Miscellaneous Missives

Before I left for Atlanta, I called a couple of bike shops trying to rent a bike for the two days.  I've rode through snow, ice, sleet, and rain trying to bike all thirty days in April and didn't want to lose two days in Birmingham.  It seems Birmingham is NOT a bike friendly city.  Even though the weather was beautiful, bikes are rare (at least in downtown Birmingham).  Friday I spotted a couple on bikes sitting in the park.  I approached and asked if I could ride one of their bikes.  Poor S had to stay and talk to them (strange to quite strange) while I rode around the park.  According to #30daysofbiking , the important thing is getting on a bike each day and distance doesn't matter.  Saturday morning I rode the exercise bike in the fitness room not thinking I'd be able to find anyone with a bike.  After our session, I walked through another park with an art fair.  Once again, I found someone with a bike.  He was also strange ...

I spent this weekend in Birmingham, Alabama at the National Writing Project's Urban Sites Network Conference.  Since it is the 50th Anniversary of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement (MLK Jr Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Children's March, 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing), Birmingham was the perfect place to talk about social justice. The speakers were phenomenal.   Eric L. Motley was the moderator yet had powerful ideas and thoughts to share.   Charlene Hunter Gault and Rami Khouri spoke Friday morning.  They talked about promoting civil and human rights world wide through education.  I'm inspired to reread the Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address, and Letter from a Birmingham Jail.  According to these speakers, part of being a good citizen is informing self in a multitude of ways... difficult to argue with this statement.  My favorite speaker of Friday was Jose Antonio Vargas .  If you don't know his story, it's worth re...

Today was World Book Night, and I had the opportunity to distribute The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer.  It's actually one of my favorite books.  This may be because of the amount of time I spent on both sides of the bar in college and my early teaching career.  When I applied to hand out this book, I stated that I was going to give it to people working in the service industry.  This snowy morning, I started with the baristas at Caribou.  I also gave two copies to guys in the parking lot.  One man was a bit shocked when I explained it was a coming of age story about a guy that falls in love with the bar.  Actually, it was my next comment that caused an the look to come across his face, "Everyone loves a bar."  He told me that he used to love the bar... too much.  I think he'll like the book.  My next books went to the workers at SA when I stopped to get a diet soda at lunch.  Finally, I decided to give my remaining books to bar...

Cardinal in the Tree Cold Poem by Mary Oliver Cold now. Close to the edge.  Almost unbearable.  Clouds bunch up and boil down from the north of the white bear. This tree-splitting morning I dream of his fat tracks, the lifesaving suet. I think of summer with its luminous fruit, blossoms rounding to berries, leaves, handfuls of grain. Maybe what cold is, is the time we measure the love we have always had, secretly, for our own bones, the hard knife-edged love for the warm river of the I, beyond all else; maybe that is what it means the beauty of the blue shark cruising toward the tumbling seals. In the season of snow, in the immeasurable cold, we grow cruel but honest; we keep ourselves alive, if we can, taking one after another the necessary bodies of others, the many crushed red flowers. Earth Day 2013 = winter storm warning (possible 4 to 6 inches of snow)  I've been disgusted with the weather and the season (winter) that won't leave...

I'm Going to Plant a Heart in the Earth I'm going to plant a heart in the Earth water it with love from a vein. I'm going to praise it with the push of muscle and care for it in the sound of all dimensions. I'm going to leave a heart in the Earth so it may grow and flower a heart that throbs with longing that adores everything green that will be strength and nourishment for birds that will be the sap of plants and mountains. -- Rosario Murillo Today I was able to work with a former colleague.  We're presenting at a conference in Birmingham at the end of the week.  I miss working with her... her concrete sequential self that keeps us on a straight line, our ability to finish each other's thoughts, the ability to finish each others ideas, a unique vision for our students and their voice...  It was a great afternoon, and we are almost ready for this gig. Since we spent the majority of the afternoon working, I put off my biking until the rain start...

