When it's so cold...play basketball!

I have been teaching for 20 years in Chicago and Detroit, and I have never had so many days off due to weather. Today is the fifth of this school year and it's only the end of January. Wow! This is amazing. Cklimate change extreme weather or the natural weather cycles of the earth? A question for another post. And now, on to basketball...

I have to say, though, that in additiuon to this being the first season with so many days off, this is also the first time that my favorite high school basketball team, the UD Jesuit Cubs, have been ranked so high in the state polls. The polls are cretaed by coaches and sportswriters who follow basketball and know a lot about the game. Ever since I started following the team when I was 14, I have never seen such an amazing squad. It has been fun to see them play defense even more that score points. They are absolutely tenacious. They press and press and press and force most teams to turn the ball over, which results in easy points for the Cubs.

Tonight they play against Catholic Central at CC, if the game isn't cancelled because of weather. Last time the teams played, UD won by 43. I'll be curious to see if CC adjusts their style of play to make for a more competitive game or not. I'd be shocked if UD won by less than 30. This makes up for all the times CC has destroyed UD in football over the years.

BCS-UDJ Connection

It's always exciting to see all the ways our lives overlap. I realized this on Friday night at half time of the UD Jesuit - DeLaSalle basketball game. 

There was a line of kids waiting to try a half-court shot for a dollar. All money goes to charity. Most of the kids on the floor were boys, but I noticed three girls in line patiently waiting their turn. Wait! I said to myself, that's Clayton's older sister. Sure enough, there she was, out on the court waiting in line with everyone else. I bet she's gonna make it, I thought. I knew she was a good athlete from a family of sports stars.

Unfortunately, the teams returned to warm-up for the second half. Time was up. All the kids in line had to leave the floor. 

I hope she tries again Friday night at the game against Brother Rice. I bet she makes the shot then.

Greg and Eke

Article on Greg and Eke

Never before has UD Jesuit had two basketball players who were from Nigeria. Especially not two guys who stood 6'9" and 6'10" tall. When Zack came home on the first day of school and told me he has two kids at his school who were freshmen giants, I found it hard to believe. It seems a little unusual...well, I guess more like a LOT unusual. Kind of unheard of.

Both of them hoped to play this year, but the MHSAA has refused to let them play, claiming that they were brought to the school unfairly, only to play basketball. Read the article to learn more. What do you think? Should Greg and Eke be allowed to play this season?

Test

Test

Hello! (test)

Hello!

On Friday night, Zack and I went to a basketball game at UDJ. We parked in our usual spot, on Roselawn Avenue next to the gym. Our car happened to be parked right behind the opposing team's bus. I thought nothing of this, except that we had a perfect spot for easy-in, easy-out access.

When we returned to the car after the game I could hear the bus running, probably to warm it up on what was certainly a chilly January night. Normal. As soon as Zack and I opened the car, though, I was hit with an overwhelming wave of noxious gas. "What the...?" I thought. I sat down, still wondering what this smell was, exactly, and where it came from.

I started our car and started to back up. I glanced up at the bus and I noticed the enormous exhaust pipe protuding underneath the left side of the bus. At that point everything made sense...

...which led me to do what I did in these videos.

Juggernaut.

I went to the UD Jesuit basketball game last night against Loyola. UD won, 70-55. Three players almost dunked. The interesting thing is that I sat next to a man and started talking to him as the game was going on. He was amazed at UD's stifling press and all the easy baskets they got off of turnovers. They are relentless on defense, and contest every possession. He referred to the team as a juggernaut, which I believe means a "force that cannot be stopped" or something that "destroys everything in its path."

UD just beat the second-best team in the whole Catholic League by 15 points. It is so much fun to watch them play. The tallest guy on their team is only 6'4", which is still short for a Class A high school team.


They truly seem like a massive juggernaut to me.

Year-round schooling is a good idea because it increases student achievement and is a model that should be adopted by all schools. Students have the same number of vacation days off, but the days are spread out over the course of the year, which prevents summer learning loss. Martha Juarez, a teacher in Texas reports, “I spend the first month of school reviewing math concepts that kids forgot from the previous year” (Newsweek - reason). Standardized test data from year-round schools shows that students in year-round schools score higher than students in schools with a traditional school year. “The number of students achieving at grade level in language arts and math went from 67% to 82% in the first year after we changed” (Ed Week - statistics). Students in year-round schools are able to complete more meaningful projects since their breaks are shorter. Jamaal King, a 6th grader in Seattle who goes to a year-round school says, “We are doing this cool project and we can work on it all year since we’re never off for longer than a month.” (Phi Delta Kappan – personal experience).There is no question that year-round schools are a better model than their traditional counterparts. Works Cited Cain, Mary. "Year-round School Good all Around? Newsweek. June 2012. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. Ginty, Kevin. "LA and Math Gains in Year-round Schools”. Education Week RSS N.p., 29 August 2011. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. Suarez, Maria. Project-Based Learning in Year-round Schools. Phi Delta Kappan. 11 December 2012. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.

