Process and Product

Teacher Musings:
The tension between process and product is old one. Every teacher I know has grappled with the question of how much credit to give students for their learning process and how much credit to give for the final product. In math class it may be a question of showing work and homework completion (process) and the right answer on the test (product). When it comes to English class writing this is often an issue of pre-writing and drafts where ideas are revised and edited (process) and then the thoughtfulness, completeness and coherence of the final product (product). Sometimes the tension between these two aspects of learning is rooted in grading - how much is process worth and how much is product worth? Sometimes the tension between these two manifests itself through a student's growth. By learning and engaging with the process a student might improve their writing or their basic math skills, but if a student starts below grade level, their product might only be a little less below grade level, even if they did improve.

These are all issues I have been grappling with for a while, and I am still figuring them out. However, as I teach a real writing class for the first time, I am also finding a bit of tension between these two when the process in some ways IS the product. After being frustrated with how my students' final drafts of papers were disorganized, under-developed and hard to understand, the other writing teachers and I focused one whole unit on developing ideas and getting students to REALLY revise multiple drafts of a paper (and NOT just simply re-write their first draft neatly for the final). And, in many ways, it worked. My students all produced at least two drafts, and most of them produced three. And each draft was better than the last. I watched students actually respond to my comments on their drafts, and then build on those ideas. I sat down with five students and they read their papers out loud to me and fixed their OWN spelling and grammar mistakes. On their reflections my students almost all said that they learned that revising meant adding more examples and ideas and re-organizing their paragraphs and that revising was NOT just re-writing neatly.

However, while all of the papers I read showed a significant amount of improvement from their initial start, only a few of them would be what I think a 9th grader should be able to produce. It is hard, because I don't really have a lot of examples to go from. Standardized tests are the main examples of "grade level" work I have access to, and to see what I think of those, check out my last post. Many of my students struggle with sentence structure, vocabulary, grammar and spelling. However, I have seen a lot of improvement both in this paper and the last six months in these students' writing, due in large part to their amazing ESL teachers. Also, in this last writing assignment my students really developed their ideas more. The result was not total brilliance or even complete coherence, but it was significantly better their their previous writing, especially since I really pushed them to add detail on their own and not just wait for me to tell them which three sentences to add. So, in the end, I have evidence that my students learned a lot about how to improve their writing through a process, even though the product is not really anywhere close to where I think my students need to be.

The tension between process and product is a hard one for many reasons, but one of the main reasons I struggle with it is that I (and my students) are really judged but our products. Ideally, the process should improve the products, and, as my current papers show, it does. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that if the process is followed thoughtfully and effectiveness that the products will automatically be correct, ideal or even "good enough." When I think about what I learned in high school, I realize that what I really learned and developed was my process. I learned to write multiple drafts and to get my ideas out first, and then develop and refine them. I learned to try all the problems in math and to figure out why I did them wrong so that I could get them right later. I learned to read and re-read when I didn't understand something in a way that allowed me to "get it" later on. In many ways, what I needed in high school was help and guidance through the process of learning, along with some basic skills and knowledge along the way. In college I desperately needed to process to gain the knowledge my professors had to pass on. I know my high school experiance is and always will be different from my own students' experiences for a number of reasons. But this last unit really showed me that process has value. I believe that because we did this unit and will continue with some of these practices, my students' writing products will continue to improve, and maybe even be brilliant, but only because we focused on and valued the process in and of itself for a while.

Yummy Stuff:
I think one of the reasons I love cooking is because it is a process that you can improve over time. I have really enjoyed learning how to mix flavors, make substitutions and even create my own recipes all from following other recipes and learning what works. And of course, the result is a wonderful product - yummy vegan food! Here is a recipe from Easy Beans by Trish Ross that the G-man and I have messed with over time both veganize it and to boost some of our favorite flavors:

Snow Chili

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 TB olive oil
1 8oz block of tempeh, cubed (and steamed if you worry about a bitter tempeh flavor - we don't!)
3 cups of Vegetable Stock
3 cans (or 4 1/2 cups) of cooked white beans
2 tsp of chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 TB of dried basil
1 avocado (optional)

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, saute onions and garlic in oil over medium heat until tender but not brown (about 5 min)
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Feel free to add more stock if the chili starts to look dry
3. Serve it in bowls topped with sliced avocado. This is also good with corn chips!

