Captains Courageous
My dog Snoopy is many things but brave is not one of them. That may surprise the neighbors who have walked their dogs past our house to the accompaniment of an animal’s loud roar. They must think that we have some huge beast in here until they look up and spot the vicious 30 pound beagle barking hysterically--then they laugh. Snoopy just can’t carry off intimidating. Handsome--yes, adorable--always, but courageous—not really.
I’ve seen my marshmallow mutt jump back ten feet when a blade of grass blows the wrong way or a dandelion puff brushes past his nose. But the places that truly terrify him are the groomers and the vet.
It begins when he excitedly leaps into in the car. Now most of the times that Snoopy rides in the car are when he’s off to an unpleasant experience. Once in a while we drive to Houghton’s Pond for a walk or out to Amherst to visit Mariel, but usually he’s going to get his nails trimmed or his yearly shots. So you would think that he wouldn’t be exactly anxious to get into the car. But, as Steve pointed out, our pooch is an eternal optimist. In the seven years that he has lived with us a piece of food has dropped from our kitchen counter maybe ten times. And yet he is ever vigilant when anyone is preparing a meal. So I suppose his doggie brain figures that his chances are good that a car ride will lead to a walk or a visit to Mariel. That being said though his optimism usually lasts about two minutes.
I speak as soothingly as I can to calm him down but he’s a suspicious mutt. He paces back and forth in the front seat, sits down, gets up, pokes his nose in my face, places a paw on the wheel. I put him in the back seat or attempt to tether him but to no avail. Once panic sets into his doggie head there’s no placating him. I know it’s not simply being in the car that sets him off because on the way home he’s always perfectly calm. He knows the torture, whatever it was, is over and he’s going home.
Luckily for us Mariel worked for a kennel for a while so the head groomer there, Sue, knows our crazy dog. She calls him “the monster” since clipping his nails is harder than doing the creature from the lagoon and he’s just as slippery. A surgeon once told us rather gently that Snoopy doesn’t like being restrained. Yeah, we get that. But if the groomer is no picnic, a visit to the vet is noon at the OK Corral.
This morning it was time for his yearly physical so I prepared myself with two espressos and some Excedrin. He was so excited to be going with me that I almost wanted to cry, but I told myself that it was for his own good. So we began our usual routine of him jumping into the car, then the heavy panting, nervous yawning, head out the window, pace, pace, sit, stand, scream—oh no wait, the screaming was me. Luckily it’s just a ten minute ride. When we approached the vet’s door he turned to look at me with that, “Et tu Brutus?” expression that he does so well.
I shoved him into the office announcing that Snoopy the brave was here. Immediately two young vet technicians were there cooing over the adorable puppy and making little dove sounds that I knew wouldn’t last long. They would learn. We went into the large back waiting area where he paced like a caged savannah beast, whimpered and then jumped onto the large window trying to make a break for it. I knew there was no way that I was going to calm him down short of taking him out so I just sighed and paced with him.
The poor guy needed not only his shots but also several blood tests so he was going to be a pin cushion before the visit was over. In came the two vet techs, still cooing and exclaiming over his incredible cuteness but Snoopy wasn’t buying it. He knew they were packing needles. I tried holding him but despite their small size beagles can be incredibly strong and he kept slipping out of my grip.
“Would you like me to hold him?” one of the techs asked.
“Absolutely!” I replied. “I think mommy is going to leave the room.”
And I did. Fifteen minutes later they emerged looking mussed and a lot less enamored of my pup. Snoopy gave me a look that would wither daffodils--and we hadn’t even seen the vet yet. The vets at Windhover Veterinary Center are incredibly gentle. Dr. Holmes didn’t even make him go into an exam room she simply got down on the floor with him right there. It almost looked liked she was massaging Snoopy as she carried out her examination while talking softly to him the entire time. He did calm down a bit and stopped looking at me as if I were Benedict Arnold. But still I had to leave when it was time for his shots. It seems that when my pup is in pain, I’m no hero either. I guess neither of us will ever win a purple heart.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Full Circle
Full Circle
Passover’s been over for a while but I’ve only now had the time to think about how this Passover season was once again the same and different from all other years. This year the seders fell on Monday and Tuesday which was not conducive to gathering family together. It was a lot easier when we all lived in the same house. But I was grateful that both girls were in the country. Two years ago Mariel was in New Zealand and last year Lisa was In India, leaving us with empty spaces at the table. This year my daughters’ better halves were coming so we would have a nice full table.
One good thing about having our family seder on Monday was that I had the entire week-end before to shop and prepare. I was also able to take Monday and Tuesday off from work so that I could plan, cook, set-up and then clean up in relative comfort and not worry about stuffing it all into a few hours. I managed to do most of the cooking on Sunday so that on Monday I merely had a hundred last minute things to finish off. I was seriously thinking of drinking a lot of wine that day…..kosher of course.
