Petra: Go and See It! #9

Petra is beautiful. I loved every moment exploring and that's what separates this site from museums: you can explore! I got lost at least 3 times and uncovered some really cool things. Then, of course, the paths most travelled yield some pretty amazing things too.

Walking through the Siq was cool, a great walkway towards the city. Especially in the morning when it's so quiet. There's this sense of enormity as you walk in the valley of the canyon. 

You get over the poop smell once you see the Treasury. Seeing it from up top is also really cool too. The funny thing is seeing the hordes of people taking pictures while I, an early riser, walk back home, appreciating the silence I had at 5-8 hours before. Here's the token camel shot:

On the right side, off a cliff, you can look down at the Treasury. There's a friendly duo up there who've got great tea and offer plenty of conversation. Of course, it isn't a straight shot up to the top: you need to go to the right of the Treasury, pass the amphitheatre, head up some stairs on the right and follow the carved rock walls until you get to some stairs.

On that path, you also get to look out over the path back to the monastery and the main road. 

Walking down then up to the monastery is a rough one. Lots of stairs, and just about as many shopkeepers. I caved in and bought a Jordanian scarf, I'm a nice guy that way. The journey for me was more fruitful than the monastery itself... it was just a bigger Treasury I'd say. BUT if you stretch out your legs and keep marching on you find a beautiful canyon that reminded me of one I saw in Oman. We met a bedouin who looked like Jack Sparrow. He was very passive and welcoming, offering food and tea. We shared some motabel (eggplant dip) and hummus with him and his kids. While we drank tea he told us about his nephew, the government, the other bedouins, and his general way of life. 

The Monastery

A shot of the canyon, it wasn't a clear day but, with the human eye, you can see snow in the distance. 

On the way to the Monastery, I ran into some kids too :)

This is a shot of them running up to me, it was like watching puppies run. They didn't get too close, probably because I didn't have food. I just really like animals. I think they'll be a big part of my second or third career. On the second day, I had a different experience with goats. It was very sad looking up at something that was eventually going to die.

This goat couldn't move forward or backwards. I don't know how this animal got into this situation. but as I wandered through the valley you could hear the cries for help. After walking up to a familiar post in a different way I started walking down again hoping that that goat would be walking back to flat rock. Unfortunately, he wasn't and the rest of his flock stood at the foot of the cliff calling up to him. I wish I could have understood what they were saying-- there are so many directions advice can go in that situation. I got to a rest spot where a bedouin was sitting watching the episode. I asked if the goat would fall, she said yes. Part of me wanted to stay until it happened just so I knew its story was over.

It's hard to see, but the black speck in the middle of the shot is the goat. 

Before that, I got lost on the way to this temple. I travelled along with a boy who should have been in school. His English was poor and we walked past the site and he pointed off into the distance at something that looked too far for the trip I had in mind. Eventually, he realised he wasn't getting any money and rode off on his mule. Leaving me in the middle of nowhere. I managed to walk back to the nameless site below. 

You can see three remaining tiled pieces of the description in the metal frame. The rest were on the ground, but I couldn't find anything with a title. I'm sure they've been picked up long ago. 

On the way back to this site I found these smooth rocks waiting for water to guide. The Earth changes so much and looking down these paths you can almost imagine the rivers flowing between the rocky walls thousands of years ago. The shadows make the path harder to see, but take that as the incentive to see it with your own eyes. 

 

This last little blurb is something a little embarrassing. The first thing I wanted to do on my second day was to find the High Place of Sacrifice. It was the first thing I did (the steps leading up were really close to the Treasury) so I was climbing at about 7:30 which is before most bedouins make it to their shops along the way. I figured the HPS would be easy to find. It wasn't. I kept walking straight when I should have done a u-turn and ended up in this green space plotted with shrubs and leafy plants. 

In hindsight, not seeing any more donkey poop on the trail was a telltale sign that I was off track. Frustrated by the lack directions, I went down and started journeying towards the nameless site. Once I got back to the main area and the base of the stairs with plenty of time before my bus was leaving, I decided to try my luck again. Once I reached the junction where I went straight before, a bedouin pointed me in the right direction. I kept walking up steps, sipping water, until I reached the HPS. The panorama was amazing. You could see so much, photos don't do it justice.  

A platform at the top of the High Place of Sacrifice.

