Thankful.

What a day... things I am thankful for:

Our students listened, followed directions, and did everything we asked them to calmly and patiently without a single argument. They stayed as quiet as teenagers can be expected to be in a crisis and responded appropriately and immediately to (somewhat random) hand signals.

Our district and building staff are just THE BEST. So many people did so much to keep our kids physically and mentally safe. They are problem solvers, huggers, snack finders, staff bathroom unlockers....I am blessed to work with every. single. one.

We were in the room with a LockBloc on the door--neither adult had to step into the hallway to lock our door.

My caseload student who I was most worried about was with people who know and love them, kept them safe, even made sure they had snacks while locked down sitting in the dark, silently. (Which, in and of itself, is a miracle).

The threat to our building turned out, apparently, to just be a threat. The people involved were contained, for lack of a better word and the situation quieted in a speedy manner (even though it seemed like a long time, sitting in that quiet classroom)

I am blessed to be able to have a rental car for the week/end so I could drive myself around with therapeutic 80's music blaring after school and not have to wait for a ride to get home.

Chick-fil-A frozen coffee and Tylenol Sinus have magical healing properties. (or maybe it was adrenaline?)

My tutoring kids, who, of course, had no idea what happened today at my school, were hardworking and on task--a joy to work with. One even said, "Wow! That hour went by fast!". They made me smile after a very long day.

I have a huge network of friends and family who prayed for us while we waited and who rejoiced with us when everything was safely concluded.

So many other things....but I am tired and am going to watch trashy tv in bed (as soon as The Girl gets home from Wish Week Activites!)

Love and hugs to all my OHS people who (like me) probably feel a little (a lot?) traumatized tonight, despite all the blessings. Prayers that tomorrow is a day equally full of blessings. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us, thought of us, sent good ju-ju.

Summer break?

And just like that, the school year is almost over.  I am ready for summer, I think, but I am kind of reluctant for this year to end.  It has been a roller coaster of a year--I'd tell you to read my blogs, but I haven't been a great writer this year, so that would be fruitless. And, the last few days of school have been a little crazy--at our senior exit assembly in the gym a fight broke out, followed by three (four?) more that day and four (five?) the next day... so it seems like it should be time for summer...but, there is a big "hmmm"....
As our seniors did their exit hugs (graduation is next week, but we do our "good-bye" assembly early because graduation day is, well, so much...) I thought--"I'm ready for the seniors to go to their next step, but I"m not ready to say "bye" to  "my" kids for the summer".  It is an interesting feeling--I used to be a big proponent of counting down the days, but I stopped a few years ago-Angela Watson describes it well here. It is just a change in how I think about school.  There are three days left with students--all three half-day final exam days--so hopefully these will be calm, productive days for the students and set them up well to have a good summer.....

Hamilton!?!

If I haven't said it enough, let me say again, that my team teachers are fantastic.  There are too many reasons to list, but let me tell you about the latest and greatest...

Last fall my teammate, ML, applied through the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to receive tickets for our students to Hamilton the Musical.  The program was designed to provide students from Title I (or Title I eligible) schools with an opportunity to see a Broadway Musical, specifically Hamilton, for a minimal fee. We didn't hear anything for quite a while...then one day during class she was checking email (don't worry, the kids were working on an essay and we were taking turns working with them)....and ML let out a little squeal...We "won" 100 tickets (plus 10 chaperone tickets) for $10 apiece. (We eventually were able to get ten more plus one more chaperone ticket because other schools weren't able to use all their tickets).  In the words of the Gilder Lehrman staff, "See Hamilton for a Hamilton".....

The event included not only tickets to the afternoon show but also a morning educational session, including student performances (more below) and Q and A with the Denver cast.  This raised a couple issues though...One of the first decisions ML had to make was who was eligible to use the tickets? Gilder Lehrman had requirements for the students--students had to be enrolled in 11th grade US History and each student had to complete a research project on a Revolutionary War/Early Nation Era Person, Event, or Document and turn their research into a performance piece (poem, rap, song, scene) of 1-2 minutes. So, our classes seemed like the best place to start, because we could provide time and structure in class to complete the project.  As some of you know, we team-teach two classes that are split between students with an IEP and students without an IEP.  When we counted, we had a total of 56 people enrolled in our classes.  Hmm....who else "should" be allowed to go?  Who would "appreciate" a musical about immigrants and might not ever get to see a show.....How about the ELA (English Language Learners) teamed classes?! (again, classes with two teachers and half students with ELA plans and half in general education).  ML shares an office with the social studies teacher who teams ELA, so this was easy to coordinate. This brought our total pretty close to 100, so we opened the opportunity up to students in other 11th grade US History classes--making sure they knew the project performance and had an overwhelming (at times) response.  In the end we took 97 students and 11 adults.

The second issue was how to get there....RTD (bus and light rail) with 110 people at rush hour?  Urg...School buses?  Can't use them in the morning, as they are needed elsewhere...ok...a charter bus (two, actually) it is...Buses are how much?  Urg.....Enter GoFundMe....and generous donations from our Life Groups, Book Clubs, friends, family and co-workers...and for the win...our principal who said, "We'll find some money...book the buses".

