Don't You Wrong or Right Me

It has been a while since I have posted anything....largely due to the fact that I am finishing up my work to submit for the National Board.  Let's hope the second time is a charm!   Anyway, I've been missing my little blog as topics to write about have been piling up in my head and are now so jumbled that I find one thought leading to another without being sure how the connection was made.  Here's an example.

Last night on my way home from grocery shopping, I set my iPod to shuffle and had one of the most amazing musical experiences ever, thanks to the randomness of this feature.  Yes, all the songs that are on my iPod are there because I put them there, but it is the order and songs themselves that came up that was so unreal.  My itunes library has over three thousand songs on it, so that made it even more impressive to me. 

This made me think about how much I love music, whether people realize it or not.  When I was a kid, I would throw tantrums in the store for first, vinyl albums, and eventually cassette tapes.  Kids, ask your parents to explain what "albums" and "cassette tapes" are.  Then it was Cd's...but by the time I actually got a CD player I was basically out of the tantrum stage.  Notice I said basically, because I have been known to throw a few still to this day.  Anyway  many people don't know what a huge music lover I am because they see the person at school who hates singing cutesy songs and is horrible at playing an instrument.

I tried the chorus thing when I was in school and it didn't work for me.  The same with playing trumpet.  This always made me wonder, how someone who loves music as much as I do....could have no musical ability whatsoever?

This train of thought next led me to wearing a tie.  It may seem like a stretch, but stick with me.  As a male in my profession, there is a sort of stereotype that wearing a tie makes you a "good" teacher.  I tried it.  That also didn't work for me.  Instead of being a "good" teacher, I was uncomfortable all day long, always tucking and afraid to move because I would have to start the process all over again.  I also got a reputation of being completely unapproachable to parents, as unfortunately my appearance also seemed to give the impression that I thought I was better.  Believe me when I say that this is not the message you want to send to families when you are just beginning your career.  Once I loosened up and ditched the dress pants and ties, something really cool started to happen.  My teaching improved; as what I was teaching took the spotlight, instead of what I was wearing.  I also became more approachable as families weren't intimidated to talk to me and began to view me as their equal.  Because after all, that is what we are.  I have the same goals as the families of my students and at this stage of the game, I feel pretty confident in saying that the families of my students understand that.   If wearing a tie makes you a "good" teacher, I like to think that not wearing one makes you "great."

Please don't think that I am judging anyone, especially men who wear ties.  The point I'm trying to make is that for me it didn't work and when I looked in the mirror each day, I saw a phony.  I don't see that anymore and I like to think that people who do wear ties don't judge me any more than I don't judge them.
On my way home last night, "Crazy" by Patsy Cline was the last song I heard.  I remember as a kid when my mom would play Patsy in the car and I would sit in the back seat searching for anything I could find to stuff in my ears to drown  her out.  Now she is on my iPod and I love it when she come on.  First because it always makes me think of my mom.  Second because it shows me that I have grown up and learned how to appreciate a phenomenal voice and talent.  This gives me hope that Jacob's constant complaining whenever I play Tori Amos means he will be a bigger fan than I am when he is older.

At this point you may be saying to yourself,  how did we get from from the beginning of this post to here?  Don't you tell your students to stay on topic and not to wander all over the place in their writing?  Absolutely, and I do it all without wearing a tie.

Peace of mind,
Mr. Fletcher

My Rotten Black Heart

That's what some of you may be thinking that I have.  A rotten, black heart for not having a Valentine's Day party today.  Let me set the record straight, I do not have a black heart...just a bad memory and poor calendar skills!  I could lend this oversight to many things, but simply put...I just forgot!  I am making it up to the kids by having a celebration on Friday.  In the meantime, I'll be doing some major sucking up in order to make it up to them. 

The crowd around the card section in WalMart yesterday was what finally snapped me out of my fog.  Initially, I thought the mass of people was for free samples which drew me in.  Reality came crashing in pretty quickly, when I realized there was no free food, only frantic last minute Valentine's Day shoppers.  To the masses I mingled with yesterday in the carnage that was left for us last minuters...thank you for the life saving role you played in my existence.

I'll also take this time to spread a word of caution to any of you reading this:  BEWARE OF THE NOSY CARD READING CASHIER!!  Out of respect, she shall remain nameless, but here is how it went down:

After finally finding the right cards from both myself and my sons, which in and of itself was no easy feat, I made my way to the twenty items or less line.  As I placed my items on the counter, I looked up to see this particular cashier reading my cards!  Now granted, there was nothing explicit or tacky about the cards I picked up, but come on!  I stood there in shock as she not only read the card to my wife from me, but the one from my sons, AND a thank you card I purchased.  Also, she wasn't exactly a speed reader. 

