Sick Day

Today I took a sick day. I didn't go to school and I stayed home all day, sleeping and trying not to feel like absolute crud. My roommate who is also student teaching stayed home as well, she had the stomach flu and well, it's not pretty. She is feeling better though and so am I for the most part, we're both pretty crabby and that's never any fun. I'm trying to get a lesson planned for tomorrow on persuasive writing. We'll see how that goes. Friday we have quite a bit to do, so I don't know how this is going to work out.Losing this day today really puts me behind. Ugghh...Then there is the job search I am trying to conduct for next fall. That's not going as well as I would've liked either. I want to apply in Duluth, Marshall, and if at all possible Colorado somewhere...hopefully. I have this dream that I am going to be living, on my own, in an apartment with my cat Heath and a few other things I need and it'll be the life I always wanted. But that's one dream I won't ever be able to have I think. I will just have to keep on dreaming I guess, or otherwise life just isn't worth living if you can't dream. On a side note: sick days are sometimes good for the soul, take one, even if you're not sick.

What Goes Around Comes Around

Sunlight poured through the two rectangular windows in the front of the store and the conversations of the coffee shop floated through the air and were drawn towards my ears like a moth to a flame. My eyelids have a mind of their own, I thought, while battling a wave of drowsiness. The phone rang, disturbing my reverie and my nap. It was my roommate on the other line. So we chatted and I recounted the events of the previous drama filled Friday night. She listened intently, except for the occasional interjections of; Oh!, Really?, What?, and Are you kidding?! Details aside, I still need some sleep due to the lack thereof; forty five minutes just doesn't cut it. Espresso does wonders, as I found out that day; the beautiful caffeine buzz that is coffee coursed through my veins like some viscious heroin addiction, and I liked it. Most people do and I have been increasingly addicted to coffee, although I only drink it in the mornings. After my shift at the coffee shop, which I am a barista at; I slept for six hours straight, coming down from my caffeine high, I crashed once I got home. Wasted the whole day and I was going to grade papers, but it looks like I'll be doing that tonight and tomorrow. We have an inservice at the high school tomorrow, so no school. This gives me an extra day to get some work done. But I have to get up early tomorrow morning and there will be coffee; smooth, rich, and mixed with delectable creamer. That's how I like to start my day off. Caffeine buzz...

Days of Absolute Bliss

There I was; a student-teacher in the unknown world of the wild middle school jungle. I was armed with books, my brain, and a few other things they can't possibly teach you in education or methods courses. Survival of the fittest comes to mind when I think of how the first couple of weeks has been. Delving deeper into this mystery of the middle school and all of its inhabitants that thrive and sometimes, yes, sometimes die. There are many factors that play into the nurture and evolution of a middle school student, but these students...oh dear...there are so many issues. Issues that cut deep into their fragile adolescent hearts, that fester and puss inside them if the right kind of help isn't administered.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg, and there will be more posts on that issue, but back to my story...There I was; dutifully teaching my seventh graders the mysteries of word processing and the wonders of poetry and then it hit me, like a rock smacking me in the back of the head, my students were learning! They were learning and they were learning from me! Sometimes the mysteries of the world would mean nothing if there wasn't that switch that came on inside your mind from time to time. I love to teach. No question about it. This may be a dangerous jungle of middle school students, but I am pretty sure I may just be the lion-tamer some of them need in their lives, to help them get back on track. I am a role-model for these kids, and no amount of college could have ever prepared a person to teach at this level. Interesting.

DRAINED

Another class was added today. Now I am teaching fourth and seventh hour, along with sixth, but that is my enrichment hour. Suprisingly my fourth hour was better behaved than my seventh hour. Lately my seventh hour has been walking all over me. But I can't let them do that anymore. My co-op teacher and I are going to talk about some alternatives that I can try to get the students to settle down. Hopefully this will work. Another student since having her in soccer has been giving me attitude, which is so unlike her, but she shouldn't think that she will be getting away with anything just because I know her. I told her I would call or e-mail her mother if the attitude kept up. Too much happened today again, I need to go running and relax tonight. Tomorrow is another day. Through adversity comes true character.

