Yes, I am amazed!

Sunday morning dawned and I began to get myself pulled together so I would be ready for choir. We had just finished our iChat with adorable Gracie and her parents in France and I was feeling a bit sentimental. I gave a glance at my email, quickly scanning one that had come from the church. It mentioned a Christmas dinner for women's ministries. Anyone who knows me is quick to realize that women-only events are not my forté. In fact, I avoid them like the plague! That's why I was surprised to hear that still, small voice whisper, "Remember when they ask you to speak, and you say yes, that it is all about the child."

I was more than a bit startled. I have heard that voice before. It spoke to me just before a letter arrived asking us to consider moving from Martinique to Haiti. Almost everyone knew that Haiti was not high on my list of places to live. That God would speak to me to prepare me for that letter and move was huge but not super surprising, given my attitude. But why would his voice speak to me now?

I went to church, got through the first service then spent several moments visiting with friends. I was walking quickly to the sanctuary doors when a lady called my name. She informed me that women's ministries was planning a Christmas dinner and would like me to speak. I just looked at that lady, took a deep breath and replied, "Okay." I walked on into the sanctuary and joined the choir on the risers.

I have been in a bit of a daze ever since. I don't get it. I know I don't particularly like these kinds of events but why in the world would I get this kind of emphatic direction? I don't know. I may never know. But I do know what I'll be talking about - because it's all about the child!

Poetry Friday - Good-by

This has been a tough week. Lots of emotional situations, too much loss. In addition to the death of my former student from Haiti, my local community has also suffered the loss of a cross-country coach and junior high teacher from ECS, a nearby Christian School. The students, staff, parents are all reeling from shock. The situation was incredible! He was returning from a running event, driving a van load of students (no other adult), came to a stop sign/light, and collapsed. Students shut off the engine and got help for their teacher. That was last week. This week, Tuesday evening, their beloved coach left this world for the life he constantly talked about in heaven. This particular school is our biggest rival for athletics. This week we have really tried to be supportive and caring. Our students have been terribly sad for the kids at ECS. So this week's poem is in honor of Mr. Newman, may he truly rest in God's peace.


Good-by by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good-by, proud world, I'm going home,
Thou'rt not my friend, and I'm not thine;
Long through thy weary crowds I roam;
A river-ark on the ocean brine,
Long I've been tossed like the driven foam,
But now, proud world, I'm going home.

Good-by to Flattery's fawning face,
To Grandeur, with his wise grimace,
To upstart Wealth's averted eye,
To supple Office low and high,
To crowded halls, to court, and street,
To frozen hearts, and hasting feet,
To those who go, and those who come,
Good-by, proud world, I'm going home.

I'm going to my own hearth-stone
Bosomed in yon green hills, alone,
A secret nook in a pleasant land,
Whose groves the frolic fairies planned;
Where arches green the livelong day
Echo the blackbird's roundelay,
And vulgar feet have never trod
A spot that is sacred to thought and God.

Oh, when I am safe in my sylvan home,
I tread on the pride of Greece and Rome;
And when I am stretched beneath the pines
Where the evening star so holy shines,
I laugh at the lore and the pride of man,
At the sophist schools, and the learned clan;
For what are they all in their high conceit,
When man in the bush with God may meet.

Too Many Nights

One of the responsibilities that teachers must assume, whether they like it or not, is attendance at evening activities. I think I've been to four in the first four weeks of school! It is tiring to work all day and then attend fund-raisers or back-to-school night or whatever other event someone thinks is good for teachers. Add to that a personal life and things can get out of control very quickly. Normally I have been available to babysit my grandkids on Thursday evenings but lately it's been one thing after another and it just hasn't happened. Singing in the choir means going to choir practice on Wednesday nights, the same night our school has staff meetings. I try to schedule quiet activities for Thursday because I'm usually so tired from the long Wednesday. I think I now have a couple weeks free of mandatory activities. I plan to enjoy my evenings at home, by the fire, reading some books that I plan to use in my classroom. They ought to be quick reads but I may fall asleep so who knows!

Protecting Integrity

What a tough situation. Students who fabricate incidents to their parents and parents who believe their students, even when proven wrong. When it involves character issues, I can get pretty angry. When someone attacks me, I deal with it - usually head-on and quickly. Either that or I totally ignore it; quite often I just don't think it's worth my time. But when people come after someone I love, I get so angry that I am almost ill. I just cannot get over how some people believe such s t u p i d i t y!!! They must be sensationalism junkies, gossip fiends. But how do we combat such idiocy? I'm afraid the only thing we can do is pray and move on. Usually these people don't change. They are often spiritual charletons who thrive on feelings of superiority, false superiority. Most of the time no one believes them but it doesn't make it any easier to hear that lies are being spread. Our integrity has value and I don't tolerate people who impune the character of others. Hopefully, they'll stay out of my line of sight. Help me Lord!

