An Online Thesaurus Concept Map (aka the coolest thing I've seen this year)

"What's another word for ... ?"

How many times have I heard this question and how many times has it been my own voice ringing in my ears?

Well, no more! I have discovered via my LLED4120 class a new tool to substitute the worn out Shift+F7 function on my keyboard that I've used so many, many times for a thesaurus. 

This is Visuwords.com - it gives you synonyms and definitions via a concept map of connections with other words, uses, etc. It's AH-MA-ZING! Okay, it's amazing for dorks like me. 

Anyway, check it out. I recommend writing in "teach" and seeing what pops up - needless to say, I like it. :-)

Cut the cord already!*

Okay - so you know how there are those parents that won't let their kids do anything for themselves? "Oh, here, honey - let me tie your shoe!" and the kid's like 12 years old? Or that single bachelor with a steady job whose mom still comes over to his apartment on the weekends to straighten up, do the laundry AND restock the refrigerator? (But man, don't you want to be that guy's roommate.) 

You know ... ridiculous stuff like that.

Well, apparently teachers are having a similar "epidemic" in regards to their teaching time. Some of us find it really difficult - I'm talking emotionally and physically painful - to let go of our instruction time and let kids do something they are in charge of. I'm not talking worksheets that students solve on their own; I'm speaking of authentic student-run thinking and doing ... and in many classrooms this comes in the form of writing workshop. 

In writing workshop there is a great deal of time left for the students to be doing independent work - actually, a majority of a writing workshop should be just this! But some teachers hear the word "independent" and imagine screaming, disorganized, completely off-task paper-throwing monsters taking over their classroom. To allow students to think on their own as to what they would do could be nothing short of a small calamity, right? They have no idea how to use their time productively, right?

Let's hope both of these assumptions are wrong - otherwise the future workforce of America is in big trouble.

I liked especially what the book had to say about this: It's not that we should be concerned about what might distract students (i.e. games, being around friends, boredom), but that we should put things in place that will 

attract those students in order to prevent the prior from happening (i.e. materials to help, quiet areas, plenty of space).

Now, I'm certainly not trying to point fingers at anyone (okay ... maybe a little bit of gesturing in the direction of those parents that can't let go, but that's a whole other issue) because I'm as guilty of this "my way or the highway" as much as anyone. A great example, yet again, comes from my job as a dance teacher:

So the big end-of-the-year event at our dance studio is a dance recital put on where every class represents what they've been working on in a dance/musical theatre piece performed at the Classic Center in Athens. It's considered kind of a big deal, especially for a 3-year-old who's used to singing in the car with her mom. My students work all year to put together these pieces - usually I let them choose between a couple of songs they'd like to use, then I choreograph it, and the students perform it by themselves at the end of the year.

Well, needless to say, that "by themselves" part for the recital takes some preparation time. They have to practice remembering the steps throughout the process of learning it, and ultimately I shouldn't have to do the dance with them at all several weeks prior to the recital. But this step, which can either be a time of great excitement at showing what they know or a time of some anxiety for those who don't catch on as quickly, is a nightmare for me. I always joke, "I think I'm gonna be in this number this year," with my kids and co-workers, but in my head I'm really thinking - Could I be? Please?????

This is not that I find my students unworthy of facing this task - not at all. I'm continually impressed by what my kids bring to the table and how amazing their growth can be from September to May. There may be a little influence from my obsessive compulsive, perfectionist tendencies that makes me cringe when someone doesn't point their toe or yet again forgets the same part every time in a dance; but I've learned that if I don't let them try it on their own, that final performance can turn into catastrophe. Similar to those kids who never learn to tie their shoes. ;-) (Or in the classroom, those kids who never get to choose or have a say in what they write.)

Part of it stems from the fact that, as a performer, I just really want a chance to be onstage again and dance my 22-year-old-but-still-probably-more-like-13 heart out in a sparkly costume!

But the majority of the issue stems from me feeling that they need  me to be there as a support. Just like in the classroom, a teacher might begin to think, "These kids need me to be an example. They need me to look over their shoulder in order to succeed. They wouldn't know right from left if I wasn't there to tell them." 

