Today's Lesson Flopped ...

It's easy to understand why teachers get jaded, especially after a day like today!

After eleven years as a classroom English teacher at the secondary level, I made the change to a Literacy Interventionist (basically a Reading Specialist). I get to work with kids of all ages, and I get to run diagnostics to figure out their strengths and challenge areas and then design individual programs to address those specific needs (and bolster specific strengths). 

I love my job, but at times it is very frustrating. I have one class that has me digging into the very dregs of my bag of tricks, and I'm coming up empty.

If you imagine struggling readers at the middle school level, you can probably imagine that sitting in a desk doing seatwork is not going to fly for these kiddos.

With this particular crew, I'm working with their core academic teachers to provide support through pre-teaching vocabulary, exploring articles in advance, and allowing class time to work on writing assignments. 

Teaching content vocabulary has been a flat-out nightmare ... 

"Why do we have to do this?" "Can I go to the bathroom?" "I don't want to do worksheets!" "I can't sit still after lunch." "I have to go to the bathroom!" "You're not our science teacher!" "I really have to pee!" "Why are we doing science in here?" "If you don't let me go to the bathroom, I'll pee in front of the door."  

It's seriously like something out of a bad movie.

I've tried given students lists of words to define. They hated it. Refused to do it.

Gave them a list of words defined and asked them to use it correctly in a sentence to show that they understood meaning. Hated it. Refused to do it.

Make a visualization sketch of a word when given a definition AND sample sentence? Hated. Refused.

So me being me, I asked them for suggestions after their cries of, "This is boring!" bore completely through my eardrums. It is, I explained, my job to improve their reading skills, and working with content words for an upcoming science article will make them better prepared to read the article. 

"We're not going to read the article anyway, you know," one of them pointed out.

I shrugged. "Hope springs eternal."

Then I asked them more directly, what can I do to improve your experience? 

One of them mumbled something about wanting to do work that was a bit more hands on.

Okay! Hands on! A direction ...

And so I scoured this article for potential vocabulary words. I pulled them from the text and wrote them down onto two sets of note cards (actually, they were printed on colored paper cut like note cards by my amazing paraprofessional), one green and one yellow.

I was so pumped that I almost asked my supervisor to come observe the activity. Haha, good call on not sending that particular e-mail ...

 

I had them do a quickwrite about what they think would be the greatest challenges faced by miners at work (the nominal topic of the article), then I divided them into groups, gave them a stack of words, and instructed them to work together to tape each word on the correct definition written on the board.

Objectives were essentially:

* Students will be able to read grade level vocabulary

* Students will be able to use process of elimination to identify definitions for a set of word

* Students will be able to work collaboratively 

Yeah, after about twelve seconds, they started whining that they wanted to sit down because they were tired. Then they said it was too hard and they refused to do it.

I showed them strategies--read through the words and make a pile of words you know, read through the definitions and see if any words jump out at you, try to narrow down options using the definitions, et cetera. They didn't care.

I told them the winning team would get a prize tomorrow. They cared enough to try for another seven minutes before flat out giving up.

I'm only a little daunted. Thirteen years of teaching, after all, and there's more than one way to skin a cat ... or teach vocabulary, as the case may be. I'll get back on the horse tomorrow and try to come up with some other creative way to reach these reluctant readers.

Today, though, I'm wallowing in the experience of my lesson flopping.

Sunday Stealing: Our Players' Meme

Ah, Sunday Stealing, it's been awhile ... The bonus of doing a regular weekly meme is that it gives you some really interesting ideas for future blog posts.  Oh, and it's a great way to wake up on a Sunday morning while you drink the requisite coffee :-)  

1. You have been awarded the time off from work and an all-expenses paid week anywhere in the United States. The catch is that it must be somewhere you have not been before. Where do you choose to visit? 

Somewhere in the south, where I've never been in reality (other than driving through on the way to Florida as a kid) but have been extensively through literature.  Is South Carolina what Pat Conroy and Anne Rivers Siddons made it for me?  And how about Alabama, where I grew up alongside Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird?  

2. Name three of your guilty pleasures.

Coffee, cheeseburgers, and reading.

3. The best kind of Girl Scout Cookie is:

Tagalongs.  Oh my gosh, I can put those things away by the box ... I am not buying ANY Girl Scout cookies this year.  It never ends well ...

4. What do you value most in other people? 

Humor.  Even if you're an asshole, I'll find some sort of redeeming value if you can make me laugh.

5. Be honest. Do you sneak some raw cookie dough when you’re baking cookies?

I don't cook, but what I have been known to do is worse.  Yeah, you know the pre-made cookie dough they sell at the grocery store?  I've been known to buy that for the sole purpose of ... well, not baking it. Haha, I don't think I've ever admitted that before ;-)

6. Have you ever looked back at your life and realized that something you thought was a bad thing was actually a blessing in disguise?!