No More Playing School

Teacher Musings:
It's that time of of year again. Standardized tests are around the corner (at least for Language Arts) we're back from the holiday break and I'm starting to hear "don't we do anything FUN in here? Why do we have to WRITE so much" in my class entitled "Writing Workshop." At least on Thursday when this was uttered for what feels like the umpteenth time the student caught herself and, before I could say a word, said "I know, I know. It's called WRITING class."

I do push ahead with a smile on my face, and I do tell my students over an over again how the work they are doing will a) develop their thinking b) help them succeed in their future high school classes c) help them pass the standardized graduation test (my least favorite response) and d) help them be successful in college. And sometimes I honestly mean this. Sometimes the assignment I'm really giving them, or the text they are reading and analyzing, is going to help them directly with one of these goals (that they student may or may not buy into). Even better, sometimes the thing they are doing really will push their thinking and get them to have one of those precious and vital "aha" moments.

But here is the dirty secret - sometimes we are just playing school. Sometimes we are doing an assignment that I am compromising on so that I "look" like I'm doing productive test prep when I know it won't make a damn bit of difference for the kids who need it the most. Sometimes I'm scaffolding an assignment in a way I know won't get them to think because we don't have the time (or the stamina) to discover how to really organize writing - all we have time for is for them to write things in boxes. Sometimes I'm giving them homework because, gee, everyone else gave homework and I don't want to be perceived as the "easy" teacher.

With all the insanity swirling around education - heck, our country - right now, I'm at a decision point: do I stick with teaching and education as my field or do I jump ship, because there is no sense in hanging on for the next 3-5 years (where standardized tests, class sizes and outside responsibilities are going to skyrocket, and my pay will probably stagnate or decrease if I don't add enough "value" to my students' test scores) if I'm not in it for the long haul. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and I really think I'm in it for the long haul. I will weather the coming storm and hope to make it out on the other side. But I'm done playing school. I'm done doing things for show in my class, and I'm done putting my kids in a box. My students (and every other kid in our school system, black, white, rich, poor and everything in-between) needs choice, empowerment, opportunities and reasons for deep thinking and space to develop and change his or her ideas. I know this is right, I've seen it work, there are studies that support these ideas, yet I still have been scared to speak up and do this. No more. The gloves are off - if it's not encouraging their thinking, I'm not doing it.

Now, let's see what the heck happens on Monday.

Yummy Stuff:
I've been thinking a lot lately about "30 minute meals." I'm a big fan of 30-minute meals and always have been. A lot of my cookbooks have recipies that are labeled as "quick" or "30 min or less" and Vegetarian Times (one of my favorite magazines) always has a 30 minutes or less section. But nothing, NOTHING, irritates me more than the recipes that say "30 minutes or less" and then list all the ingredients as "1 cup diced onion" and don't account for the time it took to chop the dang onion. Now, some of them call for pre-chopped food from the store, which is great if you have a big enough food budget for those luxury items. However, we do not. So, I've been trying to think about what actual 30-minute vegan recipies look like in my house. I've decided they come in two categories - recipes that take 15-30 minutes to prep but then more time to cook (without much attention) and recipies that are actually ready, from start to finish (a la Rachel Ray) in 30 minutes. I'm going to start timing myself when I cook meals so that I can see how long these things actually take me, and I'll share some actual 30 minute recipes soon. However, in the meantime, her are some tricks that the G-man and I use to make cooking a bit faster, especially on weeknights:

Dinner in Minutes tips:
1) Plan a menu. I know many people do this - we make a list of meals on the weekend, and then get the groceries for those meals usually Monday or Tuesday (since the G-man can go to the store during the day. We used to do this all on the weekend). This helps us stay focused, and we rarely have the "what the heck do we have to eat" problem, so we don't waste valuable time staring at the fridge in search of inspiration.

