Every once in awhile I'm reminded that there really is a significant gap between age 28 and age 14. I feel almost like I'm twice as old as they are... (yes, that was a joke - no need to point anything out in the comments section).
Generally this age gap is felt during the times when they're all laughing about something I don't think is funny, or stressing out about clothes. You know, general issues of interests.
The gap between myself and the other teachers is most often a gap in knowledge. They'll sing snatches of songs and look at me expectantly, or drop a name or something, and then laugh that I have no clue what they're talking about.
But today there was a bit of a switch in gap types. I was teaching my 8th grade Algebra class, and we got to talking about celebrities who shared our birthdays (yes, this is very relevant to solving two-placeholder problems by substitution). The only celebrity I know of who shares my birthday is Amy, and I didn't expect their knowledge of NH politics to extend very far. So instead I dropped the bombshell that my Dad shares a birthday (the exact day, too!) with Harrison Ford.
"Who's Harrison Ford?" one of my students asked. I looked at her dumbfounded. I appealed to the other for help. "Do you know who Harrison Ford is?" I asked. "Wasn't he a president?" he responded. "I know there was a president named Ford."
WHA.... ??? Neither one of them knew who Harrison Ford was!!! Oy vay. I brought up Indiana Jones and Hans Solo, and at least one of them looked at me with comprehension. The other turned back to her folder covered with the names of ridiculous 16 year old tv stars, and moved on.
Truly I feel twice as old as they are today. Thank goodness...
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Glimpses of My Life
I'm waiting for my laundry to dry... Clearly that means it's time to blog. My Lit lesson tomorrow is one of those that can easily be winged.
*Today I said "She sounds like Edmund [from King Lear]" about one student, and the other knew what I meant! I was so proud of her. There's nothing like sharing a quick literature joke with someone...
*I sent my second kid to the principal's office. The principal was there. I felt kind of sickly...
*In Composition class I had a student hand in a paper that made me laugh so hard I was crying. Don't worry - it was supposed to be funny. He is definitely on my top 10 funny people list. What an honor for him! (This is the one I sent to the principal the first time...)
*I wonder who else is on my top 10 funny list. Danny, definitely. Also Brandon. And, um, 7 other people too... OH! Amy, for sure. Okay, enough. I'll write myself into a corner.
*Bobby makes me laugh a lot, too, but his is a different brand of funny. Mostly I just laugh AT him. Hee hee hee - just kidding:) He actually is wicked funny.
*One of my student's dads, ahem, the father of one of my students, I mean, came in yesterday and thanked me for inspiring his son to write. Apparently his son never wrote much at all before attending our school this year, and his parents have noticed a definite change. This came right after a blow to my, um, sense of accomplishment, so I was especially thankful for the encouragement!
*I told said dad that that was the whole reason I'd become a teacher - to inspire others to a love for literature. Well, writing is a little different, I guess, but hey... close enough!
*My students have challenged me (a challenge I attempted to take up while leading music in chapel this morning) to play the guitar without resting my pinkie (why not pinkey? or even pinky?) finger on the instrument. I have this weirdest habit ever of anchoring my pinkie while I strum with my remaining fingers. Weird. And of course they picked up on it instantly. I found that I could strum okay without the anchored fingers, but when I was picking it was harder to stay where I wanted to be on the strings. And again I say weird.
*I think rhetoric class rocks. It inspires me to be more careful with my words. For example, the word "rocks." Hmmmm.
*There are three weddings on my agenda for this summer! Yay! Time to go SHOPPING!
*Speaking of clothes, maybe my laundry is done drying now...
*Today I said "She sounds like Edmund [from King Lear]" about one student, and the other knew what I meant! I was so proud of her. There's nothing like sharing a quick literature joke with someone...
*I sent my second kid to the principal's office. The principal was there. I felt kind of sickly...
*In Composition class I had a student hand in a paper that made me laugh so hard I was crying. Don't worry - it was supposed to be funny. He is definitely on my top 10 funny people list. What an honor for him! (This is the one I sent to the principal the first time...)
