TGR: First Year As An Orphan
When I think of an "orphan," I think of Oliver Twist.Or I think of images on the television of children far away from me.I think of children.I don't think of a fifty-five year old man. Welcome, fellow...
View ArticleWYFP? The Gettysburg Address
For California eighth graders, taking the United States Constitution test has been a rite of passage since before I was in eighth grade myself and that was more than forty years ago. When I began my...
View ArticleBrothers and Sisters: Thanksgiving, 1863, and now
Sarah Josepha Hale is responsible for the national holiday "Thanksgiving" that we'll be celebrating in a couple of days. Go look her up; then you'll know who wrote "Mary Had A Little Lamb" after...
View ArticleBrothers and Sisters: Father of the Bride
When you read this, my younger daughter will have arrived home for a holidays visit after completing her first semester of law school. It will be very, very important to engage her in conversation...
View ArticleIt Has Been A Pain To Be What I Am
It has been a pain in the ass this election year to be what I am, a middle-aged, middle class, white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant. I even live in South Orange County, California. You know, Republicanland....
View ArticleTeachers: Monday, Get Your School and Students Ready/link
No need to panic. As a matter of fact, if you are a veteran teacher, you are likely a high-functioning adult used to pressure. Go be a good example for others.Go in on Monday and get your school ready....
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Teachers: Responding to the Need.
I started drawing on the walls this year. I added “Vanquish the Virus” later. When I heard Friday morning that the school board of Los Angeles Unified was meeting to decide on school closure, I knew...
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Teachers: Reaching Our Students After The Closure
My classroom door. The notice, and that piece of orange tape, says that my room has been treated. It took me a couple of hours before I broke the tape. I know I created work for someone else....
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Teachers: The Earthquake, and the alarm is still ringing
Let us start by having you think of all your school emergency drills, especially those when you were very young. Most of them were fire drills, I expect. Get everybody out. Get reorganized in a...
View ArticleTeachers: Open the School Year, but Not the Buildings
Teachers, it is about time to start the new school year. We cannot open the buildings to students. We have to stand up and tell everybody that we have a better idea that does not put everyone in...
View ArticleFrom a Teacher After 8 Weeks of 100% Distance Learning: Zoom and Star Trek
I use the same Zoom settings for each of my classes.I teach eighth graders, so I keep a secure classroom. Students enter muted. Students may chat only with me. They unmute themselves only with my...
View ArticleThanksgiving Chef: Memories of Preparing a Big F- Meal. It is a Memory Meal,...
First of all, this year’s Thanksgiving memories will be unlike any other because, of course, you are not preparing a meal for somewhere between twelve and twenty people, right?Describing the task of...
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