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Three Questions: Deborah Schimberg

October 8, 2015 Robert Young Educators, Kids No comments

Three Questions is a periodic feature of this blog. The focus is on three questions asked of everyday people involved in curious pursuits.

The subject of this Three Questions post is Deborah Schimberg, educator, environmentalist, and founder as well as president of Verve, Inc. Verve, located in Providence, Rhode Island, produces chewing gum and gum-making kits.

1) What made you want to get into the gum making business?

I actually never intended to get into the gum making business! In 1992, back when I was a teacher, my family and I traveled to Northern Guatemala. We visited an economically depressed, chicle-producing community and learned about chicle, the sap of the sapodilla trees that grow in the rainforests of Central America. Up until then, I had never thought about how chewing gum was made— or what gave it chewy texture. We were all surprised to hear that chicle had once been the basis of the entire chewing gum industry. When synthetic resins became the norm in the 1940s and ‘50s, the market for chicle diminished. But that’s a shame, because the harvest of chicle is sustainable and benefits both rainforest conservation and the local economy in forest regions. Upon my return to the States, my kids and I experimented with this sticky tree sap in our kitchen. By tweaking a traditional formula and adding confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, and flavoring, we found a way to create homemade chewing gum. With hopes of building a new market for chicle and educating folks about it, I founded Verve, Inc. and began commercially producing a Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit for kids. Folks liked the results of the Gum Kit so much that I decided to make it into a brand of gum—Glee Gum.

2) What should people know about gum making that they probably don’t?

When made with natural ingredients, chewing gum can be an eco-friendly breath freshener with a lot of additional benefits. Studies show that chewing gum stimulates saliva, which helps to promote dental health. Sugarless gum sweetened with xylitol, a natural sugar alcohol, can also help to reduce tooth decay and prevent cavities. (That’s what we use in our Sugar-Free Glee flavors!) And, numerous studies suggest that chewing gum aids in concentration, staying alert, short-term memory retention, and stress relief.

3) What is “natural gum” and why is it better that “synthetic gum”?

Most gum on the market today comes loaded with artificial flavors, colors (like Blue 2 Lake or Red 40), sweeteners (like Aspartame or Acesulfame K), and preservatives (like BHT). Who needs all that stuff? Unlike most gum, Glee Gum is made without artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives. It’s also the only gum on the market that is Non-GMO Project Verified and Fairtrade certified. Plus, it’s made with chicle!

Opening Week Intros

September 8, 2015 Robert Young Educators No comments

It’s the first week of school and there’s lots to do, but what’s more important than getting to know your students? How about an authentic (real-life) writing activity to get the ball going.

Before you invite your students to introduce themselves to you, introduce yourself to them (great modeling!). Write a paragraph or two about yourself that you would like to share. It could be about your family, things you like to do, favorites, pet peeves, why you teach, etc., etc.

The main point is to write something down, and at the reading level of your kids. If you teach kindergarten, make a drawing and use a few simple words. I like the idea of printing what you’ve done and making copies for each kid (they can also take it home to share with parents).

Once you’ve led the way, invite them to introduce themselves to you. Helpful prompts have been: What would you like me to know about you?” or “How would you describe yourself?” You can broaden this activity by making the entire class the audience (i.e. “What would you like us to know about you?”). Make sure to let the class know from the beginning who the audience will be. In my experience, making yourself the audience often leads to more personal and insightful writing.

This activity will not only help you begin to learn about your students, it will also give you knowledge about their writings skills. Consider it a first week writing sampling, and use it to help inform instruction.

Travel Writing For All

August 23, 2015 Robert Young Educators, Writers No comments

As someone once said, “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” I agree with that. I also concur with Saint Augustine who said, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”

So, I travel. Fortunately, I have a footloose son, Tyler, who still wants to spend time with me so he invites me to join him in various parts of the world: Japan, Africa, Colombia. We’ve explored Alaska and done a coast-to-coast road trip. Our latest adventure took me to the Republic of Georgia (where Tyler had been teaching) and then on to Turkey.

The Gergeti Trinity Church in northern Georgia

I used to think that traveling would take me away from my writing. After all, when I’m away from home, I’m away from my computer, my files, research, and books. But, over the years, I’ve learned that travel can be extremely helpful writing-wise. Five or ten or twenty-four hours on various planes gives you time to think and plan, jot notes down, and really give a second (or third or fourth) look at what you’ve written, away from the everyday distractions of home. I often take a clean, hard copy of a recent work and go over it through the eyes of a reader rather than a writer. It’s really helpful.

