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100 Day Project – Day 52 – Interruptions

November 6th, 2011 · 100 Days Project, Musings, Teaching & Learning

100 Day Project – Day 52 – 9:16 pm

I’m sure no one else but me is counting or cares; but if a reader is interested, I know very well that Day 52 had almost a week between it and Day 51!  I can blame the crazy October snow storm for a day or two; not just the power outage which was only the better part of a day for me, but the crazy readjustment that seemed needed everywhere to get past this storm. My students were late and absent and flustered when they were present.

I did have a couple of days of rethinking it and wondering if I should just cut my losses at half way to 100.  But, I won’t stop.  Tomorrow, I’ll begin again with little thoughts about teaching and learning.  Why not?  I know the blogs I’m writing are short, maybe not even sweet to some, but it has convinced me that I do have something to say.  Not only something to say, but that once I start writing, it comes relatively comfortably.

I do know, and blogging has reinforced it, that I don’t have enough time to do each entry thoroughly.  But, I’ve decided to get back to the task I set myself.  Then when 100 days has come to an end; I can reformat and rethink the best of the 100 and see where that takes me.  Interruptions happen in life: some of the worst really throw us onto a new road for short or even long amounts of time.  Some of them teach us a new way to look at life, large or small parts of life that maybe need a new perspective.  Some of them are just plain annoying and equal no more than the big mud puddle that must be stepped in to enter the car on a rainy morning in my driveway.  So, move along life, today I am thinking about interruptions.

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100 Day Project – Day 51 – Snow in October!

October 31st, 2011 · 100 Days Project, College students, Education, family, Musings, photo of the week, Teaching & Learning

100 Day Project – Day 51 – 2:09 p.m.

SNOW – a big snow storm in October!  A snow day today!  There’s much to say about the craziness of it, the no electricity, have fun talking and cleaning odd things and doing other chores that require no electricity, and hot cocoa on the sterno!  But mostly, what I want to say is how much we need these days of forced rest and we don’t know it.  Our brains, whether learning and teaching or planning and prepping for either, need breaks.  We don’t give it enough often enough.  Today I’m thinking about how much

My poor pear tree in October snow storm.

my brain really appreciated the snow storm in October!  (even if my trees didn’t).

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100 Day Project – Day 50 – Joy

October 27th, 2011 · 100 Days Project, Children, College students, Education, Musings, Teaching & Learning

100 Day Project – Day 50 – 10:01 pm

Here’s the dictionary definition of “joy:”

joy

[joi]

noun

1. the emotion of great delight or happiness  caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation: She felt the joy of seeing her son’s success.
2. a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated: Her prose style is a pure joy.
3. the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
4. a state of happiness or felicity.
verb (used without object)

5. to feel joy; be glad; rejoice.
Today a guest speaker came to my Creative Experiences for Young Children class at my community college.  We sang children’s songs together for over an hour: we giggled, we laughed, we mixed up hand motions, we marched up and down with the Grand Old Duke of York, we cried over Puff, and – don’t tell the students – probably even bonded a little as friends.   This is the glue of learning.  This is the moment I continuously attempt to capture for my students — that, yes, indeed there are goals, there are objectives, there are standards, there are important reasons to do what we do in the classroom with and for young children.  One enormous important reason to do it all goes beyond that: the joy of learning, the joy of life, the joy of living, the joy of laughter, the joy of friendship and holding one another’s hands when Puff slides into his cave and childhood might be left behind.  Today I’m thinking about joy (and I wish it for all of you).  I hope you learn something tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after that….

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100 Day Project – Day 50 – Access, yet again

October 26th, 2011 · 100 Days Project, College students, Education, Important People, Musings, Teaching & Learning, Work

100 Day Project – Day 50 – 9:12 am

The President of my college and work place says it eloquently on my behalf today:

 

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100 Day Project – Day 49 – access and equity

October 25th, 2011 · 100 Days Project, Children, College students, family, Musings, Teaching & Learning, Work

100 Day Project – Day 49 – 8:32 pm

A few thoughts and moments occurred today that I’m thinking must be related somehow.  In one of my Education courses, the students were exploring the printing with various objects (process vs product) in creative experiences.  The topic came up of whether food should be used in the early childhood classroom as an art supply, such as printing with cut in half potatoes.  My own personal and professional belief is that food is food.  I know that many artists use food; but my argument is that those artists are adults.  Children see us use food, their parents see us use food and it’s my belief that I am sending a message that food is unimportant.  Access to food is a class issue, an access to equity social justice issue for me.

The other moment was a story I heard on NPR about Child Services in any states removing Native Children from their homes.  I was driving and at one point I heard that 33 children were removed from a village of only 1400 people.  The journalist told the story of trumped up charges against a mother whose four children were then removed from her home.  In fact, the charges were so trumped up, they never even charged her with anything.  I was speechless while listening to this story.  I rarely find it hard to drive while I listen to the radio, but this story really shocked me.  Access and equity to fair laws, to raise our children the way we wish, and to be told the truth.   Social justice issue through and through.

This doesn’t speak well to how I could tie them together; but I know in my heart they are tied together.  With the Occupy/99% movement attempting to take haold; I worry that noone in America is paying attention to the real true facts that not only do only 1% have the wealth; but I’m beginning to think that only 1% have access to equity and fair treatment.  That is what I’m thinking about tonight.

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