I’ve missed blogging.
I know it’s mostly my fault.
I haven’t given my blog much attention lately. It’s been acting out, as some youngsters are known to do when they are neglected. Recently, I tried several times to post a new blog entry and it wouldn’t work.
My first reaction was to blame edublogs.org, but just today I realized it was my blog acting out.
I need to nurture my relationship with my blog. Spend time with it. Find out what it’s all about.
Feed it.
If I don’t, it gives me attitude.
(allusion to the movie, Superstar, and “Now you’re giving me attitude.”)

So, I’ve recommitted to my blog. I still have things to say. So, let’s get to it.

Here’s the beginning of what would have been an interesting post called “What I Like about Parent Conferences,” which I wrote a couple weeks ago.

There’s a game some teachers play at conferences. In the two seconds before a parent introduces him or herself, we guess the name of the student that goes with the parent. It’s not as hard as it sounds. If you look deeply at the parents’ faces and guess the correct sex of the student, it’s pretty straight forward (assuming you know your students), as well as being darn amusing. It’s one way to keep alert at conferences, but past that it doesn’t really have a purpose — conferences are really about what is said, not seen.

Lately it seems like I don’t have time to write my ideas out in depth. I settle for these lists. It’s not really my choice. It’s life.

Highlights from Parent-Teacher Conferences:
1. I learned that a father had worked with his son on his page of our class wiki assignment. This is juicy stuff. I live for this. Parents working with their kids on school assignments related to the internet. Conferences are the only time these things come to my attention.

2. Having a laptop on my desk at conferences was a good idea. I actually taught a student how to use the wiki in front of her mother during our conference. When I was in 7th grade at West Junior High in 1972 that sort of thing practically never happened.

3. I learned that people actually read this blog. A student’s grandma told me she loved my photos of Paris; she suggested I keep writing, too. And a parent commented that she likes my writing style. My inner-writer was feeling pretty darn good after that conference.

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And so, we come back to October 28, 2008. My birthday. It’s been a wonderful day. I’m feeling truly blest by my family and friends. And my students. They sang “Happy Birthday” to me today. And I received a couple birthday cards from them. Those are the kinds of things that make me feel like I’m doing something right.

That, and the fact that most of them seem to be working very hard this year. As we leave the Myth Unit and transition to Science Fiction, I hope their interest levels just keep on rising. I’m seeing more and more creativity and curiosity with each assignment. I’m guessing that this Science Fiction unit is coming exactly at the right moment; they’ll be challenging us (me and my MSU intern, Ms. Bernacki) in new ways every hour. We’ll be doing our best, not only to keep up, but to keep two steps ahead of them.