An Update

With so much going on lately I've not taken the time to sit down and write on this space. Technically I should be reading with my students during silent sustained reading, but I'm not...not a very good model today.

Since Writers Week, things have been pretty anti-climatic around school. It's hard to top the reaction and the enthusiasm the students had for that event. I am still receiving positive feedback from administration and kids though...that's awesome!

It is difficult getting back into paper grading mode.

It is nice not having a student teacher anymore! My first day of teaching again was like a drug. I had a "high" like I'd not had in awhile...my students noticed. It's a great feeling when you realize you are right where you should be, doing what you are meant to be doing.

I'm in a writing group with a couple of my colleagues and I love it. I haven't been writing nearly as much lately...not really sure why I'm not finding the motivation, but I love that we are sharing our lives and our knowledge with each other in this way.

This summer is wedding season...several of my Blair Oaks kids are getting married...they are sooo young (or rather, I'm getting old!).

I'm smitten. For the first time in a long time (if ever), I am allowing myself to just enjoy these moments and not over think this. Yesterday afternoon I found myself thinking "this is really going to hurt if it doesn't work out." Then, completely uncharacteristic of me, I told myself to not think about it...that even if it doesn't work out, I wouldn't trade all the moments and laughter we've shared over the past couple weeks. It feels good.

2 evacuations in 3 days

Tuesday...the fire alarms scream 1st period; students (and teacher) nearly jump out of their skin and look at one another. "This is not a drill...let's go...we got to get out of the building." The building is evacuated, my class meets in its designated area (yea, we all made it out alive), and we wait and wonder as fire trucks race into the school lot. Roughly twenty minutes later administration waves students and teachers back into the building. Announcement: "For your information, the fire alarms were triggered by an experiment taking place in one of the science rooms. We will proceed with our normal day."

Thursday...the fire alarms scream 4th period; teachers look at one another, curse the science department and continue to sit. We wait for an announcement that the science department has once again triggered the alarm. No announcement is made and students are being evacuated from the building. DAMN! I take my time; grab my coat and an umbrella. We stand in the cold rain for a little longer than 30 minutes; four students from my fourth hour class find me (this class has a split lunch)...I hope the remaining eight made it out of the building. Rumor has it there was a fire in one of the art classrooms. Finally, we get clearance to go inside...students have never looked so excited to walk into a school building! No announcement has been made to the entire school, but a credible source has informed me that there was smoke in an art classroom...smoke from a burnt bag of popcorn. Grrr...

The positive...well, at least we know the alarm system works well, that our kids can get themselves out of the building in a short amount of time, and the fire department responds very quickly.

Back to school

Today marked the first day of the 2008-2009 school year...I'm still trying to grasp the fact that school has actually started (on August 11th!).

I always like the beginning of a new school year...everyone gets a fresh start. I like that kids get the opportunity to reinvent themselves...they can go from being the trouble maker to the good kid and I will never know the difference. Teachers also get to start with a fresh slate...I get to try new things with new kids, figuring out new teaching strategies to benefit those new students.

An Update

I haven't been very good about keeping up with my blog as of late so I thought I'd just randomly write about things that have kept me busy or been on my mind.

School is beginning to wind down and the students are really restless (teachers -me- might be a bit restless too). I'm trying to get through A Raisin in the Sun with my juniors and my sophomores are turning their research papers in tomorrow...that leaves me with about five days to teach Julius Caesar (yikes!). Needless to say we will be summarizing large portions of the play and only focusing on the major speeches.

I basically have little to no summer that is not spoken for...I'm an idiot and agreed to teach summer school, so I'll finish on the 3rd of June and start back on the 9th. I will teach until the 3rd of July, have a few weeks off and then take a week-long course on teaching AP English classes (July 28-August 1). Teachers report to school on the 4th of August and we begin school on the 11th. So, for all those who make comments to me about being lucky to have the summer off...yeah...

I surprised my mother and one of my aunts with roses for Mother's Day...both were surprised and pleased. I meant to post about my wonderful mother around Mother's Day, but got busy and have yet to do that. It seems like I have spent a lot of time on my father...much credit/appreciation needs to be given to my amazing mother as well...I'll get to that soon! (I'm not into advertising for companies, but I ordered and sent the flowers through Proflowers and was very pleased.)

My Avery turned eight this past weekend. I can't believe how grown up she is becoming. Now that I have moved I don't get to see her as much as I'd like, but when I do, she always makes me feel like a rock star! She always takes time out from playing to sit on my lap and chat, gives me lots of hugs and smooches, and always wants me to sit with her at the table for cake/ice cream, etc. Avery is a huge part of my life (as is all my family) and contributes considerably to me being who I am.

I have a great friend who surprised me with a shipment of chocolate desserts from Williams-Sonoma because he had read my blog post about being a bit overwhelmed/stressed. Needless to say it was an amazing surprise and one that is greatly appreciated. I'm really a bit speechless as a result of his kindness and consideration.

I seriously need to get into the gym and a regular workout routine! (Even more so now that J. has sent me chocolate desserts!)

My friend Y lost her sister to cancer this past week. There are no words that can be said to ease the pain of such a loss, but I hope that Y and her family have been able to take some comfort in the fact that R is no longer suffering. These moments should really make us all stop and give thanks for the loved ones we are surrounded by each day. I can't even begin to imagine the heartache of losing my sister or my brother.

This is the first season that I have ever watched American Idol and I am finding myself obsessed with voting for David Cook tonight. That's actually a bit embarrassing to admit.

My department chair told me that the principal of our school made the comment to her (out of the blue) that she hoped she (the dept. chair) realized how lucky she was to have me in her department, that I was a real gem. I'm generally not one to 'toot my own horn', but that really made me feel good about what I am doing. I have the utmost respect for my head principal and in a building the size of the one that I am in, it is nice if the principal even knows me by name. The fact that she brought me up in conversation...wow! It is amazing that in teaching, one positive can wipe out hundreds of negatives!