More times than I can count :-)

7. What is the most beautiful place you’ve ever visited? 

I think it would have to be Bar Harbor in Maine.  I love my little tiny slice of New Hampshire ocean, but seeing the ocean in Maine surrounded by mountains and forests, and the water is this unbelievable shade of blue, and it is just the most beautiful place ever.  

8. Are you more of a thinker or a feeler? 

I feel first and think later.  I do both equally, but it's more of a sequential thing with me than with many people, I think.  It's something I'm working on ... not a great way to be.

9. Name three things you are thankful for right now.

My family, having a job I love, and coffee.

10. Have you ever participated in a three-legged race? 

Haha, yes.  It was a drunken college thing.  It did not end well.  (I seem to say that a lot...)

11. When you are at an event that plays the National Anthem, do you place your hand over your heart?

This is going to sound really stupid, but I didn't know you were supposed to.  The Pledge of Allegiance, yes.  "The Star Spangled Banner"?  I thought standing and removing your hat were sufficient to show respect.  Since I've started attending more events where this comes up, I've started placing my hand over my heart because half the audience does, and I don't want to look disrespectful.  However, I'm still not sure if this is right or not ...

 

Second meme: 

12. What kind of work do you do?

I am a high school English teacher.  That means I'm a psychologist, a psychic, a clown, a philosopher, a referee, a coach, a technology expert, a cheerleader, a warden, a facilitator, and about a hundred other hats.   

13. During the course of your lifetime, which job or career has been your favorite or most fulfilling?

Teaching, no question.  Of course, the other options include things like wearing the rat costume at Chuck E. Cheese's and working third shift at Cumby's, so it's kind of a no-brainer ;-)

14. Do you think it’s necessary in your life to have a day-to-day “career” that is meaningful and service-oriented or do you function better in “just a job” with a steady paycheck?

Absolutely.  If I didn't love my job, I would certainly find something that paid better.  I discovered last year that I made more money bartending than I do teaching, which is scary.  Teaching is far more than a job to me, and the stories you collect are just amazing ... even better than the ones you get while bartending.  

15. Was there ever a time in your life when you wanted to stay home with your children instead of working, even if it meant less money in the household?

Of course ... although I still think I am a much better mother because I work.  It makes the time I have with my girls a hundred times more valuable, plus dealing with kids all day makes me appreciate them more.  I have really enjoyed this summer, actually, since I've gotten to spend a lot of time home with my kids ... where Addie basically asks for money to go out with her friends and Belle's incessant chattering begins to wear thin after awhile to the point where I direct her to the television (I'm exaggerating, of course, but I've found that it's not exactly all it's cracked up to be)

16. Tell us your worst boss story.

I have to plead the fifth on this one.  Make sure to read my memoir when it comes out, though ...

17. Have your ever been the boss?

Not the BIG boss, no way.  My skill set is not exactly suited for being a boss.  I'm great at being a high school English teacher, so why would I want more than that?  Some of my colleagues are all about going back to school to get certified as administrators, and I am honestly puzzled by that.

18. What is your dream occupation?

A published author.  But "high school English teacher" is the ultimate fallback :-)

Insomnia Advice: Bring it On :-)

I have been suffering from insomnia since I was a very young child.  I think much of the reason that I learned how to read before I was three is that my parents told me I had to stay in bed, even if I couldn't sleep, and ... well, there's only so  much you can do.

As you can imagine, I've heard every trick in the book.  Most of them are legal ...

I can honestly say that I have tried to battle my insomnia (which, if you are my Facebook friend, you are all too familiar with since I have a tendency to start ranting on FB when I can't sleep, which is with an unfortunate frequency).

But I've pretty much come to terms with it, all joking aside.  I've had a sleep study done (I learned that I have "ideopathic" issues falling asleep and staying asleep once I get there ... it was very useful ;-)), I developed good "sleep hygiene" (which is basically having a set routine and using relaxation techniques and such), and I have a prescription for Ambien that I use only when I am on the verge of going completely bananas from lack of sleep.

I have tried virtually everything to deal with my sleeping issues with the exception of hypnosis.  I am honestly pretty scared of hypnosis, because in addition to having horrible insomnia, I have horrible nightmares most of the time when I do sleep.  These nightmares are in general based around one of those traumatic life events that scar you forever, and I have dealt with it as much as I am going to.

I even hesitate to use Ambien overmuch because I get trapped in my nightmares sometimes, and I can't even wake up.  It's like being in a Nightmare on Elm Street  movie ;-)

But seriously, I am hoping that you will share your experiences with (and advice pertaining to) insomnia here.

I am compiling a list of things that I have tried and/or had recommended.  I have bolded what has worked for me on some level.

