熊猫日

A photo memory popped up on my phone the other day. The picture of the gray wolf was taken at the National Zoo nine years ago. My sister and I had gone to the zoo that day to see the newest baby panda, Bei Bei.

This morning, we were back again, checking in on the newest residents of the panda exhibit, Bao Li and Qing Bao. These pandas did not disappoint. There was some rolling around in the grass, lots of bamboo eating, and lots of oohs and aahs from the crowd of panda-enthusiasts.

We also stopped in at the Ape House to visit our very distant cousins. Baby Zahra entertained the crowd as she climbed, scurried, and swung through the enclosure. We exited the Ape House in time to see the orangutans travel across the raised O-Line that is suspended 50 feet above the crowds.

By around 11:30 the crowds were thickening and our stomachs were growling, so we walked up Connecticut Avenue for a mediocre lunch at an Irish Pub and a delicious afternoon treat at a French cafe across the street.

DC really shines in the spring. Today was no exception. 

Hello Darkness My Old Enemy

This morning was the last sunrise I'll see on my drive into work for some time. How lovely of mother nature to put on such a colorful show this morning. I left my house at about 6:40 am and took in the beauty of the early morning light. Once I got on the highway I smiled as I looked at a distant apartment building shimmering in the bright sunshine. Wispy pink clouds spread across the sky wiping away any hint of nighttime.

I made sure to take it all in. 

When I leave my house on Monday morning, it will be dark. There will be no hint of sunrise for about an hour. My students will be groggier than usual, and arrive even later than usual--if at all. It will be up to me to bring all the energy into the classroom.

I plan on resting up this weekend.

Wondering Where the Lambs Are

March is here and she is not messing around. The saying goes "March comes in like a lion, out like a lamb."

Apparently, lions are full of self-confidence. An internet search tells me they are happy to take charge if no one else will, but they can also have problems when others tire of their dominance.

March decided to take charge yesterday. 

On Saturday, March 1, we had a lovely day. The high temperature went up to 68. I sat on my back patio with a book and a smile- happy for such gorgeous weather. Maybe March won't be so bad, I thought.

How silly of me.

By Tuesday I was having a full-blown allergy attack. The tree pollen was back and so was my sinus headache.

Yesterday? That was crazy. The afternoon was full of rain, wind, and more rain.

The wind is still here today, and the cold weather also returned. 

So far, March is dominating like the lion that she is. I'm just wondering at what point the lamb may be let out of the pen.

Change for the Better

Thanks to a last minute change in my afternoon plans, I had 6 hours of unscheduled time all to myself. I had taken leave this afternoon so I could drive 90 miles north, take my mother to a doctor's appointment, and then drive back home.

Earlier today, my sister texted to let me know she could take my mom to the appointment and suddenly I had nowhere I had to be. I suppose I could have canceled the leave I took but a rainy afternoon lounging on my comfy couch seemed like such a better idea.

So, lounge I did. The soft patter of the rain was all I needed to drift off into an out of the ordinary afternoon nap.

It was a blissful afternoon.

What's Going On?

One of the other 6th grade English teachers was given a student teacher this quarter, and since it's almost the end of her placement, Hermione is taking some time to observe other classrooms. Today she dropped in on one of my smaller, but tougher classes. I have two students in particular that struggle with English, partly because of the inflexible nature of their disability, and partly because well...writing is hard. I have an assistant during this class period, so whenever we are working on a long writing project (like today) she often takes both students to another room to work. That way they can vocalize and take breaks as much as they need without disturbing the other writers in the room.

Student #1 came in today and proclaimed her writing was done. She went on to tell me she had done everything else I could possibly want her to do. 

Student #2 complained about the torture of English class (as always), wrote about 50 words and proclaimed he needed a break.

The assistant and I exchanged glances. We then talked about what each student should work on and she took them upstairs.

I sat down with Hermione at the back table. "English is tough for them, so of course they don't like the class that much," I explained.

She looked a little confused, but we went on discussing other English classroom related items. I didn't realize how confused she was until I walked into my English CLT meeting later in the afternoon.

