So, I just started writing and it felt great!  I am writing with characters I know from my life and my writing past, Jessie, resembling me and Molly resembling my first manacurist.  A few summers ago I created a series of episodes featuring these characters and then I left them and moved on to other challenges and projects.

When I wondered about what I could write about for the month of November, they came to me immediately.  I have no interest in the returning to my older pieces.  They need a fresh view as I do.  So we are all older and more experienced.

I wrote half of my first day’s numbers last night, took a break to sleep and then continued early this morning and I wrote three chapters with my girls and went beyond the1600.

I know it’s only DAY 1 but I’m feeing good.  Feeling like I could go beyond today.

I will to have a some insurance for the busier days.

Bonnie

I shot this piece on April 1 and it’s July 3. I could have completed this piece sooner, but I did stay away from, avoiding it as is my MO but at least a month of the delay was beyond my control. Computer problems and at the end of month of repair efforts I walked out of my Apple store a brand new computer, an upgrade from the original one just about to turn a year old. So it was a win, win for me and the pressure was on to get moving before our SI begins on Monday. I have another DS due for our opening day. Ah deadlines, I work best with that real-world demand.

So what happened to get this one created?

It was different. I was an observer, holding tightly to my video camera and moving with the group of participants as they began the day in one place and watching them with the inspiration and expertize of the workshop presenters, shift.

It was exciting and I wanted to document that shift and I think I did. Now I’m wondering how could we take it to the next step. What happened when those excited teachers returned home and back to their classrooms. How can we know?

As I created this piece I was engaged in my own learning. New software to create a piece with more bells and whistles mostly centered in the opening sequence, using Motion. Funny, no one mentioned that in their comments. Well, Tuvia did and my guy at Apple did and I felt good about finally creating it on my own after a few sessions of having someone break down the program’s complexities for me. I have yet another fat manual for future reference.

So my computer left me waiting, the software slowed me down, as I returned to my learning stance, and then there’s my own procrastination, avoiding the video I shot, documenting the day. I had lots of video, an hour of video and from that I only really needed 5 minutes, 6…I settled for 7 , almost 8.

Ugh, how do you edit to the day’s essence?

I remember early conference calls with the ELL NWP team. I remember thinking through I goals for the piece, to document participant ahaas..I remember Paul Oh cautioning me about setting my expectations lower given the usual realities of a conference day. I think that with the manageable number of 30, it was easier to follow faces that grew familiar.

Okay I finally began watching my hour of video and creating groups of clips in simple chronological order from start to finish, following the day’s structure: last minute preparations, tech lit icebreaker, first collaboration exercise….on and on…

Of course I wondered about what I didn’t capture. Not enough tape from Lynn’s workshop, Judy moved away from the camera too much, how much of Paul’s keynote would work with the focus of my piece, how could I use presentations as voice overs with action? I kept watching section after section and cutting…lots of cutting…even after the first draft went up and I got some comments from Kevin, I went back and cut more and then as the piece remained with me when I turned off the computer, I was relived, i still had everything I cut, in reserve if I needed to bring it back.

And what was hardest, merging the voice and visuals and smoothing it all out with transitions and of course the use of the camera, wondering why I moved when I did. Did my jet lag hold me back from being more engaged in the day?

So a piece was created given all the delays, procrastination, the issues and that’s the magic and yes, I am satisfied that I was able to capture the process of the participant experience.

Now let’s see how others feel, but I’m feeling good. I remember how I felt as I finished directing a high school play. Loved being in that creative process and creating these digital pieces are offering me another opportunity to get immersed in a collaborative process. Love this too.

And there’s one more thing that needs to be brought into the mix, this was a comissioned piece. So I think I viewed the whole creative process differently.  I didn’t write the text for it.  I was the to document and nervous that my vision would do justice to the hard work of others and that we were on the same page.  It was great to put a draft here, ask for feedback and get it.

Thanks to everyone who watched and to those like Kevin and Elyse and Judy who offered great feedback.  I hope the latest version incorporated the suggestions.

