Weekly Kodachrome - The San Rafael

One day you'll see her and you'll know what I mean.
Take or or leave her she will still be the same.
She'll not try to buy you with her time.
Nothing's the same as you will see when she's gone.

It's foreign on this side
and I'll not leave my home again.
There's no place to hide
And I'm nothing but scared.

You dream of colors that have never been made,
You imagine the songs that have never been played.
They will try to buy you and your mind.
But only the curious have something to find.

It's foreign on this side,
and truth is a bitter friend

Reasons few have I to go back again.

                                            - Sean Watkins

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Did you take a photo in the past seven days that made you smile? If so, feel free to include it in the linky below. 

Remember, by adding your photo into the Weekly Kodachrome meme you are agreeing to do one of the following: display the linky or button to your post, or link back to this post so that everyone gets a little more exposure for the image they’ve uploaded. Those who don’t help to ’share the love’ will have their links removed. You can find the code for the linky here.

When You're Only as Valued as the Outcome

Merit.

I hear that word and it makes me think of my Boy Scout days…back when I was trying to get as many merit badges and skill awards as I could. You know, wanting to fill that olive green sash with as many circular patches as possible to show that I was the bomb. Of course, that was a lifetime ago, back in the days of pubescence, schoolhouse crushes, and acne.

Merit seems to mean something different to me today. Maybe it’s because I read an article last night about the new bill in the process of being passed.

I don’t agree with it.

Some of you may or may not know about Senate Bill 67, which links a teacher’s pay raises directly to his or her students’ final test scores.

This bothered me.

It bothered me on many levels.

Are there bad teachers out there who aren’t up to scratch? Yes, we all know that there are; however, there is also a set that works as hard as they can, trying to make a difference, yet by denying them income to try to match the changing economy, you are going about it the wrong way to try to fix the problem of student success.

You see, I’ve had some of the students in my classes with low test scores every year that I’ve been a teacher. To try to help remedy this, I offer up extra help an hour before school to any student who needs it. I stay in my classroom during my lunch break, labs, and recesses (when I’m not on duty) to help any student who wants it. I stay after school—nearly every day—for at least an hour to be a resource for students who want help.

But no matter what I do, I still have low-scoring students.

Now, I have parents that are involved in their child’s education, and I see these kids progress and get better and better. I also see kids who simply don’t care and have little to no parental support. I have students who will not come to me for help, even when they are those who so desperately need it.

I had one particular student whose parent informed me that their child couldn’t come to school early or stay afterward with me, also, they couldn’t attend the remediation classes offered by the school—though their child severely needed it.

And still, the parent refuses to help their child with their education.

And yet, even with all of this, it’s going to be put on me.

If I were in the situation of working for a corporation, and was being judged in my competence based on the outcome of those working in my department, it would be much easier to remedy the situation: If someone weren’t up to scratch, I could terminate them and replace them with someone that had the skills I needed, this way the job would get done well.

However, in education, this simply isn’t possible.

Teachers are given the group that they get, and that’s it. We teach whoever walks into our classrooms, and we try to teach them on their level. We try to get them through the process, and yet, there is only so much a teacher can do when standing alone.

I think of that word: merit.

Really, it’s not simply the value of the outcome; it’s about finding value in the entire process.

Taking Great Photos Part 7 - The Breath

The breath? Now, just what in the world is that supposed to mean, Teachinfourth? I breathe all the time, why should one breath be more important than any other I take?

Thanks for asking.

The reason ‘the breath’ is so important is that many of us go out to take photos; later, we sadly discover that all of the shots (or many of them) are blurry. But this cannot be! We checked the shutter speed, the aperture, and everything else. There’s no reason why these shots should be blurred...and yet they are.

This blurriness just might be due to the fact that you haven’t been taking what I like to call, “the breath.”

Many people, when pushing the shutter button, move their hands up or down slightly at the same time; many times, they don’t even realize that they’re doing this. Even this slightest movement of your camera (especially when zoomed in) can have a drastic effect on clarity the shot you have just taken. Now, though many lenses today have IS for helping the shots to overcome this shakiness (which is just an initialism for Image Stabilization) taking this small breath before you snap can have the biggest impact on your images for clarity.

(The red arrows indicate the IS switch).

