School & WORK Journal 2007-2021

snippets, slices, slabs of moments and doings

irregular, infrequent, and incomplete thoughts & lists on learning, education, play. or sometimes just snippets of conversation with our kids amidst life, which is one of the most beautiful and wonderful ways of learning. I will possibly include older snippets and slices involving work of the past; many of which now degree hold some level of humor or eye-rolling, as many examinations or remembrances of the past tend to do.

April 2021

29 - A 5th grader plots out areas of rectangles. There is much discussion of parallelograms, trapezoids, rhombi, and other such shapes these days.

Notes on Math 5 this year. Volume: length, width, height. One of our hopes has been to make Math an experience that’s…if not exciting or alluring, at least an experience that’s not negative. Largely we’ve done okay, thanks in large part to a) the patience and consistent time invested by my wife, b) the stubbornness and resolve gifted from me in ensuring fundamentals are met, and c) the caring manner in which our kids’ other math instructors have helped demystify the world of numbers. That being said, what is the far-off horizon, as regards a relationship between our progeny and the world of mathematics? I don’t know. The probability that they will embark on careers that are math-heavy is not zero and it’s not one hundred; I suspect, based on the many, many doodling and drawings on the backside of their math papers, that the probability might not be equidistant between those two extremes. We shall see. But the point remains: math is important, it’s necessary, it’s relevant, and it’s buried all around us, so ignoring it, rejecting it, dismissing it, or giving it anything less than the full onslaught of our ability to learn would be unwise choice. So there.

The curriculum is partially built around something called Zearn, which is also used as a verb; a cutesy stylistic choice I have opinions about which are likely difficult to determine. I have not yet decided how effective it is in helping students learn math. Our 5th grader has decided. He will probably not be sitting on the Zearn Board of Directors anytime soon.

March 2021

28 - Math. As I peruse our 5th grader’s Zearn workbook on multiplying and dividing fractions and decimals, I notice the curious companions to each page: his scrawling and sketches and doodles skimming and weaving throughout the problems and assignments; drawing a journey through the head of an 11-year old as he trudges through numerical worlds and brings them to life with his own characters and visual musings. For some reason it makes me think of Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth.

FEbruary 2021

September 2020

8th, 5th, 3.5 year old, 1 year old

February 2020

03

A Preschooler practices writing single syllables words. Mat, Man, Rug. All letters written in all caps. He carefully sounds out rhyming words and beginning sounds for each sample. Can/Fan, Hat/Bat, Box/Fox.

2019 Below

OCTOBER 2019

22 Tuesday : The soul’s sunshine

Three students squeezed onto a bench at our educational headquarters; an HQ that doubles as a table for meals.

In between, a 33-month old scribbling and scrawling away on paper with a #2 pencil.
Flanking on one side, his 9-year old 4th grader big bro, diligently working his way down a reading comprehension worksheet.
Flanked on his other, his 12-year old 7th grader big sis, dutifully working her way through an ELA workbook.

To learn, to learn together, to love, to love being together, to love learning, to love learning together…this is one of my lifelong dreams to not only perpetuate, but to grow and keep eternal.

September 2019 Above

7th, 4th, 32-month old, newborn

2018 Below

October 2018

02 Tuesday : Things they will do

The 6th grader will rehearse Maths on Khan Academy, suffer through an extensive spelling test (#5) administered by me, complete Wordly Wise #31, and finish homework from her homelink program.

The 3rd grader will rehearse Maths on Zearn, commit himself fully to pursuing enlightenment in Grammar, Reading Comprehension, and Paragraph Editing, and will also dive into finishing work from his homeland homelink program.

They both will spend 20 minutes reading, though I suspect they will try and pull off more. I will force them to go outside and shoot things.* They will gladly practice piano and guitar/ukulele for 15 minutes each with songs leaping off their lips and from their hearts. Furthermore, they will be gifted the opportunity to spend remaining time learning German.

All of those will be done with quiet, measured, ecstatic joyfulness, exactly as I have proscribed and prescribed. Of this I have no little no more than a trifling of doubt.

*with cameras.

September 2018

6th, 3rd, 20-month old

May 2018

May 04

Grammar. Articles. I love when grammar throws softballs; topics you can race through and make you feel like you’re making all kinds of progress.

May 01

Grammar. Review tenses, including progressive present and past. Note: this is not a political statement. Just for fun, leap into adjectives practice: demonstrative, limiting, descriptive, comparative, superlative, predicate.

