I found my "Self Improvement" Book! (Now have my students found theirs?)

Normally, I avoid paying full price for a hardcover book the way I avoid stepping on dog-droppings, but I HAD to buy one that came out just a couple weeks ago: Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan. Could I have waited a few weeks until the price got knocked down to $10 on ebay/Half? Sure, but I sometimes get this way with books. I want to feel the book in my hands, fork over my money, and walk out with my fresh purchase. None of this "waiting-for-the-mailman-to-arrive" stuff for me! Not now.

There are a several reasons why I want to absorb this book:

1. I've always had a fascination with Abe Lincoln, ever since I played him in 6th grade for the play A Perfect Tribute. Sometimes, I feel as if I personally know him.
2. Obama is reading this very book right now.
3. Lincoln and I share a deep love for learning!
4. I once read that Lincoln had the juice to become a famous poet if only he chose poetry over politics.
5. I'm curious to know what Lincoln read and how he read it, and this book will tell me.
6. Lincoln out wrote all of our Presidents. What made him so good?
7. Over the years, I've read a dozen good books about Lincoln. This is just another to add to the pantheon.

8. I need a self improvement book to read right along with my students. I will relish reading this one about the great man.

A connection between The Killer Angels and Teaching

I just finished The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, a book that has been on my "To Read" list since 1992, the year a crusty, old senior chief from my Navy days recommended it. The guts, drive, and faith shared by Generals Lee, Longstreet, Armistead on the Confederate side, and Col. Chamberlain and Gen Hancock on the Union side are awe inspiring.

To think of the educational mountain ranges that could be moved and scaled if all teachers had a sense of mission exhibited by these leaders, a mission propelled by a kind of fanaticism.

These amazing men poured their souls into their profession, and they led by example. I keep thinking of courtly General Lee gently reprimanding JEB Stuart, patiently waiting to do the job in private instead of making an example of the flamboyant officer amid the other officers. Stuart really screwed up, and it can be argued that his failure leading reconnaissance around Gettysburg put the Southern forces in serious jeopardy. Lee exemplifies "Leedership" (pardon the bad pun) by keeping his composure and by not crushing a subordinate general who dearly loved the army and the cause. Lincoln acted the same way with McClellan.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” - Gandhi

This quote grabbed me from the window of a poster store as I strolled along South Street earlier today. The older I get, the more I think about the fragility of life. Not to sound morbid, but I look at the obituaries more these day. I "get" the elderly more. My heart goes out more to people who fail, through fate or dumb carelessness, to live to a ripe old age. Today on TV, I saw a story about an Army veteran - a guy my age - who found out last Valentine's Day that he had ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). His degenerative, deadly condition fries his nervous system and turns his muscles to mush, making him move like an old man. He's in a great deal of pain and walks with a cane, but he has the courage to take it day by day and deal with it.

The man said that he refuses to get down because he knows that in another few months, he will yearn to be as he is now, still able to get around and feed himself. Today is as good as it gets.

I feel so blessed to be healthy, and though its fairly likely that I'll be around in a week, a month, a year - heck even 40 years from now - there are no guarantees. "Live as if you were to die tomorrow," says Gandhi. Take risks. Have passion. Bleed enthusiasm. Improve. Carpe Diem. Don't waste time.

"Learn as if you were to live forever." - Obtaining knowledge, insight, and wisdom should be our addiction. Everything we learn improves us and makes us stronger. In some ways the person who stops learning metaphorically dies.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

R.I.P. Dr. John Pryor - You're a guy who would have gotten this quote
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20081226_Penn_trauma_surgeon_killed_in_Iraq.html

A Successful First Step

Many students were out yesterday, paying respects to a classmate and friend who passed away recently. On one hand, I regret that many of the students were absent because electricity, enthusiasm, and introspection really flowed yesterday as the several students took the first step into their digital journals. On the other hand, I realize that posting class assignments and maintaining this blog can keep people up to speed, and allow them to catch up with little ambiguity about what needs to be done.

I decided to attack the COMPACT COMMA SUMMARY sheet from a simple, practical angle. For now, I'm going to require that students wire at least one comma tip into their writing. Yesterday, a few gave examples of using commas in a series, separating words, phrases, and clauses with what I think is the COOOOLEST kind of punctuatation which is the size and shape of a silk worm larvae.

Will I convince all of my students that the humble comma holds the key to truly writing well, that its correct use demands that we write fluidly, descriptively, and emphatically?

The important thing to remember with our version of journaling is that we keep this as a forum to share, to ignite class discussions, and to grow personally and professionally. No deep dark secrets here! No speculating about our lately crush. We will be concerned with writing in a professional manner.

It occured to me recently that this project will require my students to compose a product that many of their peers graduating from other high schools will lack. When applying for a job or an internship, how many people will be able to say that they have kept a professional journal containg many dozens of pages of reflection.

The Attempt

Yesterday's lesson met with limited success. None of the students were able to effortlessly plunge into "blogger.com," a safe user-friendly place, as I did yesterday because the system blocked them. They tried some alternatives, and only a few responded to my comma upgrade challenge.

This is uncharted territory, and I feel a little like the way those 15th and 16th century explorers must have felt without charts and maps. I don't want to take my ship to a spot where it careens off the edge of the Earth, but I still want to keep moving forward with this digital journal idea.

• Are there alternatives?


• Can the good people in the Lindenwold Technology Department help me?

A New Blog Meets the Creative Comma Challenge

Welcome to my blog which I created in just a few minutes! I read many blogs and have thought for a long time about creating one of my own. Some are maintained by friends, and others are created by deep thinkers who have blogs featured on The New York Times.

• How do I create an appealing format?
  How can I upload pictures, videosto be enjoyed by others?
• How does the blog differ from Facebook and MySpace?
• Could my students one day use their blog to impress future employers?
• Why should my students use a blog to maintain their senior project journals instead of the traditional format using pen, paper, and scrap book pages?

If you decide to use a blog or maintain some kind of digital journal, this is the answer for you.

For homework, I want you to do three things:
1. CREATE YOUR VERY OWN BLOG. It doesn't cost anything.

2. COMPOSE A BRIEF PARAGRAPH, telling me with about 150 words about YOUR IDEA FOR UPDATING THE COMPACT COMMA SUMMARY SHEET INTO A DYNAMIC DOCUMENT THAT WILL HELP US LEARN TO USE COMMAS. - And, oh yes, please watch your grammar. Your suggestions will most likely be shared with the rest of the class.

3. Please email me the link to your blog so we can easily access it tomorrow.