Didn't think I'd have to say goodbye...

This week, as I was driving back from the Messiah area (where my parents live), I received a call from Messiah asking if I would be interested in the possibility of RDing again. After two months of vacation in the PA area, I was fully ready (and excited) to return to Marion and jump deeply into what it was that would be before me. And yet, when the call came, I knew this was the next step and so, after some thought, talking with friends, and prayer, I told them that I was indeed interested.

The next day we did an 'on campus' interview via skype (one of the weirdest experiences of my life) and I was told that I would hear something back either the next day (Thur) or at the latest, Friday. At 3:30 on Thursday afternoon I received the offer and I accepted.

I am thrilled for the opportunity of heading back to Messiah, of working in Res Life again, and of the possibilities of what the Grantham/Harrisburg area has for me. And yet, the change is so quick, so abrupt, that I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to any of my students.

So, although they probably will never find this site, I thought I would take the time to utter my goodbyes to them, to Marion Schools, and to my wonderful co-workers, the Bilingual Specialists within Grant County.

Students:
Thank you for who each of you are. Last year was full of all sorts of surprises, most of which were directly linked to each of you and who are you. I love your honesty, your sense of style, your attitudes, your senses of humor, and your loyalty. Thanks for being true to who you are and for allowing me the privilege of eavesdropping on your lives. I love each of you.

Marion Schools/Teachers therein:
Thank you for your commitment to making Marion schools the best that they can be. In only a short year I caught a glimpse of the hours and hours you spend getting ready for the school day, instructing, and all of the ongoing work that accompanies this job. I have truly been inspired by your love and passion for the subjects you teach and for your even greater love and passion for each of your students. I want to take the time to thank you. You ARE making a difference.

Co-workers of mine:
Thanks for welcoming me onto the team this past year. I have enjoyed getting to know each of you. You each are so special, so unique, and such advocates for the marginalized in this community. Thank you for loving so extravagantly. I will miss each of you.

Last Day of School

Wrapping up this school year has been quite the feat, given other circumstances in life this year. Without going into tons of details, there have been several changes surrounding me and when changes occur, it tends to take tons out of me on every realm.

And so I have been really trying to finish well, to stay engaged, to complete the tasks ahead of me, and mostly, to listen to my kids, as we wind down. And yet it has really been challenging.

Closing things down started on Wed when I had my last class with each of my students at Allen. The week before we had began these home-made books, and so on Wed we took time to read each other our stories as well as have (another) little fiesta. As the kids talked about their books and shared memories from the year I was overcome with gratitude for the ways in which these young ones have taught me so much. My K-5th graders are so full of life, so vibrant, so eager to share what's on their hearts and minds. Oh and they love so generously. One girl even wrote her book about me. (There once was a beautiful, kind, and fun teacher...) NOT EVEN KIDDING. (sigh).

And then yesterday was my last day at Francis Slocum and my chance to really say goodbye to my kids at Mcculloch. And so, even though one of the kids at the Elementary school was a rascal and had to be sent back to his room and miss the party :(, and another, one of my harder students at the Middle School broke the record bowl I had made him on purpose because he didn't want anything from me, I still was so full of love and care for each of them. I know that these kids, so many of them, don't have it easy. For a variety of reasons, there lives are hard. And yes, sometimes they make stupid decisions to act out, to not listen, to be mean, to take it out on others or the Teacher, and yet, they are just so darn cute too.

And then this morning, when I thought that I shouldn't really expect much, that most of the kids would be gone anyways and that my hours would mostly be spent packing and tidying the room, three kids specifically came to my room to say goodbye to me. And one of them was the kid who broke the bowl. The youngest of the three, who also happens to be my favorite looked at me and said:

Have a good summer, Miss. Schmidt.
I'll miss you.

That was it. That was all I needed. For all year--for all the tears and anger I've held, for all the disappointment and frustration I've felt at our community and circumstances and families and, and, and...these few words made everything else disappear and my heart again, is so full.

End of the year fiesta

Last night I invited all 40 of my kids (K-8th) and their families to our local park, Matter Park, for an end-of-the-year fiesta. I asked the parents to chip in and bring either a main course or a side and dessert; I would provide drinks and paper goods. But, being the planner that I am, a few days before-hand, I decided to pick up a few extras, just in case...(chips, desserts, prizes, coloring stuff, playdough, facepaint, chips and salsa from MI PUEBLO...) and then as the time drew nearer I wondered if I had everything...so I called a friend and asked him to pick me up some ice, a ball, and to bring corn hole...) Then I wondered if anyone would bring a main course because I had heard back from several of my kids that their parents were planning on bringing a dessert...so a few hours before the main event I called the (new) roommate, Jess and asked if she had any CHEAP ideas for a main course...she suggested nachos (with meat!). I thought that was a fabulous idea and so off to Walmart I sped again. And while I was there I kept thinking I should pickup a pinata because that would just be so darn fun, but then I thought (even more strongly) that I was already over-budget and just really didn't want to spend any more money. So I got home and began unpacking my loot and told Jess what the plan was and that I had really wanted this pinata...and then she's like--hold on--did you see this?? And she whips out this AMAZING ADORABLE pinata! And it's already filled. Wow, I was SO grateful.

So with my meat cooked and my car filled to the brim with goodies (add 5 hulas to the mix, please!) I drove off to the Park, eager to see who would turn up.

Unloading my car alone in 100 degree weather was a sight to be held, for sure. But as the time approached I quickly forgot my sweatiness (another sight to be held) and smiled as the first car drove up. It was four of my kids--yes! And then, another car, with two of my guy friends who had offered to be male presence to this gang and I was so grateful (and later another friend would show up and be an incredible taxi car driver as well as the best program director around town--organizing kickball for 20 or so kids by himself...). Then more, and more, and more. I think by 7pm we had close to 40 people. Wow!

We ate (95% desserts and 5% main course--4% of it my mega nachos and 1% a family's spghetti dish) and then it was one thing to the next...and I just couldn't stop smiling. THIS, I thought. THIS is why I love my job. These kids are AMAZING.

Essential questions

One never knows when important questions will come down the pike:

One student: Ms. Schmidt--what color is Michael Jackson?
Another student: Yeah, what color is he?
A third student: Black, white, mixed?
Me: Great question.
First student: Well, right now he is just bones...
Me: Hm.
First student: So what color is his soul?

Today's encouragement

Student: Ms. Schmidt--You're a cool teacher, but you are weird too.
Me: Ha. Well I'll take it.
Student: Yeah--I mean, you make weird faces and all.
Me: Yes I do.
Student: You're so weird you make _________ look normal.

