Have you ever heard of Postcrossing?

Postcrossing was a new term for me and the concept popped up when I was reading a blog post that I follow. You may be like me and not know what on earth Postcrossing might be. "It's a project that allows you to send postcards and receive postcards back from random people around the world," is the explanation given on the official website. 

I recall getting postcards from my Granny when she traveled. Sometimes the postcard would get to us days after Granny had returned home but we still loved getting the mail. Great Aunt Mae would also send us postcards sometimes. When I was a young girl, there were times when I traveled, I would be allowed to buy postcards and send them to family members. I remember my grandparents saving postcards that they got from relatives who traveled or from family members who were in the military service. When I was clearing out my mother-in-law's desk I found several postcards that she had saved over the years. Some had not been mailed and I wonder if maybe she picked them up from places where she had traveled and saved them as mementos over the years.

There were several about Columbus, Ohio and some of the landmarks of that city.

There were two or three from Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The back side of the postcard shown above had a printed message telling the reader that Highway 58 is the best road up Lookout Mountain to Rock City.

I remember seeing postcards like the one shown above that advertised places to stay. Usually the front side of a postcard depicted something like a landmark, in this case an image of the motel. Then, on the back there was a description or message about the picture with space above or below where a message could be written to the recipient. Of course, the most remembered message was, "Wish you were here!"  Then, the other half of that side of the postcard provided space for the recipient's address to be written and a stamp affixed. 

The motel postcard was obviously a means of advertisement. The image was the front side and more information about the motel was on the message side of the card. A postcard like this might have been a freebie found in the room in hopes that guests would send away, not only providing information about their stay, but encouraging the recipient to come for a visit as well. Notice the phone number on the postcard. Even if I couldn't tell the postcard is from long ago, that phone number would be a dead giveaway!

Somehow postcards seem to have fallen into a category of things gone by the wayside, something from the past, a part of a by-gone era. I'm sure relics like the ones I found in my mother-in-law's desk might be a collector's item for somebody. With our world being ever more virtual and digital, these days we simply send a text with a photograph or video. We might get a notification on our phone and see a selfie of a relative standing in front of some historic landmark. 

The Mister and I still get a few postcards but these are mostly advertisements for a roofer or new flooring or gutters or something like that. Rarely are the postcards in our mailbox something that is a means of correspondence from a friend or relative. Almost never is a postcard in our mailbox one that we would want to keep. In fact, The Mister generally grumbles about such mail and tosses it into the trash before he even brings the mail into the house.

Yet, Postcrossing is offering people the opportunity to send postcards as a means of "turning your mailbox into a box full of surprises." They suggest it as a means of learning about far away places, different cultures, or even practice foreign languages.

After reading a bit more information, my mind began to wander. I thought of other ways that this same concept might be a really good thing. Wouldn't it be a great exercise for a group of young people or a class of school children to create their own postcards and send them to a retirement home, or a collected group of addresses of folks who are shut-ins, or to patients at a children's hospital? The writers could:

• Create the image that goes on the front
• Write a little blurb explaining the significance of the image
• Practice their writing skills within the message
• Learn and practice the accepted way to address mail

This wouldn't have to be a formal school or civic group activity, although it could be. It could be something that a parent could do with his/her own children.

Again, the school teacher in me is coming out... A class of students could create postcards and write about a topic they just learned, a historical event, a scientific fact or phenomenon, a story they just read, a book they would recommend, etc. The teacher could collaborate with another teacher in another school for swapping these postcards. 

A grandparent or relative who lives in another town could exchange postcards about different landmarks or events with their grandchildren or relatives living elsewhere. 

A great gift might be to buy or create a set of postcards, address and stamp them, and give them to a college student going away to school, or a grandchild who lives far away, or just to somebody with whom you would like to keep in touch. The gift-giver might even make blank postcards, address and stamp them and ask the recipient to decorate the front and write a message on the back and stick them in the mail. There could be one for each month or for more frequent occasions. You could buy blank postcards here.

I know that I used to love to get mail when I was a kid - long before most of what was delivered to my mailbox was bills. I also know that the anticipation of getting a delivery is still pretty exciting - often really more exciting than that quick text that is an instantaneous means of communication. I just looked it up and a postcard stamp costs less than a dollar. Plus, I saw that there will soon be issued a special, triangular shaped Global Postcrossing Stamp for sending even international mail. Learn more about postcards here.

Examples of the Global Postcrossing Stamp

I'm sure that there are loads of other ideas for ways to communicate with postcards. I kind of like this old-school method of communication and might even take the opportunity to put it into practice myself. I don't know if I will formally join in and be a part of the Postcrossing group, but I'm thinking I see some postcards going out with my signature on them in the future. What about you? Do you think you might send a postcard or two? Would you become part of the Postcrossing movement?

Notices and Decisions

I got a notice last week that I probably should have been expecting but really hadn't thought about it at all for over a year, at least - and probably for longer. It made me pause and think for a bit about what sort of action I should take. Do I need to click on the links provided and jump through the required hoops or just let it go and lie like an old dog on the porch?

The notice said:

Our records indicate that you have a Tennessee educator license expiring on August 31, 2026. To avoid licensure expiration you must complete a renewal or advancement application in TNCompass by August 31, 2026. To ensure that you submit an application for the appropriate transaction, please visit the Licensed Educators section of our website.