Bonnie

I got the Common Conference invitation from my old pal Jane before I left for Israel and sent BOCES my bio and blurb while I via email before we returned, but it was way too early to do anything about it except start to simmer the pot way in the back of my brain. After all there were things coming way sooner than the end of April and I must enjoy the torture of procrastination.

Okay, we are now entering the week of the conference. I have met with the BOCES coordinator, signed on dotted lines in front of an authorized notary and even promised to send them special delivery, a copy of my passport. Things are getting very official, even for a conference presenter.

It’s Monday and the conference is Friday and my deadline is Thursday because that’s the day I will be in New Paltz to get my handout packet xeroxed and of course I develop a head cold/allergy attack Tuesday that takes me through lunch on Wednesday but miraculously, lunch with Marie France at Strawberry Place in Nyack clears my head and I return home refreshed and ready to tackle my challenge.

I spend hours blending fragments together and thinking a lot and not feeling anymore guilt. Nice.

I want to keep the NFA piece that I’ve been using, “Taking Advantage of Time”, even though it’s not as gritty as other pieces. But the power of her voice, transforms the text and that’s magical for me. I watched her closely throughout the process and even though I’m not exactly sure where some of her images and sophisticated word choices came from, her piece is powerful in its full force of words, images and music.

As the piece finishes, I ask the group ( a large one in the first session) to write about what strikes them about her DS piece and everyone, with the exception of two buddies in the back are ready to work with me. (I have to remember to use my digital recorder to document the responses.) I get great responses.

Participants are mining their initial reactions. A man in the back of the classroom remembers his international experience working with engineers new to English and now in a second career as a teacher considers the ELL students he has in his math class and wonders how he could use ds with them.

With my new use of Apple’s Keynote, I’ve added a slide of Lisbet’s text and paragraph by paragraph participants read and comment on the text and layer the text back into the ds and what happened to this text as it was mixed with the media elements.

We look at the DS elements slide I have created one that’s more user friendly than the one in the handout packet, borrowing from Trace and Joe.

Then it’s time for the group to get messy and write. As always, there are some clearly uncomfortable to be writing as a writers, others thrilled to have the chance and some on the fence. I have the prompt on a slide and I don’t want the two in the back to get more distracted with the full packet quite yet. So everyone writes to my standard, Joe Lambert’s fork-in-the-road, a la Robert Frost and there’s plenty of time for them to get into this. They are writing, thinking and it’s silent. There’s an 1 1/2 hour block and then a good snack break almost an hour. So there’s no rushing to the next thing. Nice.

I slowly move them to revision. Pointing back to their draft, mining for golden nuggets. and then selecting one to begin again. The revision can continue from the original or it could something that’s brand new. Always their choice and I want to keep stressing that they should write free and not worry about the next stage, the share. It’s up to them what they share. The key is the process. What happens to them in this writing experience and what could it mean to their students?

They write again. 10 minutes. Then the share. My favorite time of the workshop. Pairs, trios, I encourage strangers to get together and most people seem to be introducing themselves and that’s fantastic. Some are reading their pieces, some are sharing their process . I let them set the time limit now.

The conversation that follows feels like a bonding experience for the group. I am not using my digital recorder again, not scripting this, ugh. Each group shares their writing experience and many offer thoughts and questions. One guy wonders how what ds would look like with natives and I smile. I have Alison’s back in the mix to share next.

The reflections are rich and the many are thrilled to have been writing and unearthing personal life moments. We talk about private/personal, other prompts for different kids, time lines and how to best deal with the teacher and technology. It’s also a perfect opportunity to talk about how I use this prompt with teachers in the HVWP’s SI in a story circle and why this prompt is so good at opening the door to authentic writing.

Now to Alison’s piece. Here I offer them the booklet. I have them read Alison’s early draft and then the final one before they see her DS. I’m cruious to see what they think about her process as a writer and why she has made the changes to the piece that she did and then how the writing works with the media elements.