Sadness and Loss

It never seems to end. My husband and I spent eighteen years working in Haiti. We lived there for twelve of those years. Last night I learned that one of my former students was shot and killed over the weekend. There was a home invasion and kidnapping, and shots rang out. A life was lost, one I knew and cared about. I am just so saddened over this on-going situation. Haiti is a beautiful country but it's small and incredibly poor. When bad things happen, they affect a lot of people because the duck pond is little and all the ducks know each other. This young man, age 30-something, left behind a family who loved him and a ton of friends who really cared. He also left behind teachers who invested in his life, hoping he would make a difference. There is now one less voice to be heard.

Mondays - - -

I'm beginning to think Mondays should just be eliminated. Either that or I need a sub on Mondays. It seems my students need to relearn appropriate classroom behavior every single Monday. These students are quite bright but they just don't want to admit that there are things they are not supposed to do. I just saw one boy stomping on another's math book. Really? Why do I always have to show up when those things happen? I have to prepare Monday folders to go home and there's always something that gets dropped off just before the end of the day to add to that confusion. This week we're sending home progress reports so that means I need to verify and re-verify every document. It would not be good to send the wrong report with the wrong student. My two needy kids were especially needy today. I can do this... 22 minutes to dismissal, then pick-up duty, then I'm running away - to home! "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down" and today we have both!

Yay for Brenda!

I love Brenda George! She just brought me three huge bins full of books, good books, for my classroom library. She is amazingly wonderful.

Poetry Friday - As Summer into Autumn slips

We have just come through one of the coolest summers ever. And I don't mean that it was hip - it was cold and wet! But August brought welcome sunshine and warm temperatures. The weather man says we still have some nice weather ahead of us and I am hoping that's true because our Washington summer was just too short! I shared this poem with my 8th graders today and they agreed that we are not yet ready for autumn, even if it is one of the loveliest times of the year!

As Summer into Autumn slips by Emily Dickinson

As Summer into Autumn slips
And yet we sooner say
"The Summer" than "the Autumn," lest
We turn the sun away,

And almost count it an Affront
The presence to concede
Of one however lovely, not
The one that we have loved --

So we evade the charge of Years
On one attempting shy
The Circumvention of the Shaft
Of Life's Declivity.

Of course we also discussed the passage of time and the different stages of life. There was a fair bit of vocabulary analysis going on as well. But my students love Poetry Friday and I'm grateful to Ruth for her posts that have pushed me to include this in my already overcharged schedule!

Pursue Excellence, Not Excuses

Each year I read the book Do Hard Things to my 7th grade bible class. There are several things I like about this book but the phrase that has lived on my white board each year is Pursue Excellence, Not Excuses. Generally speaking, junior high students are masters at excuses. Most excuses are slight alterations of the truth; some are just big, fat lies. It always amazes me when students come off with huge, outlandish stories that I know are not true. I kind of enjoy the process of watching them revise their stories as I inform them that parents will be called or emailed. One boy pulled the "my nana's printer ran out of ink just as we were starting to print my paper" excuse. And when I said that I would call nana and talk to her about her printer, suddenly, maybe, J wasn't at nana's at all... "it was someone's... now where was I working?" To which I replied, "Let's start over with the truth. Where is your essay?" And J answered, "I didn't do it." Okay. Finally. Truth.

I fight excuses. Students will start to offer their rationale and I will often stop them cold and let them know that I simply don't want to hear it. And I don't. I believe my students can give me work that will thrill my literary heart; I want to see that! Life will not give them constant 'do-overs' with no consequences. If junior high students can learn to pursue excellence and not waste their breath with excuses, they will become successful high school students... who will become successful college students... who will make a difference in the world. I deeply desire to see my students making a difference in the world so I myself will continue to pursue excellence and just admit my mistakes when they happen. It helps them when they realize that I am willing to acknowlege the errors of my ways. And as I often tell them "Don't do it again!"

Overworked by A. Schiller

Two very good friends of mine lost their jobs today. They were fired, probably because they knew too much. To say it makes me ill is an understatement. They are quality and they've worked themselves like dogs. To them, I dedicate my Friday poem:


Overworked by A. Schiller

I worked hard for you!
Got back what was undue.
Me you used to praise,
Then you ended my days.

At first I loved my work,
Then you had to drive me berserk!
I thought you believed in me,
But it wasn't meant to be.

Me and my hard work you betrayed,
Abused me and let happiness fade!
You didn't care how I felt inside.
You just pushed until I felt like I died.

Then you told a big lie,
Had to leave without a good-bye.
But at the end I felt relieved-
Never to return and be deceived,

Into thinking I was something to you.
Now I'm left to begin anew-
Get past the emptiness to a new day,
Where happiness will return and stay.

And the sin that so easily entangles...

