judifilksign

Today, at work, the story we were reading had a major theme in which the meaning of the character's name had a big impact on how he relates to others in the story. So, I looked up the meanings of the names of all of my students, and as an opener to the story, shared them with the kids.

I talked about how parents looked at baby name books to find the perfect name to match their children. So, the kids looked at their identities in a new way when they heard that their names meant things like "Raven, the Bird of Wisdom," and "Anthem of Victory from the Holy Mountain" and "Beautiful as a Butterfly" and "Famous" and "Beloved by God" and "Precious Gift" and "Fairest Child of the Sea" and "Fire Blossoms on the Meadow" and "Victory" and "Crowned" and "A Balm for all Wounds" or "Dark-Haired Warrior" - all strong, positive images for them.

In each class, all of the students looked very thoughtful. Many were clearly enchanted with their names' meanings, which they hadn't known before. And several stated, as if with a new thought, that their momma must have really loved them to choose names that were so full of meaning for them. (Although one teased that her mom ought to have expected trouble, having named her a name that meant "Riotous Tumult Resulting in Victory")

It was a nice tangent therapeutic lesson for them. My students left in happier space than they entered, with positive thoughts about their families. (So, having never done this before, I have a note in the teacher's edition to do it again!) I had only intended this to be a "hey-kewl" teaser for the story, and it was richly rewarding.

Today, at work, they were hard at work re-roofing over our heads. "Rooferdancing," I called it.

But, as I was teaching, there was a large WHUMP! from above, and a small rain of plaster showered down on my head.( Read more... )( Read more... )

Well, at least we ended the day with every one happy!

Today was the Apple Festival at school, a rewards activity involving bobbing for apples, caramel apples and cider, apple slingshot chucking, apple broomstick racing, and a hayride.

I was a hayride monitor, and rode around on the hay-wagon on a blustery, cool day.  It was a very nice day for it, too.

The driver gave us a bouncy, fun, stop-and-start ride to get us giggling as we toured the open areas of our facitlity, including the barns, pastures, baseball fields and open grassy areas around  and between buildings and trees.  (Low branch!  Everybody down!)

As I was riding with the deaf class, I kept asking the kids if they were having fun.  They stared at me pleasantly each time, smiling and nodding sort of blankly.

At one point, we stopped along a horse pasture, and kids were giving horses apples as a treat.  I turned to the young deaf girl across from me, and asked if she was okay.

"I'M FINE", she signed to me.  "I WAS TOO BUSY HOLDING ON TO ANSWER YOU BEFORE."  The other deaf kids nodded, agreeing with her.

I got to tell the driver that the ride had left the Deaf children speechless.

And I am not glad;  I am sad.  I'm going to miss my class.  They were probably the nicest group of kids I've ended the school year with in all my fourteen years of teaching at this school.  (Not just rhetoric.)
( last day )

I'm always sorry to see the school year end.  This one more than most.

Today, I got my tentative assignment for next year:  the ENGLISH teacher at my treatment center for troubled teens (as opposed to one of ten "intervention specialists" that teach everything to everyone, like Little House on the Prairie.)  It's the outcome for which I was really hoping (she says, typing like an English major.)

The union asked for a waiver of the usual rules to post and interview for "new" positions, because with all the reduction in force our school is experiencing anyway, keeping as many of the "old hands" as possible will really help with that transition process.

Tonight, I feel hungry again, as the stress is relieved a great deal.  My husband is taking us out to eat!!!

KERMIT THE FROG HANDS!!!
YAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Scene:  my school, a big, ranting, cussing, muscular teen boy.  He turns to me, expletives falling from his lips, face distorted in rage.
( my response... )


Sometimes, being *really* old fashioned really works.

On Monday, it was reported to me that two of my students had been rifling through my teacher bag looking for money.  Since I don't keep cash in my book bag, I wasn't *too* concerned.  I determined that a pack of fancy gel pens, the clip for an ID badge, and a brand new box of 40 extra absorbent O.B. tampons had gone missing.  Calculators, my grade book and ungraded homework were left alone.

For reasons of safety (toxic shock, or threats of it for ER trips for escape attempts) tampons are not permitted at my facility.  This upsets many of the teen girls.  So I was unsurprised that they went missing, although a bit squidged out.

Despite room searches, the feminine hygiene products did not turn up, although most of the pens did.  But... Tuesday, the sewer system for the entire school got blocked up, and they don't know why.  The industrial snake and power water blasting did not dislodge the obstruction.  They are closing my school building for at least two days while they jackhammer up the floors to get to the pipes to unblock and replace them.  We will be teaching back at the residential houses, yay, boarding schools.

I am hoping to high heaven that the blockage does *NOT* turn out to be a log jam of feminine hygiene products, or that is *all* I will be remembered for at this facility for the next 20 years.  It's a story even better than throwing up on the student who hadn't showered in a month ("best case of natural consequences - EVER") for which I am still famous from ten years ago.