next semester (and semesters to come--where this becomes even more important), I will still be able to keep on learning.

Mini-Lesson Master

I'm really starting to get the hang of making mini-lessons; I can bang them out in less than an hour, and I have fun doing it.  I also think that they'll be pretty effective; I hope they will, in any case.  The latest two that I had just completed were on: adjective clauses and colons.  My grades are really great in this class, and I hope that I can keep it up.  I'm thinking that the cumulative final will be tricky...

Anyway, my girlfriend is at Teacher Recruitment Day today.  Something that I wish I could have gone to, even if it was just to get some practice interviews.  But I'm not certified yet, and I still have to teach next semester, so I wasn't eligible. 

I was quizzing her friend and her last night on some questions that they might hear while in an interview.  Now, even though the questions were geared toward elementary education, I felt that it was good practice for me also.  I was surprised to see that I had a lot of well-composed answers for most of the questions.  I say this now...

I'm really excited to head to Cortland High tomorrow.  I'm going to head there early and ask my host teacher for some more criticism for my lessons taught.  Sometimes I feel as if he doesn't want me there; he doesn't want to be bothered with more work.  That's what it seems like at least.  It doesn't matter, I'm going to bother him a little more.  This is important to me.  I really want to be successful while student teaching, so I want to make sure that I get as much feedback as I can.

In general, though, I can't wait to get in front of the classroom again.  It won't be the same tomorrow, while I sit and observe.  Oh, well.  I'm going to bring him some more mini-lessons, so I'll be able to teach again soon enough!  I get a go at it one more time, at least, and it seems like he'll let me teach more if I want. I'll definitely be taking advantage of that.

Time to get crackin' on some more websites for the Center.  Oh, I made a video of the Chris Crutcher visit to Cortland for The Big Read.  It'll be up on the website eventually, but if you want a copy, just let me know.  Cheers.