Hobbies

As a way to get back into the writing, which I have been doing terribly at for the past few months, I will be doing the same posts along with my students.  I decided to keep today's topic pretty straightforward in the hopes that it wouldn't be too difficult to think of something to write.

Hobbies are something I don't always feel that I have the luxury to think about.  The demands of career, family, and other commitments often leave me feeling like I don't always have the time to invest in the distractions that I have regularly enjoyed in the past.  Occasionally, though, even with piles of marking to be done, there is a need to remove myself from what needs to be done and have some fun.

For years, despite the most well-intentioned efforts of an athletic father, I developed a passion for playing video games.  I would read about them in magazines (you know... before the Internet), and get together with friends to talk about and enjoy them.  My first foray into the world of gaming began after a family trip to Great Falls where my parents purchased the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Behold the 8-bit glory that was the essence of gaming for many children of the 1980s.  It won't be surprising to those of us who grew up during this time that most parents referred to all gaming as 'playing Nintendo.'  Whatever it was called, I quickly came to love it, although most games I had back then remained unbeaten... I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I have not yet beat the original Super Mario Brothers.  I've found other digital successes, though, and this was before the era of excessive achievement sharing.  

While I don't game as much as I used to, which is something that my good wife is most appreciative of, I do get to play with my kids now.  To be able to race together on Mario Kart or crush one-another in Smash Brothers has been a incredible joy.  Contrary to what some critics have maintained about the hobby, it can be quite social when the right efforts are made.

Until next time.

~Mr.T

Great Scott!!

Apparently I need more of a kick start than I had originally thought.  While I had looked to an earlier blogging challenge to help provide purpose and direction, I may need to broaden my horizons a bit and simply find something to write about.  I'm going to look for things to write about until I can make this more of a regular habit.  Starting now.  

While I certainly don't get to do this as much as I would like to, I still enjoy these digital distractions.  I recently picked up Uncharted: the Nathan Drake Collection for the PS4.  Now, I've played the previous three entries on the PS3 but I just couldn't pass up a chance to work through an updated version of something I enjoyed so much.  Growing up, I remember loving the Indiana Jones movies, although it took me a while to get comfortable with Temple of Doom (so scary...).  I loved the sense of adventure and the journey to far off places in search of fortune and glory.  These are powerful themes that made the films so good in the first place, something that I would argue has been lost somewhat in all the flashiness of today's Hollywood.

When I play Uncharted, I get that same sense of wonder and fun that I got from the Indiana Jones films.  It had a story that I found engaging and I'd always want to play just a little bit longer just to see what would happen next.

Nathan and Sully find El Dorado.

Great storytelling and a chance to enjoy a classic trilogy if you missed it the first time.

The Force... It's calling to you.

Considering all the drama from last night's election, this was a nice surprise to help take my mind of things and get me excited.  Sorry... get even more excited.

58 days to go!!!

So. I went to the dentist...

I can't remember just how many times I've sat at the computer with the desire to blog, only to draw a complete blank on where exactly to start.  Well, it seems that the stimulus I needed turned out to be the thorough and needed cleaning brought on by a nearly 4 year delay in making it back for a routine dental cleaning.  Fun times, indeed.

We are now one month into another school year.  Classcraft is up and running again.  We even have a few quotes up on the Epic Quote Wall.  All in all, it has been good to be back and I have enjoyed beginning to build relationships with another excited and diverser group of students.

Last year, I really, really wanted to make blogging a habit.  Something that I would want to do every day as part of my own reflection and growth as a professional.  I came across a 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers.  I made it 10 days in before things became irregular and my blogging fell off the digital cliff.  I'm going to pick up where I left off.

My topic for this entry has to do with my favorite part of the school day.  Now, when I first read this question, there were lots of moments that came to mind.  So many conversations with students and teachable moments.  Too many to really recount here.  If I had to be more specific, though, I would have to say, somewhat selfishly perhaps, that my favorite part of the school day is in the hour or so before classes start and the day begins.

I enjoy the quiet at that part of the day because it gives me the time I need to get my head ready for the day.  It isn't just about making sure that I have all my planning ready and needed assignments prepared, although that does happen from time to time.  Rather, I come into the class, turn on some music, and try to weap my head around what I need to get out of the day.  A little bit of meditation to get things rolling.

While I am somewhat protective of this personal time, I also enjoy the occasional visits that come from my students, past and present.  They might come and look at my Geek Shelf (many items courtesy of Loot Crate), or talk about whatever they're up to and share a little bit more about who they are.  It's in these moments that I get to really understand and appreciate my students in a way that doesn't always manifest intself in front of the whole class.  I remember doing that with my own teachers when I was growing up and I have a deeper appreciation of that now that I'm looking at it from the other side.

~Mr. T

Latest Song Crush...

This may come as a shock to a lot of people, but I have a real love of geek and gamer culture.  In the past, I might not have always been able to be so open about that given the perception about games and those that play them.  I'm always encouraged when I see, or hear in this case, talented and passionate people breathing new life into something that enjoy so much.

Today's example comes courtesy of James Landino (SoundCloud here) who put together this phenomenal remix from one of my all-time favorite franchises.

Enjoy!

~Mr.T

I know... I did it again...

Let's just get the apology out of the way:  I am terrible at making this a thing of permanence.  Once again, I find myself in the position of needing to get back into the habit.  However, I'd like to think that I'm in good company on this one.

I mean... it's Batman for crying out loud.  If I've learnt anything from the impeccable performance of Michael Caine, it's that I need to keep going and push forward.  Starting today.

I won't bother trying to give a recap since my last update.  Suffice it to say, that we are still here, and for middle school that should be an accomplishment far more than people might realize.  In any case, I've been spending a good deal of time looking for things that I can do to add a little bit of energy into my daily routine, or to give my students some of those moments that they'll look back on and maybe laugh about when they're older.  That is my hope.

Teachers are pretty adept at looking around for new ideas.  This can sometimes be a bit of a two-edged sword, though.  In the past, I've felt free to approach a colleague and ask for a few resources only to end up with a huge stack of manuals and binders that I know that I won't have the time (or the desire) to go through.  Don't get me wrong here... I've always appreciated the help, but my time is finite and it can be immensely difficult to look at curriculum through the eyes of another teacher.  What this usually leaves me feeling is that I need to spend the time to create resources for my own use.  There is undoubtedly still a time factor here, but at least I will know what it is that I'm creating.

From time to time, I get lucky and I'll see something that just gets me excited.  This was the case a few weeks ago when I came across a segment from Jimmy Fallon.  The premise was simple: give 7-year-olds the title of a film and They wouldn't be told what it was about.  Once they had that, they would simply need to write a scene.  I've included the clip below... it's so good.

Once I had the idea, all I needed was a collection of titles that, in my opinion, would be relatively unknown amongst my students.  Students were divided into pairs, and they selected a random title from a list that I had put together, which included gems like "The King's Speech," "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," and "My Neighbour, Totoro."  Students were given time to write a two-person dialogue and then all scripts were turned in.  As one final step to increase the potential humour, I handed out scenes to random groups and gave them a few minutes to prepare before they would be read out in front of the class.  I have to say that our collective response was a lot like what was in the video above.  We had a blast and we all left feeling more energized then we had in a while.

It's good to be back.  More to come...

~Mr. T