Everything is Blogger in Texas

Late Afternoon on the Tuesday Before Easter

2011-04-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

Late this afternoon I came to the chilling realization that the account I was reading in my book had actually taken place exactly ten years earlier for a young teacher in the cradle of civilization. As I sat at a coffee shop, not worried at all about gunfire, it reminded me how drastically different my life could look had I been born into a different place. I'm thankful for the blessings of security and safety that I've known, but desperate to be repeatedly shaken from the comfortable ignorance it affords.

Samia had finished teaching a class. It was late afternoon on the Tuesday before Easter. As she stepped outside, she instinctively listened for any sounds of gunfire or fighting. "If I'd heard any shooting, I would have headed to the basement." The street was quiet, with only a single boy on the sidewalk. As she headed for her car, which was parked on the Jerusalem-Hebron road, she heard the distinctive whistle of a grenade, and an explosion knocked her to the ground.

It took a moment for her ears to clear after the initial blast before she realized she was screaming. But no one seemed to hear. The street was deserted. She looked at her legs and saw they were covered with blood. Unable to stand up, she crawled to her car, climbed into the driver's side, and drove herself toward downtown Bethlehem to the hospital, which was only a mile away. That night a doctor removed ten pieces of shrapnel from her legs.

"Two pieces of shrapnel are still in my foot," Samia said. She slipped her left foot out of her sandal so we could see the ugly red scar on her big toe.

"Besides those injuries, how are you doing?" I asked.

"I still have nightmares," she said, fighting back tears. "The next day, while I was in the hospital, there was a terrible shelling of Beit Jala. They brought a boy into my room; he died from injuries."

I asked about the boy she'd seen on the street just before the grenade blast. "Someone told me that he had only six pieces of shrapnel. But his injuries were much more serious than mine."

We were quiet for a moment, reflecting on the terror this gentle woman had endured. Then she said, "Two days later I walked over to Rachel's Tomb, from where the soldiers had launched the grenade. I walked right up to them and showed them the wounds that they had inflicted. They just laughed at me and told me to go away."

By the way she spoke, it was clear that the mocking laughter of the soldiers was more painful than the physical injuries she had endured.

Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire, by Brother Andrew

If the subject interests you, I urge you to read this book. If you know of any other resources to help an inquisitive fool better understand the mysteries of Middle East conflict, please share!

Half

2010-11-29T18:32:00.001-08:00

This summer, I (along with Shawn "Minnesota Iron Mine" Dobbins, Sarah "Boss" Simmons, Erin "E-Tizzle" Teater, and Tom "Meeting Sleeper" Davies) signed up for the 2011 Houston Marathon. For the past two months, I've been slowly strengthening my legs and lungs.

Today marks the exact half-way point between when I officially started my training schedule and the morning of the marathon on January 30th. I realize that the more difficult and important half of training still awaits me, but I've been blessed with nine healthy weeks of painful, steady improvement.

Saturday morning also marked the latest in a series of "longest runs of my life" - namely the pleasant 13.1 miler that Sarah and I ran around White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX. A half marathon had always been a daunting goal for me, but I'm surprised by how quickly it became a reality with my eyes set on 26.2. So far, this training has convinced me that I can and will run half-marathons semi-regularly for as long as my body allows.

I'm also a couple quick weeks away from the half-way point of my second year of teaching. Life has certainly been more balanced and sane than last year, but at the same time the second year has come with a fresh new set of challenges, while the less glamorous parts of the job persist. I still love being in the classroom and helping my students realize their strength and brilliance, but I have certainly perfected the art of the occasional "chastisement" this year when students offer up immaturity and ignorance instead. Thanksgiving was a welcome break and I was even glad to get back to work today. I haven't seen my family for probably the longest stretch of my life, and I am very much looking forward to spending two long, luxurious weeks lounging around with them in the arctic north.

I started listening to Amy Grant's entire Christmas collection today and so should you.

A Good Mix

2010-09-13T15:02:00.001-07:00

A quick, out-of-this-world conversation on the way back from lunch today:

Are we going to get the quizzes back today?

"Yeah, how do you think you did?"

Pretty good.

"Highest score in 8th grade."

Really?

"Yeah, good work."

It was all you. You're the teacher.

"That's nice, but I didn't have to study; I didn't have to write anything on the quiz."

Well - my work and your teaching...

"Yeah, it's a good mix."

Lost in Code

2010-09-11T14:51:00.001-07:00

I believe most men live their lives longing for something more, but feeling unable to do anything about it - what Thoreau called "a quiet desperation." Adrift at work, adrift in relationships, basically just adrift. And it's not anything new; I'm sure it's been happening for hundreds of years. Day follows day, and then suddenly you wake up and think, "I wish I had worn my passions on my sleeve more often," or "I wish I had taken more chances," or "I wish I hadn't watered myself down as much." I wrote this song back when I sensed that I was becoming that man.

Lost in Code

Your compass spins around me,

Which way is North?

My magnets always interfere;

It's darting back and forth.

Safely tucked away and forgotten, lost in code we never really knew at all,

I won't say it and so you'll never know. Let silence break the fall.

Come little hand, come big hand

Like clockwork, slip slide

To twilight where memories fade

What a perfect place to hide...

Safely tucked away and forgotten, lost in code we never really knew at all,

I won't say it and so you'll never know. Let silence break the fall.

Dear New Teacher

2010-05-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

Today after my Pre-AP students finished taking the 8th grade TAKS, I gave them the following optional assignment:

Teach For America is going to be training a new group of over 300 new teachers this summer! I am going to be a mentor to some of them over the summer so they can get used to Houston and get used to the life of a new teacher. I thought they would enjoy hearing from you guys!

Then I gave them the option of writing a letter to a new teacher or writing a list of things a new teacher should know (about teaching and/or living in Houston).

JS's letter

Dear New Teacher,
Today is your day. You have the courage to be a teacher. Get ready, because they are coming - you got to be ready. Mr./Mrs., you should make your classroom entertaining so kids won't be bored in your class. Don't get nervous, relax and don't stress out. Just be yourself. One of our teachers is fun and everybody likes him. You should interact with the students so they can give you pointers. Thank you for becoming a teacher.
Sincerely,
A friend

CO's list

I recommend the new teacher to not be bossy with students - Be nice to the students
Teach us things in fun ways so we can learn easily
Don't explain things with a big speech because it's boring.
Make us laugh because if not we'll sleep in class
We students in Pilgrim Academy ask a lot of questions and we don't like when teachers don't respond to them.
The new teacher should introduce herself with great detail. If not, we'll be bothering her all the time.
Don't get mad easily because we don't like that.
Don't give detention just because of a simple thing.

FS's letter

Dear New Teacher,
My name is F. Let's start with the most important thing to say: Hi! :) I have been a student for like my whole life and I have never met teachers like the ones I have now. They are Teach For America teachers and they are awesome. I learned soooo many new things from them. They always share stories about what happened to them over the weekend or tell us stories that they can relate to ours. I think students like when they relate to them and they are funny. I have been changed because of them. Back then, I didn't want to come to school, but now I want to come to school every day. I hope you have a fun time teaching students. I know it's hard and everything, but you just have to try and find a way into their hearts. Who knows - maybe you'll become one of their favorite teachers. I hope that helps. Well, good luck being a new teacher!!
P.S. Bye!

