Well hello self!!

It has been awhile since I wrote to this blog.  It seems fitting that the probability of anyone reading this sits at around 0% as it will be as if I'm writing to myself.  The odd thing is, I am. 

Last spring, when I was beginning my program to earn my teaching certificate, our instructor encouraged us to write a letter to ourselves that we would read upon graduation.  We did, and I did (just graduate)!  Wow, am I a good motivational speaker to myself.  I mean, if I could call myself up and take me out to dinner and a movie, it would be do on!  It is bitter sweet that the program has ended as I am forced to say goodbye to so many great people and turn to face the future with what feels like no one else.  Then I came along. 
Our instructor handed the letters back to us a couple of weeks ago but I didn't want to open it.  For some reason I just felt it wasn't the right time.  Well, here I am out on my own looking for that first elusive job.  Still volunteering in any classroom that will take me, and beginning a summer job teaching sports classes in local summer camps.  It feels so great to get going, but I feel so.....alone.  Today, things began to teeter on the side of "too much".  Today, I realized that I have been going nonstop for the past 4 months with nary a chance to even say "What's new" to my own wife.  Today, I realized that after all the school work, the experience, and the knowledge I've gained....$15/hr is my value.  Today the workload vs. cost to my health balance tipped over on the side of workload.   Today, for the first time in 15 months, the thought went through my head that I might have made a huge mistake leaving a good paying job to jump into teaching.  Then I saw my letter sticking out of my bag, begging me to open it. 

It was obvious I knew myself pretty well as I envisioned what might occur almost to a tee.  Then I offered myself words of encouragement, and even some much needed advice.  Then I read the line, "Trust yourself.  Something good comes from everything you are a part of.  Look carefully at what is around you...and be surprised at what is there".  If you ever wanted to see a grown man tear up, this was your chance.  It couldn't have come at a better time and it couldn't have meant more to me.  It will help set the ball back on the right track moving towards the ultimate goal....getting as much out of life that one can possibly squeeze.  Was I surprised at what was there?  Yes, and I smile every time I think about it. 

I turned to myself, whispered, "Thanks self", and then gave myself a big hug.  I knew exactly what I was going to blog about next. 


Cheerio!!

Xtra Xtra....read all about it

In the spirit of finding ways to keep people busy while I get things done I need to get done, let me introduce you to my friends Xtra, Hooda, and Dr. Daniels.

Xtra is the nickname I gave to www.xtramath.org because of its ability to consume my students attn on trying to beat their best time......at solving math problems.  Not the complex word problem math problems, but basic math arithmetic math problems.  They "graduate" from addition, to subtraction, and so on until they can bust out 12*12 in under 3 seconds flat.  They even get a certificate that I can laminate and give to them to take home.  Oddly enough, they love it!  Thanks Xtra, you are the best.

Just when I think I have enough math friends, along comes www.Hoodamath.com.  This site is torn from the same cloth as Xtra, but it has an added feature that connects all male adolescents together....video games.  Racing games, logic, games, even numbers games.  For example, in one of the car racing games, you get a boost of speed propelling you down the racecourse WHEN YOU SOLVE A MATH PROBLEM CORRECT.  8*7, 11*4, 13*7, 24/3, and so on.  Not only that....they get to play against each other!  Up to four players can join the same game and play against each other as they all solve math problems.  All of this to simply gloat about being the faster driver.  Yup, the byproduct is quick arithmetic and happy students.  Now I'll buy that for a dollar!

Stephano!!!  He's from right here in Seattle and somehow he is still on the show.  It must stink to be a young male in America where you are adored by 5 million screaming teenagers....well maybe not stink.  Maybe deafening.  For now, go Stephano.



Out track season started tonight for our elementary track team.  The track was dry but I lost 20% of the team to twisted ankles when I had then cut across the field to get to the long jump pit and found out all the rain we've been getting has turned the field into a mud pit.  Oops.  I told them to put some dirt on it, suck it up and be men!  The 4th grade girls began to cry.  Go team!

Y'all know Dr. Daniels.  No need to dig deeper into that one.

Cheerio

Human Planet

BBC has done it again.  The British television conglomerate produces some of the best trailers in the business.  Their upcoming mini-series "Human Planet" is sure to get many viewers based solely on this absolutely beautiful web-trailer.  Enjoy....then watch it.  It is our world after all!!



