Arghs Galore

I need to run outside and scream "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" at the top of my lungs. I need to jog on the ground and pound my feet so hard on the pavement that there is a rhythmic booming sound. Throwing a few glasses and shattering them might feel pretty good now too.

This week has been crazy. Students have been off the wall and I have felt like this dazed person, just walking through this haze of craziness. Sometimes I feel so tired and strained from work that I don't react appropriately to misbehavior. I hate feeling out of energy that much. On Monday, I MUST kick one of those 8th grade bastards out of class. It's mainly two boys who are driving me crazy. They are rude and don't listen, despite being given TONS of chances. And that's my problem... I give chances, I make threats, and then I don't follow through. But Monday, someone has to leave. I don't know why I wait so long to kick someone out of class.

After work, I chaperoned the 6th grade social. Kids were running around like crazy. It's such a surreal experience too. The DJ was playing songs that I knew and liked...yet, I'm standing in the middle of the gym, "chaperoning." It's weird to see kids singing along to songs like "Since You've Been Gone." They huddle in groups and sing the song with such conviction---yet they're 12 years old. What heartbreak have they felt? They sing along to "1985"--a song about a housewife who misses the excitement of her previous years. These kids sing along with it, not realizing what the song is really about. And granted, it's just some stupid pop song...but I think seriously about stuff like that.

Tonight I'm meeting up for dinner with a friend. Tomorrow is poetry workshop. Not too exciting of a weekend. Can't wait for spring break.... I need to do SOMETHING, to be away from work and from kids. It's almost here...

Networking, 2007

Because of technology, social networking has completely changed. Ideas can spread so much faster through the use of email, websites, and social networking sites. It's as simple as copying and pasting text, forwarding an email, or saving/sending an image. Even those who are not completely tech-knowledgeable can participate in the process with little difficulty. Through use of search engines like Yahoo and Google, users can find online tutorials and learn more about technology.

Social networking makes me think of the phrase, "It's not what you know, but who you know." In the Wikipedia entry for this week, the entry states: "...power within organizations often comes more from the degree to which an individual within a network is @ the center of many relationships than actual job title." This idea also connects with how ideas can spread so quickly through the use of technology. For example, with Myspace--- if someone has a small circle of friends and forwards something to them, the forwarded idea/concept may have little effect. If the same user has many people on their friends list from many "walks of life" and from many different places, the ideas will spread easier because they are being transmitted to a wide range of users.

Due to this quick spreading of ideas, there are definite implications for teaching and learning. The one that concerns me most is this: since ideas can spead so quickly online, I get concerned about students who may see incorrect information about particular news or social issues. If one student "spreads" this idea to another and then so on, wrong information will be embedded in their minds. I know, for instance, there are websites out there that claim the Holocaust didn't happen. There's websites that make other ludicrous historical claims too. Because of the quick spreading of ideas through social networks (online), there are huge educational implications. As teachers, we have to teach students how to judge the validity of a site and how to properly search online for academic material.

renderings of Hopkin Green frog...hehe

If you go to http://www.lostfrog.org/index2.html and click on the main site image, it will constantly change into different "interpretations" of lost frog "fliers." Very funny. The site is worth a view....A few examples:






And my personal favorite...

"His Name is Hopkin Green Frog"

I am fascinated by what happens in others' worlds, even if those "others" are strangers. I love finding old grocery lists in the shopping cart that I choose @ the supermarket; I like finding middle schoolers' misplaced notes on the dirt-caked hallways of school; and I like finding past readers' notes in books that I check out from the library. I love book collections like David Rothbart's Found and Frank Warren's PostSecret.

In short, the Hopkin Green Frog story goes like this: Someone in Seattle posted a "lost frog" flier," even featuring an address! This occurred in Sept, 2003. In the end, it turned out that the lost frog was a stuffed toy and that its owner was an autistic teen.

I can see how Hopkin Green Frog spread across the Internet so easily. First off, the flier looks so innocent with its' hand-drawn frog and incorrect grammar/punctuation. It reels you in because you think of a little kid losing a pet, stuffed animal, ...anything. You don't know if the lost frog is a stuffed animal or actual frog...both scenarios seem absurd: posting fliers for a stuff animal vs. having a frog as a pet...

