New Theme Song

If I had a theme song to my life, right now it would be this.

GABE:

I am what you want me to be 

And I'm your worst fear, you'll find it in me

Come closer

Come closer

I am more than memory, I am what might be 

I am mystery 

You know me

So show me

When I appear it's not so clear if I'm a simple spirit or I'm flesh and blood

But I'm alive, I'm alive, I am so alive

And I feed on the fear that's behind your eyes 

And I need you to need me, it's no surpise 

I'm alive, so alive

I'm alive. 

I am flame and I am fire

I am destruction, decay, and desire

I'll hurt you

I'll heal you

I'm your wish, your dream come true

And I am your darkest nightmare too

I've shown you

I own you

And though you made me, you can't change me

I'm the perfect stranger who knows you too well

But I'm alive, I'm alive I am so alive

And I'll tell you the truth if you let me try.

You're alive, I'm alive, and I'll show you why

I'm alive, so live

I'm alive

I'm right behind you.

You say forget but I'll remind you.

You can try to hide but you know that I will find you.

'Cause if you won't grieve me, you won't leave me behind.

Oh, how, oh

Woah

Woah

No, no, no

I'm alive, I'm alive, I am so alive.

If you climb on my back then we both can fly

If you try to deny me, I'll never die

I'm alive, so alive 

I'm alive

Yeah yeah

I'm alive

I'm alive

I'm alive 

I'm alive

Will write about this song later. Wanted to put this out here first. 

Later.

- JC

Ugh!

Today I made one of my students cry. Evidently, he cried all the way home.

Not going to say much about the situation that happened. Let's just say that it was two friends were goofing off at the end of the day, and they both made a bad judgement call. Nothing mean or vindictive.

I sent an email to his mother before I left work today to let her know what had gone on and to try to help her ease her son's mind. She replied back thanking me for how we handled the situation. She also said that he was very upset. Ugh!

I hate it when my students cry...especially when it is a student that is as awesome as this one. I almost ended up crying too because of this whole thing. I am such a sap sometimes.

Is it a good thing or a bad thing...

Is it good or bad that my phone has been completely SILENT all day long?

I am not kidding you when I say that I have not had one phone call or even a text message.

What does that say about my life right now?

Okay, now I making myself feel bad. Ugh!

Now I need music...

To Save a Life : Part 2

As I said in my last post, I went to the movies last night to see To Save a Life. I had not heard a single thing about this movie until some time yesterday when I pulled up our local theater on Fandango to see what was playing. After watching the trailer, I knew I had to go see it.

The story is about a high-school senior named Jake Taylor. He is you all American, boy next door type of guy. He is the one that everyone wants to hang out with and/or secretly wishes they were him. (I will admit that I know those people in high school, and yes I secretly wanted to be one of them.) Jake's world is turned upside down when his childhood friend, Roger, takes his own life in the middle of the high school halls. Jake is devastated and feels a great deal of guilt. He wonders if he could have done more to save Roger. He then decides to try and save others like Roger.

I don't want to give any part of the movie away. I sat in that theater just thinking about how the kids portrayed in this film are like the ones I see every day in our schools. There are those kids who feel completely cut off from the rest of their classmates, whether it be intentional or not. One of the hardest scenes for me to watch was of Jonny (played by Sean Michael Afable) cutting on himself. For those of you unfamiliar with cutting, it is a practice where someone will cut on their skin, typically with a razor blade, deep enough to bleed in order to inflict pain. Having had a group of students who were cutting a few years back, it brought these horrible memories back. I cringed in my chair trying to hold back any tears that were coming.

This movie has just about everything a high school kid might experience: school divisions, school violence, cutting, suicide, teen pregnancy, bullying, and even divorce. While it may be difficult for some to watch, I believe that the writers of this movie hit the nail dead on with their ideals of high school life.

In truth, my heart was hurting for these kids in the movie...all of them. I could see some of me in some of them. It was a comparison I never wanted to make, but it naturally came about during the movie. While I dealt with or just observed many of the issues faced in this movie, I am glad to say that we never had to deal with suicide while I was in high school. I don't know how I could have handled it if someone I knew took their life.

What would be worse is wondering if there was something more I could have done to reach out and save that person.

The central question that this movie makes is "What's my life going to be about?"

Sitting in that theater, I began to examine my life. I looked at where I had been, what I had done, and where was my life going. I also looked at the hard question of what's my life going to be about. If the story of my life were written, what would it say? Who's lives did I affect? Was there more I could have done? Did my life make a difference in the world? All of these questions have been cycling in my head all day.

