Today we went to Gettysburg, PA and the National Battlefield. First, you have to know that this is the weekend of extreme heat warnings and 100°F temperatures, so standing out on an open field in the middle of the day is just a little bit this side of insane. But we have tools (air conditioned…
Off the Beaten Path
My sister has joined me this year in my summer ramblings. We are attending the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in Shepardstown, WV, literally across the Potomac River from Maryland. You could throw a rock from the festival site and hit Maryland. We are staying in Sharpsburg – nominally that is. Sharpsburg is right there, across…
CMK and why I go back as often as possible
Summers are important for me as a teacher. This is the time that I work in my garden, plan for next year, and immerse myself in professional development. For me PD comes in many forms. I read a metric ton of middle grade and YA books for the classroom library. I travel. I go to…
Still (happily) at it – Day 3 CMK
The third day of Constructing Modern Knowledge started with the incredible Carla Rinaldi. She is the President of Reggio Children – Loris Malaguzzi Centre Foundation in Reggio Emilia, Italy. And she was amazing. As she reminded us that children are at the center of what we do, I got that tightness in my chest that comes…
On second thought… Day 2 CMK18
Today we did not switch projects for a couple of reasons. One, it became so much more interesting when the Google Cardboard viewers arrived, and two, we found the whimsy in the project. The big revelation today was how much more engaging virtual reality /360° photography is when you are actually using a viewer that…
Back to New Hampshire and CMK18
Knowledge is the consequence of experience – Piaget. So – Choose your own adventure. Today was the first day of Constructing Modern Knowledge 2018, a teacher institute that I have had the pleasure of attending now for the fourth time. I love coming to Manchester and this institute, and this year we are in a…
A Little After-school Music
Glen Campbell and Barbara Cook both died today. When I was in elementary and middle school, there was not the level of homework assigned then that there is now. My siblings and I had the opportunity to entertain ourselves in the hour or so after school before Mom got home. The two artists who…
Memorials and Memory
I walked the National Mall on a recent Saturday morning with a friend. We wanted to be ahead of the crowds and the heat, and we beat the crowds – but not the heat. There are few names that I would recognize on the Vietnam War Memorial. It does not really matter; the space is…
Birthday Concert – James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt
My daughters and a dear friend of mine engineered an amazing birthday gift this year. Paige (my friend) and I were both selected for a National Endowment for the Humanities Teacher Institute in West Virginia, and we happened to be finished for the day at noon on the Friday of the concert. The Institute was…
Two Museums
We visited the National Gallery in Washington, DC and the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD in one weekend. I love American art and artists, and even though the gentleman at the desk of the National Gallery really was steering us toward the Dutch Old Masters and the Renaissance painters, I made…
Antietam
The reality of Antietam was hard to grasp. The magnitude of the battle and the ferocity of fighting balanced with the peace of the place now has some cognitive dissonance for me. The peace of Antietam creek, the cornfields, the quiet – all of these make for a contemplative space now. During this decisive battle…
About the Place Names Around Here
I am attending a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for Teachers for the next three weeks. We are in Shepherdstown, WV – and it is a beautiful old town and a lovely old university (Shepherd University). The thing that initially is interesting to me is the power of the place name. Surrounding locations…
Living on the Lip of Insanity 