iPhones and Feeling Old

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

Sometimes I just feel old. The world doesn’t seem to view me with the same lens I do as I look out into it. The outside package doesn’t look too bad- not much grey, the wrinkles haven’t yet developed into deep chasms, and I can still get around pretty fast in four-inch platforms. I know the latest text lingo, can probably name the top 10 pop artists, and am pretty darn savvy with social media. Occasionally, I can even still party like a rock star.

Last night was a different story. Maybe it had something to do with the gardening I did all day, or overdoing it on the treadmill-no denying the body doesn’t respond the way it used to. Perhaps it was the fact that I actually had to think about the supervision of my kids before I could head out on a Saturday night-that’s what grownups do, right?

Most likely, though, what it came down to was the Apple Store.

Firstly, going to the Apple Store involves driving to the mall. That part doesn’t make me feel so old-there are many people much more advanced in age than I am strolling around malls. Just not on a Saturday night. At 8 p.m. there are only young people in the mall. Most of the stroller crowd has headed home, and the parents with elementary school age kids have long headed towards the sanity of their own four walls. On a Saturday night, there are a few ‘date night’ folks like me, and just a whole lot of young adults ‘hangin’out’.

I don’t spend a whole lot of time in malls –hardly ever – but when I do go, it’s for a purpose. Like shopping for something specific. I have no interest-I never have, really, for getting all dressed up to walk in circles watching other people watch me. Seems like a waste of time.

So as we navigated past the posers strutting around with their hands on their crotches looking like they just walked off the set of their latest music video, I got edgy. Walking into the Apple Store swarming with folks trying out the newest gadgets made me downright anxious. I would have been fine with turning around and heading out, but we had a purpose: we enrolled in the ‘Advanced iPhone’ class, and it was ready to begin. Just enrolling in the class means I’m old, right?

The cheerful instructor casually placed the black folding chairs in the center of the store, motioned us to plop down beside her and began her lesson. Alongside us were three other women, obviously MUCH more senior than I was, all equally eager to learn how to operate their smart phones.

Am I really that ancient?

I have to hand it to our instructor-she didn’t blink an eye when asked about contacts, calendars and finding our phone number. When she started getting into more complex parts, the questions began rolling right in, and still she didn’t roll her eyes or look at her students like the idiots we must have seemed like to her.

I could feel my hair turning grey and the wrinkles deepening as she spoke. I realized I was surely old enough to be her mother, and wondered how that could have happened. Then she started talking about her dad, and how he loves to face-time (is that a verb?) with her, sending photos of their dogs. Is that what she thinks I do, too? Ack!

When satisfied we knew all about face time, iCloud and Siri, we hustled out the door and found the nearest chairs.

“Wow, that was over my head. Want to get some dinner?” my husband asked.

“Sure,” I replied. “Let’s ask Siri where to go!”

“That’s too complicated,” he responded. “Let’s just look at a map.”

Maybe they’re right. Maybe we are that old. Do you think Siri will know the answer to that question if I ask?

I bet there’s a few things I could teach her, too.

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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Friday Photo: “Never Give Up”

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It was a rough playoff game. The loser faced the dismal loser’s bracket, forced to claw their way back up. Neither team wanted to start off the series that way.

The game started out ok, and we kept it tied for the first few innings 0-0. Then 1-1. But when we got to the third and fourth, and their pitcher sent curve ball after fastball after slider at our boys, their spirits sank and so did their bats.

The opposition took advantage, and runs began pouring in. 3-1. 5-1. Then it was 6-2, bottom of the sixth. Our last up at bat, and hope was nearly gone – until their pitcher ran up his count, and had to exit. Thank goodness for Little League arm-protection rules.

And an amazing thing happened. Our boys started cheering each other on. We got on base, one after another and they were loaded. One out. Home plate started seeing our footprint, and when my son stole home it was a tie game, 6-6. Before we knew it, the shortstop stole home, too, and we were on top-a place we never expected to be.

After the game, I asked my son what he thought about the night – how was he feeling during and after? He paused, then responded, “Well, I guess you just can never give up.”

Life lessons from a 12-year-old.

Jennifer Wolfe

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Communication Breakdown

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

It’s funny how differently people communicate. Some think that because they talk, they are communicating. Others think that if they listen, they are communicating. Taking notes-is that communicating? So is body language-do we count that?

When I’m teaching, I’m communicating. My students have silent and not-so-silent forms of communication. Boys communicate differently from girls, and men from women. Do animals communicate? People of different cultures have modes of communication that are sometimes difficult for outsiders to understand. Writing is a form of communicating, too, and probably my most comfortable mode.