When I Googled hopkin green frog (no quotation marks), I got about 34,000 hits. When I then Googled lost frog (again, no quotation marks), I got over 1,500,000 hits. There's links to Mike Whybark's blog entry, "Hopkins Explained."

I guess the reason why this whole "thing" caught on was because it did fit into Dawkins' 3 characteristics for a successful meme. Without getting too crazily detailed:

"Fidelity, fecundity, and longevity": The lost frog flier was easy to copy (either xeroxing or saving the digital image and forwarding it to people)-- the information on the flier was simple to read, so the ideas would easily stay within the reader's/viewer's mind. Also, the wording was especially memorable, making for easy copying/spreading: "Him name is Hopkin Green Frog." It is particularly catchy --almost could sound like the name of some obscure band trying to be hip or ironic or something.

Additionally, the "lost frog" meme caught on even more when people started blogging about it. Individuals created domains like lostfrog.org and through the postings on a site called Metafilter, a user researched and concluded that Hopkin Green frog was a toy offered in a Mcdonald's Happy Meal. The whole Happy Meal connection makes the story even more hilarious--- this kid was posting fliers for some dumb Happy Meal toy? Furthermore, the Hopkin Green frog flier/concept lends itself to longevity. There are so many plays on the wording of the flier. It's easy to poke fun at too: "Hopkin Green Frog: Him pretty existential cool..." & "Hopkin Green Frog is the Holy Grail, the Fountain of Youth, the Luminiferous Ether, the Buddha on the Road..." (both from http://www.metafilter.com/43185/him-name-is-hopkin-green-frog-
this blog entry is from June of 2005; another member of the Metafilter community pokes fun @ this blog post, saying how the hopkin Green frog "thing" has been posted about 2x already---he must be a "cool hunter" and get mad when people regurgitate ideas that have already been on various websites/online communities before).

Another Metafilter member says he wouldn't be surprised if there were some lost frog flier tshirts surfacing out there. It wouldn't surprise me either!

I had never heard of Hopkin Green frog or this lost frog flier before. John hadn't either. Are we "uncool"?

Youtube thoughts

I discovered Youtube awhile back. John wanted me to see this video of a band playing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" on kitchen untensils and applicances! He didn't know the band's name but simply typed the song name into YouTube and we found the video quite easily.

I think Youtube is fascinating. I don't really use the website on a regular basis though. Even going to it right now and poking around, nothing interests me that much on the site to spend too much time there. Most of the videos are just random people (that's the point) but the videos aren't particularly entertaining.

The site is pretty easy to search. Case in point: last night on American Idol, during Sanjaya's performance, the camera zoomed in numerous times on a little girl who was crying in the audience...actually crying tears of joy, I think. Sanjaya has fans?!? The footage of the crying little girl lasted for about 30 seconds, inconsecutive seconds, but still a lot of camera time for some random audience member. I said to John, "I guarantee that footage will be on Youtube like crazy tomorrow." I just went to the site and searched with the term "american idol girl crying" and a few videos instantly popped up with the footage I was looking for.

Generally, I only use Youtube if I am feeling nostalgic...it's easy to find clips of TV shows from the 80s. One evening John and I must have played the Mr. Belvedere themesong (and sang along) 30x. Our downstairs neighbors must have loved that!

The second thing I go to Youtube for is "scandallous," gossipy news. Things like World Cup soccer fights and Britney Spears drama. It's like an interactive Star or US Weekly magazine.

I know some of my students have posted stuff on Youtube, which is pretty cool--the fact that they're making "creative" things and getting online audiences. What worries me about the Youtube era is that people are sometimes put on the site unwillingly--through someone else using a camera phone, digital camera w/ recording devices, etc.

A recent article in Radar magazine, "Prisoners of Youtube," best summed it up: "With 780 million camera phones sold worldwide in the last two years, no one is safe from senseless and random ridicule. The surveillance state we've been fretting about for so many years has snuck up on us. But it's not concerned with political control. It just wants to see people screw up."

