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.

My First Day

The first day I started at at my job, a couple of students introduced themselves to me. Then they asked a few more questions:

Student: Why are you here?

Me: To help you guys with English.

Student: Oh, ok. Will you come every day?

Me: Yep (I said almost apologizing).

Them: They looked at each other, smiled and said in unison--YES!

I knew it would be a good year.

My Hate list

A good friend of mine, Stef, compiled a hate list a few years back. She tends to like to choose things that are anti-culture, mostly to get a rile out of others, I think. And every couple of months she grants me the privilege of hearing her newly readjusted list, which always promises a good laugh.

Most of my life I have been a pretty easy-to-please individual. I like almost every food; I am not allergic to medicine or virtually anything else except for pollen, but who isn't allergic to pollen?; I love a variety of music, movies, fashion, and people, and I am up for almost anything. So for me, there are very few things that I hate. But those that I do hold extreme intensity and throughout the years I have sworn that I would avoid them:

1. Living where its cold

2. Dogs

3. Teaching

Three years ago I moved from New Jersey (where we get some cold, or as I like to say, a nice taste of every season) to the artic, flat region in the Mid-west; Indiana. Although we have enough corn to cover the Atlantic, I am convinced there are about 14 trees in this state, which simply isn't enough to protect my 5'4 body against our fierce winds. And despite my deep displeasure in needing to layer myself when I go to bed, I have found a home, a life, a love for this small town called Marion.

Ever since I was a kid I couldn't quite understand why people liked animals. Even more what I couldn't seem to wrap my brain around was the idea that people LOVED animals, and loved them so much they would want to live with them--to share space with these creatures.

Mind boggling.

I know you are wondering, how on earth someone can not like animals? And as much as it's something I would like to like (mostly because it's so normal to like animals it seems and people look at you like you don't like small children when you confess this truth), I just don't. My experiences have ranged from unpleasant to scarring: hair, hair, everywhere, disgusting smells, unnecessary cleanup, less money available, and the terrible shock and pain of being bit, or seeing a good friend bit by a stray while walking home from school. Let's just say I'm not a fan. Or haven't been a fan for quite some time.

That is, until this past year. I am not sure where it began and I want to assure you that I am in no way planning on befriending a furry little guy and calling him my best friend, but I not longer can say that I have centered my life around avoiding dogs.

And now I find myself teaching, something I NEVER would have dreamed I would be doing. I don’t know if it was the idea of being stuck in a classroom, surrounded by kids who wouldn’t ‘get it’ or my perceived drama that exists in the Educational system, or simply my fear of not being able to ‘cut it’ as a Teacher, and so I never even entertained the idea.

But at the end of my time as a Resident Director, I knew that I was being called to this community and so I began looking for jobs that would enable me to get to know Marion’s residents. Job after job opportunity fell through and in a last minute, desperate measure I went online to apply as a Substitute Teacher. But before I uploaded the application my eye caught sight of the following words: BILINGUAL SPECIALIST. I clicked on the link and read:

Need to be Bilingual

Need to love kids

Need to help kids love themselves and their culture

Need to help with English

6 month later I find my days filled with joy in this position. Not only has teaching been a blast as I have been able to share skills and stories with 40 kids from Kindergarten to 8th grade, but man o man have I LEARNED an enormous amount from these young ones.