Amazing

I'm a little surprised that 1st period is actually soaking up "March of the Penguins." Not that I doubted the cinematography in the slightest ~ I just didn't think they'd stay focused for more than 15 seconds. I'm not big on extra credit, but I did tell them I'd give them an extra point on their test if they walk like a penguin when they leave my class. We'll see what happens. I know, I'm a freak.

I'm not trying to sound ungrateful at all, and I feel a little guilty recording this in the public eye, but since nobody really reads this, I think I'm okay. All of these gifts are thoughtful & sweet, and some are simply a bit more useful than others. So far, here's the inventory of Christmas booty from my dear students:

• 2 red plaid mugs with Scotty dogs on them (love tea, hate plaid Scotty dogs)
• tiny glass vial of sand & colored shells from a local beach
• ceramic Christmas reindeer figurine with a broken antler
• apple-themed kitchen set (notepad, shopping list, coupon organizer, & recipe cards)
• scented bath lotion & body spray (hey, do I really smell that bad?)
  
• Christmas dish filled with baked goodies (SRO already teased me for munching this early)
• plastic ball ornament stuffed with bath confetti
  
• various handwritten cards & holiday wishes

So far, so good. Each gift-giver was totally sweet & kind to remember their teacher at Christmas time, and I'm truly grateful for their thoughtfulness. In fact, some of their cards actually made me teary-eyed & helped me to remember why I'm doing this, even though it's harder than I ever imagined.

Okay. I really should finish grading these tests. I don't want to be sitting busily at my desk when the rest of this school is a ghost town later on this afternoon.

I think I will have penguin noises running through my head all day. OH. Penguins are just too incredibly cute for words.

One . . . more . . . day!

I never really quite believed this Winter Break would come, but after tomorrow, I will be FREE of 13-year-olds for several days. After today's field trip, I don't expect to do any sort of meaningful teaching tomorrow. Consequently, I made a professional decision to show March of the Penguins & hope that my incredibly energetic kids will stay mildly entertained during each period (ha! yeah, right).

I think I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that I'd survive until Christmas. The stretch that worries me is the January - March long haul, where it will be cold & dreary & without many holidays or teacher workdays. I'd like to believe that our kids' behavior will miraculously improve after Christmas, but all the veteran teachers laugh in my face when I voice this hope & ask about it. My 2nd period is about to drive me mad . . . yes, literally insane. I think (& know!) I just need a break from kids, plenty of restful sleep, and evenings that aren't spent preparing lessons/grading papers/practicing labs.

The most frustrating part is that I have probably 4-5 kids with whom I cannot even have a meaningful conversation; they tune out the sound of my voice & refuse to be motivated or listen to any comments, even if it might be positive encouragement. I can even understand, a little. They have rotten home lives (if they even have a home), probably get yelled at by most adults, and then are forced to come to school where they don't perform & are subsequently labeled as "failures." Who wouldn't tune out an authority figure in that situation? In part, I'm even a little "okay" with the fact that you reject school; maybe it isn't the best place for you. But I'm not okay with you disrupting my class & being openly disrespectful. Just sleep, or draw, or read . . . instead of throwing mushrooms across the room, swatting kids with swords made of markers, turning desks over, picking fights with other kids, & tossing books out the window.

Okay, now that that's out of my system . . .

I'm not sure I've ever seen our kids so excited as they were today. I think it's safe to say that the best part of today's field trip was not the museum, or being away from school, but the train ride . . . and the fact that they were offered 1 free drink & snack each leg of the trip. (Maybe I've stumbled upon the best motivator - food! These kids love to eat.) And I've never seen so many privileges in all my life. Some of these kids have cell phones, Game Boys, iPods, and who knows what else, because I'm not exactly electronically inclined. It was a long day, but I'm thankful it went well, and glad the kids had fun. I've never heard my name called out so many times in one day - I hear their voices reverberating in my head even now, but it was worth it.

And mostly, I'm incredibly thankful that I wasn't one of the 16 people who were stuck in an elevator for over 40 minutes. I'm fairly sure that I would not have set an example as the stable adult in that situation. They were rescued from the trauma, unscathed ~ and they all have a great story to tell, so all in all, today was a good day.

And even though the 7:30 bell will come all too early tomorrow morning, I will be one happy lady when I hear "All 8th graders may be dismissed!" tomorrow afternoon. Finally, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!