Life seems to be one long list of problems to solve. One after another, don't you think? During the school year, we teachers know this to be an understatement. But what about summer? I have found the problems don't stop; they just manifest themselves in different ways.
Most recently, as summer vacation fades away and I set up a new classroom in a new district, I want to start fresh and find a few new hooks for my students. In reading Dave Burgess's book Teach Like a Pirate last spring (totally worth it), I decided to tap into one of my personal passions when my content passion and professional passion tap out...if it comes to that. I play a bit of guitar in church, and I really like it, so I considered using my guitar in the classroom to catch the attention of those students, and maybe just to have a good time.
But there's a problem. I have only one guitar. And it would be such a hassle to bring it back and forth every week. In addition, I don't plan on investing a lot of money in new equipment.
To solve this problem,
I decided to invest in an inexpensive $50 ukelele, ordered off Amazon this last weekend. My aim is to keep my uke at school and reveal what I'm learning for my sixth graders to see. One thing I try to teach students is you have to practice in order to get better...at anything! I plan to make this point with my uke since I don't have the slightest idea how to play the ukelele compared to the guitar. Hopefully, I can learn a few easy chords and share my developing skill with my class as a demonstration of what can be done if you work at it. And I'll throw in some musical intelligence for the students with some well-designed curricular tunes. We'll see where we're at by the end of the year!
Earlier in July, my family took our one summer camping trip. We, of course, planned it later than we should have and had to explore a new place since everything we were familiar with was booked. We took a coastal trip north of San Francisco to Bodega Dunes in our "seasoned" travel trailer. Everything was going great. We had hot water (had to replace some parts beforehand), electricity (with a borrowed generator), and great water pressure. Things were looking up. We had our ducks in a row.
But we developed a problem. We spouted a leak (outdoor), and it significantly diminished the water pressure we used to do our dishes. It turned out that the outdoor shower faucet had broken; the threads of the joint were just mysteriously broken in half. I seriously had no clue how it happened since it had never used it before. It must've been the age of the brittle plastic parts, I guess.
To solve this problem,
I tried a whole lot of things. I was thankful for cell service and some YouTube videos that seemed meant just for me. Well, after trying one thing and failing, I tried another. When that failed, too, I had to get inventive. I put on MacGyver's thinking cap and decided I could simply plug the leak temporarily since we didn't need that outdoor faucet. I grabbed a few sticks of gum, chewed away, and shoved the chewed gum into the broken piece, plugging the water flow to the faucet. My boys and my wife were so proud of me. When I told them to try the water, it gushed out again. I took it apart and found a new tube to plug, chewed some more gum, shoved it in that hole, and chalked it up to trial and error.
It didn't work.
Oh well. That problem couldn't be solved conveniently. But I think that's a lesson to learn as well. Things don't always turn out, even with great effort, and how we handle ourselves in those situations matters. I am not a gifted handyman, but I can hold my own. When you need to buy a new part, you need to buy a new part. We arrived home, and now that I think of it, I should probably buy that new part...
At the beginning of summer, I set a goal for myself: Exercise and eat healthier to lose some of my school year weight. I like to work it off beginning in January (go figure), but that didn't go so well this last year. Besides it just being cold, there were way too many goodies on the staff room table, and I did not have much self-control. So when school was out, and after my binge of nachos for lunch every day, I decided to get serious.
But (yes, you guessed it) a problem came up. That nagging ACL injury I had about 10 years ago and the ensuing arthritis that has since kicked in post surgery was not cooperating with my newfound desire to get in shape.
To solve this problem,
I decided to create a workaround. I set my alarm to get up early and simply take a hike. I walked and walked and walked. Thankfully, my wife (who is also a teacher) began to cut carbs and finally convinced me to join her. So here I am, cutting carbs, counting calories, walking, and over the last week, I've even been able to build into jogging distance again. It looks like (fingers crossed) I will be able to meet my goal by the time school starts up again. Staying consistently disciplined has paid off, even through the pain of that sore knee.
Life is full of setbacks and issues to resolve. The important thing is to seek to find those resolutions.
Sometimes it's a matter of downgrading expectations like I plan to do with that ukelele. I think something pretty cool can occur with a shift in mindset.
Other times that resolution will not come until much later like with the part I still need to order for that broken faucet on our travel trailer. You make due without because that's just a fact of life.