Issue #3....lunch....GL says "Have the kids bring lunches..."....Students say, "um, I get free and reduced lunch at school every day...what do I do?"  While I was planning how to make 100+lunches in the school kitchen after school, ML reached out to her fabulous friend who works for 104.3 The Fan in Denver...and he reached out to his contacts at Sam's #3 in Aurora (and graduates of our high school!)  who donated lunches...all the lunches...for free.... (and they were tasty lunches as well....mmm...pickles, chips, fruit, sandwich, beverage....mmmmm).  As an added bonus, the fabulous other ML (the teacher who teams ELA classes) bought an extensive and delicious variety of snacks and drinks for breakfast on the bus and a snack on the way home.

Issue #4  Chaperones...really a non-issue--in the end we took the Social Studies team-teaching staff, their ELA and IEP counterparts (me!),  the fabulous EH (A former team-teacher of mine who is retiring and also shares ML's office), the 11th Grade English IEP teachers (general and special education staff), an assistant principal (over the Special Education Department), and the school psychologist.  It was a fabulous group of adults who all worked super hard before the trip and the day of to make it fabulous for our students.

Not an Issue #5...$10 tickets...I was a little worried about the number of students who we had promised scholarship tickets to...ML was counting money and I was watching.  I said, "How much are we short?"  She replied, "None...its the exact amount".  We recounted...God is good...

Our students created some truly fabulous performance pieces and our fantastic Video Production Teacher volunteered his time and the use of the studio to record several to submit one (as required) to Gilder Lehrman.  Unfortunately, our student was not chosen for the live performance, however, we have some really awesome videos for the students who participated.

The night before the field trip I woke up at 3:14 am, not quite panic-stricken, but a little worried about the next day.   There were a couple details, some involving specific students and their needs and some involving things like keeping the lunches cold that worried me a little.... I said a prayer, asking for everything to be smooth and for everyone to have a great day.  Later, after, the day had been super smooth and everyone reported it was fabulous (great, fantastic, really cool....) ML, my office mate, and I were chatting on the bus. They both noted they had done the same thing....God is good....and He certainly heard us, as the day couldn't have gone better.

While I won't claim that the day and the musical were life-changing, I will say this: (comments in no particular order)

• The play was good--I enjoyed it and have some of the music stuck in my head today.  I really enjoyed trying to catch all the Easter Eggs (lines from Pirates of Penzance, South Pacific, Macbeth, 1990's rap songs....).  There were a couple instances of historical fiction, but (and?) they didn't interfere with the story.  Hamilton was not painted as a hero nor as a villain but as a human (and the same could be said of most of the other characters).  King George was hil-lar-ri-us......
• Our students were so great and grateful.  They were polite, they were attentive...I couldn't be prouder.
• In fact, as we walked out, one of my students who admittedly doesn't love school said (something like), "Miss...that was really good.  And I actually learned something.  Cool."  I asked, "From the play?" (worrying a little about the couple historical fictions) and he replied, "Nah, from the research project...the play was cool, but the research helped me understand what was going on". (What more can you ask for?)  Today the same student walked into class, threw himself into a seat and said to ML and me, "Hey. Thanks a lot. Sigh.".  We said, "Um?" He replied with, "I have that song, you know the one that goes ba ba ba ba ba ba ba, stuck in my head....". (Cue laughter....)
• And, as often is the case, my favorite moment was one I couldn't have seen coming....as I sat in my seat waiting for the second act, the student sitting behind me said, "Hey, Miss, is that <student name>? "  Since it wasn't an uncommon name, I was racking my brain and scanning the crowd, when a young man, turns around (apparently hearing his name) and says "Mrs. Lemire!!!!!"  Before I knew it I was being hugged by a football player sized giant of a high schooler....who left our school a couple years ago as an immature 9th grader somewhat in crisis.  We had a few short moments to catch up on his life...and I thought again about all the seeds that teachers plant that and never see flower and reminded myself to remember moments like that one when I'm struggling as a teacher.  Needless to say, that made me a little more teary than expected during the emotional second act.

So now I don't know how to end this other than...it was a great experience...ML (who I've bragged about by name on my Facebook page) is fabulous--this was a (possibly) once in a lifetime opportunity for many of our students and they had a fabulous day....It was remarkable as a field trip because there were no emergencies...a couple stressful moments, but nothing like some other trips I've been on or chaperoned....it was just really, really great.  Thank you (again) to everyone who made it great...through your donations, your prayers, your excitement to carry us to the actual day of....it was a really, really good day.  (The End)......

Right where I'm supposed to be

February is always hard in education. I've read articles and heard speakers and come up with my own theories, but it is just hard.  This week has been a typical February week, including horrific news from other places, teenagers with real (and not so real) drama, and all the regular daily struggles. I was super tired this morning--chugging coffee as I drove the 29 minutes from my house to school (on ice, as best as I can tell), singing along to annoying songs and arguing with radio commentators to stay alert...and then I pulled into the parking lot.

