Friday, July 30, 2010

Spelling and Inspiration

So my little slide show worked and now it has had 70 views. Granted, a dozen of those are mine because I was just so happy that it worked. It's at this point that my loving family points out that I misspelled a word. (If you didn't catch it, I'm not going to tell you.) I'll eventually get in there and revise it, but I don't have the password at the moment.

Little errors like that could make a real wizard's spells backfire in a big way. In my case an english teacher who makes simple spelling mistakes can take a lot of flak. Luckily, I have a secure base of allies. For instance, my mom just got me a dragon for my birthday. It's a desktop statue of a winged, imposing snouted beastie with huge claws wrapped around a wooden post. Dragons are not only awe-inspiring; they're just plain inspiring. Spelling errors or no, I'll probably be compelled to write more soon. Mom knows.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Progress

I posted a slide-show on my wife's facebook page using photopeach. It was a small thing, just pictures of friends at my birthday party with captions I added. At the time I was cursing it because I had to download the pictures three times. Twice I somehow erased all my work and had to start over. Frustrating, yes, but i little while ago I heard myself saying, "That was fun." I love creative projects like that; I just hate it that I'm so slow on the learning curve. When things like that begin to work I can see myself really loving technology . . . selectively.

For instance, I use a program called "Finale:PrintMusic" that allows me to arrange music. I use it so much that I've forgotten all the steps I had to go through to learn it. Because I use it so much I love it. So if I persist in my efforts to add presentation tools to my students' assignments, I'll get there. More importantly, I might be able to create a few more memorable presentations for family and friends. Yeah, that really IS fun.

Fred's 45th on PhotoPeach



If this worked, it's even more progress.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Technology; Making Life Easier?

I'm not stupid, but my talents are not technology-based. I enjoy creativity in music and wordplay and abstract thinking, but the world is more and more about who can find the quickest computer solutions. I have always been a slow thinker and a slow worker. It's my knowledge retention and my creativity that make some people think I'm smart, because when intelligence is measured in terms of speed, I don't appear very smart. There are many kinds of intelligence and just lately the skills of manipulating computer applications have become the more valorized form. I must admit that makes me jealous because it's not my realm.

Now I'm not trying to whine here; I know that this is the wave of the future and I am doing my best to keep up. I took two Web 2.o classes this Summer and I still become easily frustrated because things don't go my way very often. I want to keep my students interested with some of the best new computer tools, but I don't want to waste class time with a lot of glitches that I can't solve on my own. I know I can't avoid all problems, but I do need to develop a level of confidence in a few more computer applications. I know my literature, but I need to facilitate student learning with the most effective tools.

Okay, it sounds like a lot of buzz words, but it amounts to this; I've become an old dog in the field. I still have plenty to contribute, but my talents are less valorized now and I need to keep changing with the times. It's both difficult and frustrating, but I'm not alone. Many teachers feels the way I do, and almost every techno-geek I've ever met has been willing to help. It's humbling, but necessary to keep seeking help and keep taking risks. That's what we ask our students to do. It's also important to remember how valuable our individual talents are, whether they are the most valorized or not. That's a good lesson for students and teachers alike.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Listening to the Cosmos, or at Least the Radio

I'm turning 45 tomorrow, or as my OLD Dad would say and has said, "half way to 90." I swim in the morning and the pool has been closed for maintenance for the past two weeks. So, trying to get back into shape is a delicate process for an old guy who's half way to 90. My back stiffens up pretty regularly now and everyone says you've got to stretch more. That's good, because swimming helps with that.

So I show up at the pool and go to the locker room. I have a little habit of listening for messages from God in the songs on the radio. As I prepared to swim, the song was "You Had a Bad Day." I like the sound of that song, but I hate it when they play it in the morning. I think, "Come on, give me a chance first." When I hit the water, it was "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." Okay, I had to laugh. I could go negative with the line, "Losing everything is like the sun going down on me," or I could go back to that whole listening for God idea. Corny, right? What if God was saying, "Don't forget Me today"? I liked that interpretation and, after all, we get to choose our own interpretations. That's the one bit of life we have control of. We can't choose what happens to us, but we can choose how to take it. I decided God wanted me to keep Him in mind and I giggled. I finished my swim and while I was driving home Supertramp was singing "Give a Little Bit." I've never really listened to the words to that song, but today the line "I'm goin' home," just popped out. It was a small thing, a bit of synchronicity that added order to my little world.

Hey, I know it's not all about me, but it is nice to feel included by the cosmos now and then.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Queen of the Neighborhood

I remember as a kid back in Waterloo, Iowa the first time I met my new neighbors, the Kaune's. I was unaware of being in the presence of royalty. I was just a kid sitting on the front porch steps watching this nice couple, cheerfully buying red, white, and blue Bomb Pops from the ice cream man for every kid who was out in the street that day. They had recently moved in across the street and it was a grand gesture that was helping them to rapidly make friends. Being a dutiful little boy, I knew that I had been told to never take anything from strangers and so I had retreated to the steps in front of my house to view the spectacle from a safe distance while everyone else gathered around the ice cream truck. Their names were Linda and Gary and they noticed me sitting there watching and brought one of the big, colorful popsicles to me. I was shy and embarrassed. I politely refused and went inside. They could have stopped there, but they knocked on the door and gave the popsicle to my mom so that I could still have it, but not from a stranger. It was just that kind of thoughtfulness that was soon to make them neighborhood royalty and it wasn't long before I could never think of them as strangers again.