2) Chop veggies ahead of time. Easier said then done, I know. I always aspire to do this on the weekend, but rarely do. However, when I am making soup on Monday and it calls for diced onion (as do the majority of things we make) I chop up three onions and then stick the rest in the fridge. This helps a lot.

3) Cook, prep and clean simultaneously. This is a big difference between me and the G-man, although he has started to see the light since he has been the primary cook in the last few months. I usually am prepping vegetables, tofu, tempeh and/or spices, etc. while the first part of a meal starts cooking. 90% of what we make starts with onions sauteeing in olive oil - so I get that going first and then do a bunch of other stuff while the onions are cooking. Sometimes the onions don't get stirred as much as they should, but I've found that, so long as they don't burn, it's not that big a deal. Also, I make a MESS when I cook - but most of the things I cook have to sit and simmer or bake for at least 10 minutes when they are all put together - which is usually just enough time to load the dishwasher, get pots soaking and throw away the peels, stems, wrappers and other trash.

4) Forget the measuring. This is another one that the G-man might yell at me for, but I rarely measure spices. A while ago I used measuring spoons to measure out a tablespoon, teaspoon and 1/2 teaspoon in my hand so that I would know what it "looked like." So, when I am making things now I usually just use my hand and eyes to "measure" spices and herbs, which saves a little time and a number of dishes (since those little spoons can add up). I should note that I DO NOT do this for baking. It's easy to fudge a bit with cumin or basil and not ruin your meal. The same cannot be said of baking soda.

On the right path

Teacher Musings:
About a week ago I was all geared up to write a post about how frustrated I am with how standardized testing is affecting my students. I actually don't have that many problems with the test itself, but I am super frustrated by the way the "low scores" at my school (just below 85% proficiency in a class of about 100 students) have had a negative impact on what and how I teach my students. With that said I'm trying to have a more positive outlook, so I'm going to post about a recent success instead, since writing about the above topic will only make me cranky.

This school year I have been focusing on moving my students towards exhibiting more thoughful reasoning and more analytical writing. Recently I chose to have my students write two analytical paragraphs about a passage in "A Lesson Before Dying" rather than writing a "whole" essay. Please keep in mind that their two paragraphs took up about 2 pages (typed, double-spaced) and this saved a lot of time and energy on both my part in theirs where we didn't have to worry about a "hook" or other such things for a introduction, which I have found students getting caught up at the expense of their actual analysis of the literature. Students had to analyze either the tone or the character development in their passage and then explain what they thought the author was showing us about racist labels or the dealth penatly through this tone or character development. I did a lot of little things along the way that mattered (as any teacher would know, the little tools, sentence starters, and timing make a huge difference) but I wanted to share a few of the things I did that led to some of the most thoughtful analysis I have seen in a long time. For example, one student wrote "In this passage Gaines creates a tone of resignation" as her claim. Another student, an ELL student who struggles to get words on a page sometimes, wrote "Gaines gives short sentences like "death by electrocution" and that's it. He doesn't say "I feel bad" or "I will try and help you." This shows that Jefferson life transformed into sadness." While this is not the most sophisticated use of language, I am excited that it shows how my students are thinking about how an author uses language and sentence structure to send a message, and that word choice, sentence structure, etc. are deliberate choices an author makes. It is still not where I want it to be, and it is not the great writing I know my students are capable of, but I am still excited becuase I think it is a step in the right direction. So, here are some of the key choices I made that I think really helped push my students to some deeper thinking:

• As we have been reading students have been pulling out interesting passages of THEIR choice and writing about them. I had them chose one of these passages to write about.
• I gave students sentence starters to get their "claim" or "paragraph theses" written.
• I gave students list of tone words, and we did an activity where students created a continuum for tone words.
• I offered graphic organizers of various sorts, but did not force any students to use them
• I wrote a model paper of my own and shared it with students - we analyzed it as class
• I told students they needed to have twice as much "analysis" as "evidence"
• I gave them two whole class periods just to write. We were in the computer lab, which I think helped focus some of them, but just having the time to write and conference was HUGE!