*  Melatonin
*  Ambien
*  Marijuana
*  Nyquil
*  Ginger root
*  Warm milk
*  Honeycomb
*  Reading
*  Watching television
*  Eliminating caffeine
*  Relaxation techniques (for awhile, counting backwards from 100 while actually visualizing each number worked)
*  Sex
*  Exercise
*  Intentionally staying up all night to "get caught up"
*  Advil PM
*  Music
*  Changing pillow positions/beds/and so on
*  Sleeping in a dark room
*  Muscle relaxants (Valium, Flexeril)
*  Sleeping in a bright room
*  Alcohol
*  Getting punished for bugging my parents in the middle of the night when I was a little kid
*  Warm bath

So, yeah, I think that's pretty much the gamut, other than the hypnosis thing, which I am not prepared to tackle.  I don't know that I ever will be, truth be told.

Do you have any advice (or encouragement) for struggling insomniacs out there?  Share in the comments :-)

Television Hypocrisy Leads to Selective Memory Contemplation

There is no question in my mind that kids today watch too  much television.  Not a shred of doubt.  Agreed.  It's a problem.

I am also willing to admit that Belle, my precious (and precocious) eight-year-old, watches more than her share.  

What occurred to me the other day, though, is that this is not a new problem.  No, not Belle watching too much TV ... that's only been a problem for seven years or so.  But, seriously, it really is more of a universal concern.

Okay, here's what happened.  I had a stroke of ... well, brilliance is probably too strong a word, but at least it was a very telling realization.

My mother is always on me about the amount of TV Belle watches.  Like, it's a borderline serious issue between the two of us.  

I always try to point out that

1) Belle isn't a passive TV watcher.  She is almost always doing stuff while watching television.

2) The occasions when Belle does sack out in front of the TV almost always follow extensive outdoor ventures.

3) Belle is a voracious reader and would frequently rather sack out with a book than with Victorious or iCarly.

None of that cuts much dice with mi madre.

But then I remembered something--namely, the entire movie script from Labyrinth, which my siblings and I watched near-obsessively when we were kids.  And a whole list of movies scrolled through my mind--Ghostbusters, The Neverending Story, Jaws, Back to the Future, the original three Star Wars films, Spaceballs, The Goonies, The Legend of Billie Jean, Ghostbusters, Heathers, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Dark Crystal, and dozen of others.

Basically, my mother didn't seem to care as much that her own kids were watching so much television that their brains were turning to mush.

I don't write this to bash on my mom; I truly believe that first, she wants to make sure that her grandchildren have the absolute best and second, that her memory is selective with regards to this.

The fact that I can say without the shadow of a doubt that my sibs and I watched far more television than Belle does means very little in the great scheme of things.  My brother and sister don't watch TV excessively as adults, and I almost never watch TV at all.

I guess it's more the selective memory that my mother exemplified ... and the realization that I and pretty much everyone I know is guilty of that same sort of rewriting of history, if only in their minds.

Why do we lie to ourselves about things that, when push comes to shove, really don't matter at all?  And do we believe ourselves?

Book Parallels: "The Bottoms" and "To Kill a Mockingbird"

I've spent the past two days home sick with some really horrific cold/flu/high fever/horrible headache/body ache/cough/generally feeling like crap kind of thing.  

I hate being sick for obvious reasons, and I hate missing work for reasons too numerous to name.  However, one of the few positives is that I was pretty much confined to bed (I'm not a "lay in bed" kind of person ... when I choose bed over lounging on the couch or in the recliner, it means I really feel dreadful), which meant, of course, that I got to read.

Henry lent me The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale several weeks ago, and I'm ashamed to say that it's taken me this long to read, even though I liked it from the start.  Once I got a chance to dig in, though, despite it being in and out of fever-riddled sleep and Nyquil daze, I couldn't put it down. 

Especially when I started noting parallels to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, probably my most beloved book ever.  I was in English teacher ecstasy throughout, I tell you :-)

I know that To Kill a Mockingbird is both well-loved and widely read.  Lansdale, who is considered more of a "cult favorite", achieves masterpiece status in my mind with his very similar offering.

Both books ...

*  Explore the strong bonds of love that exist between siblings.

Interestingly, The Bottoms is narrated by "big brother" Harry Collins, who feels deeply the tremendous responsibility of keeping his younger sister, Tom (short for Thomasina) safe.  Makes me wonder how different Mockingbird would be if told from Jem's point of view ...

*  Take a contemporary reader into a world where blacks are treated horribly.

Perhaps because of Scout's tender age, the specific horrors of life as an African-American in Maycomb, Alabama aren't expounded upon in detail.

Lansdale pulls no punches in the small east Texas town portrayed in The Bottoms, with the KKK figuring prominently into the story, white doctors refusing to perform an autopsy on a brutally murdered black woman, tarring and feathering, and the lynching of an old black man who was very briefly considered a witness in the murder of a white woman.    

*  Force the protagonist (well, brother/sister team of protagonists, I suppose) to realize that the person-cum-monster that colored the nightmares of childhood are both more and less than what they appear to be on the surface (or in local legend)

Call him Boo Radley or the Goat Man, but this lesson is one that stays with a reader.