A thoughtful woman is blown away by Alison’s commitment to the piece as she moved from the early to final draft and the conversation focuses on the commitment to audience and the life experiences of the student brought alive in this process. Alison’s tribute to a family friend lost to cancer is powerful on the page and then the ds piece takes the group to that next layer. We are able to talk here about publishing to an authentic audience. Alison was able to bring Neil’s family a DVD and share the her tribute with them. She presented with me at a faculty meeting and at NYSEC but her most powerful experience was with his family.

It’s a great chance too, to talk about how teachers new to the tech, like I was with Alison can get comfortable with it slowly. Learning first with easy software( Photo Story 3 for the PC and Imovie for the Apple!). I share my one-on-one experience with Alison and a few other students before introducing DS into larger groups. One teacher lights up with that suggestion.

Sad to say, that moving back and forth between DS on disks and the Keynote presentation, I pressed the wrong key and the computer and LCD projector started fighting. I lost the promise of taking the group through a few slices on the PC software. And one woman was so disappointed. I promised to support her as best I could with an email. And thrown off as I was sprinting to the end I lost a bit of my concentration with the last few comments. But as the group left a number stayed behind, passing up a spot of the food line to continue on with me. NICE.

As everyone left I needed to figure out what went wrong and get ready for the next session. I grabbed a Jenny Craig protein bar, my water bottle and I took a walk to the cafeteria. Break time. I ran into more of the group and spent time answering questions. What a great time!

Workshop two was a breeze. No computer glitches, the group was much smaller and I was relaxed and with them. Success and exhaustion. I had a long ride to Paramus and I needed something to eat. Diet coke, pretzels, frozen yogurt, bathroom breaks along the Thruway and Tuvia waiting to get me to take a nap before we left for dinner in Hoboken.

Great day!

At the moment I was slowly working on a piece for the NWP and taking lots of time avoiding the actual writing, until I was so eaten up with guilt I opened the file and spent the day reading and writing. Looking over at the quotes Kevin so speedily sent me to use in the article. Of course I didn’t really write the whole day, but I actively worked on the piece and enjoyed the challenge even if I’m not totally sure where it’s going. I’m confident it will get there because Paul will be working on it with me and then other will check in as well.

So once again, writing is something social, to be shared and talked about. It’s not an isolated and lonely process. Of course it can be. Lots of writers suffered their way through to the end of their great pieces. For me, I’m so much happier working hand in hand with others. It’s been so cool to talk through this piece with Paul. So cool.

I am not concerned about what he will think of me as a writer when I send him something. I will instead be waiting to see what he thinks and what I still need to do. It’s really a cool process, but it’s shared and that’s what I love.

Actually, as I think about it, that’s what I love about writing on this blog. I don’t know if anyone is reading this. But what fuels me, is the possibility that someone will. It’s exciting. I would never bother if it were just for my eyes alone, preserved in a notebook.

I don’t usually reread my blog posts, but I could and I like how they look when I finish them.

I take that back. I really would like to read these at another time.

It’s so much fun to write about my writing….ahhh the process of reflection…too bad I couldn’t bring this power home to the group I worked with on Friday. What a frustration!

Okay…enough for now….I actually just reread the article draft from yesterday and it’s not bad.

Nice! Writing, what fun!

I was on the Garden State at 9:15 with time to stop and fill up my tank with gasonline still under $3.00 in New Jersey. I was playing JT (James Taylor)on my ipod, a blend of his holiday album and a new live one stripped down with just JT singing, playing guitar and his piano player. Honestly, when JT and I were both beginning our adult lives, I was casual about him.  Sure, I listened to his tunes and sang along but he didn’t move he then, the way he does now.  Then I needed more grit, ie. Laura Nyro. But now, he’s a warm blanket for me, as he ages, so do I.  How many of you reading this post, love JT, raise your hands now! Okay let’s continue.
So my tank is filled and Eric with Karen and Diane are on their way from New Paltz.  We are set to meet at a diner my brother reminds me that I know well. Yes, the one across from the Kiamisha shopping center  where we spent many hours watching movies at the theater.

