Embassy Visit (travel)

I spent several hours in the Indian Embassy by Central Park. It was typical in some ways (bureaucratic with long waits for itsy-bitsy interaction) and atypical in others (no one complained, people were calm). It made me excicted for my trip again.

In the morning a Tibetan woman told me to visit Mysore's temples, zoos, and gardens. She said it was beautiful and right around the corner from where I will be. I exchanged my PS cred with a brother and sister from Queens. When I asked them for their advice about India, they told me that their are cats and dogs that run wild and that it will be hard for me because I don't speak Hindi. Their mother told me I will have a wonderful time and dispelled some of my fears about the monsoons.

Everyone was so friendly, so willing to interact. It was a morning filled with those shared moments that make me believe in humanity.

Prepare for India (travel)

It's been a long time since I've had (travel) in my subject line. But, it's that time of year. I am leaving the comfort of home for all my backpack can bring. This time, it's not camping in a national park or visiting friends in the NE. I'm on my way to India. I cannot believe it.

I have been so busy over the past few weeks (months), I have not really given myself time to think about the fact that I am going to be in India for a month. I have read some books, attempted to figure out where monsoons will be doing the most damage, and am now a carrier of a live typhoid oral vaccine. But, really I should be doing more.

One of the difficulties is that I'm just not sure what I am getting myself into. Listening to Beatles, when they were into Ravi Shankar, is just not doing the trick.

On the last day of school, one of my students wrote, "It [is] the last day of June. Two more days [and] then everybody is going to a different country." He wrote it in his first grade invented spelling method; but, it was amazingly insightful. It is possible I might see one of my students in India (she leaves Tuesday and I leave Thursday). I told her to look for me.


It's moments like that when I think I should not allow myself to be nervous about my trip. I could see my 6 year old student there.

So many people talk about India in hyperbole. They say they are not ready for India. I really did not think much about being ready or not ready for India. I am excited to see the place my students are from. I am excited to learn about 1000 year old temples. I'm happy I might be able to take an elephant ride through a National Park (if the rains are not too bad). I'm excited for a place that will force me to stop thinking about teaching on a never-ending loop. I'm happy to spend time with my friends. But, really, I have no idea about my next month. I will try to blog; share what I am seeing and experiencing. I will try....

summer (life)

I spent the morning laughing with my sisters over dreams they had when
they were little, their lack of abilities to write in script, and
their astute reflections on the world. What a good way to start the
day.

The Last Day of Collaborative Team Teaching (teaching)

For the first twelve years of my life, I did not have sisters. It was just me and my brother. Then, baby girl 1 came into my life. Two years and a little bit later, baby girl 2 was here. The past sixteen years have made it impossible for me to remember what it is like not to have sisters. They are a part of my fabric.

They finished school earlier than I did and have been excited to come to my classroom since we made the plans sometime around Christmas. For the past two days, they have been witnessing my world, helping in spectacularly amazing ways, talking with my students, making it impossible for me to hide my real age, and acting as my external reaction indicators.

Not surprisingly, my sisters and I have many similar reactions to things; we all think the same things are funny, we like similar hobbies, and we have similar moral compasses. Unfortunately, it was the moral compass part that was highlighted.

My coteacher made two children call themselves "terrible people" because of something they did to another student. Both my sisters' faces held the look of horror my face worked to suppress. When we talked about it, my oldest little sister said she wanted to talk with the principal about what happened. I told her I would take care of it. Other than telling both boys that I know they are wonderful people, my plan for taking care of it has about as much of a chance of impacting change than almost anything I have done in the classroom this year.

Normally, I would not be so explicit about something that happened in my class. I try to keep things vague so my students' privacy is protected. But, I think it might be important for me to have a record of this situation. I think coteaching has been an overwhelming struggle. I do not think I want to experience this type of struggle again. Being able to remember what happened yesterday will keep me from forgetting why I never want to be in this situation again.

I have so much to learn as a teacher.

End of Year 2 + Beginning of Summer (teaching + life)

My blog has recently been neglected. Beside the obvious sleeping copious amounts issue, I have not had the need to avoid graduate school work through slightly productive methods (i.e. blogging) for a few months and I have been caught up in all of the end of year things that go into being a teacher. My blog has suffered.

