International School of Kuala Lumpur

Well, our first overseas adventure for this school year is in the books. Thanks to the International School of Kuala Lumpur and the Hong Kong International School - (more on HKIS later).

It's not very often we arrive at a school library our first day to survey damage done by a civet cat that dropped through the ceiling tiles and ran amok amongst the stacks of books - but that is how our week in the Malaysian capital started.

Now things certainly got better from there - of course that all depends on one's perspective the fact that a wild animal was running around the library before we got there is a positive in my book. Jason, the middle school librarian, told me during a fire drill, while we were hanging out in the parking lot waiting for the all clear, about the time a particularly heavy rain washed a twelve foot long python into the grounds from the forest adjacent to the school.

Well our visit didn't include any other run ins with wildlife excluding of course - middle and high schoolers - who were squeezed with the deft of a serpentine constrictor into our schedule by high school librarian extraordinaire, Nancy Woodward. Sara and I managed to see just about every student in the upper school during our visit. We ran some writing clinics - that's the new nomenclature we're using for our workshops. We work on specific skills  similar to the way one would work on a particular aspect of a sport in preparation for a real game. Just as one might spend an afternoon honing their putting  in preparation for playing golf or repeating corner kick after corner kick with the hope of scoring a world cup goal someday - we may be working on imagery, metaphor, summation, story structure, characterization etc.This way our lessons can be plugged into any writing curriculum that is already in place or provide some insight to students who may not be benefiting from a formal writing instruction. Sara and I believe that one can better decipher the strategies used in literature read once one has practiced these same strategies in their own writing.

Nancy scheduled an evening performance for students and parents which included interpretive dance to some of Sara's work - a chamber orchestra, an a capella choir, and a very talented singer songwriter from the 11th grade along with Sara and me performing some of our pieces.

And to top everything off - the school put us up in an absolutely luxurious hotel suite - in fact when we walked in Sara said, "Oh, this can't be for us!" it was that nice.

Thank you ISKL for helping us to start our year right!

Me and Blanche Dubois

Okay - we have finally arrived in kuala lumpur - local time 1:40am. I can report that it is hot, humid, foggy, and at this moment dark.

United Airline's skies were not so friendly to us on this trip. Our first flight out was cancelled due to a malfunctioning gage. To their credit the airline did put us up in the Hilton and fed us well. Of course I would rather have been eating dimsum in Hong Kong, which was our original plan but fortunately I built in an extra travel day just in case something went wrong. Good planning on my part - unfortunately I did not plan on several things going wrong.

In order to save the schools we are working with some money on the cost of shipping a couple crackpot poets to their school I booked our flight to KL out of Hong Kong on a separate carrier. Air Asia - think back to the old days Peoples Express kind of outfit. Well since United's faulty equipment caused us to miss our flight we had to rebook that leg, at our cost. Not the end of the world we figured, we'll lean on United and get some flying coupons or something. So we miss a dinner in Hong Kong - we are going to be there in a week anyway. So I rebook the flight giving us three and a half hours to change planes at Hong Kong international. One thing Asia does well is airports, I was confident we were on our way.

That was until we got on the plane again in Chicago.

Our departure time was set to be 10am. We chat with air new acquaintances of inconvenience - see the post before this one - get on the plane and then we sit. We sit on the Tarmac 10:00 - 10:15 - 10:30... The captain comes on the intercom to let us know that since the flight number has changed because we are leaving a day late a new flight plan has to be entered into the traffic control system. 10:45 - 11:00 - 11:15... "Sorry for the delay folks - the computer isn't liking the flight plan - we have to enter it manually we will be in the air shortly."

Okay I am thinking to myself we still have over two hours, we can do this. 11:30 - 11:45... The plane pulls out of the gate to the cheers of the passengers. We taxi for ten minutes then we stop. 12:00 - 12:15 - 12:30... "Well ladies and gentlemen, it seems a smoke alarm has gone off in the back galley - there doesn't seem to be any reason for concern but procedure requires us to return to the gate so that maintenance can check it out."

Okay - we've missed our rebooked flight. "Maintenance has deemed us airworthy but unfortunately the cockpit crew has been in the plane too long to complete this flight and we are going to have to replace them."

By now folks are bailing, on Asian kid grabs his carry on bags saying "This is a sign - I'm getting out of here." and he does.

Another passenger tells me he overheard the maintenance dude grilling one of the cabin crew "You swear none of your people were smoking back there?" Seems it's possible one of the flight attendants might have thought the time spent entering the flight path by the captain was his or her opportunity to grab one last smoke before our 15 hour flight.

Anyway, we finally get into the air around 2:00 pm. No shot at catching or connector to KL.

Once we get to Hong Kong our luck changes a bit. There is one more flight leaving tonight and they have room. The nice young ladies at Air Asia rebook us for a very nominal change fee when they were under no obligation to do so. I think they truly took sympathy on us. The kindness of strangers.

