It's interesting and, actually, very exciting to see all of the educators who keep blogs. I'm not surprised, though. Education is an industry of sharing. Blogging is a great way to keep in touch with new trends and ideas in your subject matter. It's cool to see how many educators are technologically hip, too. I just added a few more teaching blogs to my reader. Woot!

I want to be a renegade tenant and plant a garden in the back yard of my apartment house. It's fenced in and has lots of shade, so I might do two boxes, in different spots. I need to start planning now, so I know what I need to start seeding in my apartment. I know for sure that I want to plant basil, dill, green beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers (the easy stuff). But I also want to try kale or asparagus, or something equally adventurous. We'll see.

Haven't subbed at all this week, and the restaurant job has been slow, too. I've taken the opportunity to relax, sleep in, and do some reading. I never seem to be reading only one book at a time. Maybe college has trained me to be able to take in multiple texts at a time. Hmm...sounds like a future blog topic.

I wish serenity and wellness to the small number of people that read this.

My name is.

Adventures in subbing have brought me to another realization: learning someone's name speaks volumes. I was subbing for IEPs at an elementary school that I frequent. I was in the last class for the day, supervising some independent work, learning and using names as I go. When the class was all packed up and sitting on the carpet, I was passing the time asking them about their hobbies and extracurricular activities. One girl raised her hand to share, and I blanked on her name for a moment. I finally remembered and said it, and her face lit up into a huge, genuine smile. What a gem.

I've received compliments on my ability to learn the names of students quickly. But I often wonder how other subs or aides get by without being able to do so. As soon as you learn a student's name, you have his/her attention. (they always ask, in amazement, "How do you know my name?" Well, it's written on your desk.) You create a connection between you and the individual because you've shown that they matter enough for you to learn something that is special about them. It's a recognition of their existance within a sea of faces (or, in this case, a class of 30 students).

Wife Swap? Who Knew?!

Okay, I'll start this out by admitting something: I'm fond of reality television. I'm finally making this statement, in a public place.

Am I ashamed? Sometimes. But it was almost as if the episode of "Wife Swap" that I watched today was meant especially for educators. The show's title is pretty self-explanatory: two families with different values and living habits trade moms for two weeks. On this particular episode, the parents in the first family home-schooled their boys and preached of the evils of conforming to what society expects. The other parents were extremely focused on success and structure, believing that a formal education was essential for their two girls.

The debate over formal vs. alternative education was the main topic of the show. The structured mother discovered that the boys in the first home could not write or do math at the expected grade levels for their age. On the other hand, as a viewer, I could not ignore the inspiring curiosity and creativity of the home-schooled boys. The amount of pressure and stress that the teen girls of the other house were experiencing also made me wonder about the education "machine".

I think it's every teacher's dream to have each student learning in a curious, creative way that is unique to their interests and learning styles. However, establishing curriculum is essential if we want to educate our youth to become citizens of our communities and the values that accompany them. Curriculum is essential, but learning should never be limited to it. The key here is Balance. We have a responsibility, as teachers, to encourage our youth to think "outside of the box," but we have to teach them what the box IS before they can do that. Does that make sense?