#SOLSC23: Choices
Drive time Sunday gave me time to think, organize, and ready my brain for blogging this week on the downhill side of the Slice of Life Challenge.
What can I write about?
- Lady Hawkeyes win and advancement to the Sweet Sixteen
- Driviing Conundrums
- My uncle’s story about the river flooding so quickly that he had to watch his brother dive underwater to unhitch the horse from the wagon so it wouldn’t die stuck in the river bed. Literally watching his brother risk his life for the horse.
- Current quilting projects
- Formatting issues with my blog posts
- “Response-ability”
Each of these bulleted items could be a slice or two or three. What to do? Start writing and see what surfaces? Take a walk and narrow down the topics to just two or three?
So I started typing. And here is my draft.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Saturday I spent five hours in Zoom PD. Willingly. By choice. In years past I’ve wished for Saturday Reunions to have remote access to save time, $ and resources required to travel. Saturday I was grateful for the learning! There was a theme across the sessions whether it was Lucy, Amanda, Brooke, Rachael, Janet, Phillip, Gene or any of the other sessions I attended.
Response – ability
That was the theme! Not to be confused with “responsibility”. In education, responsibility typically deals with accountability and fidelity. Responsibility makes me think of more of a teaming, “We are in this together approach as we work on common goals in similar ways.”
Response – ability
This word conjures up possibilities. Possibilities in the way I respond to students. In the way I respond to parents, teachers, community, and administrators. It also conjures up choices. I’m thinking that this is “freeing” as I can be “responsive” both to and for students.
Responsive to students is a common discussion thread in our #CuriosityCrew group from #G2Great. Our roles deal with students, teachers, and administrators from PK – college. We collectively believe (like many others) that our fidelity is to the students sitting in front of us, first and foremost. Our goal is learning. Students learning.
So what does it take for students to be learning?
Instruction needs to meet student needs. It’s not “everyone on page 40”. Instruction is explicit. Instruction is differentiated. Instruction is designed to move at a pace that ensures students learn and also close gaps where necessary. This is instruction that is “response-ability” for teachers. Teachers are expected to as well as able to “respond” to students. If 75% of the class doesn’t understand concept x, we can reteach and check for understanding again. We make sure that learning and not “coverage of content” is the focus.
Response – ability
New concept
Old belief
Values students.
Values learning.
Embedded in a sense of urgency
But not limited to a pacing guide.
Responsive
To students.
Response – ability.
Additional Resources:
“Recall that response-ability, in its most succinct iteration, is “an ability to respond, to respond to the world beyond oneself, as well as a willingness to recognize its existence” (Kuokkanen, 2007, p. 39).”
link – https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-61299-3_7#:~:text=Recall%20that%20response%2Dability%2C%20in,39)
Poetry: “Response-ability” https://powerpoetry.org/poems/response-ability
What does response-ability mean to you? How does it fit into your life?
___________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum in March. Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL22: Poetry
Sun blazing
Red lights flashing everywhere
A sign of tapping brakes
And the masses slow.
Forward motion
Below the speed limit.
Vehicles hugging the left lane
Cause some to pass on the right.
Others wait
And wait
And wait.
Surely
They will move over
As soon as they recognize their “slowness”.
Ah . . .
Will they choose to use their turn signals?
The top driving infraction . . . no turn signals!
Driving: Torture? Fun? Relaxing? Annoying?
It all depends on your point of view
And the drivers on the road!
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
What constitutes a poem?
Rhyme?
Rhythm?
Word choice?
Literary devices?
Oxford languages defines poetry as:
When do you intentionally choose to write poetry? When does poetry write itself?
_________________________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum. Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL22: Weekend Recap
Being patient in order for a topic to separate and rise to the top from the busy weekend is difficult.
What should I “slice” about today?
6 seniors on a panel for a Q and A session with the whole group 6 hours of excitement at LFA.
5 years of participating in the Ladies Football Academy at Iowa. 5 family members playing Hand and Foot.
4 family members together most of the weekend. Saturday dinner = 4.
3 football player “lifts” at LFA. LFA and 3 Marek women
2 gooseberry pies made and devoured this week. 2 elder Ruth sisters. 2 Baby Ruths. 2 sisters. 2 from FL 2 winners at Hand and Foot.
1 French toast breakfast created by a chef. 1 glorious day of fun. Best place to relax and unwind.
Which story to tell? Which one wins the story “lottery” for this week?
Revising my list of six. You’ve already seen some of the revisions above.
Revisiting.
Wondering.
Which story?
Maybe it’s not really one of those.
Maybe it’s about being on the front page of the sports section for both the Iowa City Press Citizen and the Des Moines Register on Saturday, June 11, 2022.
Moi? On the front page? Of the sports section?
Yes, the Front page of the Sports Section
Do tell!
Here’s what the article looked like in the Des Moines Register.
(picture from the field on the north side of the indoor practice field … 2019)
Here’s a link to the Iowa City Press Citizen. Scroll down to the second picture.
