The Great Haiku DeathMatch

Every so often, I determine to read more poetry.
 
So I sign out a hefty volume such as "The Anthology of Atlantic Verse" (762 pgs).
 
Now I will be a cultured person, I think.
 
I read one poem and get bogged down in the imagery.
 
"Why don't people just say what they mean?" I wonder, and go read Stuart McLean.
 
 
So when my friend invited me to the Haiku DeathMatch, I was nonplussed. But I love my friend, so I said I'd come. Everyone was supposed to come with a haiku. So ten minutes before the even I googled "how to write a haiku." After getting the down-low (3 lines, 5 syllables/7syllables/5 syllables).
 

 
I looked around. I needed inspiration. My sister was vacuuming the stairs. I thought of how our neighbour had recently given us a vacuum cleaner (we had gone for a year without one in a household of four people with long hair) and my heart swelled with joy. Here was something I could truly put my soul into!
 
Snarled clods of hair
Dead skin cells a.k.a just
Obliterated
 
Done. I dashed for the door.
 
I had not spent more than 5 minutes at the Haiku DeathMatch when I found myself wishing I had put a little more thought into my contribution....
 
"Stars"
I gaze into the
crowded canvas of the sky
Where are you my love?
-Chris
 
"Puberty"
Before puberty,
I had a stu-u-u-ter
But now I speak clearly.
-Orion
 
Suffice to say, I did not win the Haiku DeathMatch. But after the event, I decided
 
Good idea, Fran.
More parties should be like this
All guests contribute
 
Creative events
Bring out the best in people
Hidden talents shine
 
Haiku are easy
difficult, bland, creative
You get to choose which.
 
So teachers out there,
Use haiku in your classroom
Unforgettable
 
Watch this video for more haiku info:

Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28167759@N00/3602655506/">howard.hall</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

No One Knows He's the Boss

Everyone loves a good reality TV show. I'm currently on an Undercover Boss kick. Never heard of it? CEO's of major corporations go undercover in their own companies. They pretend to be contestants on a fake reality TV show called "Second Chances," where failed business owners try out new jobs and compete with other (fake) contestants for a cash prize. Wearing a sometimes-not-so-clever disguise, the CEO tries out four different jobs within the company. Usually, the CEO works one terrible and three fantastic employees. At the end of the show, the CEO calls all the workers to his corner office and reveals his true identity. Then s/he hands out rewards or "retraining" according to the performance of the employee.

from www.imdb.com

It's crazy, but the show regularly makes me tear up! While undercover, the boss gets to know a bit about the employee's struggles and dreams. At the reveal, the CEO often gives the employees thousands of dollars for school/medical/travel expenses. He does things for the employees that they could never do for themselves. The workers always cry in shock and relief. "Nobody's ever done something like this for me before," they say, wiping their eyes. And then I go looking for the kleenex box.

from www.forbes.com

Why so emotional? And why am I talking about this on a teaching blog?

1. I can't believe how hard people work in hard, thankless, low-paying jobs. I saw an episode where the janitor spent his own money on special cleaning products that were child-friendly. Some of the best attitudes come from people who pick garbage and clean toilets for a living. This makes me think about my own attitude toward teaching. Hey, teaching is hard work. BUT, I'm usally in a climate-controlled environment. I get to take breaks. I get to build relationships with people and see how my job makes a difference in someone else's life. And the salary is much higher than minimum wage!

2. Generosity is powerful. The families of my students may be struggling to keep a car running, pay medical expenses, or even buy food. While I can't give as much money as a CEO, there are many ways that I can give sacrificially to help people in my community. I would like families to know that I see their struggles and am on their side.

3. It reminds me how God sees my work and has compassion on me. He understands the long days, the frustrating moments, and the tough decisions. My work doesn't go unnoticed. He also gives me amazing gifts and opportunities that I could never orchastrate myself. It's said that God is the good shepherd. I would say he's also the good CEO.

PS: If you watch any episode, I would recommend Johnny Rockets. AJ is pretty much my favorite character ever.

Squacking

When I was a teenager, there was a huge maple tree outside my window. On sunny Saturday mornings, it was the Smitty's of the bird world. I would be trying to sleep, but their loud and persistent conversations eventually ousted me from bed.

Add caption



When I participated in my first twitter chat on Thursday, I felt like one of those birds in the maple tree. Everyone was talking, and maybe someone was listening.

The twitter chat of choice was #langchat. Langchat happens every Thursday evening at 8 PM EST. Every week, the moderator poses a question relating to teaching... language! Surprise! I've been looking for more EAL folks to follow, so I was excited to tap into this community. 

After some preliminary investigation, I signed up for this conversation using tweetchat.com. This is an app that filters your twitter feed through a specific hashtag, so that you can more easily follow the conversation. You can also select how often to refresh the page, so that you have time to read comments before new ones get added.

www.favim.com

I have to say that my first experience using twitter chat was overwhelming. It was hard to tell how many people were talking, and it was equally hard to catch the drift of the conversation. There were about 4 sub-conversations happening in addition to the main topic (which was about the use of google translator in language classes). Also, I found that the conversation moved quickly. If I didn't respond instantly, the conversation would move on and my comment would no longer be relevant.
I think that I would enjoy a twitter chat more if there were fewer people talking, and if we stayed on-topic.

That being said, I was able to meet some like-minded people in the EAL world... some who I had already been following on twitter. I was pleased to see that there was a community on twitter that I could join.

I can see twitter chat being useful in the classroom as a kind of online penpal/chat room. Two (or more) classrooms could partner up and have a conversation about something they are both learning about (such as the Industrial Revolution in Social Studies). However, I think it would work best if there were 10 or fewer participants talking at once.