And there are also times when we'll need an arduous commitment like the long and early every day walks I had to take as well as the cutting of serving sizes and types of foods I was eating.
I aim to bring these life lessons into my classroom, too, so when the hustle and bustle of school takes off, we've got the tools in our kit to do some problem-solving.
Most recently, as summer vacation fades away and I set up a new classroom in a new district, I want to start fresh and find a few new hooks for my students. In reading Dave Burgess's book Teach Like a Pirate last spring (totally worth it), I decided to tap into one of my personal passions when my content passion and professional passion tap out...if it comes to that. I play a bit of guitar in church, and I really like it, so I considered using my guitar in the classroom to catch the attention of those students, and maybe just to have a good time.
But there's a problem. I have only one guitar. And it would be such a hassle to bring it back and forth every week. In addition, I don't plan on investing a lot of money in new equipment.
To solve this problem,
I decided to invest in an inexpensive $50 ukelele, ordered off Amazon this last weekend. My aim is to keep my uke at school and reveal what I'm learning for my sixth graders to see. One thing I try to teach students is you have to practice in order to get better...at anything! I plan to make this point with my uke since I don't have the slightest idea how to play the ukelele compared to the guitar. Hopefully, I can learn a few easy chords and share my developing skill with my class as a demonstration of what can be done if you work at it. And I'll throw in some musical intelligence for the students with some well-designed curricular tunes. We'll see where we're at by the end of the year!
But we developed a problem. We spouted a leak (outdoor), and it significantly diminished the water pressure we used to do our dishes. It turned out that the outdoor shower faucet had broken; the threads of the joint were just mysteriously broken in half. I seriously had no clue how it happened since it had never used it before. It must've been the age of the brittle plastic parts, I guess.
To solve this problem,
I tried a whole lot of things. I was thankful for cell service and some YouTube videos that seemed meant just for me. Well, after trying one thing and failing, I tried another. When that failed, too, I had to get inventive. I put on MacGyver's thinking cap and decided I could simply plug the leak temporarily since we didn't need that outdoor faucet. I grabbed a few sticks of gum, chewed away, and shoved the chewed gum into the broken piece, plugging the water flow to the faucet. My boys and my wife were so proud of me. When I told them to try the water, it gushed out again. I took it apart and found a new tube to plug, chewed some more gum, shoved it in that hole, and chalked it up to trial and error.
Oh well. That problem couldn't be solved conveniently. But I think that's a lesson to learn as well. Things don't always turn out, even with great effort, and how we handle ourselves in those situations matters. I am not a gifted handyman, but I can hold my own. When you need to buy a new part, you need to buy a new part. We arrived home, and now that I think of it, I should probably buy that new part...
At the beginning of summer, I set a goal for myself: Exercise and eat healthier to lose some of my school year weight. I like to work it off beginning in January (go figure), but that didn't go so well this last year. Besides it just being cold, there were way too many goodies on the staff room table, and I did not have much self-control. So when school was out, and after my binge of nachos for lunch every day, I decided to get serious.
But (yes, you guessed it) a problem came up. That nagging ACL injury I had about 10 years ago and the ensuing arthritis that has since kicked in post surgery was not cooperating with my newfound desire to get in shape.
To solve this problem,
I decided to create a workaround. I set my alarm to get up early and simply take a hike. I walked and walked and walked. Thankfully, my wife (who is also a teacher) began to cut carbs and finally convinced me to join her. So here I am, cutting carbs, counting calories, walking, and over the last week, I've even been able to build into jogging distance again. It looks like (fingers crossed) I will be able to meet my goal by the time school starts up again. Staying consistently disciplined has paid off, even through the pain of that sore knee.
Sometimes it's a matter of downgrading expectations like I plan to do with that ukelele. I think something pretty cool can occur with a shift in mindset.
Other times that resolution will not come until much later like with the part I still need to order for that broken faucet on our travel trailer. You make due without because that's just a fact of life.
And there are also times when we'll need an arduous commitment like the long and early every day walks I had to take as well as the cutting of serving sizes and types of foods I was eating.
I aim to bring these life lessons into my classroom, too, so when the hustle and bustle of school takes off, we've got the tools in our kit to do some problem-solving.
Comments
Post a Comment