There’s the ageless refrain of students everywhere: why do I have to learn this? When am I ever going to use this stuff?

I have long answers that few people would find interesting. I have short answers, which few people might find interesting, but they’re short and since you’re already reading, you might as well do one more sentence. One short answer is that these get our brains thinking about why something is the way it is. We may not remember consciously, or be able to articulate what these different types of adjectives are - but somewhere, we are building a system, a root system, of knowledge that is based on consistency and on understanding where things come from. Including the ways we use language to understand everything around us and to communicate with others.

April 17

Grammar. Review irregular verb particles. While we’re at it, spend some time on all the tenses for perfect verbs. Tenses and types of verbs fall into the category of knowledge that feels common sense; you know something’s wrong when you read or hear it - I has to go to the doctor - but to articulate what is wrong and why…that’s where the relationship between Mathematics and Grammar becomes more evident. You can know the right answer, but do you know how you got there and why it works? Or doesn’t?

February 09

Grammar. The joy of verbs identifying as irregular and living in the tense of of past participleness.

January 2018

January 08

Grammar. More verbs and tenses. Participles of both the past and present variety.

2018 above

2017 below

November 2017

Grammar. The entire 5th grade class in our home (population: 1) covers verbs: present, past, future tenses. And then just for a little excitement, we dip our toes into infinitives. Ooh, exciting! I have to admit I love to boldly split them when no one’s looking, shhh…

October 2017

Grammar. A 5th grader reviews more pronouns. Indefinite and interrogative and demonstrative. Then onto verbs. Action, linking, helping, tenses. She dutifully plugs along. There is something quietly cathartic about reviewing some of these things.

September 2017

5th, 2nd, 8-month old

September 20

Grammar. Pronoun day! Subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive pronouns, reflexive pronouns, indefinite and interrogative and demonstrative and…so many pronouns. Do we even need them all? Some 5th graders (and adults) might say no.

September 17

Grammar. Review possessive nouns.

September 8

Grammar. One of our 5th graders* reviews concrete versus abstract nouns and singular versus plural nouns.
*our only 5th grader

September 1

Grammar. A 5th grader reviews the difference between common and proper nouns.

2017-18 above (5th and 2nd)

2016-17 below (4th & 1st)

June 2017 : assorted and miscellaneous learnings from a 4th grade year

Coming soon

June 13, 2017

Health. We cover sports safety. This girl goes hard, goes fast, has got a good head…and like everyone, needs a helmet. My additional big thing I remind our kids of again and again and again:

Tuck your chin to your chest any time you’re rolling, flipping, jumping. Chin to chest. Never, ever backwards.

Question: why does it seem like movies and television love to show people just casually doing activities without helmets, seat belts, or flotation devices?

May 04, 2017

Science. She continues to watch over her seeds in various stages: corn, bush bean, black-eyed pea, and sunflower. The latter has no sprout, the first three are tiny. The magic of life growing, the magic of learning by watching life grow. I love to see combination of why? questions in the concept of Science: why is this one looking healthy, and why is this one not, and then looking for variables to isolate and hypotheses to develop and solutions to discover - or create.

April 27, 2017

Science. Fourth graders compare the different properties of seeds. Today: blueberries and squash. How are they alike, how are they different and what are the variables contributing to their different characteristics?

April 24, 2017

Science. How are seeds alike and different? Examining different variables: shape, size, color, texture, dryness, location, etc. What are their properties? Our 4th grader researches bush beans, squash, and blueberries. She will be tracking the growth and health of a sprouting seed - a bush bean.

March 1, 2017

Health. We review the food groups and talk about different ingredients and menu item options to serve for different meals. She comes up with:

Breakfast
Fried potatoes
Fresh fruit
Oatmeal bread toast
Breakfast links
Orange juice

Lunch
Spaghetti with pesto sauce
Carrots and bell pepper sticks
(or)
Rice with tofu
Fresh fruit

Dinner
Tomato soup
Oatmeal bread toast
Lemon water

Yum, for the most part. I’ll take the breakfast for sure!

February 2017 - miscellaneous learnings and reviews from a 4th grade month

Health. We continue examining food labels on products like cookies. Order of ingredients, servings, how many or how much of something is a good idea to eat?

February 27, 2017

Science. Designing a cart: what happens when you change different variables, such as reducing the weight or adding more wheels? What kind of force needs to be applied?

