didn't win - but i won - and there's a fire drill tomorrow

So I didn't win the chili cook-off. I was sad, kids gave me a pat on the back to try and console my broken heart. My friend Kristine won. She says she blog stalks me so - Hi Kristine!


Today I was doing one on ones for the research project and I called up this kid J who is an amazing writer. Without any of my help - he came to me this way. He's also in the creative writing class here on campus. And he sits down (he has already started typing all of his work - my other students have not even thought about) and asks some questions about his introduction paragraph. He is writing his paper on the war in Afghanistan - his thesis is that war has caused damage to a culture and that damage is becoming irreversible. It's times like this that I have one of those moments where I think I am not smart enough to be this kids teacher and then I snap out of it and remember how awesome I am. Because the following happens:

J says - So I'm trying to tighten up my language in my commentary but I'm not sure how to do it.
Me - J you are a really strong writer, at this point you have learned all of the rules of the game. What you can start to do now is break them. See here where you have the word and you can use an extended dash here - rather than have it sound so list like.

J gets this look on his face like I had just given him a prize. I smiled and asked why he looked so happy - He said that he was excited to hear that he could start to use some of the tools he had learned in creative writing in his own 'non fiction' work. I felt like I was able to release a kid from years of rules and regulations - of not allowing himself to be everything he could as a writer because the format that had been given to him for so many years was limiting.

I feel like I had won a teaching marathon! It was one of those moments that I wanted to stand up in class and yell - Why can't you all be like this. But then I thought - You can't all be like this because then I wouldn't have a job. And I l.o.v.e. my job.

So the moral of this little story is - it's good to have overachievers in the room - but it's also great to have the kids who want to do better but need a little push in the right direction.

and finally there will be a fire drill tomorrow - but it might rain, so there might not be a fire drill. Ah the joys of trying to plan a lesson when 15-20 minutes may or may not be cut out of the day. We'll just have to roll with the punches.

Fire Drills Fire Drills!

So Yesterday about 2:00 (we get out of school at 2:30) I am in the middle of teaching my Intro to Education class. We are having a really great conversation about what helping people is all about - they are about to get out a piece of paper and write their own philosophy of education - and I hear it... the sound is recognizable and I know it's about to hit... The Fire Alarm has gone off.

I teach in a portable building and so our alarms go off about 45 seconds after the rest of the schools. I say to my kids - "where are my keys - grab all of your stuff" - they look at me like they are a bit confused and then the ear splitting sounds begins in my room as well. So I grab my little red clip board - my keys - my M114 sign (we got these last year after an Eagle Scout took it on for his project. Now every classroom has a sign to hold up so students know where their teachers are) - but I neglected to grab my sunglasses. We walk out to the parking lot where we are to wait until the all clear. Then we wait. My students ask me what happens if the drill goes past 2:30 - and I assure them that it's probably just the foods room going a bit over board and we will be back to work momentarily. I was wrong. So wrong. So we continue to sit - and after ten minutes a student runs up to me -

"Mrs. Parsons, I just got a text from my friend and they said that the history department is on fire" -K
"K - I am sure that this is not the case, but there might be a building that's not doing to well" - me
"Oh Mrs. Parsons you know what I mean, wait I just got another text, yeah the air conditioning system is on fire" - K
"Well then, looks like this might take a bit longer than we thought" - me

My brain is thinking, I really hope this isn't true because it's 98 degrees outside and the blacktop is not helping. So we continue to wait... 15 more minutes. The other teachers are now beginning to walk around asking - what do we do if it goes past 2:30 we'll have a riot on our hands, the Friday of a three day weekend. And sure enough as the minutes ticked away, we began to see the natives get restless. They began to move towards the gates and murmur about what was taking so long.

2:30 - no movement
2:31 - nothing
2:32 - adults begin to look at each other and wonder
2:33 - zilch
2:34 - now we are beginning to complain
2:35 - we get the all clear - 3,400 children cheer!

I go back to my classroom and am sad that I lost the last 30 minutes of what was going to be a great lesson. But this is part of the joy of education. So I grabbed my purse, locked my door, and headed out for my own three day weekend. - I also had to take the 60 essays I have to grade too.

After a few hours of being at home I get a call on my cell phone from our fearless leader Mr. D -our Principal. It turns out that there was a problem with an air conditioning unit and sure enough there were some sparks that lead them to evacuate the school. He was sorry for the inconvenience at the end of school but that everyone had handled the situation with "Class, the Bronco way".

My Goodness what a start to a long weekend!