What Do YOU Want For Christmas?

I asked one of my classes a simple question. "What did you ask Santa for this year?" The responses were genuine & made me smile...

EG is not famous for his sweet nature (because he is normally talking, day-dreaming, or making excuses for himself), but his response melted my heart.

What did I ask Santa for this year? I asked Santa for good time with my family so we can laugh & spend time together.

MC is not known for her selflessness (because she has been displaying a "I'm gonna do what I want & I dare you to try to stop me" mentality lately), so her response caught me off guard.

I'm not asking Santa for nothing! I mean, anything. I'm too old for presents. Uh uh, no no. I don't need all that. We just gonna haaang out & be a crazy family.

I was so surprised, as most of the students at our school have a very thick sense of entitlement that isn't even valid. It was refreshing & wonderful to hear them talk about the holidays.

She's Getting Bossy...And I Like It.

One of my newcomers last year, Angelica, has undoubtedly been one of the biggest joys in my life in the past 1.5 years. She is so hard-working, self-motivated, & is a very kind person. She has learned English so quickly & jumped so many proficiency levels in one year, it's simply shocking.

I would like to brag on her for a moment (as if I haven't already). She says she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Well, I've got news for everyone... She's already acting like one in my classroom, and I like it.

Either we share a brain, or she has an uncanny ability to know exactly what I'm thinking, OR all teachers think alike. Which means she's chosen the perfect profession for herself. This girl is becoming more & more vocal as the days go by & her peers are getting used to her (borderline) scolding them, (constructively) correcting them, & asking them questions to check themselves. Sometimes, I feel like I should give her part of my salary. It only seems fair.

Last week, the students took a spelling test & we did a peer check afterwards. Angelica asked me to come over & recheck one of Erik's words because she couldn't read it (ie, his handwriting wasn't his best performance.) As I reviewed the word, Erik became defensive & said, "What?! I write small, ok?! It's right, the word is right, I just write small." Angelica & I both looked at him & as I opened my mouth to respond, this little girl ever-so-slightly raised her voice & said,"Then, you need to write big." Literally, took the words right out of my mouth.

Again, it's simply a joy.

"I Break My Brain"

One of the best things about learning another language is hearing the outcome of of a student translating an expression that is unique to that culture. For example, Coraima, one of my Spanish-speaking students, has screamed out "I'm breaking my brain..." on a couple of different occassions, usually after she's been thinking a lot & working very hard. ;) (The equivalent for us would be, "I'm racking my brain.")

Recently, Coraima had been working hard & another girl in the class looked at her paper, scooted closer to her, & began copying down a response. Coraima slams her fist on the table & bursts out, "Meees! Ugh! I break my brain & then she copies me! It's no right!" It was pretty awesome.

The expression in Spanish is "Me estoy rompiendo mi coco," meaning, "I'm breaking my coconut." I give her credit for changing the word coconut to brain.