My Classroom

Just thought I would share with you some pictures from my classroom:

Yes, this is my classroom from today. I am overly OCD, so it is a clean classroom.

Here are a few things I have in the room:

This dragon was a Christmas gift from a Chinese student I had 4 years ago. It is one of the strangest (but completely awesome) gifts I have ever received.

The bears are from my travels. (NYC, London, National Cathedral in Washington DC, and a Tennessee Bear from a UT Football game.)

The disc is from St. John in the Virgin Islands and so are the last two lizards. The top lizard is hand-painted, and I picked him up while in San Diego. 

Just thought I would share part of my world with you today. 

A Glimpse of Tragedy

As I child, I lived in the most perfect subdivision of our town. My house was dead-center of the subdivision, which made my family the center of attention most days. (Everyone loved my crazy & fun dad! He still is a bigger kid that I ever was!) Our subdivision had about 20 houses in it, and almost every house had two or three kids my age. I went to school with all these kids. Many of them were in my classes all the way through high school.

The subdivision was picture perfect. Every lawn was always perfectly manicured. Everyone was growing vegetables in their individual gardens. Every other house had a swimming pool. You never locked your doors at night. We played at each others' houses growing up. We had hide-n-seek across the neighborhood. My neighbors' parents were my parents, too. Everyone in the neighborhood knew your business and took care of you. It was a huge family!

Did I mention we were perfectly situated adjacent to a lake and wooded area. I can remember camping out by the lake each summer. It was beautiful!

Life was perfect!

Fast forward to just after Christmas of 2008...

In the middle of the night there was a loud rumbling. Suddenly, there was a tidal wave of mud, ash, and water headed right for your house...your neighborhood...you! This wave picked up your house and carried it across the street into the neighbor's yard. Your car was mangled and destroyed. The landscape, as you knew it, was no more!

What happened?

In the middle of the night, a earthen-retention wall gave way and let loose millions of gallons of mud, ash, and water from the retention pond located at the TVA Steam Plant, in Kingston, TN. 

TVA is the acronym for the Tennessee Valley Authority. The TVA originated from the public works program instituted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. The TVA is the largest producer of electricity in the south. They provide electricity for all of Tennessee, all the surrounding states, and beyond. TVA manages all of the dams, steam plants, and nuclear plants in the state. 

The failing of the retention wall, and the onslaught of millions of gallons of polluted water changed the world in the area near the Steam Plant. Roads were wiped out, houses destroyed, rail road tracks mangled, and water in places where it had never been before. Miraculously, no one was killed in this incident. That, in itself, was a miracle. 

I look back now and really count our blessings. My father was a heavy-equipment operator for the Steam Plant. He helped build and maintain this earthen-wall. Many times he would have said heavy equipment on top of that wall. I can tell you that one time the machine he was in (most likely a bull-dozer) went off the edge of that wall and into the water. He was stuck in that machine under the water. Luckily he was able to break the glass and escape. But, what if he had been on that wall the day it gave way? I shudder at the thought of it!

My family is lucky. We moved out of that subdivision a few years ago. However, so many of the families I grew up with were still there. I can tell you that even two years later, the area is not the same. It looks so much more like an industrial work zone instead of the beautiful lake-side neighborhoods we all loved and knew. It is extremely saddening to think about it. 

One of the greatest tragedies that has occurred is that the family that have moved away have lost touch with the families they were connected to for so many years. One of my best friends, Callie, and her family have moved to the other side of the state following this incident. I never get to see them anymore. It is sad. 

Just a thought for the day! 

I Love Hillary Clinton!

New Addition

I got quite the surprise today before classes began.

Two of my students, let's call them Callie and Katie, brought me the newest addition to my classroom rubber duck collection. This very much over-sized duck has been named "Moby Duck." We will call him Moby for short. This is rubber duck #121 in the collection. (I actually had one of my students come up to me today to tell me she confirmed we now had 121 ducks...she went around the room and counted them.)

I find it hilarious that the students decided that this duck was a male duck. What makes it even funnier is that this male duck is wearing a PINK rain hat. They finally realize that real men wear pink.