JL2's letter

Dear New Teacher,
Hello, my name is J. I'm happy that you decided to be a teacher. Trust me, its a lot of fun. You meet new students. Meet other teachers. Oh and that reminds me, I have a teacher that just came to our school. At first he had a little problem connecting with the students. But don't freak out. It happens. After a few days you'll be comfortable and really connecting with the students. You'll have a blast year after year with students.
And I want to thank you for becoming a teacher because you're helping us out a lot by teaching us instead of doing something else. I hope to get to see you one day. Bye. Take care.
Your Friend,
JL2

Less Than Zero - Video

2010-04-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's a video of "Less Than Zero" minus the as-yet-to-be-rapped mid-section.

Less Than Zero

2010-03-28T22:57:00.001-07:00

While grading papers with Chi in my room after school on Friday, a sixth grader was helping out. We listened to some Modern Antiques, and then some of my old music.

"Why don't you write some math songs and then play them for your class?"

So that's exactly why I'm still awake. I've written the first installment of what will probably end up being a total of one installment of math songs. This one is called "Less Than Zero" (not to be confused with Less Than Three) and is about negative numbers. We've already talked about integers this year, but I might still bring in the ol' six string and rock out when we've got a moment. Video pending...

Oh also, after the guitar solo there's a rap section that describes the rules of integer operations. So yes, I spent the last 3 hours sitting in the dark, quietly writing an integer rap (in other words, I need to seriously reevaluate my life). Jay-Z has yet to return my e-mail about participating.

Less Than Zero
When you've got nothing left, I'm gonna take some more
You might be out of money, but honey that's a debt I can't ignore
When you've got nothing left, I'm gonna take some more
And leave a negative number

Your helicopter soared a hundred stories high
The propellers stopped and you dropped a hundred stories from the sky
But you landed safely in the valley, deep and dry
Just like a negative number

Chorus
Down low, don't it feel like falling backwards?
The biggest negative can leave you feeling small
Less than zero, where's the hero, where's the laughter?
Where's the ground to break your fall?

Grab your jacket, girl, it's thirty-five degrees
And when the sun goes down, you're bound to feel the freezing winter breeze
It's dropping 40 more, and it'll bring you to your knees
You'll feel the negative number

Chorus
Down low, don't it feel like falling backwards?
The biggest negative can leave you feeling small
Less than zero, where's the hero, where's the laughter?
Where's the ground to break your fall?

Guitar Solo

If you're adding a negative, you could think of it as good old fashioned subtractin', baby
So adding seventeen and negative three - between you and me? its seventeen minus three
But what about subtraction? Relax, you're askin' a G-T question
Just add the opposite instead (yeah, keep change flip that)
So all of a sudden, a problem like two minus negative two, becomes as easy as two plus two, Welcome back to second graaade, fool
And dividing is easy too: just divide like normal, ignore those signs,
the little lines, they don't mean nothin', until you're done, then you better not forget none
Positive divided by a positive? (positive!)
Negative divided by a negative? (positive!)
Same Siiiiiigns? (positive!)
Same siiiigns? (positive!)
positive divided by a negative? (negative!)
Negative divided by a positive? (negative!)
Different siiiigns? (negative!)
Different siigns? (negative!)
I see you tryin, you multiplyin' the same signs,
A positive answer will await you on the other side, like when you divide
I'm saying negative five times negative five is twenty-five
I'll sing it one more time: negative five times five... (…...negative twenty five)

When you've got nothing left, I'm gonna take some more
You might be out of money, but honey that's a debt I can't ignore
When you've got nothing left, I'm gonna take some more
And leave a negative number
A negative number...
A negative number...

Declined: Part 1

2010-02-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

Suddenly the chimney's warmth entered my consciousness. I slapped my alarm before it could further disturb my roommates. 7:00 in bright red LED. I shot a quick glance at the other three beds that hugged the Western wall of our remodeled attic, a hardwood barracks. Fro's big curly top swung around at me and then settled back to rest. Dunkin laid unmoved by my rustling. Adam's sheets were flung back revealing a freshly emptied nest. He must be off on an early morning run before work, I thought to myself as I climbed out of bed, crouched under the slanted ceiling, and made my way to the stairs.

I descended to the kitchen, thankful once again for the wood-burning stove we'd installed in the fall. I glanced out the kitchen window into an all-too-familiar Wisconsin scene. The morning sky hung dim and gray over the stale carpet of snow.

I emptied the dishwasher, poured some Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and absently enjoyed it at the dining room table. I grabbed one of my roommates daily Bibles and thumbed through it while the steady hum of Fro's fish tank accompanied my thoughts. "It is hard for you to kick against the goads." Hmmm. Figure out that little nugget, Saul.

"Good morning, today is February 2nd, 2010. There are no changes," Brieghton sang through my cell phone as I rinsed my bowl and headed up to the shower. Her daily prerecorded message always brought a little apprehension. My schedule for the week had me working with Jenny and Leda this morning and Nick this afternoon - a slam dunk of a day, if you ask me. But because of how quickly things can be shuffled around at a place like CSN, I could still end up anywhere. Hell, I could end up spending the day with Karl. The thought stopped me for a second.

I'd been at CSN for almost exactly a year. Was it really that long? I'd never imagined it as any more than a temporary gig, but then again... working as a "Job Coach" at all hadn't entered my mind until a week before I had started. I thought back to those first months when I was out with clients at job sites all day. Everything was new. Spending the day with adults with developmental disabilities. Studying and writing incident reports. Being "on" and "alert" for the whole day... Now I got the opportunity to work on technology projects for a couple shifts each week. I also got to regularly lead music therapy with Carson. Non-profits are exciting like that - share what you love and fit it in however you can.

The hot water shook me free. How long had I been standing in the shower? I pulled back the curtain and glanced at the clock: Time to go. Clothes. Lunch. Out the door.

My hands raced the Camry for warmth. Settling for a stalemate, I attempted to rub the numbness from my hands as my car sputtered down the alley. I had promised myself that last winter would be my final one in Wisconsin, and mornings like this laughed and pointed at me for failing to follow through.

And with that thought I wrestled for the remainder of the short drive. At once, I drifted back to early May. My life's surface looked basically the same then as it did now, but underneath the maelstrom had churned. It was one of those moments - one of those critical, defining, go-big-or-go-home moments - when life's road splits and you're left facing two mysterious futures staring back impatiently as if the choice should be clear to you.

I continued on Fish Hatchery over the Beltline. Almost to Luann Lane. Almost to work. While sitting on the Teach For America wait-list since January 20th, I had been building a nice in-the-meantime life in Madison. The funny thing was that by May 7th the meantime had begun to feel an awful lot like home. So when I received my acceptance letter from TFA that day, the internal conflict had come to a head.

"Houston. Generalist 4-8." Wait, I could be teaching Elementary School? In Houston? Not what I had pictured at all. I don't know anything about Houston. What if I have to teach science? My mind raced and my heart pounded - I remember like it was yesterday. The "fight or flight" juices boiled.

I vowed to make my choice over the weekend, because if I decided to accept, things needed to happen quickly if I was going to be in Houston four weeks later. I had driven up to Neenah to relax and spend some time with my parents while the decision fermented. And then I had received Palma's e-mail...

A pounding at my window tore me back to reality. My car sat idling in the parking lot - my mind had been swimming while my coworkers slowly arrived. Steph waved and laughed when she realized she'd startled me, and something about it made me laugh too.

