I’m a Writer-Reader-Teacher

Wow…we did a lot of writing tonight…very impressive. I really enjoyed were our discussion about the Banking Concept of Education went in such a short amount of time. It seems that as time went on, more people decided to speak up…thanks to all of you who did. As promised, here are this coming week’s assignments. If you have ANY QUESTIONS whatsoever about what is being asked of you…PLEASE RESPOND HERE or EMAIL ME PRIVATELY. I also want this to be our space to complete Assignment 3. If you’re having trouble posting, please seek help from someone that is “computer savvy.” If you’re unable to get this problem resolved, email your postings to me. Thanks to everyone for a great second class…I look forward to seeing your drafts next week!!

Assignment 2.doc

Assignment 3.doc

Our first class is “in the books.” It was great meeting all of you and I’m really looking forward to working with you this semester!! As I mentioned in class, you have an assignment to complete prior to our next meeting on August 30th. I’ve provided a link to the assignment at the bottom of this posting. Just double click it. If you have any questions regarding the assignment, email me. Please remember to post a comment related to one of the assigned activities. To post a comment, just click the word “Comments” in the lower right corner under this post then write your comment. Thanks for helping establish our community of writers!!

Assignment 1.doc

Some of you know that I’m on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Council for Social Studies. A colleague of mine, Steve Pierce has been developing awesome curriculum materials for elementary school teachers for several years. His latest creation…USA Place of the Day is now ready for us…I’m posting a link onto my Blogroll to his website for anyone interested in keeping Social Studies alive in their classroom!! It’s called Social Studies Resource.

This is my only full week off this summer…I’ve been very busy working at UNC-Charlotte…it’s been a very intellectually stimulating summer…however…I’m enjoying a few days off just hangin’ out doing whatever I want…this morning I went outside with the goal of writing a poem about the sounds I heard in my backyard…I started by listing what I heard then I started trying to figure out how to weave it all into a poem…well…here it is…as I wrote…I noticed that the poem started to become more global than local…hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it…

A Path to Peace

Cicadas pulse loudly…

as a taxi passes by…

Planes fly over head…

does anyone know why?

Birds speak to each other…

as the wind moves through the trees…

One dog breathes heavily…

while the other moves about with ease…

Air conditioners turn on and off…

as they battle a muggy August day…

A butterfly passes…beautiful, yellow and black…

is it trying to show us the way?

A path we can take full of peace and love…all we have to do         is try…

There’s too much death and destruction in the world…

does anyone know why?

As summer winds down…I find myself thinking about the new school year and how important it is to get things started on a positive note. Establishing a sense of community in the classroom with my students is my top priority. I’m always searching for new and innovative ways to accomplish this. Once community and trust are established…we can get on with our business.  Go to my Blogroll and click the Bonding and Connecting link. You and your students will be happy you did!!! Thanks to my colleague, Dr. Todd Finley for sharing this link via his blog…English Education Professor!!

If you like this poem and want to get more of them emailed to you…go to the link I’ve provided titled…American Life in Poetry.
August Morning

It’s ripe, the melon
by our sink. Yellow,
bee-bitten, soft, it perfumes
the house too sweetly.
At five I wake, the air
mournful in its quiet.
My wife’s eyes swim calmly
under their lids, her mouth and jaw
relaxed, different.
What is happening in the silence
of this house? Curtains
hang heavily from their rods.
Ficus leaves tremble
at my footsteps. Yet
the colors outside are perfect–
orange geranium, blue lobelia.
I wander from room to room
like a man in a museum:
wife, children, books, flowers,
melon. Such still air. Soon
the mid-morning breeze will float in
like tepid water, then hot.
How do I start this day,
I who am unsure
of how my life has happened
or how to proceed
amid this warm and steady sweetness?

Poem copyright (c) by Albert Garcia from his latest book “Skunk Talk” (Bear
Starr Press, 2005) and originally published in “Poetry East,” No. 44. Reprinted
by permission of the author. This weekly column is supported by The Poetry
Foundation, The Library of Congress, and the Department of English at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This column does not accept unsolicited
poetry.

I’ve had the opportunity this week, thanks to the UNC-Charlotte Writing Project…to explore the wonders of technology at the college with “like minded” geeks. We’ve had a great time learning about things like…how to hyperlink, use programs like Inspirations and for me…playing around with podcasting. All of this playing around will somehow…someway make its way back into my classroom where my students will benefit!! It is my ultimate goal to expose my students to different ways of thinking so they leave me feeling empowered…Why am I telling you all of this? Well…it’s because of the Writing Project that a lot of these things are happening in my life. It was through the Writing Project that I learned how theory guides my practice and my practice guides my theory. It is through the Writing Project that I found myself as a writer!! As a result…students I’ve taught for the past 3 years have benefited greatly as will future classes. Interested in learning more? I have a link to the National Writing Project and the UNC-Charlotte Writing Project. Check them out…