Do the students think that pink is my favorite color? Oh no...they may be on to me.

Love my students!

Questions for Me

Thanks to those who left me a few questions on Formspring. Since I am taking a break from letters I am writing to parents, I thought I would take a moment to answer a few.

What do you like to do during the weekend? Hang out with friends? 


Interesting question to ask for I rarely have a weekend free during the school year. (Yes, I am CONSTANTLY getting scolded for not taking enough ME time in life.)

One weekends that I have free time, you will find me in several different places. If I am staying home for the weekend, I will go to the farmers market early on Saturday morning. I usually store up my supply of goat cheese, freshly grown fruits and vegetables, homemade breads, and Amish donuts. I know some people are thinking "Amish donuts?" Yes, they are incredible. They are made fresh right in front of you. The only drawback is that there is sometimes a one-hour wait in line to get them. They are THAT GOOD!

The rest of the day you might find me hiking on the Appalachian Trail or hiking to some of the beautiful waterfalls in the area. I love being out in nature. There is such a sense of peace when I am out on the trails. Usually I will go alone with my iPod, but I love having friends go with me.

I also enjoy going to the movies. I prefer drama and some comedies. Yes, I even enjoy the chick flicks! I have to be in the mood for a good action movie. If I am going to see a comedy, it cannot be something that I will leave afterward felling as though I had lost brain cells. I just cannot stand them!

What else? I also love volleyball, bicycling, playing frisbee, ultimate frisbee, going to the theatre, hanging out at one of the local bookstores, sitting with some friends at Starbucks, going to concerts, etc.

One of the places I love to visit with friends is Asheville, NC. It has such a diverse population. My friends and I love finding the best local restaurants, shopping in the downtown shops, going through the art galleries, etc. Asheville is one of Jenny and my favorite places to go. It is only best when Jenny is with me!

When I can get away, I run off to Greensboro, NC to visit with Jenny. She is in such a wonderful city with access to everything you could ever want. Every time I visit her, we do something totally different. I love it!

Did I mention that I love to DANCE? Well, let me be specific! I love country/western couples dancing and line dancing. I have been doing that since I was a kid. Sadly, there is NO place around here to do that. I have to go to a bigger city like Nashville or Knoxville to find a place to dance!

To address the question about hanging with friends, sadly, most of my best friends do not live near me. It is hard to get out to see them, too. The friends that I do have here are mostly in education. They also are mostly married and have kids. So, their lives are crazy with after-school activities, sports, dance classes, etc. More on that topic at a later date!

How many gay friends do you have that you hang out with on a regular basis?


Oh, that is an easy question...NONE!

Allow me a moment to explain before someone chews me out! I spent so many years in denial, in the closet, hiding who I was, etc. Even though I am no longer hiding who I am, I find that the majority of my friends are straight. There is no particular reason for that. It has just happened that way.

I do have a handful of gay friends in the area, but we rarely hang out.

Well, there you go as a start to the questions. Please, please, please...ask away! 

My Movie Weekend

This weekend I decided to catch up on some movies I have been wanting to see.

Last night I went and saw Red. In a word...awesome! I loved this movie. It was hilarious, plus you had some hard core action. It kept me going through the entire movie. John Malkovich was hilarious as the conspiracy-ridden psychotic ex-CIA hitman. The best part of his character is the PIG.

My favorite actor in the movie was Helen Mirren. Mirren plays a former CIA agent whose specialty is killing people. Yes, she was a sniper. She gets to shoot a lot of different guns in this movie, and she was bad ass. (Pardon the expression, but there was just no other way to put it!)

Go see this movie!

How to Train Your Dragon was released on DVD/Blue Ray just yesterday. I rented the movie from Red Box. (Who doesn't love Red Box?) This movie was great. It made me smile. What I kept thinking about this movie was what a lesson it could teach on acceptance of others and how not to judge a book by it's cover.

Toothless was made a cute dragon. I want a Night Fury like toothless.

Iron Man 2  was even better than the original Iron Man.

The one point I would like to make about this movie is that Scarlett Johansson was H-A-W-T! I just could not take my eyes off of her. She is gorgeous, but in this movie she was just plain smokin'!!!

