The Book Whisperer

Reading is the inhale; writing the exhale.

I knew that forcing my students to read the same word on the same page of the same book at the same time was wrong, but I didn't know a different way to do it. Just the idea of allowing student to choose their own books excites me for next year. I'm going to need help letting go of the control (I have strict rules about how I think books should be treated), but if I'm half as successful as Mrs. Miller, it will be worth it. Can I teach with the common themes of literary elements or figurative language instead of the same book? Will all my students "get it?" What will I do if they choose not to read? I don't know all the answers, but I can't wait to try.

Thanks for the advice, Donalyn,
and for reminding me that if I do what has always been done,
I'll get what has always been gotten.
I can teach differently than I was taught.
I can teach differntly than the teachers around me.

I was definitely and underground reader, what Miller describes as an avid reader who finishes the reading assignment/worksheet quickly so she can get back to reading the book she really wants to read. I hated that in school, and try to be more patient with those readers in my classroom; however, I always feel forced to make them conform.

I think I had some practice letting go this year with J.D., and A.S. (twice). As long as A finished his homework, I left him alone and let him read. The other A.S. stayed in my classroom every day at lunch and read. He would get lost so much in books that I'd have to tap him on the shoulder when the bell rang at the end of the hour. How I would have loved to have him stay and read. He soothed my ego by reading every book I suggested to him, but didn't write a single one on his reading log.
J.D. told me on more than one occasion, "You're going to kill my love of reading." I wish I'd listened to him sooner and left him alone to let him read. He's already a life long reader, and there wasn't much I knew to do to challenge or teach him. He probably read two 500 page books a week. I tried to get him to read The Odyssey while we were studying mythology in an effort to have him conform to what we were learning as a class. He wasn't interested. Now I now know that I s/could have challenged J.D. to read different genres, or given him more choices when it came to studying mythology. I now know of dozens of novels in the vein of Percy Jackson and the Olympians that he might have chosen from. He knows there is hope for me in the future becasue I was willing to share with him I was reading Readicide. He couldn't believe a book like that had been written, much less that a teacher would READ it (sad, I know...). He'd flip to know how much it and The Book Whisperer have changed my attitudes about teaching reading; he'll wish he was in my class next year (I hope; if I can do this).

I will have this type of success next year with ALL students. I won't just let the "good" readers read and choose their own books. I won't just let students read after they've completed all their other work. I won't force developing readers to struggle to keep up with the class. I won't force underground readers to hide their books in their desks and read while they're supposed to be doing "something more important." I will wake up dormant readers and show them that reading is exciting, engaging, rewarding, and social. I will validate all student's choices when it comes to reading. I will share my love of reading with my students.

I will re-read this blog post to remind myself of these ideals as the school year progresses.

More Real Estate Ramblings

Well, it's been 29 days. I'm sorry I didn't give more details throughout the month. Sharing my knowledge of homebuying might have helped someone else. Not becasue I know so much, but because I understand so little, and can break it down for anyone as equally ignorant as myself.

Long story short; we bought a house! We will sign papers and get keys at 3 pm! I'd post a picture, but I don't have one (my sister "stole" my camera!).

Fave things: gorgeous YELLOW kitchen (no painting required with lotsa cabinets and a center island (for parties!), covered patio and back deck (needs to be cleaned and resealed, but that's a small price to pay for all the parties we'll have out there!)

There's normal stuff we like too: fireplace, 3 bedrooms, walk-in closets, 2-car garage, large master bedroom, the price$$!, owing a home, not living above Ed who likes to keep his bulldog on his balcony and only hose it off once a month, having room to put things where they belong, I could go on. I'll know more when we're actually in posession.

We're extremely excited and scared. It's too late to back out, but Cyrus comapred it to getting married. Our lives are totally changing, and we're happy about it, but it's a huge change and one can't help but have some reservations.

DYK: Did You Know?

