Have you ever felt a little reluctant to tell people about a "classic" you are reading? If you are a few years removed from those glorious school days of youth people will often say, "you haven't read that" accompanied by a look of sadness for your unenriched life. I just finished reading The Pearl, by John Steinbeck. Go ahead, sigh and make that "tsk-tsk" sound. If you haven't read it or cannot remember if you have read it, it is required for you to say, "I think I read that in Mrs. Jenkins class in 9th grade." I loved the book. My superstar reader wife will probably read it now. She reads almost everything and then, just for fun, she reads whatever I read as a literary dessert. I am not sure why I often turn to Steinbeck for my first book of the summer after a year of teaching. Actually, the answer is easy- the distance from the front cover to the back cover usually looks pretty short and I need a "doable win" to kick off the season.
I read Travels with Charley: In Search of America by Steinbeck to kick off my summer a couple of years ago. I was reading it during the run up to the Presidential election of 2016 and Steinbeck was commenting on the Nixon/Kennedy race during his 1960 road journal. That book still makes me daydream about the future truck and dog that I want to ramble across America with. But, to change gears (ahem...) The Pearl hit me like a beautiful uppercut to the gut. I sat in my suburban American backyard, yet somehow was in a canoe escaping the heat and humidity of a Mexican summer by leaping into blue-green water to gather oysters and maybe much more.
Kids need to read...more...alot more. So do I. Screen reading in your palm is amazing. It is addictive. I realize though, that "phone reading" is usually grazing and not feasting. I cannot recall much from the last dozen articles I have read on educational innovation, current events or technology, but if asked (please don't) I could probably draw a detailed timeline of The Pearl and relate the lessons, symbolism and emotion of the book to boyhood memories, my philosophy, and those BIG life questions. I might even happily connect the message of the book to debates we have today about poverty, wealth, happiness, morality etc... Reading is fundamentally amazing. I feel a quick "shout-out" to my phone is needed. The ability to
read and try to guess what a word means in the context of a story can be fun. It is even more fun to possess the superpower to instantly ask the Cosmos (or Google) for a vocab lesson. My new vocab knowledge from The Pearl below. Match the word to the picture and write an essay describing how... 😂
-"Guest post" from a fictitious but cool 3rd-4th grader.. 😊 I have a pup and he's amazing. I mean his name is "Amazing." That was my little sister's idea. Everyday Amazing walks to school with me. Amazing is always wagging a "hello" to the graddaddy with the Veteran's hat who volunteers picking up trash in front of our school. One day I saw Amazing with our road guard playing with some kids after everybody crossed. Amazing is everywhere. People tell me they see Amazing and smile. After school I tell Amazing stories about my teacher and he sits and listens. I love my teacher. I want to be the greatest teacher ever someday. I want to teach Amazing things too, like when he can't do something. I told him that he can't can't walk right on his leash "yet." I learned about "yet" last year from Mrs. Robles. I know it's true, I really am getting better at fractions and everything else! Well, summer is here and Amazing and I are playing and reading together more and I can see him getting smarter everyday. My teacher told me the same thing. On the last day of school
I met my new teacher for next year. He hasn't met my pup. I asked him if I could bring Amazing with me to class every day next year. He said that we all should. I like him already!
I attempted to download Fortnite, the widly popular multi-player online game, the other day during lunch. I was sitting “alone” in my classroom with a couple dozen loud youngsters ignoring me like they should while they were eating, laughing, looking at themselves in front-facing smart-phone cameras and other weird and joyful things. The volume was high. Someone must have noticed that I was fumbling through the setup of the game. It wasn’t hard to notice, because I was looking at my laptop, but my large classroom TV behind me was mirroring my screen.
I noticed a change in the noise and became aware that a large contingent of the crowd was moving in my direction. The gamers approached me and seemed giddy. They were belly-laughing and doing their versions of old-man back-slapping. I was receiving rock star like attention with cameras held high trying to capture me interacting with all things Fortnight. They kept announcing to everyone within 50 yards that I was about to try Fortnite! I was quickly whisked away from the keyboard as they rapidly problem-solved at a rate I had never seen before in humans between 14-18 years old. I was given micro-lessons in Fortnite history, operations, strategy, communication protocols, hand-eye coordination hacks and current pop-culture status of Fortnight. These were communicated with levels of enthusiasm that I had never observed before in the wilds of the classroom.
