March | 2015 | BulgingButtons

March 11, 2015
by BulgingButtons 4 Comments

I’m in the Top Five

What does it mean to be in the top five? Without any other information, it sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

If I’m one of the top five earners in a Fortune 500 company, I’m probably doing pretty well. If I’m attending one of the top five universities in the world, I’m probably getting an excellent education. In those cases, top five means something.

What if I told you it was for a monthly writing contest? Does it still sound pretty good? It’s no longer clear, is it?

I received an email yesterday informing me that my submission was well received and indeed was one of the top five submissions. Clearly it wasn’t number one in the judges’ eyes, since I didn’t win, but still, to be considered one of the top five seemed like an honor to me. I imagine that’s why sent that particular email, not to make me feel like my piece was way off the mark.

Then I got to thinking about it a little more, and I wondered, just how many submissions did they receive? Was I in the top five of only five received, or was I in the top five of five hundred?

Does it matter? Well, yes and no. Yes, because maybe my work really wasn’t very good but there wasn’t much to choose from, so by default it ended up in the top five. If that’s the case, I would love to know, and to learn specifically how I can improve. I’m not going to get that type of feedback, though, I’m afraid. In fact I was a bit surprised to receive the feedback I did get.

Since I’m not one to look gift horses in their respective mouths, I’ll just assume that there was a nice pile of submissions and mine hung around until nearly the end of the judging process. The thought puts a spring in my step and makes me want to write more. So what if there were fewer than a dozen entrants, that means next time I may even make it to the final round.

March 10, 2015
by BulgingButtons Leave a comment

Blurry Dreams

I’m in Europe somewhere, possibly Germany. The grass is impossibly tall, up to the horses’ eyes. There are wolves in pens with sheep. The wolves have black spots spray-painted on their sides. They are guardians. I walk up a path, past tiny cattle. One of the wolves walks up next to me, beside me, rubs against me, like a friendly dog. I try not to be afraid.

We arrive at a clearing. There is a large stage, and a patio table. My mother is at the table, saving seats. The light is dim, but a spotlight shines on the stage, only then it dips and shines on my mother. She is displeased. They fix the spotlight and continue with the somber event.

A curtain is drawn back. A portion of a bus, or is it a boat? is revealed, with an old man sitting, telling his story. Another old man joins him. The stories are sad. War stories. Stories of loss. I listen although part of me doesn’t want to hear.

A woman I know silently passes me a packet of her craft projects, small beaded items, along with their packaging. She wants me to package her wares as I listen. I can’t. My hands won’t work correctly while I am hearing these stories and watching my mother. I have to be in the moment. I look for the wolves but they are missing. I can only save myself.

March 8, 2015
by BulgingButtons 3 Comments

A Visit to the Fisherman’s Dwarfs

The other day the fourth graders took a test to show what they knew about various types of writing prompts and how to approach them. There was a multiple choice section, where they had to circle the type of prompt given: a) imaginative narrative; b) non-fiction narrative; c) expository; or d) persuasive. Then they had to underline the “clue” words in the prompt, such as “convince.”

We have been working on reading and evaluating various writing prompts, and most of the students did well on this task. Then they were to choose one of the prompts and create two organizers to assist them with writing.

Again, we’ve been working on this, and we’ve had lots of discussion about what should be included and why. The students have practiced each of the types of writing mentioned above several times this past school year. They ought to know what to do. In most cases, they do.

Correcting these tests was fairly gratifying, because the vast majority of the students did very well. The students with identified learning disabilities and the two who I am working hard to get services, did not do well at all. They just don’t have it yet. I wasn’t surprised. Those kids need many more exposures to concepts than most of their peers. They learn new concepts, just not as quickly as other kids. If we give up trying to teach them, they won’t get it because they won’t have had enough exposures to the concept.

As I said, though, most of the kids did well. They especially liked that they got to select their own prompt to develop. This one broke up the monotony of grading papers and made me smile.

What is she telling me? Lots. For starters, she has a wonderful family that not only took her on vacation but filled the time with lots of interesting things to do. It also tells me that those experiences made a difference. She remembers what she saw and did in San Francisco. This work also shows me that she needs some additional instruction on capitalization. She’s not sure when to use it appropriately. She does, however, know how to brainstorm and then select the topics she wishes to develop further.

The last thing it shows me, however, is the best one of all. She showed me that she has a misconception about Fisherman’s Wharf. She made my afternoon with her inclusion of “fisherman’s dwarfs.” Oh sweet girl, how will I break it to you? Or maybe I’ll let your parents do that. After all, they’re the ones that took you there.