Shingles - (A story in 3 Parts)

This is Part Three of my "I'm stuck inside with the Shingles" series. Part One can be found here and Part Two is here.

Driving back from the Bruce Peninsula, I had convinced myself that I had a shellfish allergy and that it would only get worse with time. I quietly resigned myself to a life without oysters, clams, shrimp, mussels, lobster and, my personal favourite, Alaskan crab. 

The next day, the rash was worse...much worse. I made a trip to the Urgent Care clinic at the hospital near my home and was quickly diagnosed.

• The good news...shellfish are staying on the table
• The bad news...I had shingles.

It isn't as painful as I have heard it can be for many. I have described the feeling as a mild, localized sunburn. I am on medication (1000 mg of Valacyclovir - 3 times a day). The biggest downside is that I am stuck inside while beautiful summer weather taunts me through the windows. I can't use sun blocking chemicals on my skin & I don't trust my T-shirts to be dependable sun protection. 

So, I'm watching movies, playing video games and making up for an absence of physical activity by writing blogs and preparing for school in September. I figured I would burn up some boredom by sharing a few recollections that frame this experience - hence the previous two blogs.

As you might imagine, I have learned a lot about shingles in the past few days. 

• It is the chicken pox virus. When you get the pox (which I had as a kid) the virus just lies dormant amid your nerves.
• It is usually triggered when your immune system is compromised ... but sometimes, as in my case, for no discernible reason.
• It travels along your nerves and is always localized to one side of your body (for me the right of my torso).
• It can affect your neck and face ... which is reason for concern because scaring or damage to the eyes and ears is possible. (Whew!)
• It begins as redness, becomes an angry rash with a raised texture and then pustules form. (This is the stage I am in)
• The pustules will eventually burst and leave behind itchy scabs that you should not scratch. (I am not looking forward to this!)

There is a vaccine, Shingrix, which is recommended for adults over 50. However, it is only free if you are over 65 in Ontario. Although, I suspect I have coverage through my health benefits. If you live in Ontario, here is all the information you'll need. 

My Posts are too Long

Earlier this week, I shared a post that generated a lot of views. The title, "I Love my Job, but maybe it's because I am doing it Wrong", probably had something to do with it. I also tagged some colleagues who generously commented and retweeted it. As a result, it had over 100 interactions in the first day.

That's a great feeling.

Creating something, sharing it, and then seeing it gain traction. One of the great joys you can experience in life (and an essential key to happiness) is being creative. That euphoria is magnified immeasurably when your creation finds an audience. In a few weeks, I am going to be working with some Grade 7s & 8's on Blogging - and I want them to experience that pleasure.

One of the most popular educator blogs out there belongs to Seth Godin @ThisIsSethsBlog. There are a few things he does well and I plan on sharing them with students.

• His posts are frequent - He puts one up nearly every day.
• His titles are catchy - On January 22, he posted The Thing about Chickens - how can I not click on that?
• His posts are short - Some say that you shouldn't have to scroll more than twice when you explore a blog. He has some that are entirely scroll-free.

Not every post is a game changer - I don't think that approach is sustainable. Not every post is specific to education - I think that gives him some flexibility. Some of the posts generate questions rather than offering answers.

So, I am going to try his approach and then share it with my students. 

• I am going to try to post something every day for 7 straight days. 
• I'll try to include a catchy title...but, most importantly...
• I'll be frugal with my words.
• I'm also trying this new, bigger font. Is it better?

As an M.C. at a wedding I attended said (in a warm, Glasweigian brogue) 

"Speeches should be like a skirt...or a kilt...long enough to cover the essentials, but short enough to keep your attention."

And, no, I'm not sharing that advice with my students. ;-)

"Talk Less - Smile More" Aaron Burr from "Hamilton"

When I was in my second year of university, I took a course called “An Introduction to Personality Theory and Research”.  I loved it and I dove into my studies voraciously. It was as if I was perpetually on the verge of cracking a secret code miraculously overlooked by Maslow, Freud, Jung and Skinner. You know - the typical delusions of grandeur that possess a twenty-something with an inspiring professor, easy access to books and a patient girlfriend willing to indulge half-baked theories and rants.

Around mid-November, I began to craft my coup de grȃce - An essay of such deeply referenced research and powerful eloquence that my professor would be utterly bewildered by my brilliance. Much like Ralphie in “A Christmas Story” I anxiously awaited its return. Unlike Ralphie, I received a B and not a C+.  However, more stinging was a single word, aggressively etched in red ink on the third or fourth page of my treatise.

Parsimony!!

I’ll admit, I had to look it up.

Parsimony is stinginess. It is the quality of being careful with resources or, as Merriam Webster puts it “economy in the use of means to an end; especially:  economy of explanation in conformity with Occam's razor.

It was a valuable lesson, and one of which I still need to remind myself. Say more with less. I thought about that today when I debated writing another post. I have a whole bunch of them rattling about my cranium like errant billiard balls and I wondered why I kept procrastinating. I think it is because I know I won’t easily respect the need for parsimony.

