Today I received a reminder why I love being a teacher. My students were asked to respond to a random, expository prompt to help them begin to prepare for their next module test. I think this can speak for itself, without me needing to provide any insightful commentary. Mostly, this just makes me smile a whole lot.
The subject I like best is...
The subject I like best is English, because it's way more fun and exuberant for me. English is also my favorite because Ms. Herring is young, nice, fun, and teaches us in a more fun way. We are having fun and learning new things in English. I have English 8th period, which is awesome because it's the end of the day, but my classmates and I get a little noisy. But Ms. Herring always warns us before she puts the D-Hall list up. English is more fun because we do mostly activities for all of our learning, but we have to listen and control the noise level, or we can do the not fun way. That's why English is my favorite.
There is no better way to end a Monday. Have a great week, everyone!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
You'll do things for me that you hate
I had a blog basically written and saved, but I deleted it in favor of a more pressing post that's been on my mind. I feel like the time since I came back to school from Christmas break has been a type of controlled chaos that I have only controlled on occasion. I initially found that things were unexpectedly hectic for me at work. However, I quickly came to the realization that it shouldn't have been unexpected. "Benchmark" could be heard buzzing in the brains and mouths of students, teachers, and administrators. As unassuming and typically gloomy as the month of January has always seemed to me, a new day has dawned in my "teacher life." January is now synonymous with "get down to business and teach those kids something they'll remember on a standardized test" time.
My personal life has also been unexpectedly chaotic in the post-Christmas season. I make it a rule of thumb not to discuss the intimate details of my personal, family, and social life in this blog. I am a private person for the most part, and my life isn't terribly interesting anyway. However, it seems to be one thing after another this month. I love my real family, my "friend family," and my work family, and I'm thankful for all my families everyday. I think we all have a divine or at least fate-driven purpose for being in the right place at the right time with the right people at any given time in our lives. I know that I have learned, and continue to learn, that I am perfect for my purpose. Although, I confess, I am not always sure what that purpose is.
Anyway, amidst all of this stuff, and the exhaustion that has inevitably come from it, I started reading a new book. I find that the two best mind-clearers for me these days are books and running. Books take you out of your world and into someone else's, and running literally allows you to run away, even if it's only for thirty minutes. I've been running a lot lately, but I also started a book by one of my favorite authors, Jonathan Safran Foer. I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close around this time last year and fell in love with the beautiful sadness that Foer conveys in his writing. That sounds weird I think, but I'm saying it anyway because it's true. He creates these perfectly painted images with his words that are heartbreakingly gorgeous and strangely relatable. I just started reading Everything is Illuminated, and I found the same perfect honesty that I did in his other book. There's one quote that especially struck me the other day:
"One day you will do things for me that you hate. That is what it means to be family."
Now, I'm aware that this sounds harsh, but if you're really honest with yourself you know this is true of all of us. We do things we hate for people we value, whether it's our real family, our "friend family," or our work family. For example, I will teach test-taking strategies and open responses and writing prompt responses for my work family until I want to die from it, because I love my students and value the people I work with. I once tried to watch a scary movie with my boyfriend, because he loves them. I only made it through five minutes, but I attempted to do something I hated for someone I love....I'm still working on it.
This quote is particularly true for your real family. When you're young, your parents make sacrifices for you because they love you. When you're old, you will make sacrifices for your parents because you love them. This love manifests itself not only in sacrifices, but also in small submissions, like attempting to value your parents' opinion, even when you don't have to agree with it anymore because you're a "grownup;" like speaking up and staying quiet at all the appropriate times; like creating time instead of filling it with other people and things. These aren't always things we "hate," necessarily, but they can be things we struggle with, both as children and adults.
Essentially, I think the key here, something I've been keenly focused on this week, is the attempt to put others first. In all my own "chaos," it was easy to forget my purpose or forget other people and turn in on myself and my own wants and needs. I think the lesson of selflessness is by far the hardest to grasp for most human beings-- it is a constant effort on my part to say the least. So to close, I hope this week that you do something you hate for someone you love, no matter what family they're a part of.
