Bullhorn

I have thus far unsuccessfully convinced anyone in my immediate circle to purchase a bullhorn (the sort that requires batteries - so you know it's real good and potent) for me - both of which would be immediately employed in my classroom.  It's true, professionals that publicly speak (oftentimes obnoxiously loudly) all day as a part of their job responsibilities suffer from 'down in the throat' frowny face on a routine basis.  To boot, I (along with my department colleagues) teach in spaces that are cavernous, complete with 56 foot ceilings.

, but close.

But really, I beg of those who love me, the bullhorn would not be a frivolous addition to my education toolbox.

Speaking of (punny/she points out her puns), here are a few items that have spoken (again with the punnies!) to me recently:

Me: "****, keep your laughter focused on appropriate school content."
****'s Classmate: "I assure you if he's laughing, it's inappropriate."

Kids of all ages are witty, smart, and refreshingly insightful.  Just listen.

Encore: Student response to me issuing an at-large, verbal "stop," --> "Hammer time!"

A photo of my colleague's shoes after a day at work:

To be fair, this colleague is expecting a bundle of pooping and milk drinking joy soon, so likely (and justifiably)  has very little interest in where she may step during her day.  But, as I know she would agree, in the sage words of Ice Cube:  "...you knew the job was dangerous when you took it."  

Lastly, these two quotes speak to me on personal and professional levels:

                             

I adore the sillies.

A case of the sillies, silly people of any age, silly for the sake of being silly.  Sillything!

The two weeks post-Christmas and winter break at work have been hair curling.  I rarely feel I've had a legitimately "bad day," as my personal definition of a bad day is along the lines of Lance Armstrong's self-defined "75 million dollar day," December 14, 2012, or any of the examples listed in this link (assuming they are all factual).  So instead, the past two weeks at work have been hair curling.  Significant numbers of students in my classes are demonstrating conduct that I don't typically observe until the week leading up to spring break, or the month leading up to summer break.  Maybe it's simply my perception, or maybe there was more than a 'few hours' of "contaminated" water funneled into the city water system as was reported on a date in December.  On top of zany and trying student behavior, the spring semester in an agrarian styled school year is always, for most if not all educators, the more challenging one, in all respects.  Deadlines loom - and are suddenly more real, breaks are fewer in number, illness spreads quicker than really juicy gossip, and preparation for high stakes state testing pressure kicks into overdrive.  As my friend Jamie commented recently about another topic, however, as a certain curly-haired red-headed orphan proclaimed, the sun does indeed come out tomorrow.  Or whenever you choose to see it.

In a string of long days made longer by evening meetings and events, I witnessed and possibly participated in some acts of extraordinary silly:

I have yet to personally view the Gangnam Style YouTube explosion, but after a display of 75-100 middle school students at an academic competition, I'm confident I've experienced it in a way that leaves not a stitch to be desired.  As a means of keeping students entertained while they awaited competition score announcements, the master of ceremonies periodically played top 40 tunes, especially ones accompanied by specific dance moves.  Insert Gangnam Style.  I've rarely seen such dedication and focus on the part of a mob of middle school kids; the facial expressions alone were enough to motivate me to learn the moves.  I wish I could share video, but blurring out of 75-100 faces is beyond my technological patience limit.  I was bleary-eyed with tears of laughter - to see such authentic fun being had - by the time several students took a breather, faces bathed in perspiration from their effort.

I was without choice when another song played - I am bad with titles, but it involved some stomping and clapping and pausing and salsa-ing - and my principal along with a few other teachers, including me, were thrown into the mix.  There is reportedly video evidence of our participation, but it too would entail the blurring out of 75-100 student faces.  Ain't nobody got time for that.