The truth is that I have absolutely no idea what my life is going to be about. I don't think I have gotten there yet. I have much more self-exploration to do. I have so many bridges I need to cross in order to discover who I am to become.

Looking back, I feel as though I have had some sort of affect on the world. I am a teacher, and I have tried to show compassion and caring for all students in my care. I have tried to make each of them feel as though they are loved, valued, needed, and can make a difference in this world. They need to know that all their dreams are possible if they work towards them. In that way, I think I have made a difference.

Now, as I look to leave teaching in the next few months, I have to wonder "what is my life going to be about?" This is the part that is so hazy for me. I don't know what to think or where to begin. I do have some ideas of what I would like to do in this world.

And on that note, I think I will save those ideas for another day. I will definitely share them, mainly because there is one idea in particular that I would love to get your opinion on soon.

Not quite sure where this post began and even if it ended where I needed it to end. It may have been all over the place. Let's just say this movie hit me on a very personal level and has had my mind racing all weekend with questions.

Take care of yourselves.

Till next time.

- JC

Has Anyone Else...

I must be living deep inside my cocoon lately.

Has anyone else heard of this movie called To Save a Live? I pulled up the movie listings for our local movie theater this morning and saw it listed. I clicked on the trailer and did not recognize it. (trailer below)

Am I the only person who did not know of such a movie? Have I been so busy that I have not had the chance to see a preview of it somewhere?

It looks to the potential to be an incredible movie. It is certain to tug on the ole heart-strings. I decided that I would go see it this evening. I love a good movie night...even if possibly going alone. (Where is everyone around this town?)

Has anyone had the chance to see it? If so, let me know what you thought of it.

How to Meditate

This week I have been teaching my 6th graders about world religions. We have been discussing the origins of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the current practices of both. Understand that I am working in the Bible Belt of America. The majority of my student population is of the Christian faith. That is all they have ever known. One of the reasons I enjoy teaching Hinduism and Buddhism is that part of their faith is understanding and acceptance of all people. I work to teach my students that the people of the world believe in a variety of religions, but that so many of them share many many similarities. This has certainly been my favorite unit to teach so far this year. 

I thought it would be interesting to explore the world of meditation with my students. We discussed the purpose of meditation in the Buddhist faith and its assimilation into our modern-day society. Again, it is all about opening their eyes and minds to the world outside our little fishbowl. 

I found this video to help my students understand the basics of meditation. 

After watching the video, the students were excited to try it. They all got onto the floor and were ready to go. I was amazed. The majority of them gave meditating an honest attempt. I sat there with my jaw on the floor. You could easily see the ones who were getting into it. They were as still as I had ever seen them. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock. One of my favorites was "Chris" who was completely into meditating, then watching his head just tilt to the side as he fell asleep. He was gone. When the students were done, he did not wake up. It was great. 

I let them try it for 5 minutes. (Baby steps!) 

Once I pulled them back to Earth we talked about what they experienced. They were surprised that their minds were racing in the beginning. The more they focused on their breathing, the less they sensed of the world around them...thoughts left them...external sounds were gone...some even admitted that they didn't even notice their breath in the end. I asked them why they thought this was happening. Some of them tuned into the fact that as they focused on their breathing, all other senses were tuned out. I love when they make the connections we work so hard for them to get. 

(Note: I have to believe them, but I also know the ones who are going to say just about anything.) 

It was probably the best day we have had all year. Who knew that something so simple would excite them so much? The students walked in today and the first question was "Are we going to meditate today?" I am going to think about taking a 5-10 minute part of each class to allow the students to meditate.

I have heard of teachers that do meditation in their classes. They all report better behavior and increased performance in their students. Why would I not want to try it? What will my principal think when she sees "Meditation" on my lesson plans? 

This post turned out much longer than I planned. Just got a bit excited. The fun of new discoveries in my teaching world. 

A Reason to Celebrate

Today I received an email from my Aunt P to tell me that my cousin, Paul, is due to return home from Iraq later this week! That's right...his time in that sand trap and back home in the United States.

No disrespect intended for the Middle East. I simply prefer the beauty of the Tennessee. 

This has been Paul's second tour in Iraq. He has been over there since 2009 began. He has been gone way too long. I know he has been waiting for this day for quite a while. I told his wife that I am simply in awe at her strength over the past year. She has spent the year working with the other wives on the base to support each other and the soldiers stationed on the base. One of the things she and the other wives have been doing is to decorate the barracks to welcome home the soldiers returning from their tours of duty and have no one to welcome them home. They made sure that each soldier felt love and appreciation. The Army Wives (the real ones...not the TV show) are very strong, brave, and resilient women. More power to them! 

