An ode to the past month, in the form of a poem that I've been staring at all day thanks to my curriculum writer's block
I love
I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things
Like
I go to the dentist and she checks my pearly whites
She fills my mouth with x-ray slides and tells me when to bite
I like the way my teeth feel when I jump up from the chair
But honey, let me tell you that I LOVE my flattened hair
I love my mashed down, ruined hair
and
My cousin blows the pool up in her big new green backyard
We splash and sing and carry on until we're laughing hard
We dance so free and silly underneath the water's spray
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE a summer day
I love a childlike summer day
and
My mom rolls into town with her beagle dog in tow
We walk her quick around the pond and to the mall we go
For days we eat and shop and laugh and swim and drink iced tea
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE Mom's company
I love the laid back freedom in my mama's company
and
I get up bright and early for a training all week long
I brush my teeth and shower through intermittent yawns
The teachers stroll on in wearing muted shades of toffee
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE my tall iced coffee
I love my extra soy iced coffee
and
The coast is warm and breezy with salty, sticky air
My second cousin Ava says, "The beach is everywhere"
We spend our days in sunshine with books and floats and waves
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE how family saves
I love the way my family saves
and
My fingers fly across the keys and rest between book pages
I'm confused by all the jargon and developmental stages
Papers, final projects, online quizzes, presentations
Honey, let me tell you that I DON'T love information
I do not love too much information
But I love
I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things
And honey,
I love you, too.
P.S. Sorry blogger from whom I stole this whole Remix idea. Please know that your "borrowed" creativity sparked a dwindling blog, a super fab ELA powerpoint, and a rockin' worksheet! Honey, I LOVE to share ideas. I love to share all your ideas!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Buying Time
Just checking in so I can make the midnight deadline...working on a little something that might take longer than 16 minutes :)
Thursday, June 30, 2011
A Little Too Hopeful?
I had to set a reminder in my not-smart phone to post a blog entry before midnight tonight. Although I definitely haven't managed to post daily, I'll be darned if all the months aren't listed in the archive! This blog is just one example of my tendency to dream bigger than I do. If you've ever read the Shopaholic series and can totally relate to Becky Bloomwood when she sees a pair of cute shoes and immediately resolves to buy them because they will be perfect for her internship at the White House where she never knew she wanted to work until she beheld such smart and sophisticated footwear, then we are kindred spirits. In addition to taking two classes and attending professional development trainings this summer, I recently signed on to help write curriculum for my district. What happened to the May me who intended to sleep in, read books that don't have an index in the back, and sip giant, half-price cherry limeades by the pool for who-knows-how-long-because-she's-lost-track-of-time? I have a feeling that in a couple of weeks when I have a paper due, a presentation to give, a project to turn in, and an English unit to fork over, little Miss Ambition will have cracked...and I'm not sure the king has enough horses and men to put me back together again!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Good Teachers
My department chair told me that at a conference she recently attended, the speaker said, "Good teachers don't take the summer off. Good teachers go to trainings and write curriculum and take classes." Well, guess what Mr. Not-so-motivational Speaker. This good teacher says, "Are you KIDDING me?!"
Flashback to my first day of high school. I'm in Freshman English, totally rocking my purple short-sleeved sweater, tapered jeans, and penny loafers (sans pennies), and my teacher instantly terrifies me when she declares that she will accept absolutely no make-up work regardless of the circumstances of one's absence. What?! Is she completely heartless? Is it too late to go back to the blue and orange (ew!) halls of Bleyl Junior High, where teachers listened when you told them that you had to miss class so you could get the green and red rubberbands on your braces in time for Christmas? I guess I'm not the only one thinking this, because the cool kids (the ones with pennies in their loafers...or maybe the ones not wearing loafers) speak up. "That's not fair! What if we're sick?!" And then, as Ms. McHenry shares the explanation that she hoped someone would ask for, I feel anger well up in me - the kind of fury that emerges when you know you've just come face to face with a very difficult truth that you wish would have been kept from you for just a little bit longer.
In life, you are going to have to make choices. Things don't always work out the way you want them to. You're going to have to decide what is most important to you and sacrifice some things that are less important.
Although I'm not quite sure I would refuse a student the opportunity to make up an assignment because he had the flu and chose to stay home, Ms. McHenry's words still echo in my mind. I don't remember the main characters in Tess of the D'urbervilles (if you read the terrible paper I wrote that year, you'll know that I never really did know the characters all that well), and I'd have to dust off a book or two if you asked me to diagram a sentence, but I know one thing for sure: my summers are precious to me. They are filled with family and friends and rest and God, and if those three months of bliss mean that I have to sacrifice knowledge of the newest phonics game or foldable designed to peak interest in the correct use of commas, so be it! Good teachers teach their students to consider what is most important and to chase after those things. I intend to lead by example!
Well I might be poor, but summer's free for me.
Sister Hazel, Beautiful Thing
Flashback to my first day of high school. I'm in Freshman English, totally rocking my purple short-sleeved sweater, tapered jeans, and penny loafers (sans pennies), and my teacher instantly terrifies me when she declares that she will accept absolutely no make-up work regardless of the circumstances of one's absence. What?! Is she completely heartless? Is it too late to go back to the blue and orange (ew!) halls of Bleyl Junior High, where teachers listened when you told them that you had to miss class so you could get the green and red rubberbands on your braces in time for Christmas? I guess I'm not the only one thinking this, because the cool kids (the ones with pennies in their loafers...or maybe the ones not wearing loafers) speak up. "That's not fair! What if we're sick?!" And then, as Ms. McHenry shares the explanation that she hoped someone would ask for, I feel anger well up in me - the kind of fury that emerges when you know you've just come face to face with a very difficult truth that you wish would have been kept from you for just a little bit longer.
In life, you are going to have to make choices. Things don't always work out the way you want them to. You're going to have to decide what is most important to you and sacrifice some things that are less important.
Although I'm not quite sure I would refuse a student the opportunity to make up an assignment because he had the flu and chose to stay home, Ms. McHenry's words still echo in my mind. I don't remember the main characters in Tess of the D'urbervilles (if you read the terrible paper I wrote that year, you'll know that I never really did know the characters all that well), and I'd have to dust off a book or two if you asked me to diagram a sentence, but I know one thing for sure: my summers are precious to me. They are filled with family and friends and rest and God, and if those three months of bliss mean that I have to sacrifice knowledge of the newest phonics game or foldable designed to peak interest in the correct use of commas, so be it! Good teachers teach their students to consider what is most important and to chase after those things. I intend to lead by example!
Well I might be poor, but summer's free for me.
Sister Hazel, Beautiful Thing
Monday, April 25, 2011
my calling in life...
...just left me a message
I was informed by my department chair this afternoon that when he recruited one of my students to help pick up materials from the library and deliver them to another teacher, the student stepped into the room full of books, looked around in wide-eyed wonderment, and proclaimed, "Wow! I didn't know we had a library at this school!" The bad news is I'm a terrible English teacher. The good news is I know what we're doing on Friday.
I was informed by my department chair this afternoon that when he recruited one of my students to help pick up materials from the library and deliver them to another teacher, the student stepped into the room full of books, looked around in wide-eyed wonderment, and proclaimed, "Wow! I didn't know we had a library at this school!" The bad news is I'm a terrible English teacher. The good news is I know what we're doing on Friday.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
I am his and he is mine
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
Saturday, April 23, 2011
dust bunnies and days off
I'm not sure which muscle my trainer isolated yesterday, but I'm quite certain it's the same one I need for vacuuming. I should probably let it rest...wouldn't want to overdo it. Looks like the Easter Bunny will be in good company tomorrow!
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