The hardest part of snow falling after a snow day is not having a snow day when there's snow

My Tea Kettle

http://youtu.be/-eBr-16J-pw

My tea kettle

My train

Vehicle to a day 

of warmth 

You nourish me

Bring me

Hope and belief

of excitement and joy

Test Nia

My favorite YNWA

This is my favorite YNWA post because it is taken at Anfield, the Liverpool FC's stadium by a guy in the crowd. It shows regular people singing. The atmosphere in the stadium is electric. As Mrs. Roberts would say, "It gives me goosebumps".

Year-round schooling is a good idea because it increases student achievement and is a model that should be adopted by all schools. Students have the same number of vacation days off, but the days are spread out over the course of the year, which prevents summer learning loss. Martha Juarez, a teacher in Texas reports, “I spend the first month of school reviewing math concepts that kids forgot from the previous year” (Newsweek). Standardized test data from year-round schools shows that students in year-round schools score higher than students in schools with a traditional school year. “The number of students achieving at grade level in language arts and math went from 67% to 82% in the first year after we changed” (Ed Week). Students in year-round schools are able to complete more meaningful projects since their breaks are shorter. Jamaal King, a 6^th grader in Seattle who goes to a year-round school says, “We are doing this cool project and we can work on it all year since we’re never off for longer than a month.” There is no question that year-round schools are a better model than their traditional counterparts.

Evidence types:

Claim = opinion on a topic

Evidence = facts, reasons,
personal experience,

expert research, statistics

Rubric

The paragraph: ·         Creates a unified and persuasive argument; every sentence supports the key claim. ·         Begins with a clear debatable claim. ·         Provides three pieces of evidence that overwhelming prove the claim. ·         Evidence is of three different types (facts, personal experience, statistics, experts); including evidence from a secondary source ·         Sources are credible and properly cited.

The paragraph: ·         Presents evidence in the most logical order. ·         Smoothly transitions from one idea to the next.

The paragraph: ·         Contains no fragments or run-ons; engages complex sentence structures. ·         Consistently maintains a formal voice. ·         Readily employs diction specific to the chosen topic.

Teddy the Snoring Dog

My dog Teddy snores not just a little but like a locomotive just when I least expect it I hear this sudden blooming snoring I think G it must be Nick or Zack but he snores so loud that I swear it has to be human but it's not it's definitely canine if you look at the picture underneath the text here you'll probably wonder what that big black Bhala Ferdin is lying on that dog pillow well we figured it out fine now that's Tatie. Capital Tati is more than happy like a lot of dogs to just sit and snore his day away

Cinquain Choices

Old School
Run DMC
Brooklyn New York Rappers
Cuts from 1984, yo
Fresh Jams

Our team
Joberts rocks hard
We learn, study, teach, grow
Help each other be the best we
can be.

Crock Pot Cooking

I couldn't wait to get home last night and check out the results of my creativity. I have realized that cooking us truly a creative art like writing, painting, dancing or singing. You get an idea to make something, you look at models or mentors that people who've done it before, then you take a risk.

Yesterday I made BBQ pork chops in our crock pot from a recipe I found online. I added potatoes and onions first, then seasoned them with salt and pepper. I layered the pork chops on top, added more salt and pepper, then covered everything with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce. I put a postit note on the lid with cooking instructions for Mrs. Joseph.

I came home and as soon as I walk in the door I was met with the familiar aroma of BBQ. I was psyched! U rushed into the kitchen and threw off the crock pot lid. I grabbed a fork and carefully skewered a pork chop, dripping with succulent sauce. It was steaming hot, so I gingerly put it to my lips. From the first taste I felt as much pride inward I had created as pleasure from the tangy flavor if the sauce.

BBQ Pork Chops

Dunk pt. 2

Noah was streaking toward the basket in a fluid motion. All in one motion, he cradled the ball in his right hand and began to elevate. I have seen Noah play probably 10 games between last season and this one, and knew that he was one of the best jumpers on the teams. Even though Noah had some "ups" he was only 6'2". I had seen him try a dunk in last year's game against Brother Rice and miss, so I actually had my doubts this time. But I just knew he'd try to slam it home instead of just lay it up and in.