I encourage everyone who has a child or student in their lives to sign them up for (FREE) www.xtramath.org.  This site takes the basics of math and pounds it into a child's head in a way that feels like they are playing a game, even though they are being told they are taking tests!  Smooth slight of hand on the part of the website.  Check it out as we'll be using it in our class to help the struggling students have some fun while memorizing the basics (4+5, 7*8, 18/6, etc).


That is all for tonight.  Lesson planning and staring aimlessly at my wall are taking up all my energy. 

Cheerio



Friday? The people say "NO"

12 hours ago I had never heard of Rebecca Black. 7 days ago NO ONE had ever heard of Rebecca Black. Now over 71,000,000 people know first hand what gossip and YouTube can do to spread the word. Now if they could only work in tandem to cure a disease!

This song is auto tuned to the hilt, has some of the worst lyrics in the history of music, and doesn't make much sense. It doesn't take too long for people to respond in truly creative ways. Click here for a parody called Fried Eggs. Be prepared to sound hip with your students on this one.

Things to be aware of as April rolls around:

1) April Fools day is tomorrow!  To help get into the spirit check out this list of simple gags you can pull on your teacher or friends. The nice thing....no one gets hurt....too bad. Thanks Kidz!

2) Baseball is here!! Sports Illustrated has just declared my Mariners are going to lose only 99 games this year. I'm totally stoked as this means they are getting better....? Ouch. Luckily there are only 162 games in a season.

3) Upgrade your computer! I just spent two hours adding 3GB of RAM to my computer, a second DVD burner, a TB Internal HD, and a software upgrade to Windows 7. If you really want to feel like you've accomplished something simply open the case to your computer and put it back together. That in itself is quite a task (but don't forget to vacuum it out while you are looking at it). I ordered the holy grail of Adobe products and it supposedly arrives in the mail tomorrow (Friday, Friday, Partying, Partying yeah!). I feel like a kid waiting for Santa by the Xmas tree. When the UPS guy gets here tomorrow I'm sooo going to give him a big hug. Premiere Pro 5 here I come....or jail if the UPS person presses charges.

4) What do light, algebraic math equations, "The Giver", persuasive writing, and GIMP all have in common? Common, try again. I know you can figure this one out....try one more time. Alright fine, all of these will be subject matter I'll be teaching this spring. I'm pretty stoked as I've always wanted to teach kids how to GIMP....that totally didn't sound right. Check it out though as GIMP is a free "Image Manipulation Program" from Gnu....hence GIMP, that you can have your students use in the classroom to produce some pretty sweet art. "Bring out the GIMP!" http://www.gimp.org/

5) My school is AWESOME! We raised over $2000 for the people of Japan. I saw a 1st grader bring in 6 pounds of pennies and nickels to donate to the fund. As someone who used to work in fundraising, I can tell you seeing people come together to work toward one common goal is one of the best human emotions one can feel. So why can't the Mariners or Seahawks take a note from that little 1st grader?

That's all for now folks.

	"I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather.. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car." Cheerio

A New Hope

It doesn't take long when you realize things are out of balance that things tend to balance themselves out. For me it was simple. Get the college classes over with and get back in the classroom....it took two days of being with my 6th grade class to get me back to being more like myself. Yup, there is nothing like college course work to take the life out of you. Although my ramblings from last blog weren't for not; I was right in noticing that I had been replacing school work with keeping in touch with people around me.  Coming to this realization is great for me, but it comes with a sense of hesitation as I am about to embark on the journey that is the "student teacher".  I will learn why teachers get so frustrated with the system they work inside of and why they feel so taken advantage of as workers in our society.  Tonight I list out the top 10 things that I look forward to discovering during my days as a student teacher.  Ladies and gents.....LETS BLOG!!

1)  When do we get a chance to prepare?  Teachers have 6 and a half hours of teaching each day and probably 30min - 1 hour of meetings on top of that.  I know that I have spent three hours brushing up on my "rock cycle" knowledge this weekend while planning a lesson for Monday afternoon.  I know that I'll also put in  a couple hours planning for a math lesson on writing equations using variables.  There is a 100% chance that I'll put in over 5 hours of work for two of the 6 classes on Monday.  Then I will have to do the same for Tuesday....and Wed.....and Thurs.......oh yeah and Friday.  I might as well think about reading and writing, maybe some Social Studies....and also art.  Because we all know art projects take little to no planning.......right?  This time is spent planning assuming everything will go just fine....then little Timmy scraps his arm and starts crying in the middle of class, or the secretary calls 10 people from your class back down to the lunchroom because they didn't clean up properly.  20 minutes I loose in the classroom......and people say teachers get paid too much?  $30,000/year to work 80 hour weeks AND be told by society that I'm not doing good enough?  Now I'm griping, but it doesn't seem fair. 