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?  Ok, maybe it's like parenting...that only someone who already loves this place and knows what happens inside every day really sees the beauty...but I was struck with "this is right where I am supposed to be".  I might not always know what I'm doing (ok, scratch that, I'm pretty sure I don't have a clue what I'm doing half the time)....but I know that good things are happening here.  This is right where I'm supposed to be, I am a part of what is supposed to happen and our little community is doing good things.

Today we hold our "Wish Week" Assembly--the culmination of a week of fun and fundraising for a little boy whose wish is to build a wheelchair accessible playground. There will be laughing and cheering (and probably tears).  And there will be the usual, mundane (and not so mundane) pieces of high school life as well...and it is perfect in its imperfection.  Have a great Friday, folks.

Winter motivation

I've been trying to get motivated to write for a few days now--I actually started last week but decided what I wrote was just whiny so this is take two.

It is officially winter here but supposed to be 60 degrees today, unlike the rest of the country, I guess. I heard that as of today all 50 states have snow on the ground for the first time in 50 years  The radio announcer said that he though Hawaii would be the "hold out", but that it was actually Florida.

I had a birthday last week-We aren't going to mention which one. Mr. IM and the kids took me out to dinner and my much-delayed Christmas jewelry arrived (it is very pretty).  They also picked up a set of books written by a Park County writer (and sold at the Al-Mart in Alma!).  Then they all disappeared for the evening and I got to read my books and talk to Liberty about personal space. ("One hundred ten pound dogs don't get to sit on people's laps.  Fifteen-pound cats do if they behave.  You are a one hundred ten pound dog...back up, back up, back up....")

My greenhouse experiment continues to go well-we had a cold snap earlier this week, but it looks like the beets have survived.  The potatoes (round two) haven't sprouted yet...but I always have sketchy potatoes so I can always plant more. I don't know if I'll ever get anything from these plants, but it is a fun experiment.  I planted cucumbers inside (and celery and basil, but I always have those inside).  My spicy oregano (from two summers ago) finally gave up, so I harvested and froze it--I need to find a fun recipe that uses spicy oregano!

We tried a couple meal service plans during December and decided that we just need to be better at making a menu, shopping, and prepping ahead of time.  Neither of the services we used cut down on prep time, just made sure we had ingredients.  Since Mr. IM and The Boy are in the mountains every weekend, it makes life interesting to plan.  The Girl has had SAT Prep class, so we've been staying at the Suburban Ranch, which I think makes Liberty happy, she is not a fan of car rides these days.

Thanks to all of you who included a note or letter in your Christmas card--we love the pictures, but it is always nice to have a letter as well and not have to remember what was on Facebook!

Spring planting is getting closer...stay tuned!




 

Hurry up and wait...

There was at least one episode of MASH when the main characters talked about how life in a MASH unit was all "Hurry up and wait"--that there were periods of crazy rushing around surrounded by a lot of sitting and waiting. 

This week at school has been kind of like that for me--moments of utter chaos surrounded by time spent sitting and watching my kids write final exam essays.  There is, of course, that never-ending mom and teacher "to do list"...but in many moments this week I have just sat and done, well, nothing.  I have felt guilty several times and invented things to do(and been interrupted by "emergencies" several other times).

I think that is God's way of reminding me to observe Advent--to wait quietly and listen for "what next".  To remember that sometimes we are to just wait.  What a great reminder in this crazy, busy world...

Now if I could just grade all those essays in a speedy manner.....

Time flies...

I saw a video today that was filmed in the building where I attended grades 7-12 and taught my first year of teaching.  It was actually a very serious video, about preventing drinking and driving, yet I found myself smiling because I could identify who taught in each classroom they entered, as well as which hallway the filmers were in. I had a moment of "Wow!  I spent a lot of time there to recognize things after all that time"...then I realized that I've been teaching at my current high school more than twice as long as I spent at my alma mater. It was a weird realization, because I don't feel like I've been at my current place very long. (In fact, this morning I came out of an unfamiliar testing room and both my office mate and I said, "um...where are we?").  I guess it is true that time flies when you're having fun!

Ups and Downs of Teaching

Tuesday and Thursday were parent conferences at my school this week, nice bookends to a day of testing (Wednesday) and our "last hurrah" before fall  break.  It isn't super busy around here tonight--quite a few parents, but no lines that I can see from my little Special Ed corner.  Needless to say, we do a lot of chatting amongst ourselves on these nights, grade some papers, work on IEP's, check email...and so on.

One of the discussions tonight has made me very thoughtful.  Apparently, one of our former students was arrested last weekend in an incident that was just big enough to make a local small town paper Now, I'll preface this with the statement that I work with good people.  But...some of the reactions to the arrest make me sick, for lack of an alternative description.

There was a picture included and the young person looks nothing like they did when they attended my school.  They look worn out beyond their 18 years.  The student's hair was messy, clearly the result of a tussle. The reaction by some of my co-workers has been to laugh and to joke that "well, we did good work there".  Here's the problem...I think we did do good work.  Yes, this young person is responsible for their choices, and clearly poor choices have been made...but if I rejoice in my students' success, how can I not grieve for their failures?

