weeks 2 and 3: AZTEC PRIDE

This week marked some significant firsts:

• I got to use my Smartboard in class for the first time,
• My 8th hour Reading class made a classroom tweet for the first time (and consequently I have created a Twitter account for the school year, we'll see if I figure out what we can do with that),
• We had our first middle school assembly,
• Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand drum roll please - here are the first anonymous quotes of the week from AVMS students!

In order from hilarious to ROFL infinity:

3) The teachers were talking about a particular student they all adore, which 1 of us had never met. A meeting was arranged in which the student mentioned previously was sent to the teacher on a fake errand: to tell her his name and shirt size. Apparently the student waltzed into the teacher's room and boldly declared,

"Ms. _________! My name is __________, and I am an M!"

She had no idea what he was talking about, but now she knows who he is.

2) In another class, a student was flipping through a magazine for an assignment. He walked up to the teacher, pointed at an advertisement for alcohol, and asked her,

"Do you do this?"

Her response: "Uhhhhh..."

His response: "Good!"

1) Same student came to my room at the end of the school day. He looks up at me and, in complete sincerity, asks,

"Ms. Branch...have you ever been stabbed?"

I respond with, "No...no I haven't."

I wait for more.

20 seconds later, he says, "Oh, well, I was just wondering...because I have."

Later I found out the stabbing incident involved a female bully and the business end of a sharpened pencil in the shoulder.

But in all seriousness, the first assembly of AVMS was fantastic. Our principal led the group in a serious discussion of achievement and being college-bound. She even started pointing at kids in the audience, asking, "Where are YOU going to college?" Some of the kids had answers: Harvard. Park University. Mizzou. (No K-Staters yet, but I'll keep praying!)

(I'm finishing this post from last Saturday on a rainy Thursday morning, the 2nd day of September in the year of our Lord 2010)

Then my principal had each class stand up: the 7th graders first.

The class of 2016.

I turned around in my seat and watched as my Aztec (homeroom) class of 18 stood up. All those burly boys, some with swagger and some on the shy side.

(When we have our schoolwide Aztec dodgeball tournament, we will crush everyone. LITERALLY.)

Then there were my 3 girls, the minority in our group. All banded together against the tide of testosterone.

All of these students dear to me already after just 2 days together.

I looked in the faces of these students growing into young adults, and my heart swelled with pride. After only 2 days of being with them, they had stolen my heart. I got teary just looking at them, although they were only standing for a few seconds.

The best part is, none of them know how great I think they are.

Hopefully soon, I can start showing it.

______________________________

Week 3 has been marked by serious failure and serious success. I had a moment on Tuesday where everything seemed insurmountable. My plans weren't ready, I was freaking out, and a snowball of accusing thoughts was growing in size and gaining in speed, rushing toward a meltdown.

Then on Wednesday, I had one of the smoothest days ever - activities timed out mostly right, transitions were smoother than before. It's amazing how one day can seem so bleak while the next turns out to be just fine. I'm sure this is a reminder from the Lord to quit letting me emotions have a say in my success.

So tomorrow is College Colors day. Perfect timing since K-State football starts on Saturday! Although do I really care?...no. But an opportunity to brag on my college is always fun. So I'll leave you with some wise words:

BE PROUD. BE PURPLE. GO STATE.

week 1: flexibility and adjustments

"Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself." -Chinese proverb

Although the title of this post no doubt applies to the first week of many teachers across the world, I think I can safely say I own it. Here's why:

Our middle school is brand new this year. We accepted incoming 6th and 7th graders with enrollment capping at 50 per grade. The 7th grade enrollment filled up 2 weeks before school, so our principal sent out the word that 7th grade was closed, but 6th grade was still accepting enrollment.

So on the first day of school, we had students with a 6th grade schedule coming up to us and saying, "I'm a 7th grader!" By mid-day we figured it out: About 20 students were enrolled as 6th graders when they were actually 7th graders. Because their parents wanted them at our school so badly that they lied about their grade level.

