Rejuvenation Friday: Joke of the Day!

Greetings Reader on the Other Side of the Screen,

I hope you are having a great April Fools Day and have shared many laughs. I wanted to share a classroom practice that often brought rejuvenation each class period when I was teaching junior high English.

On one corner of the whiteboard I always posted a joke (or a pun) of the day. It was fun to watch the students come in, anticipating what the new joke would be--and the subsequent groans or laughter that would follow.

Not every period would begin with laughter, but starting the period off with a laugh usually set a good mood.

My sources for jokes included a few good-old fashioned joke books (my favorite being Get Thee to a Punnery: An Anthology of Intentional Assaults Upon the English Language by Richard Lederer). Some of the jokes were too long to write on the board, so I would simply write, "ask me" on the board. The students would ask at the beginning of the period and we would start with a shared joke.

I also found a few websites for jokes. A good source is Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion website.

Here are a few jokes/puns to get you started:

What did the tie say to the hat at the beginning of the race?
You go on ahead, I'll hang around.

Two silk worms were in a race. They ended in a tie.


Happy joke-telling!

Erika, Me on the Other Side of the Screen

Rejuvenation Friday: Stars

"Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground."
-Theodore Roosevelt


"I am going to notice the lights of the earth, the sun and the moon and the stars, the lights of our candles as we march, the lights with which spring teases us, the light that is already present." -Anne Lamott


"Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering."
-Saint Augustine


"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream."
-Vincent Van Gogh

Rejuvenation Friday: Green Hope

Green Hope

by Kim Rensch

It’s not rare for North Dakotans to get asked how we tolerate winter. Those winters that are six months long. The heavy snowfalls. The cold blasts of air. The gray skies for days on end. The brutal wind. Truth be told, many North Dakotans themselves probably wonder why they stick around for the cruelest season. But I think I know why. There’s something magical that comes out of winter. It’s not a magic accompanied by waves of a wand or flashes of light. It sneaks up on us over weeks, so slowly it’s hardly perceptible. It comes after the snow melts and the spring rains wash away the grit of sand and salt, sprayed down to keep cars safe on the road, and the dirt that the prairie wind swept in and deposited over the winter months. The magic comes in hushed tones, poking its head out of the ground in the trumpeted shape of a daffodil; reaching out from the ends of limbs, stretching and sprawling from winter hibernation until a green bud springs forth; reaching up from dormant grass roots, preparing for another season of growing and mowing. This magic dawns on us when we turn the corner for home and look up the street and realize that our landscape is no longer brown, and we don’t know when that happened. All we know is that we’re glad we stuck through the winter because this magic was worth the wait.

Rejuvenation Fridays: Teachers Connecting Online

by Erika Dyk 

Story 1: Math Blogs

On March 31, 2015, NPR featured an article entitled "Live from Small Town America: Teachers who Blog to Stay in Touch." Reading the article, I learned about several teachers who blog, but Sarah Hagan stood out:

Hagan's own love of teaching was born in part from reading a math teacher's blog when she herself was in high school. It was called Math Teacher Mambo by Shireen Dadmehr."I just became amazed," Hagan recalls. "I thought, 'This is the way I want to teach.' For the rest of high school and college I read all the teacher blogs I could get my hands on."

From Sarah's blog Math=Love, I discovered this world of math blogs. Math teachers using writing to share their teaching practice. Sarah is big into using Interactive Notebooks in her math classroom and shares her resources freely with her online colleagues and visitors. I felt inspired and encouraged to see inside the math content world.

At the National Writing Project Conference

Story 2: Teacher 2 Teacher

At the National Writing Project Conference in November, my friend and I stopped by the booth that invited us to share our teaching story: #WHYITEACH. That day I wrote, "Because I was taught the love of learning and I am compelled to share, to welcome others to the joy" and shared it on the board.

The next day, at the National Council of Teachers of English conference, a similar booth was set up. My friend and I eventually wrote another one. This time, I wrote the same idea, but slightly revised to use the framework of gifts.

At the National Council of Teachers of English conference

The #WHYITEACH story sharing was facilitated by Teacher 2 Teacher. On their website, they note

"Born from the belief that no one knows teaching like teachers, Teacher2Teacher is a growing community where you can connect to share resources, learn from one another, and solve the big problems that no one can solve alone. Join us and help shape the conversation."