It was a few years ago that I noticed that when I took pictures that were at a lower shutter speed, many of them came out blurry. This was simply from the fact that I was not holding the camera as steadily as I should have when snapping away. I can still remember my grandpa telling me, “take a breath right before you push the shutter down and hold it; try to hold your hands as still as possible.” He then went on to explain that leaning against something can help you to maintain your stability as well—or even better—using a tripod.

I began to ‘take the breath’ before I snapped my photos and began to notice a decrease in blurry images. This little tip worked like magic!


Of course, if you haven’t focused your camera properly to begin with, you won’t get clear images—no matter how still you hold it. Always make sure that your camera is set to automatic focus

Now, there’ve been times in which I’ve switched my camera to manual focus. I usually do this when the camera itself is having difficulty focusing on the part of the image I’d like to have clear (see the blue arrows). When I’ve not remembered to turn autofocus back on when I’ve finished, I usually wind up with a blurred shot or two afterward. Now, while in the digital age you may think that losing one or two shots isn’t that big of a deal; however, what if you whipped your camera out of your bag after your last use, and you quickly snapped a shot at that perfect moment your child kicks the winning goal into the net?

There are some images we just don’t want to miss. Like I said in an earlier tutorial, always put your camera back to your personal ‘default’ settings. That way it’s ready at a moment’s notice for use the next time.

Just like putting your car keys in the right place so you can find them for work in the morning


Until next time; shoot ‘til you get it.


But wait, Teachinfourth…what if I don’t have IS on my camera?

All the more reason to utilize ‘the breath’ as often as you snap a photo.


Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: About Your Camera
Part 3: Aperture
Part 4: Shutter Speed
Part 5: White Balance
Part 6: ISO
Part 7: The Breath

The Wonderful World of Writing

Lately, I’ve been trying to teach my class to be better writers.

’Tis not always the easiest of feats, I must say; as I pondered over how I should best go about this a few weeks ago, I was struck by a gloriously wonderful epiphany.

I decided to invite the students into my thought processes as I wrote—to take a journey into my brain for a short visit...which I did. I started this all off by writing an un-descriptive, lame ‘paragraph’ of one to three sentences; from there I would model to my students how I would read this text aloud, reread it, and change the wording until it sounded the way I wanted it to, causing it drip from the tongue like honeysuckle nectar.

The first mini-selection I wrote on my own, but for the others I invited the students to offer up suggestions and we rewrote these—on ensuing days—together.

And now, I present you with the final versions of creative writing from my motley crew of fifth graders...


I didn’t want to go to school today. I was really tired.

When the alarm on my phone pierced the early morning darkness, I realized that I had no desire to go to school today. As I tried to pry my eyes open, it felt like my eyelids were glued in place. I felt completely exhausted; I wanted to stay in bed all day and do nothing but rest.


Last week, Mr. Z said that we couldn’t use pronouns. It was hard.

Last week, Mr. Z decided to challenge the class not to use pronouns for one whole hour. At first, I thought that this would be a piece of cake, but was I ever wrong! It was extremely hard and that hour felt like a million years. It got even worse when that loudmouth, *Joey, suggested that we pay one bonus buck for every pronoun we used in class! Man, that stunk for those people who used pronouns! Luckily though, Mr. Z said that he would pay all of us one bonus buck for every pronoun he used. It was awesome.


We read a story in class today. We made salsa. It tasted good.

We read a story in class today called Carlos and the Skunk. It was about a boy named Carlos who was trying to impress his friend, Gloria; however, it turned out terrible! Carlos tried to pick up a skunk by its tail that they had nicknamed two toes. As a result, Carlos got sprayed from head to shoes. I loved the story, because it was hilarious!


Carlos’ family had a fun tradition of making homemade salsa, and the recipe for the salsa was at the end of the story. Mr. Z surprised our class by bringing all of the ingredients (except garlic) to make this deliciously zesty recipe.


The fragrant odor of cilantro filled the classroom as we watched Mr. Z make the salsa. My mouth was watering. We had to read the story again with partners (if we wanted) with good expression while the next batch was being made. The whole time I was reading, I was thinking about the salsa and how good it would taste.


Finally, it was time. Mr. Z broke out the bags of chips; my taste buds were begging me to taste the salsa. Even though *Joey said that it was disgusting, to the rest of us it tasted like summer was already here.