There are lots of other connections between the two (too many to list, actually, without being a total spoiler), but I just had to share how cool I found it that another book was able to, in some small way, address the very tough themes and issues brought up in what's arguably my favorite book ever.

I'd never seen it done before on such a grand scale, and I'd never really heard much of Joe R. Lansdale before Henry introduced me.

I figured it was  my responsibility to pay it forward.

Friday Fragments: What's Been Shaking This Week :-)

It's a great relief to me that it's a Friday ... and that I can use Friday Fragments (thanks, Mrs. 4444) to do the catch-up thing since I've once again been neglecting my blog.  

Ahem ...
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My brother Adam, his girlfriend Colleen, and my precious nephew Pete came down to the beach on Sunday for a visit.  Lots of fun :-)

Particularly entertaining was the Subway incident.

We decided to get subs from Subway for lunch, and Addie pulled up the menu online so we could call in our order.  They had pulled pork on the menu, but when I ordered a pulled pork sub, the Subway lady (who didn't really speak English very well), told me that they didn't have pulled pork subs.

So Adam and I get to Subway (we took Addie's car, heeheehee), and he starts cracking up like nobody's business when we were greeted by this sign.

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My mother has spent endless summer hours reading on the porch of the beach house for many years.  I have spent endless summer hours reading on the porch of the beach house for many years.  And now?

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Enjoying lazy days at the beach (now that the dogs are back at the house)...and a random cat that hangs out there.  Yes, I'm serious :-)

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Belle put on a hula hoop show.  She made tickets and everything ... my future superstar is pretty darn funny :-)

And I think this video truly captures the unique essence of Belle's personality ...

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Belle had a very bad day on Monday.  She had a rough visit with her father (he fell asleep--I'm reserving judgment by not putting "passed out"--for over half an hour of a two hour visit at a movie theater and snored so loudly that everyone around us was staring and saying, "Shhh!" ... poor Belle was mortified), there was no mayonnaise for her desired tuna fish sandwich at lunchtime, and her fish died.

I told her we all have days like that sometimes...
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Another week, another root canal (actually, it's the same root canal ... they just do it in three parts, so I had the second part done this week).

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I went to make a phone call from the beach house, and it hit me like a ton of bricks how much the world has moved on.  I had my Droid (which can do everything but breathe for me) in one hand, but it wouldn't work because cell reception's dreadful at the beach, so I got the pleasure of using this baby when I had to call my mother ...

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I went to another conference on Wednesday and Thursday, this one on PBIS (in a nutshell, focusing on rewarding positive student behaviors with the hope that it will motivate more kids to behave ... it sounds stupid on the surface, but it really and truly works really well).

It's been the summer of enjoyable and useful conferences :-)
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I finally got the competencies written for my classes.  I've spent a lot of time with the state standards for English this week getting curriculum mapped out, and I'm exhausted but enthused.  One more week and then it's back to school! 

Interesting Reading ...

I love to read blogs. Love, love, love it! I don't always have the time to leave comments and such (although I'm making more of an effort, because I know that I LOVE to read comments...not a hint or anything ;-)), but I do a lot of blog-reading.

Which is why I think Natalie from Mommy of a Monster and Twins is a genius for posting not just a list and descriptions of good blogs, but for specific noteworthy posts she's come across in the past week. Therefore, I'm stealing her idea (hopefully she doesn't mind).

The first one is kind of a cheat, since I wrote it. Still, I'd like to share with as many people as possible the story about the middle school girl who posted on Facebook that she wished Osama bin Laden had killed her math teacher. There's conversation going on over at Zelda Lily where it's posted, so feel free to discuss it there or here.

Do you find the word "moist" to be offensive to women? Evidently, some women do, and an exploration of why this is equated with ... womanly parts instead of, say, brownies, is extensively explored here. Very interesting read!

I suppose on some level I knew that dandelion wine actually existed. However, I never dreamed that I'd get to see what it looked like (in different stages of creation, even), and especially getting a recipe that I'm *gulp* contemplating giving a try.

For those of us that are writers, description is an area of concern. Do you want to be bare bones like Hemingway? Effusive? How much is too much? Now, thanks to this post, I'm thinking a lot about description in my own writing (and, by the way, my own approach is that I try to use dialogue to convey description).

The magic of childhood is explored extensively in this post. Taking the time to remember the good times and the bad (and the worst) is always a good thing to do, and the pictures here are priceless. I left a comment there that was pretty much a blog post in itself, just because I was so excited by the memories evoked.

I love to hear the parenting woes of others. Goodness knows my own children drive me to distraction at times (currently, Addie is still dragging her feet about getting her first job and Belle is being Belle--which, if you're a Boston Red Sox fan, is akin to "Manny Being Manny), so it's always nice to hear about the tribulations of others, particularly when they're presented in such an interesting and humorous way.