Even though #langchat didn't pan out, I'm interested in exploring some more twitter chat options. Maybe #Oilers or #Gardenchat.

Does anyone know of websites that have a listing of twitter chats by topic?

Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37815745@N04/3691570871/">photogramma1</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Sprucin' Up the Blog

Hello, there.  Salutations!

As you can see, we are learning about visual design in our blogs. In this blog, I will demonstrate how to transform a visually bland post into a more eye catching design.

Here's a sample post from a (cough) purely random blog I found online:

________________________________________________________________________________

WHERE IS THE BIKE MAN?

Our paths crossed three years ago, and I’ve been searching for him ever since. Internet searches. Bank records. Telephone directories. Driving up and down residential streets. But he’s vanished. I’m beginning to think he was actually the Bike Angel.

Not everybody needs a bike angel, but young and anxious and new to the big city, I certainly did. It had only taken me one bike trip (through a thunderstorm) to realize that my beloved green bike from the country was not going to cut it for city life. The lack of brakes was one thing. The absence of a reflector and working gears was another. And my old fear of my head splitting open like a ripe watermelon was more real than ever when I realized that I didn’t have a helmet. All I knew was that I needed a complete bike overhaul. My plan was to (a) abandon my bike in a city park for the poor to glean and (b) acquire a new and improved bike through the miracle website, usedeverywhere.com

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As you can see, it's minimalistic to the core. No text formatting. No pictures. No videos. No links. A total commitment to text required. Let's try that again:

 

________________________________________________________________________________

WHERE IS THE BIKE MAN?

Our paths crossed three years ago, and I’ve been searching for him ever since. Internet searches. Bank records.Telephone directories. Driving up and down residential streets. But he’s vanished. I’m beginning to think he was actually the Bike Angel.

www.tatsandtags.com

Not everybody needs a bike angel, but young and anxious and new to the big city, I certainly did. It had only taken me one bike trip (through a thunderstorm) to realize that my beloved green bike from the country was not going to cut it for city life. The lack of brakes was one thing. The absence of a reflector and working gears was another. And my old fear of my head splitting open like a ripe watermelon was more real than ever when I realized that I didn’t have a helmet.

All I knew was that I needed a complete bike overhaul. My plan was to (a) abandon my bike in a city park for the poor to glean and (b) acquire a new and improved bike through the miracle website, usedeverywhere.com

(for the rest of the story, click here)_______________________________________________________

Blogging gurus recommend including at least one picture/video and one link in every blog post. It's a quick job that makes a big difference in the readability of the text.

Happy blogging!

The author enjoying a spin on her "new" bike

 

 

 

The moment when you realize...

Another six-word story.

I found this photo on compfight.com. It's a search tool for Flickr. This photo is listed under Creative Commons license.

Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22490717@N02/2661318228/">archer10 (Dennis)</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Sis

Photo by Kaylee McGillivray

The challenge: create a six-word caption for an image. I can't say more or I'll defeat the purpose of the caption.

All Things Urgent, Important, and Seasonal

Happy Groundhog Day! I figured today was a fitting day to take down the Christmas tree.

Actually, I think that January 7^th is a much more fitting day for dismantling all things Christmas.

So why am I still sweeping up plastic needles on the day that the National Rodent shows his furry little face?

1. The Mid-Winter Jicker.

Our dad made up a holiday to celebrate the middle day of winter- January 16^th (with Nov 1 as the first day and March 31 as the last). He borrowed a phrase from Dr. Seuss’ story I had Trouble in Getting to Sola Saloo. Every year, we throw some kind of Mid-Winter Jicker party. Broomball on ice. Taffy-making. Decorating socks. That kind of thing. And you can’t take down the Christmas tree until after the Mid Winter Jicker.

MidWinter Jicker 2010. I'm reading the Dr. Seuss book that inspired the holiday.

 

2. Life.

This was supposed to be my relaxing semester. You know, the one where I go skating on the local rink between classes. Play guitar. Enjoy my last semester of being a carefree student.

As it turned out, taking four classes and working part time does not leave a lot of leisure time. I can hardly keep up with my dishes, let alone go skating! I’m wondering, if I’m stressed out now, how am I going to handle my first teaching job?

Then I remembered a little book that my mother (of 6 children) had. It’s called Tyranny of the Urgent by Charles Hummel. The gist of the book is that there is a regular tension between the things that are important and the things that are urgent. And usually, urgent things squeeze out important things.

from www.olivetree.com

 

For example…

In the classroom…	Important	Not Important
Urgent (demand instant attention)	A student has an allergic reaction and needs medical attention	You get an email saying that your library books are overdue.
Not Urgent (can wait)	You want to teach students how to use reading strategies.	You haven’t cleaned the gunk out of your computer keyboard in ages.

 

It’s easy to do the urgent/important things first and the nonurgent/unimportant things last. But how can you choose between urgent/unimportant and important/nonurgent?

For example, what if you’re in the middle of teaching those reading strategies and somebody knocks on the door? It’s students from the grade 8 class selling candygrams. It’s urgent- Valentine’s Day won’t wait forever. But relatively unimportant. Yet, nobody wants to be the Valentine Grinch. What to do?

Teachers are constantly faced with choices about priorities. It’s hard to say no to urgent/unimportant things. However, I believe that teachers need to work hard at saying yes to important things, even if they’re not urgent.

So. If Valentine’s Day rolls around and the Christmas decorations are still up, don’t sweat it. You’re probably doing something important.