Slice of Life #23: Day 11/31: I Cannot Be the Only One

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 11/31: 

I Cannot Be the Only One

Among this community of writers I cannot be the only one who...

has a cup of coffee at home BEFORE going out for coffee,

is satisfied by the sound of ice cracking on a sidewalk,

eats the toppings off of pizza before eating the crust, 

tells the cats to have a good day before leaving the house,

reads more than one book at a time,

loves the smell of basil on her fingers, 

learned how to play some video games to connect better with her kids, 

has several UFOs (unfinished craft projects),

loves to thrift, 

plays a little ukulele, 

yearns for the smell of campfires,

and visits the library at least once a week.

Thank you to Amy, Lit Coach Learnings, and Elisabeth for this inspiration. 

 

Slice of Life #23: Day 10/31: Ten Observations

 For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 10/31: 

Ten Observations

Today is the tenth consecutive day of slicing and publishing. After my year long writing hiatus, it feels good to write daily.  

One of my favorite poets and authors is Georgia Heard.One of my favorite writing resources is Writing Toward Home. I adore how Heard reminds writers that powerful writing often begins with what you notice. In fact, Heard encourages writers to record ten observations a day without commentary. 

Since it is my tenth day of slicing, I decided to write ten things that I observed yesterday at school.

• As she stared at her phone, she slyly smiled. 
• Mr. __________ pronounced my last name incorrectly (despite that I have corrected him before).
• A discarded blue detention slip rested on the carpeted classroom form.
• As I watched two students work, their feet swished and rocked underneath the desk. Another student's knee bounced up and down.
• A student offered spearmint gum to another student. No conversation happened during this exchange - just eye contact.
• A group of girls recorded a Tik Tok dance video during lunch
• A student who picked up a wrapper on the floor (left from the class before him) and threw it away without asking 
• A teacher kneeling next to a student, helping him with his research paper
• A high school senior sipping water through a brightly colored dinosaur cup
• A stack of papers three inches high on my desk, begging to be sorted. 

What did you notice today? 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 9/31: Currently

 For the month of March, I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 9/31: 

Currently

Currently...

I'm watching The Last of Us, Slow Horses, and Shrinking. I only watch The Last of Us and Slow Horses when I am together with my boyfriend, Steve. 

I'm reading Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson, Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell, and Real Happiness at Work by Sharon Salzberg. I am ALWAYS reading more than one book at a time.

I'm thinking about next year's teaching assignment. Today I was notified by Human Resources that I was awarded the position that I applied for. Instead of a .6 in Alternative Education and a .4 in English, I will have a 1.0 in English. Instead of preparing for four separate classes and toggling between two different departments, I will only have seniors for English next year. While I will miss working with students in an alternative education setting, I am excited for this change. I need a better home/work balance.

I'm listening to an audio book on Hoopla - Pam Jenoff's Code Name Sapphire. I have also been listening to Kate Bowler's Everything Happens Podcast. I also listen to music often. Lately I have been listening to the Once soundtrack. 

I've been researching about crocheting and gardening. Lately I have been making amigurumi. Now that it's March, I am thinking about how I want to plan my vegetable and herb garden this year.

I'm grateful for my teenage children, a loving boyfriend, my clowder of cats, a stable job, health insurance, a house, and having enough.    

Thank you to Elisabeth for inspiring this post. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 8/31: Season of Change

 For the month of March, I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 8/31: 

Season of Change

As I sliced about yesterday, I proctored the ACT exam for a large chunk of the school day. Prior to testing our staff was provided with strict instructions while proctoring:

• Wear soft-soled shoes
• No drinks or food in the testing room
• No lesson planning
• No reading a book
• No correcting
• No cell phones

Of course students could not have their cell phones or any kind of a device that could transmit information. They could not read a book when they were finished testing. They could not even use their own scrap paper. All of the ACT was on their Chromebook.

I read the testing instructions verbatim. Students quietly followed directions. They took the test. Since the juniors were the only students in the building, school was eerily quiet. 

Aside from proctoring the test, there were few interruptions. Unlike a normal teaching session, I did not have to stop class multiple times to ask a student to put away their phone. No email notifications chimed. It was mostly silent. Most kids were on task taking the ACT. 

In the forced quiet time yesterday, I reflected back to my first year as a full-time teacher. I was a middle school Language Arts teacher. That was nearly twenty-three years ago. The more I thought about my first year, the more I couldn't believe how we did school back then. 