Now as someone who once worked at WalMart, I know for a fact that the cashiers have this little contest each month for the highest number of IPH's.  For those of you without the WalMart lingo, IPH stands for items per hour.   The number of items each cashier scans in an hour is recorded and then they have some little contest for prizes.  This particular cashier, was in no danger of winning this contest and really could have cared less.

After reading each of my cards, Nosy Rosy picks up my son's almond milk, examines the label and then makes a face like it disgusts her. 

On my way home, I turned off the radio and tried to see this scene from the cashier's point of view.  As someone who was once a cashier himself, I know how incredibly boring it can be at times.  Maybe this was her way of passing the time.  Or, perhaps she was in need of Valentine's Day and Thank You cards herself and was trying to save herself time, by sampling mine so she knew what to look for.  Obviously, she is fortunate enough to not have the milk allergy that my son has and has never had to drink almond milk.

Either way, I guess it is no big deal and I'm not sure why I was so quick to be annoyed in the first place. 

After sharing this with the kids today, I'm not that sure that I'm willing to put it to rest though.  The fun lover in me is toying with the idea of going back to said WalMart, purchasing another card, but putting a big post it note on the inside with some kind of little personal message.  This way she'll know that I'm on to her and her card reading ways.

Happy Valentine's Day,
Mr. Fletcher

Dear "Gabby"

Giving advice is not always an easy thing to do.   Especially if it involves friends.  For your blog response this week, I want you to pretend that you are a famous advice columnist in a newspaper.  People write to you regularly to get advice about how to handle some difficult situations.

You have just received the following letter from a fourth grader in New York.  He writes:

Dear Gabby,

I am a fourth grade student and I have a problem.  There are two students in my class who are always making fun of other students in my class.  The things they say and do are very mean and hurtful.  The problem is that the only person they are nice to is me.  Now everyone in my class thinks that I am a bully too.  I'm afraid that if I'm not friends with them that they will be mean to me as well.  At the same time, I don't want everyone else to think I am a bully either.  What should I do?

Hoping for answers,
Not A Bully

Pretend you are "Gabby."  What advice would you give to this student to make this situation better?  What are your reasons for your advice?  Give this some thought before you post your response.  It may be helpful to write a rough draft in your journal first.

Anxiously awaiting,
Mr. Fletcher

Workshop Reminder

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to take a minute to remind everyone that our first workshop will be tomorrow night (1/27/11) from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m..  This first one will focus on interacting with our class blog and then we'll take some time to discuss future get togethers.

Hope to see you there!
Mr. Fletcher

The Leading Men of Avatar

You may be wondering what this picture means, right?  Well, Mr. Fletcher and I made an agreement during our checkers game.  I had shaved my head and was a little worried that people might laugh at me, so I kept my hat on.  Mr. Fletcher said that if he won the game, I would have to take off my hat and be proud of my haircut and own it.  However, if I won, then he would shave his head to match mine.  It probably won't take long for you to guess who won.  And that's how we ended up like this.

Owning It,
Rory

You Down with P.O.V.?

As in Point of View.  Today in class I showed the kids a famous picture that many of you are probably familiar with.  For those of you who aren't, here it is:

If you have never seen this image before, it is actually pretty interesting.  Some of you upon first glance may see an old woman with a very pronounced chin, looking down to her left.  Others may see a young woman looking over her right shoulder.  What we focused on today in class, is that it doesn't matter which woman you see.  What matters is that once you know there are two women there, that you are able to see them BOTH.  We had a great time with this activity and as usual I was highly impressed  with the insight and thoughts the kids brought to this activity.
Coming at you from every direction,
Mr. Fletcher

"Are you 1, Are you 2....?"

I always get a kick out of hearing the kids immediately go into this chant after singing "Happy Birthday" to a friend.  The kids ask each number until the birthday person says "stop" on the number for their age.  Today, I thought about how funny it would be if the kids did this for me....all the way up to 35!  That's right, today is my birthday.  As always, I found myself looking for the little things along the way today that I could learn from.  There were actually quite a few.  For example, nothing is better than having your son sing Happy Birthday to you and then blow out all the candles on your cake so you don't have to.  I was also reminded of some great childhood memories today as my sister and I played the original Super Mario Bros. on my Wii.  In addition, I now know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a re-gift, so I therefore will be sure to never do that to someone else.  Finally, I learned that I don't have to go out and do something wild and crazy  to be okay with being 35. 

A while back, during a conversation about upcoming birthdays, this woman asked me how old I was going to be and I said,  "35."  She replied with, "Well, you act like you're 10."  I don't think this not-so-nice person intended her response to be a compliment, but that is exactly how I took it.  So I guess that is the most important thing I learned today...it is totally fine to be 35, as long as I don't act like it!

Just another shooting star,
Mr. Fletcher