My personal life has also been unexpectedly chaotic in the post-Christmas season. I make it a rule of thumb not to discuss the intimate details of my personal, family, and social life in this blog. I am a private person for the most part, and my life isn't terribly interesting anyway. However, it seems to be one thing after another this month. I love my real family, my "friend family," and my work family, and I'm thankful for all my families everyday. I think we all have a divine or at least fate-driven purpose for being in the right place at the right time with the right people at any given time in our lives. I know that I have learned, and continue to learn, that I am perfect for my purpose. Although, I confess, I am not always sure what that purpose is.
Anyway, amidst all of this stuff, and the exhaustion that has inevitably come from it, I started reading a new book. I find that the two best mind-clearers for me these days are books and running. Books take you out of your world and into someone else's, and running literally allows you to run away, even if it's only for thirty minutes. I've been running a lot lately, but I also started a book by one of my favorite authors, Jonathan Safran Foer. I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close around this time last year and fell in love with the beautiful sadness that Foer conveys in his writing. That sounds weird I think, but I'm saying it anyway because it's true. He creates these perfectly painted images with his words that are heartbreakingly gorgeous and strangely relatable. I just started reading Everything is Illuminated, and I found the same perfect honesty that I did in his other book. There's one quote that especially struck me the other day:
"One day you will do things for me that you hate. That is what it means to be family."
Now, I'm aware that this sounds harsh, but if you're really honest with yourself you know this is true of all of us. We do things we hate for people we value, whether it's our real family, our "friend family," or our work family. For example, I will teach test-taking strategies and open responses and writing prompt responses for my work family until I want to die from it, because I love my students and value the people I work with. I once tried to watch a scary movie with my boyfriend, because he loves them. I only made it through five minutes, but I attempted to do something I hated for someone I love....I'm still working on it.
This quote is particularly true for your real family. When you're young, your parents make sacrifices for you because they love you. When you're old, you will make sacrifices for your parents because you love them. This love manifests itself not only in sacrifices, but also in small submissions, like attempting to value your parents' opinion, even when you don't have to agree with it anymore because you're a "grownup;" like speaking up and staying quiet at all the appropriate times; like creating time instead of filling it with other people and things. These aren't always things we "hate," necessarily, but they can be things we struggle with, both as children and adults.
Essentially, I think the key here, something I've been keenly focused on this week, is the attempt to put others first. In all my own "chaos," it was easy to forget my purpose or forget other people and turn in on myself and my own wants and needs. I think the lesson of selflessness is by far the hardest to grasp for most human beings-- it is a constant effort on my part to say the least. So to close, I hope this week that you do something you hate for someone you love, no matter what family they're a part of.
Monday, January 16, 2012
How I Spent MLK Day
Martin Luther King Day, I now believe, is a necessary holiday for teachers.
I say that, because I would have surely been lost without this lovely little "catch up day." After being spoiled with a wonderful Christmas break, I was thrilled to go back to school and see my students and get back to work. But, man was I tired when that end-of-the-day bell rung. Therefore, I was terribly unproductive after school everyday. I went home with a big bag of work and the best of intentions, but you know where those intentions lead, and I could not make myself get a thing done. Today, I went to school, even though we were out, and finished my plans for this week and entered grades and did all the things that I could not force myself to do on Friday afternoon after the children left. I was also lucky enough to have an excellent best friend and little sister to drag along with me in order to get my classroom library alphabetized and back in order. That was something that I'd been pushing to the bottom of the teacher to-do list for quite some time now.
So anyway, I used at least part of my MLK day to fulfill my dream of being ahead of the game, a dream which I have found to be one of those impossible dreams during my first year of teaching. However, I think it is an honorable thing to strive for. While I was at work today, I listened to and watched two of Dr. King's speeches in preparation for teaching my 7th graders about rhetorical devices and persuasive/motivational writing this week. I literally sat in awe as I listened to Dr. King deliver a message so controversial for its time with such power and grace. I think my friend said it best as she was alphabetizing my classroom library--"That man really was a genius."
After listening to his speeches, I decided to look up a Martin Luther King quote to put on my message board outside of my classroom for the week. This quote struck me as particularly important in my own life:
"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."
