Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive

The year is over. It is done. I will not have to deal with IPS students in a formal teaching capacity any time soon (and the plan right now is to not have to deal with them in such a capacity ever again, but I don't want to give fate a chance to throw me a screwball).

I know it seems as though I have spent much of this year complaining about my situation, venting about the numerous frustrations I have had to deal with in the last 180 days. And that can make it seem like I have nothing good to say about my career the last four and a half years. Despite the sometimes overwhelming negative I have felt this past year, my experiences with IPS have not been universally nor wholly terrible. In fact, there have been some great moments brought about by some great people I have had the pleasure of knowing, working with, and yes, even teaching. Thus, I will take Clint Eastwood's advice* and take a moment to first recognize some of those positive moments that helped me remember why I wanted to do this in the first place:

*The Letters: My first semester of teaching, some students in one of my Spanish classes at Arsenal Tech. anonymously left a letter/note in my classroom that was supposedly from a Mr. Armbruster, a fellow Tech teacher I had not yet met. The jist of the letter was that he had seen me and was interested in getting to know me better and wanted to me to meet with him in his classroom after school. The fact that no teacher had entered my room to drop it off as students were leaving aroused my suspicions even more than the fact that it was written on looseleaf, in pencil, with several spelling errors (Mr. Armbruster, as I found out, is an English teacher). Still, I investigated the matter, only to discover that he had received a similar note, supposedly written by myself. We concluded that his students, who had been reading Much Ado About Nothing in his class, had decided to try that experiment on their own to see if it could work. It was actually rather cute and sweet. (Sadly, those letters, which had been put into my journal, got lost when my car got broken into the next year. :( ) (Spring Semester 2007, Arsenal Tech.)

*Playing vocabulary games in Spanish class: I don't remember all the games we played to try to review, but most of my classes managed to have fun (and to be fun) on those days. (The candy prizes may have helped... :) (Fall/Spring Semester 2007-2008, Arsenal Tech.)

*My first period Spanish class first semester during the 2007-2008 school year: it was a small class with good rapport- we had some fun times in that class before they changed it all up second semester. (Fall Semester 2007, Arsenal Tech.)

*Will and Brandon telling me how they appreciate the way I treat them and talk to them like human beings, not like ignorant, inferior teenagers (as at least one teacher in particular apparently did). (Spring Semester 2009, Arsenal Tech.)

*Making cupcakes for Calvin (as a sort of last-minute, on-a-whim going away party the small class all agreed to). (Spring Semester 2009, Arsenal Tech.)

*For that matter, that whole class (all 3-4 of them that actually showed up) was one of my favorites- fun kids who at least made an effort to be creative and to participate and get involved in the activities. (I did love the Title I classes because they were required to be small per the Title I funding...) (Spring Semester 2009, Arsenal Tech.)

*Galumphing for my 4th period students as I did a unit on the language of "The Jabberwocky." (It kind of became an inside joke with us, something that would always get them laughing, and laughing in a good way, not a mocking way...) (Spring Semester 2009, Arsenal Tech.)

*Teaching elementary-level ESL: I worked with only a few kids at any given time, and most of the kids I got to work with (ranging mostly from 3rd grade to 6th grade, with a few kindergartners thrown in) were so much fun to work with. I really enjoyed those few months! (Spring Semester 2010, School #71, Carl Wilde Elementary School)

*Seeing several students in each of my Tier 1 reading classes actually getting into The Hunger Games, some of which were even so hooked that they read ahead of where we were reading as a class. It was especially validating to have a few of those students ask to borrow my copies of the other two books in the trilogy. (One of them even bought her own set of the books and according to her mother, will get to read the other two when she finally cleans her room...) (Spring Semester 2011, Gambold Middle School)

*Getting various thank-you/appreciation cards over the years: though they may have been few and far between, it is always nice to know a few students care enough to say so.


I also feel like I should acknowledge some of the people that helped make my experience more positive than negative in the long run:

Students:
Travis Y. - We always had amusing conversations as I waited for him to tuck his shirt in (per the IPS dress code) before allowing him to enter the room. (Spanish, 2007-2008)

Daniel D. - One of the few students that year who could get an A on his own effort and merit- I think he actually learned some Spanish that year, unlike so many of his classmates... (Spanish, 2007-2008)

Stella B. - An exchange student from Germany, she was pretty much awesome. She also did her work, had a pleasant attitude, and was very sympathetic to all I had to deal with as a teacher (she didn't hold a lot of respect for the kind of kids she had to go to school with every day...). Before she went back to Germany, we got together at the mall and had lunch and enjoyed an afternoon of friendly conversation. (Spanish, Spring semester 2008)

Will B. - A very bright (and highly unmotivated) kid whose unique brand of humor could always make me laugh (mostly because I knew he wasn't saying those things to be disrespectful or shocking...) (Diploma Plus GQE Prep, 2008-2009)