Paul's wife and kids made the decision not to open Christmas presents until he came home from Iraq. It makes me smile just to think about the fact that over the weekend Paul will return home, he will get to see how much his kids have grown, they will all spend some much needed time together, and they will play catch up on the holidays. What could be a more perfect welcome back that to celebrate Christmas with your four children? 

I wish I could travel to the base to help the family welcome him back and to simply say thanks for the sacrifice he made for all of us. Luckily, the base offers an alternative. I will be able to watch the welcome home ceremonies over the web. Gotta love technology! 

That is my good news for the day. 

If you know or happen to run into our military servicemen or women, be sure to say thank you for the sacrifices they continue to make for us.

Till next time.

- JC

Even in Japanese...IT ROCKS!

Random post!

I was goofing around on YouTube last night and I came across these music videos for the Broadway show Spring Awakening.

Okay, so they are all in JAPANESE. I don't know why, but that made it even more fun. Okay, so I am a Spring Awakening  fanatic. Ever since I saw the show on Broadway I have been hooked. Yes, the subject matter is pretty racy, but you cannot deny the awesomeness of the music and the forthrightness of it all.

Best friend, Jen, has gotten tickets for us to go see it in March during the national tour. If you look for me, I promise you I will be easy to spot. I will be the one singing every lyric to every song in the show. Who knows, I might even be the one dancing in the isle.

Just wanted to share something totally off the wall. I am off to bed.

Night,
- JC

Words

Today I was reminded of one very simple truth...my words can make a difference in this world.

That may sound conceited, but I promise you that is certainly not the case.

Today I was pretty upset by an article written in our local newpaper. It was written to single out a teacher and a principal who were arrested for DUI back in November and December. The paper went into great detail of the police reports and any other information related to these incidences.

Before anyone tries to say anything, I was not upset that they were named in the paper...sort of. What upset me was the fact that common sense tell me there were many more DUI arrests made in our area from November 29 (the date of the first incident) until now. The paper specifically chose to single out these educators.

We called the reporter who wrote the article to ask what was the goal or purpose of writing this article and placing it on the front page of the paper. The reporter told us that it was his duty to report these arrests given the fact those involved were educators. He went on to say that the public had a right to know about the arrests simply because the educators' salaries are paid through tax dollars. He also went on to tell us that his editor was the one who asked him to research and write about these incidences.

I am upset by the double standard in the press. Why single out just teachers?

So in my anger and haste, I began drafting a letter to the editor of our local paper. I simply pointed out that I did not believe it was right to report on one particular profession because they were paid through tax dollars and to exclude all other professions funded through tax dollars.

In my letter, I pointed out that it should include city officials, judges, attorneys, bookkeepers, policemen, firefighters, animal control officers, city maintenance workers, and even our trash collectors. I even went so far as to suggest they should then look into the records of doctors since they were being paid with Medicare and other state funded insurance programs.

Finally, I decided to say that it seemed to me that the press had decided to publicly render a guilty finding on these individuals in the public eye by printing this article. I reminded them that any man or woman is innocent until proven guilty in the eyes of justice.

All in all, it was a great letter. If anyone would like to read the real thing, email me and I will send it. Remember, I need to keep some form of anonymity here.

As the day went on, I calmed down. I talked with several local and state union leaders to discuss the possibility of sending this letter. Someone pointed out that I have spent the entire school year rebuilding the relationships among the Director of School. our School Board, and the local teachers' union. If this letter were to be printed it could burn some bridges with the school administration, thereby destroying everything I have spent an entire year to rebuild.

Being in these leadership positions, I have learned that I sometimes have to take a step back, take many deep breaths, and then carefully choose the words I say. I am at a point in life where some very important local, state, and national leaders will be listening to what comes out of my mouth. My opinions matter.

The same can be said for life in general. I sometimes need to stop and think about the words I am using. It is never my intention to hurt or offend anyone. As a teacher, I am careful to choose my words so that they will show respect to all individuals. I never use words or phrases such as stupid, shut up (my personal pet peeve),  sucks, etc. As a human being, I try to choose my words in such a way that a person feels at ease around me and also knows I will be there to support them.

So, the moral of today's lesson is to choose your words carefully. You may never know the affect they may have on someone.

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IN OTHER NEWS

This week looks to be another whirlwind. I have two meetings plus the gym on Tuesday afternoon, a meeting and a spin class on Wednesday (yes, MNJ, SPIN CLASS...sorry I will miss your pink leg warmers. I would pay good money for that one!), a parent meeting on Friday, and a morning breakfast with state legislators on Saturday. My poor calendar looks like it is drowning in ink.