First Year Teacher Survival Guide: Dropbox

2010-01-31T14:06:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, I was grading some tests at school and entering the student data into the tracker (nerd alert) on my school desktop. I wasn't finished, but I had to drop off some forms at the Alternate Certification Office before my night class. After dropping off the forms, I stopped at a coffee shop and graded a few more. I opened up my netbook, entered some more data and then headed off to class. When I got home, I finished grading and then tracked some more data on the desktop in my room.

I didn't e-mail the tracker to myself. I don't have multiple, different copies of the file on all three computers. I didn't use a USB drive. I didn't have to log onto Google Docs. I didn't have to worry about entering the wrong data because I know it's automatically backed up. Sorcery? No, Dropbox.

Dropbox is a piece of software that allows you to share a folder across multiple computers. As a first year teacher, it has revolutionized my last couple weeks. I can work on assignments for my UST classes, lessons, share music from computer to computer, without a single wasted second spent transferring files and keeping track of which version is where.

Join today and we'll both receive some bonus space - booyah! (Kudos to Stolow for making me a believer)

A Decade of Favorites: Top 10 TV Episodes

2010-01-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

I've spent a decent amount of time watching TV over the last 10 years. I started coming up with my 5 favorite episodes but instead stretched it to a top 10, one from each year. I tried to use discretion in spoiler situations, but read and view videos at your own risk.

10. Community - "Introduction to Film" (October 1, 2009)
It is extremely difficult for me to put an episode from the past few months in my top ten list of the decade. Community has yet to withstand the test of time, like the rest of my list has. But as far as new shows go, Community (along with Modern Family) contains my favorite kind of humor: funny. "Introduction to Film" features Abed, the quirkiest character on TV, making a zany film against the wishes of his strict father. Like the rest of my list will prove, my idea of a good episode features a delicate balance of humor and heart.

9. West Wing - "College Kids" (October 2, 2002)
I don't know if this episode is as enjoyable on a stand-alone basis as some of the others on my list. Part of it's magic is the way it continues the story of the two-hour premier of season four: Josh, Toby, and Donna finally back in D.C. after being left behind by the presidential motorcade in Iowa. In all honesty, there are probably better episodes of West Wing, but this one includes my all-time favorite musical moment in a television show (link above). At a Rock The Vote event, Aimee Mann performs James Taylor's powerful "Shed a Light" while Josh and Amy Gardner reunite with a conversation full of emotion, honesty, and good ol' unfortunate timing.

8. LOST! - "Greatest Hits" (May 16, 2007)
I don't want to say much about this episode because I know that my brother is still trying to get caught up on LOST. Then again, I'm not sure he reads this. Very heartfelt episode, with plenty of great flashbacks to satisfy any LOST fanatic.

7. Arrested Development - "Bringing Up Buster" (November 16, 2003)
Arrested Development started the documentary-style comedy, and in a way it was far too clever for it's own good - perpetuating inside jokes on top of inside jokes that ran from the first episode to the last, not even making faint sense to anyone besides absolute fanatics. In other words, people either watched AD religiously or not at all. "Bringing Up Buster" features some classic Buster moments, Tobias as the director of Maeby's play, the introduction of Steve Holt (Steve Holt!), and of course "The Cornballer." "I've made a huge mistake."

6. How I Met Your Mother - "Drumroll, Please" (January 23, 2006)
Probably the girliest episode on my list, but so be it. "Drumroll, Please" consists of Ted recounting the events of a wedding where he met a mystery dream-girl. As he slowly unravels the mystery of her identity, we realize that Robin's got the hots for him. Oooo! It also includes your standard classic Barney clip.

5. Scrubs - "My Screw Up" (February 24, 2004)
Nominated for 2004 Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
( watch part 1 / part 2 )
It's sometimes amazing what television shows can do in twenty minutes. Scrubs is slapstick and hyperbolic, but it's also got a lot of heart. This episode features Brandon Fraser, who appeared in a couple earlier episodes. Every episode of Scrubs contains priceless moments, but "My Screw Up" stands out in my mind (along with "My Last Chance") far above the rest. It provides a very unique look into Dr. Cox's psyche.

4. The Office - "The Dundies" (September 20, 2005)
The first episode of the second season of the office contains some of the most beloved moments of the series: drunk Pam falling off a stool, emcee Dwight, the Spicy Curry award, "That was a FUN-raiser, I think I made that very clear in the fliers", drunk Pam kissing Jim, and of course Ping. Michael (Steve Carrell) is at his best, but unlike in the short first season, viewers are finally given the opportunity to feel anything but annoyance toward him. Now that the Office is in it's 7th (!!) season - some better than others - watching the early stages of Jim and Pam is priceless.

3. Freaks and Geeks - "Discos and Dragons" (July 8, 2000)
"Discos and Dragons" is the final episode of the greatest single-season show of all time. After falling in love with the characters all season, we continue to see their fluid high school identities change, as Daniel Desario (James Franco) hangs out with the A/V Club. I didn't realize it, but my top-ten includes two different Jason Segal shows. Another classic clip: The truth about jocks.

2. LOST! - "The Constant" (February 28, 2008)
Time Magazine Best TV Episode of 2008 - more reaction...
(watch the first three minutes)
"The Constant" is the best episode of LOST but it also works well as a stand-alone forty minute film. Again, I would hate to spoil anything for anyone, but this episode has it all: love, action, mystery, and even a little time-displacement. This episode is the fifth episode of the fourth season; not even a premier or finale.

1. West Wing - "Two Cathedrals" (May 16, 2001)
2001 Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series - more awards...
I've said it a hundred times, but the first four seasons of West Wing contain the best television writing and acting out there. This episode is simply the best hour of television you will ever see (James Lipton agrees with me), whether you watch any more West Wing or not. Death, strong internal religious conflict, flashbacks to a young President Bartlett in boarding school grappling with his own developing greatness, scandal, shouting at God in Latin, Dire Straits, rain, and a unique cliffhanger that lets the audience in on it's resolution while the other characters anxiously await.

Honorable Mention:

30 Rock - "MILF Island" (April 10, 2008)
Arrested Development - "Top Banana" (November 9, 2003)
Freaks and Geeks - "Carded and Discarded" (January 10, 2000)
Freaks and Geeks - "Smooching and Mooching" (July 8, 2000)
Californication - "Blues from Laurel Canyon" (December 7, 2008)
The Office - "Office Olympics" (October 4, 2005)
Scrubs - "My Last Chance" (October 26, 2004)
West Wing - "Bartlett for America" (December 12, 2001)
How I Met Your Mother - "Slap Bet" (November 20, 2006)

Also receiving votes:

LOST! - "The 23rd Psalm" (January 11, 2006)
30 Rock - "Rosemary's Baby" (October 25, 2007) - funniest clip on this page
Community - "Introduction to Statistics" (October 29, 2009)
Californication - "California Son" (October 1, 2007)
Arrested Development - "Mr. F" (November 7, 2005)
How I Met Your Mother - "Swarley" (November 6, 2006)
How I Met Your Mother - "Okay, Awesome" (October 17, 2005)
How I Met Your Mother - "The Pineapple Incident" (November 28, 2005)
How I Met Your Mother - "Slutty Pumpkin" (October 24, 2005)
The Office - "The Alliance" (April 12, 2005)
The Office - "Conflict Resolution" (May 4, 2006)
The Wire - "Final Grades" (December 10, 2006)
West Wing - "20 Hours in America" (September 25, 2002)
West Wing - "Noel" (December 20, 2000)

To: Future Me

2010-01-06T13:34:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I had all of my students write letters to themselves that I'll return to them on their first day of 8th grade. Every day my students amaze me with their self-awareness. Here's one of the letters:

My Goals, My Life

I am not doing so well in math and I know I can do way better than what I'm doing now. It is a new year and a new DECADE! I am going to try harder and do my best! Learning math is a very great, important and fun thing to do and achieve! To me, math is...... Everything!!!! People needed to know about math and measurement to build homes and even our schools!!

