During the 1990s I continued to teach in the Iowa Writing Project institutes in the summer and the Level III institutes during the year. I was also teaching the storytelling, poetry and reading aloud classes every summer. Needless to say, this along with my full time job kept me very busy. I was frequently doing storytelling sessions locally and in eastern Iowa. My journal is full of stories about all of these activities as well as what was going on in school.
In July of 1995, I wrote, “Most of you know I’m a storyteller. I’m convinced we are all storytellers. The stories we tell shape who we are. I worked with a teacher for a time that was very negative. She shaped the tone of the building. Everyone avoided this person because she was so depressing. If we tell predominantly positive stories about our students we will facilitate that positive environment we all want. Positive stories are contagious.”
Later in July I wrote, “ It is far more likely that a teacher could be fired for using less than the best practices in the classroom than from using the best practices. As far as I know there is no record of anyone ever being fired for using the best practices, but many cases for not. We are ethically and professionally obligated to employ the best practices in our classrooms. If we don’t we shouldn’t be there.”
Early in August Becky, Jazmin, and I drove over to the small community of Carlyle, Iowa. It is near Des Moines. There we picked up our new puppy. Her mother was half Golden Retriever and half Brittany. The father was full-blooded Golden Retriever. She was a great dog and I was very excited to have her join our family. We named her Abidale (Abby) after a mispronunciation Jazmin made of a cartoon character in a popular children’s movie. I wrote that I thought she was a very bright puppy and thought it would be fun to work with her.
Tragedy struck our family that October. Becky’s father, Russell, was killed in a farming accident. It was a very hard time for us all. I think it was the first real tragedy that had stricken our family in my memory. We struggled with it for a long time. I think anytime someone passes suddenly it is hard to understand. He was full of energy and life and a big piece of our lives was gone. It made us cherish each other even more.
* * *
Stories 1/29/96
Stories, stories
I can write
Quietly,
Listen,
Just sit tight.
Stories, stories
I can tell
Danger,
Excitement,
Listen well.
Stories, stories
In my head
Spinning,
Churning,
Waiting to be said.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
90s22 Buying a House
Housing prices in Iowa City have always been high. We wondered if it would ever even be a possibility for us. The president of a local bank had told us repeatedly that when we were ready we should come and see him. The local realtor who found us the condo to rent kept encouraging us to look around.
We still owned our house in Mt. Pleasant and thought we would have to sell it before we could buy in Iowa City. We thought we needed to get a good price for it in order to be able to buy anything in Iowa City.
We began to think the only possibility was a small house without a garage. We had seen some that might be possibilities. One day the realtor contacted us and showed Becky a house on the south side of town. She was very impressed and so I went to see it with her.
The owner wanted to move the house quickly and the realtor told us he would wave his fee in order to help us out. The bank encouraged use to go ahead with it and said they would be Ok waiting for our other house to sell. We made an offer and the seller accepted. We were overjoyed!
The sellers had purchased a nearby house and had priced their house to sell quickly. They tried to back out of it just before closing but the realtor held them to the agreement. I think they realized they could have gotten more out of the house if they had just waited. We paid $98,000 for it.
We moved into the house early in September of 1994. Becky moved quite a bit of our stuff and after school several Longfellow staff members helped us move everything else. It was pretty much all done in a couple hours and we took everyone to dinner at La Casa as a way of thanking them for their help.
We had new appliances from Best Buy and found a king size bed at a yard sale. The house was a four-bedroom ranch with an unfinished basement except for a couple rooms. It was a house we never dreamed we would have.
Becky turned one bedroom into her sewing room and we turned another one into an office. Becky spent a lot of her time making the house a home. I was intrigued about the potential of the basement. It had a large area that could be a family room. It had another room that could be a non-conforming bedroom, an unfinished bathroom that the previous owner had already purchased everything to finish, a small finished bedroom, a laundry room, and a workshop that had already been wired for power tools.
After living in the small apartment for a year we felt like we now had some space. We had a nice yard with plenty of room in the back for a garden. The only drawback to the house was that it had a single car garage, which to us was far better than no garage at all.
We still owned our house in Mt. Pleasant and thought we would have to sell it before we could buy in Iowa City. We thought we needed to get a good price for it in order to be able to buy anything in Iowa City.
We began to think the only possibility was a small house without a garage. We had seen some that might be possibilities. One day the realtor contacted us and showed Becky a house on the south side of town. She was very impressed and so I went to see it with her.
