Here’s the thirty-second installment of the Boil Your Day Down into One Sentence fun-tacular! Each week I’ll ask for these sentences and each week I’ll post them along with links to the authors’ blogs.
Day in a Sentence can’t exist without you and your reflection on teaching. Please consider submitting your day in one sentence, and see what others have to say. Here’s what this week’s teachers said:
First up is the TeachingSagittarian, who writes:
Sitting here, as I type, basking in the inspiration of Ewan McIntosh keynote speaker at ULearn07, Auckland, New Zealand being challenged to explore emerging practice that matches the potential of emerging technologies – leading edge thinking, teaching and learning.
Tying new education practice to new technologies – Definitely leading edge. Read more about TeachingSagittarian’s experiences at the ULearn conference. Also, find out what the hell a VoxPop is. Another Pop I found on her website is the LetterPop, create your own newsletter link.
You’ll see that TeachingSagittarian’s blog is chocked full of ways to integrate technology into the classroom; I’m sure you’ll find something there which interests you.
Batting second is TwiLightLi, who peeks out to ask:
Is the hardest part really over?
It’s too bad I can’t link to TwiLight’s website, because I’d like to know if this sentence is about student teaching, or if it’s about testing, or if it’s about making that drive to school every morning.
tamasha dedicates this message to her first year class:
When you greet me with exuberant waves and hellos, my heart leaps more than it has in ages.
Oh man, do I know this feeling. Every day I have the opportunity to pass up a group of last year’s kids (and kids from the year before that) on my way home. Every day we stop and chat. It’s a good feeling.
Tamasha’s blog is a mismashery of anecdotes about teaching, life, books, and so on. The link above is to the teaching-related posts. The link here is to the whole shebang.
If you’d like to get yourself involved in a book meme, tamasha hasn’t tagged anyone. :)
Making her way back home from Israel is Bonnie, who writes:
Ben Gurion Airport at 9AM and it’s time to return to the US and evertyhing tech, preparing for workshops and conferences with teachers from our writing project and points beyond and I’m ready to rejoin my life and sad to leave Israel and the beach and that’s as it should be, the tug that keeps you moving back and forth.
Read more of this rumination on leaving.
Bonnie’s constant collaborator, Kevin, writes:
I’m thinking this is going to be a good year when — due to illnesses with my children and sick leaves to help other family members — I am out five days in two weeks time, and I am truly, truly missing my students and, judging from their reaction when I am finally am back in the classroom, they have missed me, too.
And here’s the podcast version:
Leaving the classroom feels, in a way, to me much like Bonnie feels above about visiting an old home. It’s so comfortable and understood; so inviting, and yet, you know there are times you need to step away.
Anyway, if you’ve been following kevin and Bonnie, you know they have been working together for a while in creating a video about letters of the alphabet. Recently, Kevin had the chance to show off how he’s been putting these things together.
While Bonnie’s been missing home, and Kevin’s been missing the classroom, Jeff Wasserman hasn’t been missing a specific thing.
Continuing my record of four school years, I did not eat the meatloaf that was served today.
There are times I’m glad the lunchladies at my school won’t let me sneak a meal without paying — last Wednesday three teachers came into the lounge with piles of brown and orange glop on their trays. They were told it was an enchilada. They said it was Alpo™.
But that’s not the only reason Jeff’s been feeling uneasy lately. He’s finding trouble with progress, grades, technology in the school, and radiohead.
Nancy seems to be thinking the same things I am this week:
We have a lot of fun, my kids and I, but I sure hope they are learning a thing or two in the process.
At the same time, She’s feeling quite a bit like Jeff does. In her latest entry, Nancy talks about how much is on her plate. You might also notice that Nancy has moved to a new address: http://sehacecamino.com. Make sure you update your bookmarks!
With a little too much on her plate, graycie notices that there’s little time to learn anything these days:
Anticipatory Fear of Next Week: Spirit Week (Tacky Day, Hippy Day, gender Switch Day, Toga day, School Spirit Day), underclass photos on Tacky and Hippy Days (moms will love this); Monday & Tuesday = Homecoming tickets on sale; Senior Assembly re: marketing doodads and hoop-de-do trinkets Wednesday; English Department meeting Wednesday; Powder Puff football game on Wednesday; Freshman assembly re: something I don’t know anything about and which I am supposed to prep the kids for but there are no materials on Thursday; Pep Assembly on Friday; underclassmen take scavenger hunt-style quiz to learn what’s in the Conduct Handbook whenever we can fit it in.
Academics: zero.
In her most recent blog entry, graycie talks about “stalker moms” and how you can get one. :)
musicwork returns again to say:
I think I am buggered – when is a school holiday not a school holiday?
And I think we’ve all felt that one before. Like many of the authors above, musicwork realized she’d overcommitted, and possibly at the worst time: her vacation took place after tons of work, during more work, and just before a weeklong project.
Read about the weeklong puppetry project here:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
And coming in at the last second is Jenny, who says:
There’s something about reading student writing that is good for a teacher’s soul; whether it’s that one sentence that shows they (finally) understand how to use transitions, or the letter to an imaginary friend that is a window into the heart; there’s always something wonderful in writing–even if there are sixty student’s writing journals left to go; I’ve spent today (and will spend tomorrow) with their papers, and it’s been a pleasure.
Soooo, I’m guessing Jenny is experiencing a bit of that total exhaustion several of us have mentioned here. And the fact that she’s grading student journals reminds me I’ve got a stack of papers in my car. Dammit.
So there we go! Another Your Day in a Sentence down and yet another week coming up. Expect another call for entries in a few days.
Thanks again to everyone who participated — you get me out reading your blogs when I otherwise don’t have the time, or when I forget.
Filed under: Education Blogs, Teaching, day in a sentence, links
