The Billary Effect

Now don't get me wrong, I won't be upset if Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States. As this ridiculously long primary season drags on, however, I'm becoming a bigger and bigger supporter of Barack Obama. This editorial by the New York Times' Frank Rich sums up a lot of my reasoning for this. I'm not normally a big fan of Rich's columns, but this one hits the nail on the head.

Op-Ed Columnist

The Billary Road to Republican Victory

By FRANK RICH

Published: January 27, 2008

Any Democrat who seriously thinks that Bill Clinton will fade away if Hillary wins the party nomination is a Democrat who, as the man said, believes in fairy tales. ...

Tuxedo Man

Our current unit is on heroes, and we read a story about superheroes. After the story, my students had to use what they'd learned about superheroes to create their own. They had to tell his/her name, superpower, and weakness.

Cinnamon and Kayle had the most creative superheroes.

Cinnamon
My superhero's name is Tuxedo Man. His superpower is that he cleans all of the world's tuxedos. His weakness is stains.

Kayle
My superhero's name is Mr. Landry. His superpower is that he teaches kids lots of things like how to read. His weakness is when his students don't do their homework. (hilarious if you can imagine how mad I get when my students don't do their homework)

Computers for All!

$12,000 per student per year is how much Hawaii taxpayers are paying for public education. Our schools see about $9,000 of that. And yet we have one modern computer in every classroom, plus 3-4 antiquated Imacs. Hmm. What year is it again?

Last year I made the most of what I had - I used my three Imacs, then "borrowed" three more from other teachers who weren't using them. With these six computers I introduced my students to typing and to the Internet. I thought, however, that as we close on the first decade of the third millennium, my students needed and deserved a whole lot more than this. In their lifetime, these kids are going to be using technology at every turn. Typing today is much more valuable than cursive, and encyclopedias are yesterday's game. There's absolutely no excuse for a 10-year-old to be computer-illiterate.

Given all of this, I asked (or, sort of begged) people for computers. Finally, I discovered a gold mine. A colleague teaching at a nearby high school said his school had recently updated all of their computers and had a mountain of old Imacs (the same model that my school is still using) that they'd like to get rid of. Over the course of a couple of months last semester, I rounded up enough computers to ensure that ALL of my students would have their own! I now have 19 computers in my classroom. Each day my students spend about 15 minutes on a typing tutor, and we are just now venturing into other aspects of the Internet. Hopefully we'll soon start utilizing the class blog that I set up at http://mrlandry.blogspot.com. We'll have to just figure out a way to get around the DOE's ridiculous content filter (way too restrictive).

Thanks to my father-in-law for coming through with some Ethernet cables. I asked my school for some at the beginning of the school year, and by the end of the first semester I still hadn't received them.

Life is Sweet

Courtney and I often reflect on the the path our lives have taken us. We certainly realize how charmed our lives have been, and we are constantly trying to live it to the fullest. A friend introduced me to this poem by Kenneth Koch a couple of years ago, and I instantly saw it as an anthem for the completeness I feel at this point in life.

To My Twenties

by Keneth Koch

How lucky that I ran into you
When everything was possible
For my legs and arms, and with hope in my heart
And so happy to see any woman
O woman! O my twentieth year!
Basking in you, you
Oasis from both growing and decay
Fantastic unheard of nine- or ten-year oasis
A palm tree, hey! And then another
And another and water!
I'm still very impressed by you. Whither,
Midst falling decades, have you gone? Oh in what lucky fellow,
Unsure of himself, upset, and unemployable
For the moment in any case, do you live now?
From my window I drop a nickel
By mistake. With
You I race down to get it
But I find there on
The street instead, a good friend,
X---- N------, who says to me
Kenneth do you have a minute?
And I say yes! I am in my twenties!
I have plenty of time! In you I marry,
In you I first go to France; I make my best friends
In you, and a few enemies. I
Write a lot and am living all the time
And thinking about living. I loved to frequent you
After my teens and before my thirties.
You three together in a bar
I always preferred you because you were midmost
Most lustrous apparently strongest
Although now that I look back on you
What part have you played?
You never, ever, were stingy.
What you gave me you gave whole
But as for telling
Me how best to use it
You weren't a genius at that.
Twenties, my soul
Is yours for the asking
You know that, if you ever come back.