Now that the curriculums have been completed, I have had the chance to do some things I love with my students. In the past few days, we have written free verse about why something is important and then painted big murals. This was so easy for my class; it was probably the easiest writing project of the year. They produced amazing work about scissors, whales, ice, milk, and apples. It was all creative and unique. They were inspired by the writing and the painting. They were excited to see one another's' work. The children who are typically developing and the children who have some delays were all motivated and engaged. It was a true literacy moment.

Another highlight of the past few weeks has been (finally) recording some reading into Garage Band. [I also got to do my very first Bluetooth file exchange and am completely smitten]. I had wanted to use voice recording as a method for increasing reading fluency and addressing speech goals with my students all year. But, this year was not the year. It has been so disappointing to me that my coteacher and I could never quite work our a larger list of shared priorities to do some of the exciting things I had planned for my second year of teaching.

Finally, having the children listen to themselves read was as exciting as I thought it would be (for all of us). Big smiles came across their faces when we listened to the playback. They were so excited and they loved the idea of using a computer. Most of their families do not have computers and our computer teacher has taught them to use the mouse after two years of instruction. It was amazing how quickly they caught on to the finer points of Garage Band. Students noticed when I had not hit record. They understood talking loudly so they could make the lines move up and down.

Next year, I can't wait to do this right. My class will read their own writing, read their just right books. We will use the SmartBoards to edit work together. We will figure out a way to write email rather then friendly letters. They will be in charge of running the programs (and doing the Bluetooth file exchanges) rather than me. I dream about the day my class will be able to have a blog with all the bells and whistles (podcasting, posting their photos of their work, linking to interesting research they have done and primary source documents they have seen, reflections about the video conferencing they took part in, etc. etc. etc). My technological dreams will probably will have to wait for me to gain a little know-how and administrative support. But, a girl can dream.

Now, it's time for me to get ready for a trip to India. I will be leaving in 12 days. I have to go get monsoon shoes, antifungal lotion, and my prescription for typhoid pills today. I'm glad I can bring a little more peace about teaching with me to India--not feel the horrid feelings of wanting to do more. Right now, I just have excitement for the future.

turn of events (life)

I had big plans to write an angry blog about the NYC Department of
Education after an amazingly frustrating phone call with a woman who
repeated lines rather than engaging in conversations. Normally,
complete lack of conversational skills is one of the little things
that makes life entertaining. However, when it is with a person who is
in charge of telling me what salary I am entitled to, the humor factor
goes out the window.

That was my plan until I fell asleep at 4:30...at my kitchen table. I
was sitting up. Last year, I spent most of my time pretty exhausted.
This year, I've been a little bit better about all of that sleeping
stuff. Well, just a little. But, today is an all time low. It was a
time that is considered afternoon rather than evening. And, I was
sitting up. In a hard chair. At a table. It's a litlle bizzar to wake
up and find yourself positioned for a meal. The end of the year is
coming just in time.

Waking up to read my friend's blog about crazy men who play kitchen
things as instruments (combined with the creepy track suits and 80s
hit) ended up making everything a little more surreal than it already
had been.

Backpacker's Expo (life/teaching)

Today, there was a Backpacker's Expo in Central Park. It was wonderful. With my fellow fan of the great outdoors, we tried power-bar-like-things, thought about fly fishing, tried to win all sorts of booty, and got specific advice on the best sport sandal that is monsoon proof. The cute man at the Merrell tent suggested: closed cell foam to keep water out of the sole, an arch shank, some mesh and durable outsole that is like vulcanized rubber. I'm guessing vulcanized rubber is not a SciFi reference. I had no idea what he was talking about and plan on taking the list to another outdoor store. Maybe another cute man will help me find my perfect monsoon shoe.

One of the side effects of being a teacher is that I walk around looking for stuff for my class. I am now the proud owner of 15 kits for creating kaleidoscopes with my class next year. I also have the name of a man who runs outdoor trips for kids in Central Park. Now, if I can find $350 on the street, I can pay for my urban-bound class of 12 to have outdoor adventure. I'm going to have to try to figure this one out.

This kind of stuff is what makes NYC so much fun in the summer.

two things (life)

Just two things to share:
My littlest sisters away message today: "I googled google and there is
4,110,000,000 (four billion one hundred ten million) matches." I love
that kid.

