The Bluebonnets have come and gone. Their seed pods are beginning to dry, preparing to spew seeds for another generation down the line. And the Indian Paintbrush have come and gone, too. At their peak, a dusty orange-pink lined my 30 mile drive to school, taking my breath away at the beginning of every day. […]
Yearly Archives: 2019
Working on an Exit Ticket
Wed, 24 Apr 2019, 06:52 PM (-06:00)
Keeping kids engaged in learning is hard, harder when the subject is math, and worse when so many of them lack fundamental skills. So you do what you can, and you smile when you stumble on something that works. On this day, we had a block of time at the end of class for the […]
Seeing It
Tue, 23 Apr 2019, 07:36 PM (-06:00)
He stood at the whiteboard staring at the solutions I had taped there for all of them to consult as they wrestled with adding and subtracting rational expressions. He was leaning in a bit, focusing intently. Then he pulled up his head and turned. “Ohhhh,” he said. “That’s how it works!” He headed back to […]
Yellow Composites
Tue, 23 Apr 2019, 07:25 PM (-06:00)
First there are the Bluebonnets. Then come the Indian Paintbrush. Then, if it’s a good year, the Winecups start rising out of the greenery as yellow begins to spread across Central Texas. Yellow. It starts with Texas Star. And then comes Indian Blanket. And then quickly in a cascading profusion of shapes and sizes, come […]
They Outed Me
Sun, 7 Apr 2019, 07:30 PM (-06:00)
1. They Figured It Out “Mister,” she said from the back of the room, trying to get my attention above the hubbub of the five minutes between periods. “Mister!” “Yes?” I said from where I was standing with my seating roster. “I know how old you are, Mister.” I stopped taking attendance. “How old am […]
Birthday Report #2
Sun, 31 Mar 2019, 06:11 PM (-06:00)
“Wear your black jeans, baby,” Trudy said from across the house, gently reminding me that we had to leave soon. I clicked SEND to submit the final assignment of my alternative certification class and got up to change, uncharacteristically making no fuss about the fact that Trudy was wearing blue jeans yet had instructed me […]
Birthday Report #1
Sun, 31 Mar 2019, 05:38 PM (-06:00)
Friday was a good day at school. How could it not be? It was my birthday, and although I’ve been coy with my students about my age, I let every period know that it was my birthday. And of course, because the teacher was in a good mood, the students were, too. In fourth period, […]
The Old Sailor
Sat, 30 Mar 2019, 12:04 PM (-06:00)
There once was an old sailor my grandfather knewWho had so many things which he wanted to doThat, whenever he thought it was time to begin,He couldn’t because of the state he was in. — A.A. Milne, The Old Sailor Time to finish that final assignment on the day after an auspicious birthday, which was […]
Musing in the Sun
Mon, 18 Mar 2019, 07:26 PM (-06:00)
Sitting in the sun on a bench with Mockingbirds singing up and down the street and all around the neighborhood and Izzy semi-slumbering in the dappled shade, her eyes contagiously sleepy, I keep turning around. I turn to look down the street at the Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii) that I planted in Mary’s yard last […]
Who Knows
Sat, 16 Mar 2019, 11:30 AM (-06:00)
Could it be?Yes it could! Something’s comin’ — something good.Oh I can’t wait. And it just so happens that I don’t have to wait, because Spring Break is here!