Online Shopping

Thank goodness for online shopping! After just one visit to a mall this Christmas weekend, I'm eternally grateful for purchasing nearly all of my Christmas gifts from the comforts of my condo. Honolulu is known for its traffic, but I could've never imagined witnessing a 15-20 minute traffic jam just to exit the mall parking lot!

This year I relied on Ebay.com, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and some specialty online retailers to find all of my gifts. Shipping to Hawaii can be an issue, but because of my upcoming mainland trip, I was able to have everything shipped to Louisiana. Courtney and I did venture to Ala Moana, a super-nice mall in Honolulu, to baby shop. We found some cute outfits for my godson, Nate, and her friend's baby shower.

On another note, I've found it difficult once again to get swept up into the Christmas spirit here in Hawaii. With the sunshine and warm weather, Christmas seems like a foreign concept. It has been a little chillier than usual (high 81, low 70), but we also haven't decorated, which could be a contributing factor.

Three more days of teaching before the voyage home! Can't wait!

Honolulu Marathon - 2 days away!

DonorsChoose.org

I've heard about this site for a while now, but it was just recently opened up to Hawaii teachers. It's a site designed specifically for teachers, and it allows them to post grant proposals on anything that will influence student learning. Anyone can donate, funding all or part of a proposal. I'm not sure who is out there giving, but there certainly are some generous folks helping out.

Courtney has submitted two proposals that were fully funded, so I decided to give it a try. I have a pretty extensive classroom library, but am missing books that catch the low end of my readers. I submitted a proposal for $260 worth of books, third-fourth grade level adventure books that would expose my students to different parts of the world. Within two days it was fully funded! At the beginning of January, I should receive all of my books. My students will be stoked!

Here's a link to my proposal (already funded). With Christmas around the corner, sending a gift to a teacher through donorschoose.org would be a fabulous way to spread some holiday love :)

Mike Huckabee

I'm not sure, after these past seven or so years, that I'll ever be able to vote for a Republican for president. But, if the next president were Mike Huckabee, I wouldn't shed any tears.

As a former governor, he's got a solid track record and has stayed true to his beliefs. (Romney also had a successful tenure as governor, but his views have now completely changed to the more political opportune). Huckabee even talks a bit about education - something most of the other GOP candidates couldn't care less about. Here's a 1-minute soundbite of his views on the matter.



Then, if that doesn't woo you, this most definitely will.

$369.67

Trick-or-treat for UNICEF is a novel idea that encourages kids to help kids. The organization works to provide basic needs - clean water, food, vaccinations, etc. to children across the world who most need it. The kit they send teachers is great - with collection boxes, lesson plans, and a kid-friendly video that shows what kids around the world go through for the simple things most of us take for granted. It really touched my students, and exposed them to parts of the world that they rarely imagine.

Last year my students raised $170, which I was quite excited about. This year, inspired by the video and a great discussion about the most basic things people need to survive, my students raised $369.67!! I was stoked. It's incredible how passionate and generous kids can be with the right encouragement - we could learn a lot of lessons as adults.

Tonight Courtney and I took the top 5 money collectors out to dinner at Pizza Hut. It was an interesting mix with two fourth-graders and three-fifth graders, all girls. The socioeconomic range of my class is huge, from solidly middle class (two-income) to homeless. It was interesting to see this play out at dinner.

What They're Saying About Education...or Not

It seems the Democratic presidential candidates are betting on Iraq and healthcare, giving the minute attention they've given thus far to the dire state of American schools. Though the issue has yet to come up seriously in any debate, at least one candidate has given it some thought. Here's what each of them say about education on their respective Web sites:

Hillary Clinton*

• Attracting and supporting more outstanding teachers and principals, and paying them like the professionals they are.
• Reforming the No Child Left Behind Act. This law represented a promise -- more resources for schools in exchange for more accountability -- and that promise has not been kept.
• Increasing access to high-quality early education and helping to create Early Head Start.