Toni S. - One of the few of my Title I Language Arts students who made an effort to do the work in the first place, and when she missed a lot of days due to various things, made the effort to do the make-up work. She passed with flying colors, and was a positive presence in class. (Title I Language Arts, Spring semester 2009)

Nicole P. - Despite a rather rocky beginning, we ended up getting along really well. I enjoyed her contributions to the class, her intelligent comments and questions, and her effort overall. (Reading Tier 1, 2010-2011)

Emily S. - Although sometimes caught up in the melodrama of the age, she was bright and intelligent, and showed marked improvement (i.e. actually doing her work) the last few months of school. I feel we had quite a bit in common, and usually enjoyed conversations with her. I was also impressed with how she matured over the year. (Reading Tier 1, 2010-2011)

Jennifer L. - She was often quiet in class, but she was consistent with doing her work, with putting forth an effort, and was always a pleasure. I enjoyed talking with her both in and outside of class. (Reading Tier 1, 2010-2011)

Marques G. - Though a pretty average student (as far as actually turning work in), he was such a pleasant person to have in class. He was one of the few that could still bring a smile to my face by the end of the school year. (Reading Tier 1, 2010-2011)

De'Monte Y. - He was goofy and fun and helped make class enjoyable, even when other students made it rough. (Reading Tier 3, 2010-2011)


Honorable Mentions:

Jessica L. - Though never in my Spanish class (she was much more advanced than Spanish I), she was fun to see on a daily basis, in part because I already knew her through her mom (who works retail at Cracker Barrel). After graduating high school that year, she also started working at Cracker Barrel while going to school, so it has been fun to continue to develop a friendship with her over the last few years.

Diana M. - She also was never one of my students (her reading level was too low, so she was in the special ed. reading class), but she remembered me from all my Cadre bouncing around last year, and was always so polite and friendly and sweet, I couldn't ever really tell her "no" to anything she might request.

Title I Language Arts classes: Two of my four Title I L.A. classes that spring semester of 2009 were just a lot of fun. It was still frustrating that many of the students never turned in work, but at least my 4th and 5th period classes made an effort to participate in class. As a whole, I enjoyed both those classes very much and had a lot of fun trying to teach them something about language and literature.



Wow. This ended up being more epic than I had originally thought it would be. I guess there was more positive than even I initially remembered. I think I'll stop it here for tonight- (I'll save the list of positive colleagues for another time...)

So, at least you know that even with all the frustrations over the last 4.5 years, there were still some good memories created. Hopefully, those few will outlast the many bad in the years to come.







(*Yes, I realize Clint Eastwood is not the original singer; but he was the one singing it when I heard it for the first time, which is why I choose to attribute the advice to him.)

The Beginning of The End

One week.

5 more days.

30 more class periods to get through.

Then I'm done.



I think just maybe I might make it after all.

Still, you might want to check on me Friday evening to see where my sanity levels are at.




Almost there...

Bach again!

Somehow, it never really occurred to me in high school just how challenging Bach's Mass in B minor truly is. I remember the "Et Resurrexit" being hard because I had to help play the rehearsal piano (there were just too many parts for the two students who normally played to do it alone). But I don't remember having as many challenges then as I've had the last few weeks and months as I've worked with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir to bring this glorious work to the people of Indianapolis. It finally has occurred to me that maybe we didn't sing all the choruses then as I have long thought (I knew we had cut all the solos, but I thought we had done all the chorus movements...). Still, most of what I remember is that it was an incredible experience-- especially as a high-schooler-- to be a part of such beautiful music.

And that part of the experience has not changed. Were we perfect in our execution? Heck, no! But I feel that we were good-- especially last night. I feel that as a whole, we created something truly sublime. My voice was not completely up to par, and I still made a few textual/rhythmic errors (though I did conquer the one run that had gotten me every time before). But I felt that the music we made was magical. And it was wholly gratifying to hear the resounding applause and cheers from the audience both nights, knowing that some of those cheers were meant for us alone-- not for the amazing orchestra, nor the talented soloists-- but for us.

The joy of making that music ring-- the elation at hearing it so appreciated by the audience-- has made all the time and stress and effort put into preparing it well worth it. To feel the divinity of such artistic creation echo in the depth of my being is an experience that will not soon be forgotten...

So thank you, Bach, for helping us all feel a little closer to heaven!

A Bit of Silliness...

With a sore throat and stuffy sinuses causing some pain and pressure, I called in sick today. So, instead of trying to teach students who seem increasingly determined NOT to learn, I started the day by watching Tangled. (Yeah, I broke down and bought it yesterday. But then, I enjoyed it so much in the theater, it didn't take much arm-twisting to convince myself to buy it...)

As I was watching, I kept thinking how Flynn Rider is a very nicely drawn cartoon character, which got me thinking about some of the other well-drawn (read: VERY good-looking) cartoon characters in existence today. Which now leads me to this rather-silly-but-still-fun post:

Elise's Top 5 Cartoon Hotties

5. Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid)



4. Dimitri (Anastasia)


(Great line: "If we live through this, remind me to thank you.")

