Times Up, Buddy

This is it. The last one. Like it or not, I just looked at what I had to have done in the next five days between school and work, how far I am behind, and what adjustments I can make and... this is it.

So this one about the blog. I can't say that I have really liked doing this: I think I started hating journalling of any sort about 10 years ago when I took a brief look at some mission journals and the odds and from them on and just though, "Who would want to look at all this stuff? If I don't want to read it, who else would? I'm not on any path to glory where someone is going to want to examine the minutia, so, what the hell?" That unfortunately is how I came into this thing, and with the exception of a couple of sentences, I don't think I'll really ever want to look at this again. I don't say that the process is useless, but I'm not sure if all of this needs to be done in public. A kid at school sold me a CD once that he and some friends had put together, and all I could think of while I was listening to it was, "We have made this way too easy." It used to be that to put your thoughts out there, you had to really work for it. Now?.... Five minutes and Google will design a template for you that is "exactly you" and put your words out there for everyone to see. You and all the other unique snowflakes in the world. ( http://despair.com/individuality.html )

(And if you happen to hit that link, look at the one on blogging.)

Anyway. Yep. Done. Learned a lot about the value of planning, carefully. Had some fun with too many nights at the library. (Where I am.) Blathered on to myself and two or three people kind enough to put up with it. I will say, that like any other writing I have done, it does give me a chance to think. And that I do it better this way than others... Well, that isn't true. Working a problem in clay has the same effect. The same thing was true of directing (but writing is a whole lot less annoying to the actors.) (That last string of thoughts is an example. I sort of have to say it, and immediately out of my mouth I know that it wasn't exactly what I meant or that it isn't really true.) But this stuff of the internal monologue being spoken... well, it can be funny as improv, but very tedious in print.

Haiku. Or some other short form. That is what it should be. There should be blogs that are only haiku that act as links. Catch your interest? Peeked by the image? Then you click on the haiku. No? On to the next one. But at least the writer had to do some work. Had to try to get it shorter than a sound byte.

I've said too much. Yessiree. Class was good, info was good, project was tough, talking WITH others was very good. But this? Ah, well. One idiot crying in the wilderness. I hope everyone else liked them.

And the last complaint... responding. So, my little gift. Do exactly this: respond in the following way. "Uh, whatever."

Cheers folks. It really has been fun.

Haiku

Underneath the hood

still searching for the damn jack

but at least I'm safe.

Late Night with... Me.

I've been responsing tonight. A lot of good thoughts out there about what we've been doing. I particularly liked Beth's. If anyone sees this, you should go browse and at least get through the Apple design video. That would be something to really aspire to: design that was so transparent that your response would be, "Of course it's like that. Why would it be any other way?" Bauhaus meets IDET.

Time to go. I need sleep. "(IDET) hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more." This quote!! The first part just popped into the head, and I go out to look it up and find that Cawdor is the second part! There is this little kid from Nigeriain one of my classes that pronounces my name that way! I'm not sure if I should be just amused or very scared?! (More exclamation points than I have used in much time.)

Obligatory haiku:

Patches of bondo

Thumbs with winter's first cracking.

Months of Super Glue.

... and then there was one.

My One week left. The project is in, more or less, minus a few more responses. What did I learn?

My thoughts in one-sentence forms: Assessing attitudes with any degree
of accuracy is a real pain.
I was wondering about the deliverable part, considering the level of
detail that I had tried to do, but I found that even with all that
detail, there was a lot that I didn't understand until I got to
putting together the slides. Lots of details that I didn't think of.
I'm not sure that I would ever take the assessments myself...
Good up-front planning makes the whole thing a lot easier. At least
the focus isn't on what to teach but how.
I really wish I had had time to do that Monty Python style animated
SME.

And a few more: I think the important one was about the planning. Like I said, it was still tough to get the thing done, the issue was delivery more than content. And it was really nice working with the group that I did, Carl and Kevin. I have a tendency to overdo, and they were good about being able to see when I was running too far afield. I was still thinking about that element of not making the assumptions that a teacher does about delivery of content--- (I can fix it on the fly.) It seems a bit double edged having worked through this: I think more about the exact content that I'm going to deliver, but as a result don't always write it down... 'Cause, after all, I thought it through more carefully.... Yeah, well.

I was also thinking about this as I was sketching up the idea for tomorrow's IDET class. I think I'm getting a little better at seeing the problems, but it also means that at some point I just say, "Run it once and find out if you are really seeing problems or just imagining them."

11:40 pm. Oh the crap that is coming up from my lungs today. Guess I better head for home. So I'll probably take one more crack at another posting- make it an even 12... or is it 13?

Tonight's haikus from an "attended" moment walking back from the shed, and an NPR moment that has stuck with me this week:

Southwest sunsetting

winter light warming breath clouds

both fading faster.

Hands releasing from

a fog dewed gun grey railing.

Now I want it? Now?