2)     How to create a classroom library.  I definitely don't want a generic cart of books in my class with Beverly Cleary and the like.  But I do want books kids like to read.  I think I'll create a list of books students have already read (outside of school) and see which ones show up the most.  Then I'll go get those books.  Seems easy....but I doubt it will be.

3)  Bored are you?  I've always thought of myself as a laid back, and somewhat humorous and entertaining person.  I've taught about 15 lessons so far to the students and it come across dry and boring.....it is weird, but somehow I need to discover how to bring myself into each and every lesson.  I might just speak all day in the voice of Alex Trebek....maybe not.

4)  Field Trips!  Holy responsibility Batman.  You take on millions of dollars in liability every time you take your kids outside the walls of your institution.  Why on earth would anyone take that risk for a couple hours at the zoo, aquarium, or Old Country Buffet?  What? 



5)  How much weight will I gain?  Knowing the amount of hours I'm about to spend planning out lessons (notice I haven't mentioned grading yet?), it is clear I will be about 50 - 70% less active than what I had been up to that point.  This should in fact have a direct impact on the amount of pounds I weight here on earth.  I say 24 lb increase.  I guess you'll just have to trust me on this.

6)  How sick will I get?  They say your first year in the classroom is the worst when it comes to illnesses, but I've been lucky thus far in that I have yet to gain any illness over the course of 8 months in the classroom.  We'll see now that it comes to 8 hours a day in front of the little rowdiness makers.  I guess that would give me more time to plan:)

7)  Can I get 30 students to do what I want?  This I can't wait to discover.  So far it is hit and miss.  If I can find something that I know they want (B-Ball game at recess) then it is easier.  But when I'm struggling to keep their attention on a lesson that I spent hours putting together, the last thing on my mind is what can I hang over their heads".

8)  How much music/video production will I be able to accomplish?  I want to produce something that I can take with me to show that they had a great time and got something out of the time they spent with me as a teacher.  School districts are pretty strict with what they allow and don't allow when it comes to capturing students on film in any way shape or form. 

9)  Will I eat lunch in the teacher's lounge?  This is the age ol question for teachers.  The conversation in the fabled lounge has a 97% chance of sounding intensely negative as the words "Shafted and screwed" seem to find their way into every sentence uttered within the confines of the room.  It will be fun to walk in, hear this and simply start whistling Uncle Remus toons, but as of now I figure no one would notice.

10)  Will I be the teacher I saw myself being two years ago?  This is a touch one as I saw myself teaching students how to be happy in the life they find themselves living right now.  I have become learned in the politics, the curriculum, and the bureaucracy of teaching, and it isn't pretty as teachers truly are treated with little respect by the districts that support them and the parents that depend on them.  I recognize all of this going into it so I can only do my best to stick to my guns and make sure I'm doing what I want to be doing in the classroom.  Afterall, that's what I'm planning to teach my students!!

Joke of the day:

Teacher: I told you to stand at the end of the line?
Pupil: I tried, but there was someone already there!   

Cheerio

Point Break



Besides being one of the most defining movies of my teenage years, the movie above also describes the overwhelming feeling of this moment, right here, right now.  Today I finished the college coursework for my teaching certificate...today I leave college classes behind and begin full time student teaching.  I walked out of my last class today and the weight of the world seemed to hit me like a ton of bricks. 

I hear stories of my classmates achieving great successes, and yet melting down.  I see news reports of state budget cuts that will cut education spending more than ever before.  I feel the pressure of expectation.  I taste the dry mouth of trepidation as I prepare myself to finally move forward.  I smell the uneasy aroma of frayed nerves. 

My senses have always led me in the right direction, so why do I stress?  Why do I have more questions than answers?  Why is it so hard to stick to the beliefs that led me to the place where I currently reside?  I sit on the precipice of Point Break; a defining movie of years past....a defining moment for me now.    

I have my pals Raef Esquith and Lawrence Kolberg.  I have my friends the six strands, Bloom's taxonomy, and ol man Piaget.  I have my stalwart Reggie Routman.  I have the best 36 cohort members in the world to lean on; and I have a family who needs me home.  I have this blog to post my thoughts as fast as my brain can produce them.  I have a Master Teacher who is tops in the business.  I have musicians that play guitar with me whenever I get the feeling.  I have a lot of resources at my disposal..........but something is missing.