Sometimes when I talk to colleagues they are aghast at how little my students seem to write. True, my students don't generally write 5-7 page papers in my class (at least not yet) and this is a problem. But I have my students write and revise a 1-2 page paper every 1-2 weeks, and, while this literary analysis assignment I've discussed might seem small (2 paragraphs - really!) it was thought-provoking for both me and them. This was the first time I have assigned anything resembling true literary analysis and NOT received 2 page long summarizes of a book, or random quotes sprinkled here and there with no real point. Like I said before, it is not where I want to be, but I finally feel like I just moved onto a clear path after a very long walk in a confusing forest.

Yummy Stuff:
Every Christmas growing up we had my grandparents and aunt and uncle over to my house and feasted on cold cuts, gnocchi, stuffed peppers, tyropitas and desserts galore. I still remember the first Christmas when I went to my husband's house and they had turkey, or when I heard that other people had ham - I was so confused!! Chirstmas was time for an Italian feast, as far as I was concerned! Well, times have changed in many ways - now we are vegans on the East Coast, and my parents and sister fly out to our house to spend Christmas with us and our new little guy. Ever since we have been out here I have tried to veganize my favorite Christmas dishes with some success. My Grandmother's tyropitas were always some of my favorites - a savory cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg filling in a wonderful crispy phyllo pocket. The first year I veganized this it was super bland, but (much like my work with my students) trial and error has led to some success. This year my vegan tyropitas were a success, and I'm thinking that it might almost be time to make them for grandmother next time we are out to visit them. Although nothing can measure up to Grandma's cooking!

Vegan Tyropitas:
Ingredients:
1 lb (14-16 oz) of firm, regular tofu
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp of agave
1 tsp dried basil
8 oz container of vegan cream cheese (I use Tofutti brand)
2 TB of nutritional yeast
salt to taste
1 package of phyllo dough
1 cup of vegan butter (I love Earth Balance!) melted

Directions:
1. First you are going to need to make the tofu ricotta (adapted from the Uncheese cookbook). I suggest doing this a day or so in advance. Break the tofu in to large chunks. Then, place them in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Then, drain well. (This is also a good time to thaw the phyllo dough, or put it in the fridge to thaw overnight).
2. Chill uncovered in the refrigerator until cool enough to handle. Crumble and place in a bowl with remaining ingredients. Mash or blend the mixture until it has a fine, grainy texture (similar to ricotta cheese) Cover and chill several hours or overnight (will keep in fridge - covered! for about 5 days)
3. In a medium bowl use a fork to thoroughly mix the tofu "ricotta" and cream cheese. The final mixture should be goopy without huge chunks. Then, completely mix in the nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt.
4. Unwrap the phyllo dough and unroll it on a sheet of foil. Cut the dough in half width-wise. Then, pull off one of these half sheets and set it on the counter. Cover the rest of the phyllo with another sheet of foil, and top that with a very damp (but not dripping) dishtowel. This will help keep the phyllo from drying out, but with out getting it sticky and wet. (Thanks for the trick Grandma!)
5. Put the half-sheet in front of you so that it is long-ways going up and down. Then, put 1 TB of filling about one inch up from the bottom of the sheet , right in the middle. Brush butter all along the edges of the dough.
6. Fold the bottom of the dough over the filling and brush the whole fold with butter
7. Fold the left side of the dough over the filling square (like you are folding a shirt) and brush with butter. Your dough should now be 1/3 as wide as it was.
8. Fold the right side over the filling and brush with butter. You should now have the dough folded in 1/3s and it should be 1/3 as wide as it was originally
9. Fold the bottom part into a triangle and brush with butter - then fold it up brush with butter. Continue until you end up with a triangle. (This part is like folding a flag). Brush the entire triangle with butter and put in baking sheet.
10. Take off the next 1/2 sheet of phyllo and continue.
11. These triangles can be frozen, or you can cook them right away. Either way, bake them in 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes (fresh ones sometimes take 20 minutes). They should be a bit browned and crispy on top when they are done - and yes your pan will be full of melted butter.