*These bullets are the full extent to which she addresses education. They fall within her "Supporting Parents and Caring for Children" issue, one of 10 stand-alone issues.

John Edwards*

• Strengthen Public Schools
• Promote Economic Diversity
• Create Second-Chance Schools for High School Dropouts
• Expand College Opportunity

*Each of these bullets are followed by a one-paragraph explanation; these issues are addressed as part of Edwards' extensive and ambitious plan to "End Poverty Within 30 Years."

Barrack Obama*

• Expand Early Childhood Education
• Innovation to Improve Teacher Quality
• Pay Teachers More
• Reform and Fund No Child Left Behind
• Support Teachers
• Improve Testing and Accountability
• Give More High School Students Access to Rigorous College-level Courses
• Expand Summer Learning Opportunities
• Increase Federal Aid
• Free Up Money for Student Aid and Protect Student Borrowers

*Each of these bullets are followed by at least one paragraph explaining the means by which he would address the issue; education is one of Obama's 14 stand-alone issues. Obama seems to be the only candidate who has paid this issue any worthwhile attention.

PLEASE, PLEASE Watch!!!

Miss Teen South Carolina U.S.A. on U.S. Education. I hope she's not our new spokesperson on the issue!

I guess Courtney was too smart to be Miss South Carolina.

Hawaiian Produce

Produce, not surprisingly, grows remarkably well here. This being a near-perfect tropical climate, a huge range of fruits and vegetables flourish. The downside is, however, that in this global marketplace, it's more efficient to grow most things elsewhere. Thus brings the paradox of seeing trees laden with mangoes on my drive to school, yet seeing "Imported from Mexico" stickers on the $2.50/lb mangoes at Safeway. Or knowing that in many backyards in Hawaii, avocados are dropping like stones right now, yet the grocery stores are charging $2.50/lb for ones imported from Chile.

Alas, a few weeks ago one of my teacher friends from school told me about the local farmer's market. Come to find out, on Sunday mornings, just two miles from our condo, there's a wonderful market with a wide range of local produce. The market is sponsored by a division of the Parks and Recreation Department, and vendors are mandated to offer their produce for about 35% below grocery store prices.

We've since been stocking up on mangoes, apple bananas (short and tangy - much more flavorful than the average banana), avocados, papayas and much more. I'm in heaven! Check out this week's catch below.

Broken Arm

This is a photo of Jacob and Angelica. Jacob is a bright and mischievous guy - very easy to love. Angelica is extremely shy, but very devoted. She was one of my biggest success stories last year, making close to two year's growth in reading comprehension and fluency. She recently broke her arm. This makes things awkward for her, as she's right-handed, so is still using the arm to write. When she's not writing, she often rests it on her desk, elbow down, forearm sticking up in the air. I've now called on her countless times, thinking her arm is raised for a question or comment. This usually startles her, as, because of her shyness, she definitely doesn't like to be called on unsuspectingly. We both usually get a good laugh when this happens.

Young College Hopefuls

I've been trying to subtly lead my students to believe that college, for them, isn't really an "option", it's a given. I registered as a prospective student on a few Hawaii and West Coast university Web sites, and my kids enjoy looking through the college viewbooks. If any of you have any old posters or pennants or anything from your alma maters, I'd love to display it in class. Just shoot me an email for my address.

Hurricane Flossie

I've received a few calls and emails regarding Hurricane Flossie. As it stands now, it should bypass us on Oahu. If you look on the map below, worst-case scenario is that it hits the Big Island which on the map, is the biggest island. Oahu is one of the ones to the left of it, so we're sort of in it's shadow. I imagine we'll get some rain, and the winds have been pretty strong all day today, but no need to worry!

