BRUUUUUCE!!!!

Are you familiar with Bruce Springsteen's music? Can you identify him in a line up? If you are a high school student these days, the answer is probably "No," but nevertheless, he is an iconic rock n' roll figure, probably one of the top ten to ever live.

As a boy, I remember listening to the stereo for hours, waiting with agony for it to finally give up one of the Boss's songs. When the right song came on, I'd push the "RECORD" switch on my tape deck and let it sponge up the melody on what was then the magnetic cassette tapes (For the young 'uns, that's what we had before the increasingly out-of-date CDs). This is how we got our songs for free back in the late Seventies. No iTunes. No Limewire. No Youtube.

A couple nights ago, I saw the last concert that Bruce Springsteen will ever have at the Spectrum. I swear that this man must bathe in his own personal Fountain of Youth because he commanded that stage as a 30 year-old would, jumping, leaping, straining, sliding, kicking, and rock n' rolling like a man possessed. He sent bolts of musical electricity through the sold out show. Some people worship him as if he were some kind of religious deity. I suppose, for some, music is a kind of religion

Ding Dong

Today we started a public speaking component in Seminar. I thought I'd give the dictionary game a spin. Basically, a person has to open a dictionary to a random page, and without looking, that person has to nail a word with his or her index finger. The speaker then needs to talk extemporaneously about everything that word evokes, and one minute of time (for starters) needs to be filled with speech. It doesn't have to necessarily be meaningful, but it does need to be on topic.

DING DONG turned out to be my word my chooser selected!!!! Ding dong of all things. I thought fast.

I pulled it off, discussing the junk-food cake snack, doorbells, alliteration, and all I alluded to something that can't be discussed. here.

The students had a great time as they acquired valuable public speaking skills.

Book Purses

One reason why I love Senior Project Seminar has to do with how my students make me smarter. Normally I don't think much about purses (being a wallet-man myself), but a radio program on National Public Radio yesterday captured my attention because it made me think of Miss Salaam and how she mentioned that her fashion show will include custom made accessories, including purses.

An extremely creative woman named Caitlin Phillips uses the spines and covers of discarded books to make purses. Book lovers like me tell her that this seems sacrilegious, but she replies that she intercepts them from libraries, flea markets, and garage sales before they hit the dumpster. She admitted that she has given old bibles new life.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103327927

Because of my students' interests, I find myself absorbing media in new ways. I recently read a a fascinating article in The New York Times about how the ability of humans to use fire to cook their food enabled our species to evolve faster. Naturally, I thought of Enrique Gonzalez and his voracious interest in the origins of French cuisine. I would have overlooked this article if he were not in my class.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/science/21conv.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=evolution%20cooking&st=cse

More Students Using Blogger

Today, the rest of my seniors are test-driving Blogger. Adrianna, who deeply loves to write, impressed me with a busy blog filled with entries ranging back to January. Miss Mitchell, from the senior project seminar encouraged her to start one, and Miss McClendon has not looked back.
I think having my students blog can be useful for a few reasons.

1. Many students already keep a journal or have been looking for an excuse to start one because they want to preserved their words for posterity.
2. Blogging can actually help students improve their writing because they know others will read their entries. Who wants to look like a dope, showing off entries stuffed with silly errors that any second grader could fix.
3. Blogging enables students to respond to their peers' postings in what will hopefully be a cordial tone.
4. Students can share with others what they did over the weekend or on vacations, very much like keeping a digital scrapbook, complete with photos and commentary.
5. Blogging could enable students to find people from around the country or the immediate area who share their specific interests.
6. Those who decide be creative could take their blogs to the next level and make them look polished and professional. Blogger features many well-designed blogs in a "Favorites" column. Who knows, this could be part of a professional portfolio.
7. Blogging helps eliminate paper and helps me keep papers organized.

A Holocaust Survivor

To commemorate Yom Hashoah, the somber day of the year that Jews come together to remember the millions killed in the Holocaust, the religious school where I teach invited a survivor to speak to the children.
Mr. Kaufman was born in 1920 and he didn't look a day over 75. He told us that he had a very ordinary childhood, but when the Nazis took power in 1933, things changed drastically. He saw first-hand how Jews were denied education, jobs, and how they were relegated to second class citizens. This made me think of how not long ago African Americans had to live through the evils of Jim Crow, separated from other Americans by law and deprived of so many privileges enjoyed by whites.
Mr. Kaufman described how he was arrested along with tens of thousands of other German Jewish Jews as a means of "protection" after Kristallnacht - the night of broken glass that happened on the night of November 9th - 10th, 1938. The Nazis burned down hundreds of synagogues, ransacked Jewish homes, and shattered the storefront windows of every Jewish shopkeeper they could find.
Mr. Kaufman was imprisoned simply for being Jewish, and shortly afterwards, the Gestapo sent him by train to Buchenwald, later a notorious death factory. While he was there, he saw men hanged and beaten for the slightest infraction. He even saw a man killed after being rolled down a hill in a spiked barrel, only to have German shepherds devour him as he lay bleeding.
Soon after he was released, he luckily got an American sponsor to take him in. Had he stayed in Germany, he certainly would have been killed. He went on to serve in the U.S. army where he worked in intelligence, eventually earning the rank of major.