*I wonder who else is on my top 10 funny list. Danny, definitely. Also Brandon. And, um, 7 other people too... OH! Amy, for sure. Okay, enough. I'll write myself into a corner.
*Bobby makes me laugh a lot, too, but his is a different brand of funny. Mostly I just laugh AT him. Hee hee hee - just kidding:) He actually is wicked funny.
*One of my student's dads, ahem, the father of one of my students, I mean, came in yesterday and thanked me for inspiring his son to write. Apparently his son never wrote much at all before attending our school this year, and his parents have noticed a definite change. This came right after a blow to my, um, sense of accomplishment, so I was especially thankful for the encouragement!
*I told said dad that that was the whole reason I'd become a teacher - to inspire others to a love for literature. Well, writing is a little different, I guess, but hey... close enough!
*My students have challenged me (a challenge I attempted to take up while leading music in chapel this morning) to play the guitar without resting my pinkie (why not pinkey? or even pinky?) finger on the instrument. I have this weirdest habit ever of anchoring my pinkie while I strum with my remaining fingers. Weird. And of course they picked up on it instantly. I found that I could strum okay without the anchored fingers, but when I was picking it was harder to stay where I wanted to be on the strings. And again I say weird.
*I think rhetoric class rocks. It inspires me to be more careful with my words. For example, the word "rocks." Hmmmm.
*There are three weddings on my agenda for this summer! Yay! Time to go SHOPPING!
*Speaking of clothes, maybe my laundry is done drying now...
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
A BIG Day!
Sooo, today I sent a kid to the principal's office for the first time in my entire career! The ironic thing is that he really didn't deserve it this time as much as he has in the past. The other ironic thing is that he's one of my favorite students - he makes me laugh every day.
Anyway, after hearing repeated talks about the need for good discipline in my classroom, I finally instituted a new policy. If I have to talk to a student about poor behavior (talking without raising his hand, throwing something, etc), his name goes on the board. Next time is a check, next time is a trip to the principal's office.
This particular student was actually being quite good, but happened to talk without raising his hand three times. Oy vay. I looked at him with a kind of shocked face and said, "Um... you have to go see the principal." This happened to be a class of all boys, all very competitive, and they were pretty psyched about this turn of events.
Part of their joy stems from a dream I shared with them a couple of months ago (probably unwisely - but it was so funny!), in which someone totally acted up, I was about to send him to the principal, and then I realized it was this particular boy and changed my mind, sending him to the hall, instead. Thus it became the running joke that I would never send him, no matter what. When they realized I was really doing it, there was quite a to-do.
My poor student was shocked. I told him I would go with him:) You see, I wanted to explain to the principal that he wasn't really being all that bad... it was just this new policy. (I know, I know.) So I headed out the door, and he followed about 10 feet behind, making lamenting noises and comments all the way.
But when we got to the office, lo! the principal wasn't there! Ahhhh, phew! I was so relieved. I had followed through, but my students hadn't gotten in more trouble than he deserved:)
We headed back into the classroom, which was in an uproar to see us both return. They accused me of just peeking around the corner and zipping away again with an "oh well! He's not here! Let's go quick!" Hee hee. I protested that I had really looked for the principal. But they were right in spirit:)
Another red letter teaching day in the history of Andrea.
Anyway, after hearing repeated talks about the need for good discipline in my classroom, I finally instituted a new policy. If I have to talk to a student about poor behavior (talking without raising his hand, throwing something, etc), his name goes on the board. Next time is a check, next time is a trip to the principal's office.
This particular student was actually being quite good, but happened to talk without raising his hand three times. Oy vay. I looked at him with a kind of shocked face and said, "Um... you have to go see the principal." This happened to be a class of all boys, all very competitive, and they were pretty psyched about this turn of events.