Breakdown of cart components: axles, wheels, bearings. Materials used: popsicle sticks, discs, index cards, straws. Using data tables to analyze evidence and track changes in variables, such as starting position of the cart or slope.

February 24, 2017

Health. We go over different ways to control the spread of germs, such as washing hands, keeping hair back around food, and using clean kitchen equipment.

February 23, 2017

Science. Mrs R——- takes the class through the elements of the Engineering Design Process:

Understand the problem
Define the criteria and constraints
Devise a solution to solve the problem
Build the solution
Test the solution
Revise
Repeat steps 4-6 until you’ve satisfied the variables for criteria and constraints
Get a patent and take your solution into production

I enjoy hearing her talk about these steps and the entire process. She made a mid-career change from engineering to teaching. I can tell her enthusiasm and confidence in going through the steps and processes involved in solving (engineering and science) problems. As a person whose skill is in very different fields, I appreciate learning more about this type of problem-solving - and I’m especially drawn to ones such as the following that have massive relevance in analyzing many kinds of situations:

Engage in arguments that are based in evidence.

That is advice to be extrapolated, absorbed, and used by all of us.

February 13, 2017

Science. Predictions with motion. What design variables on a twirly bird will affect its motion - e.g. notches on one side? Will it go slower or faster?

February 6, 2017

Science. Motion and gravity. Experiments with pennies on cups. How can we predict where a rolling cup (on its side) will end up?

January 2017 - miscellaneous learnings and reviews from a 4th grade month

Health. We focus on using walking, running, and movement to build up endurance.

January 30, 2017

Science. We look at motion and how different variables affect the movement of wheels going down a ramp.

January 25, 2017

Science. We study magnetic force and the concepts of repelling and attracting. Students pair up in exercises involving a magnet on a string to see how that magnet interacts with other magnets and paper clips.

Mrs R——- also reviews best practices for scientists:

Ask questions
Develop and use models
Plan and carry out investigations
Analyze and interpret data

January 17, 2017

Health. We read more food product labels. What are good things and not-so-good things about different products, like breakfast cereals?

December 3, 2016

Health. We continue reviewing nutrition and how foods are labeled. We talk about sugar, carbohydrates, and calories.

November - miscellaneous learnings and reviews from a 4th grade month

Grammar.
More subjects and predicates review.
Types of sentences - statement, question, exclamation, command.
The differences between common nouns and proper nouns.
More nouns - singular, plural, possessive.

November 30

Health. We explore nutrition labels. Things to look for, things to stay away from in overabundance (high fructose corn syrup!), and ways to measure (tablespoons, teaspoons, servings, etc.).

November 14, 2016

Science. 4th graders examine dangers in nature, including lightning, blizzards, tornados, forest fires, sand storms, floods, fog, monsoons, and heat waves. Everything’s gonna be alright. Or it’s not. Sweet dreams tonight, kids!

Students go on to look at climate and weather forecasting, including highs and lows, precipitation, and temperature extremes.

October - miscellaneous learnings and reviews from a 4th grade month

Grammar.
Prefixes (re, un, mid, in)
Suffixes (er, less, ful)
Capital letters - how do you know when to use UPPERCASE or lowercase?
Proper nouns and common nouns.
Sentences: a grouping of words that contains a complete thought.
Subjects and predicates (what or what does something, what the subject is or does or has, e.g. Dad baked a strawberry pie. Dad is the subject, baked a strawberry pie is the predicate).

Health. Exercise and the role of oxygen and movement in living healthy and reducing stress.

October 25

Health. We discuss empathy and how to handle different situations with friends. This is at the root of so much. So much.

October 18

Health. We explore the reasons to exercise and what the different benefits are of different types, including reaction times and lowering the risk of different diseases.

October 13

Science. Tests to determine the differing densities of cold and hot water. What happens to water when it gets hot or cold?

October 10

Science. Crime Scene Investigation continues with examinations of the different temperature scales (Celsius and Fahrenheit) and how they relate to body and room temperatures and the freezing point of water.

Health. We talk about how great walking is for your body and examine the ways it benefits your body and mind. Three good ways to walk: long strides, swing arms, go every day.

September - miscellaneous learnings and reviews from a 4th grade month

Grammar. Compound words and how to combine two words into one (sail + boat).
Synonyms (false and wrong).
Antonyms (sell and purchase).
Homonyms (words that are pronounced the same, but have different meanings, e.g. son and sun).