They invite you to join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and their website.

Reflecting back on those two conference moments where I had limited space to convey why I teach, I am grateful for that invitation. Simply putting my #WHYITEACH stories on the wall with other teachers reminded me not only why I teach, but that I am not alone in my love for teaching.

It is important to remember that we are not alone. And it is important to remember why we teach.

So, on this Friday, I invite you to also answer that question, "Why do I teach?"  

May your time of purposeful reflection help to refresh your teaching soul.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Rejuvenation: A Valentine's Day Box

"A Courageous Box"

A set aside Tide box,
A shoebox,
An oatmeal canister

Ordinary to the untrained eye
But through the eyes of a school Valentine's Day expert,
Anything but ordinary.

Freezer paper
Construction paper
Paper bags
Glitter
Glue sticks
Doilies
Construction paper cut-outs
More glitter

And the ordinary is transformed into extraordinary
A box, a Valentine's Day box, ready to receive the paper manifestations of love.

And so that box,
That box that thought its job was done when the detergent was gone or the perhaps the shoes,
Was really just preparing for what it was supposed to be.
And even though things were modified, trimmed, removed, added,
Hurting in the process,
This stretching and growing and becoming something new
Was all for the purpose of sharing love

All it took was for somebody to recognize
That there was more to this emptied and set aside box than first meets the eye
And follow through with the right time, resources, and skills

To prepare it for what it was meant to do: love.

Rejuvenation Friday: Privileged (adj.)

By Angela Hase

Privileged (adj.)

1.     not subject to the usual rules or penalties because of some special circumstance:

a.     The privileged teacher relaxes at her desk while her AP students locate their missing work, read the directions, and turn in the assignment without being hassled.  

b.     The privileged teacher chooses her reading selections on her own rather than being bound to a standardized anthology.

c.     The AP students tell the privileged teacher that they understand correcting takes time and they will patiently wait for those essays

2.     belonging to a class that enjoys special privileges; favored:

a.     A boy tells the privileged teacher that since he does not have a father figure at home, reading that piece on masculinity really helped him understand why he liked his coach so much.

b.     A girl opens up in a class discussion to share her struggle with depression and how she overcame a suicide attempt while the privileged teacher sits quietly at her desk.

c.     The privileged teacher witnesses a female student announces to the class that she really relates to the teens profiled in the transgender book we read and wants everyone to call her him.

3.     an advantage or source of pleasure granted to a person:

a.     The privileged teacher gets goose bumps because she feels, well, privileged.

Rejuvenation Friday: Fun, a Writing Challenge

Fun, a Writing Challenge
by Erika Dyk

To play with words

To take the nebulous thoughts
Rattling through your brain
And put them on the page.

Gracefully.
Awkwardly.
Chaotically.
Organizedly.
Sporadically.
Routinely.

And then rearrange
Rearrange again.
And again.

Fun, with a dash of frustration.
Fun, with a sprinkle of challenge.

Those rattling words
Dancing from the brain to the page.

To play with words
Dance with words
Laugh with words

Fun with words.

A challenge from me to you:

Have fun with those dancing, laughing words.

Rejuvenation Friday: Good Morning Meditation

Friday Rejuvenation 

by Kim Rensch

I’m a big fan of Good Morning America.  This is important because watching the show led me to the book that I hope to someday look back on and think, “That was the book that saved my sanity.”

If you’re like me (Heaven help you if you are), you’re an educator who throws all you have and then some into your career. You are never quite able to turn off your teacher mind. There’s always something to reflect on, ruminate over, worry about, and stress upon.

If awards were given out for Worrywart of the Year or Ruminator in a Leading Role, I would be on the short list of top nominees. That’s why, for our recent holiday break, I forced myself to pull my nose out of the teaching books and open my eyes to something that might help quiet my busy mind.

Months ago, Good Morning America Weekend anchor Dan Harris promoted his new book, 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works—A True Story, on the show. He claimed that finding meditation helped him cope with the stress that came with his job, costs nothing, and can be impactful in short amounts of time.

Sign me up.

10% Happier came in a pile of teaching books; I had e-tossed it into my shopping cart during one of my digital shopping trips to Amazon.com. It sat in a pile of teaching books for a few weeks, crushed under the weight of my career expectations, until the holidays rolled around and brought a respite from school work.