I want to send a shout out to Ryan and his brother Ty. Ty was in an accident last week and has been in the hospital since that time. He came out of the medically induced coma late last week, had the breathing tube removed a couple days ago, and is continuing to make improvements. I continue to pray for you guys and your family. It may be a long road ahead, but you know everyone will be here to support you.

Another shout out to Dean. My bud has been dealing with another bout of depression this past week. I knew something was up when I wasn't hearing from him. Dean, I have you can pull out of this current bout. I know you continue to struggle, but I know the strength is within you. All you have to do is believe it is there, pull it forward, and put it to use. I am aware that there is no simple answer for you. However, never forget that I will be here for you when you need someone to talk to about whatever. I am here!

My thoughts are with so many of you every day although I may not express it. Know I am thinking of each of you in my life, and I will be here for you as well. We all have struggles, bouts of depression, but we all also have those wonderful times in our lives. I will be here for those, too.

Okay! I had some other thoughts that I wanted to share, but I find I am not ready to lay it all out for you just yet. There are some very intricate details that I need to go over before I decide to discuss this one. That will be for another day.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Take Care,

- JC

A Very Windy Road Ahead...Right?

Good morning, blog world!

Yesterday's meeting was quite a whirlwind. We spent 5 hours discussing new education legislation that was passed last week. It was amazing to see the raw emotion expressed by my fellow educators. Some of this new legislation is very drastic in the changes that will be forthcoming. There were many looks of disbelief and, in some, panic.

As I sat in that meeting my thoughts were constantly going back to my school system. I realized just how far ahead of the game my school system is in comparison to the rest of the state. I know NO school system in our state that has teachers that work as hard as ours do. There is no school system that has the success rate that ours does. Our teachers consistently have one focus in mind...the success of our children. We work before school, after school, on weekends, on vacations, etc. It is not rare to find a number of teachers at the schools on a Sunday afternoon.

Today I find myself preparing to write a letter to the entire school system to discuss this new legislation and what changes are coming their way. (Why me? I am the president of our school system's teachers' union.) I have to be the one who will reassure our faculty and staff that we will be just fine...there is NOTHING to worry about. I must assure our teachers that this new legislation will be minimally obtrusive, simply because we are already doing what is now being required in law.

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Why did I tell you all that? I am just airing out my thoughts. That what this blog is for, right?

In truth, I have been amazed at the path my life has taken in recent years. I surely could never have imagined all that I am involved with at this point.

I never expected to be involved in so many different organizations that require me to work with legislators, lobbyists, and governors. I didn't expect to be part of advisory councils that govern and oversee state education programs. I never would have guessed that I would be the president of a local teachers' union, and that I would become "the face" in our system. I am the one that the teachers turn to when they have questions, concerns, issues, etc. I am rebuilding relationships with the school board, the director of schools, and our union. I have been given the task to reunite us as one team. It has been an adventure.

I am not saying all this to boast or to feed my ego. Those who know me, personally, know will probably tell you that I put everyone else before myself. I am always the last person in my list of priorities.  I am simply amazed by the path I have been given.

After our state meeting yesterday, one of the state directors posed a very interesting question to me. She asked if I would be interested in running for the office of President-Elect for the state union. WHAT? That was my initial reaction. My hands shake just thinking about that. Why me? True, I have thought that someday I would like to be president of the state union. I could see myself in that role later in my life...but, in three years from now?

The president-elect is just another name for the vice president of the union. The president-elect is basically the one who will spend three years at the side of the president. Those three years would be spent training to ascend to the role of president at the end of those three years.

I have decided to pray about it and to also talk to a number of people across the state. I need more information and will have to spend some time weighing the pros and cons.

If I did decide to run for the office, and I was elected, I would have to remain as an educator. This job I have been seeking for the past few months would have to be turned down if offered. That is something I would need to consider first. Do I want to give up that possibility? If I do remain in the school, do I really want to remain at the middle school I am at now given the amount of stress I have with being there? Would I decide to transfer to one of the elementary schools in our system? How will this affect my life?

I will say this as just a final thought. Being the president-elect means requires a huge time commitment over the next three years. There will be a considerable amount of travel in our state and in our nation. I would be asking the teachers in my state to put their trust and confidence in me...all these people who don't even know me, yet.

What will be my decision? Where will this windy road ahead of me lead? What is His plan for me?

It is said that God only gives us what He knows we can handle in this life. My thought is simply WHAT DOES HE THINK OF ME?

Okay, enough of this little rant. Just wanted to share this new little twist in life. I am off to the school this afternoon to get some lesson plans done. We are out of school tomorrow for Martin Luther King Day. I plan on spending several hours tomorrow hiking in the Appalachians, so I need to get the school work done today.