Kidnapped (again)

Sometimes I'm privy to some really great conversations. Here's one from today:

Student 1: What if you got kidnapped by someone, but your new life was better than your old one?
Student 2: Like you had a zillion video games and a big screen TV?
Student 1: Yeah--I would invite friends over.
Student 2: And then I would ask them to sign me into their will.

We all break the rules

Student: Miss, S, please let me...
Me: No, I can't.
Student: We won't tell...
Me: Yes, but you'll know that I broke the rules.
Student: So, we all break the rules.
Me: Yes, but I am not going to do it.
One student: Listen, our ancestors broke the rules. We are Mexican!
Another student: Yes--everyone broke the rules way back when. The whites came to this land and took over...

You never know what will be the spark for a great conversation in my class...never would have thought me not letting them do what they wanted would have brought us back to Christopher Columbus' era.

A new pet

For the last few minutes of class today I let a few of my kids play on the computer. They pulled up a game on penguins and the following conversation ensued:

Student: Miss S--would you like to have a penguin as a pet?

Me: A penguin as a pet?

Student: Yes, a penguin as a pet!

Me: No, I would not like to have a penguin as a pet.

Student: Oh, I would. I would throw him on the ice and watch him slide.

Me: Ha.

Guess What?

Student: Miss Schmidt, guess what?
Me: What?
Student: There is one class I hate more than this one.
Me: Hey, we are making progress :)

Victory!

Had a moment of victory this morning--we started our final project at the middle school today and it was a project I have been pretty excited about. I passed out the papers and began to explain how the kids would be creating their own culture. They were to create both a visual as well as write a one-page paper that outlined the information.

I could sense the groans even before I began talking, so I started by saying, "Guys, listen. This is our last project (immediate cheers), and I am really excited about it, so stick with me and here we go..."

The groans and complains were vocalized as several students began saying how much they hated class, they hated their new seats (it's never too late to implement a new seating chart--3 weeks to go and yes, I moved them first thing Monday morning), that the projects were boring, etc...Thankfully, because I have been around these kids, and know their tendancy to complain and moan about, well, everything, this didn't have that great of a negative impact on me (although no one really loves hearing that their students hate them, etc...) and so I mostly ignored their comments and kept talking.

One kid, who has been a mostly good kid for me, respectful, did what I asked, quieted other kids down, etc started up with me. He didn't want to sit next to the student I had placed at his table. He didn't want to work on the project...and so he asked if he could sit outside. I told him no. Then he started making noises with his papers, hitting them against the table.

Usually, this offense warrants sitting outside, especially if a student continues after I've asked him/her to stop. But thankfully, in a (brief) moment of wisdom, I told him, "Listen, I know you want to go outside and so that's why you are making noise. But I am NOT sending you outside." Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. I know he has cussed teachers out before and he's a big kid and so I waited, unsure of what would follow. Shockingly, he let out a sigh and then--

QUIETED down.

I moved on, walking over to the enormous contraption that holds all our paper and started asking the students what colors they wanted for their poster board. And then, like Santas little helpers, they all went to work.

What a sight--to see them so quietly and intently, working on this project, our final project.

My heart was so full.
And so happy.

WHAT a victory!

Soccer

Smallest 4th grader ever: Guess what, Ms. S? I have soccer tonight.
Me: Oh yeah? Awesome!
S4G: Yeah...but we will lose. We always lose.
Me: You do? I am sorry--that stinks.
S4G: Yeah...the other teams have tall, good kids and we have short, bad kids.

MJ

Walking to class with my 1st graders today two of them asked:

First Student: Ms. S--is your boyfriend Michael Jackson?
Second Student: Yeah, is he??

Friday and a half

Student: Ms. S, can I see my grades?
Me: No, it's not Friday.
Student: I don't care.
Me: Well, that's the rule.
Student: Well, I think we should be able to see our grades Mon, Tue, Wed, or Friday and a half.
Me: Friday and a half??!
Student: Yeah--Friday at noon. DUH.
Me: Oh, good one.
Student: Yeah I invented Friday and a half.
Me: Good to know.

And the education continues...

Got a note from two of my girls (the ones who usually write me notes...)

Dear Ms. S

Bla bla bla....

And then at the end it said:
We love you (No homo)

"No HOMO???" I asked. "What does that even mean?"

One kid spoke up (really patronizing voice): "Ms. S. Homo stands for HOMOSEXUAL."
Me: Thanks you...I knew that (rolling my eyes). But why is it at the bottom of this note?
Girls: It means we love you, but we don't love you...you know...no homo stuff.

Oh my gosh. Ha.
Thanks for the clarification.
I was so worried...

The Computer is White

We have begun a new project (yes, another one on culture). Hopefully some day my students will understand how important it is to be from a culture other than the US and speak a language other than English. Until that day, repetition is key :)

The project has two parts:
1. Choose a culture and answer all of these questions about it (language, sports, religion, food, etc.)
2. Now, knowing what a culture is, create your own...

In order to do this we have been working in the computer lab (a much needed break from our classroom). While looking up their various cultures one student said:

I wrote some stuff in Spanish, but the computer says it's spelled wrong.
Me: That's because it only knows English.
Another student: Yeah. Our computers are white.
A third student: Miss, you know that it's hard for people to be racist these days?
Me: Oh yeah?
Third student: Yep, because everyone has colored TV.

These guys...

YOU say tomato...

My six 3rd graders and I discussed how one makes plurals in the English language (you know...if it ends in "Y," it changes to "IES..." and then we went on to talk about how words with a vowel on the end must not just have an "S" but "ES," like potato (potatoes) or tomato (tomatoes). 

I started singing the song, you say tomato, I say, to-mott-o....and one of my kids pipes up:

That makes no SENSE-O.

We all died laughing...

I'm Popular

Stdent: What are you doing over there?
Me: Checking email.
Student: All day?
Me: No, not all day.
Student: Oh, I was going to say...that's a lot of email.
Me: Yeah, well, I am popular, what can I say?
Student: Ha. I didn't even know you 'til I came here.
Me: Ha.
Student: I'm just saying...gotta be honest...

Girls

Student A: Miss, I just don't get girls...I give one girl a hug and another gets mad...
Student B: Maybe they want you as more than just a friend
Student A: Yeah there's a lot of those...
Student B: I was walking with this girl, right? And then I went to lunch and this girl asked if I wanted to buy a ticket...
Student B: What ARE you talking about, dude??
Student A: She got mad and walked away...

Me: Yes we are an amazing species.

Student B: No, you are just weird.
Someone: Maybe you should buy them flowers
Student A: Expensive...
Student B: Girls are expensive
Student A: (Long pointless story...) and then I bought a balloon...a 6$ balloon...