In a fortune of all fortunes, I ended my workweek on a Friday that led into our three day weekend by providing "adult" supervision on a field trip to our city's newest science museum.  It truly is as remarkable as you may have heard, if you're reading this post in said city/region.  Students from underprivileged backgrounds are normally so grateful to be afforded extracurricular opportunities like this, that conduct on outings is always positive and, frankly, overwhelmingly delightful.  This field trip was no different but I am sadly 99% confident that there are several student shot videos, posted on their own social media sites, that contain footage of me and my colleagues demonstrating poor examples of adult conduct while leading impressionable minds.  What can I say...exhibits like classroom-sized LED sensory walls are obviously more fun when you drag your backside across the vertical surface from one end to the other.  At adult prompting, one of our more genius and comical students "raced" T-Rex with his arms/hands appropriately elevated and angled.  There's video of that, but, well, you know...  And although this disturbed my Mudda and sounds like a Jodi Foster movie opener, one of my students asked* me for a strand of my hair while we were en route 'home,' on the yellow dog.  Perhaps I'm creepy because I didn't find this creepy**, but instead absurdly funny.  I like the silly.

Today I participated with a small group of students and colleagues in the local MLK celebration parade. Once again, I'm reminded of the question that can never be answered:  "Why, OH WHY, was I never in the drum line?"  Pity.  Drum lines are bangin'!  (you catch that, eh?)

In homage to inauguration weekend, I'll share some photos of past inaugurations that you may find fairly cute, too:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/01/19/168570312/inaugural-hijinks-10-odd-photos-from-ceremonies-past

*I declined his request.

**I have since learned that my hair requesting student is reportedly collecting (by request) strands of hair from varied subjects.  Ok, possibly that does cross the silly zone into the creepy zone.  But, as long as he doesn't intend to knit a sweater from his collection, it still makes me laugh.  Because I'm silly.

Rewind and unwind

Disclaimer:  wonky formatting about halfway through this post strikes again.

Rewind:

My high school class enjoyed our 20th reunion in October and it was a smashing success.  Everyone spent quality time with some, caught up with others, and enjoyed buckets and buckets of Peppermint Patty Laughs.  Char and I were sadly too late entering town to attend the homecoming football game - blasted 'leaving the city on a Friday evening' traffic!  We met up with classmates in old town for some cheer after the football game.  Our little hometown has, while not grown in population significantly enough to note - and I actually appreciate that, expanded by way of restaurants, hang outs, art, and festivals, etc.  I do wish we were closer in proximity to visit more often.  Jeez, I really miss the trees. (the vegetative ones, there aren't too many extremely tall people that I can recall)

The Saturday evening social was hosted at http://www.saborapasion.com/ and I don't think there was a disappointed guest in the house.  Charley and I, along with our fur kids, lodged at the venue since we were early birds and reserved one of the two guest rooms available.  The atmosphere was charming, the food was delicious, and Simon's (the proprietor) guest service could not have been more accommodating.  Charley and will return as guests again, without a doubt.

So many classmates pulled together in varied ways to make the event successful and we can't wait for the next reunion!

Comic time-out:  I will make sure that future excursions to the kuntry with both Charley and I are accomplished with me at the wheel once we hit the county line.  His Philadelphia aggressive, lead foot didn't jive with the need to decrease speed, roll down the window, and scan the mostly obscure and low reflection CR and FM signs.  I had to laugh at his third or fourth exclamation of, "How are you supposed to read these signs?!"

Here are just a couple of snaps from the night that I've managed to put my claws on:

Unwind:  school's winter and Christmas break has been as satisfying as always.  It's been a nice mix of rest, sleep - a LOT of sleep, reading - a LOT of reading, a bit of travel, quite a bit of indoor-inducing cold North Texas weather, visiting with Charley's delightful family on the east coast, and enjoying time with my Mom and niece in east Texas.  

I realized today, as I do at the tail end of many school breaks, that I don't dread in any way my return to the real world.  "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."  I'll refrain from assigning an author to that quote since my only resource to confirm the attribution is Google.  Or Facebook.  Everything is true there, right?  Snort.

  

It's hydration time, educators!

The below pasted text is from one of my favorite bloggers: http://www.loveteachblog.com/  I encourage you to read her, follow her, likey-like her on Facebook.  Her posts are witty, poignant, and spot-on.  A colleague, Amy, turned me on to her.  If I were the benevolent God of publishing, I'd publish her observations quicker than a knife fight in a phone booth.