Starting to sound like those crazy parents I mentioned earlier? To an extent, it is. If we can't learn to trust in these kids to think for themselves or do something independently, then they'll start to think they can't do it on their own either. But are they not the same kind of capable human beings that we are (even at a young age)? We only have one year in the classroom to influence a student for the rest of his/her life, and it's our job to help them prepare for what life will be like when the classroom is the real world and not a school building. What kind of teacher are you going to be: the kind that helps them now and ultimately harms them later, or the kind that offers direction when necessary but encourages them to figure it out for themselves? (Side note: I apologize to my 8th grade language arts teacher for putting a colon after a verb. It couldn't be helped.)

Your answer to this question might reflect a great deal on whether your writing workshop is affective or not. I hope my answer will fall close to the second kind. I hope yours does, too. So let's be brave for both ourselves and our students and "cut that cord" that ties them to needing our help every step of the way. Let's see what they have to say about things they want to talk about, not essay after essay of regurgitated facts we've handed them. 

So this week, say this to your students with little to no direction. You might be surprised what happens and the genius they come up with!

"Ready, set, WRITE!"

My Current Dilemma

So this IS supposed to be a blog about writing and teaching, but if you've been "keeping up," you'll know I'm in a bit of a rut and I've promised to write SOMETHING every day this week either here or in my writing journal for class. Well, here is the best I could come up with for today: my hair.

My hair is one of the few things that I will pay full price for and invest a lot of time in. As of late (i.e. since I started college in 2007), any time you find me at school, it will probably not be in the best of shape, however, on a normal basis I like to make it somewhat presentable (i.e. I might blow-dry it ... if I like you a whole lot). My favorite thing to do is get my hair cut or color it, or do SOMETHING different. See below for the most interesting hair cuts I've sported in my life thus far:


Not to be confused with my two GORGEOUS sisters, but I'm the one in the middle

 Above is how I've been sportin' it since last February when I got engaged. In true bride-to-be fashion, I grew my hair out (in addition to coloring it dark) so I would have something to work with on the big day!
Prior to that, I permed my hair and chopped it off for Locks of Love, giving me this sort of look:

Also pictured is the single-best drink I've ever had from the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Plus, it was free. Thank you, awesome business guy in Vegas who had had just enough drinks to buy 2 rounds of drinks for 5 complete strangers!



I have to give credit to my best friend for letting me totally pose on her for this one, but in my defense, I've wanted curls my entire life, and instead I ended up with ...



One of my other "besties" - this was taken at Legally Blonde in NYC!



Description: Long. Brown. and STRAIGHT.

But, undoubtedly, the best hair experience I've had - and this speaks volumes for what I like to do and how much I like to do it, was this:

Yes. Sadly, it's true. If you can't tell, I have a weave put in my hair and braids.
(I refused to do my entire head though. Way too painful.)
This was definitely not my best look, but it was for a show I was in, which, for many years, was the only time I changed my long, brown, straight look. I've dyed, cut, and now corn-rowed my hair for my love of theatre for years, and after I started seeing less of the stage, the "change your hair on a whim" bug stuck with me.

Which brings me to my current dilemma: what do I do now?
Wedding is over, I'm not in a show, and after this weekend, one of my friends will have gotten married (Congrats, Ashley and Michael) - meaning I can do whatever the heck I want with my not-so-golden locks.

Exciting, right? Well, true ...

...

But what should I do? I've done long, I've done dark, I've done blonde (both natural and dyed), and I've done "fake." My split ends are aching for a chop session with my hair stylist, but I'm drawing a complete blank. Much like my writing. Wow - my life is so fascinating.
HELP!
Here's a couple of ideas I've found that might work with my still-somewhat-permed hair, and hopefully with my crazy-lookin' face, too. :-)

So, apparently, I'm feeling the short look, considering my hair's been more than 2 feet long for the past 10 months. But all I really want is some sort of structure - and probably some sort of bangs. I'm feeling a lack of inspiration, especially considering the best hair gurus I could come up with were a ditzy pop-turned-sort-of-country singer who makes edible foaming lotion and the girl who left the family-friendly 7th Heaven show to do not-so-great movies and a less-than "family friendly" spread in a magazine. Hmm ... I need a new muse.

