I’ve Seen This Place Before...

When I was offered a position at McAuliffe Charter School, it was a little ironic. It was an interesting coincidence that, of all the 351 towns and cities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, my new school was going to be in Framingham.

You see, this is not the first time I’ve worked in Framingham.

I see the town of Framingham today through the eyes of a middle aged man with a wealth of experience in the world around him. When I first viewed Framingham, it was through the eyes of a 22-year-old college graduate who was starting his first job. I had zero world experience. I knew nothing about the “real world.”

I worked at a financial services outfit on Concord Street. Framingham was a different town then. They built cars in Framingham in those days and a train full of new cars rolling out of town was a common sight.

I remember there was a drug store down the block, where I would buy a bag of Fritos and a Tab for lunch some days. 

Across the street on the second floor was a tailor. I had him do some alterations for me and I had one of those, literally, unforgettable moments, when I looked down at his forearm and saw, just below his rolled up sleeve, a number tattooed into his skin. He’d been in a Nazi concentration camp and survived. It was an epiphanal moment for me, one where time stopped as I realized the significance of what I was seeing.

Last week, as we walked to Market Basket to do our expedition field work, we passed my old place of business. It was not lost on me how wildly unpredictable life can be. No one could have predicted all the twists and turns my life had to take to bring me back to the streets of Framingham.

The wide-eyed, ambitious young man who once worked here has been replaced by an older, wiser man intent on sharing his knowledge and experience with a new generation. 

As we all trooped past my old store front, I thought, “I’ve seen this place before, but through very different eyes.”

My Dilemma

I finished reading, or I should say listening to, The Omnivore's Dilemma last week. Just as the author suggested in the opening pages, I feel torn over what to eat. 

It sounds so simple: “What’s for dinner?” But, as I learned, it’s kind of a loaded question. It’s hard to make an informed decision when you don’t really have an understanding of what we’re eating, where it comes from and what other options might exist.

A lot of the book is about corn; how it’s grown, sold, processed, subsidized and eaten. And, just as importantly, who and/or what is eating all this corn and why.

So...much...corn. 

I had no idea.

So, after reading the book I now have a strong desire to make more healthy choices. To eat cleaner foods that are less processed and more natural and avoid high-fructose corn syrup and a host of other food additives. 

Theoretically, I’d like to eat grass-fed beef. I say theoretically because I suspect grass-fed beef is going to be a lot harder to find and much more expensive to eat on a regular basis than corn-fed beef.  I wonder if I could taste the difference. I might have to do a comparison. 

This all sounds good so far but here’s the problem: I don’t want to give up my unhealthy choices.

I don’t want to live in a world without sweet and sour pork, Reese’s Pieces, Big Macs, and Cap’n Crunch. 

The author was right - it is a dilemma. 

I’m going to need some time to think about this problem. To consider all my choices and the trade-offs inherent in choosing this or that to eat. To think about what I want and need. To think about my role in the vast industrial food complex. Do I want to support an industry that treats animals so inhumanly? Do I really want to eat food that’s been processed to within an inch of its life? Can I find better food to eat? And if I can find it, can I afford to buy it?

It’s a lot to think about. In the meantime, please pass the Fritos.

Mixed Emotions

As many people know, I left the Hellenic American Academy and accepted a position at the McAuliffe Charter School.

I loved teaching at the Hellenic. I felt welcomed and embraced by the students, staff and parents. Tuesday was the first day of school for the Hellenic and supply drop-off day at McAuliffe. 

The pictures from the first day made me feel homesick. I could imagine myself right there with them, starting a new year and I was sad not to be there with them.

At the same time, I was meeting some of my new students and it was really exciting. I’ve spent two weeks getting ready, doing professional development and becoming part of an amazing community of students, teachers and staff at McAuliffe. 

I was sad and excited at the same time.  

And you know what? 

It’s okay. 

There’s nothing wrong with feeling sad to leave such a wonderful group of people at my old school and there’s nothing wrong being excited to get started at my new school.  

Being excited about joining McAuliffe does not diminish my feelings about the Hellenic and missing my students at the Hellenic does not slight my new students at McAuliffe.

Mixed emotions. 

Sad and excited at the same time.

Why is Science Important?