Being out in the world always gives me ideas for new writing projects. And, it always provides me with opportunities to write. Since I love to take pictures when I’m traveling and I enjoy editing and organizing those pictures into albums when I return home, writing helps clarify the experience for myself and for others who view the pictures.

The challenge is to write a narrative of the pictures that will connect them as well as provide more information. Transitions are important, and brevity is essential because of the limited space. My goal is that when I’m done I’ll have something that will have meaning for others and for me.

Classroom applications are easy here. Have kids bring in several pictures of an experience they had. Or, they can draw the pictures. Then, have them write a narrative that goes along with the pictures/drawings. Share it with others and you have an authentic writing experience that goes beyond their eyes and the eyes of the teacher.

Here’s the link to my adventure: https://plus.google.com/101818842090327599007/posts/ekxv4UpggmZ

“I Remember…”

July 20, 2015 Robert Young Educators, Kids No comments

Poet Laureate William Stafford (1914-1993) once said that the best writing prompt is “I remember…” I agree. What prompt could be more inclusive and accepting of a wide range of responses? All you need to address this prompt is a memory (making one up would be okay in my book, too).

I’ve been using this prompt with writers young and old for many years. It’s a generous and friendly prompt. What do you remember? What do you remember about being a certain age or living in a specific place? What do you remember about your friends? Your not-so-much friends? What do you remember about anything?

Such a broad prompt can cause paralysis in some writers. One way to remedy that is to use timelines. Make one of your life. For some of us, the page would have to be quite long. But wait, calibrate the vertical hash-marks in five year (or even ten year – wow, you’re old!) increments.

Next, reflect on your life and think of highlights (and lowlights, too) then jot them down on the timeline in the appropriate places, the highlights above the line and the lowlights below the line. Of course, these don’t have to be the very best and worst things that happened to you. They could be just things you recall. Everyday, usual occurrences can be powerful, too.

Once you have some memories written on your timeline, select one and write about it. Make sure to add quality details to make it interesting to readers. You may be surprised at how additional details, thoughts, and memories flow into your mind as you write. Which, of course, will give you more topics to explore with your writing!

Ridin’ the Roads of Georgia

July 9, 2015 Robert Young Educators, Kids, Writers 2 comments

So, we’re hurtling down the narrow highway in a mini-bus—a marshrutka—on the way to Stepantsminda, a small town near Georgia’s border with Russia. We’re packed in tight, Tyler and I taking up two of the four back row seats. Any other seat would have been preferable, but people claimed them before us, and they paid by having to sit in blistering heat while we waited outside in the shade.

Tyler has the window seat and I sit with the aisle in front of me, which provides a little stretching area since the fold-down seat that would fill that space is the only seat unfilled. On the other side of me sits a middle-aged man, thick and glowering. He staked out his territory early, opening his legs as far as his chubby hips allow. I, however, won the shoulder battle, and rested my back against the seat while he leaned forward.

Two hours into the ride, the driver brakes hard and swerves onto the shoulder of the road. He talks excitedly on his cell phone, then slams the gearshift into reverse and starts backing down the highway. BACKING DOWN THE HIGHWAY! This is not just a little country road with no traffic. This is a highway with cars and trucks whizzing by, most of them blowing their horns at us.

Unaffected by the horn blasts, the driver continues, using his side mirrors to guide his erratic path. The response from inside the bus is silence, except for the guy sitting in front of us who snorts with laughter. My heart is racing and my breathing shallow as I imagine a fiery death for us all, except for the idiot driver who will most likely be thrown to safety. Isn’t that the way these things usually go?

We continue on—backwards—not for a hundred yards or two, but for several miles. When the bus finally comes to a stop, the driver jumps out and races to the back of the vehicle, where he greets an old bearded man walking along the road. The driver ushers the man to the side of the bus, pulls open the sliding door, and points to the only available space, the fold-down seat in front of me.

The bearded man slowly surveys his sole seat option as well as the mass of humanity inside the bus. He speaks to the driver in Georgian and the driver responds, their voices rising over the sounds of the cars and trucks whooshing by us. And then, the driver slams the door closed, gets back behind the wheel, and drives as the man watches us leave. Forward. At last.