Hope everyone is doing well. Hope to hear from or talk to some of you soon.

Take care,

- JC

Breakfast of Champions

I am on the road this weekend, like many weekends I have had in recent months. I got up this morning, walked right past the hotels breakfast and made a beeline for Starbucks. The irony in this is that I don't drink coffee. My weakness is a caramel apple spice. I love them. of course I had to find something to munch on for breakfast while there. I decided on this toffee pecan bar. Well, I am a true southerner and the toffee pecan bar tastes just like a pecan pie. Yummmmmmmm!

So that is my breakfast of champions while on the road.

Shortly I am leaving the hotel to go to my meeting that will run the length of the day. Yes, I have a very long meeting on a Saturday. The plus side is that they are predicting temperatures in the mid-50s to upper-60s. We have been in a deep freeze for weeks and I am ready for the warmer temps. (I need my flip-flops!)

Focus...focus...focus...

Anyway, this meeting will be a very emotion-filled one because what we are discussing today will affect thousands of teachers across our state. I expect that there will be a lot of moaning, groaning, and maybe even some pulled hairs. (Not mine, I promise! I have learned over the years to remain calm. It will all work out somehow.) I guarantee we will all go back to our teachers and work to reassure all of them that we will prevail.

Note: For those of you totally lost, I promise to clarify all of this once I get all the specific info on the legislation that was just passed.


Wow, I have run out of time. Got to run. Hope that everyone has a great weekend. I will talk to you all soon!

Take care,
- JC

A Dose of Inspiration for Us All

Only in a Teacher's Life

Today was just too funny to not post about this. One of the greatest parts of teaching is the interactions with my students. Today was certainly no exception.

First of all, it has to be said...I can be a weeeee bit sarcastic.

One of my students, Michael, thinks he is the smartest person in the room. Today I was throwing around a bit of sarcasm in class. Promptly, Michael turns around to me and the following conversation occurs.

Michael: Was that sarcasm?
Me: Possibly....
Michael: Well, I don't like sarcasm.
Me: (with this look of disbelief on my face) Son, you are in the wrong classroom!

What I love about this is that Michael loves to use sarcasm. He is one who likes to dish it out, but he doesn't like to take it. I just laughed when he made that comment. The class, as astute as ever, laughed right along with me.

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In my last class I was teaching about the ancient caste system of India. We continued the discussion of arranged marriages. That led to quite a discussion among the kids. We also talked about how it was acceptable for a man to take a second wife during this time period if he and his first wife could not produce children.

I could see the neurons firing away in some of the students' heads. Anthony raised his had to ask me a question.

Anthony:  Does that mean if I were to have 19 wives and none of them produced children then I could marry and have a 20th wife.
Me: (after a quick moment to process it all) Anthony, if you were to have 19 wives and NONE of them were to produce a child then I can safely say there is absolutely nothing wrong with your wives. The problem would be YOU.

It took him a moment to process that. My higher level students were cracking up...they got it. Anthony had the best look of confusion on his face.

Oh, I love teaching middle school kids.

Note: I am happy that Anthony did not ask me to clarify my statement. I did not want to get into a lesson on human reproduction. That is not part of my curriculum nor part of my contract.

Busy Week Ahead...ALL HANDS ON DECK

Okay, I could not got by another day without showing you the calendar I bought for 2010. Actually, I have bought the same calendar for the past 5 years or so. It is the funniest thing I have found. It is up in my classroom. My students always ask "Why do you have a calendar of nuns?" Once they take a look in it, they just laugh at it. The love it, too!

Anyway, the calendar is a sign of a crazy schedule I have this week.

Monday
I have to submit 64 pages of our school's yearbook before midnight. Almost finished right now, but it will take a little work in the afternoon.

After school I will be headed off to two meetings. The first is with our congressman. He is holding a town hall meeting to discuss the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. For you teachers, you know the kind of emotion this stirs. For those non-teachers, let me just say that the idea of NCLB is good, but the expectations are unrealistic. It is time for some changes to the bill. Should be an interesting 2 hours.

The second meeting will take place after meeting with the Congressman. This meeting is to review the changes to the teacher contract before we ask the teachers to approve it. Will be a long night.


Tuesday
Seems to be my only quiet day...that is surely to change.


Wednesday
Parent-teacher conference scheduled during my planning period and lunch time. I also have a faculty meeting after school. After that, I will be off to the doctor for a checkup.


