Just Another Day

Middle schoolers can be endlessly entertaining. I know they can be maddening at times, and I'm sure they can drive their parents crazy, but if you just let them be and allow yourself to listen to them from time to time, you will thoroughly enjoy them. I promise. I've been on enough long bus rides with 36 screaming seventh graders to know this is true.

Of course, it could just be that after all these years as a middle school teacher, I've finally cracked. But let's not go there...yet.

Let's take today for example. One of the boys called me over to his desk, I assumed, to ask a grammar question as that was what we were working on at the time.

I was wrong.

"Miss McMillan, do you have a cousin named Phillip?"

It took a moment for my brain to process the fact that this question had nothing to do with adverbs, and then...

Um, wait...what?

"Have you ever heard of the show 'Duck Dynasty'?"

Is this some new game middle schoolers have invented? Keep the teacher spinning from one weird question to the next?

Yes, I've heard of it.

"There's a Phillip McMillan on Duck Dynasty."

Oh, really?

"Yeah. He's crazy!"

Wait...is that why you thought he was related to me?!"

A great deal of sputtering occurred as the last part of our conversation sank in for him. I just walked away.

One of the boys in my class likes to sing random songs throughout the day. I mean really random songs. Today's playlist included, "Viva Las Vegas," "A Whole New World," and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen."

Like I said...random.

So I decided to add my own version of random to the mix. I grabbed my iPod, plugged it into the classroom speakers, and...

"Let it go, let it go...!"

Wow, the wildly different reactions was rather intense. There was loud singing, even louder begging ("No, Miss McMillan, just NO!"), and even one young man who stuck tissues in his ears.

Just another day in middle school.

Where Are My Books?

I made it through the third day back...barely. But I'm starting to go through reading withdrawals! I spent a majority of my Christmas vacation with Kindle in hand and loved every minute of it. Now that I'm back at school, there just hasn't been time for reading. I don't even try to read once I get home...my eyes just refuse to stay open long enough to read one or two paragraphs.

I'm really looking forward to Saturday when I'll be able to spend some quality time with one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult. Well, at least I'll be spending time reading one of her books, Sing You Home. And that's what will get me through the next two days of work, looking forward to reading.

I can't remember a time when I didn't know how to read, and I don't remember actually learning how to read. When I think of my early childhood exposure to books, I think of my dad. I remember him reading us stories and putting up with my correcting him as he read. I also remember trips to the library with dad when I got to take home as many books as I wanted. Happy memories!

Both of my parents are big readers, and I know that's where I get my love of reading. So, thank you, mom and dad, for introducing me to great adventures, magical tales, and story after story about what it is to be human.

Seriously...Remember

Day two back at school after Christmas vacation. The calendar says it's Tuesday, but it still feels like Monday. Actually it feels worse than Monday. I was so tired today that I felt like I might fall asleep in the middle of a lesson. Trust me, falling asleep in front of a bunch of middle schoolers is not a good idea.

After writing about my one-word goal (In One Word) I decided to have my seventh graders come up with their own #OneWord goals for 2015 and I'm so glad I did. They were writing them down on paper so we can hang them on the classroom wall, and I was wandering around the classroom talking to some of them about their choices. Listening to them explain their choices was definitely the best part of my day. 

One boy chose "seriously" as his word and, thinking he might not be taking the assignment "seriously," I asked him to explain his choice. "Well, I just really need to start taking things more seriously." That really is the perfect word for him to choose, so I said "Great choice," and walked on. 

Another one of the boys chose "remember" as his one-word goal. I asked him why he chose that word and he said, "Because I need to remember that every person is God's creation and I need to treat them that way." Yup, he's a pretty awesome young man.

Some of the other words my students chose were: joy, confidence, optimistic, active, practice, and love. I should probably have them each blog about their choice so I can read all of their stories. These are some truly wise kids I have this year!

And We're Back

As I predicted in yesterday's post, it was only a matter of minutes before we were back in the swing of things, barely even remembering that we were just getting back from eighteen days off. It was great to see my students and all of my co-workers today, but I wouldn't have argued if someone would have said, "Oh, let's take one more day of vacation." Just one more day to lounge around in comfy clothes, lying on the couch beneath a nice warm blanket and an even warmer cat, reading the day away.

But life doesn't generally stop for just one more day; it keeps us moving forward. And tomorrow always arrives whether we're ready for it or not.

Not. Definitely not.

Today was a very long day, as I knew it would be. But I had more than enough planned for my students, plenty to keep them busy. Or at least awake. I even decided to pull out one of my favorite activities to keep them engaged on our first day back. Text poetry...it never fails. [If you want to read more about this activity, you can read my posts here: Txt Ptry and More Txt Ptry.]

