I Love This Roll of Silver

Monday, I taught high school English. Using good imagery (and every class had two or three students who could recite a good definition of imagery) techniques, the students wrote ten-line poems describing an object, without naming it. Tyler did a nice one on duct tape: “I love this roll of silver.” Kelmern wrote about his broken iBook, rhyming “charger vanished” and “mouse pad banished.” They impressed me.

Wednesday, I took on high school social studies. One block of study hall, two of Virginia and U.S. government, and a huge class of ninth graders preparing for a test on the Civil War. The most interesting bit was the young woman in study hall who muttered to her friends, “It seem like time has stopped.”

In each classroom, I noted the failure a standard bit of advice. When I stood and walked around the room, I tended to excite more noise than if I “hid” at the desk. Much of the social studies work was to be done with “no talking, laughing, giggling, or throwing harpoons.” If I walked around to be sure their iBooks were open to Mr. H.’s history presentation and not random websites, the kids started chatting – asking me random questions, or gossiping with each other. If I sat at Mr. H’s desk and picked at the Sunday crossword I brought with me, the students did their work, or at least stared into space. I’m thinking mingling is the tactic for when I am teaching, speaking, leading; and sitting at the desk acting like I am writing their names down is the strategy for quiet work time.

Today: cookies to bake, miles to clean before I sleep.

Counting
2 trees out of 2
1 Xmas special on TV
1 house cat getting coal in her stocking
0 clean houses
1 train station reopened!