My last comment to my roommate before heading to bed: "Last night I
fell asleep on the couch and was woken up by some crazy man shouting
something in Greek over a PA outside of our window...that could only
happen in our neighborhood."

Night.

They really are different (teaching)

I spend a lot of time with small children. For 35 hours a week, I am surrounded, concerned, and confused by many people who are comfortably residing in the 3 foot height group. I sometimes think they are different than I am...today, I have the proof. Some tech-savvy kids have found that my aging ear will not hear sounds, or ringtones, that they can hear. Now, they can download the "Mosquito" ring tone and my 29 year old ears will never even know their phones are ringing.

Gypsy Punk (life)

Irving Plaza was taken over last night. A collective danced, gypsy style, to the music of Gogol Bordello. They are complete performers. They are the kind of group that makes you fall in love a little bit during a show. I now know that my dream job is bass drum player (which can double as a mini-stage when I hurl myself above the crowd). I love the gypsy punk.

It's not the same as live...but it is good:

Tonight is a school night...(life)

But tomorrow is a half-of-day (with the students). I used this little treat of teaching to go out and about on a school night. My roommate serendipitously found her way to free tickets for a screening of The Heart of the Game, an amazing documentary about a HS girls basketball team. It was really spectacular; it should be given many prizes and I think everyone should see it.

After leaving the theater in mid-town to find the weather acting perfect, my roommate and I decide to take a walk up town. We walked through some type of filming, into Time Square (by accident, of course), then past a drive in movie theater that has been set up in Rockefeller Center. Somewhere along the way, I realized that the new Apple Store on 5th Ave. was open...because it is open all of the time! When we arrived at the cube, I knew we had to go in to see. We descended the on the floating stairs, I played with a MacBook, and then a nice man named Rusty answered all of my slightly panic stricken questions about my iBook. Although it was clear to me that I am now using a completely obsolete 4 month old computer, the trip to the Apple Store rekindled my love of the Mac.

What a day.

Happy Birthday

Today is a friend's birthday. He is now the official 3.0 version of himself. Here is a little birthday gift:

A crazy man in the park:


PacMan chases Inky:


Maybe next year they will have finished the Super Mario Brothers live obstacle course and we cancelebrate 31 by jumping 12 feet into the air.

lightening

Last night, after a overly intense conversation about yoga, I made my
way home from the city. After a little subway ride (with a transfer),
I was ready to go on foot. My area is currently experiencing monsoon
like rain, complete with thunder and lightening up the wazoo. I am
afraid of lightening. This weekend, I made my dear friend unplug
everything in my house when a few bolts struck down somewhere on my
front sidewalk (I'm exaggerating a little bit here--not about the
unplugging part, though).

So, I stood on a corner, about a half-mile from home, and saw a big
flash. I jumped, as I am wont to do in a surprising situation. There
was a man who saw me. He was wearing a white tank top and
something I can only describe as white jams. The following is as close
to an actual recounting of our conversation as I can get:
Him: You saw that, huh.
Me: Yeah. It's a little terrifying.
Him: Nah, it's energy.
Me: It can kill you.
Him: I'm Pauly. What's your name?
Me: I'm [insert name here].
Pauly: Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: Uh-huh.
Pauly: Of course you do, your beautiful.
Me: Thanks. [I'm basically walking at a trot by this point.]
Pauly: You don't have anything to be afraid of, I'm here.
Me: It's lightening. It can hit us.
Pauly: Your safe...if lightening comes, I'll jump in front of you. I
can take it.
Me: Then we will both be dead.
Pauly: Then you would have to go out with me to dinner...I would have
just saved your life.
Me: If that happens, then I will go out with you.
Pauly: Ok. This is my block. Enjoy the night. It's beautiful!

I love my neighborhood.

The Euro Shoe (life)

I've been a little preoccupied by shoes lately. Today, on the train home, I alternated my time between pretending to be the worlds best drummer (but only with my feet) and noticing the shoes of others around me.

I am not so good at keeping a steady rock beat, by the way. Maybe I was distracted by what I saw around me.

One woman had some crazy white outfit on, complete with a big cord-like headband and white shoes. She was like some 80s style Amazon woman...with white shoes.

The highlight of my unusually long train ride was the Euro man. His shoes are what would happen if a court jester bootie had a baby with a cowboy boot. They were leather and had a curly front. They probably got about an inch of air at their tips. Those tips, by the way, were unexpectedly square.

