merry xmas!

merry christmas to you and your loved ones from YDNFTF!

music=student success

The cyclic nature of U.S. public education has, once again turned regressive. Progressive education proponents—descendants of Dewey (1897)—find their theories abandoned and instruction reduced to only those content areas that are norm-reference-tested. Not unlike the launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 and the call-to-math-and-science-arms it stirred in this country, the implementation of No Child Left Behind (2002)—which generously considered art a “core subject”—has unintentionally made the study of the arts a victim of the current political movement. While this may seem historically inconsequential—the teaching of art has gained and lost popularity throughout history—the ramifications vis-à-vis student achievement are significant since fine arts can improve higher-order, concrete, and abstract thinking, the very skills students need for success in school (Gallatt, 2007).

According to Petress (2005), of all the arts, music is the most important because it has proven beneficial to students in four major categories: success in school, success in society, success in developing intelligence, and success in life. Despite its merits, music has taken the biggest cuts due to the high costs associated with music education (sheet music, instrument purchase and repair). More affluent schools manage to maintain music programs, but music education is vital to the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual growth of all students, regardless of economic background. Its virtues include:

· Self-discipline, dedication, and goal-setting

· Hard work, practice, and improvement

· Self-confidence and humility

· Teamwork

Gardiner’s (1983) theory of multiple intelligences provides more support for utilizing music to fully educate students. When teachers address all learning styles—including music—students develop their weaker modalities while nurturing their stronger ones. This allows all students to be more versatile learners in various settings (Mixon, 2004).

While the so-called “Mozart Effect” debate rages on, most scholars agree that music motivates students to learn (Eady & Wilson, 2004). It provides an “emotional hook” that can engage students in learning rudimentary facts (McIntire, 2007). Raymond & Broderick (2007) claim that even the most reticent of students will enthusiastically participate in classroom activities when given the opportunity through the arts, allowing them to dig deeper into the curriculum, and providing richer content without sacrificing teacher accountability. Even rap music, which has unified an entire generation of disparate cultures, can be used in the classroom to educate, its “driving beat” mixed with educational lyrics adding interest to otherwise lackluster lessons (Eady & Wilson, 2004).

Music helps students learn more, more effectively in core subjects, as well as contribute to the attainment of learning goals (Eady & Wilson, 2004). Therefore, music should be woven into the tapestry of the curriculum. Since music and literacy go hand-in-hand—literacy, vocabulary, and memorization skills are naturally developed through melody, rhythm, and rhyme (McIntire, 2007)—reading instruction should be fused with music in order to enhance its effectiveness (Eady & Wilson, 2004). If teaching the whole student is our goal, then music is an important medium that teachers and educators should utilize to maximize student achievement, motivation, and involvement.

preachin' to the choir

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury conventional wisdom, not to praise it.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good oft interred with their bones.

Politicians have used policy to punishing effects on our profession. Our autonomy—and indeed our integrity—as teachers and members of the professional class is threatened daily. The press opines about the need for “accountability.” Republicans rant about the need for “choice.” The public is pummeled with negative stories about dysfunctional districts and trashy teachers. We’re in an all-out PR war, and our students’ academic lives are on the line.

While politicians clamor to take credit for the latest educational craze, we teachers are in the ditches—day in, day out—diligently disciplining and didactically directing. We know what works with kids because we work with kids! How can anyone who hasn’t spent more than a few hours in a classroom know what is best for students? Don’t you find that insulting? Have you ever spent a few hours in the state Capital building or Congress then decided you knew exactly how to legislate? It’s ludicrous! We need to stand up for ourselves! We need to demand the respect we’re due.

Our profession has been marginalized by state-sponsored, mandatory reading programs and high-stakes, standardized testing. These are clumsy tools at best. They aren’t the precision instruments needed to address the disparate needs of 21^st century American school children. Non-standard English speakers and English language learners need more finessed, more finely tuned teaching—practices that reading programs like Open Court don’t provide.

Take the teaching of reading comprehension skills for example. To teach Main Idea, the 5^th Grade Teacher’s Edition simply states, “Have students locate the main idea of the paragraph and its supporting details.” That’s it. No instruction on how to find the main idea or activities teaching what a main idea is, just find it. A careful look at the 4^th grade T.E.’s reaps the same result. How about 3^rd grade? Still no explicit instruction. 2^nd grade? Nope. Well, surely then the first grade teacher’s edition would have at least one activity teaching this abstract concept in a concrete way… Nonewhatsoever.

Yet we expect someone who is new to this country—someone who has never spoken the language or read it fluently—to pick out the main idea of a literally foreign text when he/she has never been taught how to do it?! That’s insanity. Oh, and by the way, here’s this standardized reading test—only in English, mind you—that we expect you to be successful at, or we’re going to send in the “program improvement” team with their clip boards and bow ties to go snooping through your teacher’s lesson plan book! Outrageous.

We must work smarter than that. We mustn’t fall prey to the one-size-fits-all approach. There are no silver bullets, no panaceas—only good teaching and good resources. We must have both in order to be successful. We must supplement our current reading programs with venerated practices that are professional and practicable, like explicit comprehension skills instruction. We must teach students at their instructional reading level, not at their frustration level, two to three grades above their comprehension level, like in the Open Court series. This is the “soft bigotry of high expectations.”

Our core texts—math, social studies, science, and health—are also too difficult, so we must replace them as well. They are all written at grade level, yet how many of our students in urban schools—the ELL’s, et al—read at grade level? These students are just as deserving of science and social studies instruction as more affluent students. They need textbooks that are not only aligned to their grade-level standards, but more importantly, written at their own individual reading level. So while your top—or at grade level—students read the harder text, the lower students still have access to the same content, but with easier vocabulary. It can be done… with a little ingenuity… and a lot of cash.

This reminds me of a bumper sticker I used to see occasionally: It will be a great day when our schools have all the money they need, and the army has to have a bake sale to buy a bomber. The money issue is a problem, but perhaps it’s an opportunity for local publishing businesses to get involved in education. To wit: perhaps smaller, local companies could step in to meet each state’s needs instead of huge, national text book companies (McGraw-Hill, Houghton-Mifflin, etc) that make a uniform, grade-level text that they can sell in any state. This could address the educational problems each state faces on a more local level. Just another way we could better serve the needs of our students in this country. Thank you.

vilify the fry

The nascent movement to ‘vilify the fry’ may have begun with Cultural Politics and Education (Apple, 1996). Recently, French fries have been an enemy to both our health and waistlines due to their preparation in trans fat. A few short years ago, we changed their anti-American image by renaming them “Freedom Fries.” But a decade ago, cheap French fries began wreaking havoc on education with far more serious effects.