Thursday
I am heading to Nashville for the first gubernatorial debate of this election season in Tennessee. It is an opportunity for each candidate to lay out their plans for education. I will be leaving school as soon as it ends, and it is a 4 hour drive afterward. I should arrive right on time.


Friday
Have a meeting scheduled in Nashville. It is a planning meeting for an event being put on in February.


Saturday
I will be in a council meeting most of the day to discuss, what else...education!


Sunday
I am off to see the University of Tennessee Lady Vols pummel the Vanderbilt Commodores. I cannot wait. It was be an awesome time. Love me some Lady Vols Basketball.

There you have it...my week in a nutshell. Obviously I may not be online much this week. Getting back into the swing of things at full steam ahead.

Have a great week.
- JC

Skin

Today I have spent at my house just getting some work done. When left to my own devices, I tend to think through a lot of stuff going on in my head. Today was no exception.

First, let me mention the inspiration behind this post.

Let me introduce you to Mike Manning. Mike is a cast member of the newest installation of The Real World: DC.

During the second episode of the show we find Mike heading off to an interview for an internship at the Human Rights Campaign. For those of you unfamiliar with the HRC (You would have to be living under a rock in America not to know who they are.), it is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for all Americans regardless of their sexual orientation.

During his interview, Mike was asked to talk about why he wanted to intern with the HRC. He said that it was only recently that he had begun to feel comfortable in his own skin.  With that one statement he got the gears in my head running.

Here's the deal, I have never really felt that comfortable in my own skin. There is no other way to put it. It accounts for a great deal of the self-esteem issues I have had my entire life. Because I have always been so uncomfortable with who I am, it took me so many years to finally accept who I was. At that point I ultimately had to be comfortable with myself on some level.

Yes, I have accepted who I am. With that portion I am becoming more and more comfortable everyday. However, there is so much more.

One of the reasons I don't date is that I am still not completely comfortable with who I am. I am not comfortable showing emotion, affection, etc. I especially not comfortable showing emotion or affection in public.  Every time I am out in public, I am constantly looking around to see who is watching (and judging).

The irony here is that I have lived so much of my life caring what others thought about me...more so that what I thought of myself. I allowed society to judge and rule my life. I made the decision about two years ago, about the time I began coming out, to no longer care what everyone else thought of me. Well, in truth, I still care about that on some level.

Can I ever be truly happy if I am not comfortable in my own skin? At what point do I decide to get there?  How do I go about making that change?

Please understand that I am not in a sad or depressed state. I am simply in reflective mode. It is a bad, bad habit that most teachers have. We are constantly reflecting on everything we do.

Maybe 2010 will be the year I grow comfortable in my own skin. Maybe 2010 will be the year I finally reach the goals I have set for myself...perhaps at that point I will grow comfortable in my own skin.

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And for the record...I am a member of the Human Rights Campaign. It was one of the first things I did when I made the decision to come out to myself. It is a cause I feel very strongly about and a close personal connection to.

In this past year I have found myself wanting to work on behalf of those LGBT members of the teaching society. All of this came to light last summer when I attended an national teachers' conference, and one of their business items was developing a statement in support of equal rights for LGBT teachers.

If/when I get this new job, I will have a voice in politics. Who's to say that I will not move into an arena where LGBT issues are discussed?

The realm of possibilities is endless, and I don't plan on wasting it!

Take care, all!

- JC

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Just a short note to say...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIKEY!

Injured Students & Other Adventures of a Middle School Teacher

In my last post, I forgot to mention this little bit of my day.

I was in the school hallway waiting for my students to transition from their specials classes to lunch when I saw one of my students carrying another student in the hallway. This is most certainly not the norm. I was a bit surprised.

I get told that the injured student, whom I will call Trent, had hurt his ankle during PE. We had them put Trent down to see if he could walk on his wrapped ankle. He tried, but he ended up in tears. I cannot stand to see any of my students cry. It just kills me.

So what does any self-respecting teacher do? I end up carrying Trent to the clinic to take a look at his ankle. To my surprise and dismay, our nurse is out today. All we have is a substitute teacher filling in there. She obviously had no medical or first-aid experience. Lucky for me, I have plenty of experience. (I serve as the camp nurse in the summer. Believe me...PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE!)

I unwrap his ankle to take a look. Thankfully there were no apparent warning signs of a break or any other kind of damage. Most likely, it is just a sprain. By the way, the CRAP that the PE teachers used to wrap his ankle was laughable. I can't even begin to describe what the material was that they used. It was not appropriate, and that set me off.

After I got some ice on his ankle for a few minutes, I went to get him some lunch since he was missing lunch period. Bring his lunch back to him so he can at least eat. Poor kid was still crying a bit. He was obviously still in some pain.

