My first blog called Just Write Baby! had 54,000 page views before it was cancelled. It was cancelled when I switched jobs because the email that I used to create the blog was attached to my job. Anything that I had connected to the previous job's email, was wiped away. I am so glad that I decided to move most of my posts over to this blog about two years ago. I actually didn't know, but I could have saved the posts by importing all of them. I, instead, took weeks copying and pasting. I did lose a few posts though.
I wondered how this blog would do and how long it would take to have 54,000 page views. Well, I have reached a personal milestone. I am almost half way there. Now, that I have made it to 25,000 page views, I have to keep it going. There are times when I am too busy to post. I have a zillion things going on in my new job that I sometimes don't have time to write. I need to correct that because writing is my way of making sense of my world. It is a way of expressing myself, getting those ruminating thoughts out, and is a way to relax and create. That is what I loved about my year back in the classroom. I was able to create and try some things out. I was able to chronicle my journey. But why should it end? Well, it is not going to end. I plan to continue posting and to be more consistent. Why? Because I am a writer. I need to write just as I need to breathe. It is a part of me. I need to create.
Soon there should be more poetry popping and ideas flowing. My new job has my brain spinning a a thousand miles an hour. I need to slow it down by reflecting, and writing is a way to make my world seems less blurry. I need to do this. Having said that, see you soon!
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Escaleras
I dedicate this poem to Noemi Leon-Garcia and Omaly Sandoval Isaacura.
Escaleras
by Maureen Ucles
Sometimes
I need
time out
time away
time to think
Escaleras
Sometimes
I need
a little break
5 minutes or so
tiny break
a veces...
Escaleras
A veces
me quedo inmovil
no puedo respirar
necesito escapar
resucitar
ESCALERAS
Que bueno
Hay escaleras
para mi
for my san-ity
When I
wanna get away
ESCALERAS!
Escaleras
I dedicate this poem to Noemi Leon-Garcia and Omaly Sandoval Isaacura.
Escaleras
by Maureen Ucles
Sometimes
I need
time out
time away
time to think
Escaleras
Sometimes
I need
a little break
5 minutes or so
tiny break
a veces...
Escaleras
A veces
me quedo inmovil
no puedo respirar
necesito escapar
resucitar
ESCALERAS
Que bueno
Hay escaleras
para mi
for my san-ity
When I
wanna get away
ESCALERAS!
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Truisms-Thematic Connections
I am a true believer in teaching students about theme through the use of truisms. I learned about the use of truisms or aphorisms from Barry Lane, Gretchen Bernabei, and Alana Morris about 8 years ago. Alana and I worked on using truisms in a writing framework that we put together. I believe that this practice must be revisited and utilized.
Today in my Face Book newsfeed, I found someone refer to Michael Phelps's new Under Armor commercial. Riveting and moving it was. I immediately saw a connection to reading and writing. This commercial also connects to the use of media and media literacy.
Since I haven't had much time to post, I decided to put everything I was doing to the side, including watching the Texans play the 49ers, and post. I have told my students and many teacher colleagues many a time to never let an idea get away. Today, I am going to take my own advice.
There are great commercials that we can use in our classrooms to analyze. We can analyze them for theme and the use of media. What did the producer want us to learn about life? What did he/she use to convey that? What images and parts of the video go along with the truism? What details support the theme? It all goes together. I want to include some really neat videos that we could use in our classrooms to support the use of theme/truisms.
When thinking of theme, the reader must consider a few questions:
Today in my Face Book newsfeed, I found someone refer to Michael Phelps's new Under Armor commercial. Riveting and moving it was. I immediately saw a connection to reading and writing. This commercial also connects to the use of media and media literacy.
Since I haven't had much time to post, I decided to put everything I was doing to the side, including watching the Texans play the 49ers, and post. I have told my students and many teacher colleagues many a time to never let an idea get away. Today, I am going to take my own advice.
There are great commercials that we can use in our classrooms to analyze. We can analyze them for theme and the use of media. What did the producer want us to learn about life? What did he/she use to convey that? What images and parts of the video go along with the truism? What details support the theme? It all goes together. I want to include some really neat videos that we could use in our classrooms to support the use of theme/truisms.
When thinking of theme, the reader must consider a few questions:
- What is the main message the author wants the reader to learn about life?
- Is the theme that you propose true for you and true for most?
One way to get the brain ready for truisms and theme is to study photographs and commercials. I find it helpful to use the word sometimes. (This idea comes from Gretchen Bernabei.) Sometimes what is learned in the dark, becomes evident in the light. (Paraphrased version of Under Armour commercial.) Sometimes, you have to put in the work, to get the results that you desire. (That is my truism or theme.) It is not enough, though, to include the sometimes alone. The reader must also go back to the video to provide textual evidence to support his/her thematic statement.
Below you will find a group of my favorite
videos that have truisms and thematic statements included or may work really well for discussing theme:
videos that have truisms and thematic statements included or may work really well for discussing theme:
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Houston Weather
Someone seriously needs to do something about the grotesquely hot Houston weather. When I drive to work, before the Sun can do some damage, it is already in the 80s. When I come home from work it is in the 100s. I wonder how my poor car could be doing so well. I need NOVEMBER! My heart needs it. My lungs need it. (Cough! Wheeze!) My clothes need it! My sanity even needs it! It is horrible. My hands burn to touch the steering wheel. My elbow ouches when it touches the arm rest. I don't know how much more I can take! I so dream of November, Come on, November! C'mon!