September 19

Science. A fresh 4th grader examines the evidence from a crime scene; carefully writing down her observations, which include: three types of dog prints, two Coke cans, a napkin with a brown streak, a bottle of perfume, two thumbtacks, and one alarm clocks. There are a number of other items. The crime takes place at a a two bedroom, one bath beach house around 3pm.

I love the diligence and quiet joy she has found pursuing these leads. Are there some interesting conversations and questions about 4th graders dissecting a crime scene? Sure. But 1) again, I love seeing students excited about actively learning and caring about what they discover, and 2) a gift we can give (other) teachers (and other trusted adults in our kids’ lives, period) is a level of trust; trust that is earned and that is maintained with active interest on the part of us as parents. That means we can spend our time, when our child is under the guidance or tutelage or coaching of another trusted figure, actively supporting; supporting being the important idea. They have done the work - a lot of work - to create, to curate, to pull together materials to use in learning; to come in and demand something different, especially without investing the (active) ongoing effort and interest to know what’s going on would be the height of disinterest and disrespect.

begin 4th and 1st

2016-17 above

April 26

What kind of clown would you be? That is the question. This is what a 3rd grader said:

I would have blue blue hair and an orange nose. I would have green suspenders. I would pretend to cut someone in half.
In response to a prompt about using sunscreen:
Be sure to use our ultraviolet rays prevention sunscreen! It prevents skin cancer and keeps you cooler!
In response to a question about what you like to collect:
“I like colecting (sp) rocks. Some I buy, and some I find. Sometimes people give me rocks that belong to them.”

I am fascinated by the present and by the future and by the bands between them; the continuum where you don’t see things change. They just change.

Will there suddenly be a day where she longer thinks of rock collecting as a desirable activity, or as something important to her? Maybe. Maybe not. But it probably won’t be a sudden shift or abrupt decision. It will be like so many things: a slow change. Those slow changes are a big reason I write and journal and document.

You can’t see or identify those changes unless you have some markers down for tracking beginnings and ends and middles. And keeping track of those things, of some of those things in balance is a big thing that helps me to remember and therefore to understand better - and perhaps as important as anything, to not mourn change or fight it, but to embrace the bittersweet beauty of what was, what is, and what will be. I loved our daughter then, I love her now, I love her always. The variables may change, the interests and hobbies and many things may change. But there are also constants.

April 12

A 3rd grader reviews vocabulary, proofreading, syntax, and endings, e.g. how final consonants are added before different types of endings such as -ed, -ing, and -er.

I learn that her favorite sport is basketball because she “…likes the setting and shooting hoops.”

Me too.

She also responded to a question about speaking or reading in front of people. This is what she said:

“I like reading to the class. It makes me feel good.”

Cool. Cool cool.

2016 above

2015 below

November 17 - What kind?

Third grade spelling, vocabulary, proofing, etc, in the form of complete-the-word, crosswords, puzzles, and so forth.

Q: Write a brief news report about what you just saw at a race.

“Today at Swamp Buggy Days, a buggy steered into a strawberry patch and squished all the strawberries. This is Katu 2 news. It’s 8:01…the news is next.”

Note: those last four words…sniff. Any idea what public radio station we might listen to for an ad-free, listener-supported, non-partisan source of news?

You just discovered Bigfoot. Write about it.
I found a Bigfoot! First, I saw it’s (sp) footprints. Then I saw the Bigfoot. It was awsome! (sp)

We all phone it in sometimes. That’s the power of review and accountability in enabling steady growth and lifelong learning.

October 20, 2015

Spelling workout. What is the role of workbooks? What is the connection between the word tourist and the phrase busy work? My take: people almost never see themselves as relevant with either.

If it’s you, you’re not a tourist, you’re a visitor or a traveler or an adventurer, and of course you’re not going to do ‘the tourist thing,’ except for that yeah, you’re going to visit those places, but with a degree of irony and/or self-awareness and/or denial of learning or comfort that may imply you’re a…tourist. Because of course you’re not. Other people are.

And a teacher is almost never going to say: I’m assigning you busy work. Because any work they assign is, of course, relevant, important, and integral to their students’ academic development. That’s the deal.