What a perfect image. How many times in my life have I thought and thought and thought about something, to the point that I thought my way out of an opportunity? How often do we avoid discomfort and ride the status quo because we can't see where the staircase leads? When people talk about faith, I think the most prevalent image that exists is the idea of a "leap of faith"--jumping off into the great expanse of nothingness that is the unknown, and hoping and praying for the best. I think it's completely human to be utterly terrified of what exists at the top of that staircase of faith, but I think what's important about this image is that, although you are unsure about where faith may take you, at least it's taking you upward. Dr. King had to have had moments of doubt or fear about his own journey toward equality, but at least he kept working his way up. I may not be the resolution-making type, but I do believe in striving. I want to keep striving my way up that staircase, even when it's scary and even when it's uncomfortable. I want to express more faith in myself and my abilities, more faith in my students, and more faith in the goodness and kindness of humanity. So today I learned my own lesson from Dr. King, not about the past, but about the future. I hope it's a lesson I don't forget any time soon.
I say that, because I would have surely been lost without this lovely little "catch up day." After being spoiled with a wonderful Christmas break, I was thrilled to go back to school and see my students and get back to work. But, man was I tired when that end-of-the-day bell rung. Therefore, I was terribly unproductive after school everyday. I went home with a big bag of work and the best of intentions, but you know where those intentions lead, and I could not make myself get a thing done. Today, I went to school, even though we were out, and finished my plans for this week and entered grades and did all the things that I could not force myself to do on Friday afternoon after the children left. I was also lucky enough to have an excellent best friend and little sister to drag along with me in order to get my classroom library alphabetized and back in order. That was something that I'd been pushing to the bottom of the teacher to-do list for quite some time now.
So anyway, I used at least part of my MLK day to fulfill my dream of being ahead of the game, a dream which I have found to be one of those impossible dreams during my first year of teaching. However, I think it is an honorable thing to strive for. While I was at work today, I listened to and watched two of Dr. King's speeches in preparation for teaching my 7th graders about rhetorical devices and persuasive/motivational writing this week. I literally sat in awe as I listened to Dr. King deliver a message so controversial for its time with such power and grace. I think my friend said it best as she was alphabetizing my classroom library--"That man really was a genius."
After listening to his speeches, I decided to look up a Martin Luther King quote to put on my message board outside of my classroom for the week. This quote struck me as particularly important in my own life:
"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."
What a perfect image. How many times in my life have I thought and thought and thought about something, to the point that I thought my way out of an opportunity? How often do we avoid discomfort and ride the status quo because we can't see where the staircase leads? When people talk about faith, I think the most prevalent image that exists is the idea of a "leap of faith"--jumping off into the great expanse of nothingness that is the unknown, and hoping and praying for the best. I think it's completely human to be utterly terrified of what exists at the top of that staircase of faith, but I think what's important about this image is that, although you are unsure about where faith may take you, at least it's taking you upward. Dr. King had to have had moments of doubt or fear about his own journey toward equality, but at least he kept working his way up. I may not be the resolution-making type, but I do believe in striving. I want to keep striving my way up that staircase, even when it's scary and even when it's uncomfortable. I want to express more faith in myself and my abilities, more faith in my students, and more faith in the goodness and kindness of humanity. So today I learned my own lesson from Dr. King, not about the past, but about the future. I hope it's a lesson I don't forget any time soon.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Thoughts on a New Year
If you have read this blog at any time before, you may have figured out that I love Mark Twain. Not only is he an exemplary Southern writer, but he also provides so many little snippets of honest wisdom in his letters and other short writings. As I've been thinking about the New Year over the past week or so, a Mark Twain quote has, once again, summed up my thoughts for me:
"New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." Mark Twain
As we all know, the road to hell does happen to be paved with good intentions. This year, I found myself musing more than usual about the reasons that we celebrate New Year's Eve and Day in the way that we do. I mean, seriously, people refer to New Year's Day as National Hangover Day....I'm confused about how this connects to all those well-intentioned desires to eat better, exercise more, or quit smoking.
Therefore, I have decided to write, this New Year's, about my favorite things in 2011 instead of my well-intentioned 2012. I feel like somebody out there should pay homage to last year, instead of saying good riddance and moving on.
In 2011 I:
"New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." Mark Twain
As we all know, the road to hell does happen to be paved with good intentions. This year, I found myself musing more than usual about the reasons that we celebrate New Year's Eve and Day in the way that we do. I mean, seriously, people refer to New Year's Day as National Hangover Day....I'm confused about how this connects to all those well-intentioned desires to eat better, exercise more, or quit smoking.