Well, I had to throw in a love story / chick-flick in the mix somewhere, so I chose Letters to Juliet. It was a beautiful movie. Vanessa Redgrave made this movie. Without her, I don't think I would have enjoyed this movie half as much. She has such innocence and wonder throughout the movie. She has such hope of finding her long lost love, Lorenzo.

It took me a minute to realize that the actor who plays Charlie, Christopher Egan, stared in the TV series Kings earlier this year. I hate that it got cancelled after just one season. Oh well. 

I am a Sheep...BAAAAAAAAAA

I couldn't hold back anymore. I broke down and joined Formspring.

So, if there is a question you have for me, feel free to ask. The box is on the right of the page!

Can't wait to see what you all are thinking...uh oh!

Today...I am Emily Dickinson

What a title for me to write, but it is exactly how I am feeling today.

Today is the first day that I have actually felt good enough to do something. I have literally been on a couch for 4 days trying to recover from this cold, headaches, etc. Everyone keeps telling me that all of this is my body's way of getting me to slow down. Some believe that I an forever running in ten-thousand different directions at the same time. Sadly, I will agree with these people. I am always on the go, and I love it. However, there comes a time when my body will take control of me. It just so happens that the time my body chose this time was my fall break and vacation time. Ugh!

Even though I had the chance to get out and do something today, I chose to keep to myself. I went to my school for a few hours and did some "manly" work. In other words, I rearranged furniture, dismantled computers, put computers back together, etc. Moving those heavy filing cabinets and that awful computer table are not easy. I do get to use my muscles and make myself feel more like a man when I do all of this by myself. Yes, I am stubborn.

The rest of the day has been spent at home working on vocabulary walls, laundry, and other housework.

Tonight, I am feeling like Emily Dickinson would have felt. She was the ultimate recluse. I feel as though I have been a recluse for the past 6 days. I have not gone out, not had friends over, done little to reach outside the walls of my house, etc. I really did not give much thought to this until today. Of course, the more I thought about my reclusive life this week, the more it depressed me.

So here I sit...a reclusive and depressed shell of a person. Frankly, IT SUCKS!

Those who think they know me would be shocked at how much I live my life alone when I am not in the public eye. Yes, when I am at school, working with the youth across the state, or working for the union, I am someone who is high-energy and very personable. I believe that I am someone that gets along with just about everyone. There are so many people that I call "my friend." However, when I go home at the end of the day, it is quiet and I am all alone once again. I revert into my reclusive Dickinson-esque life.

What is even worse is when I get home, I don't want to leave it for the rest of the day. It is a tricky situation. If I don't go home, I happily will go out with friends and acquaintances, but I somehow shut down when I cross the path of my front door. 

What is wrong with me? Why do I choose to be so anti-social once I get home? Is it any wonder I am alone in life?

Okay, before I get any more down on myself, I thought I would leave you with an Emily Dickinson poem. (And, for the record, this is not representative of how I feel...I just love this poem!)

Poor little heart!
Did they forget thee?
Then dinna care! Then dinna care!

Proud little heart!
Did they forsake thee?
Be debonair! Be debonair!


Frail little heart!
I would not break thee:
Could'st credit me? Could'st credit me?


Gay little heart!
Like morning glory
Thou'll wilted be; thou'll wilted be! 




Just another random thought for this post.

I have been watching Gray's Anatomy tonight (every Thursday at 9PM). There was a 15 year-old guy on there who had cancer in his tibia. The doctors' recommendation would have been amputation because the chemotherapy was not working as expected. The young man was adamant that the doctors not take his leg. Turns out this guy was a ballet dancer. He wanted to show Dr. Karev why he needed to save the leg. Watching this guy dance made me actually cry. (See video below. Not the complete scene, but you get the idea.) It was amazing, and the sheer joy that overcame this young man was inspiring. I wish I could dance like that. However, it reminds me of how I used to feel when I would dance. (Not, not ballet...that is for another day!) I miss those days so much.

Speechless

A friend posted this today on Facebook.

(Warning: Grab the tissue if you tear easily!)

