judifilksign

I had my dirrrrrrections all written up in Pirateese, which is more difficult to proof for consistent errors like "yer" for "your" and just the letter t, with an apostrophe, for "the" than one might think.

Ten step directions on one side, a hand-drawn pirate map on the other.

On the way from my room, the Pirate Queen's Lair, I led each class, singing at the top of my lungs, a modified Gilbert and Sullivan, from Pirates of Penzance:

"Come, friends, who sail the sea! Truce to navigation! Take another station! Lets! Va-ry Pi-Ra-Cy, with a little LUNACY! Ha, ha, ha...Come, friends, who sail the sea! Truce to navigation, take another station! Lets! Vary Pi-Ra-Cy, oh, with a little LU-Na-SEEEAAA!"

I'd do this marching backwards, and the other teachers would close their doors, some good naturedly, some with irritation, and I would amuse myself with how many of my students hid their faces as they walked.

I'd told the students last week that they could earn extra piratey goodness extra credit if they dressed in any fashion like a pirate, like head scarves, anything with skulls, sailor suits, and so on. I pointed out through the week students with shirts or clothes that met the criteria, and told them if they wore it Monday, on Talk Like a Pirate Day, they'd earn extra credit. Only half of those I pointed out did so.

Today, I told them additional extra credit could be earned by actually attempting to TALK like a Pirate, and had a hornswaggle (cheat) sheet on the back of my directions to help this. About a quarter of my most outgoing students did this.

At the end of class, I told them ADDITIONAL extra credit could be earned if they danced a pirate jig with me. I sang, "Hi, diddle dee-dee, a pirate's life for me! Hi, diddle dee-do, a pirate's life for you!" several times over, and danced left foot hop, both foot stomp, right foot hop, both foot stomp. A surprising number of students danced with me. Three classes had the entire ship's company stomping away. I thought of Tom Smith's "You're not DAN-CING!" line from the "Illuminati Polka" and used it on the youth leaders (whom I called "bosun" all day) who were staring. I got half of the youth leaders to join me.

All of the students who made it to class got busy and made sincere efforts on their maps, and their directions. They would check in with me for guidelines on how to write them, like, "Do we count steps like they do in the movies?"

"Why, yes, young sprog, we do! Are we starting from Empty Skull School? Well, good. Whence goeth ye?" To that tree hence?" (pointing.) At an affirmative, I'd start stepping toward yonder tree, then stop. They'd want to know why. "Now, are these regular steps, giant steps, or swagger-swagger, stagger stagger steps?" (Demonstrating each as I went.)

The new case manager came out of his office and followed the bellowing to see me run the class, and was amused, but also impressed at the education I had secretly embedded in the activity.
Today being Talk Like a Pirate Day, I put on me piratey cap, bodice, striped socks, fold-over boots, skirts, and blow-up Pirates of the Carrabean Sword, and geared up to teach my young pirate crews how to write ten-step directions to get from "here" to "there" for pirate maps.

I had a couple of serious conferences I had to do during the day as well, and it was highly entertaining to watch the faces of the folks to whom I spoke trying valiantly to keep their professional game on when I so clearly amused them so much. All in all, an exceedingly successful day!