I woke up that Monday morning feeling fairly cocky and thinking, “The brisket is cooked, the chicken prepared, various salads prepped, the table extended and even the silver has been polished; I’m in really good shape. No need to rush today.” I’m such an optimist. When will I ever learn? It’s always the little things that take the most time and with a Passover seder there are lots and lots of little things. There’s charoseth to be made, that delicious concoction of chopped apples, walnuts, wine and cinnamon, the seder plate to prepare, haggadahs (the booklet that we read telling the story of Passover) to hunt down and matzoh balls to be cooked. Not to mention the preparation of the rest of a major meal where everything seems to go wrong at the last minute.
So it was a usual pre-seder day filled with things I inevitably forgot until the last minute. But miraculously, (it is holiday of miracles after all) by 4:00 the table was set for eight: Lisa and Matthew, Mariel and Dan, me and Steve, and our good friends, Donna and her daughter Alison. Alison has been with us for our seders since she and Mariel met at the Kennedy Elementary school. She knows the Passover songs better than Mariel and has been with us even when Mariel couldn’t be. Sort of like a surrogate daughter.
It was the first time that Matthew and Dan would be joining us so we were prepared to do some Passover explaining. We actually enjoy it since it gives us a chance to remind ourselves why we are doing what we are doing. It has become a Passover tradition because happily there is often someone new at our seder table. Dan was a bit nervous and I can’t say that I blamed him. It’s nerve wracking to be the newbie when everyone around you knows what they’re doing. We assured him that we would not do anything without explaining it first and that there would be no sudden moves.
It was Matt’s first seder too but he was more relaxed. Lisa has introduced him to so many new things already that I don’t think he would even blink an eye if she told him that we were about to sacrifice virgin eggplants in honor of the holiday. He would just nod quietly and take it in. It also helped that he has developed a fondness for Manishewitz grape wine. He was going to need it if he was to drink the traditional four cups.
We had a joyful time. It was quite the experience to see four young adults ransacking the house searching for the afikomen. Steve had explained earlier that this was a piece of matzoh that he would hide and that the “children” would look for after the meal. It was included in the seder to keep young kids awake and interested during the long evening. In order to resume the seder after the meal, the afikomen has to be found and a deal made with the adults conducting the seder. We usually pay for it in chocolate. While they were frantically searching I attempted to ask Alison a question only to be told, “Can’t you see that I’m very busy right now?” That had to be the best line of the evening.
Though the traditional question asked at every seder is, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” it turned out that this year was different from all other years for us. For the first time since we’ve been friends Donna invited us to share Easter dinner with her and Alison. We were delighted. That Sunday, as we sat with our good friends I felt that our lives had come full circle. Sharing both Passover and Easter together felt not only right but inevitable. We have known each other for so many years, have laughed and mourned together and have managed to keep the bond strong. At both our Passover and Easter tables we toasted renewal, rebirth and friendship. But most of all we celebrated life and the differences and similarities that bound us. What a wonderful tradition.
Passover’s been over for a while but I’ve only now had the time to think about how this Passover season was once again the same and different from all other years. This year the seders fell on Monday and Tuesday which was not conducive to gathering family together. It was a lot easier when we all lived in the same house. But I was grateful that both girls were in the country. Two years ago Mariel was in New Zealand and last year Lisa was In India, leaving us with empty spaces at the table. This year my daughters’ better halves were coming so we would have a nice full table.
One good thing about having our family seder on Monday was that I had the entire week-end before to shop and prepare. I was also able to take Monday and Tuesday off from work so that I could plan, cook, set-up and then clean up in relative comfort and not worry about stuffing it all into a few hours. I managed to do most of the cooking on Sunday so that on Monday I merely had a hundred last minute things to finish off. I was seriously thinking of drinking a lot of wine that day…..kosher of course.
I woke up that Monday morning feeling fairly cocky and thinking, “The brisket is cooked, the chicken prepared, various salads prepped, the table extended and even the silver has been polished; I’m in really good shape. No need to rush today.” I’m such an optimist. When will I ever learn? It’s always the little things that take the most time and with a Passover seder there are lots and lots of little things. There’s charoseth to be made, that delicious concoction of chopped apples, walnuts, wine and cinnamon, the seder plate to prepare, haggadahs (the booklet that we read telling the story of Passover) to hunt down and matzoh balls to be cooked. Not to mention the preparation of the rest of a major meal where everything seems to go wrong at the last minute.
So it was a usual pre-seder day filled with things I inevitably forgot until the last minute. But miraculously, (it is holiday of miracles after all) by 4:00 the table was set for eight: Lisa and Matthew, Mariel and Dan, me and Steve, and our good friends, Donna and her daughter Alison. Alison has been with us for our seders since she and Mariel met at the Kennedy Elementary school. She knows the Passover songs better than Mariel and has been with us even when Mariel couldn’t be. Sort of like a surrogate daughter.