I stretch my legs out into the empty space in front of me and wonder how many more hours until we reach our destination.

Coming Never To A Theater Near You

May 16, 2015 Robert Young Educators, Kids, Writers No comments

You never know where the winds of interest will blow the writing fires. I have reveled in the vast lands of nonfiction most of my writing life, but I’ve also braved the world of novels, short stories, plays, and poetry as well. Lately, I have entered an area in which I have always had interest: screen writing.

This is not my first experience with this type of writing. Years back, I took a screenwriting class, got enthused, and wrote a few Seinfeld scripts that landed me an agent but no sales. “It’s written in-house,” the agent told me. “If you want to write scripts, write an original screenplay (= movie).”

I grumbled, groused, and then moved on to other projects that excited me. Years passed, and then one day I was in Seattle, visiting a friend and viewing a few Mariner baseball games. As usual during that time, the Mariners were not doing too well and the papers reported that the team was considering firing their manager.

What if? I thought. What if they decided to hire a nonprofessional—just a regular guy who coached kids—to finish out the season? And what if this guy was having challenges of his own at the time?

These questions became the seeds for my story, and the tagline (every movie has one) became “A man takes on baseball. And himself.”

I thought about this for a year, and for the past six months I have worked at trying to transport it from my head to paper. Along the way I have read books on the craft (including the technical aspects of the genre), read other screenplays, watched lots of movies, and took copious notes.

What I enjoyed was the spare nature of the writing: it’s mostly dialogue and some directions, but little room for description. That also makes it challenging, too. Descriptions help you create context and make smooth transitions.

Last week I finished the first draft, one hundred fifteen pages of it. Like every first draft I have ever done, there was relief involved, relief that the story had held together to its conclusion. Is the story any good? I don’t know. Really, I don’t. I have printed it out and set it aside. At some point in time—a week, a month, five years—I’ll return to the script, this time with fresh eyes and I’ll read it.

And then I’ll get to work, the real work, of rewriting it. How long will that take? I don’t have a clue. A couple weeks. A month. A year. As long as it takes, until I’m satisfied.

And then what? Then, I’ll try to find a home for it, a home where the script can be made into a movie. This will be a daunting task, indeed, and the odds will be long. Maybe not as long as singing at the Met or batting cleanup for the Orioles, but the chances of my script ever being made into a movie are slim.

So, why take the time to work on such a project in the first place, when the odds are clearly against you and where other avenues of writing provide you with a much better chance for success? The answer is simple: You never know. You just never know.

Furry Writing Prompt

April 9, 2015 Robert Young Educators 2 comments

Tired of the same old writing prompts? Try a furry one!

Earlier this week I took our one-year-old dachshund/chihuahua/Jack Russell mix dog – Toby – into the local kindergarten class. It was hard to tell who was more excited, Toby or the kids. After things calmed down, we focused on observation, with a special emphasis on details (color, size, ears, tongue). The kids then worked in their journals. Some chose to draw first; others wrote first.

Toby circulated around the room as the kids worked, providing them with an up-close opportunity to add additional details. Some added how soft his ears felt, others mentioned his sharp claws. Reading their finished pieces to Toby was a powerful motivator. So was having their picture taken with him.

Of course, description is only one of the many ways to direct this lesson. Kids could have created stories in which Toby was the main character. They could have written about their own pets, or they could have given their opinions about dogs and provided reasons. So many options, so little time!

Yes, this caused excitement and exuberance. But, isn’t that what we want writing to be about?

True Confession

March 24, 2015 Robert Young Educators, Writers 10 comments

I have a confession to make.

I’ve got mice. No, not a pair of cute, furry creatures happily living in a multi-colored plastic home, complete with exercise wheel and fresh cedar shavings. My mice are living in the walls and dark recesses of my house. As to the number, I’m not sure. It could be five, or fifty.

We discovered them about a week ago: the skittering sound of movement under the floors and chewing beneath the kitchen. The next night a hole the size of a nickel was chewed into the dog food bag that sat in our pantry closet. Mouse droppings completed the scene.

All right, the sound of mice is one thing. Mice in your food—even dog found—is quite another. The next thing you know, they’d be helping themselves to the human food, and then eating off our plates at dinnertime. It was time to seriously address the issue.