Overall, this is a trip I'd definitely go on again, there are lots of great things to see and the exercise feels great too. Bonus: People with Jordanian Residency can go into Petra for 1JD, foreigners are charged 50JD. There isn't a lot of hassling from the people. If you decline politely, they leave you alone. Make sure you stop for tea, it's divine. This was a lot like Ephesus but there's a lot more space to roam and explore. Plus, you'll see herds of goats, healthy stray cats and dogs, and even some wild camels. 

Assessments #8

I haven't felt very escapist lately, so here's another piece about what I'm doing in real life.

I’ve been planning an assessment this week. It’s a strange process, kind of like writing anything else, but this has a deadline, revisions, edits and will be read by 5+ teachers, 88 students, and all their parents… potentially.

People are forced to read my assessments, unlike this blog. This is the second one I’ve written this year, and I thought the first was a good one. They had to decide who the head of school should bring as a guest teacher: a soccer player, a musician or a children’s author. Each fictitious person had 3 attributes listed on the assessment page and the students were expected to use that information to think of supporting details to argue who would be the best guest teacher. The assessment was written in letter format, addressed to the head of the school. I would deem it successful because the students didn’t freeze on the letter and enjoyed doing the assessment.

This time, we’re writing a biography piece. Initially, I was really stumped but through discussion with colleagues and superiors, we’ve reinvented the assessment process. It’s solid template that I can see myself using for the rest of my teaching career. It’s basically asking the kids to read, plan, and write a biography about one person with notes and a graphic organiser. From a practical perspective, and knowing my kiddos, they will be forced to use this because they have slacker-moments. During university, I can think of many friends and peers who didn’t start an essay or project until the night before. This is where that skill comes in handy: read, organise info, and write upwards of 5 pages as quickly as you can. There’s no time like the present to get these skills down.

Now some of you are saying, that’s incredibly stressful for a kid in primary school. And it is. Thankfully though this assessment is a product of BACKWARDS PLANNING! This is something I really like to have in a unit. Backwards planning is exactly what it sounds like, developing an assessment before the beginning of the unit. Some might say it is teaching to the test. You could also argue it is preparing students for the test along with many assignments later in their lives. This assessment encompasses synthesising information, determining importance, and making connections within a text. That is three metacognitive skills in one assessment!

Another thing we’re being encouraged to do is create study packs, because success is the main goal here and practice does perfect skills, especially in writing pieces such as this one because it is so formulaic. Looking forward, we’re are going to be kicking a dead horse. The unit will be three things: reading, sorting information with a graphic organiser and writing biographies using the organiser. By the end of the unit, the kids will be kicking it too. Not only do I have some slackers in my class I have a bunch of complainers. “No, not work,” they say in unison. I always remind them, you don’t like something at school because it’s either too easy or it’s incomprehensible. I just hope they complain because of the former.     

The Leafs

As it stands, with Zaitsev, on my roster The leafs are 1-2 (I'll watch the Ottawa game when I get back from work). I think beating the Islanders 7-1 is a big accomplishment, but the team didn't carry any momentum over to Columbus. Curtis did get a start in net though, maybe that will happen more often, and it's won't be against one of the better teams in the league.

It's exciting thinking back a year ago to how terrible the Leafs were and now looking where we are in the standings this year is quite nice because before Babcock they just said the next year will be better and finally after eons it feels like it finally is better. I was listening to Bob McKenzie's Bobcast and Bob was talking about the Expansion draft and who will get picked... that worries me a little thinking about our roster-- I just don't want anybody to go, except Ben Smith.  

Mountain Tests #7

As a teacher, you need to harness kids-speak. Administrations-- and educational videos--give you piles and piles of abbreviations and technical jargon that you need to filter into something the kids actually understand. My biggest accomplishment in kids-speak lingo is turning diagnostic testing into a "mountain test."

Usually, mountain tests are at the beginning of the year. The kids buy into it because you have to tell them that going through school is like climbing a mountain; some of you are going to be a little higher up than others and others might be a little behind where they should be. It is our job as teachers to make sure everyone does something they are capable of doing without getting bored (that's a longer kids-speak term for "differentiation"). The kids typically nod in understanding.