Rejuvenation Friday: To Remember, To Look Back

Remembering is an important part of life; to only look to the future is not enough. This balance was noted at the National Writing Project conference at the end of November. The audience was invited to write to the following prompt: "Memory Keepers, what must we hold onto as we move forward? Mavericks, what new opportunities excites us most?"

As the year winds to an end, I invite you to look back as you go forward.

Look back on your school year, your career, your life. 

Look back also on this blog, a Memory Keeper of sorts for the Red River Valley Writing Project.

Look back as you go forward.

-Erika Dyk

Rejuvenation Friday: Music is in the Air

Music is in the Air
By Erika Dyk


Music is in the air.

Pages turning.
Desks scraping.
Pencils dancing on the page.

Music is in the air.

Groups forming.
Ideas swirling.
Students dancing
the learning waltz.

Music is in the air.

Rejuvenation Friday: Teachers, Collectors

Teachers, Collectors
by Erika Dyk


We teach.
We collect things.

Papers. Assignments.
Tardy Slips. Make-up work.
More papers. More assignments.

We are teachers.

Sometimes the collection overwhelms.

But we teach
And we collect more than just paper.

Smiles. Laughter.
Ideas. Theories.
Joy. Sorrow.
Dreams. Disappointments.
Gratitude. Encouraging words.

We teach.
We collect--
But more importantly, we share life.

Rejuvenation Friday: To Listen in the Silence

To Listen in the Silence
By Erika Dyk

Friday afternoon.
The classroom, empty.

But shadows remain--
Of words,
Sentences,
Laughter,
Tears,
Conflict,
Growth.

Listening to the silence,
Really listening.
Remembering the past.
Looking to the future.

Friday afternoon.
The classroom waits in anticipation

If you're willing to listen.

Rejuvenation Friday: Inspiration from a Notebook

Inspiration from a Notebook
By Erika Dyk


The to-do list keeps growing.
One thing taken off, two added in its place.
I stop.
I look over at my notebook.
A bright pink "b" jumps off the black background.

"buoyantly"

And it reminds me:
"In an optimistic mood"

As the waves of work and life whirl around me,
I will remain buoyant.
I will remain buoyantly optimistic.

Rejuvenation Friday: The Joy of Reading

Welcome to Friday. Welcome to Rejuvenation.

The profession of teaching is one that comes with many words: words to read, words to write, words to speak, words to listen to. Sometimes the overabundance of professional words can put a pause on the the fun reading, the fun writing.

Thus, my challenge for you today and this weekend is to take some time to enjoy reading, enjoy the words written for the pure sake of enjoyment.

Who knows what refreshing or exciting or adventurous or intriguing places you will find yourself in the pages of an enjoyed book.  Happy traveling. Happy reading.

Call for comments: What are your go-to enjoyment reads?

Rejuvenation Friday: Tips for Staying Healthy

Welcome to Friday. Welcome to Rejuvenation.

With the changing of seasons, colds and illnesses and sicknesses dance in the air. Thus it is even more important to try to stay healthy.

In the article "Daily Tips to Help Teachers Stay Happy and Healthy During the Week," Professor Gail Kinman offers practical tips for each day of the week for teachers to maintain excellent wellbeing.

One of Friday's tips is to "Make a list of things that help you relax. Then choose one and do it without feeling guilty."

Read the full article here to learn the tips for each day of the week, and I hope that you can find some relaxation and rejuvenation today.

Friday Rejuvenation: Gratitude

A Note

To Those Reading This on the Other Side of the Screen,

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your gifts, intelligence, and passion for learning and writing with your students, your colleagues, your friends.

You are appreciated.

With gratitude,

 Me on this Side of the Screen

Welcome to Friday. Welcome to Inspiration.

Welcome to Friday.

After a full week of teaching, the weekend is often a time of personal restoration and rejuvenation.

In her article "How Educators Can Manage Stress and Build Resilience," Elena Aguilar, a transformational leadership coach, offers a strategy to build emotional resilience: to "notice," "name," and "highlight" "the micro-moments of hope, growth, beauty, and inspiration." 

Thus, your weekend homework:

1. Read Elena Aguilar's full article here.

2. Take some time to name those moments of wonder and growth and hope.

3. Reflect on how you find ways to rejuvenate and be intentional about those practices.

Welcome to Inspiration.