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A New Dell!
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10 thoughts on “A New Dell!”
Rather than a new Dell, a new, sheltered dell for lambies to feed on healthy grass not destroyed or stunted by the acid rain now coming down. In other words, a new day. So let’s get going, shepherds!
We also have a few more weeks before we finish off the year here in NY. I am still trying to keep the momentum going, but it is getting harder and harder to do. Lately, I am just getting a lot of bored looks and very little active, constructive participation from the kids. Maybe it’s the heat but I am worried that it is not. I believe so strongly in CI and 100% TL in the classroom that I don’t want to be deterred by the lack of enthusiasm from my students.
So, reading that you are already thinking about the new school year and how we are all going to try to work together to make things better than they already are, gives me new-found energy to continue doing what has worked well for the past couple of months.
As far as the blog posts are concerned, I enjoy them all! Long, short, frequent, infrequent – just keep them coming.
Thanks!
And Brigitte – AI-MI-KO – don’t forget that thread from about a month ago. First, in about late March, Anne Matava said here that she wasn’t going to shovel any more shit against the tide. She meant CI in the form of stories and trust me I’ve seen it and it’s far from shit – it’s high octane no English jet fuel quality CI in German – but at a certain point it in the year it just becomes too much. And then on my part, when I was standing on the beach in April and seeing the big brownish breakers coming in on me, I tried those two ideas of a) reading to them and b) requiring them to do dication to get them quiet and focused and it really worked. So I let the stories go. But I found that it wasn’t the activity that counted, it was how I did the activity. So below are three links from April and May to how those activities worked for me with the details explained.
The link to the reading is:
https://benslavic.com/blog/2011/05/18/classroom-discipline-4/
The links to dictation are:
https://benslavic.com/blog/2011/04/28/chunk-dictation-1-again/
https://benslavic.com/blog/2011/04/28/chunk-dictation-2-again/
Certainly no blame on our students for sitting through seven classes a day for an entire year, right? I was reminded of the term fanny fatigue at an assessment meeting today – at about 2:00 p.m. I just had to get up and walk slowly down the hallway, something I had resented my own kids doing in my afternoon classes. Bless each one of their hearts.
Yeah, that’s the ticket!!! Thanks for the reminder.
And, at the risk of sounding dense, what’s “AI-MI-KO”? At first, I thought it must be some kind of Sauk motivational chant, but then I came up empty when combing through your respective blog entry. Like I said, it’s hot here.
This word is from Sauk language and was used by Mosiah Bluecloud:
“AI-MI-KO” = A Kickapoo Phrase used to gently correct someone without implying any sort of disrespect.
My Cousin: I heard you’re leaving tomorrow.
Myself: AI-MI-KO, I’m leaving the day after tomorrow.
“AI-MI-KO” There is so much meaning in this phrase. The definition provided does no justice, but it will have to do.
[ed. note: so Brigitte I was gently reminding you that you don’t have to plow to the end of the year with stories]
Here is the rest of this beautiful comment by Mosiah in case you want to reread it:
I’ve been told before that sometimes I’ve a certain “Tone” when I speak. My non-native friends have dubbed it “The Indin Tone” They describe it as peaceful and soothing. Apparently my mother and father have it. I wouldn’t be surprised if my whole family on both sides have it.
This “Indin tone” does not come from some kind of physical abnormality though. At least I hope not. I believe It comes from a way of life that we choose to live. I could write a whole book on it, but I know we all got lives to live and I should make this comment short an to the point.
In a nutshell, the way I was taught to behave towards others is making its way into my teaching. It makes each individual person feel different feelings but each feeling I believe to be positive. I understand that each student has a mother and father and grandparent or SOMEBODY out there that loves and cares for them. I teach them as though the one that loves and cares for them is watching me teach them. Also I teach them as I would want somebody to teach ME. I teach them as I would want somebody to teach MY future children. I teach them as I wish somebody could have taught my Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather. I imagine my mother who I love and respect very much sitting and being taught. I teach how I would want somebody to teach her. With respect, Kindness, and love.
Mr. Slavic, you felt what it feels like to be taught in this fashion. I know what i’m writing looks like a bunch of hippie talk but i’m not afraid to write it because I know you know, And I see that there are others that are interested. There is no secret. There is nothing special. Its all just putting your mind in a different place; in a place where you see more than just the students, but also the people that love those students.
At the conference in Durant a Miamia man stated that classrooms are the most unnatural places to learn. As a Kickapoo, I’ve always been told that the most important knowledge is passed on at home. We Kickapoos do not have a language department because Kickapoos believe that language should be acquired at home. However, I honestly believe that through my teaching, I bring a little of the home back into the classroom environment.
Mr. Slavic, you talked about there being a feeling of love coming from the instruction we demonstrated. That maybe its because of the history of the language; something tied into the language, something you couldnt quite find the words for. Yes, you are totally correct. Language and CULTURE are one and the same to us native peoples. This is what makes language our “all encompassing fire” as Josh so powerfully put it. I teach not only my language but my culture too, because we cannot have one without the other. Its impossible. The culture is embedded in the PHONEMES, MORPHEMES at a cellular level….and now i’m rambling. ok.
I hope that those of you reading this will take something from it. I’m doing my best to put in words a way of thinking that has been passed down through the generations for what I believe to be the beginning of time. I know i’m doing it no justice here but I’m hoping a seed will be planted that will grow into something amazing for you.
The entire thread is here:
https://benslavic.com/blog/2011/05/22/sauk-language-revitalization-2/comment-page-1/#comments
Hang in there Brigitte! I’m also still in the saddle through next week, so keep at it. At this point I’m going heavy on introducing them to new German music that is currently on the charts in Germany and reading a novel project we had been writing for the past two weeks (they can still read about themselves all day long).
We’re on the short end of the stick now, but when school starts back up I like to read how everybody else on the blog started off the year, letting me pick and choose between options rather than try and be original myself. Think of the next couple of weeks as an investment (and then go stir crazy). Good luck!
We’re ending this week. I’ve been showing “Extra” (a fun sit-com produced for language learners, it’s available in English, Spanish, French and ?German? Find it on Discovery or Youtube.) It’s very satisfying to hear the kids laugh at the right moments. I stop it every few minutes and ask questions. They love it. Best wishes to all for a great summer
Ben in northern California, where it’s raining all week! It’s crazy weather around here.
Yes, German too. I’m out of the classroom tomorrow for a district meeting (“Strategy Showcase”), and some of my classes will be watching an episode and then drawing pictures to show comprehension. Other classes will be reading. In both cases I still manage to get Comprehensible Input even if the substitute knows no German whatsoever.
The longer I teach the more unwilling I am to be out of my classroom. The thought of being out of class this late in the year leaves me cold.
Like I said Robert – you’re an animal.
Ben put that Mt. Evans climb on hold (knee problems). Maybe next summer. Unless I can get back on the roads real soon, that mountain will be too high for me.
Where were you all last week when I was ready to take the gas pipe???!!! Exams on June 9. Already planning next year. The story fatigue was really onerous at the end of the year. Thanks for the reminders. I could have left at noon, but I really am sitting here at school planning for September. It’s Friday for gosh sakes1 You all are the best. BTW, Ben, I thought you were offline due to “semi” retirement celebrations. Sorry it was only a computer!