Interaction With Others

"The first half of life is spent mainly in finding out who we are through seeing ourselves in our interaction with others." -June Singer

Whenever I encounter students over the sumer vacation - in a store...at the county fair...here, there and everywhere - they tell me that they're having fun but can't wait to get back to school. It's not the worksheets or testing that they miss, of course, it's their friends.

This desire to socialize is a natural one for children and young adults. Interacting with peers can enhance communication skills, build confidence, and help create a positive self image.

Yet it seems like we spend a lot of our school day working counter to this need to connect. Much of our instructional time is consumed by lectures and quiet seat work. Administrators frequently equate a noisier, more interactive classroom with poor teacher management techniques.

There has been, and will continue to be, a lot of discussion in education circles, regarding the validity of cellphones and other communication devices as learning tools. Many district filters routinely block Google Documents, blogs, wikis, and social networking sites.

If we truly believe in the 21st century skill set, which emphasizes communication and collaboration, then we must determine how to use the students' need to connect with each other in an effective, meaningful way.

Rather than discourage children's sociability, let's channel it, using whatever tools are appropriate to the situation. Our millennial learners are already networked; it's up to us to show them how to utilize their skills for success in school and in life.



“I'm a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they're interested in.” -Bill Gates


“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.” -Anthony Robbins




"Best Friends" by Yogi

which is yes

"i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes" -e.e. cummings

There are two small parks within easy driving distance of my home: Hovey Pond and Crandall Park.

The Hovey Pond recreational area includes a pond, a marsh, and a series of small gardens, lovingly maintained by volunteers.

Crandall Park is larger, and in addition to its pond, boasts various recreational facilities, including a picnic pavilion, large playground, softball diamond, basketball courts, and band shell.

Local residents of all ages use these parks extensively for walking, fishing, bird watching, family outings, and quiet relaxation. School groups occasionally visit, to study history, biology, botany, and ecology.

There are times when I head for the Adirondack wilderness, with its high peaks and pristine lakes. Usually, though, I patronize a more manageable bit of nature, just as lovely but much easier of access, less grand in scale. It's quite enough to still my restless feet and soothe my impatient spirit.

Hovey Pond 7/13/09



Crandall Park 7/10/09

A New Way of Seeing Things

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller

More than forty years ago, I celebrated Independence Day in Oxford, England.

I had never been outside of the United States before, but when the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford, during the summer between my junior and senior years in college, presented itself, I didn't hesitate.

In many ways, it was a life-altering experience.

Although computers were in existence during the '60s, they were not commonly available. Learning about other countries meant books or travel; the printed word or physical contact.

During my trip, I interacted with American students from all over the U.S. We found that our lives were quite different, our ideas of home, family, religion, politics often amazingly dissimilar.

There were numerous chances to travel - we saw London, Stonehenge, Stratford-on-Avon. Our group crossed the Channel to explore Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam, Trier, Cologne. I can still see in my mind's eye, even after all these years, the bright Impressionist paintings, majestic Rembrandts portraits, postcards pasted on the wall by Anne Frank in the Secret Annex.

Our students today have an unparalleled opportunity to connect with their peers in other states and other nations, to explore the riches of museums, galleries, and historic sites, to step outside of their local communities and join the global community.

Restricting access to resources by blocking and filtering imposes limits that may not always be in the best interests of the children and young adults in our educational system.

“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” - Frank Herbert




"ChristChurch.3" by Lamees.(L.Y.S)

365 Project: June

The month of June brought many changes, not the least of which was my retirement.

Knowing that my career as a teacher/librarian was drawing to a close, I decided to include more pictures of students and school life. Flowers and holidays also appeared in some of the daily photos.

By far the most viewed image was Good Bye! As buses pulled out of the parking lot on the last day of school, elementary teachers gathered to give their students a rousing send off


I decided to include two "bonus" photos, one from my college yearbook


the other from a staff picnic/retirement celebration


since both images are associated with major changes in my life.

My favorite photos this month were The Visitor, because it was totally unplanned and unexpected (I didn't even SEE the insect until I cropped the photo!)


and A Grand Old Flag. This little girl is the first member of our extended family born in the 21st Century


I hope her life is as interesting and full of adventures as mine has been... and I'm not done yet!