The owner wanted to move the house quickly and the realtor told us he would wave his fee in order to help us out. The bank encouraged use to go ahead with it and said they would be Ok waiting for our other house to sell. We made an offer and the seller accepted. We were overjoyed!
The sellers had purchased a nearby house and had priced their house to sell quickly. They tried to back out of it just before closing but the realtor held them to the agreement. I think they realized they could have gotten more out of the house if they had just waited. We paid $98,000 for it.
We moved into the house early in September of 1994. Becky moved quite a bit of our stuff and after school several Longfellow staff members helped us move everything else. It was pretty much all done in a couple hours and we took everyone to dinner at La Casa as a way of thanking them for their help.
We had new appliances from Best Buy and found a king size bed at a yard sale. The house was a four-bedroom ranch with an unfinished basement except for a couple rooms. It was a house we never dreamed we would have.
Becky turned one bedroom into her sewing room and we turned another one into an office. Becky spent a lot of her time making the house a home. I was intrigued about the potential of the basement. It had a large area that could be a family room. It had another room that could be a non-conforming bedroom, an unfinished bathroom that the previous owner had already purchased everything to finish, a small finished bedroom, a laundry room, and a workshop that had already been wired for power tools.
After living in the small apartment for a year we felt like we now had some space. We had a nice yard with plenty of room in the back for a garden. The only drawback to the house was that it had a single car garage, which to us was far better than no garage at all.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
90s21 Stories
My storytelling opportunities continued to grow in Iowa City. I told stories in my building and got invited to do storytelling in other buildings. I started doing the Time for Children at church at least once a month. I got invited to tell stories to community groups and at the public library.
I told stories in several other school districts and other community events outside of Iowa City. I told stories at Young Writers’ conferences and did sessions for teachers at conferences and inservices. It was always a break from the seriousness of the world and, often I think, I got more out of it than the listeners.
My journal became the planning place for storytelling events. I planned the series of stories and poems I would use. I used it to write down my own stories and poems that I wanted to use. So it became the stories of my life, stories I wanted to tell and stories I want to tell.
Going back and reading the journals is like discovering something you had forgotten. I think, maybe journals should be read more often. Until I started writing these stories when I finished a journal I put it on the shelf and rarely looked at it again. The nuggets of thought were frozen and only thaw out when they are read and pondered again.
* * *
On August 9, 1994, Hayden Fry, then head coach of the Hawkeye football team called me. We had been searching for a physical education teacher for my building and the director of human resources and I had interviewed a few candidates for the position. One was the son of the head football coach at City High and had played football for Iowa.
I had noticed the Peach Bowl ring on his finger when we interviewed him but I made any connection. We had selected another applicant that was far better qualified for the position.
When the phone rang and Hayden Fry’s secretary said, “Please hold for Hayden Fry?” I was speechless for a moment and then I thought someone must have been playing a trick on me. As soon as I heard his voice I knew it was him. He had called to recommend the former player for the physical education teacher. We had a nice conversation but it was too late. We had already selected the other candidate.
Within an hour the City High Coach came to my office and demanded I hire his son. He told about all of the people he knew in the community and in my attendance area. He said he was close friends with several members of the school board. It was a not so subtle threat.
I reported the contact with Hayden Fry and the incident with the coach to the Central Office. As it turned out the district offered this guy a part-time position at City High and he turned it down. The next day he decided he wanted the job after all because they had combined it with something else to make it full time but it was too late because they had given it to someone else.
I told stories in several other school districts and other community events outside of Iowa City. I told stories at Young Writers’ conferences and did sessions for teachers at conferences and inservices. It was always a break from the seriousness of the world and, often I think, I got more out of it than the listeners.
My journal became the planning place for storytelling events. I planned the series of stories and poems I would use. I used it to write down my own stories and poems that I wanted to use. So it became the stories of my life, stories I wanted to tell and stories I want to tell.
Going back and reading the journals is like discovering something you had forgotten. I think, maybe journals should be read more often. Until I started writing these stories when I finished a journal I put it on the shelf and rarely looked at it again. The nuggets of thought were frozen and only thaw out when they are read and pondered again.
* * *
On August 9, 1994, Hayden Fry, then head coach of the Hawkeye football team called me. We had been searching for a physical education teacher for my building and the director of human resources and I had interviewed a few candidates for the position. One was the son of the head football coach at City High and had played football for Iowa.
I had noticed the Peach Bowl ring on his finger when we interviewed him but I made any connection. We had selected another applicant that was far better qualified for the position.