• I must respect the need for parsimony.
• I will try to write more often.
• I will make use of bullet points when it helps me summarize ideas.
• I will write in the same way that an Ignite Talk is done. (Perhaps even recording them with pics and posting them on YouTube).
• I will try to keep my posts in the 500 - 750 word range.
• Hyperlinks are my friend.
• “A Christmas Story” is still one of my favourite movies.

Wile E. Coyote - Computational Thinking Genius

Throughout the summer, I have been trying to learn more about computational thinking. It is a commitment I made to myself, and my peers, when we applied for a grant through the Teacher Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP). I detail the first steps in that journey here. Computational thinking is a way of approaching problems using key fundamentals from the computer sciences. A comprehensive explanation of it can be found at this site but, simplified, it typically involves decomposing a problem in order to see patterns that can then be used to create a method (or algorithm) for solving other similar problems. My team and I are attempting to “investigate ways that students can use computational thinking, across the curriculum, to problem solve, create and remix - maximizing available technology.” At least, that is a quick “elevator pitch” of our goal.

I have been learning a lot about coding - the lessons available at code.org, Code Monkey and Scratch have been invaluable … and a lot of fun. The connections to math and science are easy and obvious.  However, I did want to put more thought into how I might introduce computational thinking into my teaching of both art and literacy. Eventually, a podcast led me to an unexpected revelation  - The cartoon team of Wile E. Coyote and his fleet-footed nemesis Roadrunner. It struck me that this classic Loony Tunes cartoon could be used to help teach both minimalism and writing within a framework. This is because each episode of the cartoon existed in a universe governed by a specific set of rules. Eleven, well articulated guidelines developed by the show's creator and animation director Chuck Jones to be followed by his writers.  

The rules were as follows:

1. The Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going "meep, meep."

2. No outside force can harm the Coyote -- only his own ineptitude or the failure of ACME products. Trains and trucks were the exception from time to time.

3. The Coyote could stop anytime -- if he were not a fanatic.

4. No dialogue ever, except "meep, meep" and yowling in pain.

5. The Road Runner must stay on the road -- for no other reason than that he's a roadrunner.

6. All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters -- the southwest American desert.

7. All tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the ACME Corporation.

8. Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy.

9. The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.

10. The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote.

11. The Coyote is not allowed to catch or eat the Road Runner.

So, here is my idea for a couple lessons and a culminating activity

The students and I could start by exploring the art work of well known minimalists (perhaps a few paintings by Yves Klein and Barnett Newman). Without introducing the term, minimalism, I will allow the students to decompose the art form to discover its essential elements. This interactive Google Slide could be shared with small groups for inquiry and discussion.

This will lead us to a brief discussion of minimalism - perhaps even investigating the music of modern composer Phillip Glass - and organize the rules that these artists embrace.

Once we have explored the elements of minimalism we will view two or three cartoons featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. The students will work in groups to determine the rules that they feel govern this cartoon world. I suspect that, after we debrief as a class and share our findings, we will uncover most of these rules through our own inquiry.

Students can now be tasked with writing their own episode - using either a script, storyboard or live tableaux format - respecting the rules decreed by Chuck Jones. As a group, they will present their script to the class. I will encourage them to explore as many Rube Goldberg-style devices as possible as their Wile E. Coyote character exhausts the warehouses at the ACME corporation. This video by the band OK GO is an additional way to introduce Rube Goldberg.

It will take a few test runs to formalize the efficacy of this series of lessons and activities. I will also fine tune it with the help of my TLLP team. In the end, I hope this serves to connect Computational Thinking to several Art Strands (Visual, Musical, Dramatic) and Literacy strands (Writing, Story Boarding, Oral Presentation) from the Ontario Curriculum.

As a side note, the funny pseudo-Latin names given to our titular characters (carnivorous vulgarus & acceleratii incredibus respectively) leads nicely into Grade 6 Science - Life Systems)

I'm Back

Well, that was a longer hiatus than I expected.

I put my professional writing on hold 132 days ago when the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) was forced into escalating job action in response to the lack of progress in negotiations with the Ontario Public School Board Association (OPSBA) and the Kathleen Wynn led Liberal Government. Phase 3 of the work to rule protocol asked teachers to stop maintaining websites or blogs.

About 86 days ago, the first week of November, the restriction was removed and I had every intention of returning to the keyboard and pick up where I left off.  Obviously, that did not happen. I had lots of ideas for posts and there were a few open weekends where I had time to write. I just struggled to motivate myself. Since that time, the holidays, volleyball coaching, two sets of report cards and many other distractions have kept me from starting.

That brings me to today. Today, I begin anew with this simple post. It is my "get back in the game" post. I hope to post something more substantial tomorrow. I have some great ideas in the hopper and I am looking forward to promoting them. Some of my ideas focus on my practice but I am also interested in discussing the profession as a whole.  I have this theory that the last round of negotiations was intentionally stalled by the government in order to damage the public perception of this profession. Maybe that will be the first one out of the gate. 

Regardless, I have restarted. See you soon.