My Favorite Tree

I have a favorite tree that lives just down the street. She's a fifteen foot tall weeping willow - a baby - that blossoms from its parent's shell - a rotting tree trunk, and it stands on the perimeter of picturesque pond/reservoir that helps drain water in the area. At this time of year, pink and white blossoms adorn the trees with thousands of pink and white tufts colored like cotton blossoms and cotton candy.
Someone planted my tree's parent well over a hundred years ago, and no doubt it had a good life before someone cut it down with a chainsaw. The stump began to rot, but it just refused to die. Along comes a new shoot, and the weeping willow continues with its long-lived saga.

My First Visit to Nordstrom

I admit it. After living the better part of a half century, I have NEVER before been to a Nordstrom, and today I decided to take the plunge. I live a few stones' throws from the Cherry Hill Mall, so today seemed like a good as day as any to see my new neighbor; the Nordstrom had opened a couple months ago.

Back when I worked in retail, our trainers used to tell us about Nordstrom's legendary customer service, how sales agents would make miracles happen to ensure absolute shopping bliss for customers with fat wallets and purses.
I strolled into the Temple of Nordrstrom, feeling very unfashionable, clad in my old black Levis and a pull over shirt purchased years ago at Kohls. I put my hands on a collared men's shirt and found the tag. $125 dollars for a shirt that would go for a hundred less at Marshalls!!!! Are the people I see toting around their snappy Nordstoms shopping bags, filled with sartorial booty, absolutely nuts! I then found a rack adorned with white leather jackets, all deliberately smudged with what appeared to be dirt. The price? DRUMMMMM ROOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. $695!!!!!!!
In these recession-battered times who has this kind of money? Why pay so much for merchandise that can be bought for a fifth of the price at JC Penney?
As I fled the shiny, happy store, I could only think of the classic children's tale, The Emperor's New Clothes. The vain emperor foolishly paid some shyster tailors a fortune while they created nothing for him, all the while pretending to design and create most lavish clothes and outfits. All of his subjects made a big deal about the "clothes," buttering up the emporer and praising his exquisite taste. It took a little girl to tell the truth: the emperor has payed all that money for nothing. He has no clothes!!

Susan Boyle Stunner

Susan Boyle, a Scottish woman closer to fifty than forty, exploded onto the entertainment scene by appearing on the show Britain's Got Talent - the United Kingdom equivalent of American Idol.

Onto the stage stepped a stocky, unpolished woman with the antithesis of an entertainer's face, complete with bushy eyebrows and a washer woman's demeanor. This was a woman unaccustomed to make-up as she was to dating. Here mini bio said that she had never been kissed.

The audience hooted, winced, and openly mocked her when she said straight faced that she's looking for her big break. Why were people so condescending? Because she wasn't beautiful. They expected a woman who looked like her to massacre a song like William Hung. They expected a court jester. They didn't get it.

Instead, IN PERFECT PITCH - THE CROWED HEARD A BROADWAY CALIBER voice sing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Mis, dazzling the house and the judges.



Watch it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY



What's the deal!??? Why is it such a shocker to people that vocal cords aren't molded by their owner's looks?

Why do we give the so called "beautiful people" all the chances and all the benefits of the doubts? Alas, typecasting pervades the business, and always has. Susan would never be cast as Fantine, but rather as Madame Thenardier, the monstrous wife of the swindler/money grabber Thenardier.

What if somebody had the guts to cast a show using so-called "plain" people with gorgeous voices.?

More Project Ideas!

We had another productive day of brainstorming yesterday, and more students have a better idea about what they will create during the next month.
Here is a role call:

Miss Garcia locked onto the clever idea of creating role playing clinic in which she models how ultra sound technicians go about their business. We even discussed the possibility of putting that ultrasound jelly on people, and perhaps even having real ultrasounds on the screen to give people the illusion that the probe is really happening!

Miss Medina, who is interested in guidance counseling, will allow her creative side to flourish by producing a documentary about the field, perhaps comparing techniques used in the elementary school and high school. We discussed the possibility of using student actors.

Miss Carter will create over sized posters done in the style of Polaroids (RIP Polaroid film). This will involve collage elements, and the end result will be arranged somewhere for many people to enjoy. Through her work, the rest of us will learn about photography.

Miss Tapia will become an expert in all things Smartboard as she creates an interactive game that ties into the social studies curriculum. This will help so much as she will be the most proficient Smartboard user when she enters CCC this Fall.

Miss Sotelo will create a book featuring immigrant success stories, focusing on people living in the Lindenwold area. I can't wait to see the books format, and perhaps we can make copies.