This didn’t happen in the United States—it happened in Asia—but with W.T.O. trade policies like NAFTA, a similar educational crisis is currently affecting California: how do we educate the ever-growing immigrant population? This has had national, political ramifications. Immigration and national defense are arguably the two most important issues to both democrat and republican voters in this upcoming election year. So what do French fries have to do with immigration? I’ll get to that. Suffice to say, the immigration problem we face in 2007 is analogous to the problem of cheap French fries in the Asian country where those potatoes were grown.

When a multi-national, fast-food giant was offered huge tax breaks to move their potato farming and French fry production to rural areas of this Asian country, thousands of indigenous people were forced from their homes—land on which generations of their kin had lived, long before banks and mortgages and deeds existed. Naturally, the people migrated from their rural environment into and around the cities.

The influx of families created a burden on the city’s schools, and they began to over-crowd. Unfortunately, the government would not build new schools without a “legitimate” need based on “official” statistics. The displaced families were considered “illegitimate”—and therefore weren’t counted in “official” statistics—because of their “immigrant” status. Moreover, babies born to these families weren’t counted as new births unless they were born in a hospital—facilities that weren’t readily available in the slums and “shanty towns” where many moved.

While the “Value Meal” was heralded in America for its abundance of cheap food options—including fries—unbeknownst to most Americans, it was causing an educational crisis in Asia. Since the fast-food company was offered sweeping tax-breaks on the land, no new revenue was coming into government coffers. This–and the unfair counting of its citizens—accounted for the dearth of new schools. Even if there were a “legitimate” need for new schools, there was no money to fund their construction.

We have a similar educational problem in California. After Clinton signed NAFTA in 1994, huge companies (like the auto and textile industries) moved their domestic production facilities south of the border. Many of these factories were built in rural areas, and indigenous people were forced to relocate. Some moved into the surrounding cities, but many moved to the Border States like Texas, Arizona, and California. They moved into urban areas where local school systems—already over-crowded and under-funded—have struggled to address their needs ever since.

The English Language Learner—or ELL—student generally requires more resources to educate; resources many inner-city schools lack. Since Proposition 13, school funding has been tied to property tax. Downtown schools, surrounded by apartments and low-income housing, don’t have the local tax base that more affluent, suburban districts have. Therefore, ELL’s and inner-city children get a “separate but unequal” education.

Standardized (English only) testing only exacerbates this problem. And with federal educational funds tied to these tests, our education system stands at a crossroads. Do we professionals let top-down policies such as NCLB destroy what we know are best teaching practices? We know high-stakes testing doesn’t lead to more effective teaching or a better education—if anything it leads to higher dropout rates. But maybe that’s the point: as long as we stay enamored with cheap French fries, we’ll always need someone to run the drive-through window.

letter to the stephanie miller show

hi,
why does your show promote that empty vessel, maureen dowd? her deranged diatribes have damaged dems for the past 15 years, yet i hear her pieces read frequently on the s.m. show. please. stop.

as glenn greenwald and bob somerby have ably pointed out: this woman is clearly not well. it's a wonder the n.y. times still employs her. her recent comments about the "dominatrix" (hillary) could have come from that mccain supporter. her taking a shot at your man, "obambi" is just another illustration of her historically vile treatment of dem. hopefuls (see also: gore, 2000 & kerry, 2004).

unfortunately, the m.s.m. read from one script--a script created by the likes of dowd, matthews, et al-- in which liberal men are wishy-washy pussies and liberal women feminist "bitches." (conversely, conservative men are "real" men--see: chris matthews' crushing on "manly" fred thompson.) i expect this brainless narrative from right-wing radio, but not from the n.y. times. "liberals" like maureen dowd (and frank rich, another of your buddies) have put cowards like bush/cheney in the white house and our bravest in iraq with these inane caricatures.

their constant derision of democrats begs the questions: with "liberals" like these, who needs conservatives? and when was the last time you saw a conservative columnist like william kristol or robert novak treat their own kind so... well, unkind? i hope you recognize the damage done to progressive politics by liberal-on-liberal attacks. we do the other side's dirty work for them. how smart is that? (insert hillary laugh here. real bright...if we like to lose.)

i like your show and listen daily, but i want to win in 2008. in order to do so we must not prop up people like dowd and rich. they are fatuous, fops--part of a millionaire press corp "serving" a(n increasingly dwindling) middle class nation. real issues are anathema to these people. they've got great health care, thank you..."diamonds or pearls?" more importantly, we progressives must not do our opponents' work for them. (insert howard dean hurrah here) we've already got enough work trying to win back the white house in '08.

your official "humorless, stick-up-the-butt-liberal" 5th grade teacher from long beach, ca
mr. c.

p.s. no, my shift key is not broken. i just don't like to yell. it's uncivil.


the stephanie miller show airs weekday mornings from 6-9 on ktlk 1150 am.

veterinarian's day

today, when we stood to say the pledge in my class, i asked my students why we had a holiday on monday. one of my students excitedly raised her hand. since she was an 'excel' student last year i expected the correct answer...

"yesterday was veterinarian's day!" she exclaimed.

while no one in the class even cracked a smile, i stifled my giggle long enough to explain that it was veteran's day--a day where we honor the service of our men and women in uniform who fight to protect our constitution and our freedoms.

later on i realized that this student might have been trying to be funny. last year her class may have laughed at her "mistake," but this year, i don't think anyone in my class knew what she was talking about!

d.i.a.b.

if you didn't already notice, take the poll at the top of this page on what i should dress up as for the halloween parade at school. fun! (i know: i should go as mr. garcia...!!! maybe next year...) since you already know what i look like in a DEV-O radiation suit, here's a picture of my colleague from stevenson, (and member of the whittier masters cohort) mr. r. and me dressed as the d. in a box guys from the SNL skit. (warning: adult language)

shout out to ms. velez for the fun halloween party friday night. thanks for letting us share our "gifts" with everyone!