I know this sounds complicated with the phyllo folding, but trust me, it's worth trying! My directions might weird, but try a few and I bet you'll figure it out!

Dear people who are supposed to help me teach

Teacher musings:

Dear Adminstrator, Instructional Coach, Literacy Coach and Data Support Folks,
I apologize for not bringing this up sooner, but it is difficult when many of our conversations and interactions take place during small and irregular bits of time during the school day. I know how hard that is for you, especially when we need to talk about something complex. I remember this being one of the most frustrating parts of my coaching experiance (and it is still one of the most frustrating parts of teaching). The reality is there just isn't enough time in the day. With that being said, I would like to take this time to ask you to do a few things for me. I hope my candidness does not bother you, but I think that these ideas might really help support our relationship.

1. Before you suggest a change in my instruction, please ask me both what I do and how I do it. As you probably know, sometimes educators call the same instructional strategies different names. This might cause you to assume I don't do something like "tickets to leave" because I call them "reflection questions." This type of confusion is usually cleared up when you start by asking me what my goals and objectives are for student learning, why I have these goals and objectives and what systems, structures, instructional strategies and assessments I plan to use to teach my students. Once you understand my purposes and methods and why I chose to use them you will probably be able to make really thoughtful and informed suggestions, or maybe even provide some reading I could do that would help improve my teaching, and therefore my student's learning. I know this is really, really hard to do with the little time we have available to interact, especially when you feel a lot of pressure to quickly impart your knowledge and wisdom in this short period of time. However, it might make our interactions most efficient in the long run if you spend some time really asking me thoughtful questions and listening to me first, so that you know what my needs are (much as I have my students answer surveys and take diagnostic assessments at the start of the year).

2. Please assume that I have thoughtful and logical reasons for teaching both what I teach and how I teach it. Please also assume that I am working hard to be the best teacher I can be. Trust me - I know that not every teacher you work with has thought this out as much as you would like, and maybe I am one of them. I still remember being surprised as a literacy coach when teachers told me they did an activity in class because "it looked fun" or "well, I already had the copies." But, the reality is, everyone has a reason why they do the things they do, and if you are willing to assume that I have my reasons that would be helpful. If you start by assuming the best, we will have a far more positive interaction and you will have far more opportunities to help me grow as a teacher. Remember, teaching is hard and I am probably working my buns off. The more you respect that, both in terms of what you say and how you use our time together, the better our relationship is going to be.

3. Respect my time and day structure. I know you've been there before. Between classes I usually have to put away my projector, get a new set of materials together, talk to a student about late work and get to my next class, which is two floors away. I have two minutes to do this, and if I have to go to the bathroom, that is a whole other issue. So, I know that you might think we can walk and talk, and we might be able to if your questions or comments require only simple responses. However, if you are asking questions or making suggestions that require more thought and time (such as, "how are you teaching vocabulary" or "are you doing any preparation for the PSAT?") I won't be able to give you the thoughtful response you need because of all the other things I have to do. And then I will probably sound incompetent, when the real issue is that I'm rushed. Which will only make me more annoyed . . . you get the idea.