I'm beginning to think about buying a house. It's not a decision I ever thought I would be making alone and it is really scary, but it is exciting too.

I'm in the process of applying to grad school...exciting and nerve racking as well. It's been a long time since I've written a paper to be graded!

Those are some of the highlights...there are a couple thousand other things as well, but I won't bore you any longer...for now.

Teens and conflicting viewpoints

We had great discussion in one of my junior classes this morning. After reading Countee Cullen's Incident and Tableau, written during the Harlem Renaissance, we began discussing whether or not the themes were still prevalent in today's society. While we obviously talked about racial issues (fortunately I have a group of students who respect others' viewpoints and opinions), we also talked about stereotypes of people who deal with obesity and/or other disabilities and how they are treated in society.

There was still a little bit of time left in the class period when students finished working on an assignment over these two poems, so we began to discuss the six Florida girls who had lured and beat up their classmate. The discussion was eye-opening (and a little disturbing) to say the least. While some were completely disgusted by their actions, there were several students who thought that the victim was deserving. Their reasoning..."If you talk trash about people, you get what you deserve."

WHAT?!!

At the beginning of the class period we talked about victims (violence, oppression, discrimination, etc.) in our society who have been mistreated and those who have devoted their lives to bringing about change in the world. We talked about men like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi and at the end of the class some are defending senseless violence in the name of "saving face."

I'm at a loss for words...

Spontaneous lesson plans...Drug-sniffing dogs

The high school went into lockdown this morning when drug-sniffing dogs were brought in to sweep the school. It was interesting to see the students' faces when this announcement was made. As expected, the learning process was interrupted as students eagerly voiced their opinions on what was happening.

One student went on a bit of a rant about how the school was getting ridiculous...threatening to tow their vehicles for parking on campus without parking tags, giving detentions for not wearing their student ids while in the building, and now bringing the dogs into the school. She was quick to point out that none of this was going on just a couple years ago; more than likely her attempt to place blame on the new administration. Although slightly in agreement, the student sitting next to her made this comment, "We also weren't receiving regular bomb threats two years ago."

There are moments in teaching when you have to throw out the lesson plan (for awhile anyway) and use what is handed to you. Drug-sniffing dogs allowed us to discuss how education is different today than it was just a couple years ago, that rules (whether they agree with them or not) will be enforced upon them throughout their lives, and that all decisions (big, small, deliberate, or accidental) have consequences, positive and negative.

While I love teaching literature and writing, it is because of these moments that I remain in teaching (and here you thought it was because of the money!). Today's lesson allowed all learners to take part, no matter their academic levels, and in all honesty, it's lessons and discussions like these that will impact their lives more than practicing constructed response questions for the MAP test.

Yet Another Snow Day

While most are generally happy to receive the call that they do not have to get up early and go to school in the morning, I'm just the opposite. I would much rather be at school on days when the weather is like this than when it is 70 degrees and sunny. Thanks to Mother Nature and her cruel sense of humor, I will be teaching into June...note to self, check to see how many sick days I have stockpiled...I might catch a really bad cold in the Spring. :)

Who says sarcasm has no place in the classroom?

A conversation that took place in class while students should have been finishing an assignment:

Student A: So, let's say that you have been dancing at the club with this girl all night and at the end of the night she turns around and her eyes are crossed. What do you do?

Student B: (Quizzically looks at A)

Me: (from across the room) A...I don't think that is relevant to the assignment you are supposed to be finishing.

Student A: Come on Miss D...what are you supposed to say when you've danced with a girl all night and then she turns around and she's ugly?

Me: (Astonished...I'll just leave it at that) A...I don't know what you say, but this conversation sure says a lot about you.

Student A: (speechless...)

Rest of class: (smiling and nodding in appreciation before resuming their work)

A Stressful Day at School

After a morning of helping break up fights, rumors of weapons being brought to the school in the afternoon, and the fire alarm sounding as the final bell rang, I decided to stop at the nearby grocery to purchase a few stress relievers.

Note: The M&M's were opened before being purchased...and a small bag just wasn't enough.

A lack of suitable lyrics or a lack of respect?

When Tom Petty began singing 'Free Fallin' during halftime of the Superbowl, I was reminded of a boy I went to school with who would daily sing the first verse of that song to me. How I dreaded going to my locker outside of Mr. Rohr's room, knowing that Jeff would be waiting to serenade me, and the remainder of the day would be spent at the butt of others' jokes for the 'crush' Jeff may have had on me.

This experience is not solely unique to me; I see the same thing happen in the hallways of the school I teach every single day. The difference is that, to me, Jeff sang 'she's a good girl, loves her mama', the boys now serenade the girls with lyrics like: "Hey, you're a crazy b****, but I love the way you f*** me!"

While I was, in many cases, "one of the guys" during my school years (and heard my fair share of vulgar remarks), I could never imagine one of the boys in my class, much less my school, ever saying something like this directly to me...even if it was all in fun.

It makes me wonder:

Were high school boys more respectful fifteen years ago, or was it apparent that I had
enough self-respect that I wouldn't have allowed them to speak to me in that manner?
Most importantly, I hope the second is true.

Maybe it boils down to the difference in music played then and now?
No. While music has changed, we all still make conscious decisions about what we say
and how we treat others.

What effect do these references have on high school girls now and then later in life?
Words have power, especially to vulnerable young girls who are already struggling with
who they are and where exactly they fit in this world.

Jeff may have embarrassed me a few times in the hallway at school, but never did I feel that he thought I was anything but, "a good girl who loves her mama."