Me: Are you still together after all that love you showed her?
Student A: No
Student B: Why not?
Student A: Swine flu...
Student C: Why would I buy flowers when my girlfriend has a garden--I could just pick one up and give it to her right there!!
Student B: Or...just get fake flowers...they last forever...

Me: Men need to tend to a girl's heart like a flower...

Student A: But i don't like flowers
Me: But you like girls
Student: (Ah ha moment) Yes.
Me: Then flowers are a must.

Soundtrack

Thanks to my faciliation days I have a lot of amazing, incredibly deep and thought-provoking questions. I decided to ask one for our journal time today:

If you could have any song be your soundtrack for life, what song would it be and why?

Note: If you ask this question of middleschoolers, you should be prepared for all sorts of answers:

1. Thriller--because I like things that are scary and I like zombies.
2. Lalallaalalalla (a made up song)--because I really don't think about anything.
3. My life--because it's like my life.
4. I wanna drop the world--because I do (wanna drop the world).
5. Hey there Delilah--because it reminds me of a girl
6. We will (you know, we will, we will, rock you, drop you, pick you up and...flush you in the toilet and hope you enjoy it...)--becaues it's just funny.

Yeah.

Hoodlums

My oldest students have been acting a little crazy lately. Sometimes they forget they are in school:

Me: Sit down you little hoodlums.
One student: We aren't hoodlums.
Second student: What's a hoodlum?

Me: If you don't know what one is then how do you know if you are/aren't one?
Students: So what is a hoodlum?
Me: It's like a rascal...
Students: What is a rascal?
Me: Oh my...it's kindof like a crazy person...

One student: Like little red riding hood?
Me: What?!
Second student: Have you ever seen the gangster red riding hood? She has a gold chain...blinged out basket, instead of muffins, she has money
First student: Why is she white? You see her and you don't think anything...but if she's mexican, you assume she stole it
Me: Because people are dumb.

I am capable...

Yesterday I was working on animal vocabulary with my third graders. After we were done, I told them they could draw a picture while they waited for the other students to finish. One student started writing something else and I asked her if she was writing me a love note.

Student: Yep. Here.
Me: I looked at the note and read--I am capable of riding my bike. Oh, that's quite the note, I said.
Student: NO...turn it over!
Me: Oh...ha...and I read: Ms. S. You are the best teacher in the world.

Last week we had learned the word CAPABLE. I thought it was a strange thing to write in a love-note to me...ha...

Responsibility

In our Character-development education segments we have been talking about responsibility, defined as: "Being dependable; taking ownership of your own actions."

I was going over this definition with my students, giving examples of what it means to take responsibility of one's own self, hoping that they would be able to get it if I used examples of things they do all the time...

Me: For example, when I tell you not to talk and then someone talks and then I say, no talking--don't tell me you weren't. Fess up, and move on...
Student: Yeah. __________ does that.
Me: Or...(eh hm) another example--taking care of yourself and worrying about yourself. Like NOT saying someone else does/doesn't do something.
Another student: Yeah, like ________________.
Me: Or, if I tell you to sit down and you are still standing and I look at you and say sit down and you say you are, just sit down. Don't lie about it. Take responsibility for yourself!
Another student: ___________ does that.
Me: Ok, is anyone listening??
Student: _________________ isn't.

And failure. Ha. Good thing I still think it's funny...

I know you're feeling lonely...

Received this note from two of my students yesterday:

Dear M(r)s. S,

We know your feeling lonely so we are going to help you (lol) (jk) butta come pick me and _______ up at our house on April 16 at 4:30. My house is...and my house is...My number is...and my number is...

You are going to pick us up because we are gonna go to the mall and ummm do you know what...find your future man (lol).

Love,
your students

Any questions or comments please contact us at room 210 table 5 or myspace.com.
thank 4hu!

Wow--

First off--I had no idea I was emitting such loneliness
Second--Why April 16?
Third--I had no idea my tables were numbered
Lastly--What does 4hu even mean??!!

Having difficulty

One of my favorite students has been having difficulty these past few weeks listening :( I sent him in the hallway with a writing assignment.

"Tell me why you are having such difficulty in class," I told him.
Here was his response:

The reason why I am having difficulty is because you only think you hear me when me and _____ are talking. The other reason why I'm having difficulty is because __________ talks to me and then I talk back to him. The third reason is because I don't like doing work. The fourth reason is because I like to talk.

I was both thankful for the honesty as well as I couldn't help but laugh when I read this. This guy...

Beaver

Was going through a pile of pictures of animals, testing vocab this afternoon with my Kindergartners and we got to a picture of a beaver.

Student: Be-ber.
Me: What?
Student: Beber.
Me: You mean beaVer?
Student: Yeah. Like Just Bieber.
Me: Ha. I guess so...

Who Are You?

For our latest project, the students had to talk about their heritage, answering the following questions:

1. Who are you?
2. Where are you from?
3. Why are you proud of this place/your heritage?
4. What is one thing you wish other people understood about your culture?

Here's one student's response:

My name is...I'm 14 years old. I'm in the 7th grade and my hobbies are running, drawing, and eating. I'm from Mexico. I don't know what part of Mexico though. I'm proud because this makes me Mexican. I'm also proud cause I know Spanish. I wish other people knew that most Mexicans are gothic.

Gothic? I asked.

Student: Yeah...I needed to finish.
Me: Is this true?
Student: No.
Me: Ok, how about your write something else that's TRUE to close your paragraph.

Can I Get A Post It?

Student: Hey, Ms. S, can I get a post-it note?
Me: Sure.

Student: Look what I wrote!
Other students--Ha.
Me: Let me see it.

Note (Written in the most messy 6th grade writing you've ever seen):
____________ needs to get 200 McCulloch dollars for behaving in class. From Mrs. Smizdt.

Me: Pretty good, except I am not married and that's not how you spell Schmidt.

High School

Me: Hey, are you guys looking forward to High School?
Student 1: I don't know.
Student 2 (The Academic): Well, the only thing I am excited about is taking extra (elective) classes.
Student 3 (The Player): The only thing I'm excited about is that there will be more girls. OLDER GIRLS.

My Lips Don't Lie

One of my most masculine kids asked me the most serious question today:

Ms. S, do I have girl lips??

(I sure wish I could have captured the pleading in his eyes and voice...)

FUNeral

Student 1: How do you spell funeral?
Me: F-U-N-E-R-A-L
Student 1: F-U-N--that spells FUN--why isn't it pronounced, FUNeral??

40 Questions

In the span of 5 minutes, here were many of the questions that were spat at me (I have forgotten the rest). Note that the first 11 have to do with my status, yet again...

