Sometimes They Still Surprise Me

I know most of my students pretty well. I work really hard at knowing them. I learn about boyfriends/girlfriends, out of school activities, jobs, sports, music, family, books. You name it, I really try to find out about it.

But, once in awhile, one of them surprises me.

Today was one of those surprises. It started with a phone call...

"Sorry to bother you in the middle of class. H has some questions about some poetry you are doing in creative writing. Can he come down or are you in the middle of a lecture?"

Lecture? Me?

"Send him down. My students are recording today. I've got the time to visit with him."

Now, you should know that this is the same young man I wrote about last week. We're getting to the meat of his story, but it still has a ways to go.

He saunters in. I really expect to tell him that he doesn't have to write poetry. I just want him to try a draft of it.

"So," he begins, "last night, when I got home from work, I wrote this and I just wondered if this is what you want."

He hands me his phone.

"You wrote a poem after work last night?"  H does not do homework.

"Yea. I write a lot of poetry."

"You do?????" I am incredulous.  This was not what I expected. Not from H. And the poem--it's really good.

"Yea. Why do you think I took Creative Writing? I have lots of poems at home."

"Really? Will you let me read them?"

"I have to type them all up???"

"No. just bring them to me and let me read them. You can use some of them for this assignment."

"OK. Sure. I'll bring them in tomorrow."

We also had a conversation about sharing--I've figured out that he comes to me during his study hall because he doesn't want to conference during class when his friends are around. I promised I wouldn't share it. I promised I wouldn't let his friends know. But I let him know that I thought the poem was really good.

H comes to class next hour with a typed copy of the poem for me. But first, HE SHARES WITH HIS FRIENDS! They think he copied and pasted. They google it. They don't find it. They ARE impressed.

And now, it hangs on my Pride Wall.

I love surprises.

You Matter: An Open Letter to My Speech Kids

This has been a crazy year with you guys. I wasn't sure I could coach all of you alone, without a co-coach. But I am very protective of you. Not just anyone could step in and work with you, so I decided to give it a try.  I told you all you would have to step up and help me out. And you have. You've helped with the mundane tasks like filling out the letter point sheets, double checking the old sheets, and going over registration sheets and making sure I haven't left anyone out. 

Then came time for the real work of contest speech. 

Rehearsals.

At the beginning of the season, you "old timers" took the "newbies" and showed them how it's done. And you helped them. You didn't leave them out, or view them as competition.  You rehearsed with them, you gave them pointers, you cheered them on when it was time to perform.  

I saw teamwork with the large group events.  You didn't complain when I asked you to take "the freshmen" and make sure they got where they needed to go, with what they needed to have.  You hauled props, carried my box of essentials, and made sure everyone had a supportive audience. Even at state, when we had to leave at 4:30 in the morning so a couple of us could leave to go to Honor Band.

And then individual started.  42 events. Each needing to be rehearsed once a week. Not kidding you, I wasn't looking forward to it. 

But you know what. You stepped up again. From freshmen to seniors, you stepped up. 

You rehearsed each other!

Friday night amazed me.  You just took over the school. Rehearsals were everywhere. That's dedication (Ok, so it was also a little panic setting in. It stilled showed dedication). People came in to rehearse with me, sometimes not during their time. I was running late, but no one complained. You just kept practicing on your own until I could get to you. 

I just smiled at one point as I stepped into the hall. Amid the teasing and laughing and messing around, there was serious work happening.  I loved it.

Saturday came. 

And here is where the magic happened for me. I watched all of you throughout the day. (I know. Not your performances--it's impossible for me to get to them all). So, I walked the halls and haunted the gym. You made sure that your friends had a hand to hold, a shoulder to lean on, and a supportive audience. You took the others in your category and rehearsed with them. You calmed down the jitters. You fired people up. You watched as many people perform as you could. 

And you were there when the ratings came out. Judges can be tough. And I can say all the right words, but it's you who makes a difference.  You cheered for those who received Division 1's. They deserved it. Hard work pays off. 