I, like millions of others, like seeing people screw up... I just hope I don't end up being the screwed up one showcased on the site, for all the world to see.

Simon and me

I have one thing in common with American Idol judge Simon Cowell--- a deep love for dark grey and black shirts. I'm sure all of his clothing is Armani, Versace, and so, but he wears the same v-neck sweaters and clingy grey tshirts all the time.

I'm like Simon----I own tons of snug black tshirts--I layer them under clothing--- if a workshirt is too snug to button because of "winter weight," I wear a black tee underneath, keep the shirt partly unbuttoned, and all is well. Plus black underneath a layered shirt is "slimming"--I think.

This morning I could not find my "Personal Identity" (juniors section!) black tshirt. I love this particular shirt... light, cottony fabric...and it falls a little below my hip. It's perfect. When I bought it, I should have bought 7 others: same shirt, same color.

Tonight, the search continued. I walked around and around the apartment, searching under piles and piles of clothing...even putting away clean laundry (shocking!) to see if the black shirt had already been washed. My search was fruitless.

I just found the shirt a few minutes ago... beneath, what else, a pile. And a pile I had already checked! It's just a stupid shirt but I feel such relief. Sometimes I get obsessive about the tiniest things...like if I misplace a book...it drives me crazy...especially if I am in the middle of reading it. It's times like these that I realize I need to try to keep the apartment clutter-free.... I have this simple theory that a cluttered residence creates clutter in the mind...and not fun, wacky, creative clutter either...but annoying, overwhelming, draining clutter.

I'm working on fixing the clutter...isn't that like the new "American dream"? ---simplifying our lives and getting to a point where we are clutter-free...

Snowbound, corned beef, 300 ---all rolled into one weekend

Argh. I hate when snowy weather arrives before the weekend. Friday was supposed to be a 1/2 day anyway and they closed school instead. Not to be picky, but now that 1/2 day has to be made up as a full day during June...when the prepubescent 6th graders are running around all sweaty and stinky. Ugh.

Since it was pretty bad driving weather on Friday, I walked down to a friend's apartment and hung out there. Tried corned beef and cabbage for the 1st time and actually enjoyed it---not that I'd ever willingly request it at a restaurant or anything.

Yesterday, John and I were mallrats----went to Palisades Park Mall and spent the day there. Bought a pair of Converse All-Stars so that I can "recapture" my youth----everyone seems to be wearing them now! When they were in style, I wanted them so badly but for some reason, never got them. Got a book too. These were impressive purchases. John and I love malls but we generally never buy stuff. We just like the concept of the mall. Palisades Park Mall is like its own little city...it seems almost feasible that one day apartments could be built on top of the mall.

We also saw a late showing of 300 in the Imax theatre! First of all, 30 minutes before the show, the line outside the theatre was crazy--long...mostly male too. We bought our tickets at 3pm and the 4:45 and 7:15 shows were already sold out. The movie was amazing! I wasnt really that much into seeing it, but it was awesome. The visuals were stunning and I kept wondering how they made everything look the way it did. Everything was, of course, horrifically gory and gruesome but fascinating at the same time. I did see a Mom and Dad with two young girls entering the movie theatre---idiots. This movie is totally inappropriate for kids....

Since John's into weightlifting, he was curious to see what I thought of how the Spartans looked....We had talks about body form after we saw Batman Begins also--Christian Bale worked out like crazy for the movie. But the Spartans....



they're not too shabby.

It's a Bob Marley kind of afternoon

Well, it was 75 degrees outside yesterday, according to my car's thermometer. After work, I sat outside with the cats and my neighbors. Like three old women chatting on porch stoops, we sat outside for about an hour and a half, our cats being one of the main topics of conversation. I can't help it---I've been a "cat person" since childhood. They're grouchy, cranky, super affectionate, territorial, and so on--- I love the unpredictability.

I'm feeling a lot better, in general. Even this threat of snow doesn't bother me all that much...although i hope it doesn't "really" snow tomorrow evening...I'm supposed to go out fr St. Patty's Eve and I am jonesin' to wear my green.