The whole gym seemed to go silent, as if all the spectators collectively held their breath. 1,000 pairs of eyes were on Noah and the basketball. Dunk or lay-up? Noah's hand and the ball were above the rim now, but just barely. He forced the ball down with a mighty slam, but instead of falling cleanly through the rim, the ball hit the back of the metal and bounced out. A miss! There was a collective gasp, kind of like a big "Ahhhh!" from the U of D side of court. The CC fans did not react, realizing that their night would be long, indeed, despite Noah's missed dunk.

Dunk pt. 1

The fast break was on! Cassius Winston had just stolen the basketball and flipped it up ahead to Noah King who was rapidly approaching the basket. There was no Catholic Central player on U of D's end of the court.

I stood there in my spot as a Dad's Club Security Guard with absolute certainty of what I was about to see. A monster dunk. No question. Noah would elevate, bring the ball up, and jam it home to the thunderous cheers of the 250 students, parents, and fans who had packed the U of D side of the gym.

I was 15 feet from the basket, standing on the corner of the floor. My job was to make sure that no one crossed the floor, but instead exited by the doors at the ends of the gym. The best part about my job was that hardly anyone ever tried to cross the court, so I got to stand and watch the game from the floor. It was a great spot to get a sense of just how fast the game moved at the varsity level.

The Smartie-verse

"She's really smart" is never something we say on the Joberts Team. The question, of course, is never "Is she smart?" but "How is she smart?"

When we keep in mind the eight intelligences, we realize that we all have talents and gifts, and that we are all geniuses. Genius is something we all possess, it's really just a question of finding it, practicing it, and using it for it's highest and best good. Genius is not easy, but it's there. As Thomas Edison so famously said, "Genius is nine tenths perspiration and one tenth inspiration."

On the Joberts Team, our official candy is Smarties. They remind us that we are all smart, in different ways. Just like the different colors of the candy. This metaphor reminds us that when we use all of our collective intelligences
as a class of 54, we can accomplish absolutely amazing things. We are geniuses from the Smartie-verse.

Fit part 4

Delia was the kind of the kind of kid that no one understood. She was the definition of awkward. Whenever kids were in the hallway talking about their weekend or their vacation or what they did the night before, Delia would always make some weird comment that nobody seemed to know what to do with.

So, how was your break," was echoing all over the hallways on the day back from a snow-day extended winter holiday. Jeanie was the first to respond in her circle of four girls to the obvious question on everyone's mind.

"It sucked. I did nothing. I sat around every day and checked Instagram and watched TV. I went nowhere and did nothing. Totally sucked."

"Mine was awesome," it was Abbey's turn now. We went skiing Up North and my cousins came and stayed with us for like a week, from Minnesota. We always have the best time with them."

"What about you, Delia? What crazy things did you do on your break?" came the inevitable question from another girl, Melinda. Melinda was the unofficial leader of the group of friends. She was the one that all the girls looked to for what to do or say next, and what to wear. When Melinda made a suggestion for where to stand and talk, the typical response from the rest was a head nod or an "okay." If Melinda wanted to eat in the cafeteria on a particular day, then everybody just nodded their heads and went along. If she wanted to try and eat lunch somewhere else, then that's where the group wound up.

Melinda was short for a seventh grader, but looked the part at suburban Ames Middle School. Black leggings that were not too obviously yoga-ish, and tan Ugg boots with almost any top were her daily uniform of choice. The other girls knew that if they wanted to be friends with Melinda, they better get at the least the bottom part of the uniform right. All four girls had the same leggings from the same store at the Pinetrace Mall, and the same boots. Everything had to be purchased from  the same place, or it wasn't good enough for the group. Or at least not good enough for Melinda, who made the rules.

"Delia, hello-o?" Melinda repeated in annoyance. Jeanie and Abbey giggled, as much because this was funny as because they always wanted to make sure Melinda knew they were paying attention to her.

"What? Oh. Yeah. Wait. What did you ask me?" came Delia's reply.

"Oh my God, what planet are you on, girl? Wake up!"

"Sorry, you guys. It's just, I got distracted"

"'I got distracted'", Melinda mimicked. "You always say that. 'I got distracted.' What's wrong with you? I just think you don't listen when people talk to you.

"No really, Delia started to say..."