It was the first time that Matthew and Dan would be joining us so we were prepared to do some Passover explaining. We actually enjoy it since it gives us a chance to remind ourselves why we are doing what we are doing. It has become a Passover tradition because happily there is often someone new at our seder table. Dan was a bit nervous and I can’t say that I blamed him. It’s nerve wracking to be the newbie when everyone around you knows what they’re doing. We assured him that we would not do anything without explaining it first and that there would be no sudden moves.
It was Matt’s first seder too but he was more relaxed. Lisa has introduced him to so many new things already that I don’t think he would even blink an eye if she told him that we were about to sacrifice virgin eggplants in honor of the holiday. He would just nod quietly and take it in. It also helped that he has developed a fondness for Manishewitz grape wine. He was going to need it if he was to drink the traditional four cups.
We had a joyful time. It was quite the experience to see four young adults ransacking the house searching for the afikomen. Steve had explained earlier that this was a piece of matzoh that he would hide and that the “children” would look for after the meal. It was included in the seder to keep young kids awake and interested during the long evening. In order to resume the seder after the meal, the afikomen has to be found and a deal made with the adults conducting the seder. We usually pay for it in chocolate. While they were frantically searching I attempted to ask Alison a question only to be told, “Can’t you see that I’m very busy right now?” That had to be the best line of the evening.
Though the traditional question asked at every seder is, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” it turned out that this year was different from all other years for us. For the first time since we’ve been friends Donna invited us to share Easter dinner with her and Alison. We were delighted. That Sunday, as we sat with our good friends I felt that our lives had come full circle. Sharing both Passover and Easter together felt not only right but inevitable. We have known each other for so many years, have laughed and mourned together and have managed to keep the bond strong. At both our Passover and Easter tables we toasted renewal, rebirth and friendship. But most of all we celebrated life and the differences and similarities that bound us. What a wonderful tradition.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
STAR Power
Star Power
It’s amazing what a new approach and a few words can do. Admittedly the words are carefully chosen ones like: epitome, eccentric, encounter, adamant, and amiable. But if you just read those words there’s no hint of the magic that they brought to my classroom. No clue of the enthusiasm, laughter and just plain silliness that erupted after I wrote them on a large blank pad and hung them up in the room. And I am quite adamant about that.
I’ve been attending a series of reading workshops. Usually when teachers attend seminars they begin with high hopes but by the time they leave they realize that they haven’t really added anything useful to their bag of classroom tricks. But this program is different. I admit the first day was rough—all the research and new techniques, vocabulary, information—I thought my head was going to explode. But once I had time to process and think and consider, the pieces began to fall into place.
The program is called, Student Achievement in Reading or STAR. It was developed by The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) which is committed to improving the quality of reading instruction in adult education. OVAE launched the National STAR Training Network to help state leaders, program administrators and classroom teachers deliver evidence-based reading instruction to intermediate-level adult learners that are having trouble progressing to the next level.
Adults learn differently than children. With children you can usually assume that you are starting from the beginning and a linear approach makes sense. But with adults it’s more of a case of filling in the gaps. I find that no matter what I teach, my adults will have some experience in some of it and sometimes are even experts in parts, but I never know when I’m going to hit a hole. And so it becomes a dance: advance two steps, backtrack one, and sometimes sidestep and whirl. It’s never boring.
STAR is not a curriculum but a very specific method that you adapt for your students’ different levels. While I’m thrilled that it is supported by evidenced based research, I’m equally thrilled that I don’t have to read every word of that evidence. Instead I can jump right in, use it in my classroom and then sit back and bask in the glow of adults finally getting it.
You begin by assessing your readers to find out their strengths and weaknesses then you place them in appropriate levels for alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. You may have a student who is strong in fluency but weak in comprehension. You may work on improving his vocabulary only to see that it also improves his comprehension since the more words you know the better your reading comprehension becomes. All the parts are interconnected and each has its own specific exercises; nothing is left to vague guesses no matter how educated they might be. It sounds complicated but when you’re teaching it, it’s nothing short of a wonder.
I’ve begun with vocabulary. When you were in school how many times did you hear, “Go look it up in the dictionary!” when you asked what a word meant? Teachers, how many times have you said that to a student? But what if you’re a fair to middling reader with a limited vocabulary? A trip to the dictionary will only confuse you. You look up your word only to find that you don’t understand the explanation. So you begin a scavenger hunt looking up the words in the explanation. Or you find at least five different meanings for the same word and you have no idea which one is right.
Or you read an article and come across a word you don’t know. So you keep reading hoping that you’ll get a clue from the surrounding paragraph, but then you realize that there are lots of words you don’t know and depending on context is useless and you’re lost and you usually give up.
