March 6

#SOL22 #6

On this spectacularly beautiful early spring day, I started tackling some of the gardening cleanup, including pruning my one grape vine. I know nothing about growing grapes. I read through materials from the extension service, as well as other gardening guides, and also consulted several YouTube videos. I still have a very limited understanding, but the one point that was invariably emphasized is that each year 90% of the previous year’s growth needs to be removed. Multiple guides stated that the most common error home gardeners make is not pruning enough.

I flinched every time I cut through one of the canes, but understand the experts know what they are talking about. In the end, I will have better, more abundant fruit.

I also mused that it would be a good idea to apply this pruning to my life. I definitely am juggling too many responsibilities right now, and know it is not healthy long-term. I need to cut back to the essentials and let the rest go.

 

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March 5

#SOL22 #5

In the EPIClearners community I co-facilitate, we are in the midst of a book discussion of Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead and how it applies to creating Daring Classrooms. My colleague Terry Elliott had the brilliant suggestion to include a playful activity each week to enhance our shared learning and reflection.

This week, we are examining the quotation which serves as the through line of Brown’s work, Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena.” We are creating artifacts that express our interpretation of this quote and sharing them. These types of activities always impress upon me how creative work of all kinds is iterative, and also how rewarding it is to get into a flow state, to leave aside for a time the responsibilities and burdens of my “regular” life.

An initial draft of my interpretation:

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March 4

#SOL22 #4

an anti-ode

reading the headlines

“people who die from this day forward”
“will die because of you”

“nuclear plant…seized by Russian forces”

“banned access to Twitter and Facebook”
“increasingly harsh crackdown on independent”
“and critical voices in Russia”

“has no water, heat or electricity”
“running out of food”

my broken heart splinters further
that a madman has the power
to trample on innocent lives
unchecked

 

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March 3

#SOL22 #3

This is a book review of sorts. I’m in the midst of reading The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray. It is historical fiction, and moves back and forth across three timelines, and therefore three central (female) characters, 1776-1807, 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. Chateau Lafayette (Château de Chavaniac) is a real-life manor house where Lafayette, yes, that Lafayette, was born and raised, and to which he returned at various points during his adult life.

I must admit that I had very little understanding of the impact Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (phew, all those names!) had, not only related to the US Revolutionary War, but also the French Revolution. He is touted as a hero in both countries.

One thing I appreciate about well-written historical fiction is how it humanizes the characters. It moves them from stiff portraits on a gallery wall to living, breathing, emotive beings. In the context of this story, it is Lafayette’s wife Adrienne who is cast as the central character, and we get to see him through her eyes.

I’m enjoying this read!

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March 2

#SOL22 #2

In my storytelling class (what we have traditionally called “composition”) we practice writing through a lot of freewriting and flash fiction work. Throughout the year, we experiment with formats ranging from six-word to 100-word stories, sometimes with a prompt, other times with a short list of elements that must be included in the story. This is an activity that I practice with my students, and we all share our work.

This week, the assignment was to write a 100-word story that includes gasoline, a Hostess product, and a childhood hero, with no adjectives or adverbs. Here is mine:

Nozzle in hand, I gaze into the distance, crumbling the pastry between my fingers. My brother had been telling the truth when he said Twinkies never decay. He and I had fueled his Chevy at this same station 27 years ago, when he told me he was marching off to war. We each ate a Twinkie in silence, ignoring talk of the possibilities that frightened us.
Robbie left the remaining two Twinkies with me, promising to return to re-enact this scene after the war. I still wait, knowing it is in vain. I wish I knew where his remains lay.

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March 1

#SOL22 #1

Well, here I am, plunging into the “Slice of Life” challenge. Several of my PLN colleagues are habitués of this challenge, and seemingly breeze through each day’s writing with total ease. Me, not so much. There are days when writing flows naturally for me, and then others where getting one sentence on paper is impossible.

I am feeling exhausted today, another deterrent. I could have happily stayed in bed all day with a good book. Instead, I spent time (and considerable energy) coaching a group of three teens as they get their History Day projects ready for competition. As happens every year, they are down to the wire, and their nerves are jangling.

I challenge these students to do their best work, which in a project-based learning (#PBL) classroom is centered around a lot of open-ended questions. Their job is to argue a historical thesis, and to support their argument with evidence. The higher-order thinking this requires is demanding for these teens. For many of us, “thesis,” “argument,” “evidence” were terms we encountered only when we got to college. These young learners need encouragement, guidance, and some nudges so they can keep building their understanding, and can develop the confidence to be able to clearly articulate their perspective.

One tool I use when I realize I’m headed into “lecture” mode, is to name it and add some humor to the situation. (“I’m getting on one of my soapboxes now…”) It helps lighten the mood for all of us.

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February 22

Where is the shuttlecock?

My friend and colleague Terry Elliott in habitual style has caused me to question and wonder. He and I had a Zoom “picnic” not long ago in which he gave me a brief overview of “rewilding,” and some of his process related to his own rewilding journey. He could explain it much more elegantly than I; a succinct way he describes its purpose is, “it helps me find my own and others’ blind spots, and gets me to consider walking other paths, other desire lines.”

Terry has brought his exploring mind to our “Daring Classrooms” exploration of Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead and has challenged me to think more deeply and more broadly about the concepts we are exploring, and Brown’s take on them. In our discussion yesterday, we developed “permission slips,” and in part due to Terry’s contributions to the conversation, I realized I needed to give myself permission to question Brown’s viewpoint, and to evaluate for myself what a Daring Classroom looks like.

