MadWords Then

First day.

Of school.

Who are all of these people? They come into my classroom carrying so many different conversations in their heads and expressions on their faces, like actors auditioning for roles in a play.

I look out at them and hope.

Hope that I can get away with letting them learn and getting them excited about learning. About their worlds and their lives.

They wear new clothes. They say new words.

They look for friends. Sometimes with desperation. They don’t want to be alone.

They sit still and silent. Until I say something to make them breath again and smile. Their trust comes slowly, like water controlled by a dam. Careful, don’t let too much out!

The day moves by like a startled breath.

Their facades fade and they reveal their faces.

They are people trying to get through their first day.

And I am right there with them.

What about your day?

This is just a mini-posting.  Much more to come.

I need to get a feeling for how you people would react to taking part in a blogging contest run by a couple of teachers in Tasmania, Australia.

The contest would most likely involve you creating your own blog, and have kids make comments on your postings–I would give much assistance here, or don’t have a blog, but make comments on other students’ blogs from around the world.

This could be most exciting, and a great way for you folks to get your own blog going!

All I ask is that you think about this, and send any and all comments or concerns along to this blog.

Just think, you could communicate with a kid who lives over 9,000 miles away!  Whoa.

A new netcast appears below, click on the play arrow and check it out.  Let me know what you thought with a comment or four.  The link should appear as aug18netcast–if you click on the text, it will open in QuickTime, the arrow opens on this page.

Also, let me know if it doesn’t work in your browser, will you?

aug18netcast

The image above was created at Wordle, a great and fun site for lovers of words!  (Psst!  Think of the extra credit for writing a poem or song or ?  using Wordle.  Your teachers would be most impressed!)

All right, I know where the comments will be going over this weekend and a bit beyond.  I only would like to mention that, in order to not spoil anything for anyone, I will be staggering the publishing of the comments regarding Stephenie Meyer’s new release, Breaking Dawn.

I am very curious to read your reviews, but, in order to be fair to all, I will be a bit cautious in publishing comments.  They will be published, but maybe not immediately.  Yes?

Just so you know and don’t throw tomatoes.

I sat in my living room thinking what might be a good topic for a posting.  On the other end of the room, my television was on with a sort-of-interesting movie that I was half-watching.  It occurred to me that one great thing about this blog is that we, you and I, create the content–me, in my postings, and you, in your comments.  Then it hit me!

One of the major reasons I have loved having this blog is that it gives me the opportunity to create something.  I have always admired creativity in other people:  singers, bands, writers, artists, carpenters, architects, poets, chefs, teachers, athletes, parents, students, plumbers, and anyone I have left off this meager list that makes something from nothing.

That is it, I suppose–making or creating something from nothing.  Creating a thing that didn’t exist before you came along.  I don’t mean invented, I do mean created.  Writing, for example.  The act of writing has been around thousands of years in a thousand different ways, but it isn’t the idea of being the first to write, it is writing something down that was not written before.  I am meandering.

The point that I am crawling towards is that making postings on this blog, and reading your comments gives me great pleasure and leads me to believe that we are creating something here.  We are being active rather than passive.  We are not just watching and experiencing someone else’s creativity, which can be extremely enjoyable and inspiring, we are interacting and integrating to make something new.  From that, your writing gives others the opportunity to respond in their own words in their own, unique styles in ways that cannot be duplicated by any other person.

All right, now if this seems a bit “What?” that is okay.  And, it is your duty to tell me that honestly, because I am curious if you really get what it is that I am trippingly trying to say here.

So, what do you think?  Do you agree with me that we have created something here?  Or..?

(By the by, the image above was made by me at Wordle, a very, very fun site.  Click on Wordle to check it out.)

What makes a song good?  Is it the lyrics?  Is it the melody?  For me, I can think of tons of songs that I don’t know the words to–you know, you end up singing, “Mm, hmm, ya, na, na, na, mm, hmm”–to fill in for the words that you actually don’t know because maybe you don’t understand just what the singer is saying.

So, here is an experiment, of sorts.  It struck me as I was driving home from Chicago the other day that I really like this song, Vidas Paraleles by Ximena Sarinana, but I don’t exactly know or understand the lyrics–mostly because the lyrics are in Spanish, and that makes it a bit tougher to decipher.

Take a listen, see what you think, and leave an honest answer about how you like or dislike this song.
Also, maybe give some examples of songs that you like, but you don’t know some or all of the lyrics.

Well, this year’s presidential ballot has Barack Obama vs. John McCain. This election has the potential for the United States to have an African-American president. As you already know, this is beyond huge. Win or lose, just the fact that a black man will be on the presidential ballot is historically momentous. As big a political event as almost anything in US history.

Seriously, I doubted that I would ever witness this event happening in my lifetime. I grew up in Chicago, a town with its own racial divides, and most people I talk to there are as amazed–and thrilled–as I have become. This is not a tell of my preference, I won’t give it to you all that easily, just shows that I am awestruck that the voters of our nation–the Democratic loyalists, anyway–brought their party’s choices down to a woman and an African-American man. Wow. It still blows me away when I think about it as I type these words.

So, yes, I know you cannot vote, or drive, etc., but, you must have at least some inkling of who you would like to see take office on January 20, 2009.

I honestly do not know how you people feel about this election.

There is only one way to find out how much middle-school students know or care about this upcoming presidential election: Ask them!

Well, it is your country, and this election carries a very large impact into your future lives as working adults, and, Gulp!, parents. Make no doubt about that. But isn’t that exciting? Are you glad that this is occurring in your lifetimes?

What are your hopes for the next president? What do you wish that person would do for the country and its citizens?

And the biggie: Who do wish to have as your next president, and why?

I am most curious.

Quick post–I have not yet taken time to consider what this summer break thing is all about.

I did not know if Twilight fans had read this yet, but below is a link to a Time magazine article (April 24, 2008) on Stephenie Meyer. It is a quick read, and interesting for its constant comparisons to J.K. Rowling.

I am especially interested in Twilight/Harry fan reactions, but, of course, I encourage each and every one of you to respond with a comment.

Meyer: New J.K. Rowling?

177/180. Wow. What percentage is that, anyway? Ninety-something, right?

We have experienced 177 school days, give or take a few hours. I have had several memorable or hilarious or crazy or zany or sad or Wow! or Hmm… or big sigh moments in those 177 days.

One the best moments for me this 07-08 school year came recently involving a former student who is a poet, but doesn’t quite know it–yet. I offered a blank journal for summer poetry writing, added that I thought that this person needed to write, and the smile that sparkled in this person’s eyes reminded me quite clearly why I love teaching. This person didn’t have to say anything, it was right there resting on the face of a writer.

So, enough about my moments, what about you? You people are out there in the seats of the classrooms, pounding the pavement of the halls, chomping on whatever you chomp on in the cafe, what re-tellable tales have you to share?

You know, an event does not have to be amazing to share–just something that gave you pause.

That’s all.

Speak up! It is your write.