Many Points

I have been on summer break for 2 weeks now, and without a post since February!  What happened? All I can say is, do not wait for the perfect time.  My plan was to write again over our spring break in March, when our campus was devastated by the sudden death of one of our Assistant Principals.  A coronary aneurysm burst the Friday we started spring break, and he died the next Friday.  He put up a valiant fight.  He surprised his doctors, his family, but in the end the damage was too great and he could not go on.  I could not write, and it is still hard.  I cannot imagine what it has been like for his family. Once, year 2 in my career (over 30 years ago), a coworker told me to take time when I needed to take it, that I (nor anyone for that matter) was not that singularly important to the running of the school.  She had me imagine a bucket of water, put my fist in, pull it out, and tell her about the hole that remained.  Of course, there is...

As a learner, learning in and of itself gave me joy.  I admit, I do not understand how it could not!  But, I do understand that, at least for the majority of the students that I see each year, it does not. Well, not at least the learning in the way it comes from the curriculum. SmartBoard presentations, Power Points or Slide presentations, even with bells and whistles, is just the same old same old, with noise. I know that challenge works, my students tell me.  But not the challenge of another long math problem out of context.  In some ways, my students are very savvy.  They want to know why, like we all do, and they want to SEE it, in action, in some real world application where they can work together to come up with an answer. And yes, they would LOVE for me to do the work, at the beginning. I taught a group of students how to juggle this year.  Some did not quite get it, and could only toss and catch two scarves.  Marvelous!  They did...

The end of summer vacation is here.  There are those of us teachers who are rested and ready to go.  There are those of us teachers who are not so rested, and ready to go.  Sadly, there are those of us teachers, rested or not, who are not ready to go.  In whichever group you find yourself, the year begins anyway, and I am going to begin it with a smile. Smiling is so important. I am, in general, a fairly happy person.  I think I smile, a lot.  I have, unfortunately, had a few students ask why I do NOT smile.  That always makes me take a step back and think.  It always makes me wonder what is going on in my head and heart that is begin reflected in my face.  And it always makes me a bit sad. I started this post in AUGUST, and never finished. Funny how time gets away from me like that. I do believe I started this year with a smile, and kept it going.  I made it a point to have fun at the beginning of every class and carry that fun thro...

I am a teacher by trade.  I love my job; I truly love teaching.  I love my students most of the time.  When I cannot, there is someone who can, and I love one of his/her hard to love students.  Teaching is sharing, a give and take of soul and ideas and time and knowledge and love. Teaching does not occur in isolation.  My classroom may be my refuge, but if I do not seek out others, there will be times when I will become overwhelmed, lost, and discouraged.  I cannot teach without students.  Even with students, I cannot teach without their permission!  Yes, I believe that my students give me permission to teach them, and that I gain that permission by respecting them as individuals, and by becoming interested in their worlds.  Much easier said than done, but when done, boy, do my students learn. So, I am a teacher by trade, and?  I am a poet at heart.  What does that have to do with a blog post?  EVERYTHING!  I am a poet...