Sticky Note

As a follow up to last week's post, this is what happens when one tries to study while intoxicated:

I have a sticky note still stuck to my laptop that reads,

"How the 'f' did Fredrick Douglas learn to read? Project idea: Interview non-traditionally trained readers. Have them describe their learning process or how they faked reading."

I had spent hours (days? the last 7 months of my life?) reading about the complex nature of reading, the 5 key elements that make up reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and text comprehension- for those of you keeping score at home), and the myriad of cognitive and social issues that can keep an individual illiterate. I remembered a few key snippets from Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass- specifically that he had taught himself to read by studying feed bags. I then spent the next two hours researching this story.

Did I learn? Yes.
Did I get anything done on my portfolio? No.

Even though it was off topic, I liked the research question and potential project, just not the lingering sticky note. Now that I've recorded the idea elsewhere, I feel okay throwing it away.

By the way, yes, it is almost 6:30 on a Sunday night and I do need to do some lesson planning for next week. And yes, I did just successfully put it off for a few more minutes while I needlessly updated my blog.