"Hermione said there were a lot of teachers coming in and out of your room," stated Kerry, her mentor teacher.

I looked at her with a puzzled expression, "Oh, you mean the teachers that are always coming in to get things off the printer?"

"No, she said there were two kids that don't like English and somebody came in and took them away."

I laughed, "I guess it did look like that."

When Hermione joined the meeting later, I clarified, "So, those two kids are in the ______ program. The lady who came in works with them, and sometimes it's better for them to write in a room where they can be as loud as they want. That's where she took them."

"That makes more sense," she replied.

I laughed. This year my classes are pretty chaotic. I guess it's obvious to a visitor.

Hey Cortex...Wake Up!

It’s quite a coincidence that today’s TA lesson reviewed how the amygdala runs the feeling parts of your brain. The video that went with the lesson explained that the immediacy of the amygdala means the shaking and stomach churning you feel when angry or nervous is because the cortex hasn’t woken up enough to help manage your emotions.

As I sat down at my computer this afternoon, my amygdala was undoubtedly trying to awaken my cortex to an emotional situation. However, it didn’t act quickly enough because as soon as I opened my email account, my stomach started turning. It churned the same way when I first tried to figure out long division. I was nervous- just like I was back then.

Today was the day I would email my principal and the district to let them know that I am retiring effective July 1. The churning in my stomach wasn’t all nerves. It’s more a combination of excitement, disbelief, pride, and anxiety. 

I typed up my short email, and let it sit there for a while. A few minutes later, team member Starr came in to grab something off the printer in my classroom.

“Can I read you my letter to Keisha?” I asked. Starr was a wise choice, she sent her retirement letter a month ago.

“Wow, that’s much better than mine,” she smiled, “I only wrote about three sentences.”

“Alright then,” I replied, “I’m hitting send.” Off my words went- into the internet. I threw my arms up and smiled. Once I hit send, the only emotion I felt was happiness. I guess my cortex woke up.

Restoring Order

About three weeks ago, I started sleeping in my guest room. My back was a little achy, and I thought sleeping on a firmer mattress was best. 

I came to enjoy the simplicity of the guest room. It's a smaller room, so there isn't room for much more than an end table, bookcase, and a small desk that I  added to the room to serve as a luggage rack. The starkness of the room is quite different from my own room, which has become cluttered with extra furniture over the years. In the three weeks I've been soundly sleeping in the guest room, my room has also become a combination big dressing room, clothes hamper, and post laundry staging area.

Simply put...my room became an absolute mess. It was easy to ignore. Closing the door meant the piles of clothes were out of sight and out of mind. And since I live alone, there was no one else around to give me a hard time about the mess I created. (A perk of single living) I slept in blissful denial of the havoc I had created a few feet away. 

This morning it was time to tackle that mess. Four hours, and five loads of laundry later, order has been restored to both bedrooms in my house.  I have a house guest arriving on Tuesday, but who knows where I'll be sleeping after she leaves on Thursday.

100 Days of Excitement and Surprises

Introducing the 100-Day Writing Challenge to my 6th graders is always one of my favorite days of the school year. However, the day also brings a sliver of hesitation, simply because it's a toss-up whether the classroom response will be positive or not-so-positive. 

It's been a tough year in 6th grade. There are a handful of students that I have had a difficult time engaging. On some days, those students can throw off an entire lesson. I understand it comes with the job of teaching. Each school year is different. Getting all students onboard for growth and learning happens at different points of the year. The years that it takes until March or April (like this year) are exhausting for me. It's not easy being all the energy in the room day after day.

On Wednesday, when I reviewed the parameters of the challenge, I was not faced with the pessimism I expected. Obviously, there was some hesitation, but when it came down to writing that day, 98% of the students found something to write about.

By the end of the lesson I was excited, not hesitant. I was excited to find out who would take on the monthly challenge and who would make it all the way to June 5 and write every day for 100 days. One thing I know for sure is on day one it could be anyone.