I wish there were more leaders who would stand up like Councilman Burns. What a very heartfelt and passionate message to deliver at the beginning of a city commission meeting. I would probably pass out from sheer shock if one of our council members took a stand like this.

Thank you Councilman Joel Burns for your leadership and story!

Random Blurbs While I am Recovering

This cold turned out to knock me out worse than I would have imagined. The sore throat is about 90% better, the cough is still an issue, and my headaches are getting better. The worst part is my Rudolph-esque nose. It is sore and is driving me up the wall.

I have never been a good patient. My attention deficit disorder kicks into high gear and I grow restless. I have literally been on the couch for two days. I have only escaped the confines of my house to run to the pharmacy for a replenishment of meds to fight off this blasted virus. I did manage to make it out to the park at the Veteran's Affairs Hospital for some time in the sun. It was glorious. That park is the one I go to for meditation, prayer, ultimate frisbee, etc.

Sitting here tonight, I have a few things on my mind. Aren't you glad that you logged on to read these random thoughts plaguing my brain?


***Grandmother's Birthday***

Today, October 12, marks what would have been my grandmother's 81st birthday. She was born in 1929! As a child, she lived through the Great Depression. Since she was such a young child, she did not have many stories from the time period. Some of my favorite stories are from her teenage years (World War II era), her 36-year marriage and subsequent marriage to my grandfather, how much trouble my father got into as a child, and so much more.

My grandmother's name was Rella Christine, but everyone I knew called her Tine. Those of us closest to her called her Rella just to get a rise out of her.

Rella was a very humble and simplistic lady. Growing up she did not have very much...remember we are from the truth South! She always made the best with what she had, and that determination carried over into her adult life. She never asked for anything, and she always was so humbled when receiving gifts.

The best thing about my grandmother was her opinions. This is a woman who never held back on how she felt. In fact, she knew how to throw in every shit, hell, and damn that she could possibly find. She was never afraid to tell you the truth no matter the consequences. Some of her best comments were when we discussed my grandfather's girlfriends over the years. Oh, the names she created for those poor women. She was a spirit.

No one I know could flip off or curse in front of a Baptist minister and get away with it. I can remember the Pastor waking into her hospital room and she would say, "Well, hell, here comes that damned preacher." She did it all out of jest. It always made Randy (aka...the Pastor) smile and laugh. Randy would ask Rella how she was feeling, and she would simply flip him off. That was her sign that all was okay.

What I remember most about her funeral service in 2005 was when Randy rose to speak and deliver the eulogy. He actually began to cry as he told stories of my grandmother. In all my years as a member of that church, I had NEVER seen him cry like that. It was touching. Randy always called my grandmother his one church member that never even stepped one foot inside the church.

I miss her with each passing day. There are days where I want to phone her to tell her about my day. Then I remember she is no longer at the other end of the phone.

I was going to go visit her grave today to leave some flowers, but with me feeling ill I knew she would chew me out for making the 2.5 hour drive to see her.

I miss and love you, Rella!


***Matthew Shepard***

Today marks the 12th anniversary since Matthew Shepard lost his live in a well publicized hate crime in Laramie, Wyoming. I can remember the days of the Matthew Shepard coverage. I was an undergraduate student at that time (a sophomore, I believe) and was dealing with my own issues with being gay. This hate crime against Matthew sent me further and further into the closet where I remained for a few more years. I can remember being glued to the television for days watching for updates.

I won't go into much more detail about the Matthew Shepard story except to say that WE REMEMBER YOU, MATTHEW!

For information on Matthew or the Matthew Shepard Foundation, please visit HERE.




***More on Justin***
I am at a loss of what to do about Justin. He seems to want to hold on at times. It is hard to figure him out. He has been texting me for the past several days asking how I am doing, when am I coming to see him, etc. Honestly, I am done. Why can he not get it through his thick skull that I am no longer wanting to pursue a relationship with him? It infuriates me! Part of the reason I am still frustrated is because at times he decides to talk about sex...and we all know my stance there. I hate talking about sex! Why is that so difficult to understand? We have gone through this before...AHHHHHHHH!