My first goal for this year is to get at least three or four hundreds on my quizzes or tests. My second goal is to STAY FOCUSED!!! I sometimes tend to doze off or daydream a lot and sometimes I don't even know what we're talking about! I feel bad that I do that. I just can't help it! I will try not to do it anymore. I promise! :) My third goal is to do all of my Do Nows and homework neatly and show ALL of my work and also try to do it as correctly as possible.

I love art!!!! It takes me to somewhere else. It takes me to this beautiful place in my imagination. I can explain and express my thoughts and feelings. I also like to TALK about religion and the government. It lets me state my opinions in the world. I can't wait to get to high school so we can have debates in class! I know exactly what I have to say! Good bye and good day!

A Decade of Favorites: Top 5 Vacations

2010-01-02T10:20:00.001-08:00

In the past 10 years, I've had the opportunity to go on some great trips with family and friends. Here are my top 5 vacations from the "zeros"

5. Mountaineering with the Hahns (Tennessee; Spring 2002?)

One constant theme through the decade was vacationing with the Hahns, close family friends. The trip to Tennessee was the first time we rented a big house and spent a week somewhere. It wasn't our most glamorous or exotic trip, but we stayed in a house overlooking the mountains. Nick and I laid around and played pool, watched a lot of movies, and played a lot of Tony Hawk on Playstation. It might sound lame, but it was probably the most relaxing week of my life. We also spent a day at Dollywood, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.

4. The Camanns do New York (Buffalo, NY; New York, NY; August 2004)

In true Camann fashion, we loaded up the van and headed out east. We saw Niagra Falls, had Buffalo Wings at the restaurant where they were first served, and stayed in the Hamptons. Once in NYC, we saw Central Park, Ground Zero, Time's Square, Al Roker, The Late Show with David Letterman... We saw the Brewers come back at Shea against the Mets, and then stopped in Philadelphia on the way home to see the Brewers win in extras at Citizen's Bank against the Phillies.

3. KC Marathon #1 (La Crosse, WI; Kansas City, MO/KS; October 2007)

During my first year in the "real world," Shawn decided to run the Kansas City Marathon and I decided to join him for the drive down. I stopped first in La Crosse for a reunion of sorts. Then Shawn and I made the drive with malfunctioning windshield wipers. We got to spend the long weekend with Whitney "Dirrrty" Stach and her sister, visit Arrowhead Shawn run very well and great fun was had by all.

2. Brewers Spring Training (Phoneix, AZ; March 2006)

Does it really get any better than this? As a fresh 21-year-old, I embarked on my first non-family Spring Break to the welcome heat of Arizona to watch baseball for a week. Awesome. We saw 5 games, got numerous autographs, shared a drink with ex-Brewers-announcer Daron Sutton, spent a day in Tuscon, and celebrated St. Patrick's day. Go Crew!

1. ESCAPE (New Zealand, Austrailia, Fiji; January 2007)

Of course there could be no other at number 1. This trip marks the only non-Canada time I've been out of the US. During my senior year at UW-La Crosse, Palma and I joined 16 strangers (well, not for long) on a month-long adventure through New Zealand and Australia, followed by a week on a remote island in Fiji. Awesome. We sky dived, white-water rafted, black-water rafted, swam with dolphins, jumped in a glacier lake, played some rugby, surfed, hiked, did the second highest bungee jump in the world. It was an experience that is unmatchable.

Also receiving votes:

The Camanns do Colorado, the Tour of Capitals (January 2003)

Visiting Palma in New York when he was interning with the NFL (NYC, Summer 2006)

Family Vacation to Kiawah Island with the Hahns (Spring 2003?)

Family Vacation to Tiabee Island with the Hahns (Spring 2004?)

Thanksgiving Road Trip with Jeff and Jake (New Orleans, Memphis, November 2009)

CAM Spring Break Service Trip (New Orleans, Spring 2009)

Wake Boarding with KP (Siloam Springs, AK, Summer 2006)

2024 Reunion at Shawn's Graduation in La Crosse (La Crosse, December 2007)

No votes:

Vomiting on the Sleeping Bear Dunes (The perimeter of Lake Michigan, this decade sometime)

A Decade of Favorites

2010-01-01T23:08:00.000-08:00

In 2000, I was a sophomore in High School. I weighed a cool 145, soaking wet. SimCity was my drug. I was unable to drive, I loved math and choir, I was socially awkward, and I worked as a paperboy. It would be two years until Tyler and I came to the realization that we enjoyed writing music together. Another two years before I owned and operated a cell phone. Two more before I was eligible to create a facebook account. Two years after that I had my very own 401(k).

And now, here we are. I can drive. Math and music still make their daily appearances. Social awkwardness is relative, I suppose, but I'd like to think I've made at least some progress in that department. Tyler and I have released 4 or 5 albums under 4 or 5 different monikers. I've received a few different pieces of paper that represent 4-year-chunks of my life. The 401(k) has been ravaged. Jobs gained and discarded. Frisbee and Softball games won and lost. Relationships have blossomed and fizzled out. I bought big TVs and sold them. I lived with my family, with strangers, with best friends, and even all by myself. I've changed classes, majors, musical-tastes, dorms, cities, states, hair-styles, careers. I'm nearly twice as old, and I've got the belly to show it.

I honestly couldn't be more excited about what the next decade has in store. By 2019 I will hopefully have started a young family. Wherever I am, and whatever I'm doing, I know it will be informed and inspired by the relationships and experiences I've had in the past decade, especially in the last few years. For the foreseeable future that means teaching in Houston, something I've fallen quickly in love with. But I can't say yet where life will take me after that.

In the coming weeks, I'll reveal some of my favorites of the past decade. Since I'm not very good at nailing down a top ten given a broad topic (I've often commented that a movie is somewhere within "my top 100" or "top 250"), I'll instead focus on Top 5 lists in specific categories:

Favorite Vacations of the Decade
Favorite Albums of the Decade
Favorite Movies of the Decade (Comedy, Drama, Action)
Favorite Jobs of the Decade
Favorite Parties of the Decade
Favorite Intramural/Rec League Sports Teams of the Decade
Favorite Guilty Pleasures of the Decade
Favorite Nicknames of the Decade

Look out, oh readers few. It's list time.

Winter Break

2009-12-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

You know in Super Mario Bros. 3, in the desert world, there's that one level with the tornado that follows you around? You don't necessarily die if it catches you; you just lose temporary control until you get spit back down into the sand. Is this ringing a bell? My method of passing the level includes running at full-tilt, avoiding any inconvenient question-blocks. Priority number one is staying out of that tornado.

This Friday I finished my first half-year of teaching (not quite half, but we'll count it). If I had to relate my experience so far to any Super Mario Bros. 3 level, I would probably choose the one previously mentioned. I occasionally got pulled into that tornado of paperwork, "what the heck am I going to teach next period," data, e-mails, grading, lesson planning... but each time, I was able to come out of it still sprinting for my life.