I’ve come full circle. Before school started last August, I asked my students to write an essay addressing the following question:

“Why is science important?”

Their responses were interesting, to say the least. But, I’ve been thinking about that question all school year. Now, with the benefit of all that extra time, here’s my answer.

Learning and applying the scientific method helps develop a framework for decision making and for analysis. The “scientific method”  provides a road map on how to figure things out. And it doesn’t have to be big things; it could be as simple as figuring out why the Christmas lights won’t go on.

People assume some general level of understanding of scientific principals. If you become a parent, you’re going to be asked questions like, “Why is the sky blue?” or “Where do vegetables come from?” and you’re going to want to be able to provide some sort of informed answer. 

It’s important to have a fundamental understanding of the world around us - how and why things happen. If you have absolutely no grounding in science, you’ll find yourself believing almost anything. Trust me, folks have been taking advantage of people’s scientific ignorance for a long, long time. If you have a basic understanding of science, you can help yourself. 

Science informs our species' fundamental curiosity. Humans are always exploring, wondering and thinking about things. Science is a method of looking at the world and understanding why things work the way they do, where our species fits in and how everything interacts with the universe as a whole. 

And that’s why science is important, as I see it.

What is Rocky Really About?

It’s about setting a goal - a goal you’re not sure you can attain, then doing all the hard work necessary to achieve it. 

When Mrs. Minaker challenged me to blog for 100 days I didn’t think I could do it. I just didn’t have the time. Between school and all my part-time jobs and my master’s program, I didn’t see how I could fit in 100 blog posts. I decided to post something on every school day.

And here we are. 

Tomorrow is the last day of school and tomorrow will mark my 95th post. It has not been easy, but I made time each day to share some thoughts with my students. Sometimes they were silly and fun and sometimes they supplemented what I was teaching in class. I hope they have been interesting and entertaining.

I feel a sense of accomplishment to have achieved my goal. It was worth the time and effort. 

Tomorrow, for my last blog post, I will answer the question that I asked all my students to write about before I had even met most of them:

“Why Science is Important.”

Don’t Leave Home Without Your Safety Goggles

This is what I said to the Hellenic American Academy graduates yesterday. I think it applies if you graduated from middle school yesterday or four decades ago...

We’ve spent a year with you and we’d like to take this opportunity to share a little of our life experience. Hopefully you will take our words to heart and save yourself a lot of time and energy.

Don’t leave home without your safety goggles.

Find what you love and do it. Even if it takes fifty years to find it. Trust me, it’s worth the wait.

Eat your vegetables, your parents were right. Actually, your parents are going to be right about a lot of stuff, but you probably won’t realize it for another ten years.

Live your life like no one’s watching. Be true to yourself even if it makes you stand out from the crowd.

Read. Have a book with you at all times. Nothing avoids wasted time like a good book.

Set goals that you’re not sure you can meet otherwise, there’s no point.

Sing, even if it’s just in the shower or your room or the car.

Have patience and avoid acting rashly. 

Recycle. You’re saving the only planet we have.

Cherish your friends and family. They’ll support you even when you don’t think you need support. 

Don’t worry too much about money. The list of problems money solves is surprisingly short.

Character matters. In the long run, it’s the only thing that matters.

Finally, remember, you don’t know everything.......and you never will.........but do keep trying.

SWBAT...

What is SWBAT?

To explain this, I have to backtrack a little and provide some background information.

I have to keep track of what lessons I teach, what resources I use, how they align with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for math or science, and when I teach it. 

This is a requirement of the Hellenic American Academy and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. My lesson plans are a legal document. They are the proof of what I teach and how I teach it.

I created a form that provides space for all that information and more. I also keep track of what I assign for homework, what chapters and sections in the text the lesson relates to, what outside resources I use, and the objective of the lesson.

I also write the objective of the lesson on the left side of the big white board in the front of my room but I’m pretty sure no one ever reads it. 

The objective usually begins with “Students will be able to...”

Examples: 

SWBAT place fractions, decimals and percents on a number line. SWBAT compare and order fractions, decimals and percents.

SWBAT solve multi-step equations using distributive property and combining like terms.

SWBAT to whine about tests and quizzes in English, Greek and Spanish.

Oh, and by-the-way, that last example, and more crazy objectives, were posted to my white board for the past week before anybody noticed.