I start the year teaching about precision of language, and how problematic it can be when we are careless with language and use incorrect and powerful words. When I’m teaching my students literary analysis, I hammer the idea of justification-that whatever claim they are trying to make, they need to back it up with proof from the text. When we work on argumentative writing, we try to not only consider our beliefs, but also try to predict a counterargument. Narrative writing needs to communicate visual ideas and sensory

details.

The problem I’m noticing lately is when adults try to communicate only through words, and they either have little command of language, or are sloppy at it. Some adults prefer email to face-to-face encounters, and would rather write out their feelings and opinions than talk on the phone. In meetings, some use language to communicate verbally, others try to write it all down as it is spoken, and leave the interpretation for later. In watching this, I’m realizing that these modes are all problematic.

The poor writer chooses the wrong word and is misunderstood. The emailer loses the ability to show emotion and body language. The talkers spend so much time hearing their own voice that they cannot hear anyone else, and the note takers risk having slow fingers that only catch part of the truth, and leave the rest open for interpretation.

For me, it all kind of comes back to justification and precision. If we think, then write, we need to back up our assertions. This isn’t to say that we all need to create lawyer-like arguments for our thoughts, but we need to think it through before it comes out of our mouth or onto a paper. We need to consider our language, and the power of our words to motivate, measure, or make misery. We need to choose what we say, when we say it, and how we say it with thoughts of the recipient. To do any less opens the door for heartbreak, heartache, and misunderstandings. I know this is a tall order-thinking before I speak is something I have to make a conscious effort towards daily. It’s not easy, but it is getting easier.

I can only imagine how much better my world would be if more people took the time to communicate. Isn’t it worth a try?

Jennifer Wolfe

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Are Smart Phones A Dumb Idea?

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

Technology can be a beautiful thing. We feel instantly connected, safe and well informed just by carrying a little 4-inch contraption in our pockets. It keeps us up to date on breaking news, lets us know when we’re late for an appointment, and can transport us across continents in a matter of seconds. Parents monitor their children, spouses know what’s for dinner, and employees can let employers know when they’re running late.

Then there’s the ugly part.

As much as we teach our kids to be safe on the internet, don’t give out personal information and make sure to let us know exactly where they are, there’s one ugly thing about technology: a lack of manners.

At my middle school, we do not allow cell phones to be out during the day. That means from when kids step onto campus until they leave at the end of the day, phones are not to be seen or heard. For the most part, kids respect the policy. There are no ear buds hanging down their bodies, and it is rare for me to see a phone out in class. However, I spent the morning in a high school today, and I was shocked at what I saw.

Phones were everywhere. They were crammed in tiny jean short front pockets, stuffed in back pockets, slipped in and out of backpacks and sometimes blatantly hanging out on the desk. And not the free-with-a-new-line type of phones – I’m talking smart phones. Kids all around me were seemingly more engaged in what was happening on their touch screen than what the teacher was presenting. There were varying degrees of compliance-some actually broke away from their texting to participate in the activity-but then just as quickly went back to checking Facebook or listening to music.

I love my smart phone just like anyone else, but what I saw today disturbed me on many levels. I saw the pack mentality at work. If one kid is allowed, the rest follow. If one teacher doesn’t mind, the rest fight an uphill battle. But what might have bothered me the most is the complete lack of respect for what the teacher was trying to do in the classroom; as engaging as he was, he couldn’t compete with the little electronic box cradled in their hands.

I’ve been teaching in the technology generation most of my career. At first, I noticed my student’s desire for instant gratification that video games bred. Then came the demand for a teacher to be an entertainer. Now it seems that our society is allowing citizens to forget their manners and validate a lack of common courtesy.

Come on, people. This is turning ugly. Technology can be a beautiful thing, but let’s use it politely. Teach our children well.

Jennifer Wolfe

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Friday Photo: Gossip Girls

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

gossip girls Pictures, Images and Photos

Oh how I hate those gossipy little bitches

With nothing better to do than

Run

From one to the next

Spreading their toxicity

Oh how I hate those weak, spineless people

With time on their hands

And

Words on their tounges

That hurt

Oh how I hate those small, little humans

Who find pleasure in their meekness

Not

Pain in their accusations and

Falsehoods

Oh how I hate those shallow little adults

Who talk behind backs and

Doors

Instead of having courage to

Communicate

Oh how I hate those parts of myself

That care what they say

And

Give them any notice or

Ammunition.

Jennifer Wolfe

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