I should clarify; Gary was an ex-drill sergeant with a desk job in drafting who drove stock cars on the weekends. His demeanor fell somewhere between Randy Travis and John Wayne and still does. He has much more intelligence than the stereotype good-ol'-boy and the charisma to lead people, but he's not the royalty type. To him, the king will always be Richard Petty and even with that due respect, his favorite will always be the Intimidator, the bad boy, Dale Earnhardt. Gary's realm was the garage where you could "kick tires and talk dirty." That's what he said, but he was always mindful to keep it rated G for all the kids who liked to hang around.

It was Linda who was queen of the neighborhood. When she made treats she didn't just call her boys; she called all of us. She was a small, blond woman who kept her hair fashionably short and neat. Her appearance was dominated by a round freckled-face smile accompanied by a husky, wheezing laugh. She talked very fast and was always full of stories. She would sit at our dining room table for hours "holding court," cigarette in one hand and Diet Pepsi in the other. She loved to yell at my dad in a hilarious mock anger that he was forever trying to inspire with needling remarks, double entendres, and sarcasm. She always took the bait and put on a performance, scolding and gesturing, the pitch and volume of her voice escalating and her speaking accelerating. Sometimes I wondered if she'd stop for air, but she always did pause for Diet Pepsi. I was once sent on a special trip to the store for the apparently addictive beverage so that Linda wouldn't slip into withdrawal. Performing such an errand for someone else may have seemed absurd, but in service to the queen I was a loyal subject, happy to comply.

The biggest "Linda legend" in the old neighborhood is the roof incident. The details are forgotten, but Linda was probably cleaning the glass on the door to the roof of her house and somehow got locked out. She was sitting out on the roof patiently waiting to be rescued, a damsel in distress. As I remember it, Dad discovered her predicament and thought she should perform before being let in. She cheerfully complied with an unforgettable tap dance on the roof. Such a queen endears herself to her subjects with her own humility. And that sense of humor was always one of her best qualities.

To Dad she was always lovingly known as "the Dingbat" and life was more entertaining with her around. Out shopping with Mom she once launched into "The Teapot Song" right there in the store. Mom is excessively shy, but she smiles when she tells the story because she loved Linda so much. Another time we had a Halloween costume party that included a scavenger hunt. One of the items was a bra. There would be 50 bonus points awarded if it was "still warm." That part was only a joke, but I'll never forget Linda as Raggedy Ann pulling her hands into her shirt and working a warm bra out of her sleeve. Priceless.

If you wanted to get Linda talking, it didn't take much, and her family was her favorite subject. I've heard stories about her parents, her siblings, her husband, her sons, and most recently, her granddaughter, her biggest joy right up until the end.

In her 60's Linda was suddenly taken by cancer. She was supposed to have six months, but she was gone in less than six weeks. I thought I'd see her one last time in the summer, but she was gone too soon.

I got the news by cell phone at my niece's wedding. I left the noise of the dance to step out into the quiet of the moonlit night to call Dad. I'd be stopping by the next day and I knew things were not looking good. He told me she was already gone. We talked for a few minutes and I went back inside. The music was throbbing and many of my wife's relatives were standing around talking, but at that moment there weren't many people dancing. My twelve-year-old daughter ran up and grabbed my arm. "Dance with me, Daddy." I thought for a moment of my fallen queen. Linda would dance. I followed my daughter onto the dance floor and the dance goes on.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

New Look; Bad Limerick

So, thanks to Professor Chuck, I've got a new look and a hit counter. The professor is much more adept at such spells than I am. I'm much better at abstract thought than practical application. It's the kind of thing that makes me seem out of touch and behind the times.

I don't have much to say today, so I'll follow suit with the good professor and offer up a limerick(not a dirty one, just twisted).

There once was a bunny named Mike
Who rode everywhere on his trike
But he went too far
Didn't yield to the car
And is sadly crushed on the turnpike.

I think that's more than enough for now.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Songs: Pictures in My Mind

I don't find near enough time to write, but occasionally, like in the Summer, I have a little time to devote to just thinking. When inspired I like to channel my creativity into writing songs. I love the ancient image of the bard who served as teacher, historian, poet, entertainer, musician and possibly more. So most of my songs deal with real people and either their stories or the effects they've had on those around them. For me, playing an old song I've written brings back memories as effectively as going through a picture album. I have several sets of friends who got married within a few years of each other. Then they started reproducing and we had baby-parties every year for a while. I'm still behind on baby songs, but the only reason I remember all those names is because I wrote songs for them. I'm terrible with names, but I'm not bad with lyrics, so it's a memory aid for me. It's like taking pictures in my mind.

Monday, July 12, 2010

"Into the West"

Most people have never heard of Radagast the Brown. He's a ver minor character in Tolkien's THE HOBBIT and LORD OF THE RINGS. He's the third of the Istari mentioned after Saruman the White and Gandalf the Grey. He's kind of a nature protector who talks to the animals and is able to gather information very quickly because of his wide ranging sources. He's one of the many minor forces for good that collectively add up to the force of good that ultimately defeats the great evil of Sauron.

So, for me, wizardry has always been a metaphor for teaching. It's not about fireballs, lightning bolts, and being able to fly. The effective "spell" is the lesson that starts a fire in a student's heart, that electrifies a student's mind, or makes someone realize the abilities that can make him/her soar. Words and music are key components of this inspiration. The greatest spells are the very few that last in the memory and go on inspiring long after they have been cast, spinning off in a ripple effect that never ends.

So when students ask what happened to Radagast, I tell them he went into the West and became an English teacher.