I've fallen in love with so many things about teaching. My students are amazing. After looking at the data I've collected this fall, it is clear that as a result of my instruction and their hard work, many have internalized the knowledge and skills we've worked on so far. I feel prepared to hit the ground running when we get back, and I'm excited to see how much my students will grow. My co-workers are passionate, supportive, and fun. It simply wouldn't be the same experience without our lunches together.

A few highlights of first semester:

The National Junior Honor Society-sponsored Safe Trick or Treating - students came up with all of the ideas, planned, and executed a great night in which they hosted elementary students and their families for a night of candy and games. It was magical the way the students took charge, pulled together, and had a blast. At one point, I saw a few students huddled around a crying child. Before I could make it over to see what was going on, KB (a 7th grader) had grabbed a megaphone and announced in both English and Spanish that there was a missing child over by the bag-toss. It was my first real opportunity to see a lot of my students outside of the math classroom, and in leadership roles. It was a definite transformational moment that popped me right out of the disillusionment stage.
My Pre-AP class applauding after discovering the Pythagorean Theorem
Anytime that I say "Adios" to my non-english-speaking students and they respond with "Good-Bye"
Running with the cross country team in the Jingle Bell Run through the streets of downtown Houston - DLC took 5th place in his age-group, and JL2 hilariously took first place in his (due to a registration error that put him in the 70+ age group)
JS putting me in my place during Pre-AP class when I started teaching cross-multiplying as a method of solving proportions. "But why does it work? Why can we cross multiply?" Awesome. Thankfully, I was able to give him (and the rest of the class) an explanation that met his approval (and promptly confused the heck out of the rest of the class)
LVV making an snowflake before one of our fieldtrips. It looked cool, but then he folded it back up to reveal that his initial cuts formed the word "MATH." Simply amazing.
ET playing Nirvana in homeroom when I brought my guitar in and then singing along while I played Say It Ain't So by Weezer, one of the two songs I know.

As for Winter Break, it feels like I jumped up and grabbed the star at the end the desert level. Now I can sit back, stretch my thumbs, and rub my eyes before starting the next one. I'm looking forward to hanging out with friends and family, eating a lot of food, sleeping in, and basically pretending like I'm unemployed for a little while.

Happy Holidays, Let's Talk Immigration Reform!

2009-12-15T18:03:00.000-08:00

After my second trip in as many weeks to the DPS (the Texan version of the DMV), I'm 6-8 weeks away from receiving a Texas drivers license in the mail. I'm not going to run out and buy an Andre Johnson jersey or anything, but it's looking more and more like I'm a real-life resident of the Lone Star State.

Of course the wait at the DPS was terrible, and of course I ended up leaving during the peak of rush hour traffic. So I decided to wait it out at a nearby Barnes and Noble. I bought a book called Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach for America, which I had borrowed from Jeff "The Baseball Tourist" Aucoin while we were visiting Memphis over Thanksgiving break. I'm only 70 pages in, but the book describes in honest, accurate, and sometimes brutal detail the experience I've had with Teach for America so far. But we'll save that for another post.

After that, I thumbed through a book that caught my eye by none other than Geraldo Rivera called The Great Progression: How Hispanics Will Lead America to a New Era of Prosperity. The topic was much more interesting than Rivera delivered it, but in addition to claiming that Hispanics won the election for Obama, he mentioned something that I thought was worth repeating here.

In 2007, the average age of the US Population was 36.4 years old. Meanwhile the average age of the Hispanic US Population was 27.4 years old. By now, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that in the immediate future, American demographics will shift drastically. I grew up in a monochromatic pocket of the world where this kind of change was spoken of under furrowed brow. ...but no longer (I am 6-8 weeks away from holding a Texan License, after all).

Texas is a minority-majority state and Houston is a minority-majority city, meaning that less than 50% of their populations are white (non-Hispanic white, that is). The 2000 census showed that Houston's racial make-up was 25% African American and 49% White. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos made up 37% and non-Hispanic whites made up 30% of Houston's population.

I'm more than a little excited about the fact that in my lifetime, America will become a minority-majority country (or more accurately, a country where no one racial or ethnic demographic has the majority). As a member of the future former majority, I'm excited to see how we respond, because how we respond will be part of what defines us as a generation. Will we thrash desperately under the fear that diminishing percentages mean diminishing power and unprecedented oppression? Will we embrace the inevitable diversity, drinking in its richness?

Another interesting factoid I picked up on Wikipedia is that an estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants reside in the Greater Houston area. I also found this cool map.

I understand that as you read that, you may feel a variety of emotions or responses. One reasonable response might be "That's 400,000 people who are enjoying the benefits of my taxes without paying their fair share. Give em the boot!"

Me? I don't really know. I mean, among those 400,000 are some of the kids I teach. Among those 400,000 are their families. It might be naiveté, but after seeing some of the faces of illegal immigration, I want them to find everything in America that I have found: education, employment, acceptance, opportunity...

Bush was supposedly on the verge of an important Immigration bill when September 11th put it on the back-burner. Obama announced in June that he wants to "recognize and legalize" undocumented immigrants, so I'm excited to see what comes next.

Rather than further oversimplifying a complex topic that I know little about, I'll open it up at this point to reader reactions and rebuttals...

On a One Horse Open Sleigh,
-Andy

Divided by Seven

2009-11-18T06:06:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago, I was having a cup of coffee before school and working out a problem that I was going to give to my students. I found myself doing some long division - dividing by 7, to be exact - when all of a sudden it hit me: that sweet, sweet sensation of uncovering a universal truth.

Since the number I was dividing by 7 wasn't a multiple of 7, my answer wasn't going to be a whole number. So as I added a decimal point and kept dividing, I realized (to the Patty Mayonnaise sound of angels singing) that I could sit in that chair and keep writing all day because the numbers after the decimal were never going to end. Not only that, but it would be true any time I divided by 7 and my answer wasn't a whole number**.

It might seem trivial (or, at the very least, dorky), but in that moment, it was euphoric. I'm sure hundreds of thousands have made the same useless realization before me and have since taken it for granted, much like I take 7th grade knowledge for granted every day. But I've forgotten how exciting and eye-opening those light-bulb moments can be. Though they happen less and less frequently to me, they are happening all around me every day. I need to do a better job of celebrating them.

**Free EiBiT (Everything is Blogger in Texas) Mug*** to the first commenter who provides the proof... c'mon T-CAMS, this is your time to shine

*** these do not exist

------

EDIT: What I originally posted isn't entirely clear. For example, when you divide 0.07 by 7 you get an answer (0.01) that isn't whole, repeating, or irrational, which disproves what I was saying. I'm talking about any situation when you need to start adding zeros after the decimal to complete the long division. (Extra Credit: does it work for any other number?)

Look under your bed... It'll set you free

2009-11-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to get into record albums for a couple years now. Hanging out at Steph and Carson's place in Madison and listening to The Band on their phonograph solidified it for me, but for one reason or another I never made it happen. Until today.

Earlier this week, I stopped at Half-Price Books and wandered over to the section of used records for the first time. I'd always wanted to, but it's an intimidating area. I feel like someone is going to ask me about Emerson Lake and Palmer or turntable construction or something like that. For whatever reason, Pete Yorn's 2003 album "Day I Forgot" was released on vinyl. So of course I bought that. I also threw in a CCR album, "Pendulum," because I recognized the song title "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"

But it wasn't until today that Craig's List set me up with a great old couple wanting to unload their record player. $50 for fully functional turntable, receiver, and two Fischer speakers. Plus they threw in this device that converts any audio signal into an mp3 you can put on your computer. I don't know a ton about this stuff, but it seemed like a pretty sweet deal.