I know I'm not always the easiest person to work with. I tend to cut people off when I think I know what they are going to say, and I have become more and more cynical over the years about help from people who haven't taught in the last few years. So, I pledge to try and follow my own advice. I will try and assume the best about your intentions and methods, and I will try and assume you have experiance and reasons for making the suggestions you make. Hopefully this, coupled with your attempts to follow my requests will make our relationship far more effective for you, me and, most importantly, my students.
Sincerely,
Ms. L-P

Yummy Stuff:
I have spent the last couple years learning to love greens. Now I am always excited about kale chips when the G-man makes them (he is way more exact and is better at spreading them out on the pan so they come out nice and crispy!). Our favorite pizza is caramelized onion and swiss chard on a cornmeal crust. And we almost always throw kale and collard greens in our soups and stews. But, I have never really liked just steamed kale - until last night. Because of poor baby timing we steamed the kale for the usual 20 minutes, and then we had to turn the burner off and let it sit for a while. I was afraid it was going to be way too overcooked, but it was fantastic - it was kind of sweet and didn't even need to be dressed up with gomasio like usual. So, here is our new and improved steamed kale recipe.

Ingredients: A bunch of kale

Directions:
1) tear off the kale leaves from the tough stems and tear them off into about palm sized pieces.
2) Put the leaves in a bowl and fill it with water. Swish the leaves around and then drain. Do this again - and a third time if you want.
3) Put about two inches of water in a pot and then put in a steamer basket. Pack the kale in and cover the pot.
4) Put the pot on the stove and heat on med-high for about 5-7 minutes. Uncover to see if there is some steam. When you see steam turn the burner down to low for 15 - 20 minutes.
5) Turn the burner off, lift off the lid and move the kale around so that the leaves on the bottom move to the top. Let the kale sit for 10 minutes, or until you are ready to eat!

The Ups and Downs

Teacher Musings:
I've always said teaching, as a job, brings with it the highest highs and the lowest lows. The last two weeks are a case in point. Last week my students started reading A Lesson Before Dying and also wrote draft responses to an essay question about racist labeling. While I have ideas about how to adjust the roll-out of the novel and writing assignment next year, I was pretty pleased with their responses. Most students were using reading strategies we have discussed in class, and were asking thoughtful and authentic questions about the novel (rather than just simply saying "I don't get it"). Their writing is interesting, and their use of evidence and reasoning is much improved from their previous first drafts of other assignments this year. I believe that this is partly due to the improvements I made to my weekly writing assignments, which is exciting. So, last week I was feeling pretty good about things, and I was even thinking about blogging more about the successes I am seeing in regards to my students writing.

Then Monday hit - and I mean HIT. My first period was asleep, my third period spent most of the period talking about baby mama drama, my fourth period almost resulted in a book burning and my last period . . . well, I can't even write about that without using really inappropriate language. To top it off I was being observed in two of these classes. Now, I know part of this was my fault. My lesson plans weren't as tight as normal because of the short week, and I was exhausted myself and just focusing on make it though the two-and-a-half days. But still . . .

I guess it was a reminder. Just because you think you have your act together a little doesn't mean you can be lulled into a false sense of security. It was also a reminder that, as much as a I can control my classroom (or not, as Monday and Tuesday demonstrated) I can't control the rest of my student's day, which was likely filled with similarly crazy classes, a few movies and all the excitement and anxiety that comes with the holiday week. So, lesson learned. Next year I will either have a really tight and solid lesson plan or a movie. Now its just back to hoping that next week comes together a bit better.

Yummy Stuff:
Thanksgiving dinner is always fun for me, although it is just me, my husband, and now our 8 month old. This year we had Butternut Squash Timbales (Vegan Table), Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Caramelized Onion and Garlic Mashed Potatoes. This was all followed by the AMAZING Pumpkin Cheesecake from Sinfully Vegan. Probably my favorite for our savory dishes was the Roasted Brussels - of course, these are one of my favorite goodies any day of the year! However, with the caramelized onions they were spectacular - thanks for the inspiration Colleen Patrick-Goudrou (author of Vegan Table!)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Caramelized Onion
Ingredients:
1 lb Brussels sprouts
3 medium onions
about 1/4 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions:
1) Pre-heat the oven to 425
2) Prepare the Brussels Sprouts by cutting off the knobs/stems at the bottom and then slicing them in half length-wise. Wash them thoroughly and then pat-dry them with a towel
3) Toss the sprouts in a bowl with 2 TB of olive oil and about 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. Then, spread them out on a greased cookie sheet
4) Put the sprouts in the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, flipping once.
5) Meanwhile, cut the onions in half and then thinly slice them.
6) Pour the rest of the oil in a saucepan on the stove and heat it on medium. Put the onions in and stir them around to separate the slices. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until caramelized.
7) When the sprouts are done, turn the oven to warm (about 170) and when the onions are done, mix them in with the sprouts. Add more salt and pepper to taste, and keep them warm until ready to serve!

