Inspired to Teach: 3/29/09

Saturday, April 4, 2009

The perfectly timed holiday

Not that I think God had the future's stressed-out overworked and underpaid student teachers in mind when He did the whole Passover/Easter deal, but who knows? The week off sure comes at the perfect time, so I'm going to say my heartfelt thanks just in case...

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Free Stuff (?)

My wise father always said "There's no free lunch" but a teacher I met the other night told me he has received 2 free laptops, including a cool all-weather military style field experiment model, and other new tech devices for his science class in the past 2 months from this website ...yes, Free!

I have not looked into any details myself yet, but if I had my own classroom I would jump on this quick before it goes the way of our 401(K)s and classroom supply budgets...

I also saw a brief article about entire districts doing away with grade levels -- what you learn and what you know is where you are? Anybody worked with anything like this?

“Pursue the things you love doing, and do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you. All other tangible rewards will come as a result.”

Maya Angelou

Praise Song for the Day

Elizabeth Alexander

Inauguration Poem 2009

Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other,
catching each other’s eyes or not,
about to speak or speaking.

All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din,
each one of our ancestors
on our tongues.

Someone is stitching up a hem,
darning a hole in a uniform,
patching a tire, repairing
the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music
somewhere, with a pair of
wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son
wait for the bus.
A farmer considers
the changing sky.
A teacher says,
Take out your pencils. Begin.

We encounter each other in words,
words spiny or smooth,
whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads
and highways that mark the will
of some one and then others,
who said I need to see
what’s on the other side.

I know there’s something better down the road.
We need to find a place
where we are safe.
We walk into that
which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks,
raised the bridges,

picked the cotton and the lettuce,
built brick by brick
the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean
and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle,
praise song for the day.
Praise song for every
hand-lettered sign,
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.

Some live by love thy neighbor
as thyself, others by
irst do no harm or take no more
than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love?

Love beyond marital,
filial, national,
love that casts a widening
pool of light,
love with no need
to pre-empt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle,
this winter air,
any thing can be made,
any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim,
on the cusp,

praise song for walking forward
in that light.

I know it's probably copyright infringement, and I promise I'll teach my students to never, ever plagiarize, but these are awesome words-- probably just the weight and emotions of the day, but didn't you feel she was speaking directly to you?

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The (multiple, related, connected) purpose(s) is to learn, share, discuss, collect, reflect, whine, practice, read, watch, organize, test, adapt, refine, laugh, listen, and yes, show off sometimes, anything and everything about my career and life as an Educator.