Since I was in a pensive mood, I did something I do about every six months...I looked up one of my favorite former students (I'm not joking, he was one of my favorites) on the State Corrections Website to see if he had a successful parole hearing this time.  Turns out he did, and a quick google search turned up his facebook page (no, I didn't friend him), stating that he is working as a nurse's aide and filled with notes about his activities with his church.  While all is certainly not right with the world...this certainly makes me feel a little better about the seeds I planted there and makes me hopeful that the recently arrested student will also turn things around someday.

Back to school ramblings

In case you hadn't figured it out, school started.  If you follow me over on Facebook, I'm sure you saw the first day pictures (sorry, none of me...just the kids).  No pictures for this edition--I'll fill you in quick and get back to The Pile (of papers to grade, IEPs to check, lesson plans to write, dishes to wash, clothes to fold....)

Since the Girl and I went back to school on August 10 and 7 respectively, The Boy spent almost 3 weeks Home Alone.  Yes, the capitals are intentional...you've all seen the movies, right?  I called him one day at about 3 and said something like "ok, I'm headed home and then we need to leave for x...have you had lunch yet?"  His answer?  (and there was evidence to support it)  "Well, I've only had two cans of soup, a box of crackers, three apples, and two individual servings of mac and cheese....what's for dinner?"

School is going well for all of us--I have two teamed classes (half students with an IEP, half without an IEP, two teachers), two foundations classes (all students have an IEP and struggle with reading and writing), a freshman orientation class, and an advisory class. Oh, and 28 ish kids on my caseload (seems to change daily, as they float in and out...Stand Still!  Eesh!)

The Girl loves her classes--all the usual (Algebra, English 9, Earth Science, World Geography, Spanish 1), plus Athletic Training and Theatre.  A boy from theatre class asked her to go to homecoming with him and she agreed to meet him there.  We're in uncharted territory here, folks.  Volleyball is all consuming--practices, study hall, and tomorrow their first real game (scrimmage last weekend went well).

The Boy seems to be adjusting to 5th grade.  I'm sure we'll hear more at back to school night next week, but there seems to have been a slight philosophical switch, 5th grade is even more like Middle School than it was when The Girl went through.  They switch for all their classes and get to participate in sports (hello, cross country...we have missed you?).  It seems to be a good switch (for us)--last night both kids sat in the dining room for several minutes without punching each other.

We are all looking forward to the long weekend--I see some housecleaning and napping in my future!

I also "owe" you'all a "What I read in August" post...although I'm not sure I finished anything...eek...I'll have to look later!

End of the school year...or not?

I read the best blog last week--Jen Hatmaker's "Worst End of School Year Mom Ever" and couldn't stop laughing because it is like she is in my house.  We are also limping to the finish line...not sure exactly where/when it is, or what will happen when we get there...but we're getting there...

Once again, The Ranch is a one car household....about a month ago, on the way home from a late volleyball game with The Girl, Mr. IM's car "threw a rod through the short block".  Now, please don't ask me what all that entails...all I can tell you is that the car shop said 3-6 weeks and we are on week 4.  Thanks to the generosity of friends we have managed to get everywhere we are supposed to (school, work, music lessons....)--I realize again how wonderful our village is--one of my friends not only got me to and from work for almost a month, but loaned me her car often so I could get my kids (and I) from point A to B to Z...

School is fine, busy as always, but I think that all my end of year paperwork is done (or at least mostly done), so I can start working on plans for next year.  Unless things change (which they will) I will be teaching two US History classes  and two Government classes and probably a Freshman Orientation class.  One each of the History and of the Government classes are labeled "foundations", so I'm spending some of my free time surfing Amazon for great deals on the (almost) 20 year old text book that I love (1 cent plus $3.99 shipping?  Used--Very Good?  Done!!). I'm also continuing on the Advisory team--which is technically one more prep (but a fun one!)

The Girl "graduated" from 8th grade last week and we had both sets of grandparents here for the weekend. The Girl is going on a trip with her Grandmother next week, so Grandma is back this week. They've been busily packing and getting ready.  

Another indication of the level of crazy is that my garden is still in plastic crates in the living room--although it hailed again tonight, so I'm celebrating that it is (mostly) inside and not smashed...

I suppose the next post will be "What I read in May"....Stay tuned!

It's science fair time again!

You may remember three years ago when The Girl did a science project about yeast a couple years ago.  My folks were in town and my mom helped her do it--it was painless for everyone and the project was a success.  The only downfall was that the house smelled like fresh bread and there wasn't any bread.
This year, it is the boy's turn.  He had heard somewhere that fruit could be used as a battery.  After using about 8 lemons, The Boy and Mr. IM discovered that there is an issue with the current (description here), but it was a very interesting project for all of us (and the house smelled good, like lemons!)

Writing Assignment

The Boy had a writing assignment this week...here is his Venn diagram planning document...