4 electric seconds

not really related to teaching (although i did bring in my drums this past week to share with my students), i just realized i hadn't posted a video from 4 electric seconds. at the end of 2005, operator! went on a long-term hiatus due to many reasons, not the least of which was that the lead singer and lead guitarist were having a baby. i had just joined the thingz (after being unceremoniously kicked out of sexytime explosion), and was looking to play in another band with a more "modern" sound. that's when 4ES began. here's a song called "lawrence, kansas," named after the hometown of the band we copied in this song. (bonus points if you know the name of the band!) video courtesy of c.s.

his heart

today, an amazing, inspiring "teaching moment" occurred in my classroom! no, it wasn't when my principal observed me for 45 minutes. nor was it during my algebra "review" (from 4th grade). and sadly, it wasn't during one of my favorite writing lessons (figurative language).

it was when i shared a song by the old 97's that related to our open court unit 1 theme: cooperation and competition. here are the song's lyrics:

Alone So Far

I watch, as it stops for a girl,
A moment, elaborate and weak.
I am easy in her midst,
Why elaborate, when there's no need to?

But I do, all night,
My words ring like money off a bar.
But she's here, asleep now,
One can only go alone so far.

One can only go alone so far.

I dream of a deep dark grave,
Seven feet below Saint Augustine.
And she's so easy in her breathing,
Why fall in love, when there's no need to?

But we do all night,
Sleep like spoons, forget whom we are.
But she's here, and she's wound down now.
One can only go alone so far.

One can only go alone so far.

after i played the song on my guitar, i talked about how it related to geese that fly in a V formation--they can fly farther, cooperating in a group than they can flying alone. one can only go alone so far.

since we've been studying pronouns, i asked what the rather ambiguous "it" was that "stops" in the first line of the song. i told them i thought "it" could be a car, a bus, a train, maybe time. one of my students raised his hand and set me straight:

i think "it" is his heart.

my heart stopped too, when i heard that!

just to recap: today a "teaching moment" occurred when a 10 year-old taught me what a song lyric i showed him could mean!

same as it ever was...

thanks to the wonders of online advertising, the new york times' paid subscription service is now a thing of the past. (thank you pop-up ads!) today, one of the only reasons to read the paper--paul krugman--wrote an excellent op-ed about the historic failures of the conservative movement. here's one of my favorite parts:

KRUGMAN (10/8/07): People claim to be shocked by the Bush administration’s general incompetence. But disinterest in good government has long been a principle of modern conservatism. In “The Conscience of a Conservative,” published in 1960, Barry Goldwater wrote that “I have little interest in streamlining government or making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size.”

this is incompetence through self-fulfilling prophecy. to wit: conservatives don't believe government works, therefore it doesn't work. (see FEMA under bush versus clinton. it's true: "heckuvajob brownie" probably knew more than james lee witt about arabian horses!)

at the end of his piece, krugman gets big props for referencing one of the great "american rock bands," the talking heads:

KRUGMAN (10/8/07): Now, as they survey the wreckage of their cause, conservatives may ask themselves: “Well, how did we get here?” They may tell themselves: “This is not my beautiful Right.” They may ask themselves: “My God, what have we done?”

But their movement is the same as it ever was. And Mr. Bush is movement conservatism’s true, loyal heir.

come on: everybody who's seen the video--sing and karate chop your arm at the same time!

same as it every was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...

anniversary pt. II

today is the 1 year anniversary of my first blogpost!

...and el cumpleanos de mi padre tambien.

...yard duty and mi padre...

that's cool with me...

tambien.

anniversary

today is the anniversary of my birthday.

...and jimmy carter's, too!

...me and jimmy carter...

that's cool with me.

routine

!operator! perform "routine" at my "end of summer" BBQ extravaganza!
video courtesy of rodger revilla

i'm baaaack...

haven't posted in a while--super busy with the new school year and new master's classes... here's a song i wrote and performed live on WIZARD TV's 4th season-opening show last week (sorry. no youtube clip available):

5th grade rules
mr. c

hip hip hurray it's the first day of school!
i was getting really tired of lying out by the pool.
it's the last year of elementary school--
i'm gettin' ready to go to 6th grade and be cool.
don't be afraid--got it made in 5th grade--it rules!

don't mean to mislead you--don't mean to be cruel--
it's a lot of hard work to get to middle school:
you gotta pass benchmarks, gotta know your basic facts--
you gotta act smart, prove you're not a fool.
don't be afraid--got it made in 5th grade--it rules!

camp hi-hill for a week this winter--
no classroom and no babysitter!
all you gotta do is be a good wizard--
make good choices, and you'll be a winner!

ready or not it's time to take responsibility
for your education, work up to your ability,
ignore distractions, and others acting silly, rude--
keep yourself focused and watch yourself improve!
don't be afraid--got it made in 5th grade--it rules!

camp hi-hilll for a week in the winter time--
no parents and no baby sister cryin'!
all you gotta do is keep your goals in mind--
you might be surprised by the success you'll find!

ready or not it's time to take responsibility
for your education, work up to your ability,
ignore distractions, and others acting silly, rude--
keep yourself focused and watch yourself improve!
don't be afraid--got it made in 5th grade--it rules!

a wonderful world

tip of the energy dome to mom for the video.

BIRTH OF A NATION!

a DiDacTicNaTioN is born!

you are cordially invited to become citizens...


to brutal beats and truths,
j-see

!operator!

just played our first show in 2 years last night! it went well. big turn-out--even padre came! i think we pulled it off considering we only had 2 practices. check out the article in the district weekly (if you read the article, watch out for the cheney-esque quote from yours truly!)
photo by jennie warren

psycho bitch

one of the reasons pops and i rebuilt the fence was because i knew i'd be adopting sophie. see, a couple weeks ago, while tethered to her leash in my parents' front yard, she crept up on the postman and lunged for his crotch! the mail went flying and the letter carrier ended up on his bottom, spewing profanities. he refused to deliver the mail that day, and when my parents went to the post office to pick up their mail, they were informed that they'd either have to get a p.o. box or get rid of sophie. since i have a good-sized yard, i agreed to adopt the crazy bitch... i know--i may regret it--i just hope she doesn't chew through my NEW fence...

gates of steel (not)

one of the benefits of being a teacher is having a positive influence on your students' futures, watching them grow and learn. the downside is, we can never truly know how much of an impact, if any, we make. we don't necessarily get to see the fruits of our labors.

other professions (architecture, carpentry, plastic surgeons) get to actually SEE the results of their hard work. that's very rewarding as i found out this weekend.