But here’s the thing: so much of learning is not necessarily fresh information or knowledge. It’s reminding, reviewing, responding, and…repetition. Yeah, repetition. I guess the key is how to make the repetition not mundane and wear students down. But the fact is, there’s no getting around the importance of nailing down fundamentals in any discipline. I repeat: in any discipline.

So where do workbooks fit it in? I’ll be wisely self-knowing like Socrates and say I don’t know. One little tip or trick I’ve borrowed from other earlier developmental stages is a hint of reverse psychology coupled with the timeless principle of scarcity: make something less available and it becomes more wanted.

Our 3rd grade daughter likes doing these workbooks. So sometimes it’s finding and fine-tuning the right amount in a particular workbook that we’ll let her do. In other words, you can do this much and definitely not any more. And then we get to that point and well…maybe one more page. Or two max.

We have a daughter who a) enjoys academics, including workbook work, and b) is deeply, deeply suspicious and (rightly) paranoid about being played, about manipulated, or about any psychological tricks being used to get her to do something. So, I don’t know. We just keep going. And then stop. And keep going. Repeat.

Q: What is something you might choose to use instead of money?

I think my money would be bracelets because I have a lot and I think people would like them. I could also buy more things.
Q: What’s a food made with rice that you like?

One of my favorite rice foods is rice cereal. I like when I hear it crackle and it tastes good.
Write a secret message.

Phone school Purple the wrap cough wreck sign yellow wren rough wrote track graph turquoise is knee knew Red pretty writer laugh knife yellow and elephant sign wrong knots green cute.
(you use every word after the color)

October 6

Our 3rd grader practices vocabulary and spelling, including y words with the long e sound. Angry, lady, very, empty. We review syllables - I am a big, big fan of phonics and beginning with syllabic breakdowns of words has been a favorite learning pastime of ours, with both ours, since they were little:

How many syllables in ‘Washington?’ How many syllables in ‘Darth Vader?’ How many syllables in ‘Age of Ultron?’ Et cetera.

More proofreading and writing descriptions:

Write a description of where you live:

I live at a place with a lot of trees and I have 5 acres with a big pasture. I also have plenty of blackberry bushes. We also have four playful alpacas.

All of the above is true.

We also reviewed long vowel sounds such as ea (read), ee (seen), eo (people), e_e (even).

I love her love of learning and the way she immerses herself, sometimes with a slight smile, always with intent focus, in what she’s studying or working on. That is what I want to help, however I can, not only preserve, but to grow and keep growing always.

September 2015

A 3rd grader works on spelling, including words with consonant blends like s and l. Smile, smart, frowning, free, glue, slumber. She unscrambles letters, finds missing words, proofreads poorly-written sentences, and writes a description of laughing. This is her:

I like laughing. It makes laugh when Anonymous Person burps. Laughing makes me feel good.

I suppose the world could use more laughing, so perhaps a greater frequency of loud bodily noises would benefit humanity at large?

She writes a poem:

I love my Dad when I am not mad.
I love my Dad when I am not sad.
I love my Dad when I am not bad.

I’m sure she’ll write many poems and stories about me over the course of her life, but this will likely be one of my favorites for a long time.

August 08 (beginning of 3rd grade and Kindergarten)

As we prepare for school to start up again, a great quote by one of my favourite cantankerous and opinionated literary figures:

"Education is the period during which you are being instructed by somebody you do not know, about something you do not want to know."

- G.K. Chesterton

Happy Thorsday, all! Learn something about something that interests you today.

June : Some things a pre-K fellow practiced in 2014-15 (age 4)

Phonics. Vowels with short and long sounds. Beginning sounds.
Writing. Letters and numbers (A-Z, 0-9)
Shapes and colors. Considering which colors might go with which types of objects, such as which food, which color? Basic shapes: triangle, rectangle, oval.
Body and personal world. Different parts in generic terms, starting with skeleton. Clothes, personal objects, etc.
Nutrition. What is healthy. What do you like to eat?

June 02 Second grade winds down

Spelling. Sample: thankful, forgetful, joyful, careful, self, text, love. She misses grateful by including an a (greatful). That actually feels like it could be/should be a word too. Sample sentence:

I try to be thoughtful, but sometimes I’m forgetful.

She celebrates the completion of her spelling test by requesting another one. She is granted this wish. kindness, brightness, power, listen. Sample sentence: If you listen more than you speak, you will be wise.

That’s a good thing to carry from second grade into the rest of your life.