It snowed. I like the snow. It’s pretty. I wish it snowed more than it has.

It was Sunday morning; I was nestled and snug in my soft, warm bed. When I opened my bleary eyes, I had to shield them from the brightness flooding my room. I groaned and rolled out of my bed feeling like a zombie emerging from its grave for the first time.


I slowly dragged myself over to the window and opened the blinds—seeing a Narnian world of whiteness. I could feel the icy coolness of the outside as I pressed my cheek against the frosty window. A warm fire seemed to burn deep within my soul. My eyes widened as I gazed at the snow, drifting from the heavens on gossamer angel wings, and settling on the roofs of the houses and yards in the neighborhood; it was like the sugary rooftops of gingerbread houses. It made me think of Christmas all over again.




*Name has been changed so as to protect the guilty.

Weekly Kodachrome - Frosty Crossing

It snowed.

It hasn’t done much of that this year.

But it sure can look great when it does.

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Did you take a photo in the past seven days that made you smile? If so, feel free to include it in the linky below. 

Remember, by adding your photo into the Weekly Kodachrome meme you are agreeing to do one of the following: display the linky or button to your post, or link back to this post so that everyone gets a little more exposure for the image they’ve uploaded. Those who don’t help to ’share the love’ will have their links removed. You can find the code for the linky here.

Media of the Week - The New Kid

A few years ago - and a school ago - I worked with students making short films. They were to write, direct, act in, and edit each of the films. This particular little movie was one of my favorites.

And yes, in every movie I was the Teacher, Mr. Jorgensen.

Talk about typecasting...

Another Valentine's Day

I was driving home from school tonight. Evening was settling in, and the sky threatened snow, but it had yet to make good on its threat.

As I drove, “It’s too Late,” by Carole King came on on the radio. As the song progressed, it reminded me a record mom used to play back when I was a kid. My thoughts turned to Valentine’s Day when I attended Summit Valley School a lifetime ago…the memories of making valentine holders and attaching these to the sides of our desks. Eating cupcakes with whipped frosting. Passing out cards with cartoon characters on them to everyone in class—plus that one special card for the teacher that came in every 32-count box of valentines.

I my mind drifted to my own class’ party earlier today. I had wanted to give a card that would be something unlike the typical usually given out; yet it had to be something amazing and fun at the same time. So, again this year I decided to give the kids a card of my own making.

Twenty minutes later, with the aide of Photoshop, this is what had emerged.

Of course, it was printed in black and white so as to save the wear and tear on the cartridges of the color printer. Also, it said that it was from Mr. Z on the bottom instead of Teachinfourth (I thought I’d change that up so that you could print yourself a copy, and then tuck it away with your other prized Teachinfourth holiday possessions).

Needless to say, the card was a hit and had the exact results that I’d anticipated. Snatches of comments like, “Oh man…this is way too cool!” and “How did Mr. Z get these?” drifted to my ears over the music that was playing.

Over the course of the next five or so minutes, the valentines were passed out—ah that rite of passage of the elementary years…

I snapped back to the present for a moment as I drove under the underpass by the tracks, I again thought of my own years of Valentine’s Day. The outlandish dancing, the sugar rush, and the feeling that a relationship was never very complicated. If you liked her, you acted like an idiot and wouldn’t leave her alone until she either hit you, or told you that she liked you back.

Oh, how some things never change…

When my students begged me to play “The Party Anthem,” it was like a throwback to my own years in elementary school…they all began to dance insanely about the classroom, each claiming that he or she could do the shuffle. Of course, only one student proved that he was fully capable of it.

You got it; it was Joey.

Of course, walking around the classroom with a video camera inspired even more outrageous moves, as well as a dozen students begging me to put the video on YouTube – to all of which I deflected with, “Nope, not a chance…I don’t want to scare anyone out there.”

Than before I knew, it the day had reached its end. More than enough sugar had been consumed by the kids to put the most stalwart anti-nonsugarist into a tizzy. The bell sounded, and the kids left right before the rush had set in—and most likely—the coma inspired afterwards.

Sitting in my car, Carole’s song ended, and with it, the musings of the day.

Another Valentine’s had passed successfully, and I had survived. I switched the channel and kept on driving.