Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “education”

29 Aug 2025
8 Comments

Back to School Blues (not for me, maybe for you)


If you are reading this post you fall into one of the falling categories:

  • Parent of school age children
  • Student
  • Teacher
  • None of the above
Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

If you identify with parent of school age children, then I commiserate with you for the back-to-school shopping marathon. Well, yes, it is exciting getting the kiddos ready for another (or their first) foray into the classroom routine. But it is tiring and expensive.

If you are a student, you are either bummed or excited, or perhaps a bit of both, since it means put a pause on summer fun in order to focus on the mojo needed to get into the school routine.

As a teacher, you are no doubt either already back in the classroom (depending on where you teach) or bum-weary from having to sit through endless admin-led meetings while you would rather be preparing your room.

None of the above? You are probably then retired or an empty-nester or perhaps neither a parent or teacher, although you vaguely remember your September back-to-school days.

This marks my fourth September I will not be returning as a teacher, yet I found myself back on campus anyway. My retirement days are centered around books: I’m either reading them, writing them, or doing something with them that is library related. Today I dropped off a box of donated of books to a couple of schools, one of which was where I formerly taught English.

Yes, it was strange.

No, I didn’t miss it.

Yes, I briefly said “howdy” to some former compadres. And yes, I delivered my usual line of “I highly recommend it!” when asked how I like being retired.

Okay, fine–I do miss some aspects of being a teacher, such as getting to know my students, watching them catch the spark of appreciating literature, lunch time sessions with teacher chums, and staff meetings (just kidding on that one).

So, here is hoping your back-to-school blues aren’t severe, and hoping the school year is fabulous, whether you are in a school desk, behind the teacher’s desk, or planning a cruise since everyone else is back in school.

Photo by Diana u2728 on Pexels.com
Posted in America, education, fall, Family, Reading and tagged , , , , , , , ,
16 Jul 2024
6 Comments

A Phoney Policy


Busted, ET–caught during class

ET would not be able to phone home if he were attending certain schools, school districts, and even some states. The cell phone debate once again hits the news as the controversy over phones in class continues.

According to Education Week, “By 2020, 77 percent of schools had prohibited non-academic use of cellphones during school hours, according to federal data.” In my twenty years of teaching I would say cell phone usage remained one of the biggest challenges when it came to student behavior. I remember when the first cell phone went off in my class (when only a few students had them). As I reminded the student to mute her phone she tersely replied, “It’s my grandma. She’s dying. I have to take this.” How am I supposed to enforce a policy contending with that kind of situation?

Phone policies have come and gone, and I am so glad I no longer have to deal with students and their phones. Although retired from teaching now, I remain interested in educational trends, and I can’t help but wonder at the shifting back to school districts adopting stronger cell phone policies.

Granted, cell phones have their use in the classroom; the problem is their potential for positive contributions is abused. Texting, gaming, scrolling, uploading, shaming are distractors and are distractions to the learning environment. While the intent of full, partial, or limited use is debated the real issue is enforcement.

Here are some problems with implementing a school phone policy:

  • Everyone has to be on board. Consistency is paramount to success. As a high school teacher I adhered to the school’s policy. Verbal reminders, posters, follow through—Yup. Other teachers not following the policy weren’t as much as a problem as the off-campus adults: parents, employers, medical appointments. One parent said, “I only leave a text to call me at lunch.” The problem is that when students feel or hear that “ping” they are programmed to check their phone like two-legged Pavlov puppies.
“But I need to answer it!”
  • Speaking of noticing students checking their phones, that leads into how odious it is to become the Phone Police. It is more likely a student is willing to give a pint of blood then surrender their phone. There is an addiction issue. It’s very real.
Plugged in
  • Once a phone is confiscated it demonstrates the consequences of disregarding the policy, right? Not really. Our school office manager showed me the desk drawer of confiscated electronics (ear buds are on the “no no” list as well). Instead of parents coming to school and picking up the phone they write it off as lost utilizing their phone insurance.
  • Phone policies are double-edged. School staff get to have their phones (unless the school policy is really hard-edged), which illustrates the irritating adage of “do as I say, not as I do“ that widens the gap of responsibility and respect between teachers and students.
  • Our school did modify its phone policy after it became apparent that a draconian approach was doomed. Leaving it up to individual teachers ended up as the soft approach.
Oh, for the good old days of being the only one to have a phone in class