Okay, I’m on Thruway, I’m on Route 17 and the road is with me.  JT and my thoughts about our workshop and my memories of childhood are filling around me as I signal off the ramp onto local roads. As soon as I get to route 42, I could close my eyes and return to any summer up until I graduated college and I would be back on this particular road driving with friends for movies, meals and hotels, for hot guys.

I signal into the diner parking lots and Eric is right behind me and surprise we are both driving Toyota Prius’s and in BLUE. He does have a peace sign covering his gas cap, I don’t. Okay so he has made his car his own.  Eric is THRILLED to be here and getting vision his off the ground. The four of us crowd into a booth in the quiet diner and we order: breakfast for me, soup for everyone else.

We begin to plan for the session with Eric’s handouts and we work together. I offer suggestions and wonder if I should back off. I’ve been here before and they all know it. I don’t want to steal Eric’s thunder and I don’t think I do. Diane will be working with me, Eric and Karen solo. We are running three identical sessions at the same time and we have talked together and Eric as coordinator has taken his role very seriously and I think it’s all good even with a short session of 1 1/2 hours. Okay.

We have eaten, we’ve talked through our plans and we are back in our blue Prius’s on to Fallsburgh HS. PSYCHED!

Diane and I find our room and set up the tables into one circle. By the time we finish, the group starts to find their way in, after a full session in the auditorium.  How many of our group are excited to be working with us? I won’t even take a guess. We are tipped off about a talky trio who will be joining us. I offer some friendly greetings as our group enters in pairs, singles. etc. I’ve been here before, as them, as me. I know both sides and I will try to be funny and kind and professional. Diane, I hope she feels included. Two of the participants are Bonnies, how unusual. We are bonded from the start.

Everyone creates a name plate. I am in the center. It’s hard with the size of our circle to move in and out. Diane is up in the front, but ready to move when necessary. We begin with their writing about their writing identities, I threw that out at Eric at the diner and held on to it. He gave in, concerned only about the time. They are relieved that they didn’t have to share. I move them along, maybe too quickly. Some want to write more, some are finished in seconds. Writing? They are probably surprised that they had to do any writing.

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Now they write about writing about their classrooms and that was easier.  Then a share with pairs selected by me. HS with elementary and breaking friends up.  First the silence of writing and then the burst of focused energy let loose. Two things I love. It feels  powerful and productive. Their opportunities to share their classrooms. The pairs share out with the whole group and it’s powerful once again.

Then on to the reading. I model by reading and sharing the double entry journal and then they read and write.  Most are engaged, I think. But we have competition, THE SNOW outside, the announcements over the PA about the snow, the eyes gazing outside, my eyes gazing outside.  But we keep moving and sharing and working through the agenda.

One last section, reflection.  They could have had one last share but I put that on hold to move them to the article we were leaving them with and the homework assignment. I think I should have had them share their reflections but that’s from the comfort of my parents’ home,  at that moment, they seemed ready to bolt and honestly, I felt the same. So everyone left with the tools for our return session.  If there were questions, they had directions on paper, clearly prepared by Eric.

Eric and Karen met us as we finished and we were all feeling good and concerned about our rides home. Eric went first but traveling down that first snowcovered hill right outside the school…ugh…a nailbitter right off the bat.

I wonder, did Diane feel that she could added more?  It felt good to me. Eric? Karen? Diane? Am I leaving anything out?

I’ve spending some of my time on my stool at Apple’s Genius Bar, working on backup with Keith (so what’s new?) and I think we did it! Maybe not totally, but enough for now. I do have a one-on-one with Gene on Monday. Enough about Apple.

I returned to Pearl River High School today to wish Brian Alm all the best as he moves onto his next administrative challenge. He was surprised to see me, pleasantly, of course. As he began as an AP at PR, I was just hooking into digital storytelling and he worked with me to make it happen in the building just before I retired. He was new to the job, I was new to the technology and together we supported each other. It was great to be home again, it’s still a warm return.

