Homeroom

I have the best homeroom ever. I love them all dearly and I think they like me too. This last Thursday was the last day of the quarter and on Wednesday, I worked through my prep hour to get my grades entered so I wouldn't have to stay late Thursday and all afternoon Friday. I had my lunch while I worked, which basically consisted of my usual peanut butter on bread, a granola bar, water and, since I found about 75 cents in change that morning, a soda too.

After my kids came back from lunch for homeroom, I remembered that I should have gone to the bathroom before they came back. Cute as they are, they sat down and waited for me to make my announcements. Of course the only one I had was that I had to go to the bathroom because I don't know how to manage my time yet or that I have the smallest bladder known to man. Lisa, I know what you're thinking, and no, it wasn't as bad as the night in Rick Beach's class (but it was close).

I told my class that I had to go to the restroom and I was trusting them to behave and that I didn't want to come back and find someone "dead on the floor or taped to the wall." I did actually say that.

I came back about a minute later to see two things: first, that every student in my class was lying on the floor pretending to be dead, and second, two students from another homeroom standing at the front of the room staring in disbelief at all the students face down on the floor. One of them turned to me and said, "What do you do in your homeroom?"

I remember caucusing like it was yesterday

Today is election day. I'm just throwing that out there in case you've been in a third world country trapped under a very large and sound proof rock for the last two years.

I have one short story related to the title. On Super Tuesday last winter, I was riding home with my friend Chris. We stopped at a stoplight and Chris said to me, "Do you think that homeless guy over there knows to caucus?" He then rolled down my car window and nearly threw himself out of it, yelling across the street and on-coming traffic, "Remember to caucus!!!!" I'm surprised, for how long this election has been going on, at how that memory doesn't seem so long ago. And after today (God willing), it will all be over. I'm very relieved, but at the same time I think it will be somewhat weird to not have the country all up in arms over the next president. It's been going on for literally years now. But really, I'm mostly filled with relief.

For the rest of my post, I'm linking all of my previous political posts in a nostalgic effort to see how far I've come and where the political year has taken me. I think it will be pretty hard to figure out who my vote is going for. No, Dad, it's not McCain.

To: Red Forman
A Sad Face with a Tear
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obama Your Mama
Obama-rama!
No, I really do have a crush on Obama
Happy Birthday Dad
Who would you rather have as president?
IDK my BFF Toni?

P.S. I still got a crush on Obama.

What I do at staff meetings

Today we, me and the five other teachers on my team, did this little questionnaire as a group. I'm curious to see what other people put as answers. Fill it out as we go and then I'll explain it at the end. No cheating! Ready?

1. What is your favorite animal?
My answer: dog (I know, big shocker)

2. Four adjectives that describe why you like that animal:
My answer: cute, friendly, loyal, trustworthy

3. What is your favorite color?
My answer: green

4. Four adjectives that describe why you like that color:
My answer: natural, neutral, pretty, naturey (I'm an English teacher; I'm allowed to make up words)

5. What is the last book you read completely?
My answer: The Alchemist

6. Four adjectives to describe why you liked this book:
My answer: exciting, quick, interesting, meaningful

7. What is your favorite movie?
My answer: Amelie

8. Four adjectives to to describe why you like this movie:
My answer: funny, understanding, meaningful, deep

Okay, so here's how it works:

The responses to the second question describe who you are. The answers to the fourth question describe how other people see you. The answers to the sixth question are how you view school and the responses to the eighth question are supposed to describe who you will be in 30 years.

Looking back on my responses, I see now that I should have chosen more wisely on some of them. I feel a little conceited and self centered now. I'm not sure how true it is. I don't really know how people see me. I guess I am friendly and trustworthy. I do see school as exciting, interesting and meaningful. And I don't know what I'll be in 30 years. I'm a little disappointed I'm not understanding, funny or deep now. I have to wait 30 years for that, seriously?

Also, Mom, it seems I have taken over as the family hippie, if you note my response to question four.

How did yours turn out?

IDK my BFF Toni?

Why I seemingly laugh at nothing sometimes

My school still does homeroom. During lunch, another teacher who doesn't have her own room has her homeroom class in mine. Sometimes while I eat, I pretend to be entering grades at my desk, but really I'm watching her students.

Today a boy sat not too far from me rolling his pencil back and forth across his desk with an expression on his face that looked as though he himself was falling off a very large cliff. I immediately thought of Bri on Friday and her story about the boys in her class that furiously rub the tip of their pencil on their desk and then touch it on their cheeks and hands to feel the heat, yelling "ouch" in a tone that would indicate it was just as shocking as the first time they tried it. She added that they do this all day.

The image of Bri telling this story combined with the thought that we actually teach humans who do these things made me laugh out loud during homework time. I tried to stifle it without much success. That boy rolling his pencil stopped and looked at me like I was insane for laughing at no reason whatsoever.

Who would you rather have as president?

Uh, is this even a question? Seriously.

Wit from my students

I didn't think I'd like seventh grade at all. Through my entire graduate program I told myself, and anyone stupid enough to listen, that I was a high school teacher, the older the better. But I'm finding I love my students more and more. I've only been there a couple weeks but we've really connected. They laugh at my jokes, most likely because they don't know better, and I laugh at theirs. They want to talk and share and want me to know about them. They especially laugh when I tell them they need to stop talking because I'm the cutest thing in the room. Don't think I don't say it.

This last week we've been writing papers. And this weekend, almost all of it, I spent grading papers from my students. I teach the same class five times throughout the day and have about 160 students. It was a long weekend. I laughed myself to tears at one kid's paper though. I ran and showed it to my roommate Jessie, another English teacher, and she laughed too. Lisa, you will love this. The last two sentences of his introduction are exactly as follows:

Do you want to enter the rest of the fun-filled story with more exciting events about my ping pong experience? KEEP ON READING!!!!!!!!

My feedback:

This is a good introduction. And, while the last two sentences are cute as can be, in an academic paper it wouldn't be very appropriate. You made me :)