In case you need help reading it....
Title:  Similarities and Differences, Colorado vs. New Hampshire
Colorado: In the West, Mountains have snow, temperatures change dramatically
New Hampshire: On the East Coast, Mountain are icy, temperatures don't change a lot
Same:  Very Nice, have mountains, good skiers

I can't wait to read the finished product....

Free Range Parenting, or not, as the case may be...

So last week a teacher friend expressed her frustration that parents of a high schooler didn't want the student to read some books in the grade level curriculum because of the adult themes in them.  I've always subscribed to the "let them read whatever" philosophy, but this situation frustrated me because so many people were so judgemental of the parents.

The parents in this case are actually grandparents who are very conservative and have strong Christian beliefs.  I agree that they can't protect him forever, and if I had been directly involved in the conversation, might have even "sided" with the other teacher.  I probably would have given some reasons why the materials were chosen and why it might be ok, with guidance, for the student to read them.  However,  I am disappointed that so many adults were ready and willing to "jump in" and automatically side with the teacher rather than the parents. Not one person involved in the conversation said, "Hey, we should find out more about this"or "maybe the parents have a point and we should find something different"....

Situations like this always make me analyze my own curriculum choices as well as how I interact with parents and other teachers.  As teachers we do have a responsibility to expand students' horizons...but we also have a responsibility to respect their beliefs and their parents beliefs.  We are given so much responsibility for students during the school day that we sometimes forget we are not their parents....that we don't get to make decisions about what is right for each kid, just like we don't want our kids' teachers to make decisions without our input. We, as parents and teachers, don't always agree, but we owe it to each other and to the kids to respect each other's beliefs and have responsible, polite conversations with the goal of doing what is best for kids.  And as bystanders, we have an obligation to remind each other to be patient and listen to each other.

School Projects...

 This project brought to you courtesy of The Boy.  What, you may ask, is he working on?  The fourth graders have been assigned to create a "biography bottle", notecards, and 3-5 minute speech about a famous person.  Here, is John F. Kennedy under construction!


























I will try to remember to put a photo of the finished product at some point..in the meantime, here is a picture of The Girl's project from four years ago--

Clearly it is Sacajewa...and no, no one knows why she is wearing a pin from Girl Scout camp....

Sisterhood, religion, and other thoughts

This is another one of those posts that I'm sure will make some of you angry (or irritated or something) and some of you happy...so here we go...

As most of you readers know, I work at a public high school in a suburb of Denver.  The school was opened in 1978, in a (at that time) a primarily white middle class neighborhood.  Over the years, the population of the neighborhood, and therefore the school, have changed substantially.  When I arrived there in 2002, our population was probably about 50% White, 25% Black, 20% Latino-a few other groups represented, but not in any great number.  Most of the black and white students at that time had a long history of life in America.  Some of the Latino students were immigrants, many were also at least 2nd or 3rd generation American citizens.  In probably the last 5-6 years, our population has changed greatly again.  According to schooldigger.com, we currently have a population of about 40%  Black, 40% Hispanic, and 25% White.  What those statistics don't tell is the number of our students who are recent immigrants or children of immigrants. We have also become a school of immigrants-many of our students arriving at our school within weeks, sometimes days, of leaving their homeland or a refugee camp they stayed at first.  I have heard an estimate that we have about 55 different native languages spoken by our students.  Some of our students come from war torn nations and have seen and heard things I wouldn't want anyone, let alone a child, witness.  Some of our students come from peaceful nations, some were rich, some were poor...some attended schools very much like US schools (or even more rigorous), some have never been in a classroom. A increasing number of our students are first, second, or third generation immigrants from Africa and the Middle East, many of whom are Muslim or have a family connection to Islam.  Two years ago, my office mate, a devout practicing Muslim, was hired as as special education teacher.  Besides being one of the best teachers I've ever known, she is also an amazing woman of faith.  We giggled for an hour one morning when we both were huddled over our computers reading personal email...and realized we were both reading our "verse of the day" (hers from the Koran, mine from the Bible, ironically, both verses related to patience, I think, that day).

Now, where am I going with this, you may ask? One of our earliest conversations as office mates was about 9/11.  On 9/11/01 my office mate was living in Brooklyn. As we chatted, she described  the horror of that day and the days that followed--as an American, as the wife  of an American Air Force member, as a mother, and as a Muslim woman who commonly covered or "wore hijab".  She described how, growing up as the daughter of a Department of Defense employee, she has lived all over the world and never been afraid to cover...and in the days after 9/11 she took it off.  An American woman, in America, was afraid to wear a symbol of her religion because of how others treated her.  I was speechless. I shouldn't have been. But I was.  Regardless of how you feel about Islam...this is America and the right to practice your religion peacefully is protected by the Constitution.  Yet peace-loving women here felt afraid to wear a symbol of their modesty.