one of my vacation projects was rebuilding a gate that my parents' poodle, sophie, chewed through on the 4th of july. pops and i did it in a couple of mornings, and it turned out great! i haven't built anything out of wood in about 10 years, so i feel pretty excited about it (hence this tangentially-related-to-teaching post)!

there's something about producing a tangible product that gives one a certain sense of accomplishment. i can't stop looking at it! thanks for the help, pops!

vacation

wow. how come the school year flies by so fast, but the last couple weeks just dddddddddrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggg?!

wednesday was our last day with students, and thursday we had a teacher-only day, so that means i've been on vacation approximately 3 days now. woo hoo! some vacation highlights (so far):

• staying up late and sleeping in!
• photo session and interview by the district (long beach weekly) for my band !operator!
• watching the angels vs. tigers game with mi padre in luxury box seats (angels killed 10 to 3)
• playing a show with THE THINGZ at alex's bar tonight!

i will continue to sporadically post on vacation, then get back in the swing once school starts again (sept. 5). i'll also prolly post a few of the "greatest hits" from the 2006-2007 school year. stay tuned!

live thingz!

since it doesn't look like THE THINGZ will be playing the whittier talent show afterall, i thought i'd post our world wide web video premier here at YDNFTF. it's a video of us playing our new song, "recess" from last saturday's show at the prospector in long beach.


btw, listen for the line, "yard duty now and for the future!"

this test...

i decided to use woody guthrie's rebellious song--his answer to irving berlin's "God Bless America"-- to present some findings i'd found on standardized, norm-referenced assessments. i'm going to perform the song this tuesday, in class. hopefully, it goes well...

this test...*

this test is your test--this test is my test.
from kindergarten we'll start norm-referenced.
it don't measure learning or good teaching, but
this test was made for you and me

as i start teaching, i hear them preaching:
they say, "assessment must drive instruction!"
so i start testing and teaching nothing--by
this test they'll grade you and me...

this test is your test--this test is my test.
some politicians think they know what's best.
it don't measure learning, only compares you to mean, but
this test was made for you and me

when the scores get published and the schools get funding/punished,
this fuel the fire across the country:
"our schools are rubbish--a waste of money," but
this test wasn't made by you and me...

this test is your test--this test is my test.
those federal dollars are tied to "progress."
it don't measure learning or good teaching, but
this test was made for you and me...

nobody living can ever trust them:
those talking heads and them politicians.
nobody living can make me leave behind a child--
this test was made for you to fail

this test is you test--this test is my test.
from kindergarten we'll rank to see who's best.
it don't meaure learning, only compares you to mean, but
this test was made for you and me...

*with apologies to woody guthrie

EAR OF GOD!

i tell you what: after a long, arduous day of teaching, after sitting in masters classes for 3 hours, after getting home hungry and pissed off, with only a few, short hours left in my evening, there is NOTHING--i repeat, NOTHING-- like elote to take the edge off!

for those who don't know, elote is corn. (my translation: EAR OF GOD!)

i am lucky enough to live in a neighborhood serviced by a friendly man named mauricio who brings his shopping cart-full of fixin' down the street every evening around 7 p.m. (summer hours) talk about a godsend--to me the sound of his horn is like a ringing bell to pavlov's dogs--his corn is so sweet, so juicy, so f'n delicious, when i hear that honking, i'm running out the door with a dollar in my hand!

lately it's been the highlight of my day...

allow me to elaborate on elote 's proper preparation: first, mauricio paints it with mayonaise. (wait. it gets better!) then, he rolls it in parmesean cheese. (mmm!) next, he squirts liquid butter on it. (i wonder if there's any trans-fat in that?) and finally, he sprinkles chili powder on it... (limon is also available upon request.)

oh. my. god. it is incredible!

so, shout out to MAURICIO for providing this hungry, irritable teacher with heaven on a stick every single day!

i, me, mine

with the school year winding down, i've noticed an increase in the amount of tattling, whining, and generally self-centered behavior exhibited by my students. it's troubling since we've spent so much time building our community (our "tribe") and trying to establish mutual respect and appreciation in our classroom. to add insult to injury, "caring" has been our character focus for the month of june, yet the tone and quantity of bickering between my students has only grown worse.

the other night it occurred to me: i needed to teach my students "i, me, mine" from let it be by the beatles.

so for community circle the next morning, i gave the lyrics to my students (as a "literary gift") and told them that the song reminded me of our tribe lately. we read the lyrics together, then i sang the song on my guitar. they loved it! we discussed the meaning of the lyrics, and right away my students converged on the theme-- "it's about being selfish." i asked them how that related to our character trait this month, and they proceeded to tell me that selfishness was the opposite of caring about others. i asked them how that related to our class, and they offered that the tribe had been selfish, petty, and insensitive to each other's feelings. then we discussed ways we could show caring to each other (being polite, appreciative, positive, etc).

i closed the lesson by playing my old let it be LP on an even older school record player--you know, the record-player-in-a-box with the built-in speakers--the students absolutely loved it! they asked me to play it again, so i did (it's only a 3 minute song), and when it was over they wanted to hear it again! i was amazed: an almost 40 year-old record still resonated with the youth! that's good art!

i actually wound up performing the song two more times this week in two different settings: once in my masters class (where it was interesting to note how a little music energized the room for the duration of class) and once at the staff meeting. (i asked mr. g., and he said i could share at the end, but when i told him how it related to tribes and how it would positively affect everyone right at the beginning of the meeting, he agreed.)

we ended up having a great staff meeting, jam-packed with fun tribes activities, writing, and exciting information about the opening of the new mark twain library (a "completely green building!") in august. it was even suggested that i sing a song at every staff meeting...

i'd do it, but i think that would be pushing it a bit... (especially considering the inherent irony of me wanting to perform "i, me, mine" three times in one week...)

HOLES pt. III

so the other day i was scribblin' some raps into my writer's notebook when suddenly, and without warning, i wrote a verse about holes! it was kinda funny, so i shared it with my students--here it is:

be careful, neaderthal
j-see, caveman, stanley in holes
he my hero, carry zero never fall--
when his back against the wall
make his hand into a ball.
all in all, another tall tale--
one small step for a kid in jail--
don't blame him if he fail
don't bother...
blame his
no good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!

meeting with mr. g.

i got called over the intercom (along with a few other teachers) to the principal's office today... i think he wants to talk about this blog...er, my action research.

that means he'll prolly be checking out my site...

shoot. i better tidy up the place a bit... dust off the cyber-cobwebs...

camp fire pt. II

i love that camp fire story! (see below) it cracks me up... i was just thinking: if i were playing guitar at that camp fire, i would have sung "rocky raccoon." it reminds me of the story in that song... except it's not sad, and rocky doesn't die... or does he...?