Interesting Writing? I never even thought of that!

Teacher Musings:
One of my colleagues has talked a lot about how we can get students to write more "interesting" things. This all stems from the constant debate/discussion (one that is common among many educators) about how teach writing. Is the five-paragraph essay really useful? Should a thesis be stated clearly, or can it be implied? These are some of the questions I (and many others) ponder when we think about how to teach writing. Both I and my aforementioned colleague agree that the five-paragraph essay model is not used anywhere outside of K-12 school (that we can find) and he has really help me re-think this notion that somehow this "standard" essay form is a necessary stepping stone to more complex writing. I am still sorting out what "writing well" can and should look like for high school students, but I am finding it intriguing that my colleague has repeated over and over that he wants their writing to be "interesting." When he first said this I simply nodded my head - I mean, who would argue against interesting writing? Then he described the angst he feels when reading what is too often lousy, unoriginal writing over and over and over again in the never-ending grading that often consumes an English teacher's life. I have had the same problem and I have tried to find various ways of stream-lining this process, which often includes really detailed rubrics, (almost annoyingly so), comment codes, check-lists and so on. But this idea that I could even expect my students' essay writing to be interesting to me as an adult reader - well that was a new concept. That seemed to be aiming so high that I had never even considered it.

Fast-forward to finals last week. I had a ridiculous amount of grading to do, and it took me forever. One of the reasons it took me so long was that I spent more time reading student papers than I have in years - because they were freakin' interesting. I have been teaching writing a bit differently this year, and I am able to build on some fantastic work that our 9th grade teachers did last year. This has resulted in student papers (both from my 9th and 10th graders) that were actually interesting to read because, occasionally, the students were surprising me, such as the one who pointed out that learning from someone else's experiences can actually be more powerful than learning from your own, or the student who argued that "success," as it is defined in our culture, is actually problematic. Now, there were many papers that were bland, and even the interesting ones needed stronger organization and sentence structure. BUT I didn't want to slam my head on the desk while I was reading them. Also, when I asked students to elaborate on certain points it wasn't because they hadn't written the requisite number of sentences - it was because I actually wanted them to elaborate on that point - as a reader. Don't get me wrong - some of them still bombed what I thought would be the easiest part of their final, and others are still taking their complete sentences and making them incomplete during editing, but these are problems I feel like I can fix eventually. Complete sentences: Direct instruction followed by weeks of practice. No paragraphs: go though practice identifying the start of new ideas in a model. Original, interesting thinking: priceless.

Yummy Stuff:
My writing class is going to be writing product reviews for our next project, and I am excited to write with them. They are going to start by analyzing the features of a product that matter to them, and explaining why, so I thought I would do that with a product that I use all the time: vegan cookbooks!! When I first became vegan I went to buy one and was overwhelmed. Over the years I have learned more about some authors and figured out a few tricks in my own cooking that have helped me be selective about which books I buy and which ones I just read for fun in the bookstore. So, when deciding which vegan cookbooks to buy, here are some of the features I find important:

Ease of recipes:
I'm all for a fancy feast now and again (and I don't mean cat food!) but when it comes to 99% of the cooking I do, its gotta be pretty simple. I can handle lots of chopping and long wait times for something to bake or simmer, but unless I can look at a recipe and really "get" what I will have to do based on a quick skim, I probably can't make it on a weekday. So, when I'm deciding to buy a cookbook I look at the recipes - if I don't have to look on you-tube to figure out how to follow the directions I'm probably ok. If I want to make a gourmet meal I'm probably going to look it up online anyway.

