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By Kyle, February 27, 2009 5:20 pm

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So recently, I’ve alluded to the fact that a colleague of mine and I made a significant push to help our kids enroll in magnet schools for the upcoming year. Well, now that the application deadline has passed, our latest project has been to figure out how to promote charter schools as an option for our kids.

Anyway, my colleague and friend has put in hours of work, and millions (well, at least hundreds) of brain cells to put together this interactive map of pretty much all the charters in Los Angeles. Wow. That’s right. I’m ridiculously impressed too!

Our hope?

With our website, hopechangechoices.org, hopefully gain a little bit of momentum, gather a few education bloggers to check it out, spread the word (perhaps even with some of the charter organizers, like Steve Barr), and even volunteer to help make this resource even better.

Hopefully soon, hopechancechoices.org will be a one-stop-shop for kids and parents in their quest for information about all the school options in Los Angeles!

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By Kyle, February 24, 2009 10:01 pm

Scott Joplin – Bethena

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I used to be into Scott Joplin. I mean, really into Scott Joplin. I listened to his music, purchased a few CDs and even attempted the foolhardy task of learning a few pieces to play on the piano.

Yet, while most of Joplin’s high-speed, fast paced ragtime songs induced a state of heart-pounding, childish frenzy (which must have made me as an 8 year old, all the more difficult for my parents to put to bed at bedtime), it is this slow, thoughtful, jazz composition of Bethena that I’m very much relaxing to right now.

This piece is quite different from a rag, not only in the tempo (and meter….it’s in 3/4), but most noticeably in the chord changes, never seem to leave the listener in a state of tranquility, but even in their “resolution” leave things unanswered.

This music is perfect for today, after a 2 hour meeting with our math coach, 3 principals, our local middle school director, and a district math specialist from downtown. Two colleagues and myself presented a plan to implement math intervention next year at Cochran, and without boring you with the details, suffice it to say I am now more aware than ever of the political nature of effecting systemic change within the district. Yet, there is a glimmer of hope. How do I manage to stay sane? Lots of patience, lots of prayer! :)

And Joplin helps.

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By Kyle, February 18, 2009 8:34 pm

The Beatles – Hey Bulldog (rough demo)

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So lately I’ve been rediscovering the music of the Beatles, which needless to say, is my absolute favorite group of musicians ever recorded. It’s so easy to simply keep coming back to year after year, again and again.

And the more I listen to it, the more I realize just how good it is, musically (not simply that it is enjoyable). The chord changes, the harmonies, the instrumentations are simply brilliant. It’s almost unbelievable to consider that these songs were written by humans!

And yet, one of the most amazing discoveries that I’ve found recently has been a series of demo tracks and rehearsal recordings of Beatles ‘songs before they were released. And what’s astounding is not how “good” these tracks are. On the contrary, they’re terrible. Absolutely terrible! And yet, somewhere in the mess, in the middle, in the confusion, 5 or six randomly jumbled chords and perhaps a guitar lick transformed and metamorphosed into the brilliant gems they became on the final recordings!

In the background is a track of what is apparently John Lennon trying (albeit with great difficulty) to teach his fellow band-mates the chords to this new riff he’s come up with, a progression that eventually became the classic Hey Bulldog, found here:

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What isn’t so surprising (and seems to be the theme of the past 6 months of my life) is that greatness can be achieved, but not without hours, days, and weeks of concerted effort, effort, and effort! I’ve heard greatness happen in music here. I’ve seen greatness happen in other middle schools. I’ve seen greatness happen in people’s lives and it’s so easy to simply assume that it automatically just “came”, but the further I dig down, the more I realize that it depended on a sense of motivation that fueled an undying ethic and desire for something truly amazing!

So I guess it makes sense that the Beatles likewise inspire me both as a musician and as a teacher!

Rock on!

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By Kyle, February 15, 2009 11:56 am

The Swingle Singers – Little Organ Fugue

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Tomorrow is President’s Day. I must say, that out of all the holidays for which public schools take a day off, this is by far the most confusing. After all, if anybody should get the day off tomorrow, it should be the President! There are no parades like there are on MLK Day, no costumes like on Halloween, no memorial services like on Veterans Day, no Guinnesses like on St. Patrick’s Day, no sunrise services like on Easter, no football like on Thanksgiving, no egg nog and breakfast casserole like on Christmas. Just a bunch of banks, post offices, and schools closed.

Fine with me!

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By Kyle, February 12, 2009 10:54 am

Brian Eno – The True Wheel

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Ideas, ideas, ideas! Last night I met with two colleagues to work on a plan for 6th grade math intervention for the upcoming year. It was a great discussion, with pizza, beer, and arguing about things like homework, TA’s, social promotion, and the current morale in regards to our administrators (who have ultimate veto power over this plan).

One of the best things was the tangents that we wound up following on at least two separate occasions, both of which allowed us to “geek out” a bit with the latest web technology as it could help our Hope Change Choices “organization” (a term that is used extremely loosely here) grow even more, and ALSO a brilliant stroke of genius about the creation of a fun little web site that shall, at this point, remain secret until it’s up and ready to go!

Does anyone know any programmers who want to be involved in a fun project using the Google API?

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By Kyle, February 7, 2009 5:52 pm

The Kinks – Sleepwalker

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I don’t know whether to laugh, or to cry.

Last night, one of my roommates had a buddy of his crash on our couch for the night. In and of itself, not a strange occurrence (sometimes I think we’re running a hostel), except for the fact that this morning when I got up and said good morning to the guest, he recounted to me a strange incident of last night, when apparently at around 3 am, I walked into our living room, woke up the guest, moved his feet off the couch (and onto our coffee table) and sat down on the couch. Apparently he tried to have a conversation with me, but I did not respond, but rather apparently simply sat there for about 10 minutes, whereupon I returned to bed.

The reason I use the word “apparently” quite liberally in the above text is due to the fact that none of this occurred with any knowledge on my part. I don’t remember a thing. Not a thing! Yes, you got it folks. I was sleep walking (which surprises me because I don’t really have the coordination to walk and do much else at all when I’m awake)!

Now that I’ve learned something more about myself, I just hope for the neighbors’ sake that I don’t try “sleep-piano-playing“.

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By Kyle, February 3, 2009 8:07 pm

The Traveling Wilburys – Heading for the Light

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Nothing much new here in Los Angeles, other than the simply absurd heat wave we’ve been getting for the past few weeks. With temperatures soaring into the 70s and 80s, I’m once again reminded of one of the many factors that made me move out here!

I guess the only new news is that for the first time in about 20 years, I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. I didn’t even turn it on. I hope this isn’t a sign that I’m aging at a much faster rate than I would like. In fact, I don’t know which is worse, not caring about the Super Bowl, or having one of my students, in all sincerity, guess my age as “40″.