It's Not Personal

Yesterday was one of "those" days.

It was a day in which I could not figure out whether it was my tired, worn out attitute OR the students' "I don't care, whatever!" attitude that made me feel like I was walking the halls of an insane asylum.

Let's just say it was both that contributed to it, shall we? ;)

I'll spare you the dramatic stories, but when I got home I talked to my husband about everything that happened & he reminded of a simple truth:

You take it too personally, Diana. You can't take it personally. These kids are
13 years old & some are just not going to be mature enough to listen &
do what you want them to do. You have to take heart knowing that you're doing all you can & just keep doing what you do.

Hmm. True. I needed that wisdom (& the words from Luke 17 that I read last night). ;)

At times, it seems like there can be such a fine line as a teacher. The line between teacher, mentor, counselor & disciplinarian. It's a fine line because you are all of those things... & because of that, it's hard to stay at a healthy emotional distance so that you don't take things personally because all you really want is the best life possible for these kids.

I made a rookie mistake, but I am learning. I am only in my first semester as a teacher, so I consider myself lucky to be learning this lesson so early in my career!! 4 more days with my little nuggets this year!! Let's make the most of it!

Always Productive Breaks

We are on Block Schedule here at Kealing, which means our classes are each 1 hour & 36 minutes long. I dare you to keep 12-14 year olds focused, obedient & productive for that amount of time. Oh, I am not saying it's "not doable," I'm just saying...

Here in the ESL class, we like to take a 10 minute break in the middle of class to stretch, get some fresh air & play. That way they don't try to make MY room the playground. ;)

Here are some examples of what takes place during our breaks.

Sunbathing (with frisbee we normally throw) & Push up contests

Handrail Walking

Now it's back to the classroom for more learning... :)

The Giving Tree

On April 19th, I bought my very own copy of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. Best decision I've made as a teacher.

At the beginning of this semester, I walked over to the poetry collections in our library, specifically searching for "Little Peggy Ann McKay" (ie, Where the Sidewalk Ends). I was creating an activity for my students where they'd have to draw a giant picture of Peggy Ann McKay on a posterboard showing as many of her "Sick" symptoms as they could.

I had no idea reading this poem would lead to multiple requests to read a poem from this collection at the beginning of each day. :) My pleasure!

As we have been faithfully reading through these poems & discussing Shel's imagination & humor, it dawned on me...

I had referenced one of my favorite books of all time, The Giving Tree, on a few occassions, but had yet to read it to them.

On April 21st, I remedied that. To my delight, it was a hit! I even had one of my 8th graders yell to a gregarious peer:

"¡Cállete! Nosotros no podemos oír!" (When I said, "We don't talk like that to each other," he reworded it to "Please don't talk.")

I have read it another time since then and they have begun finishing phrases such as, "And the tree was happy..." :)

I recently decided I'm going to give each of my 8th graders a copy of The Giving Tree for a graduation gift. Everyone should have their very own copy. :)

PE = Soreness?

One student was caught skipping class today. When I asked her where she was supposed to be, she said...

P.E., but I'm not goin' because they make you do exercises... & that stuff'll make you sore. So uh uh.

This, my friends, is our future. It's exciting!

Enchilada Off!

VS.

I challenged one of my students to an "Enchilada Off" this semester & the results were staggering. I have had so many AMERICANS tell me "my" enchiladas are so good that I think I let it go to my head. Tisk tisk.

(*Note: the student I challenged IS Mexican & I don't know what I was thinking)

We decided on a Friday that we would bring our enchiladas to taste on Monday. To make an embarrassing story as short as possible...I knew it was going to be a no-brainer as to who the winner was when the following series of events took place:

Diana's process of making enchiladas...

1. Cooked them Superbowl Sunday morning (I didn't want to cook them when I got home late from the game, duh).


2. Used canned diced jalapenos, canned El Paso enchilada sauce (shameful but delicious), cream cheese & pre-cut deboned chicken breasts from HEB. Also, packaged corn tortillas.
   
3. Cooked it, took it out of the oven, let it cool. Got home from game, put in fridge. Done.


4. Next morning, took my covered pyrex to school & stuck it in the fridge, again.

Student's process of making enchiladas...

1. Woke up & cooked on Monday morning at 5:30am (yep).


2. Used fresh cerranos, fresh tomatillos (which he of course baked & pureed to make the sauce), & fresh chicken that wasn't deboned for him already. Homemade corn tortillas.
   
3. Showed up at 7:30am to my classroom & handed me a HOT PAPER PLATE with foil covering it.

I simply stared at him for a moment, then screamed, "Are you serious??"

The verdict...

A few students tasted my humbled creation at lunch & repeatedly called me out on the recipe (as they continued to eat & disect the enchilada). JR even looked at me, held up a piece of the canned jalapeno he found & made the "tisk tisk" sound.

I replied with no words, I just simply looked at him, pulled a piece of chicken bone I had champed down on out of my mouth & held it up for him to see. (JE, the cook, apologized profusely)

Geez! Ruthless! At such a young age...but I'm so thankful I have these kids to keep me grounded & humble. ;)