Monthly Archives: January 2012

Handsome and beautiful

Posted on January 21, 2012 by

Since my mother’s last three health crises, she has begun to call me handsome and my sister beautiful. I tease my mother about this all the time. It makes us laugh. My sister is, in fact, truly very beautiful, both … Continue reading →

Posted in beauty, family | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Life is good

Posted on January 20, 2012 by

The snow started just after lunch. I left school early, about 2:45. Didn’t make it home until almost 6:00. Over three hours in the car. Moving at a snail’s pace from Hyde Park to downtown. Got to almost 20mph around … Continue reading →

Posted in winter | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Finnish Line

Posted on January 19, 2012 by

Every three years the PISA survey, conducted by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), compares the levels of reading, math, and science literacies of 15 year olds world-wide. Students in Finland are racking up the highest scores, beating out Hong Kong, Singapore, … Continue reading →

Posted in education, equity, school, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Nothing standardized about this teacher– or about this series

Posted on January 18, 2012 by

For the last week, some of my more hip students have been asking me if I have ever seen Portlandia. I’m not much of a TV watcher. Ever since Northern Exposure went off the air, I have not watched much … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, television | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“King of Comedy”

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

I’m a silent film buff. I love the early, sometimes raw but ever imaginative and experimental early films. Today is Mack Sennett’s birthday (1880-1960), known as the “King of Comedy” whose more than 1000 films pushed the limits of filmic … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Warp and weft of community

Posted on January 16, 2012 by

I got my hair cut today. I have been going to Ken for over 20 years now. I have been listening to his stories about his daughter, his home country (Greece), his growing up,  his politics, his philosophy on the … Continue reading →

Posted in music | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

“Happiness is harder” by Jane Hirshfield

Posted on January 15, 2012 by

To read a book of poetry from back to front, there is a cure for certain kinds of sadness. A person has only to choose. What doesn’t matter; just that— This coffee. That dress. “Here is the time I would … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

From making felt slippers to jumping in with both feet, and a lot of stomping in between

Posted on January 14, 2012 by

Since the snow is only a couple of days old, we haven’t quite got into our snow routine yet, which is wet shoes at the door (front or back) and house shoes or slippers in the house. Last night, as … Continue reading →

Posted in family, Japan, photography | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Coming home in the snow

Posted on January 13, 2012 by

Not bad for a cell phone camera….

Posted in photography, winter | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

“Would You Harbor Me?”

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

Today was our Martin Luther King assembly. It’s the best assembly done each year, in part because the students are pretty much in charge, but also because it has evolved into an assembly about celebrating all kinds of difference. All … Continue reading →

Posted in music, school | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments