The weather is now beautiful. Sunny, not hot, not cold. No wind. Nothing new to you all.
Easter weekend was rather quiet around here. Especially, Easter Sunday. And it’s quieter now with no school, no buses going by.
My Hummingbird feeder is busy now I’ve prevented the ants from getting into the liquid. And the lizard which was lurking on a nearby window has gone. The Purple Martins are chirping noisily in the morning but quiet now at 2 pm.
Unfortunately, it seems to be egg laying time for turtles and my dog has discovered at least two lately—one in the yard, one under the house. One I tossed in the river hoping it could swim. The other must have made it to the river on its own. I don’t know why but the dog just hates turtles. She barks non stop at them, tries to bite their shells which has led to a chipped canine tooth. Snakes are as bad but not as common.
The Belle River boat landing is practically empty during the week these days so I’ve taken the dog there where I can sit in the shade and she can poke around. Twice now, a truck has pulled into the parking lot, a man got out and from a short distance I could hear him call to the dog who had approached a little. She wouldn’t get too close and I called out “That’s my dog,” and the guy said ok. It’s happened twice and I think it’s the same person so maybe he’s just looking for a fat, old dog. He doesn’t speak to me so I assume he’s not an authority person. I guess he just wants a dog and mine looks handy. Cheryl, the dog, likes people but is shy of them which I am grateful for.
There weren’t too many people at Bingo on Apr. 7. But the walking trail is busy until well after dark most days. Some of my Yoga ladies walk the trail and then come in for class.
I just read an interesting article about a teacher who does not think ‘screens’ are helping students in the classroom. He’s not against them but has cut their use in his classes to a bare minimum. He feels using the digital devices is making kids less social and allowing teachers to become unaware of problems his students have. The article was pretty long and I will read it more carefully but it brought up some pretty interesting observations and not just ones of some grumpy teacher.
I, of course, retired way, way before anything digital was invented and certainly before anything very technical was used in a classroom. I wonder, though, if things like Spelling contests, knowing your Math facts, actually writing (not just printing), asking your teacher something about the subject and not referring to Google or whatever even occurs today. And now, you’re thinking this old lady just doesn’t know what she’s talking about and that’s true to some extent. But you know, I remember my teachers, some I liked, some I didn’t, but I remember them, talking to them, asking them things, and I knew what the kids in my grade were doing and having trouble with. I can actually remember a high school history teacher who knew that a certain official had terrible false teeth. I know that’s not academically important but I remember and when that official’s name comes up I think, “Oh yea, that’s the one who had funny teeth and who did lots of other things.
While I’m on my ‘hobby’ horse here, if you’re my age can you remember spending a lot of time with a special tablet making circles, figure eights and loop de loops to help you write nicer? Not print. Write! And I’m using a computer to tell you this! Oh boy!!
Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be emailed at lindacooke1939@ gmail.com.