When the Packer game looked like it was out of hand, I drove a half hour Northwest of Houston and scoped it out. The couple was really nice and we talked about music and life for about a half hour while we set it up and tried it out.

There was a box full of albums next to the player, and when I asked the guy about it, he said they were trying to sell those too. As I was sifting through them, I realized I had to get it. There were 52 albums and they were selling the box for $50. Granted, some of them are crap ("Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits" or "The Pinnochio Soundtrack") but for the most part, I was impressed.

Some of the albums I had heard before and some I merely recognized from Shawn talking about them or putting them on the Move-In Mixes. Anyway, here's a list of the good ones:

Simon and Garfunkle's Greatest Hits
The Beatles 1967-1970
James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
James Taylor - One Man Dog
Blood Sweat and Tears - Greatest Hits
Emerson Lake and Palmer (the one with The Three Fates)
Emerson Lake and Palmer - Pictures at an Exhibition
Seals and Croft - Greatest Hits
Rod Stewert - Every Picture Tells a Story
Chicago
Elton John - Madman across the water
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection
Elton John's Greatest Hits
Eagles
Paul Simon
Billy Joel - Glass Houses
The Beach Boys - Endless Summer
Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman
Three Dog Night - Naturally
Motor City Rollers - Stevie Wonder Songbook

My roommate and I just sat back and listened to Simon and G-Funk's Greatest, and let me tell you: the sound is phenomenal. More as it develops.

The All-Lettuce Diet (Accounting 101)

2009-10-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

On Friday I only see half of my classes. Last week, I talked about budgeting with my classes, so this week I gave the same lesson to the rest of my classes. It worked well for a few reasons:

Every time I mention money, students for some reason start listening to what I'm saying.
Budgeting is an important life-skill that I wish I would have learned and practiced repeatedly in school, and my students especially need to hear it.
We've been talking about unit rates, and there are countless applications in budgeting. If rent is $800 for 1 month (unit rate), multiply by 12 months in a year to find what we'll pay annually.
I didn't have to prepare much at all. Booyah.

We started by looking at a chart of different income averages based on educational level. Next, we used the chart to figure out how much money you would earn in 50 years depending on your education. I made sure students noticed the positive correlation between education level and income level.

But during the first class, a student commented, "So I could drop out right now and make $15,000?" which led to a good discussion about averages, since he probably wouldn't make that much right away, even if he was able to find a job as a 12-year-old.

...but yeah, you're right, you could drop out right now and over the course of your life you could earn about $15,000 each year, on average. You could earn more if you work hard, and earn less if you don't, but this is the average. That's a lot of money, right?

A few nods and "yeah"s. A hand in the air: "Well it's not a lot if you're old."

Did you just call me old? ...what do you mean, does the value of money change when you get older?

"There's more things you have to pay for. Bills and stuff."

Ahh, I guess you're right. With your groups, let's come up with a list of things you'd need to spend your hard-earned $15,000 on in order to survive.

There is no better feeling than walking around a room full of kids that are all falling into my trap of learning what I want them to learn, meanwhile they're all under the impression that they're the ones who came up with the idea.

I asked for a student to come up to the board and keep a list of everything we came up with, while students took turns sharing their ideas. "Shelter." "Food." "Water." "Light Bills." "Car." "Clothes."

Hmm, do you need clothes or do you want clothes?

"Need!" "Want!" "Both!"

What do you mean 'both'?

"Well, like, I need clothes, but I WANT cool clothes."

Ah, ok. Well, let's make another list of some of the things we want to spend our money on.

And so it went for a while. We came up with two nice lists. The Pre-AP class even added "charity" to their "Want" list. I got to drive home the point that we'll need to pay for all of the things on our "Need" list before we can think about looking at the "Want" list.

Another of my favorite moments in every class was when we got to discuss the big item missing from the "Need" list: taxes.

How much of your $15,000 do you think will go to taxes to pay for schools, roads, police, firefighters, and so on?

"$150?" More. "$200?" More. "$500!?" More. Alarmed looks: "$1000?"

It will probably be at least $2500 each year for taxes. It's not all that hard to do, but I love blowing their minds.

So we started our budget by listing the income, subtracting taxes and looking at our Net Income.

We worked out how to use unit rate to calculate yearly rent as a class, if we know how much we'll pay each month. I gave the students a few different choices for rent, depending on how nice of an apartment they want. After we subtracted rent from our net income, the amount left over was already looking tragically small.

Next, students worked in groups to come up with an annual food budget. Some students arbitrarily chose an amount for each month, while other students tried to figure out how much each meal would cost each day. In my Pre-AP class, one group was using $100 per month. I asked them what they would eat each day. When a few of the girls started listing off some meal ideas and recognizing that $100 wouldn't cut it, I asked another student what he would eat each day. "Lettuce."

Once they had an annual amount for food, students subtracted it from what they had left, and most had already run out of money.

Well we still haven't paid for the other things we need. What can we change? Can we get rid of the food? "No." Can we get rid of our apartment? "No." Can we just stop paying taxes? "No."

So what can we change?

"Income?"

What is something we could do to help change our income?

"More education."

In the Pre-AP class, students were asking a lot of questions about the different degrees listed on the chart. They asked about different professions and what kind of education they required. At the end of class we had time to summarize.

What are a couple things we can take away from this activity? Something you learned or something that surprised you.

"It's important so we can make sure we pay for the things we need so we can still do some of the things we want."

"We can appreciate what our parents do more and not get upset if they can't always give us everything we want."

Piano Teach For America

2009-10-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today between my 6th and 7th period classes, while I was standing at the door waiting for my Pre-AP class to pile in, an 8th grader approached my room and was saying my name. Non-7th-graders knowing my name isn't incredibly uncommon, but it does still freak me out a little.

As far as I've been able to tell, somewhere in the distance between 7th and 8th grade the shoulders get broader, the voice gets deeper and quieter, the movements get somehow even slower, and the personalities get a little more defined/less ridiculous.

"Mr. Camann?"

Yeah.

"Can you give me piano lessons?"

What? Do you play piano?

"Yeah... a little."

You mean you play in music class? Or what do you play?

"Well, mostly classical. It helps me relax."

Hmm, nice. Do you have a piano at home?

"Yeah. Well... a keyboard. Sometimes I stay after school and play the piano in the library."

I shooed him off to class, but not before we decided to meet for a little while after school on Thursdays. After dismissal, I was cutting through the office to get back to my classroom to plan when I happened to glance through the window into the library. There he was, playing the piano.

I stopped in and asked him to keep playing whatever he had been playing. For Elise. Rough, but right away I could tell he had a great ear. Then he pulled some Japanese sheet music from some video game out of his backpack and described the way he had been trying to learn it. He had the right hand pretty solid, but the left hand rhythm was tricky enough on it's own, let alone putting the two together.

After watching him play and talking to him for a couple minutes, I could tell pretty much where he was at. But I spent a little time breaking down the rhythm of the left-hand in order to get a better idea of what kind of music theory knowledge he had. I found a scrap of paper and diagrammed a measure by splitting it into 16ths. Then we plotted when the notes hit and tried clapping the rhythm while counting.