Did you know that AllRecipies.com has a search engine that allows searches by ingredient! Awesome! I want this for my fave recipes. I'm hoping my super-smart, super-hot, super-satisfied-by-a-home-cooked-meal-computer-programmer husband might make something similair for me.

"Let's Get Po-li-ti-cal, Po-lit-i-cal!"*

I was surprised to hear it, but Rush Limbaugh had an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal.

Click here to read the Obama-Limbaugh Bipartisan Stimulus Plan.

In a nutshell, Rush wants to apply about half the intended $900 billion (54% = $486 B) to the government programs the President has already proposed (infrastructure and pork) and the other half (46% = $414 B) towards tax cuts (as determined by Mr. Limbaugh).**

It's sort of an experiment. If this is done, then we can see which actually stimualtes the economy. If both work, then more the better.***

Click here to find links to email your congressmen/women.
________________________________________________________

*sung to the tune of "Let's Get Physical" by Olivia Newton John. Gross video. I'm warning you!

**These percents are based on the general election results. 53% of American's voted for President Obama; 46% voted for McCain (1% voted for "other").

*** Michael Scott would say it's a "Win-win-win."

How's Married Life?

This post is very similar to one posted by my good friend Hot Sauce over at red-delicious.org.
She wants to know the meaning of the word "good" when used to describe how you are. (Never mind the fact that the correct answer is "well.")
My conundrum is how to answer the question, "How's married life?"
To sum up my last 50 days with one word (either "good/well") seems incomplete. What do these people expect me to say? I mean, it's been 50 days. We're still in the honeymoon phase. What could possibly go wrong in the first 50 days? And if it did, would I really want to tell this questioner I'm already considering divorce? "It's horrible! I wish I'd never done it. He snores, leaves his dirty underwear all over the place and never helps with the dishes!" That would be embarrassing for both of us.
As would the truth. Do they expect me to give details of my day, or more specifically my nights? I'm not even willing to type details on this blog that only my close personal friends read (along w/ anyone else on the Internet who might accidentally find me by typing in "hot sex" in Google); I'm certainly not describing it to someone who asks me, "How's married life?"
I'm guessing they don't really want an answer at all; just like the folks who ask, "How are ya?" expecting you to say "good," and freaking out if you start crying becasue your dad just ran over your dog Joey, twice. (True story).
All they really want to hear is "Good." But I won't play their little game. Oh no. I'm preempting their question and asking them, "How's married life?" Of course my question is less fair, becasue they've been married for 20-45 years. How can they possibly sum that lifetime up into one word? But they do! Can you believe it? They've been "good" for 45 years! (Not that I really want to know either; I'm just hoping to point out the absurdity of their question. If they don't know how to answer it, maybe they'll stop answering.) Which is way better than being "so-so, or uh..fine." It makes me sad to know that on average they rate their marriage so low.
What's worse is the folks who won't answer. They put me off with a comment about being married so long it doesn't matter, or just wave their hand or roll their eyes. These are the people I almost want to talk to more so I can maybe remind them of how in love they once were, how optimisitc, how they held on to his every word. Maybe they're the ones we should be asking; the ones we should be checking on. My 50 day old marriage is going great, and I hope it will still be in 100 days and (Lord willing) 50 years.
You might think I'm naieve to think it will be, but I know the secret: hot sex!

Where Was This List Six Months Ago?

Questions to ask acquaintences to see if they make the cut to a wedding guest list (answer 60% correctly to get an invite):

Name the city I'm living in now.
Name at least two of my closest friends.
Name my current employer and my past employer.
Do I have any kids?
Do you know the name of my fiancé? Bonus question: Where and when did we meet?
Do you know where my parents are and whether they are still alive?
Name at least two of my hobbies.
How old am I?
Where did I go to college?
Name my last boyfriend before this engagement. Bonus question: if you can name the last two and why we broke up. If you get the bonus question right, that might automatically get you in.

Borrowed from I Do Sugar