The demise of our pet...

Yesterday, I blogged about the death of our class pet, Flemming Jr., a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. What I didn't mention was that I made a dire prediction that our pet would meet his end at John B. Kelly because of what I, and many other colleagues, believe to be poor air quality in our school.

We have no hard evidence of our suspicions, other than the fact that many of us have ended up with ailments we have NEVER had in our lives including pneumonia and bronchitis, sniffling, coughing, and sneezing beginning only moments after entering the building with many of us.

Many plants don't survive despite proximity to windows and light.

Back to our pet...

Conversing with a colleague out the John B. Kelly air, I said, "Watch our roach! If it dies here then we know something is up!" I also repeated the common tale that cockroaches can survive nuclear catastrophes and that if our hissing cockroach couldn't survive the air at school, we're in trouble!

Is it a fact or conjecture that cockroaches can last nuclear disasters?
Hmmm, I did some reading...
This from --> Discovery!

R.I.P. class pet :-(

I came to work today to discover that our class pet, a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach had died over the weekend. His food was still there and as was a bit cricket juice, but despite his meal still there, Flemming Jr. went on to that great Insectarium in the sky! Check out some of our instagram pics!

In true Flemming-fashion, we made a big to-do about it all! Toward the end of our snow emergency half day, we gathered Flemming Jr to us. We all stood in a circle and took a second to grieve (literally a second). I pulled the largest potted plant we had in the classroom. The students from table 4 dug a hole and buried him. It was Table 4's turn to care for him. Other tables had chances to feed him, clean out old food, etc. This was our final act.

When we return, we'll be making morbid "R.I.P." signs for him, this just after we decorated our fake wall with name tags for him! Last week.

 

R.I.P Flemming Jr.

Say it ain't so!!!!

As I reflect on this day gone by, what I enjoyed most occurred during our Social Studies lesson. It was a review of the time of the early explorers to what we're studying now, the Revolutionary War.

As we happened upon our review of the Boston Massacre, my Resident Presidential Historian asked if "they" were ever caught (British Soldiers). Love the question!!!!! I took the time to explain that they had and that there was a trial and they got off.

I intentionally prepared myself to glance his way when I named the lawyer who represented the British soldiers in court, John Adams!! The reaction I got from him was PRICELESS!!!!!! I giggled like a little kid! He stood up, smacked his forehead and fell back into his chair, undoubtedly in despair that a future president of the United States could possibly represent British soldiers who attacked American colonists AND be acquitted!!!!

It is important to note that my Resident Presidential Historian attends a Philadelphia public school in Germantown.

It is also important to note that my class, in this public school, can enthusiastically detail many of the main events from the time of the explorers (including the imperialistic slant of their explorations) to the Revolutionary War. #JustSayin

3rd Grade Historian

I'm learning them! My third graders. I'm learning them. Having taught for a little while, I can pick up certain things about kids right away and other things require much more observation and conversation. I learned early on that I have a kid who loves history and the presidents in particular! I call him our Resident Presidential Historian!

After the children spend some time reading silently (works of their choice), I give them time to converse about what they chose to read. This is a daily occurrence. The kid I'm referencing is almost always discussing some presidential "thing" with his classmates. I normally sit on my perch somewhere, out of the kids' way and listen in on conversations from a distance.

Today, however, I called him over and just wanted to chat with my future PhD in History 3rd grader. I asked him how many presidents names he knew. He said he didn't know and just started spewing off names. John Kennedy (his favorite), Calvin Coolidge, William Taft, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Lyndon B.  Johnson,  etc. Impressive!!!!

Intentional teaching

From the sound of it, this could be a long post, a paper, or a book. Nope.

Short sweet and simple.
Be intentional!

I believe in being intentional in everything that I do in the classroom. There is a reason for the reading, the talking, the moving, the singing, the rapping, the "being a rapper" for a few minutes, the art, the poetry, the arrangement of the room, everything! Everything has a "why"!

Intentional, though I may be, I tend to be accident prone! Accidents do happen in the room and they are phenomenal instances of equally important intentional teaching and learning experiences!

We call these accidents..............wait for it............wait for it.............wait.........hold up..............ready?..........teachable moments!!

{que the "ahhhhhhh" and the text lingo 'lol'}

lol

#ReclaimMLKPHL

Today I chose to rally and march with a few thousand other Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians on this Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. This march for many social justice agenda items brought together many groups, faiths, creeds, cultures...people!

The pictures and tweets under the hashtag #ReclaimMLKPHL tell many of the countless stories and experiences.

While there are quite a few causes that I support, two of the main reasons that I walked, #BlackLivesMatter and public education, particularly in Philadelphia.

While I'm too young to have experienced the marches and fights of the 1960s, I'm old enough to appreciate the victories as a result! Unfortunately, I'm also old enough to see, experience, and fight against regression! To that end, here's to the marches and fights of the 21st century!!

"What do we want?"
"Justice!!"
"When do we want it?"
"NOW!!"
"IF. WE. DON'T. GET. IT."
"SHUT. IT. DOWN!!!!"

Photo Credit (below): Philadelphia Student Union

Black Male Teachers...Why? and What?

Why am I ardent in my belief that our public schools need more black male teachers?
Why shouldn't I be?

One, the worldview of a black male is vastly different from that of a female, even our African American sisters and from those of males of other races. It's not superior, it's different. And since it's all but guaranteed that any child in the United States will have a white female teacher most of the time, having a black male teacher will add depth and variety to worldview from which students are taught.

Just recently, I retweeted this:

"I've had all white teachers and they taught me well, but there wasn't that connectivity." #educolor #OurLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/DQfjqlfnpP
— Melinda D. Anderson (@mdawriter) January 17, 2015

The context of this quote? The need for more black male teachers. As this young man alludes to, there isn't necessarily a deficiency in the quality of instruction he received, but he wishes he had the "connectivity" that comes with having a black male teacher at some point. We can connect with our young black men in ways that others cannot. That is just as important as the content!

I could go on and on on this topic and include arguments for why schools with populations that are majority white and wealthy should also have a diversified faculty that includes black males. I could, again, mention U.S. Department of Education statistics. And so on and so forth!

But what? What am I doing to help?
One, I'm continuing to teach!
Two, I sat one night and thought of who I could speak with and would be most likely to heed the clarion call to go back to school and consider teaching. My brother! BINGO!!! I shot him a detailed text of my thoughts about him going back for his M.Ed and aim for a Social Studies cert since he was a Poli-Sci major and enjoys politics, history, and engaging in conversations about both.

His word to me? "Confirmation" We were born and raised in a Christian household and were taught to reverence the attributes that make God, God. So, "confirmation" implies just that. That the Lord was already working on my brother with this idea and that his big brother just came by and confirmed the word.

Who next?
Hmmm, let me think...