I’m reading student short stories. Yes, I am aware that I had two weeks to read these, but I will say that if I don’t assign homework for my little dumplings, then I should get a bit of a pass as well. And here I am, reading narratives that my students have written. Exposition They…
Author: Kate Tabor
English teacher in a JK-12 school
New Year
I feel as though I need to be more intentional about writing this year. So I will begin as I intend to continue – and write each day. This was a wonderful, bittersweet holiday break. I went on break a week before my daughters and they will continue for another week, watching endless episodes of…
Lovely Beckoned Again
Well, I cut school and went to the Bean. Not exactly school, but I ducked out of the conference that I was at during the small group discussions and headed to Millennium Park and the Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate for the 11-11-11 Beckoning of Lovely. I towed along with me four other teachers. We saw…
iPads and Seventh Graders
I have been away from here – and I am totally remiss in not spending some time catching up on what has been happening in my classroom. This year we have piloted a program with iPads in the hands of each seventh grader. First let me say that it is NOT the same a full…
Things I’ve learned
Things I’ve learned or remembered these past two days: Poison ivy is fact of life. Recognize it, avoid it, or deal with it. People who are poisonous or who make you itchy are a fact of life. Recognize them, avoid them, or learn to deal with them. The ones who look tough are usually big…
Summer Plums
I have all kinds of fruit trees and plants in my yard. Pears, apples, a peach tree, grape vines, mulberry (if that is something you consider a fruit and not yard litter), some black raspberries, and one or two strawberries. I even have a plum tree or two, but they never produce fruit and are…
If You Wish To Make an Apple Pie…
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. — Carl Sagan I went to the farmers market today. I had a few things on my list. In particular I was hoping to find a grower that had padron peppers, a small green pepper that you toss lightly…
Thinking and Learning in Spain
Traveling in Spain gave me more than an opportunity to see the Alhambra. It gave me the opportunity to look at how I learn things and how I cope with challenges that are outside of my usual experiences. Shopping, dining out, asking directions, following directions, listening to tour guides, reading signs. Each time I was…
Tinkering
I met the most interesting people at CMK11 this year. Tinkerers. Makers. People who weren’t afraid to get it wrong in the process of getting it right. It was fun to be in a room full of people just messing around with stuff. I enjoyed so many moments: Being in the midst of a computers/technology…
Starting With a Blank Page
When I left the project yesterday I was pretty sure that I had a clear picture of what I needed to do. All I had to figure out was how to populate the figure across the page. I was working with the program that I had created, and I was looking for a simpler way…
Day 3 at CMK11: Ways of Knowing
My daughter is looking at colleges. She’s someone who can choose where she wants to go to school, and yesterday’s work at CMK pointedly reminded me what she needs to think about. All three of our speakers yesterday had things to say that echo through our world of school. Lella Gandini, an early childhood educator…
Day 2: CMK 2011 – Inspiration and Renewed Enthusiasm
Well, our hotel is a happening place. When we arrived, a dance competition was just finishing up, and now we have the band Kiss in concert across the street at the arena (I wanna rock and roll all nite). I seriously feel in need of a jumpsuit. It seems like at least the road crew…
Living on the Lip of Insanity 