3. Prince Philip (Sleeping Beauty)


(Great line: "No carrots!")

2. Prince Naveen (The Princess and the Frog)



(Great line: "Kissing would be nice...!")

1. Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert (Tangled)


(Great line: "You broke my smolder!")


So. Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

Recovered

As a follow-up to last week's post, here's how I got my iPhone back.

Yes, a student had taken it. He had made two calls to the same number, one lasting about 15 minutes, the other lasting about 30 minutes. I gave this number to Mrs. Atkins on Monday. She called the number. The person on the other end said she didn't remember taking any calls from my number, but that she has a teen-age daughter who might have. The daughter wasn't home yet from school to ask, so Mrs. Atkins agreed to call again on Tuesday to see what this parent found out. The daughter apparently named one of our students as the person who had called her.

Mrs. Atkins tracked this student down. She gave him an ultimatum: produce the phone or get arrested. The phone came out pretty quickly. I got my phone back 2nd period; this student got a 5-day suspension.

Despite the frustration of the experience- and the frustration of having my photos and all my contacts wiped clean, erased- I am actually not as angry at this kid as one might expect. I was actually surprised when I found out who had done it. I've never had problems from him (well, except that he often doesn't turn work in, but he will sometimes participate in class)- he is generally polite, pleasant, likeable. Quite honestly, I think it was matter of the phone just being there. Often, I have students that will touch things or take things that don't belong to them just because they're there. There isn't any real criminal intent- they just don't always seem to get the idea of belonging when it comes to objects. It may not be theirs, but if it doesn't seem to belong to anyone else, it's okay for them to take it.

In this case, I'm sure this kid was at least subconsciously aware that the phone belonged to someone else- but I think the main reason he took it was "because it was there." Simply an opportunity that presented itself, and he took advantage of it. I'm not even sure if he is really aware of just how wrong his actions were. Maybe he is, but I kind-of doubt it.

Anyway, aside from missing photos, missing information, and a missing case, I've come out lucky- mostly, just inconvenienced. (We are going to try to get the case back from him when he comes off suspension, or get him to pay a $30 compensation fee...) I'm not sure how things will be when he gets back. He may act weird or uncertain. For my part, I've pretty much forgiven him and am prepared to let it go.

For now, I'm just ready to enjoy Spring Break!!!

Naked.

My phone is gone. Lost. Stolen.

For now, I blame my exhaustion. I blame my scatter-brained tendencies.
I blame the mentality of IPS students.

I left the phone on my desk, by my computer, sort-of camouflaged amidst all the black- the black cords, the black laptop computer, and the black metal paper tray- but still in sight. It was there at the beginning of 8th period; it was gone by the end of 9th.

Of course, I left it out by mistake. Normally, I am very careful about putting it back in my pocket. I was likely so tired from the previous late night (I didn't get to bed until about 1:30 a.m.) that when students started banging on my door after lunch, I simply forgot it was still on the desk and not in my pocket where it should have been.

That doesn't excuse what happened.

Mrs. Atkins made some suggestions about what to do when I talked to her about the situation after school.
AT&T made some suggestions about what to do when I called them after school.
I'm still really hoping it was intended as just a prank, that whoever took it will either give it back to me on Monday or find a way to sneak it back to my desk on the sly (so I can't actually incriminate them for the deed).

It's still gone, though, and I am currently without a phone. Naked. Exposed. Vulnerable. Powerless. Isolated. that is how I feel, knowing the reason I am without it is because someone took it.

By now, I know that. Because someone used it to make a 40-minute phone call to a landline number at 6:00 p.m., long after it had gone missing from my desk. Still, it hasn't been excessively used. Which gives rise to my hope that maybe it really was just a prank and not a malicious act of theft.

I don't know--and won't know much more until tomorrow. I have temporarily suspended the phone line so any attempts to run up charges should fail. So now, all I can do is wait. And hope. And pray.

Top Five

This isn't necessarily final- I'm still keeping my mind open to other options in case situations and circumstances direct my path another way- but for any who are interested, these are my current top five grad school picks, mostly based on tuition costs, possible living costs, and how I feel about the idea of living there:

(*Note: These are NOT in any particular order, really...)

1. University of Rhode Island

2. Syracuse University

3. University of Washington

4. North Carolina Central University

5. University of Kentucky

I do also like Kent State University, and I would be okay with MU or even IU down in Bloomington (though that would mean I would still have to deal with the ridiculosity of "Governor" Mitch Daniels and the State "Super"intendent Tony Bennett, neither of which I like at all right now.)

I do still like the idea of studying at Dalhousie University in Canada, but I'm really not sure if that would be financially feasible (nor am I certain I would be able to work while going to school there due to the hassle of obtaining a work visa...)

But there you have it. For now. Feel free to let me know what you think.

I promise, I plan to have my newsletter actually mailed/e-mailed by the end of this coming week!