04.18.13 Poor Robin in Snowy Tree Today was another Poem in Your Pocket Day .  I was super impressed that the majority of the students had their own poems in their pockets.  The weather sucks.  Even though the day started out gloomy, students were excited about their poems and happy to get candy when they had a poem in their pocket.  The weather sucks.  During one class a student asked me if I had read the poem To This Day .  When I asked her about it, she told me to find it on Youtube.  The weather sucks.  Basically it was a quiet day, so I waited until lunch to take a look at it.  Why do I spend as much time as I do teaching poetry?  It's obvious because kids get excited, kids have to think, kids write, and kids learn lessons that they could only find searching for poems.  The weather sucks. This was also Day 18 of #30daysofbiking.  Even though the snow was coming down and the wind was blowing (18 mph), I decided to gi...

After seeing the "Dog Wants a Kitty" yesterday, I decided it was the laughter we needed to start class today.  Watching the kids was a entertaining as the video.  Some of the "cool kids" covered their mouth, so no one would know they were smiling while others laughed outright. Also, today I was sent an e-mail from a colleague about Caroline Kennedy's appearance on Colbert.  Tonight I went and bought the book.  It's beautiful.  Tomorrow is Poem in Your Pocket day, and I have five poems which means I'll have to wear jeans and a hoodie to have five pockets!

Look closely... red splotch = cardinal. The birds have been chirping every morning through the horrible rain and snow and cold and wind and... well and winter.  Yesterday was crazy.  My entire lunch and prep period was filled with meetings and yet another meeting after school.  I met a few friends for an early dinner after the last meeting.  As I sat waiting for people to arrive, I checked Twitter and saw the news about Boston.  My friends filled me in with enough of the details for me to know I didn't want to watch any news.  Last night I still had difficulty sleeping thinking of the destruction and the heros. Today is quote day for journals.  Students were given the choice of two Michael Jordan quotes. "Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." “I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot .. and mis...

Black Swallowtail ~Mary Oliver The caterpillar, Interesting but not exactly lovely, Humped along among the parley leaves Eating, always eating. Then one night it was gone and in its place a small green confinement hung by two silk threads on a parsly stem. I think it took nothing with it except faith, and patience. And then one morning It expressed itself into the most beautiful being. Winter hangs on and on and on...  It's crazy.  It's difficult to tell from looking at my Tweets, but I think at least seven of the last fourteen days (#30daysofbiking) have been filled with snow and/or sleet.  Part of my being tired has to do with this miserable weather.  The only sign of spring is the chirping birds and ducks on the little pond.  I feel sorry for both.  They have to be confused by this cold.  Today at church, it was suggested that we leave our grumblings about the weather outside and concentrate on "transformation."  We were remi...

Another Bike Ride with Falling Snow in April I am Tired by Fernando Pessoa I am tired, that is clear, Because, at certain stage, people have to be tired. Of what I am tired, I don't know: It would not serve me at all to know Since the tiredness stays just the same. The wound hurts as it hurts And not in function of the cause that produced it. Yes, I am tired, And ever so slightly smiling At the tiredness being only this - In the body a wish for sleep, In the soul a desire for not thinking And, to crown all, a luminous transparency Of the retrospective understanding… And the one luxury of not now having hopes? I am intelligent: that's all. I have seen much and understood much of what I have seen. And there is a certain pleasure even in tiredness this brings us, That in the end the head does still serve for something. Two days in a row students have commented on my tired appearance.  Both times the comments were meant to be caring yet weren't worded positivel...

Today was Day of Pink at our school.  Maybe you remember last year one of the "Christian" teachers wore a black "Jesus Loves You" t-shirt instead of participating.  Needless to say, this caused a bit of a disturbance and grumblings around the building.  Although I should have wore a pink "Jesus Loves You" t-shirt this year, I refrained (actually S gave me the idea tonight) because it is disrespectful to our Muslim and other students who are not Christian.  I'm not sure why, but last year's display of black irritated me (Well, she kind of irritates me with her I ♥ Jesus lanyard; I won't lie.).  To make a statement, I went all out with the pink this year.  Sunday I found pink (bright pink) fishnet tights on sale.  Last night I went to Target and found pink high tops (Converse knock-offs) and pink socks.  I also bought a pink tie dye from our Gay Straight Alliance group.  To these I added my long sleeve bright pink t-shirt and bright pink ...