Saturday my hubby and I worked in the yard - again. It has been a big summer for yard work. Last year we had our son and his family staying with us so we spent our time with our adorable granddaughter and didn't do a bit of yard work. That made it all the harder to do this year. Deferred maintenance means a lot more maintenance. While T mowed the lawn and all, I decided to prune some shrubs. One that really needed it was the quince. I tried to prune it but I just couldn't get the job done. T pruned it well... with the chain saw! Yep, we took it down. A quince does not appear to have a single trunk. From the ground springs up dozens and dozens of twisted branches that make quite a pretty shrub if it is kept in check. Ours wasn't. The individual branches were so entangled that we couldn't even separate them when it was time to haul them off! T had to use the chain saw again and cut them in half. Honestly, as we tried to pull them apart from each other, those words from scripture came to my mind. Hebrews 12 begins by telling us to get rid of everything that keeps us from completing our race successfully. It specifically refers to sin as that which entangles the runner. That's what sin does; it twists around us, tripping us up, causing us to fall. If I had only pruned that quince earlier, it would have been manageable. As it was, all twisted and tangled, it had to be cut down. Now I'm guessing that it will come back. I'm not sure I want it back but if I don't, I need to dig out the root. Again - great metaphor. It's not enough to deal with the surface symptoms, we have to get to the foundation of the issue and remove that which causes us to be defeated in our race. So don't put it off. Deferred maintenance in our spiritual lives leads to a lot of corrective work. Prune early, thoroughly, and let the Lord dig out that root of sin. It's much easier and a lot more fun to maintain a clean landscape than to revive one that has been neglected.

Poetry Friday - The Road Not Taken

Today is the first Friday at school and I shared my favorite poem with my 7th and 8th grade students. I love this poem! The inevitability of choice. And all choices have consequences, make a difference, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. I'm hoping my students will see that and look down the road a bit before they choose.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

One Last Day

Yesterday was busy. I mailed a package to my kids in France, had lunch with a longtime friend who moved to my town from Seattle, met my mother at the doctor's office so I could be clear about what was happening in her life, and ran foodie errands for my husband who had Parent's Night last night at his high school. Since hubby wasn't coming home for dinner, I decided to work on my seating charts for school. AND I found a mistake in my gradebook lists, totally my fault, that required time and photocopying to fix. So much for being ready for school!

Today is that last day before the kids show up and I'm not planning to spend much, if any, time at school. I need to return some things to one store because I found the exact same stuff at another for less than half the price and then I need to pick up a couple grandkids so we can enjoy lunch out today. They go to a local public school and relish the fact that they have an entire week of vacation to enjoy while their grandpa and I are working. And it's raining. So much for my park idea with the kids.

Friday and My Attitude!

The Meet and Greet Friday was a success at school. I tried to count how many showed up but gave up early on. I was distressed to hear that two students would almost immediately miss extended days of school. One of the boys, an 8th grader, will do fine. He could probably miss a month and come back with every assignment finished and not skip a beat re-entering the rhythm of the classroom. The other boy, a 7th grader, is new. His mother was quick to tell me that he suffers from ADD and she is more than willing to help him with his work. That probably means she'll do his work for him. He's going to miss a few days the first week of school. I just looked at her and wanted to ask her what in the world she was smokin' but I resisted and told her to be sure to check in at the office because they would need to excuse the absence. Of course she wants his work. He'll be there the first day but nothing after that for a while.

My husband and I talked about this kind of mentality at length today. We never missed school for fun. Well, I never did. Hubby was allowed one day a year to go hunting with his family. I won't mention what I think of that kind of outing. I have decided that this year I'm not going to ruin my day by getting upset when less than average students get pulled out for days of fun in the sun, or whatever they're doing. People don't get it. They just do not understand that struggling students need to be in school every single solitary day! Routine matters, consistency matters, getting every opportunity to learn matters. But I'm tired of getting upset about this. I'm sure my blood pressure flies to the moon when I get the message a few days before the departure, even though the policy is clearly written that we must have two weeks notice.... right.

I want this to be a good school year. The potential is there but starting with this kind of stuff does not make me a happy camper. So... hummmm, hummmm, I'll just chill out and let come what may. I'll focus on the student who came to me all upset because the 56 spaces on her book list weren't enough to record all the books she read over the summer and she used notebook paper for the rest but could she please, please, please have another book list sheet (or two) so she could make it right! I'll think about the four students who brought in their summer projects ahead of time so they didn't have to carry them on the first day of school. I'll remember the boy who did his required project but then did an extra one because he liked the idea of it. I'll think about the girl who did all four possible projects, because she could. It will be a good year; I am claiming that right now!

Poetry Friday - Back To School

Today is Meet Your Teacher Day at my school. So here we go!!!