1. Are you married?
2. Do you have a boyfriend?
3. Why not?
4. Do you not want a boyfriend?
5. Are you...nevermind.
6. Do you want kids?
7. Why don't you try to find a boyfriend?
8. Why don't you just go out and find one?
9. If you were in love and your boyfriend told you he had herpes, would you leave him?
10. Do you know what love is?
11. Have you been in love?

***
12. Why do you think scientists think the world will end in 2012?
13. Are dinosaurs real?
14. Did the world used to be all one big continent?
15. Who came up with language?
16. The alphabet?

Me: What is this, 40 questions??!!

Creative Genius

Student: Ms S--if you could be anything other than a Teacher what would you be?

Me: Maybe an artist?

Student: Can you draw?

Me: Nope. I like to create things.

Student: Like what?

...

Student: So if I gave you glue and scissors what would you make?

Me: A whole lot of nothing.

Student: The world was created out of nothing and you would have both glue and scissors!
Me: Yeah but I am not God.

Student: Where did the dinosaurs come from?

Forgot My Birthday

Student 1: Ms. S--you know what?
Me: Nope.
Student 1: Kids make fun of me. Wanna know why?

Me: Why?

Student 1: Because I forgot my birthday.

Me: You did?

Student 1: Yep. The teacher asked me when it was and I wasn't paying attention and then I forgot.

Student 2: So when is it?

Student 1: July 10.

Me: No, it's not--it's JUNE 10.

Student 1: Oh yeah. June 10.

Scissors!

Student 1: Ms. S--we only have THIS pair of scissors left??

Me: Well, yeah...that and the ones at my desk.

Student 1: Why?

Me: YOU KNOW WHY!

Student 1: Oh yeah--you threw them away!
Me: I sure did!
Student 2: Wait, why?
Student 1: Oh my goodness--have you not heard the story?? Ok, so _______________ decided that one day he wanted to scrape dog crap off his shoes in class and he used her scissors to do it. So then she threw what she thought were the right scissors away but then he came into class and said it was a different pair.
Student 2: Serious?
Me: Yeah. Awesome.

I am NOT a Science Teacher!

It was almost lunch when one student pipped up:

Student: We should do an experiment in class sometime.

Me: Oh really?

Student: Yeah.

Me: Like what? (I was thinking along the lines of the social experiments...)

Student: Like lava and explosions.

Me: Uh huh.

Student: Yeah it would be awesome!

Me: I am NOT a Science Teacher.

Student: Yeah, but it would be fun!

The Power of Peers

I have always heard the negative consequences of peers as mostly revolving around peer pressure and yet I am not so sure that that is all there is to the story.

Think of a football game--the stadium full of thousands of fans could almost explode at any moment with anticipation. The screaming, adoring crazies can't even seem to seat themselves for three straight hours and when they must leave their seat for that inevitable beer, they sprint down the stairs, tap their feet impatiently in line, and make a dash back up to their row. They can't wait to be back 'in it.'

Attending my very first professional game this year with my roommate I was amazed at the amount of energy, excitement, and gusto that exuded from almost every fan. What a great event to be a part of. Kara and I were privy to something so much bigger than either one of us or even both of us together.

What about exercising with a group of friends or celebrating someone's birthday? What about running a marathon with 10,000 people or brainstorming with one's colleagues for something really important?

So much better when you're together.

And so it is, I have found, with the group of middle schoolers that I see everyday. The week before Spring Break, two new students entered my class. They are brothers and I was curious to see how they would fair in this new environment, coming into it so late in the game. But within the hour, both boys were diligently doing their work, making small talk with other students, and telling funny stories.

I was so glad they wanted to share their stories with us (more on them another time).

Today was no exception. As I surveyed the classroom from behind my desk once again I saw these brothers cranking it while talking with their neighbors. I thought--now here is the power of a peer--not only are they discouraging their fellow classmates from acting up and pretending like they were in elementary school, but their work ethic is encouraging those around them to do what has been asked.

Thank the LORD for these two.
We'll see how it goes...

Spring Break

So the kids and I were off for the past 10 or so days. It was a wonderful and much-needed break from the craziness of school life. Not that I don't love them; I do, but even a wife needs a bit of time away from her husband even now and again...

We talked this morning about our Spring Breaks--what we did, what our favorite parts were, and if they were ready or not to return to school. I found this conversation with my twin 8th graders especially interesting...

Me: So, you guys went to Texas for break, huh?
Twin 1: Yep.
Twin 2: Nope.
Me: Wait, what?
Twin 1: Well I went.
Twin 2: And I didn't.
Me: How did that work?
Twin 1: Well, my sister, mom and I went and he stayed with dad.
Me: Oh (a bit confused). (To the other twin) Did you want to stay?
Twin 2: No. I wanted to go.
Twin 1: Yeah but there wasn't enough room in the van. There were already 8 of us.
Me: Uh huh. So how did you decide who would stay and who would go?
Twin 1: I just went.
Me: And you (other Twin) just stayed?
Twin 2: Yeah, it was just for the weekend.
Me: You went to Texas for a weekend??!!
Both Twins: Yep.
Twin 1: We went to visit my Grandma. She was too scared to come to visit us. So we went for the weekend.
Me: Well that was nice.
Twin 1: Yeah. And then we came back.
Twin 2: Yeah. And played football.

Clarification

Today I learned the difference between two very important terms, used often in Middle School, geek and nerd.

Nerd--A nerd is good and gets good grades.
Geek--A geek is bad but gets good grades. But, you must know that a geek can also be stupid. For example, he could get in a fight and get expelled. He can also get a spanking from his dad...

Who knew?

Invaded

Student A: Ms. S. What does invade mean?
Me: It means that a whole lot of people come into a place.
Student B: Yeah. They take it over.
Me: Yep.
Student C: Have you ever been invaded?
Me: Yep. By a whole bunch of Mexican kids.

I'm Mature

Within the first two minutes:

Student: Ms. S, can I borrow your marker?
Me: Yep.
Student: Guess what? I didn't write on myself yesterday.
Me: That's good, seeing that you are in 6th grade...
Student: Yep. I am mature. I am a man.

Check The Sewers!

Student: Ms. S, did you know that they sell rats at the pet store?
Me: Ew.
Student: Yeah. My brother was about to buy one.
Me: Seriously??
Student: Yeah. I was like, dude, don't BUY that--it's a rat!
Me: Good thinking.
Student: Yeah. I told him--you want a rat--go check the sewers.

2012

Nothing like talking about eschatology first thing in the morning.

