Lighting a Fire...

The power of speech--not only for the student but the teacher also. The things I learn about my kids and the connections I make are priceless....

I didn't have much hope for him.
I listened to girlfriends and former girlfriends and teachers and former teachers.

In my head I thought, He's probably not going to do much. He'll probably barely get by. 

At least I didn't let the voice in my head come out of my mouth.

Because that voice was wrong.  Really wrong. I am ashamed of myself for even letting that little voice whisper.

This is a great kid with passions most people in the school don't know about. Well, now they do. Because I've been sharing part of his story with everyone since last Tuesday.

One of my favorite speeches for kids to give in class are demonstration speeches. I encourage them to

share with the class something they really love, something they are pretty good at. I have kids who think they aren't good at anything. I have kids who try to make a joke of the speech by tying shoes or something similar, but most of the kids share something important.

This year, as the class was talking about possible topics, H mentioned that he works with glass--makes necklaces and knick knacks. Really?  I thought. He was so excited about sharing this and his excitement was contagious. Kids kept asking him about it. He brought in some pieces he had made. So we figured out a way for H to bring in his equipment.

He got permission from the principal and the Industrial Tech teacher to bring his torch and propane to the shop and set up in there. Now this was scary for two reasons. A. The principal--what kid wants to voluntarily go there? B. The Industrial Tech teacher is also the head football coach. He's loud and intimidating. But H did it. And they both agreed.

On speech day he was really supposed to be finishing up some standardized testing, but I pushed that back a day. He was ready and excited and I wasn't going to crush his enthusiasm.  The whole class followed him down to the shop where he had his equipment set up.

He started in. We recorded his speech on an iPad, so I could just rewatch if I needed to.

I didn't though.

He was magnificent.

I can't begin to describe how proud I was or explain the tears that threatened to fall. He held his

audience in the palm of his hand. And that audience gained a new respect for him. The Industrial Tech teacher stood and watched with just the hint of a smile on his face. I think he learned a little bit

more about the kid too :)

Yesterday during inservice, I wrote him a little note about how proud I was of him and stuck it in his locker to find this morning.  To quote him, "Thanks for the note Mrs. Day. It made my day." 

The power of relationship building--not only for the student but the teacher also. 

Celebrate

Here I sit, on the first weekend of no lake time, wrapped in a blanket, drinking coffee and very content.  As much as I will miss the lake later this winter, today, it is comforting to be nesting and enjoying home today.  I have time to clean and and grade some papers, to watch football and grade some papers, nap and grade some papers, binge watch something and grade some papers.  You're seeing a theme here, right?  It's the end of first quarter next Friday, so grading papers will be top priority.

I tried something new for me this week--I created learning stations for editing and revising in my Creative Writing classes (Shout out to two of our Instructional Coaches for letting me talk out what I wanted to do and for checking in with my kids while I was gone the first day).  They seem to be working well for most kids. I mini-conferenced with them all on the second day and most seem to like knowing exactly what I wanted them to do. And the checklist--they loved the checklist.  I'll be writing a blog post about this process later in the week. So if you want to know more about this, check back!

This was Demonstration Speech week in Speech classes. Holy Cow. Some kids blew me away.  One of my "at-risk" kids demonstrated how to create glass objects to use for jewelry, etc.  He had the entire class mesmerized. Never underestimate the power of a student's passion!

Well, it's time to start grading some of those papers. Hope all of you had a week full of celebrations!

Celebrating Moments

"I can't be a leader, but I would sure help someone."

And just like that, in a single moment, a friendship of almost 30 years was born. I haven't had the words--still not sure they are there. But one moment he was here

and then he wasn't.

Cancer stole him from us last week.





But there are still moments to celebrate--we spent the summer stealing moments before cancer took him. Precious moments for his wife, but also the rest of us. There were concerts, and meals, and laughter. There was a golf day the Saturday before.

I felt luckier than his wife when he was stolen because we are still in the town where they lived and worked for so many years. I received a great deal of love when the news broke. I felt guilty. Guilty I was receiving what was in reality hers. But lucky too. Because people cared.

Since last spring I haven't written, haven't blogged, haven't shared celebrations. Not because I didn't find things to celebrate, but because they were private. Memories to be kept in my heart.

It's time to share again.....