My approach was a placing a poster in a prominent place which listed the classroom phone policy, mainly that phones needed to be out of sight during instructional time. There were times students could engage with their phones—for instance after ALL their was completed. The goal was to implement the need of discernment—there are good, better, and inappropriate times to use phones. At the high school level students are gaining book knowledge, but they are also gaining social skills. Allowing them to exercise self-control with their phones better prepares them to become responsible citizens. If seventeen year olds lack discernment when using their phones I can’t imagine what it must be like encountering seven year olds with phones, let alone a twelve year old.

Phones are here to stay. Phone policies will come and go. Perhaps those who are making decisions about policies should approach the issue as the phone not being the problem so much as how/when to utilize the phone. Phone etiquette is something that should taught right along with decimal points and comma usage. Maybe there is an app for that.

“What’s Appening with you?”
Posted in America, Reflections and tagged , , , , , , , ,
27 Sep 2023
8 Comments

Bard Bits: Shaking the Bacon


Shakespeare. An enigma in my mind when I found out he was a rooted fixture in our English curriculum. He was just a name since I had never encountered a play or a sonnet during my formative schooling and was only vaguely aware that he wrote Romeo and Juliet, which I watched in the theatre in junior high. I had doubts about this English guy from Stratford. Who was he? If I had to teach his plays I needed to understand his background. The problem being is that the more I researched, the less credible Shakespeare became. Not much is known about his childhood, less about his schooling, and then there are those missing years before becoming cited as an “upstart crow.”

image: Amazon

However, over time I uncovered more information, learned more than the standard school fare of Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar and decided Shakespeare was amazing. I converted to a Bardinator and earned the reputation as the Shakespeare Lady at school.

Then my world rocked.

I learned there were those who did not believe Shakespeare wrote all those plays, sonnets, and penned 1,700 words into use. I learned of the Baconians and the Stratfordians (and a couple of other theory players). I watched the documentaries. I became irritated. I even became outraged (eh–more like really, really annoyed). I found it incredulous that people spent time decoding Shakespeare’s work to find anagrams, cryptic messages, and the like in order to prove/disprove Shakespeare’s authenticity.

I finally had to step away. I finally took on the David Tennant approach:

To care or not to care–that’s the real question.

What about you?

A. Yes, Shakespeare wrote everything.

B. No, Shakespeare’s authorship is one of those mystery conspiracies.

C. Sorry, I suffer from Shakespism (hives at the mention of his name)

Posted in Reflections and tagged ,
23 Feb 2022
7 Comments

Bard Bits: Elizabethan History 101


To understand Shakespeare means it’s important to understand the historical period. Shakespeare wrote his plays knowing well the historical and cultural temperature of the day. He understood that the English people knew their history and traced it through the monarchy. Shakespeare’s plays included in his repertoire what are known as the Historicals: the Henrys, the Richards, along with Julius Caesar, King Lear, and company. Shakespeare based his plays on the history known, but of course, being a writer, he no doubt embellished the history–he had to sell tickets, after all. Funny thing, often what he wrote became better known than actual history. Take Julius Caesar, for instance. The famous line, “Et tu, Brute?” is a Shakespeare addition. No one actually knows what Caesar said when he was being stabbed by the toga team, but he sold tickets with that line and still does today.

Shakespeare knew his kingly characters had already made history, plus they were trapped by it. He couldn’t change their deeds too much. The Elizabethans were aware of their past and Shakespeare’s history plays helped them understand where they came from and where they were headed. All the pageantry was both entertainment and a lesson.