Student: Ms. S, do you think the world will end in 2012?
Me: What do you think?
Student: I don't know.
Me: What makes you think that?
Student: Well a scientist said so.
Me: Gotcha. Well a lot of scientists and a lot of people have said that they knew when the world would end. What about 2000? Were they right? Did the world end? (Ha! Got 'em).
Student: Yeah good point.
Other student: Well, the world DID end for some poeople that year.

Duh, Ms. S

Funniest vocab word of the day for my first-grader:

Me: What's this word?
Student: (After a couple of adorable tries) Squeak.
Me: Very good. What squeaks?
Student: A duck.
Me: A DUCK?!
Student: Yeah. A toy duck. Especially if someone steps on it.
Me: Ha! Great point!
Student: Ms. S. Does a grasshopper squeak?
...

James Bond

Second-grade vocab words from today:

Fraud
Fond
Glee
Frantic

We took out our journals and began writing these words down until one student piped up:

Student: Ms. S. James Bond is a fraud.

The Choir Room

My classroom at the Middle School is directly above the Choir Room and boy is it a treat! Last semester all I heard was, "It's the climb..." I think they practiced that line alone about 100 times. Thank you Miley. Apparently this semester not only have they decided to move on from one song to several, but they've also decided to change it up, and change it up hard-core. The selection includes:

Friends are Friends Forever (Steve Green)
We are the World (MJ; newest edition; awesome)
Greece is the World (Greece)
Breaking Free (High School Musical)
All in this Together (HSM)
Some pep-band song I don't know the title or lyrics for

The even funnier thing is that my room at one of the Elementary Schools shares a wall with the music room. Can't tell you how many times I've heard "This land is my land, this land is your land..." Ok, not really...I don't know the songs they sing at the Elementary School these days, but it's brought back some pretty good memories...

Undefeated

Several of my students participate in sports--cross country, football, baseball, wrestling.

There's nothing quite like attending a middle school wrestling match of two of your students...Middle School Wrestling. Need I say more??

Today one student came in, showing me his medal. He was too proud:

Student: Ms. S. I'm undefeated!
Me: Oh yeah?
Student: Yup. 11-1.
Me: Awesome! So great! (What about the one loss?)
Student: Yup, I forget what losing feels like.

Dulces

Student: Ms. S, can we have some candy today. It's Friday.
Me: Well since it's Friday...sure.
Students: How much can we have?
Me: Three pieces.
Student: (Serious whinning) ONLY 3?
Me: How about we be thankful.
Student: Ok...(sigh) How about I am thankful.

We Wish We Were At The Beach

Go fish continues to amuse, even at the middle school level. Today two students created their own variation—1, 2, 3, flip, and whichever animal is stronger, more "beast" beats the other animal and takes the other card. He (or she) who has the most cards at the end, wins. Some good discussions arose today as a result:

Student: Ms. S, would a crab beat a turtle?
Me: I think so…
Student: Well, he could marry a lobster and then he would…

Student: Can you get gel out of jellyfishes?

Student: Ms. S. Can you get starfishes in Mexico?
Me: Yep.
Student: I KNEW IT! I am going to Mexico tomorrow!

Journal Entry: March 3, 2010

Today's journal:

Who should be paid more--a teacher, coach, or a professional athlete?

Of eight students, only one said a teacher. I could have framed his response. The others were all about the professional athletes. One student's explanation:

I think a professional athlete should because they work harder. All teachers do is yell at kids.

Encouragement Cards Part 3

Today began our testing--woo (50 second pause), hoo (another 50 second pause). As is the case for anyone, the kids were anything but thrilled to sit for hours and prove to the state that they know this equation or that, or that they can correctly form this thought or that.

Along with our ISTEP Pep Rally (yes, for real!), our school encouraged teachers to make encouragement cards for the kids. They were to be passed out right before the test began. I took this as an opportunity to bring out the big guns.

Here was one of my favorites:

(Caption: Tear it up!)

This afternoon I saw the recipient of this card.

Student: Ms. S. I got your card.
Me: You did?
Student: Yep.
Me: Awesome...
Student: And I tore it up!
Me: You did??
Student: Yep, I ripped it to pieces.
Me: Seriously?? (A little sad...)
Student: No, Ms. S. I tore up the test!
Me: You mean, you did well?
Student: (Groan...) Yes, Ms. S!

Princess For A Day

During the last few minutes of class today I let the students occupy themselves--games, crafts, additional homework, whatever. It's Friday--we all need a break :)

One student decided she's really into making crowns. So she made a few and then made me one. She came over and put it on my head.

Student: Ms. S--I made you a crown.
Me: Oh yeah?
Student: Yeah.
Me: Well thank you.
Student: You're welcome. But remember, you are the Princess. I am the Queen.

Me: Good to know.

PEMDAS

In the spirit of continued prep for our state test, we worked on math today. We had this equation:  
                                 .25 (1/2 divided by 1/8)
                                     ______________ (divided again)
                                               2

Being the skilled mathematician that I am, I began to explain how to solve this equation.
The students had forgotten the age-old, PleaseExcuseMyDearAuntSally classic and so I reminded them:

Parenthesis
Exponent
Mutiplication
Division
Addition
Subtraction

Dead-serious response from one kid: Well, I'm not EXCUSING anyone...I'll punch them in the face!

Minus the aggression, a well-placed comment :)

How To Save A Life

Nearing the end of my day today, I went to pickup one of my favorite students. He's adorable and always has good things to say. He emerged quite serious saying:

I just saved my friend's life.
Me: Oh really? (What could it possibly be this time seeing that last week the ambulance had come to school...)
Student: Yep. I just broke up this fight.

Think Before You Speak

I feel like I am constantly setting up a great joke; the only problem is, it's me that is the recipient. Not so good when you are the teacher...Today's:

Student: What's wrong with your bird, Ms. S? (Holding up my paper-made crane)
Me: What do you mean?
Student: Only one of the wings move.
Me: What can I say...it's a bit slow...
Student: Just like it's owner.

Yeah.

It's Personal

Student: Ms. Schmidt--I know why _________ got sent to the office.
Me: Oh yeah, why?
Student: It's personal.
Me: Uh huh. Then why did you tell me?
Student: I don't know.

I'm Gonna Hook You Up

No matter where I go or who I talk to, someone is always wanting to hook me up. I guess I just didn't expect this at work, at the middle school, more than once.

Student: Ms. S--who you like?
Me: What?
Student: Is he a tall, white guy? Black, Mexican, PR?
Me: (No response)

A few minutes later...
Me: Who do YOU like? Is he a tall white guy?
Student: No, he's a my-size Mexican.