Tomorrow Tuvia and I will travel to Ellenville and spend the holiday with my family. Tuvia is good about it. We will stop on the way to see my buddy Eileen and he will be polite. Why not? Last night we went into the city to see Richard III, and again, he didn’t love it, in fact, it didn’t touch him, but as long as I was happy with it, he was okay. And that’s what it means to have a life partner.

Okay, so it’s time to finally put this computer to sleep for the night and then do the same for its owner.I need to unhook myself from this machine, after all it’s still just a machine, even if it is a cool one.

Back with more soon…

BK

On Tuesday night Tuvia and I traveled to Ellenville to support my brother, Jeff, in his run for his third and last term of office as mayor.  Last time he ran unopposed and wildly popular.  I was never far from a phone but it didn’t seem that a trip on election day was necessary.  I waited to hear the vote count and it was high and Jeff rode on his own record.  This time around he had some competition.  Not serious competition in itself, but Jeff is no longer the new guy on the block.  Ellenville has been hit hard by companies moving out of the area, jobs lost and taxes ever on the rise.  A new guy offers the opportunity to express frustration and maybe hope for something better.

I felt good calling in the morning offering my version of “break a leg and even better to arrive and join in around the campaign table reconnecting with old students now parents themselves and moms of old students. And of course my parents, and family grateful to have me with them.

Go know on the way home as we traveled on a very dark Route 209 as I scoured the roadside for deer, a wood chuck would be racing across and run into me.  And what a thump.  What damage to the center of my bumper.  $3,000.00 later I will be paying the $250 deductible and a local road cleaner is stuck clearing the remains of my very dead woodchuck.  Thank god it wasn’t a deer!

It so happens that while I was home supporting my brother, I was also able to pay my respects to a good friend, who after a long and horrible fight with cancer, finally reached her peace. I stopped in to see you kids sitting vigil at Ginny’s open coffin.  Tuvia walked over to inspect, I stayed with Ginny’s daughter.  The body in the box is not longer the friend I knew well during my teaching years in Ellenville.  I am holding on tight to my memories of Ginny.  There’s more to say, but not now…

Anyway, what I want to talk about is reconnecting with the past.  Yesterday was a day for that and in the midst of fantasic fall weather.  It was hard to drive on the Thurway.  I had my camera on the back seat but there was not time to stop and freeze nature. But I do have photos of the people I met with yesterday.

The morning session at Newburgh brought together our DS team: Nelson, Martha, Carmen and JudyRR as we met to prepare our session for the NWP.  It was cool to hear that they had completed a successful DS project in the summer with their elementary schools and with Judy sitting next to me, I brought up her interest in working with Camille in the middle school.  Camille will be happy and Newburgh will hit all levels.  I wonder how in the future, we can build this into our inservice work.

And then Chris in the afternoon.  From Nyack, to Newburgh, to Nyack, to NYC and then to Paramus.  How easy it is to travel.

Christopher Carley, drama boy.  From 8th-HS Graduation and beyond…way beyond.  He’s almost 30! and we have been connected all those years.  What a joy!  (more here)

Back in the car and off to Tuvia to finish a perfect day!  A perfect day!

Al Gore has come a long way from his devastating loss to Bush in 2000. With a supportive push from this wife, Tipper, he collected his global warming slide show gathering dust in his basement and went back on the road to bring the issue of global warming to the front burner in the US, because it was clear that our president wasn’t interested.

This was Al’s way back to himself and to the world stage. I remember that moment when the ballots were being recounted in Florida. I was packing up my apartment in Piermont, preparing to move to Nyack, my present home above the Hudson. It was thrilling background soundtrack to pack to and then suddenly, officials arrived to put a halt to the operation. The US Supreme Court was being pressured by Bush’s strong-arms to shut us down and they did. I was crushed and Gore, how crushed was he? A black day for us all. Who knows what the last 6 years would have been like, but for sure, we would not be fighting in a Iraq and America would have joined the world leaders in working together to fit the coming global warming….I have to stop here. It’s raining out and I have to stay positive.