Therefore, I have decided to write, this New Year's, about my favorite things in 2011 instead of my well-intentioned 2012. I feel like somebody out there should pay homage to last year, instead of saying good riddance and moving on.
In 2011 I:
- decided to continue blogging, despite the fact that my reason for blogging technically ended when I graduated college in 2010. It was a good choice, as it has been an excellent exercise in mind-clearing.
- chose to be perfectly content with myself no matter what is going on in my life, while still gently pushing myself to be better every day. I would say this has been a noble cause to follow.
- learned to manage my time (at least somewhat better than before).
- started taking yoga and running more regularly.
- promised myself I would make a sincere effort to complain less about things that everyone complains about, and (kind of) succeeded (a little bit).
- got hired and started my first "real" teaching job at a wonderful school with fantastic kids and an awesome group of teachers.
- found a lot of people and things and situations for which I am so, very thankful.
In 2012, more than anything, I think I'd just like to maintain. No need to set unrealistic expectations. I think 2011 was a good start to many things. And, as Mark Twain so kindly reminded me this morning, if I don't make resolutions, I don't have to worry about paving that ill-fated road of good intentions.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
John Cougar Mellencamp Got It Wrong
For Christmas, my wonderful parents bought me an iPad, a great gift that I can use at home and at work, and that very conveniently fits in my purse. Most importantly, it gives me 24/7 access to books, so that I can be an even more shameless book worm. The first book I bought on my iPad was Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), a book I've been wanting to read for about a month now. I started reading it on Sunday night, after all the Christmas festivities came to an end, and I finished it last night. I'm sad to say I didn't know much about Mindy Kaling before reading the book, except that she was Kelly Kapoor on The Office, and I love her character.
Since finishing the book, I have become convinced that Mindy and I would be best friends if we knew each other. She is awesome. On top of being awesome, I kept finding myself agreeing with so many things she said in the book. If I were ever on one of those "make a wish come true" reality shows for being a super dedicated, young teacher, I would totally make my wish to spend the day with Mindy. We would browse the Gilt Group app on our cell phones, looking for great deals on great clothes, and she would tell great jokes while I struggled to come up with witty and smart comebacks.....Anyway, I digress....
I think the main reason I loved her book is because Mindy Kaling loves her career. So many women in Hollywood write memoirs about their love lives or their broken childhoods or their falls from grace, but Mindy wrote about her real, normal, pretty well-adjusted life. She wrote about her successes and her failures with a funny, frank honesty that I found so endearing, because it is real life. Here's some "real talk" that I think serves as important reminders for people my age (including me):
John Cougar Mellencamp got it wrong. Very few people are like Jack and Diane. And if your "thrill of living" is gone at eighteen, then you are headed for a long, miserable existence. I enjoyed high school, but I did not have a "Jack and Diane" high school experience. I studied hard, had a great group of friends who also studied hard, and went to an all-girl's high school, where people cared about their GPA and class rank more than hanging out at the Tastee Freeze. I did spend a sizable amount of time sitting at Sonics and hanging out in parking lots, but I must say that I am glad I have grown out of the "loitering" stage of socialization. I am convinced that the best is yet to come.
Marriage is tough. In the book, Mindy talks about the ratio of "happily divorced" to "happily married" couples she knows. I feel like I know a lot of people who are recently married, getting married, or engaged (especially after the recent holidays), and I am thrilled that they have found love and happiness. Marriage sounds scary to me, though. It's a life long commitment, and I have a hard time deciding which brand of hummus to buy at the grocery store to last me one week. I want to, someday, have a long, happy marriage like my parents. But for now, I am going to concentrate simply on the task of taking care of myself.
It's cool to love your job. Like I said, my favorite thing about this book was that you could just tell that Mindy Kaling is passionate about, and good at, what she does. I want to be like that about my job for a long time. I want to like my job and be excited to go to school everyday and be creative in the way I teach. I think "work excitement" can be applicable to any career, whether you're a teacher, a writer, or anything else. People, myself included, LOVE to complain about work--example, Post-Grad Problems on Twitter. But, let's be real, the best way to get through the day is to make lemonade with those lemons, unless you are already highly successful at whining on Twitter, that is. I, however, have to take the high road, because I am not naturally witty or funny in small snippets. Anyway, I get it Mindy. I like my job, too.
