Teen Entertainment and Adult Entertainment

SOL # 3 (should be #4) See below about the Slice of Life challenge. 

I am not talking about what entertains teens--I'm talking about how teens can entertain us. I'm a middle school teacher, and here are few of the things that made me laugh today:

• I finish Fridays with a music video, and the students vote. Was the video fab or was it a flop? (I got this idea from Tracy Brosch.) I made the mistake of asking the class for any suggestions. And one of my boys (who is quite proud of the barely-there moustache he's cultivating) suggested Pitbull's Fireball. I know Pitbull. I even like some of his music, so I checked out the video during my plan period. Thank goodness. The first 10 seconds alone would get me fired. I chuckled to myself, thinking that he thought I might play it for the class. Ha!

• The I'm-just-sitting-next-to-way-too-close-to-him-because-we're-helping-each-other-with-our-math-work maneuver. Ha ha! I remember having teen crushes. She didn't fool me one smidgen.

And the adult entertainment I had in mind? The kind of adult fun I enjoyed today was a short video on what Zoom teaching was like. I chuckled, because I did some of the same gesturing as this teacher did, and invariably got sucked into conversations about pets/bedroom decor/what they were eating while I taught, and so on.

 

Next week, our school might be taking off the masks... until we need to put them back on. It's often impossible to tell which student is talking/making noises/singing (and I'm most definitely not a music teacher) when they're wearing a mask.

I imagine the kids will be thrilled to be able to take off their masks... but I smile as I wonder if they know that baring their faces will have a downside...  

                                                                                                                                                                                         

It's the Small Things

SOL #2 (should be 3--see below to read a bit about the Slice of Life challenge) 

Here are some small things I delighted in yesterday:

• the softness of a well-loved quilt as I snuggled on the couch
• the velvet of the side of my dog's nose
• laughter among friends--women friends--who get the same things I get
• dancing to Uptown Funk in my car seat as I drove

I make a conscious effort to lighten my foot when it comes to the gas pedal when that song comes on. I once got a speeding ticket for going 78 on the highway when Bruno and his friends were singing. The officer was a great guy--he wrote it for only 70--but wondered why I was going so fast. I didn't have the courage to say, "It was a reeeally good song,"

If you want to smile or snap your fingers or tap your toes, check out Uptown Funk's  music video... and keep a close eye on Bruno Mars' footwork and what he does with his hands. He's mesmerizing...

The UN

 My students are working on their Civitas project. Civitas is a St. Louis gem--a model UN program. The students who participate choose a country, research its problems, draft a UN resolution to solve one of those problems which involves data, a plan and a budget.

Yesterday (the first day I should have posted :( my classes waded through websites and asked lots of questions. Since Ukraine is on everyone's mind, there were were several resolutions from countries intending to sponsor Ukraine.

If only all world leaders would have the hope and the peace in their hearts that our students have...

                                     a photo from one of the Civitas General Assemblies in 2019--

                                                              not one of my classes

Dream Squasher? Or Dream Nurturer?

 There are some who help keep people's dreams alive. They fan the tiny flames. They dig around the embers, the coals, trying to get a fire reignited. They bring in kindling. 

There are other people who squash people's dreams. They criticize. They ridicule. They refuse to listen to some out-of-the-box thinking from a writing colleague.

I'm lucky. I belong to a great writing group. When I do encounter people who are "clueless" about my writing (and everyone else "gets it") I know that probably that one person is the one who's in the wrong... it's not my writing that needs work.

Recently I wrote about my students in a post for WOW. While we were discussing the project they were working on, I brought up Mae Jemison--the first African American woman to go up into space, and how a kindergarten teacher tried to squash her dreams.

                                                                     image by Pixabay

If you're curious about what the teacher said, check out the post... and think about how you nurture other people's dreams, along with your own.

Jack... Or Mark?

 

I admit, this version of Jack Daniels does not look anything like Mark Twain. However, I've got a styrofoam version of Jack that is the spitting image of Twain. He's about 3 feet tall... and he's spectacular.

I got the statue via a white elephant gift exchange. Initially, I wondered what I was going to do with it. First, it's so white and plain. It was the gift I wanted as soon as I saw it. Size does matter, and this one was the largest one, it was wrapped in several white trash bags and it was intriguing.

You want it... you got it, they say. Now I have it, and since I live in a small house, I needed to think of where to put Jack Daniels Mark Twain. Immediately, I knew how I was going to jazz him up. Zentangling him (if you don't know what Zentangle is, google it--it's a methodical way of doodling), and transforming him into Mark Twain was also an instant solution. After all, I have no connection or fondness for Jack Daniels. But Mark Twain? That's a different story.

Someone suggested I put it in my classroom... and what a brilliant idea that was. So, after he emerges from his cocoon, Mark will get a prominent place in my classroom.

Am I crazy? Does my Jack Daniels really look like Mark Twain? You be the judge. Check out my post on the Muffin. Some bonus tidbits: you'll see what was my favorite gift, and you'll learn the name of the artist you should never support financially (because supporting him is actually supporting moneygrubbing and soul-stealing people and not the artist).

Sioux's Weird. But is She Wonky?

 I've been called weird all my life. When I was 13 I changed my name (much to the dismay of my parents) and thirty years later, made it legal. One year in high school, I wore moccasins every day. Even if it was raining, or snowing, I wore my mocs. And these were not moccasins that had a hard sole. All that was between me and the soggy, cold ground was a single layer of suede.

I also loved wearing overalls, and never wore any make-up until I went to a homecoming dance in high school.

I love sad movies and books that make me ache and sob.

Lots of people have called me weird. But am I wonky?

Well, I'm definitely doing something wonky. After getting my book, Greeenwood Gone: Henry's Story, published, I almost immediately envisioned it as a movie. Okay, that's showing how old and out of touch I am. Nowadays, things stream on Hulu and Netflix and HBO, so my dream of seeing my story told in a movie theater... well, that might not be the way it debuts. But I do see it as something larger than just a book. 

Soooo... I'm working on writing a screenplay version. And it's wonky. It's a strange format, and using a screenwriting program is quite helpful... but it was hard getting used to it.

 I wrote about my struggles recently. Check out my Tell, Don't Show post on The Muffin.