I stood at the front of the class and rolled my eyes. It was second period, and it was time to show the video announcements, but another teacher had occupied my room for testing the day before, and I was now unable to connect my laptop to the projector. So I announced that we’d be skipping […]
Yearly Archives: 2019
Draw Tell Keep Trip Confess Teach
Sun, 10 Mar 2019, 10:19 AM (-06:00)
Sometimes I draw cartoonish stick figures on the notes we write in class. Stick figures pointing up at a table and saying, “Hey, we did that last week.” Stick figures holding a figure in the air and saying, “Yes! That’s right.” Stick figures pointing at a logarithm and thinking “Yuck!” in a big red thought […]
Glimpses
Sat, 9 Mar 2019, 10:25 PM (-06:00)
Sometimes I catch glimpses from an alternate multiverse. I have a classroom of students, and I give them open ended assignments, assignments where they read a passage that their professor has strategically selected. They come back (the next day?) to the class and give a summary report and provide some answers to additional questions that […]
Rough Out There
Sun, 3 Mar 2019, 09:32 PM (-06:00)
I wonder what the birds do on nights like tonite. The front blew thru, and the temperatures are going to be below freezing for three nights in a row. There go the Apple blossoms, although as for that, the fruit might like those temperature for setting. And there go the Wild Onion blossoms, although as […]
She Took It To School
Wed, 20 Feb 2019, 08:49 PM (-06:00)
“Mister,” he said. The classroom was full of students milling around in the moments remaining before the bell. “Mister,” he said again. I looked over at him. “She took it to school!” He was talking about his sister. She is very sick and until recently had been getting chemo. The other day, he told me […]
Out In It
Sun, 10 Feb 2019, 02:40 PM (-06:00)
It was in the low 40s, which to be honest almost passes for a “hard freeze” in Central Texas. Break out the winter gear! It was drizzling, and my glasses were speckled with raindrops. I was coming back from a 4 mile run, heading downhill. In the distance, I saw a man walking the other […]
Uncertainty
Sat, 2 Feb 2019, 08:33 PM (-06:00)
It was Saturday just after lunch. Tony was on the floor of our kitchen. There were ice maker parts spread about. When he had arrived, Tony had pulled the ice maker out of our freezer and tested the water supply, which was fine. He mumbled something about how the valve must be ok, so he went to his truck for […]
Sore Throat
Thu, 31 Jan 2019, 10:46 PM (-06:00)
One of the students in class was holding her throat. She had a look on her face as if she hurt. I asked her if her throat was sore. She nodded, squinting her eyes to milk the moment as much as she could. “It’s the little round things,” she said. “Lymph nodes?” I asked. “That’s […]
K
Sun, 27 Jan 2019, 08:35 PM (-06:00)
Thursday Afternoon On Thursday afternoon after school, I was in my room winding down. A few students had been getting help, but they were gone. K came running around the corner. She was in shorts and a jersey and was covered in sweat. She had a smile on her face. “I was worried you might […]
R
Sun, 27 Jan 2019, 01:22 PM (-06:00)
At the end of the day on Friday, they called the faculty together. Afterwards, I walked slowly down the hall. Someone was walking next to me, but we were both silent. I was looking at the floor. I don’t know who it was. And when I got to my room, I wasn’t sure what to […]