I hesitated. I was beginning to get that little knot of guilt. Here was a kid who likes relaxing by playing some music. He has his own little method of discovery that has been working for him, but obviously has a ceiling. I instantly had ideas of how to guide him through that ceiling... but at what cost? In 5 minutes, I had reduced his relaxation tool to an exercise in clapping.

He must have sensed my hesitation because he nodded at the scrap of paper:

"This is going to make it so much easier."

Sweet. I began piecing together some of the next steps in my mind. I will find some music that is still challenging but that he'll be able to play through with both hands. We'll work on reading music using familiar songs at first because his ear seems pretty developed. Reading rhythms, dynamics, pedal control... eventually the finer parts of music theory and then I'll open up the world of songwriting. Booyah. I felt my mind racing, so I chuckled and asked him.

So, what do you want to learn?

"Everything you can teach me."

Good answer.

Sub + Space Cadet = C-Squared

2009-10-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

About time for an update, don't you think? I can't believe that I've been teaching for over eight weeks. Even stranger is the fact that I can't tell if that feels far too long or far too short.

Another Lanyard

Last Thursday I attended the Texas Association of Bilingual Education conference (TABE) at the Westin in the Galleria Mall here in Houston. The glitz of the mall is in ridiculously stark contrast to my school. The conference was actually pretty sweet - I was able to check out a couple sessions about math education, plus I got a ton of free stuff from the booths in the expo. I could have gone without the constant, light Central-American elevator music that was piped throughout the Westin, but oh well. Que sera, sera.

Being out of the classroom was an experience of total physical, emotional, and mental relaxation. I found myself in a room full of people that I wasn't legally responsible for. I was not speaking and not standing the entire day. At one point, a hotel worker came in during a session and tried getting the speaker's attention about something. It took a second, but then I realized I didn't have to respond or react or even realize what was happening, so I just leaned back and looked at the pictures in a brochure about a software package that my school would not be able to afford. Bliss.

Substitution Cypher

Prologue to the blissful day off: the frenzy of preparing to miss school.

A multitude of things have surprised me about teaching. Case in point, the art of substitute teaching. First of all, substitutes are saints - make no mistake. But substitute teachers should not be teaching new material to students. I never noticed this when I was growing up, and I don't know why it surprised me so much. They may know nothing about math. They probably know nothing about what my kids know about math or should know about math. Since I know nothing about the person coming into my room and will likely never see him or her again, I can't make any assumptions.

How can I boil down my school, my students, class schedule, lunch procedures, dismissal procedures, restroom procedures, nurse forms, and on and on... into a document that any person can pick up blind and survive a day in my classroom? What can I plan that my students will (1) take seriously or care about at all, (2) know how to do, (3) not cheat on, and (4) be able to finish more or less in 55 minutes with no direction, and (5) maybe actually benefit from?

Missing a day of instruction is equivalent to forfeiting a baseball game. Sure there are 162, but when the season could be decided by one, and when momentum plays such a big role, every inning is magnified. Cheesy baseball analogy over.

It was a little nerve-wracking to leave my students in the hands of someone else, but it turns out that everyone survived.

One day, I hope this happens.

Give him the stick, DON'T GIVE HIM THE STICK

The range and intensity of emotions that I go through during a given day surprises me, but (i think) I'm pretty good at staying at an even keel externally. It isn't uncommon to momentarily feel like the best teacher in the world and the worst teacher in the world during the same day (or even the same class.) Though both are far from true, I think that's just one of the perks of teaching. So now we can add "complete emotional instability" to "free post-its" and "10% off at Borders."

I promise to share more specific examples of hilarious emotional outliers, but for now, one student that never ceases to provide both is JL. He is the squirreliest kid in the world. I vividly remember my mental reaction when I first encountered him during my first day. "For real? This is a real human being? How am I going to do this?" I wish I had the words to describe, but the English language can't contain him. JL is interesting and ultimately lovable because he's never trying to be a complete space-cadet - he just is. He doesn't concern himself with what other kids or teachers think about him because he's too busy inadvertently being the biggest spazz in Houston. And that's at least a little admirable, isn't it?

Other teachers have wondered aloud what movies are currently playing in JL's mind. One teacher even assigned another student to be the JL-Manager for the day. That is, to sit close to him and poke him every several seconds whenever he got off task. Apparently this JL-Manager type of thing is frowned on in the teaching business, but knowing the kid, I can see completely where the teacher was coming from.

JL is always doing one of 7 things:

a strange arm stretch that involves spastically flapping his arms behind his head
searching frantically in his backpack for a pencil or a phantom homework assignment or some other unidentified object
holding a piece of paper, pencil, or object mere centimeters away from his thick glasses, presumably trying to make sense of it
absentmindedly spinning or flinging his pencil, eraser, or papers on his desk until they ultimately land somewhere other than on his desk
leaning on his chair in a way that I previously thought was physically impossible. I'm talking up on one chair leg, with both knees on the seat... He's like a 12-year-old Cirque du Soleil.
putting objects (pencils, id badge, etc) in or around his mouth
asking "we had homework in this class?" "am I in trouble for not having my homework?" or any question on a completely different wavelength than the current topic

Discovering Pythagoras

Today I had the best moment of the year during my Pre-AP class. It was at a perfectly quick pace (just barely beyond the comfort of previous understanding), it was mostly student-guided, and the few words I spoke met their mark perfectly.

Students worked through a packet that I stole from the 8th grade math teacher, who stole it from some other teacher. The packet guides students toward discovering the Pythagorean Theorem. By the bottom of the second page, students come up with "a squared plus b squared equals c squared" on their own, without yet realizing it's significance.

I basically stayed out of their way, except to give them the amazing push of time constraints ("work with your group on questions 9 and 10. I'm setting the stop-watch at 3 minutes. go."), and to come back together occasionally and summarize and synthesize their progress ("so if you're telling me this square has an area of 25 units, what would we have to do to find out the length of one of its sides?").

It was challenging, but not so much that students shut off. The lesson progressed beautifully and I think the students could feel the excitement culminating. At one point I even said, "I don't know if you guys can tell, but I'm loving this." Right when I had them on the hook, based solely on truths that they had discovered, I pointed to the equation that they came up with and unveiled it as "Pythagorean's Theorem."

"So you've shown me that whenever we have a right triangle, we know that the square of the two legs adds up to the square of the hypotenuse... This is what Pythagoras discovered twenty-five hundred years ago, and you discovered it in 40 minutes today. This is a big moment. You opened a door today that you will be able to use for the rest of your lives. And once you see the things we can do with it, it's going to blow your mind."

There must have been an urgency in my voice because the students were beaming and burst into a round of applause. It couldn't have been scripted any better, and it all came together organically, almost magically. As challenging as teaching has been, these little rewards are amazing.

Open Mic Requests

2009-10-11T11:36:00.000-07:00

This Thursday from 7-11, my favorite coffee shop, Coffee Groundz, is hosing an open mic competition. Winner receives a gift card... and I want it.

The really cool thing about this place is that they will broadcast the open mic live online.

I've decided that I haven't played much music lately, and the best way to force myself to play is to tumble headfirst into a performance.

If you're in the greater Houston area, come on Thursday, enjoy the drink specials, and cheer me towards that gift card. If you're not in the area, check it out online.

Either way, if you're reading this and have a song in mind that you'd like to hear, leave a request in the comments and I'll try to make it happen.

