For the first time in my life I turned on the radio this morning, heard there was no snow day after all (despite the sleet, ice, freezing rain, etc), and decided that that was okay - I wanted to go to school! The day, you see, consisted of the movies I'd checked out of the libraries, goofing off on the computer (aka typing class), reading Sherlock Holmes aloud (You're so on the right track, Aaron:)!), Pizza Day (a bi-weekly tradition at my illustrious place of employment) and then having a Christmas party!
In Classical Literature I told my students, after we went over a chapter of The Odyssey: "I am about to do something that I have been wanting to do ever since this summer! We're going to fast-forward through time to see how Classical Literature influences our own culture." There were instant groans! One student made a gun with his hand and pointed it to his head! I was mystified. Didn't they catch the excitement in my tone? I asked them what they thought that meant, anyway? And they said research/report or something. It occurred to me that I usually get pretty excited when I hand out paper assignments. So I didn't blame them, but instead knocked their socks off by pulling out four movies from behind my desk!
Isaac, and others who may be interested: They were My Fair Lady (based on the Pygmalion myth), Clash of the Titans (a terrible mutilation of the Perseus myth: not only does it twist the story into something almost unrecognizable, but the acting is awful and the special effects make one laugh/groan/cry all at once - I only showed my kids 2 little clips of that one), X-Men (because of the guy named Cyclops - again only a very short clip of that...), and (drumroll) O Brother Where Art Thou (based, of course, on the story of Odysseus - very loosely - although I'm definitely picking up more parallels now than I had before!). What a fun class!
But the climax of the day came at the time of the Christmas party. The kids were all out of the room scurrying about. Then suddenly the lights went out. And THEN they came in SINGING with a CAKE AND CANDLES. It was a SURPRISE EARLY BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR ME!!!!! I was TOTALLY surprised, and SO happy. I have never had a surprise party before! And they hate singing, but were willing to sing for me! And they had PRESENTS: tons of chocolate, a tin of mints, and rewritable CDs! (Yes, they know me quite well.) They bring me such joy on a daily basis, and with this they totally outdid themselves. Bless their hearts! I LOVE THEM!
And now I am home for my nephew's birthday, enjoying the Sabbath with my family (you should have seen us break into a fabulous rendition of "Way Down Upon the Swanee River" together - KJ was quite weirded out) heading to a Christmas party with friends tomorrow, and, once again, reflecting on the incredible blessing of such a job.
5 comments:
Glad you had such a good time on what should have been a snow day! I used O Brother a little in my World History class last year when we were studying the Greeks.
As for my day, I simply went back to bed, after learning my school district was closed. But now I'll be sweating it out later in June...
Down here in MD....snow is alot different then up there. Legend has it school was cancelled because of rain. O Brother is a great movie, when they tell you that it is loosely based on The Odysseus I laughed...but when I saw the movie I realized they weren't joking.
Teachers have it good...free presents....man.
Lol! I guess there is a downside to being the enthusiastic teacher after all -- they must think you are a sadist or something for getting excited every time you give them work.
Oh Andrea! Being a teacher always sounded like the most awful thing that could ever happen to anyone, but you make it sound good! But I think your students are a little better than some...I love hearing about how much you like your job. It makes me happy.
Merry Christmas!!!!
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