That’s what makes Shakespeare last through the years. Teachers tend to have a lasting impression.

image credit: http://www.jbcheaney.com
Posted in Reflections and tagged , ,
19 Dec 2021
2 Comments

The Amazing Days of Christmas Break: Day One


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The Amazing Days of Christmas Break: Day One
Posted in celebrations, holidays, Reflections, Seasons and tagged , , , , ,
16 Sep 2019

Word Nerd Confessions: September


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September equals schoolish thoughts. Here are some words that get us on track for edumacating (which is found in the Urban Dictionary) our minds:

nisus (noun): an effort or striving toward a particular goal or attainment; impulse. “Receiving stellar marks is a worthy nisus,” noted the counselor upon hearing the student’s dream of attending Vassar.

intellection (noun): the action or process of understanding; the exercise of the intellect;  reasoning;a particular act of the intellect;a conception or idea as the result of such an act; notion; thought. The purpose of a sound education is to increase one’s intellection.

brio (noun):
vigor; vivacity. “One must continue with tenacity and brio,” the teacher encouraged her students already showing signs of Senioritis.

vinculum (noun):
a bond signifying union or unity; tie. After spending nearly twelve years together in school, the seniors form quite a vinculum by the time they graduate.

august (adj): inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; 
majestic. An august performance of academics is not usually expected of students in September.

athenaeum (noun):
an institution for the promotion of literary or scientific learning; a library or reading room. The teacher momentarily stymied her students when she announced, “We are going to check out your books in the athenaeum.”

solecism (noun): a nonstandard or ungrammatical usage, as unflammable and they was. solecism (noun):

diapason (noun):
a full, rich outpouring of melodious sound. The band teacher smiled in rapture at the unexpected diapason when the first piece was played by his fall students.

hypocorism (noun):
a pet name. Students referred to the principal, Mr. Alderson, as Sonny–never to his open acknowledgement, of course.

sequacious (adj):
following with smooth or logical regularity. The kindergarten teacher held her breath as she led her students down the hallway, hoping they would do so in a sequacious fashion and not fan out like distracted duckling like the last time.

excogitate (verb):
to think out; devise; invent.to study intently and carefully in order to grasp or comprehend fully. “One must practice excogitation to fully appreciate James Joyce, ” the English teacher encouraged her students. Silence was her reply.

sennight (noun): a week. The first seven days of school makes for a long sennight.

bezonian (noun):
an indigent rascal; scoundrel. Mr. Jameson felt a headache forming as he checked his roster of new students and noticed Bobby Mack’s name, who had earned a reputation as a bezonian among last year’s students.

lateritious (adj):
of the color of brick; brick-red. Loren always associated education with a lateritious feeling, perhaps due to all her schools being old-fashioned brick buildings.

mea culpa (noun): “my fault!” an acknowledgment of one’s responsibility for a fault or error. Julius Caesar as a student might have admitted “mea culpa!” as opposed to the modern counterpart of “my bad!”

omnifarious (adj):
of all forms, varieties, or kinds. As the students walked in through the front doors it became clear to the admin staff greeting them that they were in for quite a year as the omnifarious batch of teenagers sauntered on towards their classes. Strangely enough, the students were thinking the same of the staff.

manque‘(adj):
having failed, missed, or fallen short, especially because of circumstances or a defect of character; unsuccessful; unfulfilled or frustrated: The teachers gathered and conferred about the manque of several students not having produced a single completed homework assignment all semester.

contextomy (noun):
the practice of misquoting someone by shortening the quotation or by leaving out surrounding  words or  sentences  that  would  place  the  quotation in context. Winston Churchill’s famous WWII speech has fallen under contextomy as most people quote him as saying “Blood, sweat, and tears,” when he actual said “Blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”

univocal (noun):
having only one meaning; unambiguous. “Late is late,” the teacher reminded the student who traipsed in four minutes after the bell rang. “Late is univocal.”

hypnopedia (noun): sleep learning. Placing her French textbook under her pillow at night proved to be an ineffectual attempt at hypnopedia.

And there is your September batch of Word Nerds. True to course here is a short quiz.

  1. Sleep learning is associated with what word?
  2. Nefarious sounds quite a bit like which word?
  3. Sennight means?
  4. What word might a choir teacher appreciate?
  5. Why might having brio be considered a compliment?

Well, what did you learn today? BtW, if you scored at least 4/5 you may pull out your SSR book and read the last five minutes of class.