Enter World Hijab Day...  "Better Understanding...Greater Understanding....Peaceful World".  The young women of our Muslim student association advertised this day and asked both Muslim women who don't usually cover and non-Muslim women to participate in wearing hijab for the day.  Before the day I read a lot of the literature on the website (link above) and had a lot of discussions with my students and my office mates--learning more about the purpose of "covering".  Just as it is for Orthodox Jewish women, Coptic Christians, and certainly the Amish and Mennonites, covering is not a sign of submission, but rather a sign of modesty.  Of not being a show off and of showing that a women's beauty is does not make her an object.  Initially, I was concerned that it would seem disrespectful for non-Muslim women to wear hijab, but the many articles and discussions helped me understand that the purpose is to support each other--regardless of religion--in our roles as women all over the world.  I'm not actually sure how many of us participated at my school today, but I know there were a lot of smiles as many of us turned corners and discovered each other. There were some surprises...one of my co-workers made a couple comments that surprised me in their intolerance--one was essentially that "people who look like you (me) don't wear things like that".  I actually found words relatively quickly and replied that I'm pretty sure that my Austrian/Swiss (probably Jewish) ancestors, as well as my husbands' Catholic ancestors quite often wore head scarves "back in the day"--that I was not wearing hijab to support Islam, or the choices of radical Muslims, but rather I was wearing a head scarf to support my sisters around the world who are afraid to announce their religion for fear of recognition and retaliation for crimes they didn't commit and don't support. The highlight of my day was when one of our teaching assistants, a young Muslim man, stopped me and told me how much he appreciates support of the Christian staff and students in the form of our one day covering.  It is cheesy to say, but I was really touched and thankful that I was able to provide him with joy today.  I also enjoyed "my girls" fussing over my scarf and listening to them talk among themselves about the best way to tie a scarf (there are so many different ways, for so many reasons, ranging from teenage rebellion to regional to how strict the family or mosque is).

At the end of this day, I am thankful that I had an opportunity to walk in someone else's shoes for a short while.  I am grateful, that as a Christian woman in America, I haven't ever experienced true persecution, that I am free to worship and practice my religion as I please.  It reminds me that we still have room to grow as human beings--as it points out in the Bible, it is not our job to judge--we are to share our faith and love people--not persecute them (do unto others...).  And, again, I am so proud of my students, for the support they give each other and the hope they give me for the peaceful future of our world.

Motivation, chaos, normal life at the Ranch...

If you are a teacher or a parent (ok, a human being) you know that this can be a nutty time of year. Add to that some computer and camera issues and you have an explanation for why my blogging has been slightly more sporadic lately.

School hasn't been too crazy, but it has been busy...today I participated in two manifestation determination meetings--meetings where we determine if the student's behavior is directly related to their diagnosed disability. Always a hard day and challenging discussion, involving difficult situations, teachers, deans, administrators, parents, kids...well, you get it.  I had to leave one of my team teachers by himself...he was fine, and we are about even from his coaching early dismissals...but I still feel kind of bad.  Today was also "Ugly Christmas Sweater Day"...there is nothing like trying to hold a serious meeting while everyone in the room is wearing a very hideous sweater....Tomorrow our counseling department celebrates "Festivus for the rest of us" (Seinfield reference)--always a fun day to spend some time with folks from all over the building as we run from class to class.  My students are hanging in there, we've had a few breakdowns and therefore breakthroughs. I think we've used more tissues this week than the rest of the year combined though... The Ranch kids only go to school until 10:30 on Friday (I have school all day) and then we are on break....

We finally have the Christmas tree purchased and moved in from the garage.  It has lights and about 3 ornaments-the ones we've been given this year--I suppose we'll get the other ornaments out soon...Many years ago I rolled my eyes at my mom when she said she wasn't going to put ornaments on the tree, just lights...but it is sounding pretty tempting right now.  But, I suppose the children will talk me into ornaments before the weekend is over.  Or, perhaps, now that they are almost as tall as me, perhaps they will just go get the ornaments and decorate the tree without me having to do anything (Hey, I can dream...)

The Boy has started Snowboard team and is loving it.  He has also developed a nasty cough and post-nasal drip...making me wonder daily if we need to steam him.  Tonight I made him take a shower with the Vic's "bubble bath" and he sounded a little better.

\The Girl and I have discussed re-arranging and perhaps even painting her room during break..requiring a deep cleaning and purging first though.  After spending about an hour in there tonight trying to help her sort and purge, I'm exhausted....I'm looking forward to a couple naps though...breaks are good.  I'm also hoping to read a couple books (the pile by the bed is growing again) and hopefully do some lesson planning between the bedroom cleaning.

The pets and kids miss Indy Dog, but are having less melt downs--Mr. IM is convinced that Liberty needs a new friend (and the Rescue Folks do have a puppy that looks just like Baby Indy)...but I don't think we are ready for another dog (and I'm not ready for a puppy) yet.  I suggested a kitten that could ride Liberty like a horse, but so far everyone has vetoed my idea.  I still trip over the spot where Indy slept every morning, in my attempt to step over where she isn't (follow that).  Tigger has stopped waking us up every morning--he now only seems to wake us up on weekends.  we are hypothesizing that he and Indy had some kind of weird arrangement, that Tigger was actually waking Indy up periodically to see if she was ok.  Or not, maybe Tigger really is just a jerk who likes to wake people up and "talk" to them in the middle of the night.