Right now I'm listening to the good-mood album, Bob Marley's Legend. I love that practically the entire earth's population owns a copy of this album. Ask anyone, no matter what their music preferences, if they have Bob Marley's Legend and inevitably the answer will be "Yes."

Was reading a YA book yesterday and came across a hilarious piece of dialogue that is yearning to be shared:

"So say we' re at the Motel 6 on the other side of the Lincoln Tunnel and we're having that threeway with E.T. Who gets to be on top and who gets to be on bottom?"

Nick answers, "No brainer. E.T. can't take the heat and heads off to the motel vending machine for some Reese's Pieces, and hopefully doesn't get caught in the crossfire of some crack deal gone bad while he's out there. I mean really, Norah, Motel 6 off the tunnel? Couldn't we class it up a little? Wouldn't the devirginization of E.T. merit at least a Radisson, at least Paramus?"
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

That's some of the funniest dialogue I've read in awhile. Good times.

wanted: happy pill

I don't know if it is simply that the weather outside still has remnants of winter or what, but I've felt "out of it" lately. It is something that I am continuing to perpetuate myself. I come home from work, have a "snack," watch tv, take a nap, and repeat the cycle again. Although not noticeable to anyone else, I feel like I have gained a little weight lately. It's so annoying. Essentially, weight maintenance is about self-control, and I guess that I haven't had that lately. I haven't been exercising either, which isn't helping the matter.

I can see how so many Americans automatically rely on pills for solving problems. Instead of taking the initiative and changing certain parts of their lifestyle, they simply take a pill. It seems so much easier. I, however, am also one of those people who thinks many Americans are overmedicated and/or misdiganosed. The thought of using medication to control any aspect of myself freaks me out. I feel like if I was under the influence of meds, then I wouldn't be putting myself out there for the world to see---it'd be an altered version of me.

Of course, some people and their emotional conditions need to be medicated --- bipolar people, for example. I'm not feeling that high or that low... just feeling a little down lately. Hopefully, it subsides soon. I go by the tenet that being sad or blue is actually not so bad...you can only go up, once you're down to a certain point.

Reading & robots?

I hate having HUGE blog entries, hence the reason why I've divided today's entries into two posts. Reading HUGE blog entries is distracting and annoying-- I can't do it--I'm assuming other online readers are the same way...Today's entries are still loooooooonnnnnng. Just call me Herman Mellville.

Anyway...The way I teach reading now is a combo of "let's read for fun" (free reading for 1/2 of the period on Mondays and Fridays, no questions asked) and more structured activities (context clues work for new vocab, study of prefixes/roots, timed reading, read alouds, notetaking, highlighting, pulling out quotes from novels, graphic organizers, booktalks-- both presenting them myself and having students present them). I try to have a wide range of activities to make the students realize that one sole method does not work for everything. You have to adjust as a reader, according to what your current reading material is and your purpose for reading that material. I also realize that not every child will LOVE reading--- for those students, I try giving them the newspaper to read or even instructional texts (origami, sketching, etc).

As for how future technologies might affect how I teach reading, in the future the reading material for my class might be expanded beyond "conventional texts." Right now, some of our schools' texts are online (not for my class, but for some other courses). I know that the teaching of material from these texts will be affected by the online availability of these texts. Sometimes, I have students do Post-it note activities in their literature anthologies. If most of the future texts are online, reading will become less tactile. I guess I could still teach notetaking though; they'd just be taking notes from a computer screen. Notetaking methods will have to designed to be aligned with readers' habits of reading online (different eye movements instead of conventional left to right, going to different links and opening up different tabs, etc). If laptops are more readily available in classrooms (per student), students might complete comprehension activities online (blogging in response to text, completing online quizzes with instantaneous responses, etc).

Overall, I know that technology will impact how I teach reading but at this point in time, my mindset is just that I will be "getting to the same ends but by different means." Whether or not this proves to be true, I guess I will find out. I can definitely say that I don't think I will be replaced by a robot or anything extreme like that...yet.