Simplicity of ingredients:
As mentioned above I (well, we since the G-man is now in often in charge) cook daily and I need recipes that can be both made easily and shopped for easily. We are lucky that we have a Whole Foods near us, as well as Wilson Farms (for produce) and Trader Joe's. However, we are also on a budget, so vegan cheese, vegan sausage and other extras are not usually on our menu, except as special treats. So, I look for cookbooks that feature lots of veggies and beans and grains in interesting combinations. I'm more willing to get a cookbook that also explains what unfamiliar things are (like when I first encountered quinoa, which has since become a staple in our house) especially if the book tells me I can get that item at a regular or natural foods store. When a cookbook mentions ingredients that are followed by a note mentioning that they can only be found at certain specialty stores that is a quick indicator that this may not be the most useful cookbook to me.

Organization:
I'm a busy girl, so I need a cookbook that is well-organized. A fairly detailed index is also a big plus. I want to be able to look in my fridge, see that I have a extra bunch of collard greens, and then be able to look in the index of my cookbooks under "c" to find ideas for how to cook these green leafies. I also want to be able look up types of recipes easily. This is one thing I love about Veganomicon - it has a one-pot meal section, a casserole section and a mix-n-match veggie and grain section - all very helpful when I need to figure out what to make for dinner and don't want to look through everything in a "main dish" section.

So, these are the features I'm looking for in a cookbook. I also enjoy cookbooks with lots of pictures and menu suggestions, but these are just sort of extras for me. I'm curious to know what others consider priorities when they are buy cookbooks, especially if you are vegetarian or vegan!

Teacher Magic

Teacher musings:
This week I had my writing students do a quick activity that was designed to help them see the different parts of their definition essays and figure out ways to re-organize these parts to better meet their writing purpose. I had then write down all the different parts of the paper on index cards. For example, one index card might say "I quoted the dictionary" and another one might say "I shared a short anecdote about my dad." Then, the put these index cards on their desk in the order they were currently in (in their first draft) and then they mixed them up. For some students this wasn't very exciting, and it was mostly an exercise in making sure to start a new paragraph when they, as writers, introduced a new idea. However, for some of my students it was really exciting, and several discovered a new way to organize their paper once they had this view of it. One student, in particular, moved her cards dubiously, looked over them and then shouted "Oh my God Ms. Levey! This totally worked! It's like magic!" That brought a big smile to my face. In some ways it is like magic when you get a new view or a new way of looking at something, and suddenly everything seems to click. I feel the same way when I am hit with inspiration in the shower, or when I read something for the third time in five years, but suddenly I get it. Now, this same student turned in a paper that is, at best, mediocre, and I certainly haven't revolutionized the teaching of writing - this index card thing is a common strategy. However, it was an exciting moment because the student was seeing things in a new way, and seeing a larger purpose in their writing. In some ways, as focused as I am on basic skills, this moment is really what I think teaching is all about.

Yummy Stuff:
Sometimes the most basic stuff makes the best food - almost as if by magic! Case in point - pesto. Now, my Italian grandmother finds it sacrilegious that we make pesto without cheese. However, we enjoy it quite a bit, and when you make pesto from basil grown in your backyard - well, that just can't be beat!

Pesto (vegan and pine nut free for the G-man! - adapted from "Vegan Plant" by Robin Robertson)
Ingredients:
3 peeled garlic cloves
1/3 cup almonds (or pine nuts if you are not allergic like the G-man)
2 cups of loosely packed basil leaves, washed and dried
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Finely grind the garlic and almonds in the food processor.
2. Add the basil and process until minced. This may take a few batches depending on whether or not you have a small food processor like us.
3. With the machine running, pour in the olive oil slowly until the pesto turns into a paste.

Depending on how you are using it, you may add more oil when you heat up the pesto for pasta, or before you spread it on a pizza. This can be frozen well - we usually make a big batch at the end of summer that lasts us through the winter.