Who would have thought that there would actually be a “blogging” morning when I would be at a loss for words?! It’s sort of cold, sort of gray, sort of threatening of precipitation…but I did see that our snowdrops have pushed through. (That’s a note especially for Ellen, whose snowdrops are more advanced than mine.) It’s good to see some signs of spring. When my children were really young and we’d just moved back to this area from living in Italy for four years, Matt was 3 and Meg was 7. It was a strange time for all of us – a new home, a new/old country, a divorce, and a mommy who was now working as a teacher every day. We’d moved back in July, and I couldn’t find a teaching job at first. Spent the first winter working as a secretary for a tiny computer software company in one of the old WWII barracks at the Reading Airport. Matthew was in nursery school, and Meg was in second grade. Money was…tight! The winter was long and strange. From living in the middle of a bustling Italian city where everything wonderful was within walking distance, we now lived in the ‘burbs where everything meant a drive.
We muddled through. Lived a few months with my parents until we found a little house to rent – two adult women in one house – much as they may love each other, it’s usually not a great scene. And so, in late November we moved into our house. The winter seemed to go on and on. One bleak Saturday late in late February or early March, we all seemed to be suffering from cabin fever, and I decided to take a ride out in the country. “Why are we going for a ride? Where are we going?” asked the kids. Think quick! “To look for signs of spring,” I told them – having no idea what we’d find.
And so we took a ride out into the country on back roads through the woods. Streams still had snow on some of the banks, but we drove slowly and looked and looked. “Shout out when you see a sign of spring!” I said. Meg saw a duck swimming in a stream; Matt saw a squirrel running around. Then we saw little green shoots that had popped up through the dead leaves and spots of snow! We looked more carefully and saw more and more and more little green shoots! Snowdrops – a few were even blooming. The kids were so excited as we drove along, and they called out things they saw. “Signs of spring!” they’d shout! Then they’d say what it was they saw. We came home after an hour or so feeling hopeful and happy and secure.
That was the first of many “signs of spring” rides that we took through the years until both Meg and Matt were grown and had moved away. Barry and I still take those rides. (We introduced him to that custom when he joined our family. We knew he was meant for us because he didn’t think our “signs of spring” rides were strange!)
And so our snowdrops have made an appearance! I hope “the kids” still remember our rides and maybe take one of their own around San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Who knew that a tiny dot and hook could hold such terror when it appears? Semicolons are cool; they keep us from writing short, choppy sentences. It may be that the lowly semicolon is intimidating to tweeters and texters; therefore, it’s rarely used.
A woman whom I deeply respect and trust and who has fine “people skills” told me that she has an employee who was terrified by the semicolon; nevertheless, she says she will continue to use this lovely punctuation device whenever appropriate.
It seems she sent a memo to an employee in which she specified exactly what the task was to which he had been assigned, as well as the procedure he was expected to use in completing the task. She is his boss, and she wanted to give him a written directive to follow up one she had given him orally.
Soon after he received the memo, the terrified young man appeared at her office door; whatever caused his stressful state was unknown to his boss. He nervously asked if he could speak to her about the memo he’d just received. She asked him to speak freely, and he replied, “It was SO serious! You used SEMICOLONS!!!”
The woman who related this story to me is a far nicer person than I. Under the same circumstances i would probably strive, from this point on, to use at least several semicolons in every email I sent to the young man! Ah, there you have it! I’m NOT a very nice person! Thank goodness, my daughter is!
(Personally, I find the colon somewhat imtimidating. Those letters that begin “Dear Madam:” always set my teeth on edge.
Ta Ta! Enjoy the day; however, keep warm!

It’s Wednesday, and I’m preoccupied with getting everything ready for the first day of the spring semester at Albright College. Classes begin Monday, 23 January, and I’m like old race horse that hears the starting gun and is ready to go. Teaching is my thing, and preparing for each new semester is always fun and challenging. This semester I’ll be teaching three courses – two of them will be new for me, and one of those two is a brand new course. My first class on the 23rd will be the one I’ve been teaching since beginning at Albright six years ago. it’s called “Communication Skills for Teachers” and includes segments on public speaking, professional writing, and developing parent conferencing skills. It’s a lot to cram into one semester! Originally, it was a required course for all students planning to become elementary or secondary teachers, but it is now only required for the secondary students. (I won’t go into the rationale for that change because, frankly, I don’t understand it.)
This semester I will also be co-teaching the Professional Seminar (“pro-sem” in Albright-ese). That course begins on Wednesday, 1 February, and meets from 5 t0 7 PM each week. Secondary student teachers come back to campus to discuss their expereinces and learn more about effective teaching. After almost 40 years of teaching – at the college level and from second through twelfh grade, I have been inserviced in a huge variety of “new” programs, all designed to improve the service we provide our students. With all the various terms that I’ve learned for these systems and even with all the wonderful new doors that technology has opened for teachers and students, the conclusion that I have come to is that “good teaching is good teaching is good teaching.” The terms we use to refer to things we’re doing in the classroom may change, but there is little under the sun that is new to what makes a good teacher effecive in the classroom – and beyond the classroom, for that matter.
I truly enjoy being able to contribute to the training of future teachers, and each semester that I work with the Albright students, I learn more about the art of teaching. It is an endless pursuit – to be the best teacher I am capable fo becoming and to help these future teachers maintain their passion and hone their skills and the art of teaching.
I will be co-teaching a third course – a brand new one that is being offered for the first time. The first half of the semester will be taught by a sociologist who will discuss the school and its place in the community. My half of the course will introduce the students to the various social agencies that schools count on for support in dealing with a variety fo studnts and their complicated lives. I will also be teaching the students effective ways to communicate with parents and the community to promote the concept that educating a child is best done when it’s a team effort that includes the parents, family, and community. (Hillary Clinton was absolutely right. It does take a village!)
At the moment I’m busy revising the syllabus for the communications course, and writing the ones for the other two. Fun! My mind is going in all sorts of directions – mostly involving making these three courses as relevant and practical as possible.
Sorry this blog is probably not particularly interesting to anyone not a teacher, but it’s where I am at the moment. BUT – I am also seriously excited about launching our television show on 31January. Hooray for us! What a great adventure to begin the new year! Jane, Ellen, Christina, Sheila – I can hardly wait for us to begin! Jamie — we love you!!!!