Old Dominion
Robert Hass

The shadows of late afternoon and the odors
of honeysuckle are congruent sadness.
Everything is easy but wrong. I am walking
across thick lawns under maples in borrowed tennis whites.
It is like the photographs of Randall Jarrell
I stared at on the backs of books in college.
He looked so sad and relaxed in the pictures.
He was translating Chekhov and wore tennis whites.
It puzzled me that in his art, like Chekov's,
everyone was lost, that the main chance was never seized
because it is only there as a thing to be dreamed of
or because someone somewhere had set the old words
to the old tune: we live by habit and it doesn't hurt.
Now the thwack... thwack of tennis balls being hit
teaches me and it is the first sound of an ax
in the cherry orchard or the sound of machine guns
where the young terrorists are exploding
among poor people on the streets of Los Angeles.
I begin making resolutions: to take risks, not to stay
in the south, to somehow do honor to Randall Jarrell,
never to kill myself. Through the oaks I see the courts,
the nets, the painted boundaries, and the people in tennis
whites who look so graceful from this distance.

why Halloween was just okay

I know that most of you that read this have not had the joy or opportunity of being in a room full of teenagers on Halloween, let alone a Halloween on a Friday.
Let me tell you, it can either be incredibly fun or a living hell. I had both yesterday.
The day starts off calm, but then they start eating sugar and more sugar. By the end of the day, they are rabid animals ready to kill you if you don't add to their sugar intake.
Add that in to a variety of ignorant (mostly racist) things coming out of my 10th graders mouths this week and you can maybe understand why my Halloween spirit was killed.
There is a longer post in all of this, but I mostly just wanted to let all of you (all 2 of you!) know that I'm still alive and at some point in time will update you on how this school year is progressing.
Real talk, I feel like I'm in Gorillas in the Mist, studying a species I've never had the chance to meet up close and personal before. I'm not sure if I like it. (BTW, I miss having kids that preface their serious chats with me by saying "Real talk, Mrs. P...")

6 quirky things

Kate has tagged me to list six personal quirks. I don't know if these count, but this is what I could think of.

1. I, like Kate, used to count steps in sidewalk blocks. I only do this when I'm alone and especially when I'm trying not to think about how cold, rainy, etc. the weather is.

2. I have to check the doors at night about 2 or 3 times. Just to make sure they're all locked, even though I know they are.

3. My desk at school has only a few places where things can go. There must be piles of similar things in the same area, otherwise, I lose my head. My former students used to laugh about this.

4. I am totally one of those people who straights cards in a game ALL THE TIME. I'll also randomly straighten up books, piles of random junk on your desk, anything in a pile that isn't even or straight. (It's super awkward when I do that in front of people)

5. If the cushions on our couch are even the tiniest bit off or have slid a little bit from the back of the couch, I must fix it immediately. I hate it when I sit on the couch and and I can feel the cushion leaning over the edge.

6. I can't leave our cats alone. If I see one sleeping, I have to mess with it. This is probably why they normally hide somewhere if they actually want to sleep.

I tag Megan, Leanne, and Diana to do this.

check these out

What McCain thinks of white voters






And something not political that was hilarious:

ladies and gentlemen: we have success

I haven't been 100% recently. Friday started it off with a horrible headache that felt like someone was stabbing me on the left side of my skull. That headache made an appearance on Saturday and at times on Sunday. Sunday also brought the Sore Throat, which continues until today. My voice has slightly gone in and out, but I'm trying to pretend that I'm NOT getting sick in any way, shape or form, cause you can only pull the "I'm sick kids, please stop being crazy" only so many times before they get tired of it and think you're faking (side note: the headache excuse? ALWAYS WORKS. Seriously. I could probably claim to have a headache even when I didn't and they would be all nice, calm and quiet.)

Since I have been slightly sick, I was dreading today because today has Seventh Period, it's a 4 day week due to the holiday on Monday, and next week is Homecoming (cause, you know, just cause it's next week doesn't stop them from being excited this week and the week after [which is also Halloween week]). During my 6th period planning time yesterday, I was debating not coming in today. I felt horrible and exhausted, which is usually how I felt trying to wrassle 28 10th graders into doing something(ANYTHING!) but talking, wandering around the classroom and generally being more interested in going home rather than the work that needs to be done during class. If you are a teacher, you probably understand. End of the day classes are usually the most challenging because they're either seriously awake (a little too awake) or incredibly tired, but either way, they're brains are fried and they don't want to do much. Every class I've had at the end of the day (and last year, I had classes on both A and B days at the end) was always the one I heard "How about we don't do anything today, Mrs. P?" during. Do you know how annoying that is? On the positive side, they were always the one with more energy and personality than the others.