 

 Now, I know that I retired already. I have no plans to go back into a classroom. I have no plans to return as an instructional coach or reading specialist. I have no plans to serve as a substitute teacher. And, I probably won't be required to produce my educator license to provide our means of support. So, do I r-e-a-l-l-y need to renew it? No, not really. 

Yet, I worked hard to earn that certification. I worked hard all those years to maintain and uphold it. Plus, what if?

I talked it over with the Mister and he simply asked, "Why wouldn't you renew it?" So, I immediately began clicking links and reading to learn what I needed to do get my license renewed. Knowing that I had done absolutely no professional development during my last year of work, I figured I was going to have to take some courses or participate in some workshops or do something to update my antiquated self.

Despite the fact that on the State Department of Education's website there are several dead links that give the dreaded 404 error when clicked, I began gathering information. I finally began a Google search and dug in to find out what I could about PDPs (Professional Development Points), workshops, courses, and options. I went to several university's websites and read the information provided for graduate students there. After a while, I decided I was ready to go back to the link provided in my notice and begin a transaction.

As I worked through the steps as indicated in the notice, I found myself reading and reading. Then, I'd click the next button and read some more. Maybe I was skimming more than I realized. I thought I was really reading closely but I know that when there is a load of text, I'm like anybody else - I'm a skimmer. So, I'd click on the back button and look at the information again. Finally, I clicked on the button that said: Start a new transaction.

I began working through the different screens and steps and kept thinking, this seems so easy. I checked my earned PDPs and learned that I had accrued 230 and was only required to have 60. There was also a state requirement that I must have completed a course for the state's Literacy Success Act's requirement. I had done that for elementary as well as for the secondary level. So, those boxes were automatically checked. Then, when I got to the submit button, I had a warning that make a couple of confirmations and one of them - the experience box - was 'greyed out' and not available for me to confirm. So, I had to go back several screens to read and confirm that I did indeed have more than twenty years of experience logged. After confirming, I was able to submit.

Voila! My license was automatically renewed in the system and it is active and I am a certified, licensed educator for our state until 2036. 

God help the world if I am what it is depending upon as a teacher in 2036!

BTW: I did find four courses that I am interested in working through:

• Differentiated Instruction
• Secondary Reading Instruction (Part 1)
• Secondary Reading Instruction (Part 2)
• Universal Design for Learning: Designing Learning Experiences That Engage and Challenge All Students

I'm signed up for the first and have 90 days to complete it! I guess that yearn to learn is still in there.

The Rules of the Classroom

I am an educator and my family knows that I put a lot of stock in reading, writing, and learning.  I also know that keeping the learning going while we are staying at home is very, very difficult.

I've checked in on a pretty regular basis to make certain that everybody is doing alright.  I've inquired about everyone's health and that of their extended family and asked about their food and toilet paper supply.

Sometimes I'll ask about their continued education but lots of times I let that go because...well...we are staying at home.  School and learning is hard enough to do when you go to school and learn.  So, when everybody is home and they have to be home ALL THE TIME, some things have to be let go at times and that is all right.

I checked in this morning with my son's family.  I hadn't talked to Jessica in a while and I cannot even imagine being at home ALL THE TIME with a six-year-old-boy who is full-of-energy and a two-year-old girl who is two years old.  I remember those years of having two littles at home with you and it was probably some of the hardest work I ever did.

Anyway, I digress.  Knowing that school is usually a part of the morning routine, I asked if they were having school this morning even though it was Good Friday.  Jessica assured me that they were and reiterated with, "We tend to work better when there is structure and a routine."  I get it. Rambunctious.  Busy.  Boisterous. Bouncing. I get it.

Linley was working on one of her favorite activities - color sorting - but that is another story for another time.  What I was intrigued by is that Jessica informed me that she was really learning a lot from Harris and the curriculum that he has as a kindergartner.  She said they'd had to Google something yesterday to be sure they had gotten it correct.  But that's not all!

She also informed me that when they started using the bonus room as the school room, Harris let her know that they needed some rules.  He liked the rules they had in his classroom at school.  So, he wrote them out and asked her to post them on the wall.

I kind of expected rules like Be Nice To Your Sister or Do What Mama Says.  These rules were all business, though.  The rules involve Hand Signals.  You see, if you need to go to the bathroom, you hold up one finger.  If you are in need of a wipe to clean something off your work area, you hold up two fingers.  Hold up three fingers if you need a pencil.  Four fingers signifies that you need some water.  If you have a question, hold up five fingers.

Jessica let me know that she has a difficult time remembering the rules.  She sees Harris following the rules and sometimes she is attending to Linley and her activity and cannot see the rules posted on the wall to clarify the difference between two and three or something like that and it is a struggle for her.

She sent me a photo of the rules and this message: "Just in case you and Mike need some rules around there."  I think I would be lost in keeping up with the rules, too.  I tried to text her back but I was laughing so hard I could hardly see my keyboard.  I said that maybe I just needed to start waving my hands in the air!

She said, "That should cover it!"

New Layer Of Out Of The Blue

I don't know if you have noticed or not, but there is a new layer of Out Of The Blue.  I have added Teaching and Learning Out Of The Blue.  I decided to keep a journal of my experiences while we are social distancing due to Covid-19. 

Now, I will be somewhat general in some ways because this is not something where I am reporting on what is going on in my school district.  This is simply my ideas and thoughts while I'm working from home.

I am hopeful that it will morph into some suggestions for teachers and ways to make teaching and learning better.  So, hop over and share some of my musings from an educator's perspective!