Part of their joy stems from a dream I shared with them a couple of months ago (probably unwisely - but it was so funny!), in which someone totally acted up, I was about to send him to the principal, and then I realized it was this particular boy and changed my mind, sending him to the hall, instead. Thus it became the running joke that I would never send him, no matter what. When they realized I was really doing it, there was quite a to-do.
My poor student was shocked. I told him I would go with him:) You see, I wanted to explain to the principal that he wasn't really being all that bad... it was just this new policy. (I know, I know.) So I headed out the door, and he followed about 10 feet behind, making lamenting noises and comments all the way.
But when we got to the office, lo! the principal wasn't there! Ahhhh, phew! I was so relieved. I had followed through, but my students hadn't gotten in more trouble than he deserved:)
We headed back into the classroom, which was in an uproar to see us both return. They accused me of just peeking around the corner and zipping away again with an "oh well! He's not here! Let's go quick!" Hee hee. I protested that I had really looked for the principal. But they were right in spirit:)
Another red letter teaching day in the history of Andrea.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
The Dunkin Lady
So when I first moved into this beautiful apartment, I was pretty psyched that there was a Dunkin Donuts two seconds away. But it turns out they make really bad coffee. This is something I don't understand. How are there some shops that are so good, and others that are lousy? Don't they all have the same coffee? I don't know. And it's immaterial at this point. So I'll move along.
There's another DD in Swansea, MA that makes awesome coffee. Consequently I am there rather frequently of a morning (but not too frequently! don't want to get addicted! and yes, I'm adding this parenthetical comment to ease my guilt) - frequently enough that the cashier recognizes me now. I love that! And I love her.
She's an older lady than most who work at the establishment. I'd guess 50's, perhaps. She is heavily ringed and nail polished, and she calls me "darlin," "sweetie," "dear," and you get the point. The first couple of times I was taken aback. Instead of the "do you know who I am?" line, I wanted to give the "do you know how OLD I am?" line. I assumed she thought me about 15 to be using such titles. But now I love it every time:) So I drive away feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, ready for another day teaching. We're becoming fast friends.
The kicker was during the last Christmas season. I was heading through the drive-through, feeling a little blue as I recall (yes, it happens... I was kind of stressed out, I think), and I drove up to the window to receive my food, only to see a Christmas card come popping out of the window with the bag! "I just got a Christmas card from the Dunkin Donuts lady!" I reflected, totally amused with the fact that it was the only Christmas card I'd received (um, not that I really expect to receive any, since I never give any! Except to my church family, from whom I also receive cards. But that hadn't happened yet, you see. Oh my word, get out of these parentheses immediately!). It made my day. We are definitely becoming fast friends.
Long live the Dunkin Lady!
There's another DD in Swansea, MA that makes awesome coffee. Consequently I am there rather frequently of a morning (but not too frequently! don't want to get addicted! and yes, I'm adding this parenthetical comment to ease my guilt) - frequently enough that the cashier recognizes me now. I love that! And I love her.
She's an older lady than most who work at the establishment. I'd guess 50's, perhaps. She is heavily ringed and nail polished, and she calls me "darlin," "sweetie," "dear," and you get the point. The first couple of times I was taken aback. Instead of the "do you know who I am?" line, I wanted to give the "do you know how OLD I am?" line. I assumed she thought me about 15 to be using such titles. But now I love it every time:) So I drive away feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, ready for another day teaching. We're becoming fast friends.
The kicker was during the last Christmas season. I was heading through the drive-through, feeling a little blue as I recall (yes, it happens... I was kind of stressed out, I think), and I drove up to the window to receive my food, only to see a Christmas card come popping out of the window with the bag! "I just got a Christmas card from the Dunkin Donuts lady!" I reflected, totally amused with the fact that it was the only Christmas card I'd received (um, not that I really expect to receive any, since I never give any! Except to my church family, from whom I also receive cards. But that hadn't happened yet, you see. Oh my word, get out of these parentheses immediately!). It made my day. We are definitely becoming fast friends.
Long live the Dunkin Lady!
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