ROCKY RACCOON

(lennon/mccartney)

Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota
There lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon
And one day his woman ran off with another guy
Hit young Rocky in the eye Rocky didn't like that
He said I'm gonna get that boy
So one day he walked into town
Booked himself a room in the local saloon.

Rocky Raccoon checked into his room
Only to find Gideon's bible
Rocky had come equipped with a gun
To shoot off the legs of his rival
His rival it seems had broken his dreams
By stealing the girl of his fancy.
Her name was McGill and she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy.
Now she and her man who called himself Dan
Were in the next room at the hoe down
Rocky burst in and grinning a grin
He said Danny boy this is a showdown
But Daniel was hot-he drew first and shot
And Rocky collapsed in the corner.

Now the doctor came in stinking of gin
And proceeded to lie on the table
He said Rocky you met your match
And Rocky said, Doc it's only a scratch
And I'll be better I'll be better doc as soon as I am able.

Now Rocky Raccoon he fell back in his room
Only to find Gideon's bible
A Gideon checked out and he left it no doubt
To help with good Rocky's revival.

THE THINGZ

for those who don't already know, i play in a 50's garage/punk/comedy band called THE THINGZ. we're all teachers (kim teaches 4th grade and mike--her husband--subs) which is kinda interesting. we play all over long beach, LA, and sometimes the OC. we've been written up in LA & OC WEEKLY, and the PRESS-TELEGRAM interviewed and wrote an article about us last year. we've done some touring along the west coast and in and around the southwest. we recently recorded and released surf & turf (a 7", although not a 45rpm--it's a 331/3 rpm) and have been playing shows to promote it.

but what does this have to do with school?

two thingz:

• we just wrote a song called "recess" which contains the lyric "yard duty now for the future." (shameful plug, i know)

• THE THINGZ may play a few songs at whittier's 2nd annual talent show this month! (what better place to play "recess?")

camp fire

there is a camp fire at hi hill every thursday. after a raucous beginning, the silly songs and funny skits segue into the more somber storytelling time--a denouement, if you will. the featured story is always some sort of morality tale or character lesson. by the end of the story, the kids are usually pensive, introspective even. some may even tear up if the story is sad enough...

according to one of the trail teachers, a student with tourette's listened to one such tale about an unlucky chipmunk who died a poignant death. the tale was very dramatic, and the storyteller openly wept at the end. after a moment of contemplation, as a few 5th grade students silently sobbed and others quietly pondered the chipmunk's untimely ending, the boy with tourette's suddenly offered his heart-felt eulogy...

"poor, f*ckin' chipmunk..."

true f'n story! :>

reflections on hi hill

...a sampling of select memories...

• hiking up the creek to the angeles crest highway (last 20 feet: pretty scary!)
• obnoxiously loud, right-wing maintenance crew (at the BBQ)
• swimming in ARCTIC pool water
• the baby bobcat
• "I GOTTA GO #2000!" (not me! another 5th grade boy...)
  
• thinking there was an animal in the library
  
• having to restrain a student after he charged at me (not from our school, thankfully)
  

more later...

back to reality...

just got back from camp hi hill...we had a great time! the students were well-behaved (for the most part) even though it was a short, 4-day week (so sad!)... as per my modus operandi, i sang "country roads" at the camp fire (replete with students' screaming, hand claps, and flash photography throughout the song--you'd think i was a rock star or something!) i was happy to see my buddy, mr. roberts teaching at hi hill again--he's got a great voice--next time we'll have to sing a duet!

we had BBQ carne asada on thursday, courtesy of the counselors (top secret disclosure: if you don't go on the all-day hike, there's usually a HUGE BBQ--normally hamburgers & hot dogs--for the staff. shhh! don't tell!)

it's really amazing to see how the students grow up in such a short time... the downside is they come back to school feeling a little too big for their britches. i'll prolly have to battle that for the next 7.5 weeks...

here's the whole 5th grade gang (sans ms. wahlen) in front of GRANITE.

HI HILL!

off to 5th grade camp tomorrow--woo hoo!

target practice

one of the interesting things about having a blog is getting feedback from strangers all over the country and around the world. i often wonder how these people stumble upon my tiny little corner of cyberspace... are they devo fans? are they friends? teachers? bounty hunters?

their comments have mostly been laudatory, but my recent post, "second coming" inspired an anonymous commenter (the best kind!), to question the appropriateness of sharing my stream-of-consciousness "rap/poem" with my students. (check out my response in april's archive.)

since that post sparked some debate, i decided to try it again! here's the latest "pap" (poetry/rap) i wrote and shared with my students. we were studying dialogue, and i encouraged them to "eavesdrop" on people in public places and transcribe the way people talk to one another. (my piece includes some quotes i heard in chicago at 4:00 am, after the el train unexpectedly broke down...)

i throw a rhyme like a strike!
"hey, batter, batter--SWING!"
you know it's time for a fight--gray matter battling.
you're too tired like a bike--you're foul like traveling--
step off the mic or get tossed like a javelin!
you're gambling, and that's a poor habit,
"i just want to know how long a moment is on your planet?"
"dagnabbit! i wanna go home! get me off this train!"
ain't got no minutes on the cell phone...
call a taxi and relax in the back seat,
you're another wack MC like kenny g on the sax.
j-see into the FUTURE SHOCK, herbie hancock
can't stop my band rocks, stand-off in the sandbox!
suit yourself. whatever's clever.
don't ever say i didn't tell you any better!
you're light as a feather, stiff as a board,
my words and letters mightier than your sword.
give to the poor the gift of the lord:
T.G.I. friday, by the way, check the scoreboard--
6 to nothing--a skunk in the making...
no more bluffing, no more pump-fake, funk-faking!