Posted in Reflections and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
11 Apr 2019
3 Comments

Shakespeare Celeb: Shakesperience


What can you say about a work of literature that carries over into several centuries and still has meaning? For one thing, you can say “Shakespeare.” His writing certainly fascinates, attracts, and illuminates the times. Fashion may change, but human emotions definitely haven’t evolved much in 400 years. Even my sophomores are totally getting the value of studying Julius Caesar this year.

Recently our school hosted Shakesperience, which is a NEA sponsored acting troupe that travels throughout schools in our fair state, presenting, yes, you guessed it, Shakespeare. They shake down a three-four hour play into one hour based on a theme. This year they showed As You Like It set in the eighties. Gotta love eighties fashion (or lack of it). The actors have lots of energy and speak Bard. I always wonder if students “get it”–they must, because they laugh in the right places.

My favorite part of arranging Shakesperience is the afterwards. Students trundle out of the auditorium with smiles, sharing happy moments from the play. One of the best shares so far was on the fly.

Grabbing a quick snack at the cafeteria wagon after the performance I felt a tap on the shoulder. I turned and one of the students who had pleaded with me to allow him to attend the performance (even though arrangements should have been made previously and not a half hour before the show starts) stared at me for a couple of seconds. I prompted him, “So, you liked the play?” He widened his eyes and placed his fingertips to his forehead and “exploded” them off his face, complete with appropriate sounds. I understood that he meant the performance blew his mind.

Old play, new way, same words, and they get it. Yup, can’t wait for next year.

Image result for as you like it

Posted in authors, plays, Reflections, Shakespeare and tagged , , ,
21 Mar 2018
1 Comment

Techno Faux Pax


A variation of an old chestnut:

Two girls walk into a classroom wearing the same yellow sweatshirt. They stop and stare at each other. They size each other up. The teacher tries to cut the tension with the quip: “Looks like you got the email.”

You know–that joke.

The problem is that teens don’t email each other. At least not anymore. The class bursts out in derisive laughter. “Yeah, right. Because that’s what we do. We email each other.” Loud smirking ensues.

Trying to save a bit of my self-esteem I respond brightly: “Maybe that’s why I don’t hear that often from my own kids –I email them.” The moment is somewhat saved and we go back to English.

I do text. I don’t Tweet. I do FaceTime. I prefer visits. I write letters. Hmm–nothing comes close to a letter. A humorous card maybe.

Yet, if I were to say the right techno term I still would be on the outside looking in. Why? My expiration date is beginning to show. I’m at retirement age and students know it. I don’t feel like retiring yet, but because I could, that makes me old. Out with the old, in with the new.

If I happen to drop in a casual word or phrase students seem surprised. Do I know what that means? If I mention a movie, song, a whatever that is in their world I think it concerns them. It’s as if I have bumped their youth bubble. Granted, I don’t know most of their music, trends, or media choices. On the other hand, they don’t know that Edgar Allan Poe influenced Stephen King, who I remember reading when he first came out and none of his books were movies yet. Or how about everyone from Monty Python to Jimmy Fallon quotes some line from Hamlet and now my students know why. Or the reason there are strong female protagonists like Katniss is because we had Jane Eyre first. And they don’t know about Byronic Heroes–yet, even though they do know about Loki, Ironman, and Bat Man.

I may get my techno terminology tangled, but they don’t know all about the who, how, and why of Shakespeare’s influence of just about everything. I have job security for a bit longer.

So is blogging for old people? Oh who cares–I need more than 280 characters for my say.

Posted in education, humor, Reflections, Teachers and tagged , ,
15 Oct 2017
5 Comments

PADding About with Poetry


Teaching poetry to a class of teens is almost intimidating as being the student learning the language of metaphors and similes and alliteration and such.

For one thing there is the DWA

factor–Dead White Authors.

Occasionally I detect a certain resentment of having to study the antiquated language and suspect ideas of people who lived in times current adolescents have a difficult time relating to, especially when many of these authors were among the 1% of their day. Understanding that religion revolved around one belief and not a myriad seems wrong to some of many students.

Getting students to remove their 21st century hats in order to not be hindered by Frost using “queer” when describing how the speaker’s horse thinks it’s strange to stop in the middle of the woods is a little challenging but not insurmountable.