In all the hubbub, business, chaos, and school work that was the past 6 months, the compass that was guiding my path began to veer off course.  My instincts, my senses, seemed to waiver in their effectiveness.  Things that had once come easy to me now were misfiring all around me.  I plowed on believing it was just a funk; that I would break out of it if I could just make it over the next dune.  School work began to suffer, my health began to suffer, and most importantly, my relationships began to suffer.  It is at this point where I wish I could close my eyes and wake up to see my own Vanilla Sky.

At what point did I transition from the confident person who knew what he wanted in life to the person who seemed to not be able to make a decision to save his life?  Unlike the movie Vanilla Sky, I am able to go back in time and relive the past as reality....not in a planned out dream.  

So, as an aspiring amateur movie producer, I declare what hit me earlier today might have been the weight of the world, or it might have been my senses recalibrating the priorities of my life.  To me, seeing the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" when I was 10 years old set the tone for how I was going to live my life.  "No man is a failure who has friends!"  Plain and simple....RELATIONSHIPS are priority one.  I let myself believe that school was more important than the people in my life, and I don't plan to continue in this false reality.

It seemed so simple when we were growing up.  When you met someone that laughed at the same things you did, enjoyed the same experiences you did, and thought about life the same way you did; you became friends!  When you are all grown up responsibility clouds these possibilities.  We become afraid of losing what we think we have instead of gaining what we know is real.  In movies and books it is called "following your heart".  I call it trusting your senses and doing what brings happiness to your heart. 

Thanks Blog.  I think I know what to do now.

The purpose of this blog was to recenter, refocus, re-align, recalibrate, whatever you wish to call it.  I feel like I know the people I want in my life and I know the relationships I want to cultivate.  I also know that I will have the chance to make a HUGE difference in the lives of 31 lucky students in the very near future.  I am getting a second chance at this, there's not a chance in H-E- Double Hockeysticks I'm going to lose this opportunity.  Point Break?  Condition Clear!!

Cheerio

Bye Bye iPOD Touch.....Buh Bye

After using this revolutionary device for the past three months in the classroom, I'm not convinced it will be the most efficient method of increasing technology awareness in the classroom.  My opinion was pushed towards this frame of mind when each student in my class received a Netbook (from a district grant) allowing them access to a personal computer throughout the day.  Immediately we started doing art, math, social studies, and even reading right there on the computers.  It seemed so easy to integrate school work onto a netbook as most kids were used to how the software worked.  It wasn't so easy getting kids used to the iTouch.  With that in mind I doubled my efforts over the last two weeks to see if I could find any other uses for this grand device.  Here's my list:

• Voice recorder to build a story.  Get a pupil to record the first line of a story, pass it to the next pupil to listen to and add to, continue with each pupil adding a part until the story is complete. 
• Collect Data With Google Forms
• Create a Google Form and email it to your iPod Touch. When you click the link, it will take you to the Form formatted for the Touch, with multiple choice scroll menus, text boxes, etc. Use the Touch as a handheld data collection device that automatically populates a spreadsheet with your data.
• Conduct Assessments with online Polls
• Using Poll Everywhere students can access polls online and vote for the correct answer. Poll everywhere is FREE for up to 30 users per poll. Additional users can be added at a fee.  Using Assessment Apps like qWhiz, ResponseWare, Teachers Pick, iResponse that work like traditional clickers.
• Probability and Percentages
• Install the free app "iChoose", which has coin toss, dice, cards and other options for random outcomes.  Students play for a fixed time and tally their results. They then calculate the percentage of each outcome using the iPod calculator and compare their results with the whole class data, to show after many trials experimental data approaches theoretical probability.

This was assembled from several online sources.  I was curious to try a couple of them with my class, starting with the online poll.  It seemed easy enough, but unless you had 30 iTouches, it was going to be cumbersome handing the device around so everyone could be polled.  One thing I was able to do is get a group of ten students together and have them use the voice recorder to build a story.  It started out slow but when we played the story back they all got excited to hear their voices.  Of course, they wanted to do it again, and again.  Some of the stories were quite creative, it reminded me of  Mad Libs when I was a little tike. 

In the end, if a classroom has a chance to get a device in the hands of each student then by all means make it happen.  ESPECIALLY if they come in conjunction with a netbook.  The possibilities of increasing a students organizational skills with a netbook and a portable device would be huge....assuming of course they have been given strict expectations about what they are for and how they are to use them.

I very much appreciate the chance to play around with the IPOD Touch, and I will certainly miss the little bugger!!

Cheerio