You can see a slideshow of the 30 June photos (plus 2 "bonus" pix) here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

New Steps of Change

"The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change." - Maya Angelou

Today was my last day as the K-12 Library Media Specialist in Fort Ann, NY. Yesterday, I said good bye to students; this afternoon, I bid farewell to teaching colleagues and staff members.

Teaching was not my first career, nor will it be my last. I've been a social worker, day care provider, bookstore clerk, and librarian in both academic and public libraries. Now, I'm an online editor and facilitator. If life offers me any other opportunities, I'll accept them gladly.

Forty years ago, this photo of me appeared on the last page of my college yearbook.



Now, as I did then, I'm walking away from one world to enter another. Exits are also entrances. Doors and gates open to new possibilities.

I think I'm ready for the next Journey.

A Single Small Globe Against the Stars

Yesterday, I watched a 2-hour parade that honored Flag Day. There were bands, floats, fire engines, clowns, a princess, even an Elvis tribute artist. Little children scrambled for candy under the watchful eyes of parents, while their younger siblings slumbered in strollers.

The crowd spontaneously applauded as men and women in uniform marched by. Hats off, hands on hearts: flags were saluted with obvious emotion visible on many faces.

There is still room in our flattening world for love of country:

"What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility... a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." - Adlai E. Stevenson

combined with a broader world view:

“It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars.” -Arthur C. Clarke

In the end

"A man's feet must be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world." -George Santayana

*A Flickr slideshow of the Saratoga, NY Flag Day Parade can be seen here.




"Town Meeting Crowd" by redjar
"space" by Jram23

Eyes to See

"I have eyes to see now what I have never seen before." -Anonymous

The above quote was written in the late 1870s by a correspondence student of American chemist and educator, Ellen H. Richards. The student was learning through the Society to Encourage Studies at Home, founded in 1873 by Anna Eliot Ticknor.

Paul C, of quoteflections, has issued an invitation:

For the month of June could anyone so inclined go on an interesting personal journey for good quotations and include some reflections?...You could select one a day, or skip some days and do twenty...or ten for the month. It is entirely up to you.

Since these are our final, crazy weeks of school here in upstate New York, I've decided that weekly quote/reflections would best fit my schedule.

The anonymous quote I've chosen appeals to me for a few reasons.

It was written by a correspondence student, a female who chose to further her education in a non-traditional manner. If this woman were alive today, I am certain that she would be exploring the rich diversity of digital learning opportunities, just as I am.

These words might also describe my growing love affair with photography. I've been contributing a daily photo to two Flickr groups, 365/2009 and 2009/365, and my attention to detail and appreciation of the world around me has increased exponentially.

I now have "eyes to see."

"Me, Myself, and Eye" by Clearly Ambiguous

365 Project: May

With warmer weather comes more time spent out-of-doors, and my photos are starting to reflect that change of focus. Sometimes the "perfect shot" was no further than my own backyard.

Most viewed image was The View from Stark's Knob


The largest numbers of comments were generated by Lilies of the Valley


and Morels


A personal favorite has to be Sentimental Journey: Saint Brigid's School, since that building is where I received my (formal) education from Kindergarten through 8th grade.


It was the beginning of quite a Journey, one that won't end any time soon, I hope!


You can see a slideshow of the 31 May photos here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

For Cathy, On the Occasion of her Birthday

"Friendship consists in forgetting what one gives, and remembering what one receives." -Alexandre Dumas, fils

"You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that." -E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

"Friends are the sunshine of life." -John Hay

Happy Birthday, Cathy!

Remembering

Although it began as a day to remember those who died in the American Civil War, Memorial Day (once know as "Decoration Day") now honors all U.S. men and women who died while in the military service.

I thought this would be an appropriate time to visit one of our local cemeteries, where grave markers and flags indicate the final resting place of those who served in our armed forces.

Some of these men and women returned home to finish lives interrupted by war. They are recognized on Veterans Day.

Others died in faraway places, fighting for the country that they loved. These are the honorees on Memorial Day.


The peace of the morning was briefly disturbed by the sound of a parade on a neighboring street. There were to be patriotic songs played and heartfelt speeches given at a war memorial in the city park.


I preferred to linger a while with the dead.



"Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead!
There's none of these so lonely and poor of old,
But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold."
-Rupert Brooke


"We who are left how shall we look again
Happily on the sun or feel the rain
Without remembering how they who went
Ungrudgingly and spent
Their lives for us loved, too, the sun and rain?"
-Wilfred Wilson Gibson




"United States Flag" by tomsaint11