Honored as Teacher of the Year

This past Thursday evening was the Founder's Day Banquet, where I was honored for being the Teacher of the Year for my building. While I generally don't like having a fuss made over me, it was really nice being recognized for the time and energy I put in professionally. A few of my closest friends attended the banquet to show their support, as well as my building principal. Although a little lengthy at times, it was a great evening; and, having people I care about there made the evening even more special.

Letter to a former student

Dear Jake,

I have just gotten home from spending the last few hours with you and I can't stop smiling. While we spent the better part of three hours talking about what's happened in our lives over the course of the last several years, there are still a few things I want to say.

I'm not sure I adequately expressed how much it means to me that you called and wanted to meet up. I know we had talked about it, but that you actually took the initiative and followed through with it means the world to me. Despite having kept track of where you were and what was going on in your life through the years, there is nothing better than hearing it from you, with all the details. So, thank you...thank you for calling, thank you for the big hug when I walked through the door, and thank you for once again letting me share in your life.

Remembering you as a sophomore student makes me smile and shake my head. While there were days you made me want to tear my hair out, there wasn't a day that I didn't love having you as a student. Yes, you tried my patience and pushed my buttons, but you were never unkind or disrespectful. I think we both always knew the aggravation we provided for one another was out of love. I appreciate your saying you learned in my classroom and that you worked harder in there than your other classes, but I mostly appreciate you saying you always knew I cared about you as both a student and a person.

I cherish having wonderful memories of special students and knowing I always did right by them, whether in the classroom or outside of it. I will always have one regret when it comes to you though, Jake. I want you to know I deeply regret not having been there like I should have after the accident. How I wish I could have seen past my own grief over losing Dustin and trying to be there for his family, and taken more time to be with you in the hospital...to hug you tightly and tell you how thankful I was to not have lost you too (you, Ryan, Nathan, and Blake). I know you hold no ill-feelings towards me nor have you ever put much thought into it...I just need you to know I have and I am truly sorry for not having done more for you.

While that accident will forever bind us together, it is only a small portion of why I absolutely adore you. I saw such great potential in you as a sixteen-year-old boy and to have the opportunity to witness, firsthand, your reaching that potential is an amazing gift with which you have blessed me. Jake, you have become a wonderful man, husband and father. I hope you realize how extremely proud I am of you. That I may have played a very small role in your becoming such a fine person is an incredible feeling. When I find myself questioning why I am still teaching, why I continue to do this, I know the answer is... you. You, Jake (and students like you), are what keeps me in education. You make every negative I face in education inconsequential.

I look forward to the moments we will continue to share as friends. Thank you again for allowing me to be a part of your life.

With much love,

Jodi

UPDATE

Here's just a quick update...gotta keep it brief because I've been avoiding paper grading for way too long!

Last week my principal informed me that I had been voted Teacher of the Year for my building. I will be representing my school at the district level after the first of the year. I was shocked and am honored to have been chosen by such an amazing faculty.

An all too familiar experience

I apologize in advance for the lack of cohesion this post will have...it's more about me purging emotion than publishing a well-written piece.

I walked into the building as our principal instructed teachers to make sure they read the bulletin for an important announcement. Unfortunately that announcement we were supposed to read was about the death of one of our students. A sophomore boy named Jamel collapsed at wrestling practice yesterday afternoon and died in the hospital last night. The announcement also instructed teachers to share the news with our students this morning.

J. walked into my room first thing this morning and we began our morning conversation just like every other morning. This morning J. started to tell me about a wrestler having to go to the hospital yesterday at practice. I was not prepared to break this news, but I asked J. to wait a moment before going out to the hallway (where discussions were already being had). I told him that I needed to talk to him about the incident he had just mentioned and proceeded to share the information I had with him. Blank. The blank...I don't know how to process, this must be a joke, how could this happen...stare that I have seen too many times in my ten years of education.

That look haunts me. In ten years of education, I have attended 10 funerals of students and athletes (none in the past three years). I have always said the one thing that will drive me out of education is having to deal with the loss of my students...it is something I have a very difficult time coming to terms with. As bad as it sounds, I am glad that I didn't know this student personally (although I hear he was a really great young man...it seems that the ones we lose generally are)...I'm not sure that I would have had the strength to deal with that loss right now.