Anyway, back to Al Gore’s reason to feel great today, rain or shine. He is now recognized internationally for his contributions and becomes a fantastic role model to grass roots political/social activists. BRAVO Al, whether or not you run for president(and I hope you will) you are a success!

On Saturday night I arrived fashionably late for my one and only reunion appearance. I passed on the 5, the 10 and the 20. Nothing came together at the 30-year mark, but I probably wasn’t ready then either. But for the 40th, I can’t say why, but that’s the one I began to take seriously. It did help that my adult friend, Paul kept me updated on its progress. Ironic, that we weren’t friends in high school, but when my brother and wife, Marla moved to Ellenville and began to create a set of friends, Paul and Helen joined their circle. Paul and Jeff , townies and Helen and Marla both transplanted from Long Island and teaching in the elementary school, I got to know Paul and liked him. So his role in the reunion planning ,made my attendance more plausible.

What’s the big deal anyway? So many stories circle around high school reunions. Returning home as an adult and romanically discovering someone you never really got to know as a kid, a diamond in the rough unearthed . But I didn’t need romance.

I did get an email a few months ago from a high school friend I hadn’t seen or heard from since we graduated and the prospect of seeing Eileen, was an attractive draw and through google and email we began to get reaquainted and planned to meet for coffee before the big event.

But what held me back anyway? Why did I never attend reunions before?

I thought all about this on the way back to Tuvia this morning. I suppose what the memories that really matter to me, are those that I created as an adult. My life at Ellenville High School, as a teacher for 12 years is what r and what I’m happy to resurrect. My high school career at EHS, is vague. I didn’t peak in high school. I wasn’t in the popular crowd and sure, I wish I had been, But I liked my friends and our adentures in learning and growing up as we dreamed about graduating and leaving our childhood behind us.

It was great seeing and spending time with Eileen and even though we won’t spend much time together(she lives in Atlanta). We can create a virtual connection with our shared email addresses. As for the night, what will I remember? Not the brief hellos from Jerry and Peter, and Bonnie etc….but here’s a few moments:

Bruce Belanger, husband of Barbara Carr, was more than a spouse. He was a teacher- friend who supported my earliest work at ECS as a high school director. Together with Gordie and Bob, we were a team of creative collaborators and I loved our adventures in the school auditorium. It was a great way to begin a teaching career.

As Bruce moved from music teacher to adminstrator, we shared a wall. I had my classroom on one side and he ran the assistant principal’s office on the other. I spent very little time with him on his side and he liked it that way. I had a reputation for very few referrals and what I didn’t know was that on his few quiet moments on his side of the wall, he was enjoying the sounds on my side. It was great to remember together last night.

And there’s William Kessleman, our teacher of honor. We dedicated our yearbook to him. I actually had a lot to do with that campaign. I pushed for a joint dedication to offset the camp pushing for Doc M. to get the dedication solo. Anyway, I have seen the King before last night and he looks like a skeleton of his former self but he’s still there, you just need to give him time to process. I need more time now too. I can relate.

When Eileen and I first approached him, he was clearly not sure just who we were. Of course we are 40 years older. We don’t look exactly the same and we aren’t standing in front of his lecturn. So that first encounter was general. He knows my brother Jeff,the mayor and he did connect me to him, even if he thought I might be Jeff’s wife. Eileen and I were kind enough to listen to him go on and then politely let him move on to the next group. But later in the evening, as everyone finished eating and began to travel from table to table, King Kess approached me. He was processing.

“Do you have a very tall brother?”

“Yes, Rick, my younger brother.”

“Three of you. All spectacular in your own rights. And I remember you when you began to teach. You had a class next to my room. I listened to you and knew you were special, that you were just great.”

I smilied. He remembered. I just needed to give him time to remember.

I enjoyed being with Eileen, with Paul and Helen, with Bruce, with Mr. Kesselman….and that was enough for me.