Life as a reader: past and present

Joseph Addision once said (by the way, I HATE starting out writings with a quote...), "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." Well, I can tolerate exercise but I'm not a huge fan of it. I would, however, describe reading as one of my passions in life.

As a kid, I read the "required reading" for girls of the late 80s and early 90s, The Babysitters Club. I loved those books and when the movie and tv versions came around, I got into those too. The books were similar to more current series like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Clique. Problems were simpler in the Babysitters Club though and there was a character for every girl to relate to. Even though I haven't read them in years, I still have a pretty clear recollection of the characters.

Other than Babysitters Club (which I read through 7th grade or so), I recall reading Sleeping with the Enemy and a biography of Pablo Picasso in my high school years. I wasn't really a reader in high school. I didn't mind reading novels in school, but books weren't something I pursued outside of school. My main love was writing.

When I got to college and majored in English, I found out that along with writing a paper a week, you had to read a paper a week. It makes sense-- in order to create written works, you have to have something to respond to. Quickly, I got absorbed by the world of reading. I found contemporary poets that I loved (Charles Bukowski, Thomas Lux, Stephen Dunn, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath) and authors that I loved (especially Hemingway and other post-WWII lit, and contemporary lit).

Since college, I've gotten into reading tons of different things. I read a lot of YA/teen books so that I can suggest them to my students. I've read a few graphic novels because of John's influence on me (no superheroes though, more realistic fiction graphic novels, especially Craig Thompson). I've read some non-fiction (mostly pop culture and sociology books). I've fallen in love with memoirists (Augusten Burroughs!!!). Reading has been enhanced by websites like amazon.com, where I can read user reviews and be led to links of other books that I will enjoy. i keep a journal of books that I want to read "someday"-- it quickly has been filling up. i hope I live to be 125, otherwise all the desired books won't get read!

I like to read because of my love of language. I also love reading because it is such a portable activity. I wouldn't describe myself as having ADD, but I do know that I HATE having nothing to do. I get antsy. I hate sitting in doctor's offices, etc. Reading helps with the doldrums of waiting.

No more Comic Sans

My hatred of the Comics Sans MS font is something that I am confronted with on a weekly basis. I was thinking about it this morning while walking in the hallway. I passed a sign that included that font and it annoyed me.

Seriously! We get so many emails, flyers, etc at work that contain that stupid font. I think it works for elementary schools---it has an animated, comic [duh], & fun look about it. At middle and high schools (and other places of business), I just think it looks lame. I hate when we get staff emails that seek volunteering for some type of event and the Comic Sans font is used... it's kind of like, "Let's use this cutesy font and more people will volunteer to chaperone a dance on a Friday night." A font won't make me sacrifice my Friday night.

And progress reports too! Why the cutesy Comic Sans MS font? "Here's your F... it's ok, don't be too sad about it. "

Along with notebook shreds on the ground, loud chewing, and throat-clearing I guess it's just another pet peeve of mine.

My preference? Century Gothic and Verdana all the way...

[Oh my gosh- out of curiosity, I googled "no comic sans"--Take a look!!] There's bumper stickers available!
http://bancomicsans.com/home.html

"Kids get stoned to this movie-how can you not 'get it'? "

I admit it--I am reluctant when it comes to watching movies that are not part of my "favorite" genres. I'm the same with new music and new books.

The Matrix is a movie I wanted to see for awhile--when it came out it was really popular and I recall some people being obsessed with it...most likely, these were people that I came into contact with @ the comic book store where John used to work. I never got around to watching the movie though.

Started some of it yesterday and finished it up today.

2 things transpired through the watching of the movie:
1] Last night, I told John that I was kind of confused by the movie. He said, in a smartass/cute way, "Kids get stoned to that movie. How could you not get it?" That statement kind of motivated me to give the film more of a chance... sure, it may be complex but it isn't incomprehensible.

2] While I think the film requires a second viewing (which isn't a bad thing, necessarily), there were still a lot of ideas that were brought up in it during the 1st viewing that got my mind's wheels turning.