But, what to do. We weren’t interested in killing the creatures. After all, their lives have value, like ours. However, sharing our home with them was not an option. There are health and safety issues involved. So, we developed a mouse immigration plan in which we would capture the mice and relocate them to another location. The local woods would be just the spot: far enough from any houses and lots of cover to keep them safe from hawks and roaming cats.

I made a trip to town and picked up a Tin Cat mouse trap ($13.97, Victorpest, made in the USA), a metal contraption that could hold up to thirty mice. Hopefully, it wouldn’t have to.

The first night, victory! We got one and successfully released it. When I opened the top, instead of scurrying away, the mouse looked me right in the eyes and held my gaze. Was he shocked at the act of compassion? Was he thanking me? Whatever it was, it didn’t last long; the mouse made his way into the thick undergrowth.

The second night, same result. One mouse, relocated. After that, things went sideways. Several nights of no mouse, food gone, and lots of poop. I taped up all the holes on the trap thinking that the mice were small enough to escape, but results were the same over the next few nights. We were dealing with some clever creatures.

That’s when I turned to the internet and started serious research, looking for the best live mouse traps. [READERS: If you don’t want the details of my mouse trap testings, you have permission to skip to the end] Amid the claims and verbiage, I decided to see to see for myself which was the best. So, I ordered the Havahart Live Animal Cage Trap model #1020 ($16.74, Havahart, made in China), the Smart Mouse Trap ($12.65, Seabright Laboratories, made in Mexico), and a packet of three Mice Cubes ($9.03, Pied Piper International, made in the USA).

The test was on! Over the next few nights we caught seven mice in the traps. Which trap worked best? The Mice Cube, a plastic tubular rectangle with a free-swinging door at one end. The mice smelled the food inside, pushed their way in, chowed down, and couldn’t get back out the door.

Releasing them from the Mice Cube is a cinch: just turn the trap over, the door flops open, and the mouse waltzes out. Then, all you have to do is wash the trap out (I used a hose), put more food in it, and set it back out. The main disadvantage of this trap was its small size, which filled up with mouse droppings and urine if the mouse was in there for very long. So, if you’re going to use this one (and I suggest you do), check it regularly (several times a day), or just put it out overnight when the mice are most active.

The other trap worth mentioning is the Smart Mouse Trap, which is molded plastic in the shape of a house (homey, huh?), with a spring-activated door at one end that snaps closed when the mouse goes in for the food. It has a door at the other end (the Freedom Door – yes, really!) that slides up to release the inhabitants. This trap is bigger than the Mice Cube, but it also has a bigger price and takes more effort to set.

The other two traps, both metal, did not perform as well. As mentioned previously, the Tin Cat wasn’t able to consistently capture its prey. And the Havahart, which did not capture any, was the most challenging to set.

[READERS: Skip to here.]

A week later, nine mice have been captured and relocated to selective locations. The next few nights have been quiet, and it’s been a joy to find empty traps in the mornings and no evidence of mouse activity around.

Is this the end of them? Who knows. Maybe they are amassing somewhere in the depths of our house to make a headlong assault into our living space. Or, maybe they’ve left to find their missing relatives.

So, what does all this have to do with writing? I knew you were wondering. The answer: plenty! The everyday workings’ of your life—the mundane, the joys and the challenges—all compete for your time, your efforts, and your creativity. They also can provide the impetus for writing, both fiction and faction. The possibilities of how this experience could be translated into a writing project, or projects, are endless.

The best material for writing comes from living your life.

Writers Need Writers

February 12, 2015 Robert Young Writers One comment

Writing is an independent activity, right? You work on your own, and all you need is pencil/paper or a computer and your mind. Well, not quite.

Writers need other writers, too. That’s right, other people who are actively engaged in the joys and struggles of putting thoughts, experiences, and knowledge on the page for themselves or for others. Sharing your experiences as well as hearing from others is essential in sustaining a writing passion.

A few days ago I had the good fortune of being asked to present to a group of local writers who meet weekly at the Writer’s Coffee Talk in Eugene. It is a friendly group, the participants of which are working on a variety of writing projects.

I shared with them the five best things I’ve learned during my 30+ years working at writing. The five things are: 1. It’s all a long-shot (so you might as well write what you want); 2. Know your purpose in writing something (to get your name on a book cover, fame, fortune, to share info?); 3. Make your own definition of success (do you really have to write a bestseller and make mounds of money to be successful?); 4. Interest, even strong interest by an editor or agent, doesn’t necessarily lead to publication (so be careful about what you’re willing to rewrite without a signed contract); and 5. When it gets tough, lower your standards and keep going (and going and going!).

