As the school year begins, as our cruise ship for the pathways of learning pulls away from shore — oh, that was awful. Boats don’t travel on pathways. Canals, maybe. I’ll start over.

The first task for teachers at my virtual school is the Welcome Call. We call each and every family on our roster and talk to the student(s) and the learning coach, usually a parent. These calls can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to thirty minutes to over an hour. The calls are well worth the time.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, in the cubicle known as the O.K. Hardware, these calls sound different. My cubicle is in the middle of the action. I hear snippets of phrases, sometimes full sentences, but they’re all out of context. Put together, they create a whole new conversation – or no conversation at all.

Captured Talk on a Welcome Topic

Yeah, yeah, I think so.

It’s confusing.

You have how many cavities?

Call me back at…..

Do you have other animals at home?

I have a garden, too.

Don’t try that without asking your parents.

Well, the City Council said…

And that’s something else.

How are you doing? How are you? How. Are. You?

–no, this last one wasn’t me.

I think I like this new cubicle. At the very least, it’s entertaining.