Tolerance

As a school, the first day of each week we study character traits in our connections class. We are currently talking about tolerance. For today's activity I attempted to discuss traditional vs. non-traditional jobs and how tolerance is important within both. I went on to explain that there are certain jobs that are more often worked by males or females. Beside a list of jobs, I had the students write a M, F or X, assigning whether they thought an activity/job was typically masculine, feminine, or either (x). In order to get the blood flowing a bit I had them move from place to place around the room according to what they chose...
studying music
being interested in clothes
washing dishes
taking out the garbage...

Closing our conversation I asked the following:

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in a job where you are a minority? For instance, if you were a female mechanic, in a guy's world, what would be a benefit or challenge of this?"

One student gave a classic answer as he shook his head from side to side: Well, the men would benefit because they wouldn't hear all the nagging, nagging, nagging.

Didn't exactly answer the question...

Valentine's Day

Student: Ms. S, what are you doing for Valentine's Day?

Me: Nothing (thanks for reminding me...). I mean, I would love to get taken out to dinner, but...

Another student: I'll take you out to dinner, Ms. S.

Vegetable Soup

We are working on preparing for the ISTEP test in March at the middle school; quite a feat for sure. Today's assignment required the students to read an excerpt about a baker and asked them if this is a profession they would like to have. One student's response:

I would like to be a baker...If I were a baker I would make lots of money and then I could buy my family lots of things--a mustang, a house, a hot tub. Then I would know how to bake things for my family too--cake.

But I would also know how to make vegetable soup--
so they wouldn't get too fat.

Journal Entry: Feb 8, 2010

Today's Journal:

What are you two of your favorite things about yourself? What is one thing that you wish you could change about yourself?

One student's response:
I like that I am an athelete.
I like that I eat healthy--SOMETIMES.

Rachel Scott

Rachel Scott's Uncle came to our school on Wednesday this week. He shared the story of Rachel's death and how it has affected countless lives. His main challenge was for the kids to be a part of the chain reaction; the chain reaction of kindness, for kindness is much more effective than bullying. Although I wasn't able to attend the actual convocation, I heard numerous positive remarks about the morning and saw a group of hard kids "get it." I didn't want the moment to pass:

"I'm not going to lie, Ms. S. I cried" (said by a kid who doesn't believe in emotion).

"It was really sad" (said by a kid who believes that real men don't cry).

"How did she know she was going to die?"

"She stood up for so many people, Ms. S" (said by a kid who picks on others).

"I thought of someone I knew that had died and it was really sad" (said a student who recently lost a loved one).

"Ms. S, do you remember it happening?"

"They told us to tell our parents we love 'em because you don't know which day will be your last."

"It's important to be kind, isn't it, Ms. S?"

These statements turned into full fledged conversations and for a full day my classroom transformed into a skate park, a restaurant, or a nearby park--places where these kids could share their hearts and be heard. To say it was powerful is quite the understatement.

For more information on Rachel's life or her ongoing ministry, check out:
http://www.rachelschallenge.org/

I Almost Got Kidnapped Once

Student: I almost got kidnapped once.

Me: Oh really? (Trying not to gasp).

Student: Yep. I was at McDonald's and this old guy came up to me, asked me what I wanted to eat. He bought my food. And then I think he was going to kidnap me. But I knew I was safe because I was in McDonalds and no one gets kidnapped while eating there. At least I got free food out of it.

The Pigeon Finds A Hotdog

After a sleepless night and a discouraging morning with my middleschoolers, I was simply hoping to make it to 3:30. Then enter my second-grader, the one with bouncy hair. She brought with her the book, "The pigeon finds a hotdog (written by the same author of, "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus!", a personal fav).

We read this funny book and laughed together. After we finished I asked her to write a sentence about the story in her journal and if she wanted, she could draw something too. I decided I wanted to try and re-create these adorable little birds (there is a duckling in the book as well).

We drew for a few moments and I decided to write Ms. S under the drawing of the pigeon and her name under the picture of the duckling. We both cracked up at that and I realized that was the first time I laughed today. We both finished our pictures and I asked if we could trade. Kids art is so much better than grown-up art, although she praised my crayon drawing immensly.

A cheerful heart IS good medicine.

Encouragement Cards: Part 2

I received a second note today from two of my girls pretending to be one of their brothers, the 28 year-old, whom I should date. His note said:

To: That teacher
From: ***

Call me then I can be your boo. ***-***-****
Available at 12:00

P.S. That's after work

Great One-Liners

Student: Ms. S. Have you ever seen a walking horse?

Student: DANG!
Me: What?
Student: Ms. S. Is that girl only in the 6th grade?
Me: Yep. I think so.
Student: Why do Mexicans always look older?

Student: Ms. S?
Me: Yeah.
Student: You wanna date my brother? He's 28.
Me: No, I'm alright. Thanks though.
Student: You just let me know, a'igh?
Me: Will do. Will do.
Student: Can Mexicans have afros?


Student: I can make the whole town of Mexico from rice crispies.
I am a Scientist.


Student: The reason the Colts lost is because they left me behind.

Student: Ms. S. I ate lipgloss once. It tasted like fudge.

Student: Ok. I'll take my time out. I'm going to China.

Me: This is really important--Thomas Jefferson was one of our founding fathers.
Student: He isn't my father.

Student: Ms. S. I can break into this girl's locker.

Student: Ms. Schmidt? Can I get a drink of water?
Me: Why?
Student: Because my neck is dry.

Encouragement Cards

Today I asked my middleschoolers to create encouragement cards today for their fellow classmates. After a few groans and sighs, they finally settled down to write, draw, fold, tape, and glue.

Student: Ms. S. How do you spell your name?
Me: M-I-S-S S-C-H-M-I-D-T
Student: That's weird.
Me: Yep. I am all about weird names. It's German.
Student: Ah ha.

A few moments later.
Student: Here you go, Ms. Schmidt.
Me: What?
Student: I wrote you a letter. But you can't read it until it's mail delivery time.
Me: Mail delivery time?
Student: Yeah.
Me: Ok. Let me know when, ok?

She forgot about it, but later when she wasn't looking I snuck over to grab the note from my mailbox and read the following:

Miss Schmidt,
hey gurl. whats up me here!
let me tell you...you mean so much to me I can tell you anything...thats awesome.
you make me happy.
i love to come to you class because you make me understand things better.
g2g ttul

Grandfadder

My second group of kids that I see on Mondays are Kindergartners. There are three of them, two boys and a girl, and boy they are darling. Today after we spent some time on our spelling (yes there are two letters in the word ON), we rewarded ourselves with a rousing game of Go Fish (see below blog for more on this exciting game). 

Instead of using legit Go Fish cards, we made it a bit more educational and used speech cards (ah yes, education and yet fun--amazing!). 

Todays words had the TH sound in them. I passed out the cards and we began. 