So now here I sit in the back of a black taxi tooling the streets of Kuala Lumpur headed to our hotel. A little worse for wear - but still in one piece. Let's hope the stranger driving this car knows where he is going.

Micro-friendships

Well - the travel gods giveth and the travel gods taketh away. Sara and I are now sitting on our flight to Hong Kong a mere 19 hours later than it was scheduled to leave.

Now we haven't been sitting on the plane for the duration. After a two hour wait while technicians attempted to calm down a jittery gage in the cockpit which turned out to be inconsolable followed by the flight crew de-planing (it's never a good sign when the crew bails) we were told that we could leave the plane but stick close because they expected to get the big bird off the ground in an hour or so.

Smart move on their part. They shrewdly got all 300 plus passengers off the aircraft and dispersed throughout Chicago O'Hare before admitting the flight was cancelled. It seems United Air has learned that pissing off a bunch of people inside a narrow metal tube has its downside.

To United's credit they did put us up in the Hilton with a hundred and a half dollars worth of food coupons (our room service dinner cost 85 smackers).

So, as we wayward travelers wandered through the terminal we would cast knowing glances at folks who we recognized from the aborted flight. This following morning we struck up casual conversations as we bumped into familiar faces. We shared past travel war stories and airport preferences - forming those micro friendships that one does when one is away from home with people one will most likely never see again.

The sharing of an inconvenience just enough of an impetus to pierce the clouds we usually travel within.

Bon voyage

Just About Time to Jump Back In!

The new school year has snuck up on us again and we are getting ready to jump back in! One last fun trip up to Chautauqua to visit our friends Sarah (with an H) and Ron (no H) and hike a river before back home to pack for Asia. 

Gotta meet with the house sitter, scrub the rugs, pack some bags, etc. etc. Then we're off to Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. later this year we re-visit the Singapore American School to work with our friend Dr. Nancy Johnson - very cool.

In future travel news - we've been invited to speak at the Association of International Schools in Africa annual conference - October of 2013. The association is even willing to help with airfare for schools who might be interested in us visiting them the weeks before the conference.

So - I had better get back to cleaning and packing.

Reading is Fundamental

Okay,

I am featuring at a reading here in town. A fairly rare occurrence nowadays what with all the travel associated with my work anymore - but I'd be pleased as punch if you found the time - yes you, I am personally asking you to show up - to come on out and check out this fine line up of readers.

Writing Knights Press Presents:

Michael Salinger (https://www.facebook.com/michael.salinger) has been writing and performing poetry and fiction for over 20 years. In this time he has become a fixture in the performance poetry and education community performing and teaching in over 140 cities in 26 countries.

Physicist-poet-philosopher-mathematician-teacher Terry Provost’s (https://www.facebook.com/terry.provost) writing is as unpredictable as the day is long. Heavier than the constitution. Lighter than

air. It will make you laugh. Cry. And think about things you didn’t know were possible, while giving your most important muscle a workout.

For free.

A bargain at twice the price.

Jill Riga (https://www.facebook.com/jill.riga) began her career as a poet as a single cell, then continued on as a zygote, embryo, and then a fetus. She has written poems with pens, pencils, paper, a typewriter, and a variety of word processing programs. In addition to her M.F.A in creative writing, creative writing has an M.F.A. in Jill.

Gaz (https://www.facebook.com/gaz.thecomedian) Has been in the performing arts for a short 2years boasting moderate success. He works in all forms of entertainment but finds the comedy platform to be his most fulfilling. Extremely sarcastic, his humor stays away from the very crass making fun of his life as well as everyone elses.

Before and During the Features, random Open Mic Performers will be included in the knight's festivities.

Anyone interested in participating in the Open Mic should message WK Pressman (https://www.facebook.com/wkpressman) or show up before 7pm!

Remember - Extra Credit points to the first 50 arrivals!

This Thursday the 30th of August - 7PM
Breakneck Gallery
17020 Madison Ave.
Lakewood, Oh
http://breakneckgallery.com/

What goes around comes around

So, I’ve been riding Thursday evenings with some members of the Cleveland Touring Club. It’s nice to get out with a group especially since drafting behind another rider allows one to conserve up to a third of the energy expended while cycling. This way I can average a good two to three miles an hour better time than when I am riding alone. This is a good group for me – they push me just a bit so I am getting stronger on the 25-30 mile rides.  But just like Greg Lemond said – it never gets easier – you just go faster.

Couple things about this ride – first off for the most part everyone is around my age (50) – there are a couple younger folks who show up every now and then but mostly it’s a 50 and up crew. Even so we move along at a decent clip – averaging 19 to 21 mph, which isn’t going to set any records but is respectable. Secondly, we ride out of Madison, Ohio. A pretty rural area  bordered on the North by Lake Erie and at the South by vineyards, bisected by the Grand River.

Anyway the two things that stood out for me so far this season riding with these guys.