At this point, I am ready to sever all ties with him right now. I was really hoping for a friendship with him, but that seems to be a dwindling idea right now. I just need space!


***Judith Light***

I have to admit, I love Judith Light! If you don't know who she is...YOU SHOULD!

Judith played Angela Bower on "Who's the Boss" back in the 80s. Most recently she played Claire Meade on "Ugly Betty."

What I love most about Judith Light is her never-ending support of gay rights and AIDS awareness. For at least two decades she has been a friend to the GLBT community. Every time I hear her speak, I am even more entranced by her! Just had to share that!

***Save Me***
Has anyone else seen this movie? Just curious to know someone else's opinion.

How to Come Out on Halloween...Good Grief!

A friend of mine sent this to me today. It cracked me up, and I definitely needed a great laugh today!

Politics Crack Me Up at Times

I saw this political ad for a Tea Party candidate this morning. I was shocked at the first line, "I am not a witch..." Then I just had to laugh.

Seems that Saturday Night Live caught wind of this ad, and they had to spoof it. I actually like the spoof better than the original.

Any thoughts?

Fall Break

As I mentioned in my last post, this week is my school system's fall break. I am blessed to get an entire week off of work. This year it equates to some much needed down time. This has been the most stressful and difficult teaching years of my life. (For the record, there is hope on the horizon!)

I originally had planned on taking a few days and traveling to St. Augustine, Florida to explore since I didn't get the chance during Jenny's wedding. I scrapped those plans for a number of reasons. Now I am left with a full week with absolutely nothing to do. I do have an alternative plan.

My mother has told me for a few years now that I can use her lake house whenever I want. It is about an hour south of my home. My mom and stepfather bought this land on the lake about 20 year ago, and then they built a lake house on the property. The location is perfect. It is secluded and on the bend of the lake. Two sides of the house have views of the water. About 3 years ago, mom had an addition put onto the house. They added a new master bedroom. It has a recessed ceiling that has lights on the perimeter and it is painted to look like the afternoon sky with clouds. (Mom got the idea for the ceiling from her suite in Las Vegas. I want to say it was Caesar's Palace, but I cannot remember.) The french doors in the bedroom open up to a brand new deck overlooking the lake.

I am thinking of calling mom in the morning and asking for permission to use the lake house. I will probably spend 2-3 days there just getting some much needed rest. I might even try to convince the stepfather to let me take one of the boats out on the water.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

In other news, my grandmother's birthday is on Tuesday (October 12). She would have 81 years old. Not a day goes by that I do not think of that woman. I will post a tribute to her on Tuesday.

Good night, all!
- Joey

Isn't This Just Perfect

Fall break has begun...9 days of rest.

Looks as though I will need all the time I can get. I have developed my first cold of the season. There goes my plan of getting a flu shot this week. (Well, at least until this blasted cold goes away!)

To top it all off, I have a health assessment on Tuesday morning at 5:30 AM. It is required by my school system to get this annual health assessment. The good news is that I am considered low risk, so the benefit of that is NO CO-PAYS when I visit the doctor's office. I love my insurance company!

Count on Me

This morning I looked online to find that one of my favorite people in the state of Tennessee (well, actually just one of my favorite people...period) has decided to throw in the towel on his blog.

MNJ over at Lido Deck has said goodbye.

This left me with a sense of sadness to be losing a friend in the blogging world. However, I know that he has been detaching from it for some time now. I hope he got what was needed from his time blogging. I know I gained two fantastic friends from his time on here. 

Hopefully MNJ will keep in touch despite logging out of the blogosphere. (I believe my words to him on his blog were "Remember, I know where you live." That is true!) 

As I was reading his brief farewell, this song came into my head, so I now dedicate it to Mikeal. 

Take care, my friend!

PS...If Mandi (aka Madam Hawtness) decides to leave the blogosphere as well, I will be crushed. I can cope with one of them gone, but two just might kill me. Love you both!

Science Helps Me Win in the Real World

My students are always asking me "when will I ever use this?" Now I finally have a real-life example of how they can use all of this science they are studying...