HOLES pt. II

this same student with the opinion about the onions noticed something else i hadn't:

the phrase "three days later."

louis sachar uses it a twice in the span of as many pages, he pointed out--once, after sam's unfortunate demise and ("three days later") the sheriff is shot, and the second time after stanley unwittingly gets mr. sir in trouble with the warden--("three days later") after having gotten no water from mr. sir, he finally fills stanley's canteen, but not before acting like he poisoned it.

we discussed the biblical implications of the phrase, and the transformative implications in each example. (i.e. ms. barlow's change of character, the change in the relationship between mr. sir and stanley, and the resurrection story in the bible.) it was another in a long list of treasure moments i've shared with this student.

it's so inspiring to teach students that are excited about the possibilities in writing and literature--the students that can and will reflect upon the information they're producing and/or receiving. they make this job so rewarding...

i'm so thankful that i get to interact, influence, and (hopefully) enlighten the future of this country every day, AND get paid for it!

it's awesome!

HOLES

one of my favorite books--as you know if you've read my profile--is holes, by louis sachar. i'm currently reading it to my fifth grade class. not to give anything away, but the other day, one of my students made a comment (during the part where the classroom teacher, ms. barlow, kisses sam, "the onion man") that had never occurred to me:

wouldn't sam's breath and body stink since he's always eating onions?

funny! i love 5th graders!

angels in the forms of kings

since we've been studying "making a new nation," in OC, i thought i'd share some highlights from thomas jefferson's first inaugural address:
(warning: first sentence is 89 words long!)

• the essential principles of our Government:
• a jealous care of the right of election by the people
• the supremacy of the civil over the military authority

• Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things.

• And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions

• Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.

"'history never repeats,' i tell myself before i go to sleep."--split enz

THE FINEST SPUDS!

this is from an idaho potato box that ms. wahlen was throwing away. it reminded me of the devo album shout. (especially since devo often refer to themselves as "spuds.")












that's more like it...






tip of the energy dome to c.s. for the 'shoppin'.

teachspeak

an intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way. --charles bukowski

with this in mind, i submit for your enjoyment, my teacher-treasure words/phrases and their translations into english (btw, these were all new to me!) :

• bibliotherapy
  

translation: teaching social skills through literacy

• numeracy
  

translation: like "literacy" but with numbers, get it?

• dyads
  

translation: pairs

and my current favorite:

• transgenerational literacy transfer

translation: parents reading to their kids


that was fun. in the spirit of the aforementioned bukowski quote, this should be an on-going feature here at YDNFTF.

thinking maps pt. II

sorry the picture of the thinking map was so small--i'm still figuring out how to use my phone/camera--i can't blow it up any bigger or it will be too pixelated to read. so here's what's in the "my interests" circle map (counter clock-wise from top):

• drive-in movies
• teaching
• singing/"rapping"
• riding my bike
• playing drums
• playing guitar
• BBQ'n

(i should have included politics as an interest--i could've tried drawing a big donkey!)

around the outside--in the frame--is where i wrote the "sources" of my information: "my students," and "me."

thinking maps

i love using thinking maps in my classroom. they're a great way to organize information, and they're fun to use! i learned some great ideas from our training a few weeks back (shout out to our thinking maps teacher trainers!!!) like teaching our students to illustrate them, as i did in this circle map (i liked my drawings, so i decided to take a picture of them with my new cell phone!)

back to school

"schoolhouse" by paul klee (at the art institute of chicago) perfectly captured my feelings about going back to school while i was vacationing in chicago... it scared me to death! (the virginia tech shootings were the day i left for chicago, so i was feeling morbid...)

this painting exudes foreboding--the deserted schoolhouse, the shades of blood red, and the dead eyes of the lone figure--i wonder if any of my students would get the same feeling...

brief hiatus

settling back in after a week in chicago...


...will be back soon...

note to self...

remind me to figure out how to add pix to this thing... all text is rather monotonous.

for balance

being a good libra, i feel i need to balance yesterday's post with this:

A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO ALICIA HUIZAR!

thank you so much for your help with front-loading--you are indeed a master teacher! whittier's staff and students are lucky to have you! you personify the 3 c's, and that makes our school not only a great place to teach, but an even better place for our students to learn.

THANK YOU.

raison d'etre

sometimes i really miss the 3 c's (cooperation, collaboration, community) at my grade level and school... i remember these qualities being present in the past, but not so much now...

maybe it's geographical--my classroom is isolated from my 5th grade team (except for the wonderful wendy wahlen!) and the main school building--i'm in a bugalow::cough::trailer*::cough::
all the way across the playground!

maybe it's middle-of-the-school-year anxiety and stress.
(TESTING IS COMING--AGHHH!!!)
we just want to close our doors and teach.

maybe it's me...

this has been a very difficult (school) year personally and professionally, but i'm trying to stay positive and focused, so that when the 3 p's (politics, personalities, parents) get me down, i remember why i'm here--why i'm a teacher. i'm not here to make friends, socialize, or be part of the popular set...


I'M HERE TO TEACH.


*not like it's "class" warfare or anything, (i know--there's a special place in hell for mimes and punsters) but these "bungalows" don't have running water!


updated: edited for clarity, comedy, and a little humility--6:30 pm

second coming

i often tell my students that authors observe the world around them in an active way, noticing and reacting to things that "tickle their ears" or stimulate their senses somehow. i tell them that my notebook is where i keep things like that.

this week i showed my class how i'd gone through my notebook and marked (with sticky notes) all the quotes, random musings, and thoughts i'd collected that i hadn't used yet but was still planning on using. then i showed them how i'd integrated these ideas into a new piece (read: rap) i'd been working on called "the second coming" (i even read them the yeats poem--also in my notebook-- from which the title was "borrowed"). i showed them how i used the title and my favorite line from the poem in my new piece. i also showed them a line i'd written down from a tom waits' song i'd heard on the radio. then i read them the piece.

here's the beginning: (student-friendly version)

second coming

what stinks worse: your verse or a fart in church?
(your breath bring death like a hearse)
search me--got nothing in the trunk--
"no such thing as the devil, only god when he's drunk."
who would've thunk? jesus was a punk--
keep the temple holy like kobe jam a slam dunk!
:::sniff::: i smell a skunk--see the forest for the trees,
feel the breeze, buddha monk.
more fun than a touring funk band,
PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE AMMUNITION!
we're on a mission--finger flipped at fashion--
"all the best lack conviction, while the worst are full of passion"
the second coming-- it's about to happen...

a bit provacative, but that's good... hopefully my students will remember to go BACK to their notebooks after they're full (instead of just saying, "i need a new notebook--mine's full!") to find seed ideas for use in future pieces.

i'm still sore

we lost.

badly.

it wasn't even close.