Even though I'm known for being a reader, I also love movies. I don't like TV, but I'm a huge fan of movies. Like, all movies (except ones adapted from books, which is a different conversation). This is a great reminder of some of the great RomComs out there :-) Netflix is going to love me this weekend!

There are, of course, a multitude of other great posts, but my mother is freaking out because the printer isn't working, so I have to go do my tech support thang.

What do y'all think of this idea? If you like it, I'll do it more often :-)

Wicked Cool: I've Gotten Over My Literary Snobbery (A Little)

At one point in my life, I was a ridiculously voracious reader. I'd read two or three books a day, often more, never less. When you suffer from insomnia beginning as a toddler, I guess you're bound to be either a hard-core reader or a television addict.

As I've gotten older and found that free time is at a premium between my daughters, my students, and the never-ending cycle of grading, planning, keeping on top of professional development and such, I just don't have the time to read that I once did.

It's kind of funny, though ... I always fancied myself something of a literary snob that took pride in avoiding the "book of the moment". I was late to the party in terms of excellent works including Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, and even the dreaded Twilight books (which I couldn't stop reading until I was finished and realized how poorly written and unoriginal they were).

Perhaps the greatest proof of what an idiot I was? I received a copy of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird from my eighth grade English teacher as a prize for a writing contest. Totally refused to read it because it was "supposed to be so great and all the books that have that reputation totally SUCK." Well, it didn't suck (it is, in fact, my favorite book of all time)

I even eschewed Dan Brown for months even when everyone on the planet was reading The Da Vinci Code.

So I guess it's no surprise, really, that I somehow missed this one.


Published in 1995, Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West tells the backstory of Elphaba (sound out the initials of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum for the pronunciation) ... including her run-ins with Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion.

Can I just say that this book is blowing my mind?

I'm a huge fan of Baum's Oz books, and this book is making me question motivations and points of view and bias and bottom lines and so on to the point where I'm probably going to be rereading Baum's canon as soon as possible (which will probably be next Christmas vacation at this point).

The intent of this post is not to be a scene spoiler (plus, I'm only halfway done the book ... I plan on finishing it tonight), but just to contemplate why I am so reluctant to read "popular" books despite the fact that I am almost never disappointed once I give in ... and to see if anyone else has this tendency.

Also, I've got another conundrum ... I have very strong feelings about movie adaptations of books I've enjoyed. Since Wicked has been made into a very popular musical, should I make an effort to see it, or would it be the same kind of limiting, unsatisfactory experience movie adaptations usually are?

If you've ever turned up your nose at a book, eventually changed your mind, and ultimately loved it, please share titles in the comments (and of course any other thoughts this post might inspire ;-))

Blogoversary Giveaway: Living, Thinking, Writing, and Reading in New Hampshire!

As of March 8, 2011, I have been writing this blog for two years. Many things have changed in my life since then, but one thing that hasn't is my location. I have lived in New Hampshire my entire life, and it's safe to say that the beautiful state I live in (and the interesting people I get the chance to interact with on a regular basis--can we say "Old Yankee", anyone?) has shaped the person I am, both as a human being and as a writer.

To celebrate, I'm holding my first giveaway!!!!

Living, Thinking, Writing, and Reading in New Hampshire

So, if you're interested in these lovely items ...

A Prayer for Owen Meany [Mass Market Paperback] by John Irving, a wonderful book that will make you laugh, cry, and ... think (it also has the distinction of taking place not just in New Hampshire but in my little part of New Hampshire)

Delicious maple sugar candy made right here in the Granite State

REAL maple syrup, also made right here in NH

Dunkin' Donuts coffee, because it is one of my favorite things in the world






and, finally, a mystery prize ;-)

Enter the giveaway to win :-)

To enter, you must be a follower of this blog. Please leave a comment on this site with your e-mail address. This gets you one entry.

For additional entries, you can:

Follow me on Twitter (+1)

Tweet about this giveaway (+1)

Add The Philosophy of KLo as a Networked Blog (+1)

Read through the prologue to my completed novel, Unbreakable, recently posted on this blog (yes, I know it's long ...) and leave a comment with feedback (+2)

Mention this giveaway on your blog and leave a link to it in the comments here. (+1)

The contest will close at 12:00 a.m. (EST) on March 8th (my blogoversary, if I hadn't mentioned that ;-)). The winner will be selected from random.org.

Good luck!

Cool Places to Hit on the Interwebs

I love (lovelovelove) reading blogs and sites that are many and varied, that work my mind and touch my heartstrings. Sometimes I connect on a visceral level, sometimes I disagree very much with the content but appreciate the different point of view, sometimes I'm overcome with beauty, and sometimes I appreciate the writing advice.

If I listed every place I visited on a regular basis, this post would be waaaaaaaaaaay too long. Therefore, I'm going to link to and explain a small sampling ... and I plan on doing this regularly to share the love (and thinking ... and beauty ... and so on).