On Thursday morning I was driving to work. I had tuned in to my favorite pop station on the radio. Every morning they do trivia, and it is often impossible to get through to win. This morning the question was very interesting. The question was "what children's toy was originally marketed as a wallpaper cleaner?"


I was in my car and I instantly phoned into the radio station. Yes, I knew the answer to the question. The irony behind all of this is that we discussed this very subject on Tuesday. We have been discussing adaptive technology (any product that has been redesigned for a totally different purpose and/or use). We used this children's toy as an example. 

Have you guessed the answer to the question yet? It is PLAY-DOH!


The radio host was shocked that anyone actually knew the answer to that question. She laughed when I told her that my students were just discussing this very topic only two days earlier.  


Also, throughout the day, I had tons of students telling me that they heard me on the morning radio show. I just laughed at the thought we all listen to the same radio channel. What are the chances!

Naturally, I took all of this information to my students letting them know that what I am teaching them can be used later in life...even if it is only to win a radio trivia question. (For the record, I won a pack of several CDs that I will get to choose from the radio station's "vault." Hey, it is not much, but I love it!)

Before They Were gLeeks

Today I absconded with this from GMB's facebook page. I couldn't resist posting it for all my Glee friends out there!

Visiting Sam

This afternoon, after leaving work, I had several errands to run (bank, Wal-Mart, etc). After running those errands, I made my way to a part of town we call the Tree Streets. It is the more beautiful and historic part of our city. All these streets are lined with trees as far as the eye can see. I love it there. Everyone is always so friendly, and it is very peaceful there.

Just a bit of history for our fine city...Al Capone used to live in the Tree Streets.

What was so important for me to make the trip into the Tree Streets? I went there to visit my student, Sam, who lost his father earlier this week to leukemia. It took me a few trips around the block to find the right house. The house was sitting back off the street, and the foliage was covering the house number. All I can say about the house is WOW! I love historic houses. This was a gorgeous house...all of the hardwood was original, and little was remodeled from its original splendor. I was greeted at the front door by Sam's grandmother. She was quite petite and had this old-world charm about her. It was evident she was not from our area. Next I got to meet Sam's grandfather who proceeded to tell me he had heard all about me since last year. I always laugh when I am told that little fact. I never know what kids are telling their family members.

Sam came up from his room in the basement. He looked surprised to see his former teacher in his house. He had this huge grin across his face. I miss this kid! We talked for several minutes about anything and everything. I asked him how he was holding up since his father's passing. Sam just smiled and said he was okay. He is such a trooper! I proceeded to ask him about his grades this year...hey, I'm a teacher! It's always on my mind. He told me he will make the AB Honor Roll this quarter. I am very proud of this kid. His grandparents thanked me and my colleagues for helping Sam come so far since last year.

Sam's grandmother brought me a picture of Sam's dad when he was a kid. It was remarkable. Sam looks just like his dad as a child...they even had the same shaggy long-blonde hair. It was uncanny. I asked if their personalities were similar, and the grandparents just chuckled and agreed. They see a lot of Sam's dad in him.

I decided not to stay too long. I did not want to intrude. I left two cards with the family. One was specifically for Sam. All of his current and former teachers signed it with notes of support. I admit that I read it before sealing it. It made me cry a bit. There is so much love for this kid and his family. The second card was for his aunt Lori. She is the one who moved in with her parents (Sam's grandparents) to help take care of Sam and his sister. She is responsible for so much of Sam's progression and for keeping this family together. She is a saint in my book! Lori also works for the school system, and she always brightens my day when I see her at my school. I love her! In her card I left a gift card to help with meals and whatever else the family may need during these rough times.

Friday is the memorial service for Sam's dad. It will be at the family home. I am supposed to be in Nashville this weekend for a meeting, but I am going to cancel my trip. I feel I need to be here to show support for this family.

It is amazing how, as teachers, we become so attached and intertwined with the families of our students. Just one of the many benefits of teaching in a smaller city.

The Highs and the Lows

Life always seems to be a roller coaster of emotions! This week has been no exception.