But for those who didn't receive those ones, you were magnificent. Because sometimes, hard work doesn't pay off. You were indignant. You were astonished. You held hands. Gave shoulders to cry on. Talked quietly about performances. 

I have never been more proud of students in my life. Being a speech kid isn't always easy. I know sometimes you get teased about it. It takes a lot of dedication, self-confidence, and self-discipline. It takes heart and compassion.

I always talk about you as my "speech kids" (and you are my kids, you know). But calling you kids doesn't seem to be enough this year.  I looked up the word "team" this morning. Most of those definitions didn't seem to fit you either. Until I got to Wikipedia:

"A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.

A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximise his/her strengths and minimise his/her weaknesses. Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their true potential, and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond their limitations.^[1]

Yep--you are a team! And, you will, always and forever, be MY KIDS!

He Loves Me

My husband and I aren't the lovey, dovey, gag me kind of couple.  Never have been. But, I know he loves me.

• He turns off the bedroom TV when I fall asleep in front of it.
• When people call after 9, he tells them I'm in bed ('cause I usually am!)
• He tells them I'm busy when they call  on Sunday bath nights
• He calls and says, "How about we order out tonight?"
• He cooks.
• He "lets"  me stay at the lake most of the summer while he has to go home to work.
• He defends teachers--especially to the "Must be nice to be off at 4" or "Must be nice to have the summer off" people.  

District speech contest is this weekend, so as always, he was going to go and visit his brother tonight.  He hates to stay home alone.  But with a  snowstorm coming, he probably wouldn't have made it today, so he went last night.

When I got home late from school, the outside light was on so I could see, the shovel was pulled across the cement in front of the house--over the ice patch that has formed, and the kitchen light was on.

But what made me chuckle was the note on the fridge board. I guess he thought I wouldn't notice these things...

Deb

Walk along the fence.

Big ice patch has formed from faucet.

Out of milk soon.

Love,

Greg

Even when he's gone, he's here and taking care of me.  That's love.

A Special Thank-You "You Matter"

Just had to show off my new "You Matter" picture.  The wonderfully talented Christy Rush-Levine made if for me (she also made herself a new header for her blogs).  Of course, then I had to redesign my blog again to go along with it.

Christy is starting a new blog also for her former students--students who want and need books to read now that they are in high school.  It's called Reading Beyond the Middle. I love that she is going out of her way to make sure they have good book recommendations to keep them reading long after they have left her classroom.

So this week's You Matter goes to Christy for going out of her way to make sure her students know they  matter.

You Matter: All Vets Everywhere

I woke up this morning thinking about them--well, not just them, but all the Veterans I know.  Cousins, nephews, former students, friends. They all matter. But there are two who are special, and I wondered what they were doing today.

I've written about them before. My "adopted sons"--students who through the course of  years I became extremely close to.  Josh, my reading machine, and Daniel, my former speech student; both are young men I am proud to know. But today, Veteran's Day 2011, I want to share my pride. They matter, you see, not just to me, but to all of us. They serve their country proudly.

I walked into the cafeteria for morning duty and looked around. The Veteran's were there in uniform, eating breakfast at a special table set up just for them  They looked so proud in their uniforms. And there he stood in his Army fatigues, filling his tray in the breakfast line with the older Vets. I felt tears welling up as Josh came over and gave me a big hug.

The tears spilled during our Veteran's Day assembly as I watched him, in uniform, sit in front of our junior and senior high school students. Josh said it best when he spoke briefly. "Two years ago, I was sitting where you are, listening to the Vets. Last year I was in Afghanistan. Today, I am proud to stand next to these men up here."

And we are proud of you--both of you--all of you--for serving your country with pride and dignity.

Thank-you.


Another Vet who matters to me is our nephew, Kyle.  He and others have started a company called Oscar Mike, run by and for the benefit of disabled Vets.  Check out their new video and their web site







I AM OSCAR MIKE from OSCAR MIKE on Vimeo.

You Matter Sunday

We've been friends for almost a quarter of a century.  We raised our kids together--everything from diapers to driving. We cheered those kids on through rock bands and basketball teams, high school musicals and college tests, dating to weddings.

