Saturday, March 16, 2024

Nobody Wants to Look a Fool

I am a poor speller. 

There, I said it. 


There’s no hiding it now


I don’t know why, but I just do not have the knack for spelling. I know people who just seem to have an innate sense on how words are put together. I do not. I memorize words, look them up or get them wrong. 


Several years ago, I realized my poor penmanship is a result of my poor spelling. It came to me one day, that when I could not spell a word, I would smush the wrong letters together to hide my inability to spell. 


I still catch myself doing this sometimes. I think it’s such a deeply engrained habit, that I may never be able to stop. 


Yes, I know there are ways to learn how to spell. In high school I misspelled the word “necessary" on a paper and the teacher made me write it correctly 100 times. What a pain! But, I do know how to spell “necessary,” now.


A new pizza shop opened near me and for the life of me, I can not spell “Mediterranean” as in Mediterranean Pizza.


But, technology to the rescue! 


I’ve looked up the Mediterranean Pizza website or phone number so often (And that’s a whole different problem!), my phone and iPad just suggest it to me after typing the first three letters.

I now have so many ways of getting the spelling right, I don’t have to resort to hiding misspelled words - I just fix them!


“Hey Siri, spell Mediterranean.” I might say.


Or, I’ll google it. I often say “Half my google searches are for spelling” and it’s true.


If I’m typing, like now, the document will autocorrect my spelling or if I’m so far off that even the computer can’t figure out what I’m trying to write, it will at least give me a heads-up so I can google it.


Doing high quality work is important and spelling words correctly is part of that. Nobody wants to look a fool and spelling words correctly helps avoid that.

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Reaching Out

One of my favorite things about the internet and social media is the ability to reach out to people who once would have been unreachable. 

Here’s what I’m talking about: Over the past several years I have made it a point to reach out to the people who’s videos I use in the classroom. I tell them how I use them and thank them for creating such great content. I have thanked The Amoeba Sisters, Danica McKellar, and Mary Poffenroth (The Punnett Square lady). 


Here’s the cool thing - they all have acknowledged my tweets and emails and seem to appreciate the thanks.


The internet and social media have made this much easier than it ever was. I frequently interact with scientists, writers on twitter. I’m amazed at how many of them are really quite accessible. 


Next time you come into my room, take a look at the little posters on the window of the books I

am reading or have read. You will notice once called I. Asimov. I am reading his memoir right now. He is considered one of the most important science fiction writers of all time. But, he wrote over 500 books on hundreds of different topics - fiction, non-fiction - you name it. 


A long time ago, I was doing a lot of freelance writing and wrote a letter to him asking for his advice on how to make writing my full-time job. I was stunned, when his reply showed up in my mailbox (This was long before email, the internet or social media existed).


I guess my message is, don’t be afraid to reach out to people - even if they are “important” or “famous,” you might be surprised.



PS While researching my own twitter account for this post, I noticed that the lead singer for one of my all-time favorite bands follows me!  Go figure.


Saturday, November 18, 2023

Working with Music

If you have walked past my room while I am planning, you have probably noticed that I’m playing music. I have always loved music - a wide variety of genres and styles. 

When I was younger, I had an extensive collection of records. (Do you know what those are?) I had so many crates of 33rpm records that moving into and out of my dorm room at college was a chore - I had to make multiple trips up and down the stairs with the heavy crates. Records were very heavy.


Now, in the digital age, I have an extensive library of songs and albums. They are stored in the could and I can access them from all my devices. It helped that I worked at a radio station for a few years. Each night I would borrow a stack of CD’s. (Do you know what those are?) and rip them into my computer, then bring them back and borrow more.


I find listening to music helps me work - up to a point. When I really, really have to dig in and concentrate, I have to turn it off. For the most part, however, I’m happy to get my lessons planned, work copied, whiteboards updated, labs set-up and cleaned-up with music playing. 


In theory, I would love to allow you to listen to music while you work, but there are several things in the way.

First off, it’s against school rules. Just like wearing hats and hoodies in school, you are not allowed to listen to music while you work. Period.


Next, some of my students would spend more time looking for just the right song than they would spend actually doing their work. I have seen this happen with my own eyes. Clearly, this is not productive. 


Finally, some of your choices are, uhhhh, not appropriate for school. We can not condone you listing to profanity-laden, suggestive, or potentially violent songs in school. It’s just wrong. If the adults in your home let you listen to that, so be it. But, not in school on school devices. 


My suggestion, groove on your tunes while you’re doing homework…at home.


Sunday, September 3, 2023

Heee’s Baaaack!

Well, here I am again, back in room 23 - the Science Lab. 