Life at School
On Sunday night I was checking out Facebook, and I noticed a number of messages directed toward Sam (one of my students from last year). Turns out that Sam lost his father on Sunday evening after a long fight with leukemia. In fact, Sam's dad was brought home by ambulance from Vanderbilt Hospital a few weeks ago, and Hospice care was called in to help. No one expected Sam's dad to make it past that weekend. Like he has always done, Sam's dad fought with all he had. He held on for several more weeks. Sam came back to school today. He is definitely a trooper. The memorial service for his dad is on Friday at their home. It is what Sam and his sister wanted. His dad was cremated on Monday, per his wishes. I asked Sam's aunt what we could do to help, and she said nothing but prayers. Well, that won't do for us. A number of the staff members have been sending money to me to help purchase gift cards to help the family with meals this week. I am going to go visit Sam and family tomorrow evening and will deliver the cards then. More than ever, I plan to keep a watch out for Sam. He has come so far in the past year, and I don't want to see him fall. Such a wonderful kid!

This week is the last of the quarter, and our kids know it. They are absolutely going insane. They are lacking focus...and frankly, so am I. We all have to push forward until Friday. We will make it, but they are wearing me out.

Today, I made a student cry...before 8AM. Our school has a very strict cell phone policy (remember, I teach middle school). The policy states that students may have cell phones in their backpack and in their lockers while at school. However, they must be turned off during school hours. This morning, I heard a cell phone in a locker right next to where I was standing. I look over, and I saw Jake scrambling to turn off the phone. He looks at me, and I told him I had to confiscate it based on school policy. He begins to cry and cry. I told him to stop crying, and that I would do the same thing to any student whose phone went off. That didn't appease him. He kept on crying. I sent him to the restroom to gain his composure. Ugh! What a way to start the morning. On a side note, I did return his phone to him at the end of the day, which is not the prescribed policy. However, I know this kid, and it WILL be the last time that happens. I am such a sucker!

In a more interesting part of my day, we took the kids outside for the last 15 minutes of the day. While out there, two of my girls came up to me and said that they saw another student urinating on the nearby fence. One of our other teachers asked the girls if he could have just been pretending to pee on the fence. One of my more astute girls said "I saw something coming out." I just about fell on the ground from laughing so hard. Bless this girl, she is one of my best students. The boy did admit to urinating on the fence. Good grief! The adventures in teaching never cease! LOL

I got called to the principal's office this afternoon. I am always nervous when she calls me into her office, even if I am an adult. She asked me if I was going to be on a field trip on Friday. I told her yes I was. She said that she was wanting me to work on curriculum council on Friday if I was going to be at the school. I asked her why me, and she proceeded to tell me that I had the highest science and social studies test scores in the school for 6th grade. WOW! I was not expecting that, especially since last year was my first year teaching science and social studies. What did I do that got my students to perform better? Who knows! I do know that I had a few students who got a perfect score on their state science tests. MY KIDS ROCKED! I don't normally gloat, but I had to share that information. It made my day!


Update on Justin


I have had a few of my friends ask me about the status with Justin this past week. The truth is that it all seems to be over between us. Communication between us has been sparse this week. We had quite a lengthy conversation over the weekend. We discussed where we were going in this relationship. Trying to define where we were was awful. Knowing that I hate drama, this only added to my frustration. Looks as though we are going our separate ways now. I must say that there is a bit of sadness in all of this. I had hope, but it is no longer there for the two of us. Well, life must go on!


Vacation Plans

I had thought about going to St. Augustin, Florida for fall break. I have decided not to go right now. Life is too crazy here, and I have a ton of things to do over the break. I am also saving money for a longer vacation! I am trying to decide on New York City, Seattle (Washington), San Diego (California), St. John (US Virgin Islands), or maybe an Alaskan cruise. These are all just random places I want to visit. Anyone want to chime in on these options?


Gifts
The other day I received a very unexpected gift in the mail. It was a postcard and a bear from the United Nations. The gift was from my friend, Nabil, who was in NYC during the UN General Assembly. It was a great surprise, and it was most certainly something I needed to brighten my day. Thank you, Nabil! Hope you had a great time in the USA. We will definitely have to meet up next time you are in the states (or if I decide to jump across the ocean for a visit, too)!

More to come...good night, all!