A Little OFF Track

This may be a little off topic, but sometimes, as an English teacher you just need to write random stuff to let some creativity out. This post won't be about teaching necessarily, but it could give me some ideas about my non-fiction unit I will be teaching soon. Be ready for the unimaginable...

Ok, you see that beautiful Christmas tree above? Yeah. I skated around it with my boyfriend during Christmas; located in beautiful downtown Pittsburgh. You know the story; clear, starry skied December night, not too chilly, but just right. The lights on the tree were gorgeous golden rays of Christmas spirit and it had this ethereal feel around it. The kind of feeling you get when you are around something greater than yourself. It was perfect and romantic. That night I fell in love all over again. I wasn't sure it was possible; the timing was just perfect.

Between the ice and the skating, it seemed almost surreal how everything was in place for such a wonderful night. There were these gigantic towers of steel and glass, standing tall and proud around this circular pond of ice with its centerpiece of green and glowing lights. If you looked above, beyond the city lights, you could see the clear, bright moon and a few twinkling stars overhead. I got that warm, fuzzy feeling which ran up from my toes all the way into my fingertips. I got it again when I looked into his ever-changing green eyes. There was nothing holding me to the ground, my soul grew wings and flew toward that moon; with its silver radiance that permeated the crisp night.

I look at this picture now and think back upon the way I felt, the feel of his hand holding mine, the sound of steel skate blades upon the frozen surface, the laughter of children as they learned to stand on their own skates, and the breeze rush over my cheeks. A perfect night, one that I will remember forever.

Yes, that wasn't like my other posts, but when you think about teaching and school as much as I do, it's nice every once in awhile to just...WRITE. It's a release, and I hope to share this with my students. This is a creative non-fiction piece based on an object, but the feelings and memories it stirs within are truly original. Many others could interpret this picture to mean something else, so that's the beauty of writing, to express your individual sense of creativity. So take this challenge, look at the picture, see what it stirs up inside of you. Be the author, editor, and illustrator of your own story.

A Perfect Start to End a Perfect Day...

I walked out the front door with my black leather briefcase slung over one shoulder, along with my purse, in my other hand I held a steaming coffee cup full of tea; I wore these cute black suede wedge heeled shoes which have absolutely no grip on the bottom of them and to my suprise, I slipped on the damn ice! Landed on my hip and my briefcase broke my fall, my coffee cup stayed pretty much stable since that is the one thing I didn't want to drop. That incident pretty much started my day off right. The school day went pretty smoothly for the most part, and I got an e-mail that brightened my day, but once 7th hour hit...it was all downhill. I had to repeatedly talk to the kids to get them on track and finally when I was trying to help a student write a limerick, I couldn't even think because of the noise. I had to get up in front of the class and put my foot down, some kids looked shocked, some looked scared, and some were trying to hold back giggles, but in the end I got them all to work. I told them they were being rude and immature to me and their classmates by not working on their poems that I had given them 15 minutes to do! Once I told them that I would start writing people up, then I really got their attention. They didn't think I could do that, but I will. With a perfect start and the perfect end to my perfect day I feel just...well, perfect. Tomorrow is another day. Erase the whiteboard and start over.

