School days

Middle school and ninth grade stduents came back to school yesterday. My school splits seventh grade students by gender and this year I am teaching two classes (first and second periods) of seventh grade boys. I am mostly excited about this. My first period is awesome, although I had some sleepers today (hard to yell at them when I want to go to sleep too - the first week is rough) and second period is small and mostly good, although there are a few talkers that I am already working with.

We have a new classroom management system that I like and so far, so good. It requires more time during instruction, but I'd rather be doing that then spending that time yelling or breaking up shouting matches, etc. Because you teachers know that I sure wouldn't be spending that time teaching. Today we talked a lot about respect (not name calling, not using slurs, etc) and how to get the teacher's attention appropriately (not snapping or calling out or jumping in your seat). It will be a long road, but when isn't it?

In addition to the two Civics classes, I also co-teach a 45 minute Capstone class to 30 seventh grade boys at the end of the day. Because our school is not designed for classes to hold so many students, we meet in the cafeteria. It is decidely not a good meeting space. Way too many distractions, plus the kitchen staff is getting ready for dinner so the whole place is kind of warm and smells like food (which SO does not work for me). The class meets M-Th at the end of the day and is meant to teach study and life skills. It's a good idea, so we'll see how it goes.

Next Tuesday we welcome back all of the students and I will start working with the seniors twice a day. I have eight seniors in my regular Govt/Econ class and five students in my AP Govt class. I am all about small classes, but that's a little much. A few kids didn't pass 11th grade, a few got pulled and one moved out of town so the class is much smaller than expected (I left thinking I would have six in AP and fifteen in regular...oops). I am still excited though - I really do love teaching those courses and I have a bunch of changes to implement this year. Plus it is just easy to be excited when the year is new.

And finally, because my body doesn't like to make things easy for me, I am slowly falling apart - for no apparent reason. Last week I got a really bad sore throat and while I can now swallow again, it is still painful/scratchy and now I am also really congested. Also, for the last month or so I have been getting hit with waves of being really hot and really cold, which is no fun for anyone. For instance, this morning, I taught with my hair up and my sleeves rolled up, but now I have my hair down and a jacket on. Finally, my body is just really tired. It's easy to forget how exhausting teaching is, Even if you're not teaching every minute of the day, you are still on your feet a ton, plus you're crouching and walking and talking loudly and raising your hand and doing all of these things to get/keep the kids' attention and you are "on" for the entire day. No matter how tired I was this morning, I had to be happy and energetic from the minute I walked into the building until the minute third period started. Now I'm okay to let go until passing periods and then my last class, but it's still a tough gig.

Here's the thing though: with all of the exhaustion and anxiety and such, I am still really glad to be back. Man, I love school! It's geeky, I know, but it's true. And besides, no one ever said I was cool. (Ha!)

It's insulting

If I had a quarter for every time I've been told to be open with my students about my culture and to let them be open about theirs, I would be a very rich woman. It gets increasingly harder to listen to such remarks without making any faces.

Summer vacation: By the Numbers

I started back at work today, which, of course, got me thinking back on the last 6 weeks of vacation. While I did not accomplish many of the goals I set for myself, I did manage to do quite a lot. So, in the spirit of back to school and cross-curriculum collaboration, I give you my summer vacation...by the numbers.

Number of...

• books read: 22 (plus one on tape)
• movies seen: 3
• concerts attended: 5
• physical therapy appointments: 14
• times moved: 1
• road trips: 2
• cities visited: 5
• weddings attended: 2
• minutes on the phone: 928 (15.46 hours)
• miles added to my car: 1767
• questionable decisions: 2 (no, I won't tell you about them, so don't ask)
• tours given: 3
• museums visited: 7
• drinks consumed: countless
• naps: countless
• days at the pool: countless
• days at the gym: many less than at the pool

Mmm...vacation. I will miss it, but it was truly a good one. I have pictures to post from my trip to Chicago, but I didn't bring the CD with me to work, so it will have to wait. Until then, have a wonderful week!

Home(s)

I made it safely back to DC, for those of you concerned about such things. I left Chicago at 10:30am (Central)Monday, stopped in Breezewood, PA around 9:30pm (Eastern) and continued on to DC at 7am this morning. I am battling a very sore back and some ITCHY bug bites, as well as the exhaustion that comes with being on the road for 12 hours after a busy weekend, but am unpacked and settled.

Mostly.

Remember that we moved the day before I left for Chicago so I returned home to quite the mess. I spent five hours getting my room in order and it looks pretty good, although damn is it small! I'm now in the old place, waiting to be able to switch the laundry before going back to the new place to put the kitchen table and sofa back together and get those rooms started. Most of the kitchen will have to wait though - Elizabeth is to kitchen cabinets as I am to refrigerators. Tonight after she gets home from work, Elizabeth and I will move the last things over to the new place and do a final cleaning of the old place. Then, finally, the move will be over.

The new place is good, but very different. Soon enough, though, it will feel like home.

Musings on a past life

Part of the motivation for this trip back to Mom and Dad's was the large pile of papers and binders and notebooks I have stacked in the alcove of what is now Lindsey's room (the large bedroom my parents apparently keep for wayward daughters left without a solid plan after college - sorry Linds, but we both know it's true (for those not in the know, it was my room before it was Lindsey's). So tonight, with Lindsey and Dad at the Sox game and Mom resting, I settled in to cull through the remnants of my former life.