"-Hydrate as much as I damn well please. This is one of my favorite parts of Christmas break!  My current schedule is such at school that I can't pee for about two hours in the morning, and then for about 3 and a half in the afternoon.  As you can imagine, this restricts my morning coffee and lunch time drinking pretty significantly, so during holiday breaks, I like to make up for lost time and just water, OJ, and coffee it up.  Let my bladder stretch its legs a little bit.  I don't think anybody has ever said that last sentence before."

It can also be time for PB&Jelly:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRBOgtp0Hac

Middle Misconceptions

This post is focussed on a presentation that our new campus principal provided to a group of our <school city> Chamber of Commerce members recently.  Ms. Principal read her presentation to our staff during our Christmas PTA luncheon and I was inspired enough by it that I want to share it, with her permission, with anyone in my blog audience who has matriculated through middle school, taught/teaches middle school, and/or has a child who has or will step foot into middle school as a student.  I admit that I'm a prime target audience member for motivational speeches, books, and other media, but I hope you find it as refreshing and insightful as I did.

Side-note:  Ms. Principal, as I stated, is new to our campus and she's doing a 1000% remarkable job in leading our efforts.  I knew she would, though, before she began day one.  Her reputation in the district is sterling and, besides, she's a fellow East Texas gal...say no more.

Take a moment sometime to read this at your leisure.  The first video reference (link: Acts of Kindness Caught On Video is one you may have seen previously.  I can't personally drink in enough of images like that.  There is a second video referenced, but for student privacy I have not included it here.  Beyond that, replace the school name, district name, and any other identifiers and you have a glimpse into any middle school in America, where there are many magical - yet not headline grabbers - things developing: (pardon any wonky formatting resultant from my inept blogger formatting skills)

"Good morning!  Thank you for allowing me to share that video with you.  I love this video, and I love expecting the unexpected.  Just like a security camera catching good things instead of bad, I want to share with you this Holiday Season, the good news and glad tidings about middle school, middle school kids in CFB, and more specifically about Vivian Field Middle School.  This Christmas, let me give you one more good thing to believe in – our middle schools and the kids who go to them.

It was the most exhilarating as well as the scariest moment of my career when Dr. Burns told me that I would become the next principal at Vivian Field Middle School.  When I drove up to the school on the first day at 6am and took a good look at this beautiful building, I thought to myself, “this building is over 50 years old and yet it offers the generation that will pay for my retirement in taxes and civic duties THE education of the future.  As I started to step out of my car, and it hit me, I’ve spent 16 years in a high school loving and coaching high school kids, how in the world will I connect with 11, 12, and 13 year olds?  Most people are scared of kids, and terrified of a middle school kid.   Most parents are too. Their minds are filled with equal parts worry and nostalgia about their children’s entrance into this baffling no-man’s-land between child and teen. Most adults say the most humiliating experience of their lives took place in middle school (or junior high, as it was called then), and many parents in the cafeteria remember their own preadolescence as the worst time of their lives: The awkward changes of puberty and the obsessions that entailed. The fumbling steps toward independence. The cliques. Being too embarrassed to sneeze in public. Getting dropped off at the corner and thinking everyone else was smarter, happier, better.

What stopped me from getting out of my car on that Monday was Hollywood.  Hollywood has painted middle school as a place where bullies thrive and nice kids are either dead or home-schooled by March.  Movies and books that honor this image are, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and the book:  Middle School:  The Worst Years of my Life by James Patterson with the follow up by the same author titled:  Middle School:  Get Me Out of Here! All this coming from a man who writes psychological thrillers…what does that say?

Well if you knew anything about me, I am not scared of much…except negativity.  I had to see for myself if middle school was different and start work immediately on changing the public image of middle school.  So, I said a little car prayer (one of the most powerful kind, I believe)  and fortunately for me, it would be simple work because middle school is vastly different from the negative image that Hollywood portrays.  Allow me to share with you during this Holiday season some good news to BELIEVE in and some very different truths about middle school.

 You might be surprised to know that although the whole nation concerns itself with the drop out rate, we know that kids decide whether or not they will become a drop out in middle school, not high school. This is a critical age for deciding whether or not school will be for them.  The adults on this campus understand the effect a positive adult relationship has on a student leaving childhood and entering the teen years.  Each and every morning our nearly 1000 students walk toward our cafeteria door with their head up and hand extended to be greeted by me or another adult on this campus with, “welcome to school”, “thank you for being at school today”, “we are so excited to see you today” and of course always followed with “have a great day at school!”  We know that this starts the very powerful emotional contagion of positivity on our campus. 