When one is riding with a group it is important that the rider stay connected to the group. As I said above - drafting behind another rider allows one to conserve up to 30% of the energy they would otherwise use. In order to take advantage of this slipstream one must be within two feet or less of the wheel in front of them. This requires communication amongst the group and taking turns being the person out front pulling the rest of the pace line behind.  Lose the wheel of the rider in front of you and you are at risk of being dropped. Once you’re dropped it is pretty hard to catch up again.

For the most part these rides are no drops – which means we will regroup every now and then and wait for folks to catch up. Other times the group might split into two if there are enough riders to warrant it. One evening a couple weeks back we had a new guy show up to ride. After about five or six miles we looked back and saw we had lost him – he had been dropped. I was feeling pretty good and said to the other three or four riders that I would ride back and see if I could spot him. One of the others in in the group said – “Yeah go ahead you’re young.’ I replied that I wasn’t that young being 50 years old and all. How old are you? I asked this guy. 70, he said. That’s who I want to be – that 70 year old guy riding along and keeping up with the folks 20 -30 years younger than him.

Second thing. Last Thursday we rode through the vineyards and the fruit was ripe and it smelled like someone was firing grape juice over our heads with a fire hose.  There were just three of us –zooming along an otherwise empty rode cutting through the sweet air like low soaring hawks. I think cycling is the closest one can get to flying without leaving the ground.

Zoom.

All that whistles - is not gold

This is the year of the goldfinch. I don’t know why but everywhere I ride my bike this year I am seeing them. Not just one or two a ride – but upwards of a dozen. Swooping in front of me flying in packs like little yellow sparks off a grinding wheel.

So what has changed – what is different about this year that so many of these wild canaries are carousing about? I’m certain it isn’t just that I am taking more notice. You know, like when you buy a new car that you think is so unique and then you see scads of identical ones on the way home from the dealership and everyday thereafter.  

What do these birds want?

The Core of the Matter...

Been doing a little reading (as I am sure are many who are returning to the classroom) on the Common Core State Standards. These have been adopted by the vast majority of States here in the U.S. and are going to be a curriculum reality for teachers from New York to California.

As Sara and I  synch our lessons with these new criteria I'm starting to think they actually look pretty good to me - the Standards that is - I already know the lessons rock ;). I had heard some of the grumbling about the Language Arts standards moving away from literature in order to teach DVD player instructions instead -  so I approached with a bit of trepidation. Doing away with creative writing would be a pretty major blow to a couple of consultants who use poetry and performance to teach reading and writing literacy.  Well, I am happy to report that the demise of creative writing and reading has been exaggerated. There is plenty of room for poetry and the other literary genres . In fact several articles I have read cite poetry as a path to closer reading - close reading being one of the skills scaffolding through the Common Core.

What I like about the goals set forth in the CCSS is that the path isn't lock step laid out. There is room for some teaching to happen. Sure as with anything your gonna get your my way or the highway mentality. I've seen other good education approaches implemented so stridently that the stress in the teacher's break room feels like a door being left open in January - but this doesn't have to be the case.

Applied with a little common sense - I can see the Common Core doing some good.

Here's a link to a pretty good resource I was turned on to by the CCSS group over at LinkedIn.

Oh - all you iPad and iPod users - there is an app for it too.

What I did all Summer (or - what will I do with my kids the first week of school?)

Well, Long time no see - I am going to try and get back into this blogging thing. I'm afraid Facebook posts have taken up my internet time more than they should. It's been a pretty busy summer. Sara and I are working on a new classroom project that is still in the development stages and which I hope I am not jinxing by mere mention.

In the meantime we are looking forward to the school year beginning. Our first trip this year will be to Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong and then we are back to Singapore American at the invitation of our dear friend Nancy Johnson. Just before the school year ended last year Sara and I posted some lessons to the sit Teachers Pay

Teachers - one of which is a memoir writing exercise. Well, just lately I see that its download is picking up. I think the format is perfect for a "What I did over the Summer" narrative - but then again I may be a bit biased.

Anyway - I promise to get back to this blog more often now - even if it means my Facebook presence must suffer.

Dhaka and cover

Okay – I coulda done without all the traffic but our visit to the International School of Dhaka made all the frustration of gridlock disappear once we arrived on campus.

The school is an oasis in the miasma of noise, color, sound and smells which is Dhaka. The students and teachers were so receptive to my and Sara’s visit that I wouldn’t hesitate diving headfirst back into swirl of Bangladesh.

We started our week with a couple assemblies and then visited classrooms during the day and conducted teacher workshops after school. Our hostess and school librarian Linda arranged for us to work in Math, Science, Humanities, and foreign language classrooms as well as English. I even took a turn with second graders and they weren’t hardly scary at all!

We also had two extra assemblies where the students performed work created during our visit for the rest of the school. I was especially impressed with the ESL class whose stage presence was top drawer!

I celebrated a birthday while in Bangladesh – my 4th overseas birthday now and I couldn’t have asked for a better present than our visit to ISD.

So thanks to all who made our work at ISD so rewarding. Keep up the good work and mind the dancing disco bear at Wonderland. (You’ll just have to visit Dhaka to know what that means.)