When the phone rang and Hayden Fry’s secretary said, “Please hold for Hayden Fry?” I was speechless for a moment and then I thought someone must have been playing a trick on me. As soon as I heard his voice I knew it was him. He had called to recommend the former player for the physical education teacher. We had a nice conversation but it was too late. We had already selected the other candidate.
Within an hour the City High Coach came to my office and demanded I hire his son. He told about all of the people he knew in the community and in my attendance area. He said he was close friends with several members of the school board. It was a not so subtle threat.
I reported the contact with Hayden Fry and the incident with the coach to the Central Office. As it turned out the district offered this guy a part-time position at City High and he turned it down. The next day he decided he wanted the job after all because they had combined it with something else to make it full time but it was too late because they had given it to someone else.
Monday, August 10, 2009
90s20 Settling In
Iowa City is a big little town. It has many amenities of bigger cities like theater and athletic events and lots to do. Becky enjoyed exploring the community and finding our way around. It didn’t take long!
Becky continued her sewing business and used one of our bedrooms in our apartment as her sewing room. Word spread fast and soon she was in big demand. Even the superintendent had her do a job for her. Eventually, Becky’s business grew and she had eight stores in Iowa City for which she did alterations. That was a few years later, however.
We joined the First Presbyterian Church on Rochester. Almost immediately Becky started doing banner work for the church and I did the children’s sermon on a regular basis. It was a good way to get to know people and feel like we were part of the community.
School was time consuming for me especially that first year while I was learning the ropes of Iowa City Community School District. It was sometimes hard to sort out what I should be doing. Being a building principal here was much more focused because I didn’t have a lot of other district responsibilities. That was a relief! Still I was busy two or three nights every week.
My journaling began to taper off simply because I was often too busy or too worn out to do it. The time between entries seemed to grow each time.
By mid-winter I was into the middle of a conflict that involved one of my staff members and two former principals in the building. The two former principals disagreed on the effectiveness of the staff member. One pressed me to get rid of the person and the other one defended the person at all costs. I was in the middle.
Both administers were in the central office. They were relentless! Sometimes they called me daily demanding I do one thing or another. Finally, I was desperate and went to the superintendent and explained my dilemma. She must have done something because they stayed out of my hair from then on. Nothing worse than being in your first year in a new place and having to keep two people with vastly different viewpoints happy.
The first two years in the district new employees, including administrators, undergo a fairly intense and comprehensive evaluation. It includes surveys of parents, staff and colleagues. The surveys for parents were sent out to a random group of about 100 parents. They filled out and sent them to the superintendent’s administrative assistant. She tabulated them and shared them with the superintendent. All the teachers and staff in the building did one, too.
I wrote in February that the superintendent shared the evaluations with me and I was “thrilled with the positive results.” I also did a self-evaluation and the superintendent did one about me. It all turned out very positive and I was elated with the results.
In the spring of my first year in Iowa City I taught an evaluator training class to almost all of the administrators in the district including the superintendent. It went well and I got to know many of my colleagues.
Becky continued her sewing business and used one of our bedrooms in our apartment as her sewing room. Word spread fast and soon she was in big demand. Even the superintendent had her do a job for her. Eventually, Becky’s business grew and she had eight stores in Iowa City for which she did alterations. That was a few years later, however.
We joined the First Presbyterian Church on Rochester. Almost immediately Becky started doing banner work for the church and I did the children’s sermon on a regular basis. It was a good way to get to know people and feel like we were part of the community.
School was time consuming for me especially that first year while I was learning the ropes of Iowa City Community School District. It was sometimes hard to sort out what I should be doing. Being a building principal here was much more focused because I didn’t have a lot of other district responsibilities. That was a relief! Still I was busy two or three nights every week.
My journaling began to taper off simply because I was often too busy or too worn out to do it. The time between entries seemed to grow each time.
By mid-winter I was into the middle of a conflict that involved one of my staff members and two former principals in the building. The two former principals disagreed on the effectiveness of the staff member. One pressed me to get rid of the person and the other one defended the person at all costs. I was in the middle.
Both administers were in the central office. They were relentless! Sometimes they called me daily demanding I do one thing or another. Finally, I was desperate and went to the superintendent and explained my dilemma. She must have done something because they stayed out of my hair from then on. Nothing worse than being in your first year in a new place and having to keep two people with vastly different viewpoints happy.
The first two years in the district new employees, including administrators, undergo a fairly intense and comprehensive evaluation. It includes surveys of parents, staff and colleagues. The surveys for parents were sent out to a random group of about 100 parents. They filled out and sent them to the superintendent’s administrative assistant. She tabulated them and shared them with the superintendent. All the teachers and staff in the building did one, too.