• The picture above is of a tile that was given to me by a student when she heard the news of my "other husband's" death. She didn't know that "Moments" is my OLW for the year. I bought a plate stand for it and it sits on a shelf in my room where I can see it every day.
• Our oldest son and his wife bought a new house this summer. It was a long struggle, but she told me as soon as they walked into it, she knew it was home. Much like the story of Greg and I when we found ours. Today we are heading there to watch a Hawkeye football game. Our son bought a smoker and is cooking all the food. They invited many lake people to join the party. I'm sure his "other dad" will be looking down and smiling....
• We're closing up the cabin at the lake next weekend, but plans are already in the works to get together during the winter months. We need each other. And there will be moments....
• My kids at school this year are amazing. I'm loving my time with them. I promise I'll share my moments with them in the coming weeks!

That's all for today. Hug your family. Love your life.  I'll see you next week.

"This Is Me, Giving 100%"

Last year was not my finest as a teacher.
I taught like a short-timer.
Everything I did was just "good enough".
I let negative thoughts about certain kids color my connections with them.

To quote Michael Phelps, "I had no passion and wasn't really too into it. I had no motivation."

A wonderful thing happened--an amazing student teacher entered my classroom and it rejuvenated me. She reminded me of the excitement of teaching.

And I realized, I didn't want to be done yet, but if I was going to keep going, I needed an attitude adjustment. I didn't want to retire after my worst year, I want to leave on top of my game. To quote Phelps again, "I never wanted to look back 20 years down the road and say 'what if I did this differently, what if I did that differently'. This is me giving 100 percent."

So, mentally I am ready. I'm looking forward to classes and kids. I have long range plans for a couple of classes I've been less than enthusiastic about. I'm ready to make new?  better? improved connections with students. I have a new mindset.

This is me. Giving 100%

{solsc} 28/31 #sol16 Currently

Currently

Listening: The gentle snores of Chloe sleeping on the couch. She loved visiting my family and our kids this weekend, but it made for a couple of long days, with no naps for her.  Today, she seldom left the couch, even as nice as it was outside.

Loving: This new season of "Dancing With the Stars" (and now my Monday nights are complete again. Aside from a couple, this season's stars have great potential and have already danced some amazing performances.

Thinking: School starts back up tomorrow. I keep thinking of what I have to do when I get there in the morning. But the truth is, my student teacher is in charge. We talked about her plans and what she'll be doing with the kids this week. I plan to work on a new unit for after she's gone.  

Wanting: A hot fudge sundae, with peanuts. That's what I really want. But I settled for Greek yogurt.

Needing: Honestly. Nothing. My life is pretty great right now (well, aside from other people's health issues). I guess my need is for those I love to be healthy.

Pet Peeve: When my husband makes a phone call right as I call him for dinner.  I understand why he was calling...it just bugs me :)

{solsc} 26/31 #sol16 Even This Week

You've had those weeks, haven't you?

   

This week we've found out that my husbands twin brothers will both be having major surgery a day apart. One will have a quadruple bypass and the other will be having surgery to remove cancer on his tongue. And then we found out that one of our very best friends was told surgery wasn't possible and he has maybe a year to live.

This all sucks.  And it's hard to celebrate. 

But I will.

Because both my mom and sister (cancer survivors) received clean bills of health. We went to my hometown on Friday to visit and enjoyed the time we got to spend with everyone. We then drove north and spent time with our boys and their families. It was just the thing we needed--to laugh and love with our kids and grandkids. :)

My husband and I are both healthy. And trust me. We have been making sure of that. 

We hit fourth quarter at school, so summer is right around the corner. As much as I've enjoyed this year, summer will be welcomed.  

Even though we received 5 or 6 inches of snow, plus ice, on Thursday, it really wasn't so bad. If you have to have a late snow day, having it the day before Easter break is a good time to have it. 5 day weekend! And, it's melting pretty quickly. 

My resolution for the last five days is to write posts worth reading and not rush them before bed!  Let's hope I can do it!

{solsc} 25/31 #sol16 Cancer sucks

We moved to the area about the same time and met when our oldest sons joined the local Cub Scout pack.  I volunteered to be a leader, Tom was willing to help. Little did we know almost 30 years later, the four of us would still be friends.

We've helped raise each other's kids, celebrated holidays, birthdays, and graduations together. We've been neighbors both in town and the lake. We go to concerts together and enjoy each others company in the quiet of a campfire. 

We've supported each other through the deaths of parents, kids getting in trouble and health issues. Only now, this latest health issue will separate us, will rip apart a friendship strong enough to survive anything. Anything except this.

Cancer sucks.