Speaking of Tigger, I've been on his case about writing his annual Christmas letter, but since I haven't created or ordered Christmas cards yet, that seems unnecessary.  Maybe over break Tigger and I will write a letter for the blog.  If you have a hankering to see photos of us in the meantime, head on over to Facebook (unless you're a stranger, in which case, don't, ok?)

Well, this isn't a very exciting blog, but at least you won't worry that I'm lost somewhere....until next time...

Back in the day...

So recently Buzzfeed posted this article:  15 Things We Did At School That Future Students Will Never Understand.  Yes, I have a love of Buzzfeed that is ridiculous, because most of the time I argue with the computer while reading the article...but usually I have to give them credit for at least being funny.  Ok, this was funny, but I'd like to submit some corrections or additions...here we go...

Ok, let me address these by number--you may want to open up the article in another window so you can see the original post, too...he, he, he..

1.  Copy notes from an overhead projector--ok, I'm all for technology, but we still have an overhead projector in one of my classrooms.  I co-teach with a guy who has taught for 27 years and still has overheads that could possibly be that old.  He whips out the projector a few times a month.  And I giggle.  I prefer a doc cam--which, of course has exactly the same issues as an overhead..."Miss!  Your hand is covering #3!!"....and are very popular, so difficult to have in my classroom every day, so I occasionally wish for an overhead of my own instead of a shared doc cam...

2.  Secretly pass notes in class--ok, this doesn't happen as much any more in the high school, most text each other...but I still occasionally find a treasure on my floor.

3.  Write on the Chalkboard with real live chalk--ok, this doesn't happen either...I think we have replaced all the chalkboards with White (Wipe?) boards at my school...I don't know which is "worse" though...chalk dust or marker smell...and we still write "Save" and the janitor (or the teacher/s we share classrooms with) still erase...eesh.

4. Make textbook covers out of paper grocery bags....um, never did it?  This is a foreign concept to me...my kids use store-bought stretchy covers...

5.  Tear off the edges of dot matrix paper--yeah, that was oddly satisfying...and doesn't happen.  But there are still paper stringly things on note book paper...that are left on the floor and stick to the carpet. Blah.

6.  Check out library books with the due date stamped in the back...Um...I think my school still does this...last week I checked out a portable DVD player and it had one of those date stamp things on it and the librarian stamped the due date (shoot...it is 3 days overdue...do you suppose they are going to charge me?)

7.  Watch educational programming supported by viewers like us---um, we don't use VCR's...but we stream PBS videos...not sure why they think this went away...maybe just the VCR part?  But the kids still yell "we passed this part...fast forward...go back..." on a streaming video.  Oh, and my co-teacher from #1 still has a VCR/DVD in his classroom...and has shown VHS tapes (I mean, really, how much has the Civil War changed?)  Although I keep telling him that almost everything we show is on YouTube now...

8.Sharpen pencils by hand...um...ok teacher friends, someone better comment on  these, because I'm beginning to feel like maybe my school is stuck in the dark ages or something...we still have hand sharpeners on the wall by the door in every classroom.  Some of us have electric sharpeners, too...but I like the hand sharpeners best, usually...Someone keeps "stealing" the covers though, so in a bunch of the rooms the trashcan is now under the sharpener to catch the shreddings.

9.  Carry around giant five-subject and binders--this didn't go away either...ok, they don't look like the one in the picture, but just yesterday one of my students unzipped his giant Trapper Keeper (really) to show me his assignment.

10.  Sell magazines door to door--no, now they sell "Spirit Cards" and food items, that are more expensive and they don't win prizes.

11.Be Mom to buy Goosebumps and Animorphs at the book fair--?  Still have book fairs, my 9 year old still begs me to buy Goosebumps...ummmm...Still get and buy book orders...

12.  Save our work onto 1.44 MB floppy disks---he, he, he...ok, this doesn't happen...it was harder to misplace a floppy than it is to misplace a flash drive though!

13.  Learn to type from memorizing nonsensical mnemonics--it is too bad we don't do this...no one knows how to type and it is assumed that everyone can...bring back typing class!!!!

14.  Look up words on an electronic spell checker--nope, don't do this either, although one of these spell checkers pops up every so often in one of my classes--the week that all the laptops are checked out and the district wants to hand a kid with an IEP "something".  I just hand them my laptop at that point...I never could work those Franklin spell checkers!

15.  Lose an ox while fording the river..No, now "everyone" plays Smurf Village.  I miss Oregon Trail...at least it required planing?  Or not...

Last Day of School

The kids finished school on May 30 and I finished on June 3...but here are some much delayed end of the year pictures...

 Yes, those are boxes (and a larger than life Johnny Depp) from my office in our living room...we packed up our offices for the summer, hoping for new carpet and paint...

The Girl was thrilled...

Excellent... a good picture!

In case you want to compare...here's a link to the first day of school pictures 

Rest in Peace, Tony da Fish

Last Friday was the kids last day of school.  Because of our fantastically confusing final exam schedule, I didn't have any exams to give, so I took the day off to drive the kids around and participate in the end of the year festivities (meaning clean out the lost and found at school and hang the last round of used uniforms in preparation for the fall sale.  And have breakfast with my friend, T...the most important festivity!)