3 guys over 6'
(one weighing easily over 2 bills)

and "cheryl miller."

we were the "washington generals" to their "harlem globetrotters."

wizards vs. bears

the teachers here at whittier elementary have been challenged to a basketball game tomorrow versus the teachers at burnett elementary... unfortunately, we don't really have any "ballers" here at whittier, (also a few people who _said_ they'd play flaked--lame!) but we're a rag tag, scrappy little bunch (kinda like the student-players in " the white shadow," except without the pro coach). we had one "official" practice today, and i think we've got a chance... at least we have one person over 6' who can dunk (not me)! either way, it'll be fun.


GO WHITTIER WIZARDS!!!

celebrate!

today the authors in the room 75 tribe shared their hard work at our writing celebration. i was so proud of my students because the variety of (student selected) writing genres made for an eclectic program: poems, fantasies, personal narratives, and even a biography! my students were super excited and their enthusiasm only intensified when our v.p. (mr. hammond) and our principal (mr. garcia) showed up. i knew they couldn't stay--they had other celebrations to attend--so i rearranged the program to showcase the work of one of my star authors, frida.

she was really interested in frida kahlo, so i encouraged her to write a biographical piece on her namesake. she took to it like a duck to water. over the course of 6 weeks, she revised, edited, augmented, diminished, and ultimately created an informative and entertaining piece of non-fiction. she titled it the dove, after kahlo's nickname.

just before our guests left, i made a terrible program decision: i let blanca share her piece on how her grandpa died and how sad she was that she never met him. big mistake. about three quarters of the way through her piece, she broke into sobs... i rushed to tell her she didn't have to continue, but--being the trooper she is--she continued reading through her sniffles and tears! i made a big deal about how brave and courageous she was to share her piece and how impressed i was with my tribe that they respected her enough not to laugh, (even though a few did)... but it was a bit awkward, and i back-peddled to find a lighter piece to try to restore some levity in the room. shoot! why did i start with ashley's funny poems?

all's well that ends well. we didn't have enough time to hear all the stories, (we had to have time to celebrate publishing with some junk food!) so i told them that we'd continue sharing the stories tomorrow...

mutual respect

mutual respect:
a two-way street.
i'll meet you half-way...
collaborative hearts
communicate,
a compromise

HOT MATH

a study by fuchs, et al (2006) sponsored by the center on accelerating student learning (CASL) deals with a 3rd grade intervention called "HOT math" (hands on task). it's a two-tiered system: the first tier is completely scripted and delivered whole class; the second tier is delivered in heterogeneous, small groups.

tier 1 stresses problem-solving strategies, and the first three weeks are dedicated to problem solving information like: "do the answers make sense?" "are the numbers lined up from the text?" "is the work labeled with math words and symbols?"

the remainder of the tier 1 consists of 3, four-week units (in any order):

• "buying bags" problems
• "shopping list problems
• "half" problems
• "pictograph" problems

all problems in tier 1 are structured the same and emphasize self-regulating and self-monitoring strategies. students first work in "dyads" (high/low student-pairing) on problems, then they complete one problem independently. each student receives homework that is "congruent" to the lesson taught that day. students get immediate teacher feedback on classwork and chart their individual scores on a "thermometer" (so apropos for HOT math). students inspect their thermometers before each lesson to set learning goals.

tier 2 is similar but is delivered in small groups. students are reminded about learning goals, self-regulated learning, and are rewarded with "dollars" for displaying on-task behaviors and attaining self-proscribed, academic goals.

the study found that utilizing even one tier of the HOT math program--whole or small group--had a positive effect on student math achievement.

holy rollers

since my last piece had me bumming on the l.b.c., this is for balance:

today i witnessed something that has restored my faith in the goodness of my community: when i walked to the beach this morning with my parents' poodle, sophie, i was initially annoyed with a group of college-aged bicyclists riding on the sidewalk along the cliffs where it is clearly marked NO BIKES! i pulled sophie in close as i muzzled my uncontrollable-old-man-urge to yell at the disrespectful youths.

then i noticed one of the law-breakers get off his bike next to two slumbering men (who appeared to have all the trappings of homeless people) and proceed to place two sack lunches from his backpack next to their sleeping bodies. my smile was instantaneous! these kids were breaking the (bicycle) law to feed the needy!

i walked home in the warm sun and thought to myself: yesterday sophie got out of my yard for 5 hours (her second offence) and was caught and nursed (she had a cut between her claws) by two lovely ladies on orange and 8th... today i see a gang of college students feeding the less fortunate in our community--and last night I ROCKED THE JOINT REGARDLESS!

LONG BEACH IS A.O.K.!!!

but the story doesn't end there... i decided to bike to my favorite breakfast spot--quick plug for the "#3 hobo omelet" at the omelet inn on 3rd and pine--and when i got there, i spotted the same bicycle gang from the beach at the intersection of pacific and 3rd (long beach--"the big little city"). i had to know: they were handing out lunches, right? it wasn't a drug deal i had witnessed this morning, right?

so i waited for them to cross the street and asked one of them what was up with the brown bags. it turns out my suspicions were correct: he and a group of friends that go to his church pass out sack lunches to the hungry. how cool is that? i told them they were doing the lord's work ("[you're] on a mission from god."), and i applauded their caring for our community.

today's treasure moment: holy rollers in the queen city

artistic supporters

sometimes i invite my colleagues to my performances--usually the thingz shows since 4 electric seconds hasn't been playing--and it kinda bums me out when they don't go... that's why it was so rad to see wendy wahlen (resident 5th grade reading specialist) go to dipiazza's for a thingz show last weekend. wendy rules!

i love it when people support other creative people and their endeavors, especially local artists. (athletes have athletic supporters and artists need supporters, too.) it makes me proud when i think that i live in a community that feels art is important enough to support with their time and presence (and maybe a little $). too often in the l.b.c. this is not the case...

i don't know if it's apathy or entertainment-option-saturation--it certainly isn't geographic distance since most venues are bicycle or pedestrian-accessible in long beach--but i don't see fervent support for local artists. maybe the art just sucks here...