Miss Salaam's forte is fashion and guess what her presentation will feature? You guessed it! A fashion show featuring costumes and purses.

Project Idea Generators

Yesterday, many students were seeing their sponsors, and this made me glad. Those of us remaining in the class started brainstorming about the project component of Senior Project Seminar.

Miss Messner admitted that while autism still interests her, she's finding that her heart is increasingly with the public relations field. The students recommended that she approach Bancroft about how she can educate others about autism, and perhaps generate positive press for Bancroft. Perhaps she'll create PR items. Fliers? Video?

Mr. Gonzalez, who constantly thinks about cooking and restaurants, at first said that he could create a business plan for the restaurant he will one day open, along with a menu. The group convinced him to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple S______) and stick with the menu, and some students gave him great suggestions about layout, content, and format.

Miss Sotelo mentioned to me that she'll create a book of composed of the personal stories of immigrants who strive for and achieve success in America.

Mr. Pineiro will use CAD to create a blueprint of a playground, taking into account drainage, and he'll complement it will a scale model.

Miss Palermo seems to be leaning towards creating clay representations that represent various facets of physical therapy. It will be a teaching tool along with being well labeled.

Miss Wilson is staging a fashion show which will fuse her creative, custom-made outfits with dance.

Miss Scotten will compose a newspaper article about what happens during prom weekend after the prom. One student suggested that she create a survey. Already, Miss Scotten has contacted different schools to get some comparisons in the works!

Senior Project PROJECT

Now that the Research Papers (in some cases the Research Paper Rough Drafts) are in, it's time to focus on the PROJECT portion of Senior Project. Most of the students know exactly what they will do, and the rest will concretize their idea within the next day or so. During the last month, I created a project that I think would have flown had I been a student.

Theater has always been one of my passions, and part of any successful show is the Playbill. This publication---- besides giving the information about the show, the actors, the supporters, and advertisers ---- is part of theater culture.

I saw opportunity to plan, design, and produce the playbill from scratch, so I took it.

I first gathered playbills from other schools, and looked at the books given to me during performances at the Walnut Street Theater. Since I particularly impressed with the one from Cherry Hill West (Bye, Bye, Birdie), I tracked down the teacher who created it and asked him questions, and he revealed to me that he used Microsoft Publisher to create it, a program I had never used before.

I spent lots of time doing the legwork to acquire the program and much more time teaching myself how to use it.

Creating the program took me easily 50 cumulative hours, NONE OF WHICH WERE SPENT DURING THE SEMINAR CLASS. I devoted several hours over a few weekends doing it, and grabbed a few hours during my teacher prep time, as well as time after school. The time spent was not a chore; I had fun doing it.

I had the deadline looming over my head, and I knew that I had to adhere to it and deliver a quality product. Of course, nobody was grading me for this, and nobody needed to. I wanted to create a great playbill for myself and others.

Along the way, I consulted with Ms. Triplo, Ms, Sykes, Ms. Woodward, and Mr. Kulak - a member of the LHS tech team, and my wife.

I had to research the right kind of paper to use (60#, 20#, 65#, gloss) how I would get the darned things folded and stapled, and how long they would take to run through the machine.

Along the way, glitches game along that had to be conquered. I had to carefully check, and double check my work. At one point, Ms. Triplo noticed something in the book that had to go after I started running it. Production had to be halted while I made the modification, then started the press again.

I couldn't do all the folding and stapling on my own; after all, there were 1000 books, so I had to enlist the help of students and volunteers.

To sum it up, I took my passion - theater- and married it with an interest of mine - desktop publishing and printing. The end result - a playbill. Although it is not perfect, I created it with a practical purpose in mind.

How Are Hamsters Like People?

My daughter's hamster C.C. died suddenly a few weeks ago. For two years she had been Hannah's roommate, entertaining my daughter by running in her wheel, stuffing her cheeks with food, and generally doing wacky hamster stuff. And then one afternoon ---- dead.

After C.C.s little corpse found its way to the pet cemetery we have on the edge of the backyard and the mourning period ended, Hannah and I went to Petsmart and a new little buddy got picked. Little did we know we picked a hamster that just couldn't be tamed. For days this one recoiled in terror like some kind of hairly live-wire, whenever her cage door opened. She bit, squealed, hid, quivered, and tore up mountains of cardboard to use as camouflage. I was able to pick Luna up only once, and my success was met with a handful of hamster poop pellets and pee. My daughter reluctantly agreed to return this wildly, high strung hamster. She felt sorry for her.

Yesterday at Petsmart, we exchanged Luna for what turned out to be a tame, mild mannered Dalmatian hamster. This one seeks out human contact, and she'll look at us with interest, almost intelligence.

Just like poor Luna, I have known intensively nervous and hyper active students. Others are congenial and mellow. Alas, I can not return people to Petsmart, nor would I want to. Besides being unrealistic, that would be the easy way out. My challenge as a teacher is teach kids to simmer down, focus, do the work, and think.