I woke up at my normal time, so there wouldn't be a backlog on the shower and came downstairs to find Tony doing the backstroke.  D'oh.  After checking his vitals about ten times, I came to the conclusion that Tony da Fish was no longer among the living.  (D'oh!).  Um, now...what does one do with a five inch long, inch wide goldfish?  I fished him out of the tank (pun intended) and put him in a Tide Washer Cleaner box lined with paper towel, thinking I'd bury him in the backyard.  Then I remembered the bear.  Um, yeah, there was a bear in our neighborhood yesterday.  Hmm.. burying things in the backyard doesn't sound like a good idea right now.  So I woke up Mr. Ranch (sorry, Dude) and we decided, that since it is trash day, Tony would be leaving our house in a special (large green) container.

Good-bye, Tony...you were a good fish, even though you killed every other living thing we put in your tank.

At least now I won't have to get a fish sitter when we go to Michigan, right?  And, no, Mom, they do not get a dog to replace the fish...the children already have two dogs.

You can't make this stuff up...

Teaching at high school is always interesting.  One of my former co-teachers says, “You can’t make this stuff up!”.  For example, earlier this week,  a student told another one of our co-workers that she “smelled like a unicorn”. Ummmm…ok.  None of us are quite sure what a unicorn smells like, despite sniffing our co-worker repeatedly.  And yes, she thinks we are weird.  And yes, I think that whole thing is hilarious.

 This morning our juniors took the state-mandated ACT test.  The test itself went very well and as we were releasing the juniors and welcoming the other classes (we held abbreviated classes after the test) someone called in some kind of threat so we went to a locked perimeter.  So…as kids got off the school buses and walked onto campus, we escorted all 1500 of them to the gym and held them for about 40 minutes. The “band kids” had just come from a picnic at the park, complete with picnic baskets and matching (I’m not kidding) blankets.  So they re-set up their picnic .  Then the (very nice) PE staff opened the “play closet” and released about 50 dodge balls to the general populace.  We made all our juniors wait in the cafeteria, where we were supposed to feed them lunch.  Unfortunately, some of our juniors, those who were wandering or who had extended time on their test, were ‘trapped” in other areas.  I think that eventually everyone who wanted lunch got something, but it was a little cra-cra for a few minutes. One of the band kids said to me, “Miss!  What’s going on?  Are we on the news?”  My response?  “ummm…I just came from ACT testing, so I don’t have my phone or my computer….so you probably know more than I do!”  In the end, the threat was not “real” and we sent everyone on their way after possibly the biggest unofficial dodgeball game ever held in the midst of a picnic.  

 Then I covered a co-workers class during which her students (who I have in other classes) tried to convince me that the illuminati controlled the music industry.  They had some very interesting points, but I’m not convinced, especially since their "evidence" consisted of several amateur movies on YouTube..  Just sayin.

 I made it back to my office and ate my breakfast muffin (at noon) and read my school email…rescheduled a couple meetings and wasted some time.  I went to class for a few minutes, tried to convince the girls in my class that "classy is better than trashy....let's all put on shirts with either straps or sleeves"..then left  my co-teacher and students to go supervise the last few minutes of extended time testing.  As they were finishing their test a man arrived at the classroom door (which was locked) and was trying to unlock it.  I walked over to say, “um….?” and he told me that he was “measuring the doors” and proceeded to shout the measurements to his helper down the hall, despite my repeated "Excuse me, these kids are taking the ACT".  Um, now?  Really?  Really?

 As I carried the Rubbermaid tub of completed tests back to test central (kind of like the Bat Cave), I happened upon one of my students speaking very loudly on his cell phone in the hall.  In response to my "um, why aren't you in class and why are you so loud in the hall?", he responded that he had called a classmate for the 4th or 5th time that day.  The classmate hadn't picked up, called back, or texted all morning, and this time when my student called a man who identified himself as a doctor answered the phone.   Turns out that the missing student had fallen ill in the community and been picked up by an ambulance and transported to a hospital.  Since he wasn't carrying any ID and his phone was locked, the hospital had no way of identifying him while he was incoherent.  Yikes!  (The lesson here is if you lock your phone then you should carry ID....or not lock your phone?)   I made sure my student got to the office, so an administrator could verify his story, call the hospital, and help contact the classmate's family.   Then I dropped off my bin of ACT materials and went to find my student.  He was in the dean's office with a secretary, who didn't have permission to give the hospital information and couldn't get a hold of anyone by radio or phone who could.  I sat in her chair and hoped that the dean's office phone wouldn't ring while she took my student and his phone to the principal to sort it all out. 

Finally(?) I stumbled to my last hour class (late...thankfully I have a team teacher who I had warned I might be late...thinking I'd be covering the extended time test longer) and helped my students work on their research projects.  My team teacher told me a story about helping a girl last week who passed out in the restroom...and I kept saying, "What?"....

Seriously, you can't make this stuff up.