After explaining to my students that they would be translating one of the poems I gave them into text lingo, there was a raucous roar of approval. The excitement was built and I sent them on their way to work with their partners. While wandering around the classroom, I heard one of my students say, "This is the best assignment EVER!"

Yup...using text lingo in class always gets their approval.

Am I Ready?

It's the last day of Christmas break and I don't think I've taken a breath all day long. I'm sure every teacher can identify with the last day of vacation stress that I've been feeling today. Trying to get lesson plans written, making sure laundry and ironing are done, sending out reminder messages to students and parents, trying to finish the grading I promised myself I would do the first two days of break, and writing up lists, lists, lists.

Are there any other professions out there that don't allow for enjoying that last day or two of vacation? I mean, I know that most people will bemoan the fact that they have to return to work, but do they actually start working before they go back to work? No? Just teachers?

At this moment I'm trying to remind myself that the second school starts tomorrow morning, it will feel like we never even left. We'll settle right back into our routine within minutes because that's what our students need us to do. But, at this moment, I am also chastising myself for not going into the classroom last week to clean and organize and make sure everything was ready for students.

Of course, I'm also thinking about my students. I'm sure they're feeling just like me tonight, dreading that morning wake-up call. Would they be surprised to discover that teachers don't always look forward to returning to work? That we would be just fine with one more day of vacation?

I think we need to ease back into school tomorrow. In fact, I think the Monday after Christmas break should always be a comfy clothes day, perhaps even a pajama day. Let's all show up in sweats or pajamas or, here in California, shorts and a tshirt. And slippers! Warm, comfy slippers! I'm sure that will make all of us feel much better. Don't you?

Day Three

It's day three of my self-imposed #Write365 challenge, and I'm already starting to wonder if I'll be able to find something every day to write about. I mean, how many posts can I write that complain about grading or lesson planning? Those are daily issues, but I don't want to continuously focus on the negative.

Should I assign myself writing prompts like the ones some teachers give to their students? Should I simply write about any random thoughts that pop into my mind during the day? (I work with middle schoolers...my life is filled with random thoughts.) Or should this be one long therapy session where I try to figure out all the things that are wrong with my life. (Oh geez, no one will want to read that!)

Sidenote: As I'm writing this, I'm also watching the NFL playoffs and I'd like to make a request to all commentators out there. I can guarantee that many of my middle schoolers are watching the games this weekend. As their grammar teacher, could you please use proper grammar while speaking? You may not know this, but many of my students hang on practically every word you say. And sometimes they come into class on Mondays and make fun of some of the grammatical errors you made over the weekend.

Okay, never mind. I rather enjoy that.

I took this picture of a robin while I was at my mom and dad's for Christmas. He kept staring at me, probably wondering what that strange thing attached to my face was. He sure jumped every time the shutter clicked.

It amused me.

Then again...I'm easily amused.

In One Word

 

I've looked at this photograph many times in the years since the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989, and it never fails to move me. I am often moved by stories of courage in part because I feel that it is something I do not possess in abundance. Now, this does not mean that I am a coward. Not at all. What I believe it means is that there are areas of my life that could be improved if only I weren't inhibited by fear. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of embarrassment. 

In the last few days I've noticed a few people in my PLN making references to the hashtag #OneWord. The more I read other people's blog posts, the more I became intrigued with the idea. Essentially, rather than writing a long list of New Year's Resolutions (which never work anyway), you choose one word to focus on throughout the year. A nice explanation of the idea can be found here: Don't Make a Resolution, Find a Word. 

I spent some time thinking about what my word should be for this year, but there wasn't any real decision that needed to be made. I knew, in my heart, that my word for 2015 has to be COURAGE. 

In preparing to write this post, I looked up some quotes on COURAGE. The one that really sticks with me comes from The Greatest:

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
~Muhammad Ali

And that's what it all comes down to for me: being brave enough to take the risks that will help me to move forward and have the life that I've always wanted. I'm not talking about mindless, death-defying, somebody better buy me a casket, risks. No, I'm referring to those seemingly small, but oh so incredibly important risks:

• Saying "no" when it's really uncomfortable, but saying "yes" might cost you a piece of your heart.
• Saying "yes" when my comfort zone is screaming "no."
• Telling my comfort zone goodbye...or at least "see you later...in shorter time increments."
• Speaking up for what is right when everyone else is looking at their feet.
• Doing what is best for me...no excuses.

Now that I have my #OneWord, I need to find something to remind me of it every day. Something for my desk at school or a necklace perhaps. I'll know it when I see it.

Happy New Year!