***BELIEVE this Christmas that middle school is mission critical to student success.

You might be surprised to know that kids today LONG to belong to something, and I’m not talking about a gang – unless you consider band, choir, theatre, athletics, and orchestra to be a gang.  Vivian Field has 318 athletes, 97 Karate Kickstart members,  173 choir members, 206 orchestra members, 241 band members, and 128 thespians.  For a school of nearly 1000 that means that we have found a way to connect nearly every kid in our school to an organization and a caring adult on our campus. 

***BELIEVE this Holiday season  that kids want to be involved in organizations that  give discipline and structure because kids think discipline is the guardrail that keeps you on the road of life.

 You might be surprised that kids today make better decisions than generations before.  Our kids think that being “smart” is a good thing.  We have 107 8^th graders choosing advanced mathematics that will put them on the path to BC Calculus as a senior in high school.  Some of those 107 are labeled as gifted talented.  We have a total of 76 GT students on our campus.  We have 24 students enrolled in Advanced Placement Spanish Language, and could be eligible to test for college credit, right now, in the 8^th grade!  We have 24 yearbook students that create a collegiate level yearbook.

***BELIEVE that kids can do more, they want to achieve and become contributing members of our society.

Speaking of college, you might be surprised to know that ALL of our students aspire to do and be more than a high school graduate.  How do we know?  We asked them.  PLUS, we have 155 students enrolled in AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination).  I myself am a first generation college graduate and understand fully the struggle of applying and maneuvering my way through a system strange to both me and any member of my family.  Thanks to AVID, these 155 have actually seen a college campus and can talk with great specificity about their college hopes, goals and dreams. 

***BELIEVE that kids think and care about their future.

You might be surprised to know that Vivian Field offers a magnet program through Dual Language program where students learn in Spanish and English.  They partner with each other to learn the lessons, and test in both languages. 

***BELIEVE that kids today appreciate diversity and want to live in harmony.

You might be surprised to know that kids in middle school today truly believe that effort produces achievement and that is evidenced in the positive trendline of out student achievement data. 

***BELIEVE that kids understand the goals of their education and why it’s so important to think critically and problem solve.

You might be surprised to know that Albert Einstein was wrong, and not about E=MC2 but when he said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.  The world will have a generation of idiots.”  Our kids are far from idiots.  We have implemented our BYOT or Bring Your Own Technology to school and we see students using their phones to promote social interaction instead of squash it. 

***BELIEVE kids want to be engaged with other people. 

You might be surprised to know that kids today care deeply about the world in which they live in.  They spend their spare time collecting money for world organizations such as the Kony 2012, for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, and to fight to stop the shots for Diabetes.  These kids are more concerned about being next on the waiting list for our Partners Art and PE where they partner with a non verbal special needs student.  They are more concerned about  recycling and saving our planet than the brand of tennis shoe they wear. 

***BELIEVE kids are good, kind, helpful and out to save the planet!

You might NOT be surprised to know that CFB offers a comprehensive system preK-12 and we are the best at each level at our instructional practice for our students to succeed; but, you would be surprised at the level of innovation taking place at our middle schools through practices that ask students to get involved help drive their learning.

 

*** BELIEVE that we are working to meet the needs of you as future employers.

Although I shared with you that one of my greatest fears is that of negativity… you might be surprised to know that negativity is nowhere to be found in the students of VFMS.  Although 82% come from homes of poverty – defined by the government as a family of four making it on less than 18K a year, they are full of wonder, hope and positivity.  Since education is the great equalizer, our staff works hard at providing  each of our students with access to the American Dream .

