“Do you know what a rotary dial phone is? Have you ever used one?” That was the attendance question for the day. Silly questions, these attendance questions. Just little nothings. All the kids need to do is respond. No right. No wrong. Just the equivalent of raising your hand and saying, “Here.” Yet what a […]
Yearly Archives: 2021
Taking A Quiz On Zoom
Tue, 26 Jan 2021, 09:50 AM (-06:00)
They sit at home in front of their computers in their rooms taking a quiz on Zoom.
Write It Down
Mon, 25 Jan 2021, 08:47 PM (-06:00)
She came into my room to ask a question. I forget what it was, but let’s say it was something about an incorrect grade — a not uncommon event but one that can easily be fixed. I told her I’d fix it. She smiled and said, “Thank you.” She always smiles. And she always says […]
Doing Things The Hard Way
Mon, 25 Jan 2021, 08:27 AM (-06:00)
Two students were working on an assignment. They hovered over the handout, holding yellow pencils and talking in hushed voices. “See, you divide by a fraction right here,” one said. “But that’s the hard way,” the other replied after a moment’s delay. You see, fractions are a mystery to most of them. Their understanding of […]
Amanda Gorman
Sat, 23 Jan 2021, 12:38 PM (-06:00)
yellow+redarms+hands voice+words How amazing was that? REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (via: Times of San Diego)
Remote Tech
Sat, 23 Jan 2021, 09:57 AM (-06:00)
1. So Many Steps “I did the assignment,” she said in an email. She’s pretty good at keeping up with her grades. And when she sees something that she thinks is wrong, she lets me know. I depend on that. “Thanks for letting me know,” I replied. I checked Google Classroom, suspecting that I might […]
The Bulletin Board
Fri, 22 Jan 2021, 08:52 PM (-06:00)
He stood gazing at the bulletin board outside our classroom. It’s covered in drawings and descriptions that some of the kids drew and wrote. Of Deep Space Network antennas and black holes. Of Chicxulub crater and pyroclastic flow and the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. Of kabuki and syncopation and the Royal Drums of Burundi. Of the […]
The Wrong Day?
Mon, 18 Jan 2021, 04:25 PM (-06:00)
Was that the wrong dream for this particular day? On a day of dreams of freedom and peace. Of casting aside manacles and chains. On this day of struggle. Of black and white. Of justice. Was this the wrong day for that dream? You might say so. That the day should not be stolen. Should not […]
I Dream a World
Mon, 18 Jan 2021, 06:47 AM (-06:00)
Oh, Rachel Martin and Kwame Alexander in the morning. I haven’t felt this way about words on the radio since John Ciardi’s. We woke up to Rachel and Kwame’s challenge this morning. How about this… I dream a world where allmy students walk into our room.I dream a world where we come together and no […]
Hoping For Contagion
Sun, 17 Jan 2021, 07:14 PM (-06:00)
“Mister,” said a disembodied voice from the monitor on the wall. This rarely happens. So few remote students speak up. Certainly none as loudly. “It’s Yolanda!” a student in the front row said. “Go ahead, Yolanda. What’s up?” “Mister, is that because…” She proceeded to ask a question related to simplifying square roots. It was a […]