It is exactly ten days until the anniversary of Dustin's death. I generally find myself to be melancholy a good portion of November. The 28th has been in the back of my mind and I've subconsciously been preparing for the day. Despite my best efforts, there will be both an uncontrollable physical and emotional reaction. I wasn't prepared for the sadness to settle in today, but the news and the reactions to Jamel's death have opened the floodgates.

I am fortunate to work in a field in which I get to know and love teens...on the flip side of that, they are often the most unpredictable and risk-taking group alive. They still think they are invincible and often put themselves into dangerous situations. The loss of young life is the most tragic of any loss...so much potential lost to the world. I don't know that I will ever come to grips or understand why this happens.

More positive posts to come later...promise.

Humbled and at a loss for words

Yesterday my friend Doug said he had a question for me. He said that I'd be receiving an email, but he wanted to know if I would accept the nomination for Teacher of the Year. The question stopped me in my tracks. What?!! In my head I immediately began listing all the reasons why I wouldn't receive the honor and started to voice them to Doug.

He stopped me and said, "Jodi, those don't mean you aren't deserving of the nomination."

So, I accepted the nomination. I am awed and humbled because I am so lucky to work with so many amazing teachers. That I would even be considered in this category is...well...honestly, I am at a loss for words. I do not think the process will go any further than the nomination, but sometimes being acknowledged is more than enough!

Adopt a Player...Warm fuzzy #2

About a week ago the football coaches sent an email around saying that the players had attributed much of their success this season to the administration, faculty and staff that work with them day in and day out. As a token of appreciation for inspiring, assisting, and being a positive influence on them, the players decided that they would each ask someone to "adopt" them...to wear his jersey at school on Friday and at the game on Saturday. It really was a sweet gesture and I ended the week on a very high note as I had multiple young men come and ask me to wear their jerseys. Rickie however was the first to ask me and I was honored to wear #5 at school and to the game on Saturday.

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.

Warm fuzzies

This is why I stay in education...a former student just popped into my room and said she had a question for me. Considering she is a senior, I automatically started to think reference letters, etc., but instead she proceeds to tell me that for volleyball each girl had to choose a favorite teacher and she chose me. She came to personally invite me to her volleyball game tomorrow night...ahhh...there really is no greater compliment than moments like these!

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.

Summer PDC

In addition to teaching summer school, I am also taking part in an online book discussion over the book Write Beside Them by Penny Kittle. I'll start off by saying that reading this book is by no means a chore...in fact, it is so good/enjoyable that I actually read the entire book, from cover to cover, the day it was delivered. Since then I have been rereading sections and discussing the chapters with about 14 other teachers across the United States.

While I haven't met any of these teachers face to face, I admire several of them. For much of the year I have been reading their classroom and personal blogs...and stealing (borrowing) wonderful ideas that I have used in my classroom. I have to admit that after having followed their daily teachings, I am a bit intimidated to participate in the discussion. Do I really have anything to contribute? Will any of these veteran teachers want to hear what I have to say?

I posted about using a couple of the activities Kittle had shared in the book with my summer school students. The next time I checked the wiki page, there were two responses directed to me. The first one was from a teacher in Arkansas discussing how these activities foster relationships between students and teachers and the second post was from Penny Kittle herself! The author of the book that I am reading (and loving) responded directly to me! She was encouraging and commented about how lucky the students were to have me. Wow...I am still in a bit of shock.

The book is wonderful...it is full of ideas, encouragement, and heartfelt examples. While I am not exactly sure how I am going to be able to incorporate everything into my English classroom, I know that this book has changed the way my classroom will be organized. I also know that I am learning from and collaborating with some amazing teachers. The fact that Kittle has joined our discussion to answer any questions that we have speaks volumes about her as a teacher, not to mention an author. This discussion group is just another example of what amazing people and professionals teachers really are. It is a rare group of professionals that is willing to share all their ideas, successes, and failures with anyone who asks; it makes me proud to be part of such a group!

You can check out and join this discussion group at http://learners4life.pbwiki.com/

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. :)

A Novel Idea...pun intended

My American Literature classes have recently begun reading The Great Gatsby; as expected, there are students who are resistant to read and complain about it being boring or too hard to understand.

Upon seeing their failing grades in my class, two students (in two different classes) have commented: "Hmmph...I guess I really do have to read that book."

The only appropriate comment (in my head, of course): "Well, duh!"


Just an extra tidbit:
The third quarter comes to a close next Friday, so students are NOW (not the seven weeks prior, but now) very interested in their grades and all the work they are missing.