The concept of "what is real" interested me... how Morpheus tells Neo that what is real is really just electrical signals interpreted by the brain. The movie brought up the question of how we perceive/feel things. I mean, when someone dies, our sadness is REAL--the loss of that person is REAL-- but how do we know that their existence was real in the first place...or if our existence is real ?

Another thing that got me thinking was the way in which Neo was trained. Programs were simply downloaded to mind and suddenly he was an expert @ martial arts. Toward the end of the movie, Trinity gets Tank to download a helicopter pilot tutorial to her mind. This got me thinking about education in the future. Imagine if knowledge could just be downloaded. The possibilities would be endless, but wouldn't people lose their individuality? Nothing would be amazing or astonishing anymore because if you truly wanted to know how to do something, you'd just have to get access to the right software program.

There's tons of websites devoted to The Matrix and scholarly books/essays have even been written about it. While I was viewing it, thought of novels like 1984 , Brave New World, & Fahrenheit 451 were in my mind. When those books were published, the ideas/concepts in them probably seemed ludicrous to most readers. In 1984 Big Brother watches over the earth's inhabitants...makes me think of security cameras; for some reason, i am specifically thinking of the security cameras that I saw all over the place when I visited London. The intricate worlds of those books may not be so impossible afterall.

We're a little less than 200 years away from the date/setting in The Matrix. I don't imagine that all of the elements of the film will be a part of our future lives but I am sure that some facets of the film could be a reality.

At the end of the movie, Neo says, "Anything is possible." In an age of technology, no other words could be more appropriate.

Read Across America Day!

I'm a word-nerd, obsessive-blogger, however you want to categorize me. Maybe getting this Internet up and running again wasn't the best idea.

I'm scrapping my lesson plans for tomorrow...kind of. I was going to have the students do this prefix game and then independently read. However, tomorrow's Read Across America Day- even though I don't teach the litl' ones, I still feel like I should celebrate with my students. Just spent a little while doing a Powerpoint with Dr. Seuss trivia and statistics about readers in America. after making the Powerpoint, I thought to myself, "Have I ever read Cat in the Hat?" I don't know how I missed out on this childhood rite of passage, but I swear that I have never read it or had it read to me. I remember Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak and that's about it.

Tonight after "A.I.," I am going out and buying a copy of Cat in the Hat. Tomorrow I plan on reading it to my students. Hmmm...the 6th graders will probably go for it...7th probably won't mind...and the particular 8th grade class I have will actually most likely enjoy the read-aloud. Now I just have to read the book for myself and get familiar with it. Childhood rite of passage 20 years later: yay! I love when I feel "excited" about a lesson.

Thursday thoughts.

Well, John had his physical agility test on Monday. He did awesome with the pull-ups, sit-ups, squats, etc. He didn't train outside for the 1.5mi run and didn't do as well as he hoped. I said to John, "Is is that hard to become a cop? How does everyone else 'get it'? " His response was "Connections." It's so frustrating--I think he'd be so good at the job. He has a good sense of fairness and morals, and much more. He finds out the results in a month.

Our Internet was down yesterday. I don't know--it was kind of refreshing. I ended up going to a Step Aerobics class last night, reading, and watching some TV. This Step class is proof of how uncoordinated I am...but at least it's not like gym class when I was in gradeschool. I used to hate gym class and feel so embarrassed b/c I wasn't athletic. Now, I kind of revel in my lack of athleticism. For instance, when we did the turn on the steps, I was totally facing the wrong way. I didn't care; I just smiled. I can't say I was totally calm though...during the sit-up/stretch time, I mouthed the letters F-U-C-K quite a # of times... they say during exercise you should breathe consistently...those 4 letters said over and over represented consistent breathing.

Nothing planned for the weekend...maybe go to the movies. What's out now? Ugh. Post-Oscar time is tough.

Will watch The Matrix for class--- I'm excited about it. I've always wanted to see this movie but never took the time to sit down and watch it. Honestly, I've always felt like it'd be one of those futuristic movies that I wouldn't understand. We'll see...