But I decided to show up to school today.
Today was the first day my 7th bell was exactly what I wanted it to be. The kids in there are super helpful, mostly because they like being on their feet and find it hard to sit down for longer than two seconds. I have one that sits at my desk (he loves to put on a show, but if he sits at my desk, he calms down) who took attendance, started/ended the video, and made sure what needed to be on the Promethean Board was up there. I have another student who sits in a blue chair right next to my desk, who everyone lovingly refers to as "Fatty" (that's a whole other story, though). I also have a few other students who always like to be up and social who help in passing out books and papers.
I made the few announcements that I had to make, answered "ARE WE PLAYING TELEPHONE TODAY? I HEARD YOUR OTHER CLASSES GOT TO PLAY TELEPHONE. DO WEEEEEEE?" about a thousand times ("No, your class is about a day behind. We'll get to play telephone next class"), we watched a short 3 minute video from the textbook on what it took to be a knight, and then I let them loose. They had to create a knight's shield for themselves (we were reading "The Sword in the Stone"), put it on the wall somewhere in the room (one student put it on the ceiling!), and then they had to read the story on their own, and finish a sheet we started with the knight clip. While they were coloring and tracing animals onto their sheets using the Promethean Board, I was passing out papers, getting candy for students who turned in their progress reports signed and getting students to make extra copies, clean up, pass out books, finish their work, help others tape up their shields, etc.
These are the days that make teaching worth it. I looked around the class and saw that they were helping each other out, they were learning and having a fun time at the same time, and they were completing what they needed to do. I think I should do those kinds of activities more often. I was also repeating to myself "go with the flow, you are not sick" and I think that helped.
With that class, I try (I'm definitely not 100% successful) to stay as calm and positive as possible. They respond a lot better to me joking around with them or just giving them the "And? I'm not amused" face (or, for Megan and David, who will get it: the "Am I bovvered?" face) than getting angry and yelling. This is mostly because they are the kind of kids that like to find the buttons that make a teacher snap and go bonkers. The more you get angry--the more they win and the more fun they're having, while also creating a very tense, negative classroom atmosphere. When you have a class full of kids used to being yelled at, knowing exactly how to set a teacher off and being able to easily accomplish just that, it really shocks them when you say nothing but positive things about them (no matter how small) and make a joke about the crazy things that come out of their mouth instead of snapping and writing them up. Just imagine me brushing my shoulder off and trying to keep the "What? You thought that was something for me to get mad about? You are crazier than I thought!". What happens with them is that they are either shocked out of misbehaving because they weren't expecting that reaction or they get whatever jokes they have out of their system. Either way, they get over it and everyone moves on a lot quicker than if I decided to make a big deal out of it and argue with them over it for who knows how many minutes. Also, when you have to use the "teacher voice" (which I did have to do to one student today because he kept bouncing up and down on the floor to make the projector shake in an attempt to mess up a few shields), they take it slightly more seriously than if you're using it all the time. Again, it's the shock that makes them straighten up and actually listen. When I told one child to sit down and get to his own work today in "the voice", half the class's jaws dropped and they were all "Oooh, dang, Mrs. P's serious." and then I went back to doing what I was doing and they went back to doing what they were doing. Amazing.

Also: my 12th graders are actually liking Chaucer/The Canterbury Tales, which is great compared to their utter dislike for Beowulf. They are probably just humoring me though because I can't say enough how much better Chaucer is than Beowulf. Does that make me a bad teacher? (Allow me to answer my own question, like a crazy lady: probably not. I do make a point to say that I just don't appreciate Beowulf as much as Chaucer's work, but I definitely understand why it's important. It's just not my thing.)

I need to take more pictures!

Look at that face!

What have I been doing?
Besides answering questions about evolution, I've been getting to know the adorable kitty above. That's Vincent Gallo, Shannon and Dan's new kitten. He is adorable, but incredibly hard to photograph cause he hates cameras. Also: I tried sushi for the first time and ate tater tots with chopsticks. I sent the best birthday present I've ever put together to Megan for her 21st birthday. I had a headache that lasted about 2 1/2 days, which was a new experience for me. I've made plans for Halloween/Autumn-related activities, Christmas break, and NYE. I've found a balance between work and fun. I've gotten to know my students better and my classes are falling into more of a routine. I've emailed back and forth with old students and each has been the same: they say: I miss you! We talk about you every day! We are jealous of your new students! and I say: I miss you! I brag about you every day! It makes me feel amazing to hear they still remember me and look forward to seeing me again (because I look forward to watching them graduate). I got my Richmond Public Library card. I'm grateful I work in a pretty stable industry. David and I (sort of) celebrated being together for 5 years. I've started to really focus on what I want to accomplish with my career and what I should chose to do for my master's. I watched most of the debates and I've laughed really hard at Tina Fey's Sarah Palin sketches. I'm looking forward to a lot of things.

that's a new experience.

So, 10th graders were taking notes on different kinds of folk tales (I know, right? Who still teaches 10th graders about folk tales? Isn't this what K-9 is for? Sheesh.).
We got to the part about myths, where I was explaining that they're similar to fables and parables because they deal with religion or religious beliefs, but different from them because it has to do with an explanation of the gods, landmarks, creation of humans/earth, or interactions between humans and gods, etc. My example was Greek or Roman myths and this is what happened:

Student: But myths aren't true.
Me: Not necessarily. Sure, we use the word 'myth' to mean something that's not 'fact', but the kind of myths I was just talking about were true to somebody at some point in time.
Student: But Greek and Roman myths aren't true.
Me: You have to be careful saying that because you're basically saying that someone else's beliefs and religions are false. I'm pretty sure no one likes to be told that. Like I said, at some point in time, myths were true to whatever group of people the tale originated from.
Student: But... aren't they not true?
Other student, just chiming in: Like, don't we use 'myth' to mean false?
Student: Like evolution?
Me: ...........


Evolution?
Student: Yeah, like the myth of evolution.
Another student, just hearing this: But evolution makes some sense... (more thinking out loud than anything, but still... I just wanted to ignore what could possibly explode into a very awkward debate)
Me: Well, some people believe evolution is true. There are many people who have studied long and hard and found common traits, so they came up with the theory of evolution. (and I made sure to use "Theory" just becaaaaause of trying to avoid some crazy situation that could end up with me being sued and/or fired.)
Student: Oh. So, do you believe in evolution?
Me: ............



(very quietly) yes... it makes some sense to me...
Student: Oh, well I believe in God. And Adam and Eve.
Me:....I believe in God....
Student in the back: You can believe in God and evolution!
Another student: Debate!!
Me: Aaaand we're done with this conversation. We're not having a debate because I don't want anyone to feel like others were ganging up on them for their beliefs. Everyone has something to belief and that's okay. Moving on to legends...

Thankfully, after I explained that it was all done.
My jaw seriously did drop, though.