Month: February 2014

Penguin Sweater

I got a penguin sweater for Christmas. My daughters and I were shopping at Kohl’s when I first saw it. With a fluffy white tummy and silver sparkly bow tie, I couldn’t think of any prouder honor than to sport this fat penguin on a cold, snowy day.

My teenage daughter, fashion consultant, cautioned against it.

“But, it’s SO CUTE!” I countered.

The Penguin Sweater
The Penguin Sweater

The older daughter, having lived through more of these episodes than her younger sibling, and having let go of the hope of transforming me into a fashion forward maven, said they would alert my husband.

I left the sweater hanging on the rack, secretly hoping we would meet again.

I’ve come to realize, that such a powerful fashion accessory as the coveted penguin sweater takes careful moderating. We’ve had, like most of the country, a particularly snowy, blustery winter. I could have easily worn my penguin sweater every day. Conscious of the cautioning of my daughters, I’ve had to choose selectively when to go all penguin. It’s been a struggle.

It’s now near the end of February and old man winter is not letting up. I’ve read the depressed Facebook posts of friends regarding winter, the braggarts’ posts of basking in the Florida sun, but I’m not saying a word. Sure winter has it’s downside, but when else can you wear your favorite penguin sweater?

So bring on the snow! Blow all the arctic air my way! Slushy streets, salt trucks, and icy patches? No problem. I’m rocking my penguin sweater!

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Passion is evolving..

Students are blogging. Some are really good. Some are still, well, let’s just say, developing. I’ve noticed that those who tapped into their passion are leading the pack. The visual design and quality of content is evident. Gina-Bella demonstrates this with her blog, Conserving Marine Life. A native of Hawai’i, Gina-Bella’s passion is clearly evident in each of her posts.Writing Passion 

Our next big challenge in class will be to work on writing tight, concise copy filled with passion. My goal is to help these developing writers find their voice and make sure it is well developed and heard. Wish us luck!

Let the Blogs roll….

Before having the students dive in to the blogosphere I had them take Poynter Institute’s FREE online class designed to teach bloggers the ins and outs of online Media Law. The great thing about this course, besides being free, is that it covered the important topics of copyright infringement, defamation and invasion of privacy in an engaging format. At the conclusion of the course, the student is led through a brief 20 question quiz and provided an immediate evaluation of the content of the course. Students can email their scores to whomever they choose (me) and within the space of about an hour, complete a hefty assignment designed to prepare them for journalistic blogging.

Students are beginning to create their blogs, slowly, but surely. Most have worked through their Blogging Commitment Sheet, but only a few brave souls have actually created their WordPress blog and written that first post. I’m wondering if they are suffering from Writer’s block or Snow Day doldrums. 

Lucky for us, most of our class readings and assignments can be done virtually. We have missed two class days thus far this semester due to inclement weather. Our small college resides in what is affectionately known as the “snow belt” of NE Ohio. Yeah. We have managed to stay true to the spirit of deadlines, however, despite the absences. Blogs are popping up.

The collection of work is as diverse as the student body. If you would like to follow these young writers I know they would love to chat with you. Check out: The216Artist or Pawforacauseblog for a sampling of their work.