Write Much? Whirlwind
Yeah, I know that lately I haven't written much. You might ask, Much? I know, know, know. I haven't posted anything for a while. Maybe my blog should be Just Write Something Soon! It is not as if I haven't been percolating and thinking of new things to write. I have had tons of things swirl in my brain. They ruminate on the way to work, during work, as I feed my dog, go to Starbucks, and then when I am just chilling. The words are there locked in my conscious and subconscious, but why have they not made it from my mind to the page? Do you really want to know?
I am caught in a veritable vortex called a new job. With this new job, I have to learn a zillion names, names, and more names. Remembering names is not my gift. I have my associations and my Spanish is helping me with remembering the names...at times. For example, there is a wonderful colleague whose name is Kanica. (I hope I spelled her name correctly.) I do remember her name from canicas. So when I hear her name, I associate it with children playing with marbles. I could also associate it with me losing my marbles! That is what I feel like sometimes in my new job. There are so many people to remember. After 18 years with Spring Branch, I got to know lots of people and finally I learned all of their names. It wasn't only their names that I remember, but the life long relationships that I built.
With these names, I have to remember what these people do and how I will work and collaborate with them. This week, I have had the pleasure of being at an elementary school. I have spent two consecutive days with a great scientist colleague and a energetic and inspiring leader of an elementary school. It was nice having conversations about leadership and what makes a school great. I aso met another principal from an elementary. Our conversation centered on writing. I referenced my work with the great Vivian Pratts at Edgewood Elementary. I thought, "This is starting to feel like home."When it comes down to it, it feels natural because it is all about the relationships that I will build. It is about being around positive, like minded individuals who share my passion for education.
In addition to names and people in leadership, I got to spend some time conversing with the leaders of our students. I had some wonderful conversations with the hardest working people in the bunch. After returning to the classroom last year, I gained an even greater respect for all the work that goes into to teaching. I know the long, long hours we teachers spend making sure that all students learn and are engaged. We teachers spend a lot of money buying supplies for our students to start the year. The spending doesn't stop there. There are books to buy, notebooks to give away, pretty duct tape to make the notebooks last forever, and colors of pens, pencils, markers, and crayons. Don't forget the tape, scissors, pocket folders, library pockets, and whatever else floats their boats. We DO WHATEVER IT TAKES for our classroom family. I will miss mine profoundly. But then I think...maybe, just maybe, I will be able to serve these treasures of students, teachers, administrators and teammates in the new place that I call home. I must work extremely hard to help the teachers, coaches, principals. I must work hard...and to never forget to build relationships and be human. One of my friends always says, It is not the final destination, it's the journey! I must keep this in mind as I move along and find a way out of this name game funk and into the fantastic. When will I arrive? It is the journey...but I need to remember...
Vamos a ver lo que pasa-we'll see what happens. I know there will be peaks and valleys. I just need to be patient. Vamanos! What's her name? What does he do? Who do I talk to about? How do you...
I am caught in a veritable vortex called a new job. With this new job, I have to learn a zillion names, names, and more names. Remembering names is not my gift. I have my associations and my Spanish is helping me with remembering the names...at times. For example, there is a wonderful colleague whose name is Kanica. (I hope I spelled her name correctly.) I do remember her name from canicas. So when I hear her name, I associate it with children playing with marbles. I could also associate it with me losing my marbles! That is what I feel like sometimes in my new job. There are so many people to remember. After 18 years with Spring Branch, I got to know lots of people and finally I learned all of their names. It wasn't only their names that I remember, but the life long relationships that I built.
With these names, I have to remember what these people do and how I will work and collaborate with them. This week, I have had the pleasure of being at an elementary school. I have spent two consecutive days with a great scientist colleague and a energetic and inspiring leader of an elementary school. It was nice having conversations about leadership and what makes a school great. I aso met another principal from an elementary. Our conversation centered on writing. I referenced my work with the great Vivian Pratts at Edgewood Elementary. I thought, "This is starting to feel like home."When it comes down to it, it feels natural because it is all about the relationships that I will build. It is about being around positive, like minded individuals who share my passion for education.
In addition to names and people in leadership, I got to spend some time conversing with the leaders of our students. I had some wonderful conversations with the hardest working people in the bunch. After returning to the classroom last year, I gained an even greater respect for all the work that goes into to teaching. I know the long, long hours we teachers spend making sure that all students learn and are engaged. We teachers spend a lot of money buying supplies for our students to start the year. The spending doesn't stop there. There are books to buy, notebooks to give away, pretty duct tape to make the notebooks last forever, and colors of pens, pencils, markers, and crayons. Don't forget the tape, scissors, pocket folders, library pockets, and whatever else floats their boats. We DO WHATEVER IT TAKES for our classroom family. I will miss mine profoundly. But then I think...maybe, just maybe, I will be able to serve these treasures of students, teachers, administrators and teammates in the new place that I call home. I must work extremely hard to help the teachers, coaches, principals. I must work hard...and to never forget to build relationships and be human. One of my friends always says, It is not the final destination, it's the journey! I must keep this in mind as I move along and find a way out of this name game funk and into the fantastic. When will I arrive? It is the journey...but I need to remember...
Vamos a ver lo que pasa-we'll see what happens. I know there will be peaks and valleys. I just need to be patient. Vamanos! What's her name? What does he do? Who do I talk to about? How do you...
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