We all have these boxes somewhere and if you don't, I'd be willing to bet that you once did. I have paper boxes, under the bed boxes and even an old steamer trunk packed with things I once never dreamed of parting with: lecture notes from college; cards/letters/notes given to me by friends; receipts/ticket stubs/wristbands from "that" night; old planners and id cards; my first lesson plans/semester plans/press releases; drawings given to me by students/nanny charges/interns; note taking/test taking/organizing/fundraising guides; quotes/photos/mementos I tacked to one bulletin board or another. Things that meant so much to me at the time - things that prove that I was the person I say I was.

Professional organizers (and the Miss Type A in my mind) would tell me that I don't need these things to remind me of those times and would point out that it is not like I ever sit down to go through these boxes and I know both things to be true. After all, I am nearly certain that the paper box I just went through hadn't been opened since 2003 and I painlessly threw out a number of things, but some things were much harder to part with (USSA organizing manual for welfare? Tossed. Letter from Fred Mohs comparing affirmative action to India's caste system? Tossed (with some hesitation - it was pretty funny). Contract for Austin's soul? Kept. Last Exec Committee update from UC? Kept. Letters from students from Audubon (student teaching)? Kept.) even though I know I should throw them out. I look at the trunk, the milk crate and the under-the-bed box that awaits me and I think "get it together girl - you have to PURGE," but I don't want to. Not now. Let me explain....

I keep the stuff from my first attempts at teaching (practicum, student teaching, my Northwestern gig) because it amuses me to see how ambitious and naive and almost completely unskilled I was. There are also good examples of student work and materials I wouldn't want to recreate (if, for instance, I ever found myself having to teach ancient world history or something). That stuff is pretty easy to go through. The college stuff is harder b/c the cards and the photos remind me of silly, everyday things that I do tend to forget about - an outing with my roommates or some snowball fight, but even that isn't terribly tough to toss because I have so many photos from that time (my girls are nothing if not present with the cameras). It's the student government/organizing things that I am finding hardest to part with. Those are artifacts from a whole different life and one that I continue to distance myself from as years pass. I tell people about my time at ASM or UC and they cannot even imagine it and even I am starting to wonder if I'm remembering it all correctly and it comforts me to know that somewhere are the objects that can back up my stories. Not that I would ever drag out the boxes and show someone these things, but the idea that I could is comforting. So, for now at least, the pile will probably remain pretty large.

It is hard to close the door on your past - I thought that part of my life was long since left behind, but I'm discovering that maybe I'm not quite ready to say good bye entirely yet. Who knows, tomorrow is another day.

In short

Words cannot explain this past weekend. Suffice it to say that we are now moved from open floorplan, modern apartment to slightly bigger, much older and cheaper apartment. We nearly killed the two guys we hired to move our stuff, but I am assured that they are fine today. None of my stuff is really unpacked, but I have six whole days to do that when I get back to DC.

Mainly I wanted to let folks know that I not only survived the weekend, but that I made it safely to Chicago. The 710 mile trip took me 13 hours, including an hour break for lunch and several breaks to stretch my back, get gas etc. I figure I was in the car for 12 hours. For the record, I officially hate Ohio. Not only does it make up the bulk of my drive, but it isn't even interesting. I felt like I wasn't making any progress because it all looks the same. On the other hand, driving GW Parkway as the sun is rising is pretty sweet, as is driving through Pennsylvania (ie: mountains) as the morning sun burns off the mist.

All in all, things are good. I got here in time to have dinner with my folks and now I'm seriously contemplating a warm shower (I am so sore...all over) and an early bedtime. Have a great week!

T-minus 5 hours (about)

Hey, guess what? Moving weekend begins tonight! Yes, tonight we will walk across the playground, enter our new apartment and check to make sure it is clean and ready for move in. Provided all is in order, we'll move over plants and large, oddly shaped items (folding screen, lamps, full length mirror, etc. Saturday will be spent moving boxes and clothes and some such things. Sunday afternoon the furniture will be moved by two strong men who are charging us surprisingly little.

Are we packed, you ask? Well...mostly. When moving such a short distance it is hard to get motivated, especially when the move in date precedes the move out date by more than a week. I'm sure you understand. But really, all that is left to pack is the dishes and some random odds and ends, so I'm feeling positive.

Complicating the move, however, is the fact that my back flared up again this week (of course). I'm having trouble lifting my laundry basket, let alone actual moving boxes. Hence, the big strong men and (hopefully) the healthy backs of a few friends. I've been diligent about my exercises and talked at length with my PT yesterday b/c I want to be able to contribute to the move (the Midwestern girl in me does not want to give less than 100%), but also b/c after the move I have to drive 800 miles to Chicago and prolonged sitting does not make my back/hips happy, especially if they are already tweaked. Ugh. Thank G-d for good stretches and strong drugs.

I ran a lot of errands this afternoon (Blockbuster, bank, salon, library (yes, again), post office) and at one point a woman asked me if I was getting ready to go back to college. She looked shocked (SHOCKED) when I told her that I was 26 and had graudated college years ago. She couldn't believe it, although I don't think my ponytail, Beatles tshirt and ratty jeans helped much. It was a pretty amusing moment, especially since I spent most of my adolescence having people tell me that I looked much older than I was. Perception is a tricky thing, no?

This is probably my last post for the weekend (unless something truly noteworthy occurs) - I'll post from Chicago so y'all know I made it safely. Have a wonderful weekend and stay cool!