how i respond to my teacher
johnnie mac – how can you be creative outside of science?
me – epic fail (success), but i won’t tell. chatted with one of my kids today about the meaning of reflection – that whole science writing thing we’ve got going on. was such a great conversation. he wrote in his outdoor ed reflection that he learned that tea is much better when it has a chance to just sit and sit, (steep not being part of his metallica dialect) and then he went on to chat about being in the bush, and thinking ahead to our field trip in two weeks. he was thinking about when to put the tea bag into the pot, and how much wood is waisted if he brings the water to a boil first and how much time it takes to “get it just right.” john, does it get any better than that for a cooking-over-an-open-fire lab? (yes, we made bacon and eggs wednesday morning out on the field by our school. the principal was away at threat assessment training – either she’s nuts, or she trusts us.) wow. hee hee. and the kid says he’s rotten at reflection. he’s not. and i showed him where he’s brilliant. and showed him those dull rubric things are for me and he simply must step away from them as often as possible. more giggling.
i’m taking my creative writing kids (they are 18, most of them, but they are my babies) on their final Place Based Learning excursion next wednesday; we’ve booked a bus and everything! our admin assistant is joining us, mostly ’cause she loves what we are doing and how we are doing and where we are going. and cause we just have so much fun. didn’t i hear that fun thing once before? we are off for four hours of silence. ooh. too much joy. we’ve been learning hero quest and how can they live this stuff if we don’t walk the labyrinth? so we will. and eat and reflect, truly live the best kind of storytelling, that silent good, mucking about stuff.
i have designed an advanced ELA project for my division, i’m uber excited about my kids playing around in this on-line space. the grand-pooh-pahs are involved, so it’s terribly slow getting things going. i never thought i’d be this excited about enrichment. john, it’s like a bin of vermicompost!
and i’ve decided it’s time to come and chat with carol… you know. it’s time.
miss you. the kids said i made them cry at grad. reading your note, the best of the best fun-science-stand-beside-space-opener-ever made me cry too.
p.s. just for me, go hide the great horned owl and leave note on the white board: borrowed owl to finish mask, love saas 🙂