www.istyles.com   Today was the first day of my trial online journal.  It's taken a lot of work from others to get this "up and working." Everyone has been super helpful.  Students are using the Google Chrome Books and a document I made and shared using Doctopus.  The one thing I wanted with my online journal is the forms (sentence information, paragraph information, sensory words, transition words, editing symbols, etc.) the students have in front of their journal.  Today, I introduced the journal along with the link to a folder of the forms (in PDF format).  As I was showing them the document, explaining the process, and shared the link to the folders, a girl in my last class raised her hand to ask a question.  At first, I'll admit that I was a bit perturbed since I knew my directions were solid, but I also knew this student is solid.  She had a question and then several statements.  Her question was about the amount of time it took me...

Today I learned of Silence Snake from a student. Typically, I close my fingers to my thumb to get a couple students in the class silent, and it actually works.  Although I'm not quite sure how it all came about, I looked up the silence snake while the students were working.  Next, I played the video for the class and told them I was going to make or buy my own puppet.  At this point, I actually called the quiet room to see if they had a sock.  They didn't, but the students informed me that I could get a sock from the nurse.  The nurse kindly gave me a sock.  As the students worked, I walked around the room with the plain white sock.  We never had sock puppets as a child, and I was having difficulties figuring out how to make the mouth with the sock... sad but true.  Luckily, it was the last class before my prep hour, so I was able to go next door and get help with my sock puppet.  The incredible J helped me make a puppet.  Nope, ...

Today I completed the seventh day of biking in the 30 Days of Biking challenge.  I made the pledge to bike 30 days in April although the reality is that I will be in Alabama four days at the end of the month.  It's been a tough go... bike problems, inclement weather (rain, snow, wind...), sore muscles, and time challenges.  Even though it was raining and I returned from my ride with sand and dirt in my hair kicked up from my bike tires, yesterday could have been my best day.  Most bikers I met on the trail smiled and waved.  We were in the craziness together.  Even with the challenges, I embrace the challenge.  It also give me the chance to witness spring coming (oh so slowly) in the ducks on the pond and the red cardinal who pops in and out of the trees on my way to the bike trail.  One week down three to go.

www.ema-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Earth-Day-Dana-Gray.jpgon Everyday is Earth Day is somewhat of a cliche.  When I made my monthly trip back home to 'Boji, I called my friend J, as I typically do, to see if she wanted to have breakfast.  She had a better idea.  Instead of going out for breakfast, her idea was to pick up trash on the bike trail, so we met at 7am at the trail head.  We picked up trash, mainly those damn plastic bags from stores, for about 90 minutes talking the entire time.  It was a great way to start the day.  Several people smiled and thanked us for our progress.  Perhaps they, too, will take some time to beautify the trail because every day is Earth Day.

Wednesday's journal for the seventh graders is a listening day, and we listened to Billy Collin s read The Lanyard .  Actually, I think anyone reading this should stop and go to Youtube and watch the video because Billy Collins is amazing as were the seventh grade comments today.  We're writing poems in language arts class, and today's poem topic was a marble.  Each seventh grade student was armed with a marble and the task of finding imagery words (sight, touch, sound... Not, absolutely NOT, taste or smell).  Marbles bounced off desks, spun across the floor, pinged on any available metal object and then sat patiently in the pencil holders as the poems were written.  Both The Lanyard and the marbles brought back memories for the students that they shared with me as I walked around the room.   Many were about silly drawing they gave a loved one when they were little that the loved one treasured.  A couple Latino girls told me about playing ma...

Sooooo.... I've signed up for 30 Days of Biking although it's doubtful I'll make all 30.  Today is the first day, and I'm beginning to wonder if it's an April Fool's Day joke.  We'll see this afternoon when it's time to ride. I also have a new (mainly old music) playlist for April and my biking.  Actually, I may need to add and/or subtract and/or do something, but it's the best I have for now.  April Playlist So What                                           P!nk Start Me Up                                     The Rolling Stones New Sensation    ...