These are places that I find memorable. There are many (many, many, many) other places that will be listed on subsequent posts. Check them out if you get a chance ... thinking is always a good thing :-)

365 Days of Weird Happenings
This is one of the most original sites I've seen in a long time. Anthonyox10 writes about odd things he sees, in life or on the interwebs, and shares with his readers. His take on the world is unique, and he's got a great eye for seeing the unusual. Lots of interesting stuff!

insert witty anecdote [here].
Before Sarah Taylor-Spangenberg became my boss :-), she was my friend (she still is ... LOVE that lady). This is the blog where I found her in my early days here on Blogger, and it's an amazing collection. She's recently started reposting here, and both her newest post and the older stuff there is worth a look.

Zelda Lily
Okay, perhaps I'm a bit biased because I write here, but this site has such a lot of really great stuff. Operating under the assumption that feminism doesn't have to be militant but can be embraced on a modern level through legitimate equality, there's a ton of current events as the commenters and writers alike work toward a definition of what feminism is in 2011. Amazing stuff!

mrs.nesbitt's space
Denise is amazing. Let me just say this--these are the words she puts at the top of her blog, and it explains far better than I could as to what the bottom line of her site is: "The happiest people don't have the best of everything, theyjust make the best of everything they have."

Got any very cool recommendations? Leave links in the comments ... I know that I, for one, would love to find some further cool places to visit and think about : )

Tires-some

So I'm at VIP (a different location than the one where I evidently knew more about cars than the employee I spoke with). I'm getting new tires, and I'm kind of excited that there's free WiFi here. Still, it's kind of tiresome having to do stuff like this. It's kind of like waiting in a ridiculously long line at the Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru when you're desperate for coffee, or buying toilet paper en masse so you don't run out without realizing it. Kind of a pain in the ass, but a necessary evil.

Anyway ...

I had to go to work today. I've had to work virtually every day of my, ahem, summer vacation. Part of me would rather be reading a book on the beach or sailing or going mini-golfing with Addie and Belle, but I've actually really enjoyed the work I've done this summer.

First, there's summer school. Even if I wasn't enjoying it, I really can't complain about teaching summer school since I agreed to it and have a contract and am actually very well-compensated. The kids are all going-to-be-seniors, so they're pretty invested in doing well. They're also really nice kids, which is a treat. As always, I am amazed at the depth of the conversations we've had--kids are so much more astute than we give them credit for, and I seem to realize this even more during summer school. Kind of weird.

Then, there's professional development stuff. The first week was a three-day workshop on Project-Based Learning (we call it PBL in the education world), which is basically using a large long-term project to assess students instead of the more traditional paper and pencil test. I came up with a really cool project on connecting Romeo and Juliet to contemporary films. Kids would have to put together a five minute movie created via the lovely advanced technology opportunities, and I have a SmartBoard in my classroom now, so it will be really fantastic ... assuming I have my act together enough to actually do it.

Ideas are never my problem, nor is the actual instruction of students. I have never felt like my students get short-changed in their education. What does bother me, though, is following the great plans I come up with. Ultimately, they always end up being too much and too big, so I revert back to what I usually do because the prospect of having to be ... gasp ... organized is just so far beyond me. Maybe this year I'll be better about it. Haha, maybe pigs will fly out of my computer case, too.

The other workshop is actually a college course done in conjunction with Plymouth State University on Intentional Teaching and Differentiated Instruction, which is basically teaching in a way that is effective for every single student. It's a lot harder than it sounds, and the course has been a really great learning experience. We had the choice of receiving either four graduate credits or financial compensation and, since I already have my Master's Degree, I said, "Show me the money". It's very cool to focus on the idea of designing curriculum with a bottom line of student understanding. Instead of planning in terms of content, we're being taught to plan in terms of anticipated (and expected) student understanding of the content. It's kind of a dicey distinction, but it's really changed a lot of my educational philosophies.

Between my real job, my amazing experience writing for Zelda Lily (we have a new layout that is just so cool!), hanging out with Addie and Belle, helping my mother get ready for her trip to Italy (she's in the air right now), trying to find a spare minute to work on the novel, rediscovering pleasure reading, and trying to keep things as calm as possible with Pythagorus (and thank you so much for all the support people have given me ... especially MTM and Kathy P), I'm very busy.

It's not tiresome, though. And my tires are just about done, so this evening will no longer be tiresome, either :-)

To Read is to Breathe

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, I decided to give my freshmen a quote about reading for our Tuesday quickwrite. Since I had a meeting this morning and didn't have time to go searching for that perfect quote, I had to grab for one quick within the dusty annals of my brain.

What I came up with is this, ironically taken from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, a book that they will be reading in about a month:

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."