May 19, 2015

Spelling. A second grader romps through her test happily. Sample: slowest, smartest, brightest, funniest, context, poem. She trips over silliest, inexplicably with sillyest. Apropo for the word, perhaps. :) Sample sentence:

The smartest students check their results and revise their work.

May 05

Spelling. Not a one missed. Sample: painter, workers, teacher, thinker, dreamer, problem, age. Her sample sentence:

Are you a dreamer, or a thinker?

April 28

Spelling. A 2nd grader scores 15/16 on he weekly test. Nice! Becca writes, with a smiley face and 94%. Sample words: madly, quickly, weekly, loudly, simple, care. She misses bravely, leaving out the e. Sample sentence she writes:

Do you want to go on a daily or a weekly bike ride?

April 21

Spelling. A 2nd grader rocks out a hundred percent on her test. Sample words: bolt, felt, melt, face, edge, arms. She draws an elegant array of checkmarks for each correct answer; all 16 tally marks rising to the top right of her lined notebook page. Her mom, Countess Becca, scrawls out Excellent! at the top. At some points in the formal learning process, these little marks of praise and excitement especially matter. Then…she wants to take another test. This one includes whale, why, whistle, sun, display, knew. Scores up a 15/16 and a Nice Job! from her mom at the top. Then she writes out some sample sentences using these words:

If you whistle while you work the job is fun.
Show me where the whale went while I was gone.

April 07

A 3.5 year old practices writing numbers. Today: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

March 15, 2015

Geography / Spelling. I quiz our 2nd grader on all 50 state capitals. She’s doing great. The tough ones are remembering Des Moines, Boston, Lansing, St. Paul, Concord, Raleigh, Cheyenne, Bismarck, Columbus, Harrisburg, Pierre, Nashville, Charleston, and Richmond and spelling “Pheonix, Michagan, Minnosota.” I love how she dives in dutifully and keeps absorbing, editing, revising, and improving. That is what I want.

March 14

A preschooler/pre-Kinder(?) practices counting Ewoks and matching numbers to objects. Flanked by his mum, he earnestly markers in Tatooine groupings to compare amounts, counts moons and coins, and various Endoran creatures.

I have mixed feelings on the ubiquitous licensing of properties like Star Wars for ‘educational purposes.’ Mixed in the sense that commercial exploitation of kids, particularly in the rampant-for-corruption sector of ‘education,’ is off-putting. But also mixed in the sense that it is an extension of gamification; of taking something beloved and finding learning opportunities embedded in its world. Our son has enjoyed this particular book, and I think there are things that have been not necessarily learned, but at least reinforced. Things like counting, comparing, connecting patterns, recognizing and writing numbers, following directions or instructions, handwriting, understanding groups of something and relative sizes, etc. I don’t know…I have an uneasy relationship with things like tracing and coloring: I know they may be fun and important at different stages (even into adulthood). Yet I’m also, for better or for worse, resistant to spending too much time on learnings that are proscribed ways of imitation or limited imagination. You know? The difference between giving a kid a blank sheet of paper and watching the magic of imagination take over and spill from mind to hand to paper, versus giving an already-drawn illustration of something and having them practice coloring between the right lines just right.

Also, there were finger puppets at the end. Those were a hit.

I don’t know. Perhaps, ideally, my thoughts and views will evolve. I am a kid under construction too.

January 27

A 3-year old practices identifying different colors and takes the opportunity to draw red versions of his beloved character Darth Maul, although his mom spells it Mal on his paper. We have got to watch more Star Wars together. I love seeing the different renderings at these ages of their heroes and figures they admire.

January 12, 2015

A four-year old furiously flies his pencil through a Star Wars workbook, tracing and matching the numbers 6 through 10 against a backdrop of lightsabers, Jawas, Ewoks, clone troopers and Jedi. His colors for each are consistent; there is no mix and matching of hues or shades. They are different from page to page, but homogenous within a group. Interesting. On other pages, there are instructions for filling in a particular character with a specific color. He ignores these instructions and colors them in the colors he is drawn to. I am not sure completely how to feel about this. If it turns out to be a good thing, I was thinking I could take credit for this development. If it turns out to be a blockade to the development of following instructions and directions, I was thinking I could point the finger at his mom. The Countess. Is that a cowardly mindset?

I love the ferocity, yet specificity and attention he gives to each of his marker strokes. They are full of fire and and chaos, but there is also purpose and energy. I love that. And I love the time his mom gives in sitting alongside and helping, encouraging, affirming him along. She is amazing.