Back then, I didn't have a cell phone. There was not even a landline telephone in every classroom, including mine.  There was a telephone across the hall in the teacher lounge and in a few colleague's classrooms. We only had fire and tornado drills - intruder and ALICE drills were not a thing yet. 

Most information was communicated through announcements on the loud speakers. When you needed to get in contact with the office, you used the intercom system (and everyone in the class heard). My first year of teaching was the first year that staff email was required in my district, but many of my colleagues were hesitant to use it. Information for staff was often posted on a bulletin board, fastened with a tack in the teacher work room. We also frequently had handouts printed off and placed in our mailbox or taped on the table in the staff lounge. Short meetings after school were often scheduled to discuss upcoming important information - there were no email reminders so I had to take copious notes! 

There was no digital method to take attendance. We took attendance on paper/pencil. I also kept records in a hard cover red notebook. The daily first hour and eighth hour attendance was put on a clip outside of the doorway. Student helpers collected attendance slips from all of the classrooms and delivered them to the office. 

We did not have Smart boards or even dry erase boards. I mainly used my chalkboard and my overhead projector. Due to a slim building budget, we had to ask for a transparency sheet one at a time. 

Discipline was punitive. We had a school-wide points system (an honor level and reward system) that was unfair to many kids. They received infractions for forgetting a pencil or chewing gum. I am horrified to admit that I was proud of my quiet classes, even if my students weren't engaged. There was little emphasis on building positive connections and getting to know students.

School is so different now. Technology has played a huge role in this. 

What has changed since you first started teaching? 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 7/31: ACT Testing

 For the month of March, I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 7/31: 

ACT Testing

Today is ACT testing, a mandatory and standardized test for all juniors. It is officially one of my least favorite teaching days all year. 

Although I had ACT training about two weeks ago, yesterday I spent a significant amount of time prepping. I reviewed the expectations for proctoring the exam, reread the student expectations, and re-watched some of the training videos. I removed all the posters that may provide the student with an unfair advantage on the exam. 

New this year, any students who are not taking the ACT (freshman, sophomores, and seniors) have a virtual learning day. This means that teachers needed to create a virtual learning assignment for students not taking the ACT. After I finish proctoring the ACT today, I will need to assess virtual work, as the completion of this assignment is tied to attendance. I will likely not have any time to plan for Wednesday's classes. I know that I will be thoroughly exhausted by the end of the school day.

Of course, some students will arrive today with heightened anxiety. Other students will not care or try their best. This test won't phase some students. 

There is so much emphasis on this one test. Results from this test are a large factor of our school report card. It can be a determining factor for scholarships and acceptance into higher education institutions.

I wish that our education system wasn't set up this way. 

I will be so relieved at the end of the school day, when ACT testing is behind us. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 6/31: Word Games

For the month of March, I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 6/31: 

Word Games

Each morning I try to carve out a little time to solve the New York Times Wordle. While I don't post my statistics to social media, my boyfriend Steve (who lives in another city) and I share our daily progress. 

The premise of Wordle is that you get six tries to guess the five letter word. 

There is some strategy involved in Wordle, especially in the starting word selected. I do not always have the same starting word. However, I typically select my starting word based on a word that has many vowels. My favorite starting words include adieu, suave, teach, ideal, and raise. Steve approaches his starting word in a bit of a different manner. He selects the same starting word for the month and doesn't deviate from it. 

My daughter loves this game, too. At times we figure out the word together. 

If I am stuck, I will often use a word that I know is not the correct answer, just to figure out a letter placement. See my example below: 

Do you play Wordle? What's your favorite starting word? 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 5/31: Walking In Nature

For the month of March, I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 5/31: 

Walking In Nature

When I was an undergraduate, I often walked through Schmeeckle Reserve when I needed a break from studying or a slice of solitude. Schmeeckle was right on the edge of campus - a short walk from my dorm. Back then, I did not realize how fortunate I was to have such a beautiful, safe space to explore. I also did not fully understand how walking benefited mental and physical health. I just knew that I felt better when I returned from a walk. 

Over twenty years later, walking remains my go-to for relieving stress or anxiety. It is my preferred form of exercise, even through bitter cold Wisconsin temperatures. I am a better version of myself when I regularly walk outside. 

Yesterday morning I was fortunate to be able to walk through Schmeeckle.  

I am grateful for walking. I am grateful for city nature spaces, like Schmeeckle. I am grateful for the calm yesterday's walk gave me.