You may have noticed that the picture looked like a pose in the video from last week’s post. Yes, that 2019 photo of us lifting up AJ Epenesa at the LFA with the help of teammate Chauncey Golston made the front page of the sports section in two major Iowa newspapers. (And it was AJ’s idea)
So the new pics from 2022. Riley Moss. Notice that no assist was needed.
Back 2021
Eric Epenesa – (brother of 2019 liftee AJ)
Fun
Camaraderie
Community
Learning
Tours
Drills
Autographs
Petras / Moss Duet of “Piano Man”
Favorite foods, stadiums, coaches . . .
Thank you, #IOWALadiesFootballAcademy #ForTheKids #UIHC
How do you choose just one small moment from a day fillled with joy and occasional raindrops?
________________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL22: Foreshadowing
Totally, that kind of a day. Cold. AGAIN. The average daily temp for January is 35 degrees. Staying 15 to 20 degrees below that average is just cold. Tiring. Causing weary bones.
It was not a good day to sew. 15 minutes of stitching around the edges of an 18 inch square was followed by over an hour of “ribbit” – ripping every single, stinking stitch out. So not right! The outside shape was a parallelogram. Not a square. UGH, Geometry! Not the picture in my brain or the one that matched the lines in the plaid.
Following directions was not helpful today. My #OLW “Be patient” was tested. At least three times or more.The air fryer cookbook said six hard-boiled eggs emerge after 15 minutes at 250 degrees. WRONG! The egg white was gooey, icky and totally gag worthy. Trash can ready. Not even soft boiled. GROSS! Beyond disgusting.
The good news was that the other five eggs went back into the air fryer and the egg whites are now solid. Same time as on the stove. No water necessary. The verdict on this methodology has not yet been released.
What will be my choice next?
These are my tools. Which should I use first?
Eggs? Breakfast pizza? Cinnamon rolls? Doughnuts? Banana bread? What should I bake in the air fryer next? Will the recipe be accurate in terms of time and temperature and yield a tasty outcome? What do you predict?
_____________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL21: Final Four
Not an elimination.
Not a bracket.
Not a sport.
The final four days of 2021. What am I willing to prioritize as 2021 wanes? What am I willing to let go? What am I willing to put on my “To Do” list? What won’t even get a mention on my “To Do” list?
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!
This image seems to fit some of my end of the year traveling. And yet, it seems too simple. Are all the choices really straight lines? What if I venture off the track?
My final four days of 2021:
Finalizing my 2021 #OLW (One Little Word)
Updating syllabi and moodle courses
Reading
Writing
Playing
I don’t yet know the format for playing. Perhaps in fabric choices, Perhaps in writing or reading choices.
How will you end 2021? How will you begin 2022?
_____________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL21: Good Enough?
I’ve heard this phrase for years, decades even.
But I’ve been wondering lately what a person is to do if the quality of the lemonade is dubious, not up to expectations, or perhaps not even fit for consumption.
Do we politely sip it anyway?
Do we question the source to attempt to determine why the quality seems to have slipped?
Do we just say, “Oh, it’s for a good cause. Suck it up! It’s good enough!”
Colleen Cruz offers us much wisdom in her book, Risk. Fail. Rise.
What are mistakes? Are they “missed takes”?
During our #G2Great chat in February of 2021, Colleen defined mistakes for us.
Surprise! We thought it was going to go one way. But it went another!
And I was ready to talk about tons of mistakes.
Two real-life examples
Gravy too thin? A secret ingredient for quick thickening might be two tablespoons of instant mashed potatoes.
In quilting: A narrow seam might “fix” a seam that is pulled too tightly.
But the subtitle of Colleen’s book is:
“A Teacher’s Guide to Learning from Mistakes”
Recounting mistakes is not the end goal. My list could probably be a mile or two long.
Learning from Mistakes.
Where does the learning come from?
I liked the element that Jill added:
The learning begins with reflection and knowing a bit more about the types of mistakes that occur.
Getting beyond mistakes are “good” or “bad” takes some work or study. Not all mistakes are equal. Four kinds of mistakes include: stretch mistakes, aha moment mistakes, sloppy mistakes, and high-stakes mistakes.
McVeigh, https://literacylenses.com/2021/02/risk-fail-rise-a-teachers-guide-to-learning-from-mistakes/
The life mistakes with gravy and quilting were/are not earth shattering. Annoying? Yes. Easily rectified? Yes.
But they do require an awareness of the end product. A road map of our destination. An expectation or approximation of that end goal/ success criteria!
Who decides what is good enough? What if we set the bar too low> What if “any lemonade” becomes our goal and the quality drops off? Will we continue to make lemonade? Are we willing to adjust/adapt to maintain a certain criteria of excellence? Who determines the criteria?
Do give yourself grace.
It’s going to be another wild year.
But continue to have high expectations. Your life will be richer for all that you maintain high expectations. It will be up to you to determine where and how many mistakes you want to share. (Many folks won’t notice them. Others will notice and name many.)