Another Wonderful Day

There is a saying in Education, "To leave school at school" and "Let it go, tomorrow is another new day". These I have found are very helpful and full of truth. There is also that misconception, even for myself that a teacher can reach every student; no, no it is not possible. Especially when a student tells you that she hates school and doesn't want to do anything. They choose to fail. I believe there are a lot of these kids who slip through the cracks. They get to high school and WHAM! it hits them like a ton of bricks that they won't pass those state exams to graduate and they drop out, and the vicious cycle begins again with their own kids, whom they have at age 17...That is the worst case scenario and not all of these kids will end up like this, some want to succeed, but there have never been those teachers who will help them out, passing them onto Special Ed. because they believe that there is something "wrong" with them, or that they are "slow" to learning. I've already been at the middle school for five days, but it feels like I've been there a month with all of the information I get on kids every day. Their home life isn't very good in some cases and parents seem to be out of the picture for most kids. It's a hard reality to come to and I know that this will be the case for me once I get my first teaching job. The learning experience is great, it totally knocks you on the head and shows you how teaching is and how the teachers that do the good work often get the shaft with money and with other issues. I hope that whoever reads this thinks about a teacher they were sometimes rude to and goes back to that teacher and apologizes and thanks them for all the hard work they did when they had them for class. That's all for my ranting today, hopefully I will post tomorrow; just remember that "Every day is every day and each day is a journey..."~Tremmel. It's how you live each day and what path you choose to take on your journey that makes you who you are.

First Class

I finally taught my first class today. It was pretty fun. Oh and I read aloud to my students for a whole hour out of this book they are reading for their enrichment class. Oi! That book is terrible...Oh well, whatever works. I had a student tell me today that they don't want to do their work, in reply to this I asked them why? they replied that they are lazy and doesn't like school. Sometimes it's a sad case when your students say these things to you. I wish I could've put some emphasis on the fact that the student needs to be responsible and that by choosing not to do their work they are choosing to fail. I feel sometimes no remorse for this kind of student, but it also breaks my heart to know that they will end up in a situation like their parents or worse... I am going to start trying to get on here more often because it feels like more of a release when I spill my feelings and reflections of the day on here. On another lighter note however, I made some headway with some students today with poetry! This age level hates poetry, but they don't know how valuable it truly is until they get older. Speaking of that here's some haiku I wrote yesterday and today. I got in the "mood" to say the least and this is what came out...

Chocolate
Rich, milk chocolate
Textures of satin and silk,
Tongue tastes ecstacy.

Storm
Lightning flashes, bright;
Heavy, dark storm clouds roll in
Smell rain and sulphur.

Peaches
Sweet juice drips, golden
Down onto the green grass blades
Hungering for more.

First Day

I had my first day of student teaching today at the middle school where I am assigned for the next twelve weeks. It was fun and exciting. I got to meet many of the staff that work in the school. I already knew the principal so I chatted with him for awhile before and after school. My teacher introduced me to all of the classes we have and I already know that many of my students will be quite a handful and expecially my fifth hour class. It seems that the boys I have already have crushes on me. I will deal with that as soon as possible because they need to respect me and that I am their elder and not their peer. I felt the excitement within my heart rise when I was in front of the classroom and I can't wait to start getting classes and preparing for my weeks. Poetry is going to be a blast to teach! Nothing else too amazing happened today, but we'll see how everything progresses throughout the week. Here's to an eventful twelve weeks!

Heart Pounding...Mind Racing

It's nine thirty-five, it's been dark since five o'clock and the cold is settling on the town like a blanket. I already plugged my car in and set my alarm for the morning. I wonder what I'm going to wear in the morning? Should I have a snack right now? Should I just go to sleep? If I lay down now, I might just lay in bed for the next two hours and not fall asleep. I need to relax. I am getting anxious to see all the students I will be teaching for the next twelve weeks tomorrow morning. I wonder if I will make a difference in these next three months? I hope I am ready, I don't want to fail, but Tremmel says that it is as much a part of teaching as anything else. I may fail in some small ways this semester, but I won't fail my students. I won't fail myself. Confidence...confidence; this is what I must gain. I want to teach so bad. I am so excited about what I am going to learn about my students, about myself, about my teaching, about my cooperating teacher, about education, and about putting all of these together to make a whole. My brain needs to shout off, but the nervousness in my body has my heart going a mile a minute. Breathe. Tomorrow is another day, but it is the start of a new journey into the lifestyle of an English teacher which I will become someday. Wish me luck.