All of us in the Daring Classrooms discussion agreed it is easy to think “our way” is the best. I have revised and refined my practices continuously over the years, what in the business world is referred to as continuous process improvement. One danger of me conducting this work in a semi-bubble is that my perception of what is improvement is by definition incomplete. As I have modified my practices and observed positive changes in one area, I may have unwittingly created a negative change elsewhere that I am oblivious to. Therefore, I am grateful to Terry for his questioning mind that pushes me to dig deeper, reflect more meaningfully.

I am also glad Terry batted the shuttlecock to my court, as it revived a beautiful memory of my now 27-year-old son as a small child, three or four. He and I were playing badminton, and I taught him the word shuttlecock. And laughed uproariously at the shocked faces of the parents when he trotted the word out during his next badminton match with his young friends. Just as I laughed when his younger brother amazed people when he rattled off the “doubles” times tables up to 12×12 when he was three or four. You see, it’s not the kids who are limited in their learning, it is us as adults who limit what we allow them to learn.

Alright, Terry, I’m waiting with bated breath for the next volley.

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January 28

Just-in-time teaching and learning

I sometimes use the term “just-in-time” in regards to teaching, especially as it applies to content. Originating in the manufacturing world, the basic idea is that materials are acquisitioned only as they are needed, so that companies don’t bear high inventory costs for materials sitting around waiting to be needed.

This concepts applies well in teaching and learning. Students of all ages learn more completely, more deeply, when they have the opportunity to immediately apply their learning. Such a situation presented itself to me this week.

Eight Meliora students are collaborating on writing a Western genre short story. Each of them is responsible for developing a character representing a single Western archetype, and for developing parts of the plot that include their character. Yes, a tall order! We have had a series of discussions, and the students have made a number of decisions as to how they are going to tackle the project.

One question that came up was regarding point of view. They decided pretty quickly that a third person point of view was the most reasonable choice. We then dove into which type of third person — close or omniscient? I realized, based on student reactions, that these were terms some of them understood, others did not. So, they received this assignment this week. It is a combination of learning about point of view, and then immediately applying it to work they are doing. I am confident this just-in-time approach to learning this concept is going to “stick” much better than if the students had a lesson as part of their grammar text and then moved on to the next lesson without a #realworld application.


Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

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January 21

It all comes down to #stories

I posted this on Facebook tonight, with a comment of, “#familyresemblance, my dad’s oldest brother and my youngest son.” Within seconds I had a bunch of “likes” and “loves” (and a “wow”), many of them from people whom I rarely interact with on Facebook. What caught people’s attention? Not how handsome these young men are, but the #story. Images of two young men frozen in time at similar ages, separated by nearly 80 years, yet genetically entangled enough to closely resemble each other. One who obviously spent time in the military. The other, we have no idea (yet) of he present or future, but we would like to know more. Our stories are what bind us together as humankind.

A few days ago, I was checking out at the grocery store. The clerk made a silence-filling comment we have all heard many times, about yearning for the end of her shift so she could go home. Oftentimes, I would have smiled and nodded or similarly acknowledged her comment without engaging. Instead, I responded, asked her more about her work day, and by the time we finished conversing, I knew a ton, not only about her work day but her family life, her dog, and where she lived. Why was she so open? Maybe I was the first person in the day who had actually tried to create a connection? Who showed an interest in her beyond being the person scanning items and telling me the total?

My #oneword for 2022 is #truthful, and one way I can be more truthful is by being present, being curious, actively engaging with others, reinforcing the importance of their stories.

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October 21

Palettes, Storyboards, and Cadences

The 2021 #writeout theme is Palettes, Storyboards, and Cadences, which meshes well with my recent reflections regarding layers of color. My musings started as I was madly turning peppers into jelly; peppers of all the autumn palette — shades of yellow, orange, red, combined with others that were green, reflecting the green lawns and other vegetation still in a robust phase of life.

 

The flavor palettes of the resulting jellies are also layered, with the melding of the aromas and different levels of spiciness. My recipe has been pretty straightforward – take a bunch of whatever peppers are on hand, de-seed and finely chop them (hurray for food processors), then boil them with pectin and sugar. Five minutes in a boiling water bath to seal the canning jars and the job is done! Since the medley of peppers has been different for each batch, the resulting yumminess is one-of-a-kind, never again to be exactly duplicated.

Simultaneously, the tree and shrub color palette here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon has been gradually changing for six weeks or more, seemingly with the softer yellows and oranges starting the cadence, followed by a crescendo of vibrant colors of deep orange and red. Recently, after a long period of drought, the skies have been leaden, with low-hanging clouds and rain, which further sets the striking colors in relief.

The precipitation and autumn breezes have caused many leaves to fall to the ground, where they are being trodden underfoot. As time passes, they will decompose and enrich the soil, helping the earth regenerate itself. 

 

As the season marches forward at its predictable pace, a few outliers have emerged, such as this iris which seems to have forgotten it is meant to bloom in June. This reminds me of myself at times, especially when I get vocal about the necessity of #PBL projects being #authentic and #relevant instead of a pretend situation. When students are asked to write a letter or make a proposal, or tackle a #community problem, yet their work is never presented to the #audience in question, it diminishes the importance in their eyes, and lacks #realworld validation.

This and a few other iris arrived at my garden in early spring, a donation from another gardener in my new town. I am steadily building up the outdoor spaces, which eighteen months ago looked mostly like this, with a solitary earthworm plowing its way through the clay. I have added several tons of compost to the ground, and planted many flowers, shrubs, and a couple of trees, many of which attract pollinators and other wild critters who are native to this area.

Today, there is a growing abundance of edible and ornamental flora and fauna:

Nature is one of the best teachers, reminding us that if we honor it, follow its cadences, and learn by observation and experimentation, it will flourish. And, in the process, we will be nourished and also flourish.

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