Poetry

Sometimes I feel as if my students are supremely limited in their written communication. Most of them speak Hawaiian Creole Pidgin at home, so writing in Standard English is really difficult - particularly with regard to grammar.

Today we began a unit on poetry, one we unfortunately didn't get to last year. I think it will be a great way for them to throw off the bowlines in their writing, as in poetry, conventions matter very little. Today was a great start - here are some of my favorites. The rules were: no more than three words to a line; no rhyming words.

Braces, by Shayna
Heavy weighted metal.
I'll be heavier.
5 pounds or more.
Bright Lights
Laughter of people.
Giggling around school.
Teasing my braces.

Lunch Lady, by Lyric
I wonder who
is she mean
is she ugly
I hope not
I hear her
saying next loudly
what will happen
will she give
gross food
like eyeballs
or ears or
hands I wonder

Moving Away, by Bailey
throat tightens
tears settle in
lips shut
eyes open
heart turns cool
black out
knees weakening
think of memories
walking away silently

Scared, by Henriette
I was scared
at Maili Beach
A fight started
With my uncle
I was frightened
and started crying
Then cops came
and stopped it.

Untitled, by Jacob
Mr. Landry isn't good
No rhyming words
How could he
I love rhyming
He's still Mr. Landry
He's my teacher
I'm his student
can't do anything
I'll tell Ms. Owen
he took off
his wedding ring.

Supreme Awkwardness

So many situations as a male teacher are awkward. Number one in my book is the hug. As a compassionate individual with 33 young people around everyday, there are countless situations when at any other time, a hug would be a natural occurrence or remedy. The last day of school, when a kid is sick or his or her feelings have been hurt, etc. But alas, I have resorted to the half-hug, and only when initiated. Ka'aina, of previous posting fame, is a bit clingy, so he gets a lot of half-hugs (one arm around the shoulder).

Other awkward situations are one-on-one situations, i.e. tutoring, or when I keep someone in from recess. I basically just make sure there is always more than one student in the room, and parents sometimes request that other students be there if their kid is going to stay for extra help.

One particularly awkward moment was when on the day after school let out I called a couple of students to come help me clean my room. They'd said they wanted to the day before, but try explaining that to a parent. "Hi, can Angelica come to school (when school's out for the summer) to help me scrub some desks?" Courtney can do it and have parents think nothing of it, but if Mr. Landry does it, it's pretty weird.

So, that brings us to today. None of the previous awkwardness has even compared. See, I have a whiz in my class named Josiah. He's a brilliant little guy, part Hawaiian, part Korean. He's incredibly disorganized and habitually late, but so perceptive. He's truly gifted. The latest reading comprehension diagnostics I gave him put him at an 8th or 9th grade comprehension level. This is fantastic in itself, but presents a few minor challenges. The first being I teach 5th grade. Therefore, my classroom library is geared towards 5th graders. I don't have many options for him to have a challenging read. I do, however, have a couple of books. One of which is To Kill a Mockingbird.

On the second day of school, Josiah picks up To Kill a Mockingbird. My initial instinct was "Sweet!!" What teacher wouldn't want his student to pick up that book on his own? But after he took it back to his desk, I started thinking about the content. I remembered that the premise is a rape trial, though, of course the book is about so much more than rape. I thought about how relatively liberal my parents were with me growing up and how if I came across anything I was unfamiliar with, they generally never held information back.

I took the book away, but said I'd call and talk to his parents about it. So today I rang his mom, invited them to open house, then brought up the book. I explained that Josiah was reading on a super-high level, and that makes some books with mature topics accessible for him. I asked if she knew of the story To Kill a Mockingbird, and she said no. That should've been my first clue, but I went on. "Well, this story has a rape in it," I explained, "and I wanted to know if you were ok with him reading it and would just like to talk to him about the content first." Awkward pause. "Oh, no, I don't want him reading stuff like that." I ramble a bit about how I just wanted to check with them first and stuff. Awkward pause # 2. "Well, ok, I hope I see you guys at the open house, bye!"