I've always had this crazy idea to throw student work all over the floor on the last day of school and pile a bunch of chairs in the middle of the classroom to simulate a mountain. We'd all stand on the chairs and look down at all the projects and worksheets and celebrate all their hard work and achievements.  I've never done it because a) there'd be a lot of clean-up, b) not many kids show up on the last day of school in Arab countries, c) everyone will be walking over their peers' work, d) just the idea of sorting through that stuff makes me cringe, e) safety, and f) I'll more than likely look like the guy on the right:

This was a short one, I know, I've been sick this weekend and still am, so instead of being imaginative, I thought I'd share a little idea that I've had for a while. Next on the kids-speak vocab is finding a way to sugarcoat "hangover."

The Leafs :(

I can't say this week has been a good one. I am superstitious ever since I picked Alexander Mogilny in a hockey pool the Leafs have never been winners. This happened with Gardiner, Reimer, and Santorelli over the past few years as well. Unless I drop them, then stuff tends to get better, but I think it could have more to do with the nuts in the press box. But I digress, I picked up Zaitsev (he got 9 hits against Buffalo this weekend) so right now with him on my roster the leafs are 0-1. If this trend continues it's because he's blocking shots, picking up points on the PP and hitting the snot out of everybody who comes his way.

It's good to see Rielly back in action but I think Curtis might need to play a couple more games so Freddie can get some rest and maybe get back into a groove again. The Leafs are a good team but a goalie can control the outcome of a game better than any other player on the ice. Freddie needs to be that guy. How about Hyman though? 3 shorties already, a tap of the stick to him and Mitch Marner who's continuing to create chances.  

Remodelling #6

This is just something I felt like writing. I've had another character that I've had sitting in on one of these "your job is important" meetings but I thought I'd try to write it from a different vantage point.

Remodelling

Here we are. In another meeting in the same place as last year. The audience sitting and waiting to hear my voice; a voice of reassurance, and progressiveness that will ease posture and lighten hearts. That's all everyone wants in the end when they come to inductions like this, to feel they've made the right choice.

Sitting on the side listening to colleagues talk about sales research, new technology and the day-to-day, the faces are all looking at me. It's fair, they should be. I make the calls.

After an applause, I straighten my blazer and step into the middle of the floor looking over everyone sitting in chairs and the round tables scattered around the room. Most of the faces smiled back at me, but some had crossed their arms. I clapped my hands together and started.

"We've come a long way from last year." the audience nodded along, "There have been changes and I'd like to think all of you are responsible for them. We're making great strides in the right direction, but we have barely touched the surface. Competitors and senior employees, who aren't here for a reason, are holding back our results.

"The turmoil that our company was in one year ago was due to the shareholders running the corner offices and having no qualifications to do so. That's why I look to you, the new crop, to make changes and move upward with this company to snuff out what management books classify as 'don'ts' and move Thompson out of survival mode. What I'm asking is that we rip off the side of a skyscraper. No one has ever done this before, but it's what needs to be done. And if the whole thing falls down, I'd say it's meant to be." I wasn't thirsty, but I had a drink to pause and gauge how the audience was digesting the idea. "With that, we can't hate where we work, but we can't be proud of it either. Every day will get a little better because we'll be making changes. Old systems will be upgraded, secretaries won't have to make meetings in company approved notebooks. That was the first thing I wanted to change." I said smiling with the young suits.

I looked to the side where all the speakers were sitting, hardly swaying with the audience. I felt I could trust them with my plan but only time will tell. Karen, who had spoken about sales research before me, was smart. She enjoyed the challenge of working here but I don't think she would appreciate going home earlier more often. Saif was new like me and full of ideas. Oddly enough, he had a very good poker face today.  Finally, leaning back in his chair was my partner Gilbert Dawes, he didn't ask what I was going to say today while we had our morning coffee. He just smiled at me when I glanced over my shoulder.

The Leafs

Honestly, I don't know what's going on. I've just been catching the second half of games but even when the Leafs score first we still get bounced around and lose the game. It's probably dwelling on past mistakes which opened the door for more mistakes: an example being the Dallas game. At least Marner's on a roll. I was listening to the Bob McKenzie podcast and he said there were whistleblowers saying Kevin Shattenkirk could get traded to the Leafs. If I wanted to vomit I'd keep thinking about that "good idea." I'm happy with the squad as is and with so many budding rookies on the team this year it'd be hard to argue a trade like that because they've already passed my expectations.

That Boston game was a barn burner. A tap of the stick to Matt Martin for sticking up for Auston and taking one in the ear and another in the jaw. I don't know where Gauthier went but I think Smith is a downgrade in regards to physicality and Gauthier will probably going to be in that role next year, so he should get some practice in now.