And Today's Lesson ...

I know it's been a while since I posted. We are coming down to the wire and I only thought I knew the meaning of the phrase, "Not enough hours in the day!" But ... taking time and staying charged is what this blog is all about. So, what say we lighten things up and study a bit of Anton Chekhov today, sort of.

The Cherry Orchard

Their bankrupt estate
sold to a former servant.
Nobles down, surfs up.

David M. Bader, Haiku U.

Concessions

Hotel Nights With My Mother
-Linda McCarriston

The hometown flophouse
was what she could afford
the nights he came after us
with a knife. I'd grab my books,
already dreading the next day's
explanations of homework undone
- I ran out of paper - the lies
I'd invent standing in front of
the nuns in the clothes I'd lain in
full-bladdered all night, a flimsy
chair-braced door between us
and the hallway's impersonal riot.

Years later, then, in the next
city, standing before my first class,
I scanned the rows of faces,
their cumulative skill in the
brilliant adolescent dances
of self-presentation, of hiding,
New teacher, looking young, seeming
gullible, I know, I let them
give me any excuse and took it.
I was watching them all

for the dark circled eyes,
yesterday's crumpled costume, the marks
- the sorrowful coloring of marks -
the cuticles flaming and torn.
I made of myself each day a chink
a few might pass through unscathed.

Teaching With Fire (2003).

Acquiescence

Let yourself be silently drawn

by the stronger pull

of what you really love.

by RUMI

Hoppy Holidays to All!

May you all have a safe and happy:

Easter

Passover

Licorice Day

&

Walk on Your Wild Side Day

!

A few upcoming April holidays:

Equal Pay Day: 15 (for those who don't know,

on this day women's wages reach what men earned by the end of the previous year.)

International Moment of Laughter Day: 16

International Stress Awareness Day: 16

National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day: 16

Blah! Blah! Blah! Day: 17

Some other April celebrations you may be looking forward to!

National Library Week: 12-18; Egg Salad Week: 13-19; National Wildlife Week: 18-26; National Crime Victims Rights Week: 19-25; National Karaoke Week: 19-25; National Volunteer Week: 19-25; Sky Awareness Week: 19-25; Cowboy Poetry Week: 20-26; International Whistler's Week: 22-26

http://www.brownielocks.com/april.html

Quiz

All That is Gold Does Not Glitter

- JRR Tolkien

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

(You will, of course, remember

that this was actually written by Bilbo, about Aragorn.

And the book is _______________?)

Honest!

I Meant To Do My Work Today

- Richard Le Gallienne

I meant to do my work today,
But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land,
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand--
So what could I do but laugh and go?

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/spring/poem/work-today.htm

Look! Look!

Living in the State of Stuck: How Assistive Technology Impacts the Lives of People With Disabilities Brookline Books; 4th (2005) by Marcia J. Scherer $19.80

“Provides an overview of the issues surrounding assistive technology by using vignettes to describe those who use assistive devices and those who tried and abandoned them.”

I have been looking for information to help with, what I have learned is a fairly common phenomenon, students refusing to use the assistive devices that will help them, because 'normal' people will see. One of my students actually said, "It's better to be stupid, than different." My student population is at risk if they are not able to take advantage of all that is available to them, and this is the first book I've seen that comes from their point of view. After hearing my middle schoolers say that we don't understand, I have started trying to see more from their perspectives.

The Magnifying Glass Pro utility is a virtual magnifier that enables you to enlarge (magnify) text and graphics as they are displayed on your computer monitor or attached television screen, or projected onto a larger media during a presentation (e.g., using an application such as PowerPoint). As you pass your mouse cursor over a section of the viewing area, the display is magnified making it instantly more readable and accessible. In addition, you can apply a variety of visual effects and enhancements to that display. Magnifying Glass Pro is modestly priced at $24.95.

The links for both of these are to the left as well

Spring

On the Lawn

- Good Egg

A lone Crocus on a vast sea of green,

dotting the sod like an exclamation

Of Spring.

http://nodda.wordpress.com/2006/03/26/spring-break-part-one-poetry-monday/

I know this is supposed to be spring break -
but I just ran across a good article on LD Online entitled, "On The Go: What Consumer Products Can Do For You ( If You Know Where To Look!)." It's about how our everyday digital, cellular, and hand held whatnots have the capacity to act as assistive technologies. It is really worth looking at. And I see rain out my window, anyway ...

I 'll leave you with a butterfly to help bring back the sunshine.

Laze, Laugh, Love

Spring break

- Independence Forever

A time to rejuice your batteries
eat a lot and clog up the arteries

celebrate with a little for a change
now you are out of school work's range

rejoice, you have a week to rest
you can now sleep at your best

but don't get lazy, do a little hard work now
show everyone that you still know how

have some fun in the soft soothing sun
you'll be sad when the week is done

but till then be happy, never despair again
remember schoolwork to you is foreign
i wish you the happiest of spring breaks
have some fun, no matter what it takes

http://www.poems-and-quotes.com/special/poems.php?id=865400

Unicorns, The Care & Feeding of

Alms

Like birds in winter
You fed me;
Knowing the ground was frozen,
Knowing
You did not need my gratitude.

Softly,
Like snow falling on snow,
Softly, so not to frighten me,
Softly,
You threw your crumbs upon the ground -
And walked away.

- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The Unicorn & Other Poems (1956)