Student: (Looking puzzled) Hey, do you have an old man?

Other student: An old man?

Me: Wait, "old man" doesn't have the TH sound in it, does it?

Student: No.

Me: So let me see the card. It says Grandfather.

Student: Oh, Grandfadder?

Me: GrandfaTHer. Everyone try that.

We tried that a few times and let's just say that we will need to continue practicing that one this spring...

The next student took his turn. 

Next student: Hey, Ms. S.

Me: Yeah?

Next student: I have a Grandfadder.

Me: (I stiffled a laugh). Oh yeah?

Next student: Yeah. He lives with my Grandmudder.

Gold

On a day when my head feels like it could explode (thank you sinus issues) and my eyes feel like all they want to do is close themselves for hours, and all I want to do is stare at the wall, my heart is fed by these kids and the questions they ask:

One student: Ms. S. Are you sick?
Me: Yes.
Student: Why?
Me: Don't really know. Do you know why you are sick?
Student: No. I just am.
Me: Ah ha.

A few minutes later...

Student A: Ms. S, I have a question. (This is how it always begins).
Me: Yes?
Student A: Are diamonds found in rocks?
Me: Yeah...kindof...
Student A: Why?
Me: Great question...
Student B: Is gold just found in gold mines?
Me: I don't think so... (thank goodness for google and wikipedia which see my fingers every day).
Student A: No—if you have a gold neckless it’s there.
Student C: Walmart has gold.
Me: Why yes, yes it does.

Incredible Resiliency

I met with one of my fourth graders today and I was blown away by the level of maturity, emotional strength, and incredible resiliency he possessed.

"How are you today?" I asked him.

"I'm fine. A little sad."

"Oh really? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah. I am sad because my uncle died."

I certainly hadn't expected that.

He went on. "I lost one uncle last year. I was going to ask him to go to the movies with me, but the next day he just died. And now, last week, this other uncle died. I have lost four people now. I only have one uncle left."

What do you even say to that?

As this little guy shared his heart with me we quickly changed roles. He was the teacher, instructing, guiding, teaching, sharing. And I was the student, listening intently to every word he had to offer, transported to when I was a kid, listening to my Grandpa tell a story.

Interestingly enough, my Grandpa is the only person I have lost that was close to me. But I was older, a Senior in College, and he was sick; so even though we hadn't expected his life to end quite so early, we all knew that one day he would make his journey from this one to the next.

Me and Jr.

I went to collect a student from her classroom today and she met me with a smile. Running to the door she said breathlessly, "Ms. S, I brought you something."

"You did?" I asked, curious as to what would prize would fall into my hands.

"Yep. It's a picture." She handed me a folded up photograph of two little kids. It looked like it had been loved well over the past few years. "This is me and Jr. I brought it because I wanted you to see me and him."

I thanked her and sighed.

And as we walked in unision to my classroom my heart mimicked her straight black hair that always moved when she walked, swinging from happy to happy.

Go Fishing

On a typical day my pullout classes with the Elementary kids consist of two things--instruction and a game. The game the kids most often want to play is GO FISH, or the fish game, or going fishing...or any other way of saying this phrase.

A few weeks back we were finishing up our lesson and one of the kids asked if we could play go fish. I said sure, since we had a few minutes before they would need to head back to their larger class.

We began taking turns, and is often the case, I fell behind in matches. In fact I think I was the only one who didn't even have one set. I was sure that this round my luck would change and I would collect some matches, score some points, and teach these third graders a thing or two about taking home the gold.

I turned to one student and asked if he had any threes? He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Ms. S, you'll need to grab your pole, because you are goooooooooooing fishin'!"

Are you rich?

Student A: Ms. S. Are you rich?
Student B: Yeah, Ms. S, are you?

Me: No. Are you serious?

Student A: Well, your shoes always match your outfits.
Student C: Yeah, that's true.

Do you live with your mom?

Student: Ms. S, do you live with your mom?
Me: No.
Student: Well, who do you live with?
Me: A roommate.
Student: Your boyfriend?
Me: No. It’s a girl.
Student: Oh. What’s her name?
Me: Kara.
Student: Can we meet her?



Oh the curiousity of 8th graders...

I like your shoes

Student: Ms. S?
Me: Yes.
Student: I like your hair, Ms. S.
Me: Thanks, you.
Student: Ms. S. I like your shoes.
Me: Thank you. I like your shoes. (I looked at my shoes and smiled).
Student: No, not THOSE shoes. THAT shoe. (I looked down at my keychain and remembered that I had quite the shoe attached. My friend Robin had gone to Israel after Christmas and had seen this shoe--a HIGHTOP Chuck Taylor with more badazel than a disco-ball--and thought of me...Jewels from Jerusalem? I must have a sparkly personality :)

Mi Pueblo: Christmas Celebration

For the end of the semester/Christmas, I thought it would be a great idea to take the kids out to a local restaurant, Mi Pueblo, to celebrate. For those of you who don't live in Marion, I'm so sorry for you. This is one of the BEST Mexican restaurants I've ever eaten at...and remember, I've lived abroad :)

The coolest thing in all of this was the amount of support I had in this endeavor. Throughout the semester I had asked students from Indiana Wesleyan University who I knew or that had worked for me, as well as friends and colleagues, to come into the class and spend some time with these great kids. Almost every week, from September until December, someone from the community came in and hung out with us. I know it spoke tremendously to these kids, for at the beginning of each week, inevitably someone would ask, "Who's the visitor of this week, Ms. S?"

A few weeks before Christmas I sent out an email to these people, as well as other friends and family around the US (PA, NJ, NC), asking if they would be willing to support a child at dinner. I was blown away by the generosity.

And so, with much excitement, that next week I made individual invitations for each student and put them in their home-made mail boxes on the shelf in my room. The students entered and I told them I had a surprise for them. I should know that by now, the most exciting thing for a middle schooler includes food--in the moment--so, when I didn't have anything to hand out that would satisfy their ever-hungry bellies, and told them to walk to their mailboxes, they were a bit distraught, to say the least. But I encouraged them to open the notes and told them the plan--the next Thur, them and me, and a few other friends, at Mi Pueblo-for free! I could even offer a ride if they got permission...

I wasn't expecting everyone to jump up and down and praise me as the best Teacher. But I also wasn't expecting them to groan and say that this was the dumbest surprise. To be honest--I was a bit taken aback...I took a deep breath and then remembered that for most of them, their bark was bigger than their bite. But I still wondered if anyone would show for dinner.

The days passed and I kept talking it up. Most kids were fairly indifferent, and a few said they would come if another kid would come.