I go back to wrapping his ankle properly. I call his Dad to let him know what has happened. As I mentioned a minute ago, his dad teaches at one of our other schools and he could not come to get his son. Because of our schedules, my school let out 30 minutes before his, so I told him I would bring Trent to him.

Once our school dismissed (2 hours early due to the impending snow storm), I carried Trent through the school halls, out to the parking lot, and into my car. You should have seen the looks from my teaching colleagues as I carried a kid through the hall. What was even more fun was seeing the parents' reactions as they waiting in the car line while I went through the parking lot to my car.

Got Trent to his dad's school. Again, got some crazy looks as I carried a student into the school.

It was a crazy afternoon.

Consequently, this is not the first time I have had to carry a student in the school. It seems that each year a student gets hurt (they are middle schoolers, after all) and has to be carried to the clinic. Last year it was a student who tried to leap frog a stone water fountain on the field. He obviously hit the fountain, knocked it over, and it landed on his leg. He ended up being okay.

The previous year it was one of our girls who was running around the track and somehow sprained her ankle. Had to carry her into the school and into the clinic.

The one that rings out most in my mind is when I had to physically bear hug a student who was trying to fight two other boys. Austin was the little man in this situation, but he didn't care. He was spouting off racial slurs at these two black boys who were (thankfully & wisely) walking away. Austin was going after them. That is when I ran across the muddy field and had to get a hold of Austin. Honestly, I had to jump and grab him like I was some football player...yes, onto the very muddy field.

I had to bear hug this kid and keep a hold of him as he tried to break free and chase these two boys. He continued to yell all these racial slurs. I finally got him to calm down after the other kids were cleared off the field and returned to the classroom. Once I was able to calm him down enough to release him, I walked him into the office where I was FINALLY met by our school's resource officer and the assistant principal. When I got into the office I had mud on me from head to toe, and I was missing my shoes. (They fell off while I was running across the field...Darned sandals.)

Sadly, Austin was returned to juvenile detention within the next few weeks. It is sad, because I had known Austin for a couple years before I knew him as my student. I worked with him and his twin brother while they attended summer camp. They were great kids. It is sad to think that in a couple years his life had taken such bad turns that he ended up being an angry and troubled young man. It just breaks your heart.

Thus endeth my tales of the Middle School Teacher for today. I like telling these stories, and believe me when I tell you I have tons of them. Perhaps I will begin sharing more of my adventures in middle school soon. 

525,600 Minutes

I will admit it! I am most certainly a RentHead!

I first got to see Rent on Broadway in 2003. I knew the music before I had ever seen it. A friend of mine played the CD on a trip to New Orleans for Spring Break in 1999. I remember instantly connecting with the music. I had no idea of the love affair I would have with this show after seeing it LIVE.

Since seeing it in 2003, I have gone on to see it too many more times to count (either on Broadway or national tour). Each time is different, and I love that about the show. What I find hilarious is that you know who your fellow RentHeads are in the audience. Each of you is singing along to every song in the show...we know every line...we are the ones dancing in the audience...we are the ones MOOOOOOOOOOING!

I decided to post about this simply because I ran across the video below. It is (supposedly) a video taken at the very first Broadway performance of Rent back in 1996.

Below are a couple videos taken from the last performance on Broadway.

Just a random thought for the day.

In other news of real life...

It has been a truly insane week. The kids were supposed to come back to school on Tuesday. That did not happen because of snow. We had a two hour hour delay on Wednesday, which meant the kids came back as crazy as ever! Today our schools let out two hours early in anticipation of this supposed blizzard we were getting. Now I find out that schools have been cancelled tomorrow.

Hey, I am definitely NOT complaining about a 3-day weekend.

It is nice that we are going to start fresh on Monday. The kids really have been insane the past two days. They don't know how to handle life when the schedule is not normal. So we deal the best way we can.

Also, my meeting in Nashville got pushed back until the following weekend due to the snow across the state. I don't know if that means I have to wait another week to hear about the job possibility. All the anticipation is killing me. I try not to think about it, but I am constantly being asked by friends if I have heard anything.

I know that good things come to those who wait, but sometimes all this waiting can drive a person to the local psychiatric hospital...kidding.

One last bit of news...I have been talking with a guy named Casey. It has been a barrage of emails back and forth for the past week just trying to get to know each other. Today's email from him made me laugh. He essentially said he had nothing new to add today, but he just felt compelled to email and say Hi. Don't really know where this is going, but if nothing else it will be nice to have another friend in my world. More later.