Therefore, I'm putting it to you who bother to read this and want to listen to my selfish rantings on hair stylings: HELP! Give me some ideas and feedback, and I'll be sure to post the "winner" and the results as my new blog pic - I know. What an honor and accomplishment. Don't get too excited.

So, people of the world, if I can write, so can you.

Ready, set, WRITE~

My Writing Workshop Conference*

As teachers of a writing workshop, we're told that one of the best parts of the workshop comes through conferencing with your students. So, as a "new" and learning blogger, I thought I'd conference with myself and figure out how my writing is going so far. The questions in italics are going to be me as the teacher and the response will be me as the student (a little role-playing, if you will :-) )

Margot, tell me about what you're writing. (This is the "research" portion.)
 Well, to be perfectly honest, it's been really hard to write over the past few weeks. I can't name the number of times I've sat down to try to blog and come up with nothing. Absolutely nothing. I've even made a list of topics via "Post-It" on my computer that I'd like to write about, but as of late, they've offered no immediate solution - they just sound boring. And goodness knows that if I don't want to write about it, people probably won't want to read about it, right?
 But the writing I have done has been about what's going on in my life. People have yet to see these because they're posted in the "draft" section of my blog and thus, have yet to be published. I've written about my job, about being married, about all the craziness that's happening between work, school, and my friend's wedding this coming up weekend. Where do people find the time to do all this stuff? Overall though, I'd like to find something that I care about writing about. And I want to make it more interesting - post links, add pictures, etc. But it's so hard to find the time!

Well, that's very interesting. Now since you're life's been so busy as of late, why do you think writing has been so difficult in terms of time? Do you write down ideas as you get them?
 Mostly I write down ideas when I'm on my computer - or if I have my planner. :-) The latter is the most frequent. Maybe if I had a journal I carried around, or a notepad, I might be able to add some more stuff and write it down as it happens, then I won't forget all the ideas that I have.

I think that sounds like a good suggestion. Also, if you're intimidated about writing an entire post, why not shorten the length and write small segments or a "mini"-post? Blogs don't have to be as long as Moby Dick, you know? And if you need other ideas, there's plenty of blog "challenges" that suggest you blog about certain things on certain days - like the 30-day challenge, I think is what it's called.
 Alright. I think I'll make a commitment to try to post something either on my blog or in my journal each day this week. One of my friends is doing something really cool that I like, too: she's posting a picture for each day of the year to document her life. It's so cool and even the "simplest" picture can say so much about your day. I would love to do something like that one day. Maybe I'll try to take pictures and post those with my blogs.

Maybe try to focus on one thing at a time, but I think you've got some good ideas. It's great that you're learning from others around you, too. Try and work on writing in smaller portions but more often this week and we'll talk next Monday.

... and "Scene!" (Okay, dorky theatre reference. I couldn't help it.) To "assess my situation," I'd say that while I really want to write, it's been difficult to find time and ideas that I think are interesting enough. So my self-evaluation on that 1 - 4 scale in our textbook (p.221 if you know what I'm talking about), would probably be between a 2 (just OK) and a 3 (good). When I do write, I think it's fun, but I'm going to challenge myself - thinking of my history in regards to the future - to write more often and in shorter segments so I don't get overwhelmed. So for one week, I'm going to either write and post something here or work on my journal in short segments to see if I get any inspiration from it all.
Okay, I can do this. I think ...

Ready, set, WRITE!

"Focusing" on focus lessons (ctnd.)

If you were interested enough to read my last post about my connections between my dance/musical theatre teaching job and the proposed set-up of a writing workshop, then I'm here to offer a bit of an extension to that ...

In my writing workshop class, we are currently (like as I'm writing this post) working on an amazing website - Piclits.com. You choose a picture and then write whatever text you'd like (they offer suggestion words, too) to go with it. It's so entertaining - and I can definitely see myself 1) using this in my classroom for my students and 2) wasting a lot of hours I should probably be doing homework or grading papers (in the future) on this website. Both great personal goals, right?

Well, if you'd like, here's one of my ideas about what a focus lesson looks like to me, personally. A little cheesy, I'll grant - but I really liked the picture. ;-)