I plan to check out (at home) the craze and find a way to bring that fervor for teaching and learning that those gamers had for the subject matter (Fortnite) and the student (me). I know this will be short lived…remember Pokemon Go? I am definitely not going to tell these kids that I played Pong on a Middle School “date” and thought I was cool and a real techie.
NOTICE: If you are an IT dude/dudette from the District Office this post should be read as if it was a game and not taken seriously and/or used to banish me from the InterWebs…
Fairfield High School recently joined the “Shadow a Student” challenge that educators across the nation took part in. Three teachers and our College and Career Center Director became high school students again for a short while. All participating staff members chose a student that they wanted to shadow and the entire staff was notified of the new “students” whom might be visiting their class.
Ms. Goli Tavassoli, a Physical Education teacher, chose one of her basketball players that she coaches to see her in a different setting. Ms. Tavassoli was actually a student for an hour in her own class while Mr. Eddie Wilson generously volunteered to substitute for her during that period of the day. Ms. Lisa Yee, our College & Career Center pro, reported that her student’s Advanced Placement English class was very, very advanced. She saw one of her favorite students in a new light after seeing the workload in her classes.
English teacher Mr. Steven Sheehy had some interesting insights after his day as a Falcon student:
Mr. Steven Sheehy’s Shadowing a Student Report
“During the first half of the day, before lunch, I sat through Hunter’s pre-calculus class - which was, I confess, too challenging for me and I took it in high school too; wind ensemble - the band performed a Star Wars medley for me; in Government class, Mr. Macariola asked me questions about MLA and as a typical student, I said IDK … kidding, I answered his questions more like a teacher than a student. After lunch, I am pretty sure I failed the honors anatomy exam and then used Google translate to create a sentence for the exit ticket in German, to which many students told me I cheated. I must say I had a blast being a student again and learned something too.
I sat through wonderful lessons taught by phenomenal teachers. But as much as I enjoyed assuming the role of a student, there was something I did not enjoy: I SAT ALL DAY. This was terribly difficult for me. Do not get me wrong, I love learning and I was a pretty decent student back in high school and college, but I forgot how much high school students sit. At least in college I would sit in class for at max an hour and a half, then I would walk ten to fifteen minutes to my next class, that is, if they were back-to-back. If I had a couple hours to burn between classes, I would usually take a stroll around the quad or walk to downtown Davis to grab coffee, but back in high school, I sat for hours. At least as a teacher, I can stand for most of the school day, and I do.
Taking a moment out of teaching to shadow one of my students for a day was an incredible experience. It was also super educational. I often forget what it is like to be a student, even though it was not that long ago I was one. I forget how much information students need to absorb and how long they are required to sit in order to do so. I need to build time in my lessons for them to move and apply their inner kinesthetic learner. While it is not realistic to have students move around the classroom all the time, I can still find appropriate way for them move some of the time. I would love to hear some suggestions from my peers and my students on how I can apply kinesthetic strategies to my activities. I hope my experience and thoughts inspire my fellow teachers to also think about ways to bring more movement into their teaching.”
Science Teacher Emily Jones joined the shadow a student team and made the most of the day. She and her student, Mateo, took the time to reflect on what both of them learned from the day in this video:
This Shadow a Student challenge was possible because of the awesome teachers who volunteered their time to substitute in the classes for their fellow teachers who were shadowing a student for the day. THANKS to:
“Read like your house in on fire and reading
is what can get you out.” That’s what Mason said and I am sure that my jaw
dropped, eyes widened... and mind expanded.Mason was a student of the week at Fairview Elementary in Fairfield, California
and he was responding to Principal George Porter's question about his key to
improving his reading scores. Principal Porter is
a consummate educational professional with a resume’ as impressive as his
ability to connect with kids, but he too was blown away by Mason’s powerful framing of the motivation to read.