It was inspiring to hear what others are doing and interesting to feel the excitement of sharing my own experiences. Yes, writing is mostly a solitary pursuit, but don’t forget the advantages that can be gained by connecting with other writers.

Thanks to Kelly Stewart for the invitation and the hospitality.

Three Questions: Bryan Reed

January 26, 2015 Robert Young Educators No comments

Three Questions is a periodic feature of this blog. The focus is on three questions asked of everyday people involved in curious pursuits.

The subject of this Three Questions post is Bryan Reed of Eugene, Oregon. Bryan is a multi-talented guy, both in education as well as music. He is a creative and enthusiastic English Language Learner teacher at Riverbend Elementary School in the Springfield (OR) School District. After hours, Bryan plies his musical talents with his band, The Killer B’s, at a variety of local venues.

Fortunately for his students, Bryan integrates music into his classroom to help make learning engaging. For teachers, he presents practical workshops and develops useful materials. Check out these links:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEqo9mfkn_QUY8-Jdn74Mdg

http://learningrocks.bandcamp.com/track/the-six-traits-of-writing-rap

1. What role does music play in your life (outside of education)?

From an early age, I’ve been enchanted by music so much that I couldn’t just listen, I’ve had to be a part of it. My parents would ask the three-year-old me to sing for family and friends when we got together, which I happily did. Not long after, I got into harmonicas, as a teenager, guitar, as a young man, electronic music and recording equipment. Most recently, I’ve taken up the fiddle, in part to join my daughter in her studies, but more so because I love old time music and bluegrass, and when I go out to jam with other musicians, which I do at least once a week, it’s good to have an instrument other the ubiquitous guitar. Though I regularly perform with my band, The Killer B’s, I prefer jamming because to skillfully jump into new songs requires great spontaneity, deference and responsiveness. I love to play in that!

2. How does music enhance learning?

Finish this sentence, “Humpty Dumpty sat on…” Why should that meaningless bit of fluff be in our heads? It’s because someone put it into a rhyme with a singsong pattern. Marketers exploit music as a means of transmitting their messages, and such is the power of this media that we cannot stop their slogans and theme songs from resounding in our heads. Educators who use music for the purpose of teaching academic content are no doubt weaving that content into their students’ memory. I put this song together for a workshop I often present to fellow educators called, Learning Rocks! Using Music to Teach Academic Content:

Kids Respond to Rhythm and Rhyme

To the tune of When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again

Kids respond to rhythm and rhyme. Hurrah! Hurrah!

Just plug your content into a verse

And kids’ll beg for a chance to rehearse

And we’ll all go marching to success in the content we teach

3. What advice would you give non-musical teachers on how to add music to their classrooms?

A teacher’s lack of musical aptitude does not diminish the power of music to reach and teach their students. Chanting or rapping a verse without melody still has the magic! Teachers who think their students are too old for this approach should think again; some of the goofiest songs I’ve learned are from wildly enthusiastic teenagers at sleep away camp. Confidently bring the beat and your students will join you. Teachers who are not comfortable with music should, nonetheless, use it, just as teachers who are uncomfortable with technology should learn to use computers, and I, who am uncomfortable with spelling, must continue to just do my best.

Another piece from Learning Rocks:

Five great reasons to use music specifically to teach and learn academic content:

Music is fun and contributes to an atmosphere of low anxiety, which is crucial for academic learning.
Music, particularly when integrated with movement, activates a variety of intelligences and accesses the learning styles of many children.
Music, even just chanting in rhythm, imprints lyrics into memory.
Music engages and integrates both sides of the brain.
Repeated readings of poetry or lyrics build reading fluency as well as comprehension.

Five great ways to use music to teach and learn academics:

Highlight key vocabulary, sometimes letting the students seek and identify key words. Ask, “Which words sound interesting or important?”
Sketch or add photographs by lyrics to edify meaning.
Use and make up motions, or use sign language to go along with the words.
In classrooms, using an overhead projector or document camera to see and work with a song is okay. Students can also have their own photocopied lyrics pages. On chart paper though, songs can stay up and the text and graphics can be a resource for students.
With beginning readers, focus on sound symbol correspondence in addition to word meaning.

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Robert Young

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