Chalk Talks...

So, I decided to change the title and url address of my blog.  Yes, I owe this one to my husband.  He said within minutes of uploading my first post that the title was too wordy.  Not unlike me, most of the time.  (Yes, that is the sound of your chuckles I hear through the distance of cyberspace!)  And after a few weeks, I came to believe him.  And besides being wordy, long, the title was uninteresting, too.  I mean I am for simple and ‘to the point’ which “reflections/confessions of this teaching life” sought to be…it was general enough hopefully to encompass whatever I wrote about (which I really didn’t have a clue would be – still don’t most of the time), and it was accurate in the sense that I figured it would be my thoughts as a teacher, one who feels called to such a vocation.  And so it was.  But again, there was the problem – wordy.

LOONNNNGGGG.

So, I was thinking about it.  And somehow, found myself writing,

“Donna’s Chalk Talks.”

Now, first, let me say, “Chalk Talks” is not an original idea.  In fact, Father Martin, of “Chalk Talk on Alcohol” fame – I believe has the corner on that one.  And he’s a legend in 12-step circles and Alcoholism recovery.  Those videos of his are ones thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, for all I know, kids in middle schools and high schools, in this country have seen.  He has dedicated his life and ministry to helping people seek and find recovery from alcoholism.  The phrase is catchy – that’s why I thought of it, I’m sure.  So, thank you Father Martin.  But its catchiness isn’t why I picked it.  

It’s appropriate, really, because see, I am a teacher (most of you, if not all, know that already), but I’m also, kind of, “old school”…see I use a real chalkboard.  A lot.  Yes, I do use a computer.  I do PowerPoint, and website resourcing.  I like bullet-points, and slick videos, as much as the next person.  And yes, I (try to) use our institution’s “education management system” – Joule.  The system is on-line, accessible always, and has the capacity and capability to do more things than I’ll do in my lifetime. Those of you outside education, such systems are supposed to substantially aid and enhance the teaching and learning experience for teachers and students alike. In theory. In my reality, on a particularly bad day it can make me question my vocation, and probably most often, it offers the best that a love-hate relationship one could ever hope to have. But I digress.  The point is that I do use all that fancy stuff. But what I really, really like and use is chalk and a chalkboard.  I find a plain ol’ piece of white chalk and a chalkboard, usually green in my classrooms, but any color will do, rather refreshing and functional. 

Simple and ‘to the point’ remember.  That’s chalk and a chalkboard.  And I make use of them pretty much all the time.  Sometimes I think I drive my students crazy because I can get carried away, writing all over, scratching out, writing over, circling some important word or phrase so much, they can’t read it anymore, or writing a sentence and abbreviating every other word to the point, they can’t remember what I said.  Chalk and a chalkboard.  Simple and ‘to the point’…it works.  And so it seems appropriate for this blog, my little posting site of thoughts, reflections, sometimes confessions, musings, maybe wonderings, ideas, and questions about this teacher’s life – Donna’s teaching life.  To call it “Donna’s Chalk Talks” made sense, for in a sense, that’s what it is…my chalk talking – sharing with friends and beyond, words that hopefully might have meaning or make meaning or make one think.  Maybe even upset one’s balance (though not too much, I hope), but whatever they do, know that I appreciate ever and always that you bothered to read for a minute or minutes and might have found in so reading, a chance to laugh, to grin, to nod, or perhaps to pause.  Whatever your response, thanks. And until I take up the chalk again, blessings to you and yours…today, tomorrow, and for always.