This I believe

In the Freshman English classes I co teach we are asking the students to write a “This I Believe” essay.  This is an essay where you simply tell your audience what you believe.  It is a long running segment on NPR that originated in the 50’s.  Honestly, it’s pretty cool.  Of course, this started the wheels turning…and since I haven’t blogged in a while…

I believe my son is one of the most amazing people on this planet.

I believe that hard work pays off.

I believe that education is as vital as oxygen.

I believe in the power of words.  They can lift you up.  They can also bring you down.

I believe that the arts are healing.

I believe I would be lost without theatre.

I believe family is not what you are born into, but who you decide to let in as an adult.

I believe that a person’s faith is incredibly personal, which is why I rarely discuss it.

I believe that opposing opinions is good for growth.

I believe that weekends should always have three days.

I believe that Rhode Island is just about the greatest place to live in this country.

I believe that teaching is a gift.

I believe a book that you hold is better than a tablet!

I believe that people should dress up when they go out to see a play.

I believe more people should go out and see plays!

I believe that a perfect night is just being with my husband and son.

I believe that life is too short to not give second chances.

I believe that life is too short to not try everything you can!

I believe that Disney World really could be the happiest place on Earth.

I believe that the friends I have now are more like family.

I believe it's cool to be a nerd, because nerds, like bow ties, are cool!

I believe Jaws is overrated.

I believe Apollo 13 is also overrated.

I believe Lady Gaga is overrated.

I believe that nothing seems overwhelming when you have a cup of tea.

I believe in the magic of a good book.

I believe that Dorothy really did travel to Oz, and it was not a dream.

National Siblings Day???

According to Facebook yesterday was National Siblings Day.  Personally I have never heard of this day before, although apparently it is a holiday in some states.  (That’s according to Wikipedia…and I will NEVER admit to my students that I used Wikipedia for anything!)  This made me wonder what other holidays are out there that we could only discover through the magic of social media.  I could go on and on about this, but had to limit it to 10, I have things to do!

National My Sibling Is a Deadbeat Day

Yeah, we had to suffer through all those posts about how great YOUR sibling is, but what about the rest of us?  What about those of us who were dealt a crappy deal when it came to siblings?  What about those of us who have had to support our siblings financially or act as their parent even when they’re well into their 30’s?  Personally, I think we deserve a day more than you do!

National Argue About Politics Day With People You Never See Anyway

Phew!  That one’s a doozy!  But let’s face it, it’s happened on your own Facebook page, and you’ve seen these discussions on your news feed.

National Neighbors Day

The day you return all the crap you’ve stolen I mean borrowed in the past year.

Mellow Mondays

Just once, please just one Monday can we have a newsfeed free of Garfield “I hate Mondays” cartoons, or statuses that complain about Mondays?  You know it’s coming, deal with it!

Myspace Mondays

Let’s see if we can break Myspace and all log in one day!  It will be like when Stephen Colbert “broke” Wikipedia…which brings me to...

Wikipedia Wednesdays

Let’s overload Wikipedia every Wednesday and make up random things…because we can.

Tripping Tuesdays

Like Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday except it’s filled with pictures of people just tripping over their own feet.  Sure, we should be nice to our fellow man and help them out, but why do that?

National Bacon Day

Come on, you know you want it!

National Houseplant Appreciation Day

Yeah, I really wish I made this one up…I didn’t.

National Peculiar People Day

This day falls on the same day as the houseplant day.  I guess they would go hand in hand.  Although take a good look at your social media feed…isn’t every day Peculiar People Day?

Something Every Teacher Should Do...

I don’t often talk about teaching on my blog; which is weird because offline I talk about teaching all the time.  Just ask my poor hubby who is starting to get the glazed over look now when I begin!  I love everything about it.  The planning, the instruction, the time I take to know my students, the weekends spent grading.  Even the classes I had to take to become a teacher!  (However I do remain steadfast in my belief that the Praxis is not only evil but the English content Praxis was harder than childbirth!)  So today, I have something to say about teaching.  Consider yourself forewarned if this topic bores you.  (Which it shouldn’t because I as I just said education is AMAZING!!!)