As 6pm rolled around I was a bit nervous. Kara and Kristi came to the dinner with me and I wondered if it would just be the three of us. But by 6:15 seven students had shown up. I was thrilled. I was thankful. I felt blessed. They chose to spend their evening with us. Wow.

We spent an hour or so eating and then decided to play a game. Thankfully, being around Kara and Lynette for the past few years has taught me to always be prepared, especially when it comes to using free time for games, so I had scrabble cards in my purse. The girls challenged the boys to a game and emerged victorious.

At the end of the evening, as parents were collecting their kids, a few others asked if I could take them home. After getting permission (this is 2010 people), another friend and I drove them back to their house. I walked them up to their front door and one of them smiled at me. “Thanks Ms. S. I had a lot of fun. You take care now. Ok?”

I almost died.

(Thanks to those of you who loved so well, so tangibly. We are blessed by you!)

Door Decorations for Christmas

To celebrate Christmas, the Administration decided to have a door-decorating contest among each of the classrooms. Being an avid decorator, I knew that not only would we enter the contest, but there was no option other than winning. And so I told my students.

Me: We are having a door decorating contest for Christmas and we HAVE to win!

Students: (Groans...) Do we have to?

Me: YES! This is our chance to show everyone what we have and how talented you all are!

(Truly the best artists in the school all are in my class!)

Students: Alright, fine.

Me: So, what kind of theme do we want to do?

Student: How about Mario Gangster?

Me: Well...(stifling a laugh) it has to be BOTH Christmasy and appropriate.

Student: Ok...

We went on to discuss varying options and ended with not a single idea, but rather a story that would span four walls. I was impressed and thought that for sure, we would win.

The next day I reminded the students of our plan and began assigning each one to a certain part of the decorations.

Me: So I would like for us to start today. I have brought up all this colored paper from downstairs and we have all this additional stuff to decorate with.

Students: But Ms. S, it's not even Thanksgiving yet!

Me: Precisely! We will need all the time we can get!

So we began decorating. We had almost finished our door and subsequent walls the day the week after Thanksgiving, but I noticed that only one of the other Teachers had begun. I thought they should have started earlier.

The next day we finished up our decorations and noticed that another Teacher's wall looked similar to ours. I decided to take a walk down the hallway to get a better look. The Teacher invited me into her classroom where she showed me the rest of their ideas--they were the exact same as ours. I was shocked but managed to compose myself and saunter back to the classroom.

"Tear it all down!" I told the class. "We will need to start again. I need a fresh idea."

We brainstormed again, this time with only three days to go until judgement day. And the work continued yet again. We cut out snow flakes and hung them from the ceiling, we made a house and a Christmas tree under which we wrapped all of our books. We hung ornaments that each of the students had decorated. We made a sleigh, Santa, Rudolf, and elves packing up the gifts. And then we made the North Pole, strung lights and made welcome signs. It was quite the sight to behold.

As we feverishly worked those next days, the classroom down the hall bantered back and forth with us. "Don't worry," they shouted. "We'll share our pizza with you." I thought, "And we won't share ours with you, when WE win!"

And lo and behold, when finally the classes were judged, our (my) dreams came true and we were told that we had won! A pizza party for room 210--horray

Pass the Pigs

Over Christmas break this year I decided to pick up a few new games for my middle schoolers. A game store in Pennsylvania was going out of business (who can resist a slash-n-burn?) and so I wandered in looking for Settlers of Catan. Apparently so had everyone else and their mom and so I quickly had to re-adjust. Rummaging through the various games I came across an old favorite, Pass the Pigs. I laughed to myself, motioned for my sisters to come over, and told them this would surely be the new favorite in the classroom.

Boy was I right.

By the second day, almost all of my middle schoolers were crowded around our round tables throwing pigs like dice into the middle of the table shouting out the names of the different poses and their associated points.

One morning, after the some of the students had finished math, we pulled out the "Pig Game" as one student referred to it. We began rolling pigs. After one student had gone, he looked over at me. I knew he was going to ask me something, which always proves a good time.

Student: Ms. S, do you have something on your eyes?

Me: Yes.

Student: What is that brown stuff called?

Me: Eye shadow.

Student: Oh, why do you wear it?

Me: To make my eyes pretty.

Student: Well, why don't you wear stuff on your lips or eyebrows?

Me: Good question, good question.

E

I was walking down the hallway one afternoon when one of the 3rd grade Teachers stopped me.

Teacher: I just wanted to tell you that every day E asks me if you are coming. He always says, "When is the Spanish Teacher coming?"

Me: That's so hilarious. We study ENGLISH!

Teacher: I know. And I told him that. And I also reminded him that you only come Mondays and Wednesdays, and it's the same time every day.

Me: I guess we should start practicing Spanish...

The Mexican

It was 1:02pm and I was running a little late. Usually I pick up my 3rd graders a few minutes before 1, but I had some emailing to do. I walked down the hallway towards two of my three classrooms where 5 of the 6 of them were. After picking up the first batch of kids I scooted across the hall to the second classroom and picked up two of the students. In anything but a nice, orderly, line, we walked down the next hallway to pickup our last student. Although the students aren't supposed to talk in the hallways (or hit each other, or tell dirty jokes, or get drinks without permission), I find that some really good conversations can happen in that 20 seconds.

It was one guy today that decided he had something to share.

Student: Ms. S--I'm a Mexican!

Me: Yes, you are.

Student: Are we all Mexicans?

Me: Yes, you all are from Mexico.

Student: Cool. I'm Mexican! (He threw his arms up in the air and grinned widely)

Me: Yes, but let's not talk quite so loudly, ok?

Student. (Whispering) Ok, Ms. S.

Me: Pssst. (Now I was talking in the hallway...)

Student: Yes?

Me: Do you think I can be Mexican?

Student: No. Sorry.

Do you speak Spanish?

Sitting at our retro-blue round tables in October, one student told me he needed help with his math. That's right, he TOLD me.

Student: Ms. S. I need help.

Me: Ok, but how do you ask?

Student: Yeah, but I need help.

Me: Feel free to be polite at any point.

Student: Ok.

Ms. S. Could you please help me with my math?

Me: Sure, I would LOVE to. (He rolled his eyes).

I sat down next to him and we began looking at Algebra. Thank goodness I had brushed up on these ancient equations last year when I was studying for the GREs. We began by writing one problem on the board. I had just finished writing the problem when the student said he had a question.

Student: Do you speak Spanish?

Me: Yes. (I laughed, for we have often talked about the fact that I am the ESL teacher and my official title is BILINGUAL Specialist...and all my kids speak Spanish...)

Student: You do? How come?

Me: Are you serious??

Student: Well, then say something!

Me: What do you want me to say?

Student: Anything.

Me: Algo.