Thing 1 and Thing 2

For my regular readers out there (all four or five of you), this post is an assignment for a cousre that I am taking this summer - 23 Things Teachers Need to Know about Web 2.0. My primary reason for taking this course is to fulfill the last CEU requirements I need to maintain my teaching license. I need three credits and this course, when completed, will give me two. My second reason for taking this course is I like to try and stay ahead of the curve. I know that many of my students know more about technology than me. I'm not afraid to ask them questions. I thought that taking this course, I could know something before they do.

I have been keeping (more or less) this blog since 2008. I don't write as much as I would like. Being an English teacher/student council adviser/soon-to-be divorced mom to a mildly autistic son leaves me little time for extras. I have, however, grown quite comfortable writing about nearly any topic. There are, obviously, topics that are verboten - mostly related to my son. The particular details of my divorce are off-limits. Beyond that, why not. We live in a world of 24-hour news and endless streams of reality television. My house is not packed to the ceiling with garbage hoarded over the years, I'm not addicted to anything (okay, maybe Lindt's dark chocolate with sea salt), and I don't pretend to have any musical talents. I do think, however, that I am a pretty decent writer and a good person. Through my writing, if one other person is experiencing something similar to me, than suddenly, we are both less alone and isolated.

I work in a district that is extremely poor. The threat of an EMF looms large on the horizon. Many of my students come from completely chaotic homes. They all have cell phones and MP3 players and yet, when I've tried to design assignments that implement those items (download an audio book), they don't budge. What my students need are mentors. People in their lives who see the value of an education. They need life skills that lead them to do more than shrug their shoulders and quit.

Many of them still don't have computers at home. It's pie-in-the-sky to talk dreamily of technology when each district is facing a $300/student cut next year. I have a lovely Smart board that has been decorating my wall since March. It is unusable because it isn't connected. My data projector remains sadly unmounted from the ceiling and cords are no where to be found. I'd love to engage my students with activities using that bit of technology, but I draw the line at climbing up ladders and using power tools over my head.

Of the two articles, I enjoyed the one by Steve Hargadon the most. The middle school article is clearly a Utopian concoction, as I have never met a class full of 13-year olds mature enough to handle The Grapes of Wrath. The Hargadon article lays out emerging trends that should give people food for thought and also tips for those who are cautiously dipping their toes into the new world's pool.

I'd like to say that technology is not going to be a panacea for kids who don't achieve and schools that have no money. I am also concerned that the uber-enthusiasm for all things technology based will take us down the whole language versus phonics path. The reality has show that the answer to teaching reading falls somewhere in the middle, and, as always, starts at home.

Weighing the options

To be honest, my son has not had a full-force hurricane melt-down in a long time. Probably a couple of months. Each time, the trigger is the same and I, frankly, thought we had dodged a bullet this time.

This past Saturday, I took Andrew to Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum to hang out with my friend Kriss, who drove up from Cleveland for the day. We left the house around 9:00 in the morning and got home around 4:30. We were both whipped. He was, however great. He was friendly and bubbly. He asked good questions at the artisan exhibitions (i.e the pottery house) and was extremely well-behaved. I knew that Sunday would be a lost day because that's just how he is. He needs one full day to recover from a big activity, like a trip to Greenfield Village.

That meant Sunday would be a chill day. His father (will I never move out of this place) had other plans and tried to enforce some errands on the boy. Luckily, I intervened and we stayed at home, read books, looked for four-leaf clovers, and hit the ball off the tee. We got through the day with no temper tantrums.

This morning, I knew immediately that something was not right. He spent the morning rocking on the couch, in a turtle position. He told me he was too tired to go to school. I said he could stay home if he didn't mind running errands and he resoundingly rejected that notion. I promised that I would pick him up a little early, when I finished running my international errands. A promise I kept.

He was fine until he had to brush his teeth. He has a habit of squirting toothpaste all over the sink. I now make him clean it up and that has slowed down the mess. Well, his dad caught the mess tonight and kind of escalated. This led Andrew to threaten to kick his dad and to call both of us "stupid futs" (his version of fuck). He finally calmed down and now I can kind of collect my thoughts.

I had hoped to take him to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky this summer, but after today's display, I just don't know. Perhaps he's ready for the end of the school year on Wednesday and that played a contributing factor. I thought the trip would take three days: one to get there, one to go to the cave, and one to come home. Now, I don't know. I don't want us to be held hostage to the autism, but I need to be realistic. I was hoping to go in August, so he might be fully relaxed by that point. He is bright, friendly, and sweet. He needs to experience the world, to broaden that expressive vocabulary of his. I guess we'll play it by ear and see how he's doing.