This meant that on Thursday, I received 3 new 7th grade classes: my homeroom, and 2 7th grade reading classes. SO now I have 6th and 7th graders this year! Which is great because I was beginning to really regret not having any when I saw them in the hallways, with their all-knowing smirks and self-assured swaggers.

Other things to deal with this week included not having Internet for most of the school days, and our technology was not hooked up. We all learned how to use our projectors so we could at least have Powerpoints going. But there are no laptops for students. Here's hoping that those show up by next month so we can get some Web 2.0 up in here.

But this week, although frustrating and overwhelming, was so beneficial: an exercise in patience and ingenuity, for sure. I give myself a B for overall teacherliness and the stunning display of dominance that came out of me when I met my new homeroom. Subduing a class of 18 students of 12-13 year olds, most of which were boys, is a rare feat indeed for someone who is not exactly a model of strict discipline...

Speaking of those boys - man, does my heart go out to them. All the students are adorable and funny in their own ways, but it's those boys that really get me. I am already mindful of the need to accumulate more books that are boy-friendly and to create more interactive lessons so they can move around and show their stuff instead of being forced to sit and listen to me for 90 minutes. I want to reach them. To show them that Language Arts is a guy-friendly subject, not effeminate or weak or stupid. This 2nd week I hope to get started on that. Again, I can only do so much before the students have to decide for themselves if they want to learn. There's enough going for these kids that, if they can just recognize their potential, hopefully a fire will be lit and they'll do their very best to learn. We will see.

thoughts before the first day of school (in 2 days!)

Tonight my roommate and fellow teacher is making Silly Putty as a practice run-through before she has her students do it in science class next week. It's a trial and error process involving Elmer's Glue-All (very specific), liquid starch, with red food coloring for an added bonus. After the 4th attempt, with pink goo scattered across our sink and staining her hands, she looked up at me and exclaimed, "I hate this already!" We laughed...but it does make me think...

It all goes down on Monday, August 16 - the first day of school at AVMS. We will arrive each day in our finest professional dress (except for Casual Fridays). We'll practice our opening speeches and all our activities (like the Silly Putty example) so we get everything crystal clear. We'll hang out in our classrooms as the students arrive for breakfast and talk with them so they know we care. Yet we'll constantly go over class expectations while furtively attempting NOT to smile before Christmas so we can build a supportive and firm school culture.

There will be nights that go late without sleep so we can get that lesson adjusted for all students to have learning within their grasp. There will be an internal meltdown or 10 before the school year is over as we try to juggle all the complexities of teaching. I know for a fact that my new classroom rug will soon be doing double duty as a prayer space during the week. I need God to be able to move through me and bless these students with words of grace and truth

But there will also be those times when students have that "aha!" moment. And let me tell you: those are some of the most beautiful and exhilarating things you could ever see. It is that kind of moment that reminds me why I'm doing this.

I'm completely terrified about Monday, of course. As I wait for the day to arrive and do last minute things to get ready, it's hard to fight the nagging whispers of the enemy that constantly encourage me to give up. Or that want me to believe I can't teach these kids.

The great thing is, it's true - I can't teach these kids. At least, not solely on my own strength. The only way I can do it is to do my darndest while committing them to the Lord faithfully. To let Him fill me up with knowledge of Him, His love, and His truth, so I can let it slosh over and splash these kiddos when they're in my presence. I will still fail to love them perfectly or teach them flawlessly, but I can be okay with that if He's the one in control...and if I'm getting back up to try again after the failures.

So here's to literacy, word walls, anchor activities and novel studies...to believing that stories connect humans across time and experience...to connecting these students with new ideas and helping those ideas blossom into permanence...to being a vessel of light and truth to these students so that, maybe, they feel a tug to pursue the One who knows them best.

Let's get it started... :)