Some options that I'd probably be able to dust off by Thursday include: New Kind of Magic, Forgetful, Monsters in My Head, Dirt and Water, or No Better Time to Go

Andy Camann - Significance

2009-10-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

Andy Camann - Significance
He turns, there's something wrong, he
Forgot to lock the door.
That's all, it took him twenty
Seconds, nothing more.
All day he's fifty feet behind where he'd be otherwise
But now he'll cross her path and she'll finally catch his eyes.

It's simultaneously the least significant
And most significant occurrence
In the history of the universe.

Black ice, she crosses over
Double yellow lines.
Her life, in bits and pieces
Rushes through her mind,
Like some guy she knew in college seven years ago.
She braces for an impact that he will never know.

It's simultaneously the least significant
And most significant occurrence
In the history of the universe.

New calm, washes over,
Laying back his head.
New dawn, rises over
A land of doubt and dread.
As he realizes that every moment, every day
Every last decision that he has ever made

Is simultaneously the least significant
And most significant occurrence
In the history of the universe.

Eat Fractions, Sleep Fractions, Drink Coca Cola

2009-10-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

I'm currently sitting in class while my students are taking their Unit 2 Test on Fraction and Decimal Operations. I can tell that my students would be fine if they never saw another fraction for the rest of their lives, and I can't entirely blame them. Lucky for all of us, we'll get a temporary change of pace with integer operations and exponents in the next few weeks.

Let's revisit the Great Lumber Problem we looked at last week. Since we were looking for 2/3 of 4 1/4, we'd find the answer by multiplying 2/3 x 4 1/4, which is 2 5/6 feet of lumber (or 2 feet and 10 inches - or as Adam put it, 34 inches).

While working on the problem in class, I was surprised by some of the reactions and strategies. I wasn't surprised by the universal instinct to divide. We're cutting the piece of wood, so everyone wanted to subtract or divide. Nobody thought to multiply. This whole idea of the word "of" meaning "multiplying" - even if you're trying to get a smaller number - is an initially strange one, and I distinctly remember the light bulb clicking on sometime in middle school and changing my life forever. It's one of those 7th grade moments that NEEDS to happen, just like the awkward encounters at the dance or the debilitating bouts of acne.

No one knew what lumber was. No one. One student made an attempt, "I drew a piece of string. It's like a piece of string, right?" Wrong. Another was closer, "It's like a big piece of metal." Nope.

Once I opened their eyes to the world of lumber, they thought I was some kind of wooden god. I drew a piece of wood and referred to it as a "2 by 4" and they stopped me. "I thought it was 4 1/4 feet long?" My students might not be picking up on the math, but darned if they don't know a thing or two about lumber now.

"Jeez Mister, how come you know so much about wood?"

A Lumber Expert's Word Problem Expedition

2009-09-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

As a result of pulling my head slightly above water and of many discussions with the 8th grade math teacher at my school, I've decided to adjust the way I teach my math class. She is a 2008 TFA member who successfully taught two full grades in her first year of teaching and is the department chair in her second. She is encouraging and understanding, but relentless and unwilling to compromise expectations. In short, she's a very good teacher.

So far this year I've been fighting to reteach skills that my students have been building for the last several years. Adding and subtracting decimals, converting fractions, comparing positive and negative integers, and on and on... I've slightly empowered some who had already mastered these things, slightly improved some who hadn't, and slightly annoyed the rest. The never-ending battle with differentiation.

But where was I? Oh yes, new direction. The knowledge and skills that my students must leave 7th grade with haven't changed, but I am now going to approach them through the mysterious and dangerous jungle of word problems. I still need to spend plenty of time teaching how to do things like dividing decimals, but I am going to start spending much more time teaching recognition of when and why to do what.

My students DO NOT know how to solve problems. The extent of their problem solving skills are to pull each number out of the problem and then choose an operation at random - like spinning some sort of Wheel of Arithmetic. Here are three reasons why I think this is important:

Being unable to think critically about two sentences sets a dangerous precedent for thinking critically about any number of scenarios that my students may be faced with in the future, academically or otherwise.
Seeing these skills used in as many contexts as possible will give the most students the greatest chance of internalizing the big mathematical picture. Being able to visualize these numbers and operations is something I take for granted. But a 7th grader has a hard time seeing that a 20% tip is the same as 1/5 of the bill, which is the same as $0.20 for every $1. Once they can visualize it and connect it to the real world, they're golden.
For better or worse, the one measuring stick that anyone in Texas can easily use to judge these children is by standardized test scores. The TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) Test is full of word problems, so knowing how to convert or subtract simply isn't useful unless you know when to. These test scores determine which students get put in which classes, which students pass, which teachers get stipends, which schools get money, and on and on. An imperfect situation? Of course. But it is what it is.

I feel a little sheepish for just now landing on these obvious and basic conclusions, but hey - better late then never, right?

On Friday, each student entered my classroom and followed a protocol that will occur at least 3 times a week from now until the end of the year. They each took a half-sheet of paper from the back table and spent 5 minutes beginning the word problem that you will see below while I took attendance. Then we spent 10-15 minutes discussing the problem, where they got stuck, the different strategies they used, and why some did or didn't work.

We've been learning how to multiply, divide, add, and subtract fractions, so my students would all know how to solve this problem once they decided what to do, but no one did.

A piece of lumber is 4 1/4 feet long. If you need a piece of lumber that is 2/3 this size, how long of a piece do you need?

In addition to the above problem, each half-sheet contained a problem solving grid that I adopted with spaces for:

Question - What are you looking for?
Data - What do you know?
Devise a Plan - How will you know you're right?
Answer - Show your work
Write a complete sentence
Expression - How did you get there?

On Monday, I'll share the answer and some humorous results of our class discussions. But take a stab at it... are you smarter than a 7th grader?

Sencerly

2009-09-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

I just found a few letters that some of my summer school students wrote at the end of this summer.

--------------

July 9, 2009

Dear Mr. Camann

Thank you for being a great MATH Teacher. I learned a lot. Even stuff I didn't understand. What I liked about this class is that you put the math problems different. You showed the whole class different ways to solve a problem.

What would make this class better is if you make it really fun. Nothing else needs to change.

Class helped me by being a better person. In regular school I talked a lot & kinda didn't do my work. But, now that I'm in Summer School, I talk but I do my work. I had good grades in regular school, but then I started flunking. But now I am trying to do my best in Summer School.

Good luck in another school. Good Bye!?

Sincerly,
GR :)

------------

Dear, All My Summer School Teachers

It was fun spending my summer with yall. Thanks for teaching us. I know some teachers were kinda boring but I still had fun with all of yall. I wish for yall to stay but I know yall have to go. Well theres kids out there who are waiting for these new teachers. I hope they like yall. Well I know I will never forget the teacher who help me reach one goal of mine. Class for me was boring but still fun. Well yall were great for teaching me. Well good luck with your next students and hope yall have a great time of yall lifes. :)

Sencerly
NV

P.S. I KNOW I AM THE BEST! :P

-----------------

Dear, Mr. Camann

Your class is awesome. I liked everything you teached. Your class really helped me alot with everything. Thanks for everything. Your awesome

Sincerly,
YT

--------------

EO July 9, 09

To: Me, Myself & I

Well I think I learned more science this summer rather than the whole school year! Math was pretty much easy but that really stupid i failed only by 1 question but I guess! I really hope I pass & I know I did because I know am smart I just like playing around in class especially when is very boring! Reading is boring but not the class ok! Social studies thats a fun learning there I actually really learned something there but what sucks about me is that sometimes I forget stuff that I learned & then I have to think hard to get it back but oh well at lease is worth it!