My son has been singing a lot of "pop" song lately. One of his favorites is a song by a band called The Wanted, "Glad You Came." He's got the lyrics memorized and even does the sound effects. It's starting to drive me crazy, actually. But the interesting thing is that I started listening to the lyrics and asked him, "What's this song about, anyway?" "It doesn't have any meaning, it's just a song" he replied. "But what's it about?" I pressed. (And then gave him my teacher mini-lecture on the difference between plot and theme. It has to be about something, but doesn't necessarily need to have a meaning.) "I don't know." he answered. But obviously he was thinking, because he went on to add, "Miss Laura Mae at Play-N-Learn said we lost our innocence by singing this song." We went on with our discussion, and it became clear to me that he didn't understand that the singer
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Teaching my boy to cook. The flip side of teaching your child to be cautious about flames and knives is that he's nervous about being suddenly encouraged to use flames and knives. But we've had the "they're tools that need to be used correctly" talk and its getting better. He's mastered quesadillas in the microwave and is getting pretty good at hamburgers. AND (this really warms the cockles of mom's heart) he knows that with the entree he needs some sort of vegetable, or two. It's a strange thing when your baby grows up, as millions have learned before me. But it feels so personal when it's MY baby. He looks taller, leaner. He's doing so much more for himself. I can leave him home alone when I go out for a walk. I guess it's a reminder that change happens, and that each phase brings positives. It's the same with other cycles isn't it? Winter to spring, from bloom to seed, from baby to independent being. And who kno
Watching a movie with Ali called The Pregnancy Projec t, based upon a true story. A teenager whose mother had her own first child at age 15 faked a pregnancy for her senior project. She learned a lot about stereotypes, from family, friends and teachers. I don't know that I would let my own child go through that, especially knowing the hostility that would happen when folks find out it was an act. Still, I see how it could be an important social experiment. It's worth checking out - although I haven't seen the end of the movie yet to hear how it all turns out. Here's an excerpt from an article: According to the Associated Press , Rodriguez was curious about how people would react if she appeared to follow in her family’s footsteps — then defied that expectation: In the top 5% of her class, Rodriguez participated in a leadership class and lectured her friends about safe sex. But she still heard the refrain — often from members of her own family — that s
Well, it's May 5. Cinco de Mayo in some circles. When I was in the classroom, this time of year was full of stressed out teens and parents, piles of grading left to finish and get entered, balancing my own kids' activities and schedules, and the overwhelming urge to chuck all the responsibilities and spend my time drinking mint juleps and digging in the dirt. This year, it's a little different. Although Ali has been in her room doing homework for the last 6 hours, I'm not too stressed out. I'm still struggling with the urges of springtime, and had to do several hours myself of finishing projects for my final class. Once I get done with Chicago in June and presenting my portfolio, I'll have earned my masters in curriculum and instruction. I'd been diligent as hell for the past two years, but these last 8 weeks have been tough. I had surgery, traveled to Philly, drafted a CTE curriculum - it's just been busy. But now, voila, I'm finished.