2015 above

2014 below

November 11

The Countess Becca works with one of her proteges, age 4, on abstract concepts such as identifying, counting, and writing the numbers 0 through 5. This is done against a character backdrop of galaxies, droids, suns, tauntauns, starships and Wookies from a certain cinematic universe.

September 2014 above

We start the school year with…a 2nd grader and pre-K dude

2013 below

Coming soon

2013 above

2012 below

October 20

I want to bring a little warmth to a digital world.

March 7

I suppose I’m interested in Photography as not just a product, but as a process…and in a larger sense, in the creative process itself. I like to let students start learning out of the gate, stumbling, finding (in the visual arts), direction, shapes, and concept amidst their splats and squiggles and blurriness. What do they find amidst those early explorations that starts to click and to drive their interest in a more targeted, focused sense?

March 1

Jonny and I met at 78th St SB and talked about finding a work/gallery space. We talked about the idea of doing workshops once or twice a month teaching the basics of DSLR. It was with Jonny, so we could have talked about anything and it would have been good and meaningful. But this was especially nice, as it feels good to make plans and brainstorm with someone you you like and respect, to say nothing of adore. As a reminder, I was 11 years old when he was born. To see him now, flying, teaching me, surpassing me in a growing number of ways…it’s stunning, challenging, and beautiful.

I want to be a decent version of Andy Warhol. This is what I mean, specifically. Not Andy Warhol in every way. Andy Warhol like this:

I want a factory, where:

people: write, paint, make films, print, photograph, sew, craft, and make jewelry.

80/20. Education, Editing, Design 80, the freedom to pursue own projects 20

January 26

Jonny, shooting like crazy.
Me, teaching, editing.

2012 above

2011 below

August 26, 1.06am

We are not afraid to take a stand on this one. Ready? Here:

Education is important.

There. Put ourselves out on the line. Vulnerable. Let the hate mail come rolling in. Bring it. Because you know what? This is what: Education is important. Which is why we are excited to have the chance to educate formally once again. A couple classes in Photography/Visual Art and Digital Broadcasting at a lovely anonymous high school in Southeast Portland. Go Cougars.

Also: had a vibrant and engaging meeting with redacted this morning, co-author of The Magic Redacted. That title just happens to include three words that we believe strongly in. We'll let you guess which ones. Anyway. We drank a lot of coffee and talked about good stuff.

P.S. one of the words is magic.

Much affection,

Mr. Professor Commander Joseph Long

June - Wrapup of Preschool 2010-11

I don’t even know what these designations mean. Kinder? Preschool? Pre-preschool? Pre-kindergarten? We just sort of plow ahead delicately, like a short-sighted warthog with a mercurial sense of humor. What I know is how much I love seeing her fall in love with words and language; the craft and art of shaping meaningless lines into meaningful symbols that’s she’s learning to code and decode. It is magnificent to behold and be a part of.

Lots of practicing sounds and syllables. What does ‘bridge’ start with? B-b-b-b-b-b r-rrrrrrr I-iiiiiii…and so on. Automobile rides are never boring when there’s windows to look out of and objects to name.

It’s also interesting to see the things she starts to skip, or want to skip, in workbooks. She got tired of practicing D. I looked at her Ds, and they looked decent, so…onto something more exciting?

April 18

“Unfortunately, I failed to realize that most people would rather argue over the superficial merits of what they like (or dislike) than consider why they like (or dislike) anything.”
from Chuck Klosterman's IV, footnote on p. 327

February 22

If you have not watched Banksy's "Exit Through the Gift Shop" yet, there is still time before the Academy Awards. Go! Hilarious, inspiring, educational, and tragicomic. A tale of friendship, obsession, and commerce juxtaposed with the underground world of street art. Go watch!

2011 above

2010 below

November 29, 1.16am

‘The Creative Business. The Creative Business of Stylistically Documenting Reality.’

It is post-1 a.m. and it just seemed like a pre-thought I should Twitter.
Except I don't Twit. Tweet? So I just braindump onto here.

Gute nacht/morgen.

November 15, 2.25am

Several years ago, I told brother Jonny that I wanted no idol worship.

You will surpass me someday, I said. I do not want your adulation. I want your respect, but it should come as you are huffing and puffing and pushing yourself to overtake me...and overtake anyone else you admire creatively.