Have a great weekend!
- JC

Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful

Last night, the director of our school system placed us on a 2-hour delay for the first official day back to school for the kids. I got to work this morning at 6:30, which in my world is terribly LATE. I spent the morning making copies and chatting with my teammate. Wouldn't you know it...school got cancelled just before 8 AM.

I slid back home this morning, and then literally slid my way up the hill in my neighborhood to my house. The entire neighborhood road is covered in some slick snow. I couldn't even make it down my driveway. My car is parked on the street just above the driveway. It is now being covered with snow.

Below is my plan for the day:

(1) Take a power nap.

(2) Clean house.

(3) Work out a bit with the Wii. (Believe me, it can kick some butt!)

(4) Curl up on the couch with my new book, "When You Are Engulfed in Flames," by David Sedaris.

(The man is a comedic genius...check it out!) 

Hope everyone has a great day. More to report later. 

- JC

How Do You Get That Lonely

Today was the first day back to school for the teachers. (Lucky students...they had another day the rest!)

You would suspect that we would have a welcome back breakfast, maybe a muffin, or just a nice "Hi, we are glad you are here" type of greeting. WRONG!

Instead we were treated to a one-hour training on teen suicide. It is a required training, but I have to say that it was a bit depressing to talk about such a dark subject in the first hour of being back at school.

The session started out with the playing of the following song.

During the singing of this song by one of the high school counselors (by the way, she was incredible), you could hear the sobs coming from around the room. They showed a PowerPoint presentation during the song that contained some of the lyrics and pictures that would make any grown man cry...well, at least the ones with a heart. I have to admit, I was crying.

I sat there listening to the story of one young man who was bullied to the point he hung himself in 2003. The, I sat there in amazement as I heard some of the statistics, such as about 60% of high school students have admitted to thinking about ending their life at some point. For every one successfully completed suicide there are at least 25 unsuccessful ones. Girls are 3 times more likely to attempt suicide, but boys are 4 times more successful.

It was a hard topic to swallow this morning, but it really got me thinking. One thing I have never though about is ending my life. I know that I have friends out there in the blog world, and here at home, who have contemplated it at one point or another. It saddens me to no end.

All I wish I could do is hug each of my friends who are considering taking their own life and just let them know that there is a better way.

If you are one of those friends, know I will always be here for you. Please allow yourself to get help. You are loved and you are wanted here on Earth.

Sorry for the morbid topic today, but it has been weighing heavy on my mind. 

The picture above is about the young man we heard about today, Ryan Halligan.

See the video below for his story.

The Possessed Cat

One of my Facebook friends posted this today and I just laugh every time I look at it.

Hopefully it will brighten your day a bit.
- JC

Blast from the Past

What a way to start the New Year...

Tonight I was looking on my Facebook page, and I saw I had a new friend request. I was shocked when I clicked on the link and saw who it was.

Scott was one of the first kids I worked with when I began working at our local summer camp 11 years ago. He was 11, had just moved to our area from Chicago, and was looking to fit in. He had no problem with that. Scott was the best camper we had. He and I clicked instantly. I have a picture of him and some of my other kids from that year somewhere in the house. When I find it, I will have to post it.

Anyway, Scott came back to camp for the next 2 or 3 years after that. I continued to learn more about Scott and his family. He lived with his mom and sister. His dad still lived in Chicago, so he never saw him. I became somewhat of a big brother to him. I would go pick up Scott from his house, we would go to the movies, go play miniature golf, grab a bit for lunch, etc. He was just a fun kid to hang out with.

Well, as time goes by, Scott and I lose contact with each other. I had my nose in the books to finish college, and Scott grew too old for summer camp. I kept a check on him from time to time through mutual friends.

Tonight was a nice surprise. We got the chance to catch up on what each other has been doing since we last spoke. Now I find Scott to be a 22-year old young adult. He has attended community college and graduated with an associates degree. He has been unable to find a job in the field he chose, so he has now decided to go to a 4-year university to get a degree in nursing. I asked him why he chose nursing, and he said he wanted to work in a field where he could help people.

Finding Scott to be a respectable young man who will be returning to college to pursue another field of study makes me proud to have been a part of his life. In some way, I feel I had a hand in helping him become the fine young man he is today. In some ways, he is still the same Scott I knew 11 years ago.

It's funny that even through a decade has passed, we can go back in time and then catch up on where we are today.

It was a great way to start the New Year.
- JC

New Year...New Layout

As you will have noticed, I have changed the layout of my blog. Hope everyone likes it. It is a bit simpler and cleaner, and we all know how my OCD kicks in from time to time. 


Yes, that is a picture of me on the right. 
(Wasn't I a cute kid?)