So these are a few of my favorite things. I am crazy about a book that makes me think, especially if it makes me laugh at the same time, and this book made me do that. I am still considering whether or not to mention Mindy Kaling when I post this to Twitter and dream about the small chance that she might read it and enjoy it. You know, every girl can dream. I hope you, too, had a wonderful Christmas with your family and got an awesome gift from your parents. Happy New Year. Time to work on those resolutions, folks!
Since finishing the book, I have become convinced that Mindy and I would be best friends if we knew each other. She is awesome. On top of being awesome, I kept finding myself agreeing with so many things she said in the book. If I were ever on one of those "make a wish come true" reality shows for being a super dedicated, young teacher, I would totally make my wish to spend the day with Mindy. We would browse the Gilt Group app on our cell phones, looking for great deals on great clothes, and she would tell great jokes while I struggled to come up with witty and smart comebacks.....Anyway, I digress....
I think the main reason I loved her book is because Mindy Kaling loves her career. So many women in Hollywood write memoirs about their love lives or their broken childhoods or their falls from grace, but Mindy wrote about her real, normal, pretty well-adjusted life. She wrote about her successes and her failures with a funny, frank honesty that I found so endearing, because it is real life. Here's some "real talk" that I think serves as important reminders for people my age (including me):
John Cougar Mellencamp got it wrong. Very few people are like Jack and Diane. And if your "thrill of living" is gone at eighteen, then you are headed for a long, miserable existence. I enjoyed high school, but I did not have a "Jack and Diane" high school experience. I studied hard, had a great group of friends who also studied hard, and went to an all-girl's high school, where people cared about their GPA and class rank more than hanging out at the Tastee Freeze. I did spend a sizable amount of time sitting at Sonics and hanging out in parking lots, but I must say that I am glad I have grown out of the "loitering" stage of socialization. I am convinced that the best is yet to come.
Marriage is tough. In the book, Mindy talks about the ratio of "happily divorced" to "happily married" couples she knows. I feel like I know a lot of people who are recently married, getting married, or engaged (especially after the recent holidays), and I am thrilled that they have found love and happiness. Marriage sounds scary to me, though. It's a life long commitment, and I have a hard time deciding which brand of hummus to buy at the grocery store to last me one week. I want to, someday, have a long, happy marriage like my parents. But for now, I am going to concentrate simply on the task of taking care of myself.
It's cool to love your job. Like I said, my favorite thing about this book was that you could just tell that Mindy Kaling is passionate about, and good at, what she does. I want to be like that about my job for a long time. I want to like my job and be excited to go to school everyday and be creative in the way I teach. I think "work excitement" can be applicable to any career, whether you're a teacher, a writer, or anything else. People, myself included, LOVE to complain about work--example, Post-Grad Problems on Twitter. But, let's be real, the best way to get through the day is to make lemonade with those lemons, unless you are already highly successful at whining on Twitter, that is. I, however, have to take the high road, because I am not naturally witty or funny in small snippets. Anyway, I get it Mindy. I like my job, too.
So these are a few of my favorite things. I am crazy about a book that makes me think, especially if it makes me laugh at the same time, and this book made me do that. I am still considering whether or not to mention Mindy Kaling when I post this to Twitter and dream about the small chance that she might read it and enjoy it. You know, every girl can dream. I hope you, too, had a wonderful Christmas with your family and got an awesome gift from your parents. Happy New Year. Time to work on those resolutions, folks!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Love and Compassion
SCHOOL'S OUT! As silly as it may sound, I think I was just as thrilled as the children about Christmas break. My school went all the way until this last Wednesday, while pretty much every other district was done on Friday, so I was soooooooo ready to call it a semester. I feel bad complaining about my break though. Most people work all the way up to Christmas Eve, and some on Christmas Day. I am thankful that I get a couple weeks to recharge before I get right back to it in January.
Speaking of January, I've placed a few of large goals in this next semester that I'm nervous/excited about:
1. I applied for my Praxis 3 assessment, which determines whether I get to keep being a teacher or not. No pressure, I just need to pass to get my initial license replaced with a "real" teaching license....