Back To School

When the summer smells like apples

and shadows feel cool

and falling leaves make dapples

of color on the pool

and wind is in the maples

and sweaters are the rule

and hazy days spell lazy ways,

it's hard to go to school.

But, I go!

~Aileen Fischer

Counting Down....

Today is my last day of freedom! Well, somewhat. Tomorrow should be no school but I have two parent meetings in the afternoon. Wednesday is sit through boring staff meeting time and Thursday is work in the classroom. My classroom is ready so I have no intention of staying on campus during work days. I've found that too many people drop by so no one gets much done anyway. Several of the teachers last year worked until well after midnight getting their rooms ready for the meet and greet day on Friday. That is something I've never been able to understand. The following Monday and Tuesday are work days and kids arrive on Wednesday the first. So I do have time; it just won't be the same after today.

I have a new bookcase again this year! Last year my hubby found a big, old, solid-oak bookcase for sale on a gov't auction site. Sometimes it's a good thing to live in the state capital. This year my brother and his wife gave me a really tall bookcase that came out of her mother's house. There are doors for the lower section but I think I'm just going to leave it open and put in art supplies that the kids can access easily. I'm still filling it up but I have no doubt that will happen quickly. Who ever has enough storage? If the bottom section gets messy then I'll add the doors but for now, I like it.

The other thing that has occupied my time is our backyard renovation. We bought our house four years ago from my husband's mother. His dad died in 2005 and after a year, she knew she needed something else and moved into a condo with a gorgeous view of Mount Rainier. We moved to WA a month before she decided to sell, bought the house, and spent the first six months renovating the inside. It took us a long time to find the courage to tackle the yard but we have worked all summer to change this overgrown hillside...


...into something I am really proud of, a beautiful hillside with trails that small grandchildren love to run. We still have some grass to plant on the west side of our house but that's it; all our yardwork is finished! Next we need to paint the house. I've chosen the color (SW-Svelte Sage) but we haven't done anything more than that. I'm even thinking about asking my unemployed neighbor, who just did a beautiful job of painting his house, if he would like another project! I wouldn't mind observing rather than working this time!

So since this is my last truly free day. I'd better get busy!

Poetry Friday a bit early

In the year 2000 a beautiful baby girl was born and she was named Kayla Rose. She is joy personified and in honor of her birthday (which is Saturday) I am posting this poem for Poetry Friday:

"Happy Birthday My Friend" by Raymond A. Foss

Today you are ten.
But, with that
Sly smile and
Those knowing eyes,
You are
Going on twenty.

That sparkle in
Your blue eyes,
That false pout,
That mischievous
Laugh and
Kind spirit
Make me glad
You are
My friend.

Dead Computer

Don't you hate it when that happens? My school computer has been acting up since last spring. The tech took it last week and supposedly fixed it. I asked for a tutorial because I didn't think it was really fixed and guess what? I was right! Augh!!! So I drag my laptop back and forth... which works fine but I hate using my personal computer like this. I like the separation of school and life! Also, I keep forgetting to take my camera to school. Actually I have plenty of time for that. Meetings and class set up begin on the 25th but I'm nearly done. I have even finished most of my photocopies. I still need to copy my book list form and journal question list, as well as other things that I'm sure I will think of eventually but most of what I need is finished. I would LOVE to get my hands on my new planbook so I can get that started. Yeah, I'm ready to go back, something that surprised even me!

Glorious summer heat

I know that people in the eastern part of the US don't feel the same about 90* weather as we do out in the Pacific Northwest. For the past three days we have hit new records. Both Saturday and Sunday were 97* and yesterday it got up to 92* - all new highs. We don't have a/c but we do have tall Douglas Fir, Spruce, and Cedar trees surrounding our property. It's like natural a/c. This picture is taken from the back of our patio toward the hillside that we worked on all summer. The umbrella hides the waterfall and pond but it gives you a good idea of how much shade we have. Of course that changes throughout the day but it is generally a cool, tranquil space... unless we have three little children running the hillside. That's fun too. Our summer heat will be short-lived. In fact, it's supposed to rain on Saturday. My water bill will appreciate that. And my flowers, some seriously burned by the hot sun, will enjoy the relief as well. As for me, I just wish it had come sooner. School officially starts in two weeks - I go back next week for meetings and classroom set-up. I would have enjoyed this part of summer more if it had come sooner!

Poetry Friday - The Summer Day

I think I am mourning the passing of summer. My husband and I went for a short drive this evening and both of us noted that it was getting dark earlier. I have loved my summer again this year; I don't believe I'm ready for it to morph into autumn. Obviously it doesn't matter whether I'm ready or not. I do live in a part of the world that enjoys summer well into the month of September. In fact, most of us in the Pacific Northwest do not consider June to be a part of the summer months - rather summer comes in July, August, and September! To honor this time of thoughtful relaxation, I submit one of my favorite summer poems for Poetry Friday.

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?