The key is being willing (#OLW) to reflect on the “fails” in order to learn and grow your own list of accomplishments.
You get to set the criteria! Go for the Olympic Gold! Set some worthy characteristics!
Be flexible. Grow and learn. Don’t settle for making lemonade. Make the best lemonade possible!
When is “Good Enough” really Good Enough?
—————————————————————————————————————
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL21: Tiger, Tiger
Animals exist on so many planes. Which ones are your favorites?
William Blake in his poem says
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
William Blake The poetryfoundation.org
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
You may know Daniel the Tiger, a PBS American/Canadian character with Mr. Roger characteristics, who headlines a show for preschoolers with 30 minute segments.
Where in the world are the most Tigers found? Of course, it is India. Who ranks second?
You may be surprised to find out it’s Texas with approximately 2,900 tigers. Source And then there was the tiger India, a Houston star on the loose in Texas just last week. Source
Two weeks ago I spent some time in the National Quilt Museum at Paducah, KY. It’s worth the time and energy to study the artistic and workmanship qualities of quilts.
There were hundreds of colors, patterns and designs that captured my attention but I returned to this one multiple times. Was it the fact that some of the fabric extended beyond the quilt? Was it the visual characteristics? Was it the fact that it made me think?
See the paw that sticks out beyond the border as the tiger springs through the window!
Every creation has information about the designer/creator/craftmanship.
Was it the challenge that drew me back?
The illusions?
What did I notice?
What catches your eye when you are in a museum? What causes you to return to the same item time after time? What are you willing to spend time on? Where does your curiosity take you?
__________________________________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL21: Decisions
It began with a statement. Something lost. Something found. How to send it in the right direction. Possible solutions. Possible outcomes. Hardly a disaster.
Of course, it began with a cell phone inadvertently left behind.
Clear choices to retrieve it.
An extra 15 minutes (one way) to retrieve it. Plus time for a quick chat.
Time well spent.
Decisions:
Yes.
No.
How many choices in life are truly dichotomous?
I’ve come to hate “but” whether it is attached to the yes or the no.
Maybe that’s a personal issue for me.
Currently, I know that I appreciate “when” attached to either the yes or the no. It just doesn’t feel as negative or as conversation stopping as “but”. Maybe that’s my perception.
“Yes, we can play dinosaurs when we pick up the cars and trucks.”
Yes, we can have ice cream with our cupcakes when we finish dinner.
Maybe it’s restating the desired action first before the WHEN that works for me that didn’t work when I said, “Yes, but pick up the cars and trucks first.”
And then again maybe it is ageism. Maybe fewer things are black and white and the WHEN just feels like a larger gray area. Maybe it’s a grandma thing.
Listen to your next three yes or no responses. What follows? Are there conditions? Which ones work for you?
Right now I’m still collecting data.
WHEN seems to be winning and feels right for me.
For me, adding a condition of “time” and not an ordinal number makes it less of a negotiation and yet a bit more specific. I’m willing to keep studying when I say “yes” or “no” which words am I tacking on!
______________________________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOLSC21: What is a Saturday Reunion?
This set of pictures popped up as a six year memory today and is quite worthy of attention.
The year 2015.
The location: Broadway and Millbank Chapel
A day of learning at the Saturday Reunion at #TCRWP.
My first post about the day is here.
What is a Saturday Reunion?
Approximately 4,000 educators from around the world
Descending on TCRWP
For hundreds of free sessions
From some of the smartest educators in the world!
Friends traveling miles.
The picture above includes
Friends from New Jersey, California and me, Iowa.
Friends learning together.
Checking the schedule and attending sessions together.
Friends chatting,
Meeting each other in real life.
Friends exchanging ideas,
And double checking our notes
As well as the ubiquitous “turn and talks.”
Friends meeting for dinner after,
Lingering for another word
Another minute of like-minded company!
What is a Saturday Reunion?
- Challenging
- Collaborative
- Future-focused
- Goal-oriented
- Grounded in practice
- Relevant
- Sustained
And above all . . . A “choose your own pathway for learning and fun for the day.”
Saturdays . . .
Not just a day off
Not just a day to reflect
Because Saturday Reunions are endless days of possibilities!
When have you chosen to spend Saturdays learning with friends? What were the convincing arguments? What were the benefits?
______________________________________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum during the month of March. Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL21: Numbers
It’s winter and numbers rule my life.
Below 0 … the daily highs
-20s and -30s … the daily lows
Snow on the ground in increments of feet – not inches
Numbers rule my life.
Tire pressure light remains on
As each tire varies in the cold
Lower than usual
Not so low to be concerned
And yet numbers rule my life.
What can I focus on?
What am I willing to do?
Read?
Write?
Sew?
Not safe to go out?
Numbers rule my life.
I begin with one idea.
One row at a time it builds.
One.
Then three.
A panel.
Numbers rule my life.
One plus one plus one . . .
Numbers rule my life.
And the process continues . . .
What numbers are currently “controlling” your life? How are you rising to the challenge?
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum. Check out the writers and readers here.
Resource - Full 