Our STAR trainers, Jane and Becky, told us that the first thing you should do with a new word list is give your class the definitions; and just one definition for every word, not every possible configuration. Next you discuss the words using personal examples and use them in specific writing exercises, then you talk about them during the week and above all use them, use them, use them. By the end of the week your students haven’t memorized a list, they’ve internalized every word.
I saw it unfold in my class. My students even enjoyed learning to pronounce the words we learned. They made up silly sentences, came up with personal examples, played with them as if they were shiny new toys. They listened for them when they left class and searched for them in the newspapers and on TV. And best of all, they used them even though their friends told them they were crazy.
“I used them at home and my family got mad at me but I just smiled!” Gino told me.
“Now I finally know what amiable means; my brother’s always calling me that,” added Deanna.
“I wrote it on my Facebook page and my friends think I’m nuts!” Lany told me.
It’s amazing. A few specific, directed techniques and a new world opens up. If I hadn’t taught it I wouldn’t have believed it. My students were wonderful before this but now they ‘re STARs.
It’s amazing what a new approach and a few words can do. Admittedly the words are carefully chosen ones like: epitome, eccentric, encounter, adamant, and amiable. But if you just read those words there’s no hint of the magic that they brought to my classroom. No clue of the enthusiasm, laughter and just plain silliness that erupted after I wrote them on a large blank pad and hung them up in the room. And I am quite adamant about that.
I’ve been attending a series of reading workshops. Usually when teachers attend seminars they begin with high hopes but by the time they leave they realize that they haven’t really added anything useful to their bag of classroom tricks. But this program is different. I admit the first day was rough—all the research and new techniques, vocabulary, information—I thought my head was going to explode. But once I had time to process and think and consider, the pieces began to fall into place.
The program is called, Student Achievement in Reading or STAR. It was developed by The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) which is committed to improving the quality of reading instruction in adult education. OVAE launched the National STAR Training Network to help state leaders, program administrators and classroom teachers deliver evidence-based reading instruction to intermediate-level adult learners that are having trouble progressing to the next level.
Adults learn differently than children. With children you can usually assume that you are starting from the beginning and a linear approach makes sense. But with adults it’s more of a case of filling in the gaps. I find that no matter what I teach, my adults will have some experience in some of it and sometimes are even experts in parts, but I never know when I’m going to hit a hole. And so it becomes a dance: advance two steps, backtrack one, and sometimes sidestep and whirl. It’s never boring.
STAR is not a curriculum but a very specific method that you adapt for your students’ different levels. While I’m thrilled that it is supported by evidenced based research, I’m equally thrilled that I don’t have to read every word of that evidence. Instead I can jump right in, use it in my classroom and then sit back and bask in the glow of adults finally getting it.
You begin by assessing your readers to find out their strengths and weaknesses then you place them in appropriate levels for alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. You may have a student who is strong in fluency but weak in comprehension. You may work on improving his vocabulary only to see that it also improves his comprehension since the more words you know the better your reading comprehension becomes. All the parts are interconnected and each has its own specific exercises; nothing is left to vague guesses no matter how educated they might be. It sounds complicated but when you’re teaching it, it’s nothing short of a wonder.
I’ve begun with vocabulary. When you were in school how many times did you hear, “Go look it up in the dictionary!” when you asked what a word meant? Teachers, how many times have you said that to a student? But what if you’re a fair to middling reader with a limited vocabulary? A trip to the dictionary will only confuse you. You look up your word only to find that you don’t understand the explanation. So you begin a scavenger hunt looking up the words in the explanation. Or you find at least five different meanings for the same word and you have no idea which one is right.
Or you read an article and come across a word you don’t know. So you keep reading hoping that you’ll get a clue from the surrounding paragraph, but then you realize that there are lots of words you don’t know and depending on context is useless and you’re lost and you usually give up.
Our STAR trainers, Jane and Becky, told us that the first thing you should do with a new word list is give your class the definitions; and just one definition for every word, not every possible configuration. Next you discuss the words using personal examples and use them in specific writing exercises, then you talk about them during the week and above all use them, use them, use them. By the end of the week your students haven’t memorized a list, they’ve internalized every word.
I saw it unfold in my class. My students even enjoyed learning to pronounce the words we learned. They made up silly sentences, came up with personal examples, played with them as if they were shiny new toys. They listened for them when they left class and searched for them in the newspapers and on TV. And best of all, they used them even though their friends told them they were crazy.
“I used them at home and my family got mad at me but I just smiled!” Gino told me.
“Now I finally know what amiable means; my brother’s always calling me that,” added Deanna.
“I wrote it on my Facebook page and my friends think I’m nuts!” Lany told me.
It’s amazing. A few specific, directed techniques and a new world opens up. If I hadn’t taught it I wouldn’t have believed it. My students were wonderful before this but now they ‘re STARs.
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