I had at least a baker’s dozen moments
like the one Mason created while visiting Fairview Elementary for a day.Colleen Hutchinson, my creative, effervescent host and Assistant
Principal of Fairview, greeted me and instantly turned the
situation into a leadership experience for her student “Principal for the Day,”
Angel.Angel had the Principal ID badge
credentials and even a whistle.With her
Minnnie Mouse ears in place, (this was “Disney Day”) she read the announcements to the
nearly 600 students and then began her Administrative duties which included being responsible for me as the Fairview guest for the day.
The three different lunch periods for the
Panthers of Fairview allowed the Admin team of George
and Colleen to celebrate
several students from Kindergarten through 5th grade.I watched as Julianna accepted her pizza up
on the stage and grinned with a subtle pride as her friends waved to her from
their seats at the tables below the stage out on the gymnasium/lunchroom floor.
I inquired about the mindfulness curriculum
that the school uses to help students combat anxieties and toxic stress. I was
whisked off to Mr. Phil Nordin’s room to join his students in a mindfulness
session. The just after lunch mindfulness session was calming for all of us and
his students were so insightful in their comments on the benefits of the “Inner
Explorer” curriculum. Phil’s approach was one of valuing and celebrating the
intellect and curiosity of his students. They were co-leaders of his classroom.
As their calm mindfulness session ended, the anticipation of reading was almost
too much for some of them to handle.Their
love of reading and happy acceptance of coaching from Phil was just another
version of “read like your house is on fire and reading is what can get you out.”
These students had caught the spark that seemed to be everywhere at Fairview.
A break from classrooms was provided to
me by Jordan and Jessica who were selected to be my guides for an in-depth
campus tour.I do not recall if I ever
had to learn so much, so fast.The amazing
sensory overload tour was punctuated by my fear of their occasional and mostly
unconscious use of every curb or monkey bar on campus to practice their
gymnastics skills.
Getting back to instruction, I landed in
Laura Obando’s classroom.I have
followed her creative teaching on Twitter from 2.8 miles away at my high
school, but now I was “live” and sitting on the floor trying to help five motivated
2nd graders find some legos for a bar graph representation. Her
stations around the classroom were varied and provided multiple approaches to
the math learning target of the day.I
started with the low-tech legos and then moved to high-tech stations.Rumor has it that she is a tireless advocate for
her students and everyone says “yes” to her Donors Choose efforts for a better experience
for those lucky kids.
David B. Cohen’s 2016 book Capturing the Spark: Inspired Teaching, Thriving
Schools captures what is really happening in California schools.He spent a year in classrooms seeing over and
over what I saw in only one day--dedicated educators helping students flourish by capturing the sparks of curiosity and inspiration. Maybe those educators are just doing something
close to what Fairview student of the week Mason said.Maybe those educators are teaching like their
house in on fire and great teaching is what can get them out.
She asked, “what made you listen to Paul Simon.” Now, I
can’t think of many reasons why I would not want to listen to Paul Simon. I love the sounds of Garfunkel too, as long as
he is in the background making the sound and sentiments float on and take me to
a higher plane. I did have to think for
a second, but it was an easy answer, “mom.” I needed to call my mom back. We
talk all the time, but sometimes the daily, nightly and weekend grind of 24/7
work (thanks a million email!) makes the personal and important secondary to
the tertiary. So, what was the tune I
had to hear? “Loves me like a rock.” “Oh, my momma loves me” says Paul and he
goes on to make all of us feel like proud first-graders getting a hug from mom
in front of our teacher…beaming. I
remember listening to that song as a teenager and thinking about someone being
the President and still being momma’s boy and proud of it--and wondering if that
was possible. Of course, those thoughts were just for me, because “cool,” of
course. Video: Paul Simon: Loves Me Like a Rock
“If
I was President And the Congress call my name I'd say "who do Who do you think you're fooling?" I've got the Presidential Seal I'm up on the Presidential Podium My mama loves me She loves me She gets down on her knees and hugs me And she loves me like a rock She rocks me like the rock of ages”
--Paul Simon, “Loves me like a rock”
I
gave my wife a temporary pass when she asked why I was spending an entire
afternoon listening to Paul Simon. When Simon’s
Graceland album, or in my case,
cassette tape was released in 1986, I played it a few times. I played it a few times in the morning and
continued into the evening and for the next few months I kept flipping that cassette.