2. I registered for extra grad school classes this semester, you know, just to keep things interesting. The course load I took this semester was definitely sufficient to keep me busy, but I guess we'll see how this goes!
3. Finally, I signed up for the Little Rock half marathon in March. I'm so excited to have a running goal in front of me, and I know I can do it. However, 13 miles still sounds like a really, really long distance.
I'm excited/nervous/anxious about these developments in my life, but I don't technically have to think about them until January. Today, I want to focus on my favorite holiday--Christmas!
In my last post, I talked about the "Christmas slump," how I was just struggling to find my Christmas spirit this year. I think part of the problem was that I was just overwhelmed by lots of other junk. I wasn't allowing myself the time to savor the moments that make Christmas so special. However, this week I have watched several Christmas movies, baked, wrapped Christmas presents, and, in general, made merry. Tonight, we start family Christmas festivities with my dad's family, and then they'll keep going strong until Sunday night. I'm super excited. Bring. It. On.
Last night, my family went to dinner and the Arkansas Rep to watch it's performance of A Christmas Carol the Musical. I taught this play to my seventh graders this year, so I was really excited to see how the musical compared to the original Dickens work. (You may now forever call me a nerd for that statement. I realize it makes me sound like such a book snob.) In many ways, it was very similar. There were even lines lifted straight from the original work, which I appreciated. However, there was one song that was repeated throughout the musical that really spoke to me as the true theme of Ebenezer Scrooge's story of redemption.
It said:
Let the stars in the sky remind us of man's compassion.
Let us love 'til we die
And God bless us every one.
I think, for me, that pretty much sums up the true meaning of Christmas. I think about all the Christmas movies that I have loved over the years. In each one, a main character learns the meaning of Christmas, and that meaning is ultimately love and compassion. It is compassion for the less fortunate, like when we buy for Angel Tree children; it is love for family and friends as we go out of our way to see each other; it is love for a season that brings people together more than any other. I love the lights and trees and trappings of Christmas, but my favorite thing is the way it makes people feel--to know that they love and are loved. So, Merry Christmas. I love each person that reads this blog, because it makes my day to know I'm not only writing to myself. I hope you have a blessed holiday season, filled with love and compassion.
Speaking of January, I've placed a few of large goals in this next semester that I'm nervous/excited about:
1. I applied for my Praxis 3 assessment, which determines whether I get to keep being a teacher or not. No pressure, I just need to pass to get my initial license replaced with a "real" teaching license....
2. I registered for extra grad school classes this semester, you know, just to keep things interesting. The course load I took this semester was definitely sufficient to keep me busy, but I guess we'll see how this goes!
3. Finally, I signed up for the Little Rock half marathon in March. I'm so excited to have a running goal in front of me, and I know I can do it. However, 13 miles still sounds like a really, really long distance.
I'm excited/nervous/anxious about these developments in my life, but I don't technically have to think about them until January. Today, I want to focus on my favorite holiday--Christmas!
In my last post, I talked about the "Christmas slump," how I was just struggling to find my Christmas spirit this year. I think part of the problem was that I was just overwhelmed by lots of other junk. I wasn't allowing myself the time to savor the moments that make Christmas so special. However, this week I have watched several Christmas movies, baked, wrapped Christmas presents, and, in general, made merry. Tonight, we start family Christmas festivities with my dad's family, and then they'll keep going strong until Sunday night. I'm super excited. Bring. It. On.
Last night, my family went to dinner and the Arkansas Rep to watch it's performance of A Christmas Carol the Musical. I taught this play to my seventh graders this year, so I was really excited to see how the musical compared to the original Dickens work. (You may now forever call me a nerd for that statement. I realize it makes me sound like such a book snob.) In many ways, it was very similar. There were even lines lifted straight from the original work, which I appreciated. However, there was one song that was repeated throughout the musical that really spoke to me as the true theme of Ebenezer Scrooge's story of redemption.
It said:
Let the stars in the sky remind us of man's compassion.
Let us love 'til we die
And God bless us every one.