The Vivian Field family spirit is undeniable.  We have many visitors to our building who are amazed at the work happening in our school and with the kids who walk through our doors.  I could go on and on…about why we should believe in our kids, our future Ambassadors, and we have so much to be proud of at Vivian Field Middle School.  But the thing I am most proud of is something that cannot be quantified.  I am most proud of the incredible culture of our school.  The students and staff truly and genuinely care about and support each other in way that I believe is unique in today’s world.  If you aren’t convinced this Holiday season to believe just yet, I decided to leave you with another bit of the unexpected.  You are about to watch a video over the culture of Vivian Field.  This video was filmed, edited and produced by future Hollywood member, ___________,, one of our current 8^th graders.  Sit back and get ready to believe in what our kids can do, for they can tell you better than I can that unlike the Hollywood image, middle school really is the good life, so I ask you to turn your attention once again to the screen.

VIDEO

I thank you for your time and the opportunity to share the great things happening in our public school. I invite you to stop by anytime to help me greet kids and see for yourself the opportunities which abound at Vivian Field Middle School."

Grown up fotos

My colleague Kelly Mangel - who moonlights as a photographer - took on me, an unlikely photo subject in Charley, Bentley (the world's most interesting dog who can't be bothered with such frivolity), and Maggie (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) for our first group professional photographs.  Below are our personal favorites.

If you're seeking a North Texas photographer, I highly recommend Kelly.  She's not only a dedicated educator, but is utterly pleasant to work with - especially if you're cameraphobe as is Charley (and me, secretly).

Kelly's Likable Facebook Page

Crayons On The Ground

That phrase reminds me of the "pants on the ground" diddy that ear wormed its way into our pop culture mental library a few years back.  "Crayons on the ground" has significant meaning to me ever since I dumped a Costco sized container of Crayola crayons into each classroom group station's supply basket.  If you know my tendency at work to keep a near-negative balance showing in my email inbox, as much desk surface space visible as possible in my planning area, and stay in strict accordance with the fire marshal's code of less than a particular percentage of flammable substance on the classroom walls, then you know just how absolutely bonkers this pushes me.  It's a short trip for me, but still.  But it's not merely crayons on the ground.  It's snapped, peeled, shredded, pelted, catapulted, and bombed crayons on the ground.  My classroom floor resembles a Rainbow Bright murder scene by the conclusion of each school day.

You may be thinking, "Wow, doesn't she have better classroom management than that?"  Oh, no.  Please don't fool yourselves.  Crayon Chaos ensues in the microsecond that I turn to speak with a student on the opposite side of the room, when I stop to collect a love letter (I use the phrase 'love' lightly in middle school romance), or when I, um, well, you know....TEACH.  I reached my wits end, after multiple warnings---including letting the 'crazy lady' come out, much to the enjoyment of my students---but not yet zeroing down the culprits to less than about a dozen potential suspects, when one of the sweetest female students in my charge approached me for help with a concept - totally ignorant of the fact that she had a shard of Raw Sienna stuck in her gorgeous hair.  That's it.  The Crayon War must arrive at a cease fire before someone loses an eye, kids.

Insert the magic of www.remind101.com.  Teachers, if you're not already using this delicious tool, you are missing out.  It's become an integral part of my daily routine.  Take a gander at the website if you're unfamiliar with the free and 100% private reminder program that has made my work life infinitely simpler in some ways.  Back to the Raw Sienna incident, I sent a Remind 101 notice that same day, prompting students to study for an upcoming quiz, and included in the note:  "Dear Crayon Quarterbacks, I know* who you are and I will contact your parents if it continues."  Voila!  Poof.  Eureka.  Success.  All is right with the world again.  There are no longer crayons on the ground.

*I didn't.

In high school essay news, one of my colleagues reported to me, in case any of us were unaware - sit down for this teachers, it could be the shock of your careers thus far - that she was edified by the below sentence included in an assignment that a student submitted:

"It is a little white lie when students say, 'I have it done but my USB is at home.  I can bring it tomorrow.'"

Lastly, in commerce news, one of my dear friends who works for JC Penney shared with me a discount opportunity that you may wish to take advantage of this weekend.  In her words, "share with all your friends to convince them that JCP is cool and awesome now."  The link to the Friends and Family coupon is below, but let me know if it does not generate for you and I'll happily send you the email from my friend.  I do also have to mention, based on what I've seen my friends purchase recently from their varied department store sections, JCP is cool and awesome now, and the prices are even Heather-friendly.

http://f.jcpenneyem.com/i/34/626255242/JCP_FriendsandFamily_Coupon.jpg