Where Do I Fit? pt. 3

Delia was the kind of the kind of kid that no one understood. She was the definition of awkward. Whenever kids were in the hallway talking about their weekend or their vacation or what they did the night before, Delia would always make some weird comment that nobody seemed to know what to do with.

So, how was your break," was echoing all over the hallways on the day back from a snow-day extended winter holiday. Jeanie was the first to respond in her circle of four girls to the obvious question on everyone's mind.

"It sucked. I did nothing. I sat around every day and checked Instagram and watched TV. I went nowhere and did nothing. Totally sucked."

"Mine was awesome," it was Abbey's turn now. We went skiing Up North and my cousins came and stayed with us for like a week, from Minnesota. We always have the best time with them."

"What about you, Delia? What crazy things did you do on your break?" came the inevitable question from another girl, Melinda. Melinda was the unofficial leader of the group of friends. She was the one that all the girls looked to for what to do or say next, and what to wear. When Melinda made a suggestion for where to stand and talk, the typical response from the rest was a head nod or an "okay." If Melinda wanted to eat in the cafeteria on a particular day, then everybody just nodded their heads and went along. If she wanted to try and eat lunch somewhere else, then that's where the group wound up.

Melinda was short for a seventh grader, but looked the part at suburban Ames Middle School. Black stretch pants that were not too obviously yoga-ish, and tan Ugg boots with almost any top were her daily uniform of choice. The other girls knew that if they wanted to be friends with Melinda, they better get at the least the bottom part of the uniform right. All four girls had the same stretch pants from the same store at the Pinetrace Mall, and the same boots. Everything had to be purchased from  the same place, or it wasn't good enough for the group. Or at least not good enough for Melinda, who made the rules.

Where Do I Fit? pt.2

Delia was the kind of the kind of kid that no one understood. She was the definition of awkward. Whenever kids were in the hallway talking about their weekend or their vacation or what they did the night before, Delia would always make some weird comment that nobody seemed to know what to do with.

So, how was your break," was echoing all over the hallways on the day back from a snow-day extended winter holiday. Jeanie was the first to respond in her circle of four girls to the obviosu question on everyone's mind.

"It sucked. I did nothing. I sat around every day and checked Instagram and watched TV. I went nowhere and did nothing. Totally sucked."

"Mine was awesome," it was Abbey's turn now. We went skiing Up North and my cousins came and stayed with us for, like a week, from Minnesota. We always have the best time with them."

"What about you, Delia? What crazy things did you do on your break?" came the inevitable question from another girl, Melinda. Melinda was the unofficial leader of the group of friends. She was the one that all the girls looked to for what to do or say next. When Melinda made a suggestion for where to stand, the typical response from the rest was a head nod or an "okay." Melinda was short for a seventh grader, but looked the part at suburban Ames Middle School. Black stretch pants that were not too obviously yoga-ish, and tan Ugg boots with almost any top were her daily uniform of choice.

Snowtastic!

Where Do I Fit? Pt 1

Delia was the kind of the kind of kid that no one understood. She was the definition of awkward. Whenever kids were in the hallway talking about their weekend or their vacation or what they did the night before, Delia would always make some weird comment that nobody seemed to know what to do with.

So, how was your break," was echoing all over the hallways on the day back from a snow-day extended winter holiday. Jeanie was the first to respond in her circle of four girls to the obviosu question on everyone's mind.

"It sucked. I did nothing. I sat around every day and checked Instagram and watched TV. I went nowhere and did nothing. Totally sucked."

"Mine was awesome," it was Abbey's turn now. We went skiing Up North and my cousins came and stayed with us for, like a week, from Minnesota. We always have the best time with them."

My back hurts as I sit in a chair trying to lean forward. But not too far forward. Paul says I have to be careful not to hyperextend my back. Paul is my physical therapist. He teached me strecthes and exercises and all kinds of moves designed to torture my back into shape. From pain to normal. Sometimes it feels like it works and other times it just hurts.

I'm reading two books at the same time. Now that it's 2014, I have decided on a new old strategy to read more consistently. I love reading. I always have. Ever since I can remember, somone has read to me or I have read to myself,. I love to read aloud. I've always been good at it.

The problem for me has always been making time to read consistently on a regular basis. I think my head is full of so many things that I can't decide what to do for any length of time. I always want to do everything, which usually means I wind up doing few things particularly well. Anyway, I decided to practice what I preach and do what I tell my students to do. Read every night for 20 minutes. Write every night for five. Can't be that hard, right? If I do it, great. If I don't do it, I'll try again the next day. Real life. Real reading Real writing.