Because that is what we do, what we should do as artists. Push each other. In a healthy way. If you do not acknowledge the changing dynamics of a mentor/protege relationship early on, then it will bite your bottom painfully in the future. If you prepare yourself for the pain and exultation of being surpassed, as every great parent and teacher and mentor someday experiences, then you will be joyful in that moment when you recognize you are now on the lower rung of that hierarchy.

I got joy, because that moment has clanged its way upon me. It is here, in the field once owned by Jacques Daguerre and Edward Weston and now filled with the youthful and confident eyes of my little brother. Jonny Long, Photographic Artist.

So if you have Photographic Inquiries, I direct you to him. I shall keep clicking away on the street, in my best Bressonian impression. But aside from that, I shall stand by his side and humbly await his directives as we click away on the growing number of shoots he has lined up...more on that soon.

JL Photography blog

August 25

Jonny and I began teaching some video, art, and photography classes this week.

Mr. Long and Mr. Long, is what students call us. Except for a few, who go with Professor.

We have been bantering, and publicly quarreling, and just doing a terrific job of educating young minds thus far.

Brother Jeremy is in our Digital Broadcasting class. Raised his hand partway through class.

Yes Jeremy?
Uhh, Mom wants you to call her.
Funny.

August 11

We have been gone, which many of you have commented on. Sorry, we have been playing.
Other stuff:

: New website will be up in the next two weeks.
: We start teaching in the next few weeks. Very excited to be formally dabbling in education as a corporate entity, together.
: Jonny is off to Cali for a few days. Ahh, life of a media mogul.

Good to be back.

June 24

I have been thinking a lot about Media Independent Storytelling. Finally, a phrase that simply articulates the type of storytelling we are pursuing...

March 17

Am sitting with Jonny, in studio, enjoying a cuppa cafe au lait and finalizing the script for Harvey.

2010 above

2009 below

December 14/15, 12.51am

Our 29-month old is very excited about learning the Presidents. “Will you help me learn them?” she’s kept asking. So I keep quizzing her. Has 12-15 of them down decent. Abraham Lincoln, of course, was the 16th, so you might wonder: why doesn’t she have 16 down? And the answer is that her sequencing and chronology leave something to be desired, and let’s face it: numbers 13-15 are a little tough (Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan). I hope this won’t mess up her understanding of history down the road.

November 1, a Sunday 8.41pm

Rabbit rabbit, time change. What would normally be 9.41 is…8.41.

An awful day, mostly. At the office doing cleanup on an untitled project…from three #$#SD$ months back. Jonny has been my sounding board. So thankful for him.

September 29, a Tuesday 11pm

Humane Society project: done.

July 31, a Friday 11.01am

Twitching. Have not been to bed, except for a short snooze during a render in the mid-A.M. hours. I hate this. Re-rendering the entire **** video and DVD because of two audio frames out of sync at the beginning. Finally got it in at 6.30 this morning.

June 8, 9.25pm

I am contemplating becoming a rock'n'roll star. Any thoughts on this career shift? Just an idea.

While waiting feedback, I will continue my leadership duties with The Company.

Love,

The Prez.

March 24, a Tuesday, 9.41pm

Jamey at the office: has production high, schedule is full, parents are loving it and having him. Very cool.

I am on the animal couch, flossing, watching House, and waiting for a giant render to complete.

Note to self: just find some festivals to submit to: use the guidelines as my rough structure/parameters/content and idea generation. (Note, 14 years later: what exactly did I mean? 20231014)

January 15

This blog will be updated occasionally, probably Wednesdays or Thursdays. Thanks for checking in!

- Joseph

2009 above

2008 below

August 27, 11.39pm

I am moving VLM HQ downtown. To a shared space. To happen imminently. Exciting.

August 13 : Wednesday, 8.13am, Sumter (OR)

Approximately 30 miles out of Baker City. On a shoot for a hybrid book-web-video hybrid series. Watched Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead with a fellow crew member in his RV after filming. Sydney Lumet : that saturation-drenched, orange-ish visual indicative of so many ‘70s auteurs.

I might - MIGHT - need to, uhh, decommission my relationship with coffee slightly. Maybe…
…no, I’m fine.

July 31, almost 2am

Another long, late night. Working on a short commissioned piece by a couple for their wedding. Lengthy day with our daughter, in conjunction. Afternoon in Portland.