She let me know in advance. She was having her wisdom teeth removed. She was going to miss class. Did she return the next day? I think she did. She’s often the first one in the room, and we get to talk. “Welcome back!” I said when I saw her. “How’d it go?” She explained how […]
Category Archives: Default
Scratch Paper
Wed, 3 Feb 2021, 12:05 AM (-06:00)
The students have about 20 minutes at the end of the period. Most are working on homework. Henry gets up and walks to my desk. Then he walks around and reaches for a sheet of paper from the scratch paper pile. “Need more room, eh?” He laughs and points to the my notes still sitting […]
Multicolored Jumbo Paperclips
Mon, 1 Feb 2021, 10:48 PM (-06:00)
1. The Paperclips It was a door prize of sorts. Four years ago, during a alternative certification night class, I won a door prize. My name was drawn out of a basket, and (presto!) I was the proud possessor of a bin of multicolored jumbo paperclips. “How nice,” I remember thinking at the time. But […]
Bert’s Clock
Sat, 30 Jan 2021, 10:25 PM (-06:00)
“You know, I really like that…” she said to the boy sitting next to her. Her voice was muffled from her mask. I couldn’t tell what she was talking about, but she was pointing at the front of the room. I looked at the monitor on the wall to see what it was about the […]
Crumpled Evidence
Wed, 27 Jan 2021, 07:09 PM (-06:00)
She posted her homework in the early afternoon. I opened it late in the day. Since we are remote, everyone posts to Google Classroom. A few print out the assignment and write on it. Most write on separate sheets of paper. They all submit photos of their work. She writes on sheets of paper. Meticulously. […]
A Question
Tue, 26 Jan 2021, 08:05 PM (-06:00)
“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 […]
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)