I think, for me, that pretty much sums up the true meaning of Christmas. I think about all the Christmas movies that I have loved over the years. In each one, a main character learns the meaning of Christmas, and that meaning is ultimately love and compassion. It is compassion for the less fortunate, like when we buy for Angel Tree children; it is love for family and friends as we go out of our way to see each other; it is love for a season that brings people together more than any other. I love the lights and trees and trappings of Christmas, but my favorite thing is the way it makes people feel--to know that they love and are loved. So, Merry Christmas. I love each person that reads this blog, because it makes my day to know I'm not only writing to myself. I hope you have a blessed holiday season, filled with love and compassion.
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Christmas Slump
It's been longer than I would've liked since the last time I had an opportunity to blog, but it's par for the course in Christmas season. Not only do all the "normal" daily duties exist, but Christmas becomes a looming presence--wonderful, because it's my favorite time of year, and overwhelming because it seems that there is so much to be done!
I have LOVED getting to teach Christmas literature in my classroom since we came back from Thanksgiving. My 7th graders read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a classic redemption story that's been redone so many times over the past few years in movies that I have an endless list of possible connections to make, and my 6th graders have been reading Barbara Robinson's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which is probably my favorite Christmas story of all time.
Both books offer a story of judgment and redemption. The main characters, both Scrooge and the Herdmans, are hardened, unhappy characters who initially cause their unhappiness to spread to all around them. However, they quickly change their ways once they are caught up in the spirit of the season.
I think it's been good for me to teach these novels at this time of year, because it's a constant reminder to me that I cannot, and will not, let myself be a Scrooge. I can't lie; I'm exhausted. Yes, I love my students and my school and my job, but I am just as ready for a break as the children. In fact, I may be more excited than they are. I put a countdown up in my room the day we came back from Thanksgiving. Because of the exhaustion and stress that I've been attempting to push to the back of my mind, I have found myself so tempted over the past few school days to squelch the joy of my students. I find myself so concerned with my own tiredness and headaches that when they come in overjoyed from recess and full of adrenaline, all I want to do is create silence and order. I don't know what I'm thinking. If I can't get full order in September, when there isn't a single holiday, it certainly isn't going to happen now, when we have seven days of school until break.
I realized today that I need to relish these moments of excitement. The reason I chose middle school, and the reason I love it, is that kids still contain just a glimmer of that childlike wonder. I don't want to be the tired, Scroogey teacher who snuffs that out. So tomorrow, I'm going to try to jump right back in to the Christmas spirit with the children. This IS my favorite season, and I need to act like it all day long. Bring on the Christmas crosswords and the Santa-themed grammar worksheets! Ms. Herring is ready to rally.
P.S. Only seven days of school until we get a nice, long, much needed break :)
I have LOVED getting to teach Christmas literature in my classroom since we came back from Thanksgiving. My 7th graders read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a classic redemption story that's been redone so many times over the past few years in movies that I have an endless list of possible connections to make, and my 6th graders have been reading Barbara Robinson's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which is probably my favorite Christmas story of all time.
Both books offer a story of judgment and redemption. The main characters, both Scrooge and the Herdmans, are hardened, unhappy characters who initially cause their unhappiness to spread to all around them. However, they quickly change their ways once they are caught up in the spirit of the season.
I think it's been good for me to teach these novels at this time of year, because it's a constant reminder to me that I cannot, and will not, let myself be a Scrooge. I can't lie; I'm exhausted. Yes, I love my students and my school and my job, but I am just as ready for a break as the children. In fact, I may be more excited than they are. I put a countdown up in my room the day we came back from Thanksgiving. Because of the exhaustion and stress that I've been attempting to push to the back of my mind, I have found myself so tempted over the past few school days to squelch the joy of my students. I find myself so concerned with my own tiredness and headaches that when they come in overjoyed from recess and full of adrenaline, all I want to do is create silence and order. I don't know what I'm thinking. If I can't get full order in September, when there isn't a single holiday, it certainly isn't going to happen now, when we have seven days of school until break.
I realized today that I need to relish these moments of excitement. The reason I chose middle school, and the reason I love it, is that kids still contain just a glimmer of that childlike wonder. I don't want to be the tired, Scroogey teacher who snuffs that out. So tomorrow, I'm going to try to jump right back in to the Christmas spirit with the children. This IS my favorite season, and I need to act like it all day long. Bring on the Christmas crosswords and the Santa-themed grammar worksheets! Ms. Herring is ready to rally.
P.S. Only seven days of school until we get a nice, long, much needed break :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)