I wrote in February that the superintendent shared the evaluations with me and I was “thrilled with the positive results.” I also did a self-evaluation and the superintendent did one about me. It all turned out very positive and I was elated with the results.
In the spring of my first year in Iowa City I taught an evaluator training class to almost all of the administrators in the district including the superintendent. It went well and I got to know many of my colleagues.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
90s19 First Impressions
School districts are complicated and Iowa City is no different. Actually, I found it far more complex than I expected. It was five times the size of the Mt. Pleasant district and structured differently. Unfortunately, in those days there was no real orientation for “new to the district” administrators so you had to figure it all out for yourself.
I spent a lot of time reading documents in my new office and listening and talking with veteran staff members. They warned me that gossip traveled at lightning speed across the district. Without exception, they warned me that the parent population was a tough to please crowd. One even described them as anarchists and warned me to be careful.
My predecessor had a lot of difficulty with the parent group and I remembered the scrutiny they had given me through the interview process. I could see that there would be some challenging times.
I did not have much experience with active parent groups. At Mediapolis the only people who showed up for PTA meetings was the president and I. Mt. Pleasant was the same. People were too busy to get involved or just not interested. It wasn’t going to be the same in Iowa City.
One of the first few days at work a parent called to welcome me to the district. It was a very cordial conversation. She told me now familiar stories about how difficult the parent group could be and how I needed to “watch my back.” She ended the conversation with “Don’t let the sharks get ya, guy!” Little did I know then that she was one of them.
I learned there was some disagreements among staff and a few that had been involved in controversy. I was getting conflicting stories from different people and it was all difficult to sort out.
The staff had a barbeque for us at one of their homes. It was well attended with most wanting to check out the new principal and his wife. It went well and everyone was very welcoming.
My journal is full of comments about how supportive and welcoming everyone seemed to be and aside from the warnings about how difficult it could be I was very excited about being there. I felt I could navigate through the maze of issues and, in time, figure out how the district operated.
The dynamics of a highly educated community actively involved in their schools and serving a diverse population of students made the job challenging. There was an English as a second language program in the building with over twenty students from all over the world. A significant part of our population lived in poverty and had many needs. Another part of the population was from very affluent families. We had students from the domestic abuse shelter and two SCI classrooms.
That first year Longfellow had about 350 students and was multi-aged grouped for instruction. That was new to me and it took some time to figure out how it worked. Basically, we had a kindergarten, four first/second grade classroom, four third/fourth grades, and four fifth/sixth grades.
I spent a lot of time reading documents in my new office and listening and talking with veteran staff members. They warned me that gossip traveled at lightning speed across the district. Without exception, they warned me that the parent population was a tough to please crowd. One even described them as anarchists and warned me to be careful.
My predecessor had a lot of difficulty with the parent group and I remembered the scrutiny they had given me through the interview process. I could see that there would be some challenging times.
I did not have much experience with active parent groups. At Mediapolis the only people who showed up for PTA meetings was the president and I. Mt. Pleasant was the same. People were too busy to get involved or just not interested. It wasn’t going to be the same in Iowa City.
One of the first few days at work a parent called to welcome me to the district. It was a very cordial conversation. She told me now familiar stories about how difficult the parent group could be and how I needed to “watch my back.” She ended the conversation with “Don’t let the sharks get ya, guy!” Little did I know then that she was one of them.
I learned there was some disagreements among staff and a few that had been involved in controversy. I was getting conflicting stories from different people and it was all difficult to sort out.
The staff had a barbeque for us at one of their homes. It was well attended with most wanting to check out the new principal and his wife. It went well and everyone was very welcoming.
My journal is full of comments about how supportive and welcoming everyone seemed to be and aside from the warnings about how difficult it could be I was very excited about being there. I felt I could navigate through the maze of issues and, in time, figure out how the district operated.
The dynamics of a highly educated community actively involved in their schools and serving a diverse population of students made the job challenging. There was an English as a second language program in the building with over twenty students from all over the world. A significant part of our population lived in poverty and had many needs. Another part of the population was from very affluent families. We had students from the domestic abuse shelter and two SCI classrooms.
That first year Longfellow had about 350 students and was multi-aged grouped for instruction. That was new to me and it took some time to figure out how it worked. Basically, we had a kindergarten, four first/second grade classroom, four third/fourth grades, and four fifth/sixth grades.
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