Another challenge is getting students to embrace poetry as a necessity. Actually, for that concern I have a ready reply:

If you can figure the meaning of a poem and explain it in such a way it is comprehensible to others, you will no doubt succeed in other endeavors in life, such as presenting a new scientific concept to your co-workers or even putting together that bike in a box for your kid some day.

I do sympathize with my students about the saturation of 18th and 19th century poems we tend to study, especially in AP Literature. This is why I subscribe to services that provide a poem everyday. It’s like those word a day subscriptions except more words and they sometimes rhyme.

Over the past few years I have amassed quite a collection. Now what? Aha! I pulled together a monthly menu and created a PPT what I call the PAD–Poem A Day. While I take attendance, students read the poem on the projector screen and then discuss some aspect. Most of these poems are contemporary and the topics, as well as formats, tend to be more relatable for my students.

The other day we covered Robert Bly’s moon poem. I then had students find three objects in the room and describe them in a new way. The best one involved calling our box fan a meditation counselor since it had the ability to provide a cooling off whenever we were heated up. Nice.

I remember Robert Frost and his puzzled horse in fifth grade and I have taught it to my tenth graders and seniors. I’m hoping once we have chatted about meaning and metaphor they will think poetry is lovely as they move through life. My hope is they’ll carry a verse in their pocket or be able to pop out a ready line to fit any occasion.

Posted in Poetry, Reflections and tagged , ,
17 Jul 2017
11 Comments

Shakespeare Goals


Although I’m known as a Bardinator, I confess I’m a bit of a poser in actuality.

I  truly know a handful of his plays, primarily the ones I teach, the usual: Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, Othello, Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet. I do have a working knowledge of other plays: King Lear, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing , The Tempest, Merchant of Venice,Twelfth Night. And I have a nodding acquaintance with the Henrys and Richards. I tend to shudder and ignore the more violent plays where body parts and pies and such are a featured plot focus.

As for William’s sonnets–let’s just say while I’m not adverse to his verse, I prefer to revel in his plays.

So, my goal is to become more than a dabbler and get cracking at becoming better in my Bard. This will involve some serious study since Shakespeare is not for sissies. He provides stout meat and drink once at the table of literature feasting. I will *sigh* set aside some (not all) of my leisurely summer reading forays and bite off, rather than nibble, sizable portions of Shakespeare works.

IMG_0552

Here is a beginning goal list:

  • Select at least five-ten sonnets, mainly the ones we refer to in our current curriculum, and really study them beyond the quick note referring I usually do. Study what other critics have come up with in their analysis.
  • Move beyond my comfort zone and learn at least one play of William’s that I’m not familiar with. I’m still squeamish about reading about revenge pie, so perhaps I will look into a comedy not well known to me–maybe The Merry Wives of Windsor or As You Like It.

My basic Bard facts are decent: birth, death, family life, supposition of lost years. I even have Renaissance and Elizabethan knowledge down pretty well as it relates to Shakespeare. I could start committing more to memory and really dazzle the crowds.

Why take on Shakespeare this summer? I could just lounge and read for fun and drift and not work so hard. Didn’t I just get out of school?

One reason to push myself in this endeavor is that Shakespeare is so fascinating. I knew relatively nothing about him until I began teaching his works. For the past fifteen years I’ve learned so much more about the Bard and it makes me realize I have so much more to go. But, I’m in no real hurry.

Another reason is that if want to really become a Bardintor, not just pretend I know my Bard stuff. Please don’t expect me to spout off reams of memorized quotes and speeches. Memorizing, is unfortunately, a real problem. Short term gaps and all that.

One other reason is that I want to be THAT teacher, the one whose enthusiasm for Shakespeare overflowed into the curriculum and into the hearts and minds of my students. I still treasure that moment when one of my struggling students came up to me after class and said, “I will really miss studying Hamlet.” He got involved in our study of the melancholy Prince of Denmark, and he appreciated our class discussions, and that’s reason enough why I will learn more about Shakespeare.

Anyone out there desire a bit more Bard in your life?

Posted in Reflections, Shakespeare and tagged , ,

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