Ahhh! Lorrdez, my fun-loving, matter-of-fact co-teacher (she teaches math), said I should call her back and explain what the book is about, but I just fear that would make things even more awkward. But I don't know - as it stands, Mr. Landry called to see if Josiah could read a book about rape. Hmm. I just wonder if this would've been as awkward if it were Courtney calling a parent.

Honeymoon Continues - Volcano, HI

As the Big Island came into sight through the airplane window, Courtney and I knew that we were visiting a place wholly different from crowded Oahu. Hilo, the Big Island's biggest and Hawaii's second largest city at 47,000 people, is a quaint, but sleepy town on the island's eastern shore.

Once we picked up our Chevy Cobalt from Avis, we ventured into Hilo town and made the farmer's market our first stop. We were in heaven as the produce was all locally-grown and much cheaper than our neighborhood Safeway. We bought hothouse tomatoes, Japanese (burpless) cucumbers, a giant avocado, mangoes and a huge bag of papayas (this must be peak season as I got 7 for $2!!).

After the market, we explored more of Hilo, then made the 30-mile drive West to Volcano, home of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The Guest Cottage at the Volcano Rainforest Retreat was heavenly, complete with a cozy, but adequate kitchen and a woodburning stove.

The next few mornings we got up early to hike around the national park. It's tough to describe how odd the terrain was at the bottom of the different caldera, but if I had to sum it up in one word, it would be "otherworldly." I kept commenting to Courtney that it seemed like we were on a different planet - minus the few plants springing up now and then. The scene was terrific - the Alpha and Omega. Some parts of the caldera were completely barren, a wasteland representative of a place where all life ceases to exist. Other areas were hopeful and inspiring as Ohia trees and ferns were springing up, almost unbelievably, in the black volcanic rock - proving the fortitude and perseverance of Mother Nature.

Other highlights were walking through an underground lava tube that was once filled with molten magma and steam vents where the the subterranean heat was close enough to the surface to heat rainwater seeping down, turning it to steam.

Check my facebook.com album for photos from this part of our trip.

Honeymoon Begins - Latta, SC

Latta, South Carolina, was a tiny town stuck in a simpler time with tree-lined streets and a downtown post office and library. Everything in walking distance and everything quiet (of course, we were there on a Sunday), tucked just far enough away from I-95 for it to be sheltered from Interstate visitors. Courtney and I left the wedding reception at about 10 p.m. and made the 35-minute drive to Abingdon Manor - a Greek Revival mansion set on a lush yard complete with magnolia trees and an enviable herb garden.

The next morning Courtney and I awoke, feeling pretty well-recuperated from the previous day's festivities, and readied ourselves for church at the quaint Methodist church down the street. We were the obvious newbies in the small congregation, and after the service, Ms. Iratene Henry welcomed us, inviting us to their monthly pot-luck lunch. It didn't take much to convince us, as we hadn't at that point given much thought to where we would have lunch on a Sunday in sleepy little Latta. Ms. Iratene was a very gracious host, introducing us to everyone and quickly making us feel like celebrities (a few folks had seen our picture in the Florence Daily News that morning).

Lunch was a great mixture of summer food with squash casserole, shrimp and grits, deviled eggs and an incredible creamy pecan cake for dessert. We had a wonderful time, and it was a perfect reminder of the generosity and graciousness of small-town America - something Courtney and I have been away from for a long time now.

Monday morning we rode to Charlotte with Courtney's parents and brother, Chris. We connected in Atlanta for the 9-hour plane ride back to Honolulu. Although we were dreading returning home (mainly because it means returning to work), arriving in Honolulu to 75-degree weather and a light Hawaiian mist was definitely refreshing.

Remodeling Update

I laid the tile and Courtney and I painted this bathroom before we left for the mainland. We planned to finish it completely during our one-day visit home between the wedding and the honeymoon. It went down to the wire, but we did finish before we left - leaving it in pristine condition for our new roommate. It seems with remodeling there are endless frustrations and complications, but when it's all said and done, the feeling of accomplishment is overwhelming.

Before



After