I love the style of my outer borough.

Go Finland (life)

Somehow I knew about Lordi. I'm a little confused how Lordi came into my world. But, I feel like it's better because they are here.

My fear of open toe shoes (teaching)

I spend most of each school day moving. I stand at my dry erase board,
I use my talking hands to explain mathematical concepts, I crouch down
to conference with good readers and writers, I get down to eye level
to explain why it's not okay to punch a friend in the back when he in
in your way, and I gently step around children and their appendages to
make my way to a phone that always seems to be ringing when I am as
far away from it as I possibly could be. I also spend time trying not
to get my foot stepped on or be on the bottom of some falling chair
scenario which happens a little more often than one might expect.

Due to all of this, my shoes must have comfort and a protective
quality. In fact, I see the comfortable shoe is a critical aspect of
teaching. I favor Converse and Puma. Last year, I would mix it up with
dress shoes. But, this year, I see that as an unnecessary action of a
first year teacher. My teaching shoe self is now so ingrained in my
being that I am having a difficult time getting over my fear of the
open toe. I need to get a pair of Tevas for India. Each time I look at
the shoes, a variety of painful possibilities flash past my eyes.
Teaching can change a person.

Subway Samurai (life)

Yesterday, a friend and I had a little city adventure. We began by going to the Guggenheim, which is without a major exhibit at the moment. We wandered around the Kandinsky Gallery and then through a personal collection. Showing me just how much I've become fascinated by design, I was much more drawn by the sight of a completely uniform Guggenheim spiral, created by it's lack of an exhibit, than the art in the annexes.

After a little bit of time there, we made our way down Central Park and ended up at the Met. The Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit was closed which made me sad. But, we got some good time with the artifacts of Ancient Egypt and compelling paintings. We went to the Anglo Mania exhibit; where punk was juxtaposed with the furniture of Jane Austin. A crazy bird lady will most likely be a featured player in my next nightmare.

When we realized we were starving, we took to the subway in search of Mexican food. On the platform, waiting for a train, was a man in some type of samurai outfit. He looked like he had just taken part in some ancient stick fighting and had wooden version of the armor we had just seen in the museum. Because I was in a lack-of-food-induced haze, I couldn't focus on the conversation my friend and I were having. In stead, I sat there wondering if he would let me knock on his chest, just to see what it was like.

Net Neutrality

Thank to the ever political VTGirl for telling me what I need to know. It seems that the most amazing part of the internet is under attack. In a world of highly controlled media, the internet is an amazing forum of freedom. It seems that business is attacking that freedom. In an effort to create more revenue, ISP have the ability to block access to sites in an effort to push users to whom ever is paying them the most money. The whole world got mad at Google for doing something very similar to this with google.cn. I guess I should not be surprised that my country is creating a very similar scenario motivated by dollars rather than historical revision. This YouTube outlines it well:


I think it is time for me to contact some senators and representatives to tell them to support Net Neutrality.

never mind (life)

My mother said that I always wonder if I am learning anything after I
finish a semester. I'm much too old for my mother to have to be
pointing out basic patterns like this one.

six-eighths of the way done (teaching)

I finished the last class of my semester at nine o'clock tonight. I am 6/8 of the way done. I sat through a class where the teacher wrote notes on the board and then made us watch a documentary on the changing face of education. Then, I moved to another class where I realized my whole thought process is lacking when it comes to students with severe disabilities. I discussed my upcoming thesis with my fellow students (all of whom felt that it was nothing that will be academically rigorous) and made my way off campus.

The whole way home, I wondered if I have been taking the easy way out. I complain about school. But, that's more due to the physical pain rather than the intellectual challenges. I learn about a lot of things I know already. And, I hardly ever do my reading. What if I am denying myself an education?

I know that I sometimes devalue my own intellectual capacity. Because something comes easy to me, I say it was easy rather than the ease being due to my ability. I underestimate the amount of time I put into things. Even as I say this, I am nagged by the feeling that I could do more. I don't know if I have ever had to truly support an argument. I don't even feel as if I have had to form an argument. I can just spout stuff and I get a degree.

The idea of placing myself in a situation where the pursuit was intellectual, where I was forced to create and defend opinions, where I had to further thinking is so attractive to me. I wonder if I will be able to create this for myself.