This marks the 8th year I’ve taught at Bartlett Community Partnership School. I taught in this room for my first five years, then, for reasons I still fail to comprehend, the administration moved me to room 22, around the corner. After two years, I’m back.


This is my 11th year writing this blog. If you scroll down far enough, you will discover I was writing this at two other schools I taught at before coming to the Bartlett. 

I write this blog for and to you, my students. 

This is my forum to write about my life as a teacher, a student and a person. Sometimes, I write to amuse. Sometimes, I write to inform. And, sometimes, I write to help my students put things into perspective.


I usually post to this blog on Sunday mornings - and no, not at 3:15 a.m. (the posting time is listed as Pacific Standard Time). I will post a link on google classroom, so you’ll get an email notification when there’s something new to read.


I hope you will find them interesting but you’ll all be the judge of that. Please read, share, comment, and talk to me about what I write.  


Post script: I’ll give a prize to the first person who can name the movie that is referenced (but not quoted) in the title of this post.

Friday, August 18, 2023

What I Did For My Summer Vacation

 I had a very busy summer. 

The first week after school ended, I went to school. Yes, I was the student and was learning how our new science curriculum works. It was interesting. I learned a lot, but I really just wanted to be done. 


I went to Italy for ten days, then to Paris for four more days in July. I did a lot of things - saw Mount Vesuvius and the city it destroyed - Pompeii, sailed down the Grand Canal in Venice, took goofy pictures at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, had an authentic Tuscan dinner at a vineyard, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and roamed about Paris in the early morning hours as the city was waking up. 

In August, I went to a concert, saw a play, attended my nephew’s wedding and went to many dinners with many friends. 


It was a really good summer!!!!


What did you do? 


What were some of the highlights for you this past summer or another favorite time?


Talk to me, tell me about your summer vacation or a favorite time in your life!!!

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

The Positive Power of Habit

 I like doing things the same way each time I do them.

The experts say if you do something exactly the same way 21 times in a row it becomes a habit - something that you just do without thought. 


For example, when I go to the mall, I always park park outside JC Penney no matter what store I’m going to. I never have to think about “Oh, where did I leave my car?”  My mother would have benefitted from this strategy because she called the police to report her car stolen - twice. She had just forgotten where she parked it - twice. 


Over time, I have figured out what works for me and I just do things in that way all the time. 


You can put the power to habit to work for you too. Maybe you get in the habit of mentally checking to see if you have what you need for homework, before dashing out of school at the end of the day or maybe, plugging your computer in to charge at the same time each day. 


When I was a middle school student, some 1,000 years ago, I found I needed to do my homework either just before or just after dinner. Usually, I’d get home, have a snack, watch The Galloping Gourmet (Yeah, enjoy that bit of TV history), then play football with my friends and dive into homework just before or immediately after dinner. It was a habit that worked for me.


Figure out what works for you and do it exactly that way each time. Eventually, you’ll just automatically do it that way all the time. 


But, if you’re going to watch TV after school, choose a better show than I did…

Monday, May 29, 2023

This Didn't Go Well

 My plan going into the 2022-23 school year was to “fill my room with interesting objects, things that would ignite my student’s curiosity.” 

When the year started I had, what looked like a museum, in my room. 


I had scale models (Mercury & Gemini rockets, X-15 rocket plane, S’cool bus dragster), a newton’s cradle, magnetic field display tube, plasma light, samples of fossils, shells, rocks, a natural sponge, a giant conch shell (Thanks, Mom), and more. The whole set-up looked nice and I expected the 7th and 8th grade kids would be intrigued.


I was very clear that they should not touch the models - I even had little “Do not touch, please” signs in front of them. With the rest of the stuff, I encouraged you to touch, explore and ask questions.


Explore you did. 


The Newton’s cradle was destroyed - I mean they tend to tangle when used too aggressively, but there’s usually one kid with the patience and skill to untangle it - at least that was my experience last year. This year, the students tangled and broke many of the strings. 


The rockets were the next to fall, then the magnetic thing ended up being dropped so many times it ceased to be a magnet.


I don’t even know how anyone could punch a hole in the side of a plastic display case, but that’s what happened. 


It’s gone, all gone, destroyed. 


A classroom is a harsh environment - I know this. There are over 110 kids moving in and out of my room every day - they are large kids, prone to acting without thinking, not what you would call “careful.”  


But, this level of damage….seems extreme.


This doesn’t even take into account the two electric pencil sharpeners that were broken and the remote control device that was stolen off my table.


Will I do this again next year?  Will I try to make the science lab an interesting place?


Will I feel free to leave things on my table and expect to find them there when I need them?


I really do not know.