Turns out that was the proverbial perfect quote. Sometimes my students really surprise me, and this was one of those days. Not only did they understand the gist of the quote, they really started connecting it to their own lives on a--dare I say it--philosophical level : )

In my world, reading is essentially akin to breathing. It is something I do to relax, to learn, to escape, to entertain, and so on and so forth. I learned how to read at a very young age and have never really stopped. Simply put, I cannot imagine my life without books. It would be like existing without a right hand.

So what about you? Is reading your breath? If not, is there anything in your life (beyond children, of course ... speaking for myself at least, that goes without saying) that you would equate with breathing?

The Relationship Between Reading and Writing

As a passionate writer and reader (and a teacher of English, also known as writing and reading), I find the connection between the two to be fascinating. It's all about words, about language, about story, and it occurs to me how valuable the written word has been to me throughout my life.

I have a confession to make. My English classes have fifteen minutes of free book choice silent reading three days a week, and I have been known to at times work on writing my current novel-in-progress in lieu of reading. The fact that my kids get this tells me that they understand the relationship between reading and writing; the line dividing the two is blurry, to say the least. I try not to do this, though--modeling good reading habits is extremely important to me as a teacher (and my current at-school book is Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, which I absolutely can't put down, so any potential writing I might get done at school is on hold for awhile).

My brother Adam is an extremely talented writer. His potential is limitless, but he never developed a passion for writing the way that I did. He won a schoolwide Young Author award as a fifth-grader, a feat I never accomplished (although I usually got honorable mentions), and the pieces he did for some of his college coursework were just breathtaking. However, writing never became part of his life the way it has for me, a daily act basically as necessary as breathing.

Adam does not read. Well, let me rephrase that--Adam does not like to read. At least, Adam does not like to read fiction. He enjoys sports magazines, biographies, and encyclopedias (yes, I'm serious ... please don't ask), but he reads slowly and never made reading an integral part of his day. The fact that his strongest writing pieces are fiction (and generally in the fantasy genre) is just fascinating to me.

My brother is proof that you can be a strong writer without being a strong reader. I have students that are much the same (amazing writers, apathetic readers) as well as the opposite--those that are extremely strong readers but who profess to being unable to write.

Having never been anything but a voracious reader (and a nearly obsessive writer), I find that I'm quite curious to hear your input on this. Sometimes I think it's hardest to look with an unjaundiced eye at something near and dear to your own heart.

How important is one's life as a reader to his or her life as a writer? Can you be a truly committed writer without being, at least on some level, a strong reader as well? Do you think being a writer enhances your life as a reader?

Books that Changed your Lives

I've read numerous books that have changed my life in some way, shape, or form. The most obvious is Stephen King's The Dark Tower, which made me contemplate the world we live in from directions I never would have otherwise, but there are many, many others.

I've listed my favorite books before, but I got thinking on my way home from work that there are a lot of books that didn't make the "favorite book" cut that have still greatly impacted me. In some cases, I don't even understand why.

I have a fondness for Jonathan Kellerman's murder mysteries. My personal favorite, Self-Defense, is about a young lady named Lucy haunted by a nightmare. What made this book special to me is that Lucy is the daughter of a one-hit wonder writer of the proverbial Great American Novel (think Salinger).

Speaking of Salinger, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention The Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield is perhaps the most honestly portrayed fictional character I've ever encountered. His obsessions, his obstinacy, his insanity ... it makes me feel better about what's going on in my own mind every time I read it.

When I was a kid, my neighbors left a box of books that didn't sell at a yard sale out in front of their houses with a "free" sign. I brought many of those books home, of course. One was a book called Angel by Samantha Harte (I think ... I'm not sure where my copy of the book is now). It was about a young girl traveling west with her family who ends up resorting to prostitution in the American frontier following a variety of family calamities. Very important lessons in that book, strange as it may sound. It was bawdy and crass in parts, but it was a very moral book at the same time, if that makes any sense.

Finally, I have to mention The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Yeah, they're kid books (there are five of them). However, the imperfections of the characters made me love them, made the standard hero's quest tale truly unique (and I still haven't forgiven Pythagorus for not allowing me to name Belle "Eilonwy").

There are dozens, maybe hundreds of others, but I want to know what y'all have to say. What are books that have changed your lives? They don't have to be considered fine literature (I mean, Kellerman can tell a good story, but he's probably not going down in history as the next Poe or anything ... and need I reiterate, Angel by Samantha Harte?), but I'm just curious to see what people have to say.

And, of course, I'm always looking for books to add to my reading list ; )

Reading to Children--Why do Some People Not do Something so Vital?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I'm what could be termed as a bibliophile. What makes someone a reader or not is kind of an interesting train of thought, particularly when you consider that a large percentage of the population that hated reading when in school end up being very involved readers as adults.

However, even more interesting to me (and more disturbing) is the fact that there are so many parents that don't read to their children on a regular basis.