We bought lake trailers next door to each other. Learned to golf together (although she is now MUCH better than I am).

We cried and hugged through the deaths of parents and the birth of grandkids. I can't imagine her not in my life.

She is one of the strongest women I know and also one of the best friends. She taught me how to stand up for myself. She got me to go out and have fun and until this year, always rode the roller coaster with me.

She buys me presents she keeps for herself. Or gives them to me early so she doesn't keep them for herself. She always has chocolate stash that she willing shares if I need it.

She keeps treats for the dogs in the area, although her family says she doesn't like dogs.

She shares my love of Bobby Sherman, the Osmands, the Jackson 5 and American Idol.

We know the same "lullabies" and can sing the words.

She cries easily and loves fiercely.

She's my friend and today is her birthday.  We can't be together, but I want her to know how much I love and appreciate her. Today and always.

It's Not the What, It's the Who!

It's 5:00am and I woke early.  Not sure why, but I am.  I was going to post about being evaluated today, but I read blogs and checked Twitter instead.

I reread Christy's Slice of Life from Tuesday again because I love the way she wrote her post about the young man in her classroom. The intro, especially, grabbed my attention and I wanted to use it today as a mentor text with my freshman. But most importantly, she is connecting and making difference in that young man's life.

I read a new blog for me, but one I enjoy, JennM at I Hablo Espanglish. She made an analogy to the starfish story and two students at school.  One she kept from being bullied at lunch, one she helped get her locker fixed. She made a difference in those two lives.

And then Michelle tweeted a post. I generally read anything she tweets about because it's usually good stuff! And it was again this morning. A new blog to follow Justin Stortz at Pursuing Context. Justin comes right out and says the important theme running through these blogs--It's not what we teach, but who!

So, as I go back to looking over my lesson for today, as I make sure my room is in order and the SmartBoard works, as I teach a mini lesson on writing great leads for their personal narratives, I need to remember that the what I am teaching is not the most important thing in the classroom--although it might be the easiest thing to observe and evaluate.

These are

 

You Matter Sunday

Today's shout out goes to the entire staff  at Crestwood High School.  This includes not only the teachers and administrative staff, but the paras, nurses, secretaries, and custodians. No matter what gets said around town, you are making a difference in the lives of the teenagers we see every day.

 I watch as you arrive early to work with the kid who just doesn't get it.
 I watch as you stay far beyond 4:00pm to do the same thing.

I see that you take students under your wing and give them the love that they aren't getting at home (and sometimes the kick in the rear that they need!)
I see you cry when bad things happen and you don't know what to do.

You take on jobs without extra pay because it's good for kids.
You work hard at creating a welcoming, learning environment.

For all this and more, You Matter.

You Matter Sundays

Lately I've been thinking about this blog a lot and the format for it. I knew it would be easier to come up with topics to write about if I designated certain days to certain topics. Now I don't want to be limited to writing about Chloe only on Tuesdays or my classroom only on Fridays. But themes might help me write through some writer's block. And then this morning I watched this video from Angela Maiers

Now, Angela gave this talk in June and the video has been roaming around on the internet for awhile--especially around my area because Angela works with our school district periodically. I love her. She inspires me to be a better person. She matters.

But lots of others in my life matter also--family, students, friends, co-workers, fellow bloggers...well, you get the picture. So after watching this video, I decided I would make Sundays my "You Matter" day. A day to write a post telling my world why they matter to me.

This week I'd like to tell you about my new principal and why he matters--

Tim Felderman is young--heck, I think I have dust bunnies under my bed older than he is. But he is a keeper. He tries to visit classrooms EVERY day. Imagine that. A high school principal who comes into your classroom just to see what you are doing. He's enforcing rules that have been around awhile but were not always followed.

He laughs. Even when the jokes on him.

He listens. Even when you don't say things out loud....

He notices. Even when you are trying not to be noticed.

He treats his teachers as professionals. Something some of us haven't felt in awhile.

So Mr. Felderman, this one's for you. You matter.