last night's show certainly didn't suck: the thingz (l.b.c.), pure country gold (portland), and the guilty hearts (l.a.) all rocked fern's! the shamefully mute, minimal turn-out belied an extraordinary night of rock'n'roll. those in attendance gave more props to the jukebox playing "sweet child o' mine" than the first two bands. even the lead singer from pure country gold commented, "they're too cool to dance in the northwest--i didn't think it was the same here..." alas, it is...

people don't dance no more--they just stand there like this... they cross their arms and stare me down and drink and moan and piss.
--the rapture

technicians or craftsmen?

a study by graham and harris (2005) was of particular interest to me because i love writing. it's one of my favorite subjects to teach--especially since i teach 5th grade, wherein the topics and abilities of my students are as various and multitudinous as the personalities in my classroom.

we use the columbia writing program at my school, so it was nice to see that they were involved in the study. what sparked my interest was the fact that the researchers chose handwriting and spelling as areas of focus to help struggling writers. one of the strengths of the columbia program is that students choose self-selected topics to write about, therefore creating "authentic" published pieces. while this is a more genuine approach, it tends to relegate conventions, such as spelling and handwriting to a secondary or tertiary level of importance. students are encouraged to learn from mentor texts and mentor authors--the real experts--but these authors sometimes use conventions in a somewhat unconventional way.

a while back we had a debate at my school about sentence fragments. open court teaches students to stay away from using them (even my grammar check politely underlines my fragments with a green squiggly line!), yet professional authors use them all the time. who's the real authority? according to one of our trainers, isoke, the essential question is, "good technicians or good craftsmen, which is our goal?"

the answer "good craftsmen" seems obvious, but that's not to discount the importance of knowing the rules and technicalities of the english language--we must explicitly teach them--but isoke says we must not be afraid to allow "playfulness with our language system." fragments (and maybe invented--intentional or otherwise--spellings) are "playful," and they're found everywhere in good writing. according to isoke, "it is the why they chose to [use fragments] that we must teach our students." in other words, if we show our students mentor texts that include sentence fragments, we can gird them with a rationale for using them. how empowering is that?

this excerpt from sandra cisneros' "geraldo no last name" seems germane:

she met him at a dance. pretty too, and young. said he worked in a restaurant, but she can't remember which one. that's all. green pants and saturday shirt. geraldo. that's what he told her.

i count four "fragments" by oc standards, buy isoke would argue--and i would agree--that cisneros "knows more about our language system--not less." she is actually "using more and making more of the rules...--not less."

read across america

gotta love the good doctor...seuss that is. yesterday was "read across america" at our school, and all the fifth grade classes sang the RAA theme song (written by glen weiss). last year i made a super-quick recording on my little digital box (d12) that records/burns cd's... it was quick and dirty, and not the greatest sound-quality, but it worked. i hate the tone of my singing voice, so instead of recording the words onto the cd, i decided to just record the melody line with my guitar; i figured people could sing along to that... i figured wrong. three of my colleagues told me they couldn't figure out what to sing. here i thought i was making it easy on them (or on their ears at least!), when i unintentionally made it more difficult. it seemed like a win-win situation: they wouldn't have to hear how horrible my voice actually is--no american idol aspirations here!--and they would still get to hear the melody to the song.

oh well. the fifth graders did alright, especially considering that some of them had only heard the song the day before when we practiced together with all the classes in the multi-purpose room. they sounded SO GREAT in there that day!! they kinda seemed to freeze up when it came to the actual performance though...

PALS

I’d heard of Peer-Assisted Leaning Strategies before reading the study by Saenz, et al. (2005) but never had it explained in such detail. Now that I understand the components a little better, I may try to implement some of these strategies in my classroom. Of course, it’d be nice to have the training, but it seems like I could try a few things even without the training.

The first thing I like about the program is that it allows ELL’s an opportunity to practice speaking the language they are learning. At my school, we are currently learning to use “front-loading” and “sentence frames” that give ELL’s a chance to practice the academic (CALPS) language before they commit anything to paper. I think this is extremely valuable, as students can’t write what they can’t say.

The second thing I like about PALS is that students are working on higher order language skills like summarizing and predicting, but (and this is a big “but") it’s at their own individual, instructional reading level. Unlike our currently adopted reading program, Open Court—which, according to a Fry’s Readability Test, has college level reading selections IN THE FIFTH GRADE—students get comprehensible input!!! What a concept! Our ELL’s actually get to understand what it is they’re reading. I like that. And so will they.

The other piece that is enticing about the PALS program is the collaborative nature of the system. Students get to partner up—a high with a low—to accomplish their task. This year we have really been striving to build a sense of community in not only our classrooms, but also the entire school. We’ve begun to implement the Tribes book, and have adopted the four “agreements” (attentive listening, mutual respect, appreciation, and right to pass) school-wide. The PALS system builds teamwork and mutual respect right into the partnership, with each student getting to be the tutor and the tutee.

Overall, this was a fascinating study that gave me many ideas to try in my classroom. I’m always searching for more collaborative and interactive ways for students to approach text, and this approach seems successful and easy to use.

17 banos

my favorite thematic unit in open court is "heritage." this past weekend i got to know my heritage a little better: i flew to mexico d.f. for the first time to meet family members from mi padre, joaquin's side of the family. it was fantastic! i stayed at my uncle alphonso's house, "casa margarita" (named after my grandmother, not the drink). i dubbed it the "cordero compound" because it was literally a sprawling, palacial estate surrounded by 4 huge walls. check this out:

• 3 stories
  
• 40 rooms
  
• 17 bathrooms
• elevator
• pool
• jacuzzi
• sauna
• steam room
• 2 gyms
• movie theater
• wine cellar
• 9 fireplaces
• study/library (with spiral staircase to second level bookshelf)
• bar
• grand piano
• basketball court (my favorite!)

as you can tell, it's quite the vacation home! it was hard to leave, but i did do some sight-seeing outside the compound as well: i took a few busses (quite an experience!), rode the metro (people sell everything on there!), and was chauffeured around by my two incredibly humorous and delightful aunts. i got to see toluca (sp?) where my cousin has a cattle farm, and i ate fresh cheese that was only 4 hours old. of course there was plenty of tequila and mariachi music, but the highlight was visiting teotihuacan and climbing the pyramid of the moon!

what an incredible experience!

it really made me appreciate my latino heritage and proud to be a cordero! i bonded with my natural father and family members and really felt a part of something special, something with rich cultural traditions.

today i shared some pictures with my students... i think they could tell i was excited to finally--after 30 years--connect with this part of me...