I learned how to read at a very young age, but my parents (my father in particular) read to me anyway. My father spent several hours on some holidays reading Adam, Mary, and I entire books (Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox stands out)while my mother got dinner ready and cleaned the house. He also regaled us with tales of Uncle Wiggly from the same worn copy of the book that his own father had read to him as a child. My favorite aunt, AJ, and my favorite uncle, Daniel, always got us books for presents as children (I should probably note that AJ and Daniel are both my father's siblings--I'm learning an awful lot about my father through this post--so I guess that says something about the value of literature in the household my father grew up in).

I started reading to Addie and Belle while they were still in utero, strange as that may sound. Once they were born, of course, I read to them every single day. Reading became a part of their schedules, as necessary as feeding and diaper-changing. Both of my girls love stories, perhaps in large part because they had little choice in the matter.

Belle has a story every night after she gets her jammies on, goes potty, and brushes her teeth. Woe to me if I forget, and woe to the person who has to read to her if I'm unavailable. As a joke, Pythagorus took a picture of Belle and I reading together last night (I deplore getting my picture taken).



While he was laughing about how awful I look in virtually every picture that's ever taken of me, though, it occurred to me how fortunate it was that I have those moments every night to share a variety of literature with my little princess.

I don't read to Addie anymore, of course, but I did for a long time. Even after she was a fairly advanced reader, we'd read chapter books together, alternating turns (I recall Shel Silverstein's Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back and the first Harry Potter book as being special). We do talk about literature all the time, though. This very afternoon, in fact, we had a lengthy discussion about Romeo and Juliet, which I'm currently almost finished teaching to my students and which her class started reading today. We talked about the characters, the language, the double entendres, the significance of Shakespeare's need to appeal to a very broad audience, and whether Willy Shakes was in fact a real guy at all. How remarkable!

Earlier this year, I did an interdisciplinary project with the biology and social studies teacher at my school. As an introduction to the project, I read my students The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. I don't think any more than 3% of them had heard (never mind read) the book before. This made me more sad than I can put into words.

If you are a parent, do you read to your kids? Why or why not? Is it hard to find time to do this? What sort of books do your kids enjoy? Do you think there is a correlation between kids who are read to as children and adults who enjoy reading? If you are not a parent, what are your plans for reading (or not) with your children?

How can we solve this problem (and it is a problem ... I wish desperately that it wasn't, but it is)?

Well, I'm off to read Belle her bedtime story. In case you're interested, she's selected Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day for tonight's fare.

Characters you Would Like to Meet in Reality

I've been thinking a lot likely about how real some characters appear to be. This might sound creepy, but there are some actually some literary characters I would love to have a conversation with (some of my own creation--and oh, what a heady feeling that is : ))

So my question for you ...
(If you are a writer)
If you could meet any character from one of your own pieces, who would it be, and why?
(If you are a reader)
If you could meet any character from a work of literature you've read, who would it be and why?

And if, like me, you are a reader and a writer, please feel free to answer both.

I'll be posting my own answer in the comments section later as I have to go to lunch duty in five minutes. Ah, it stinks when the day job and the heart's job interfere with each other : )

Controversy: Book Banning

So I've noticed that the posts that really bring out one of the things I was really hoping to accomplish with this blog--namely, good and thought-provoking conversation--are those posts that have ... well, arguable points, such as my rantings on Twilight or on a recent death penalty case in New Hampshire.

Therefore, I figured I'd throw out there a topic near and dear to my heart: book banning. Whoa, I think that came out wrong ... I don't think any books should be banned. Ever. My philosophy is that, if a child is reading a book, it is never, never, NEVER a bad thing.

But consider, for example, this outcry in my home state over Lois Lowry's The Giver. Having read The Giver (and recommended it to countless students), the idea that it would be deemed inappropriate when it is one of the prime children's books for getting emerging readers to think on a different plane ... I just don't get it. Of course, I'm the person who read Stephen King's Cujo as a first-grader, so maybe I'm a little warped on the subject : )

J.K. Rowling's brilliant Harry Potter series have been perhaps the most commonly criticized books in recent years (although again, I would argue even further this time that not only children learned that reading can be something magical, many adults that actively deplored reading developed a passion for it because of J.K. Rowling). The boy wizard controversy is well-documented on sites such as this and this.

The list of banned books is expansive and includes such remarkable titles as The Catcher in the Rye, Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret, Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, and--yes, I'm serious--Where's Waldo?

So what are your thoughts on banned books? Am I naive in my belief that it's always a good thing if someone is willing to invest the time in a book and therefore go through the requisite thinking--sometimes completely unaware of this?

Belle's Bedtime Story

Belle announced that she was going to read me a bedtime story tonight. I was kind of amused, figuring that it would be either a fanciful interpretation of pictures or that it would last about ten seconds before she gave in and asked me to read.

So the latest news update--Belle can in fact "read" "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." Yeah, it kind of blew me away, too.

My children are treasures. There's just no other word for it : )