Late in the evening or on Sunday
morning, my wife was blessed with my continuing fresh interpretations of the
world beat of Graceland. The sounds
of Ladysmith Black Mambazo were some of my favorites. I later saw them in concert,
but their greatest received concerts ever may have been on my driveway and from my “boom
box” as I washed my car or pretended to tinker on something.
Motherhood is
cool. Moms are my hope for humanity. I
see quite a few former boys who as men are not respecting their moms, sisters,
wives, and every other woman and girl on this planet. Your momma should love you like a rock, and
every boy and alumni of boyhood should never forget to do as Aretha said, show
your R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
I once was on the wrong end of a momma who
loved her boy like a rock. Attempting to
beat out a possible infield single I decided to not only hit first base, but
put a shoulder into the first baseman.
Combining baseball and football was a marvelous moment for me until I turned around to the base after my hard earned single. I sported a 4th-grader-as-gladiator stride while
watching the first basemen attempt to get up from the blindside attack. I then caught a glimpse of a streak leaving
the bleachers and heard the sounds of a woman saying something to the effect of
“oh, not my baby.” She was headed to check on said baby. She also wanted to say
a few things to me, and I stood struck in fear. Luckily my coaches shielded me
from the wrong side of a momma’s love.
Thanks to the
moms and the dads who love their kids and aren't afraid to show it. I know raising children can be tough. Teaching
teenagers all day makes me want to help moms and dads in every way possible. Every
kid needs a mom like the one from “Love me like a rock." For those kids that
don’t, there is likely an educator attacking a mountain of musts so they can mentor, encourage or inspire...like a mom.
I was raised in a one-square mile town
surrounded by orange groves, cattle and humidity. I lived for diamonds and outfields, baseball
was on my mind as well as inside a glove under my mattress, slowly bending
toward perfection. But before baseball, there was school, until about three in
the afternoon. Truthfully, I loved school too. I loved friends, sports, reading,
my teachers & Monday morning laughter about that new, really late television show called Saturday Night Live.
I recall a
weekend project at a classmate’s house. I do not know why we were putting
together some type of structure with pennies and popsicle sticks. I do recall
that Bobby did most of the work. What I learned from that project was how other
families function. I remember overhearing a discussion about finances. I remember his mom
bringing us a sandwich in a bag, even though we were just out the back
door. I guess I can mark that learning opportunity as another insight into how Southern, white, protestant, middle-class, small town
families operated...but I needed less Mayo and more Magellan.
My parents made the idea of
continuing my formal education a given, even though it was not an automatic, expected, or even highly suggested track from the signals I was picking up from the one mile north and south & one mile east
and west town in the dead center of Florida.
I left for a college town that was just over twice the size of my
hometown of 5,000 and in the insular state of Alabama. Even so, the
progressive, global “we are all in this together” point of view my parents
cultivated in me was expanded even more in Troy.
I again enjoyed school. I loved debating,
learning and discovering how much there is to discover. Leaving Troy for a
two-decade trip around the world in the US Air Force gave me many more
opportunities to learn and teach. A
“desk job” assignment as a classroom instructor, showed me the joy of being on
the teacher’s side of a classroom.
I left flying for the high school classroom
and the creativity and challenge are as fresh to me now as my first day 12
years ago. Now I find myself preparing for a future chance to become a leader that
supports an entire school of teachers. I feel as excited and slightly
overwhelmed as my 22-year old self driving from Alabama to Arizona and the
great unknown of Undergraduate Pilot Training. The words of focus from landing
instruction apply still, “aimpoint, airspeed…aimpoint, airspeed.”
Have you ever felt a little reluctant to tell people about a "classic" you are reading? If you are a few years removed from those glorious school days of youth people will often say, "you haven't read that" accompanied by a look of sadness for your unenriched life. 