Every teacher should be asked to work in the Special Education department at the beginning of their career.  (And for that matter so should parents.)  People do not understand what goes on during the day of a teacher in the Special Ed department.  And let me tell you, it’s not easy.  For the past month I have been fortunate enough to sub as a Resource teacher.  Now I say fortunate for two reasons.  Reason one of course is “YAY!  I’m employed!”  However, the second reason is that I can already see how my instruction will change when I do land a coveted permanent position.  When I would see the word “modifications” on an IEP before I would get really nervous.  I wouldn’t know what to do beyond calling someone from the Special Ed department.  Now of course, I will still continue to look to the professionals to ensure I am doing all I can for my students.  However as time goes on something one of the amazing professors at Providence College said keeps coming back to remind me…”if it works for a kid with an IEP, it works for everyone.”  People have this misconception that a modification is somehow handing an answer to a student.  It isn’t.  It can be something as simple as listing out vocabulary words in an answer key instead of grouping them.  It makes it easier to read for anyone, IEP or no IEP.  Sure, your test may be a page longer, if you feel guilt about “wasting paper” plant a tree to give back!  I would rather use more paper to ensure success for all of my students than cram things on a page.  And yes, some students really do require extra time on a writing assignment.  Try as they might, the words do not come.  How many times have we as adults faced the same challenge?  How many memos at work do you write, and then have a second or third set of eyes look at it?  

When I was attending classes for my certification, I remember a classmate complaining that “every kid has an IEP now” and lamenting that they’re unnecessary.  Although this isn’t a train of thought I believed in, if more teachers saw the genuine struggle these students go through, maybe that thought would die off.

Sometimes we forget we’re talking about children here, not a product.  Learning is a journey that is different for everyone.  Some of us need to take a different route, just as some of us require a GPS and some do not.

I have frequently thought that in any workplace, people should spend some time in different departments to see what their colleagues deal with day in and day out.  The saying is you don't criticize a man until you've walked a mile in their shoes.  (And if you're Jack Handey, you can take it a step further; "Before criticizing someone, walk a mile in their shoes. Then when you do criticize them, you will be a mile away and have their shoes.")   Another reason why every teacher should spend some time in the Special Education department…they really have to move!*    By the end of the day of battling a constant stream of students in the halls, I am ready for a Red Bull and a foot massage!

*Disclaimer: Most of the teachers I have seen move a lot in their classrooms!  I haven’t seen a teacher sit behind a desk since I was a student back in the good ol’ nineties!  I just really need more Red Bull and foot massages in my life!

Vacation All I Ever Wanted!

I am writing today from sunny Florida!  Goodbye Polar Vortex hello Mickey!  Being the anxiety ridden flyer that I am, I tried to keep my mind off of things by reading and what else-writing!  So my dear blog readers here are some simple vacation observations!

Don McLean’s song American Pie is a classic.  I love it.  Will sing it whenever I hear it.  Hearing the part “this will be the day that I die” before boarding a plane…not so much!  Nothing like that sentence playing over and over in your head while trying to act cool, calm and collected in front of my five year old!

Airplane bathrooms.  They are unsurprisingly built for Hobbits.  However that wasn’t what struck me as weird.  It was the ashtray built into the door.  Why do you need an ashtray on an airplane?  Isn’t smoking prohibited on planes?

I never realize what a New Englander I am until I travel.  In our hotel room the A/C is kept at 68 degrees.  That is tropical-I-can’t-sleep-weather.  I get it; you Floridians are accustomed to sweltering heat.  Typically I don’t like the heat ON when I sleep-even in the middle of our Polar Vortex.  (But they are fixing it today!  Yay for Disney!)

As a parent, the greatest thing about vacations is watching your child get some special attention!  Brady was the "honorary captain" on our flight and I thought I would cry it was so sweet!

There is nothing…NOTHING better than getting into your family bubble and letting your kid lead the way!  We had to scrimp and save to get here…but it was worth it!  Now I have to go see a guy about a mouse, and search the World Showcase for any and all Tardis souvenirs!

Things to do to Beat the Snow!

Has another wintry night in New England ruined your plans?  Make a mug of hot cocoa and grab that peanut butter and Fluff sandwich!  Here’s a list of things to do while snowed in!

Catch up on some housework…okay scratch that no one actually does that during a blizzard!

Catch up on House of Cards.  I have no idea what this is.  I think it’s a Netfliix/Showtime/Starz type of program.  And if your Facebook feed looks anything remotely like mine, you have been inundated with your friends binging on this show today.  Apparently this is the number one thing to do this Saturday in New England!

Can’t get to your local watering hole since your street has more snow than Sochi, Russia?  Then develop a drinking game!  (If you’re over 21 that is!)  Every time a meteorologist has to adjust the predicted snow totals, have a shot!

Or if you want a quicker buzz…every time someone on your Facebook feed complains about the snow have a shot!  

Or for fun…every time a friend who lives in a warmer climate posts the temperature with a cute “sorry RI!  We have all the sun!” resist the urge to jump on a plane to slap them...and just have a shot.

How about writing the next great American novel?

 

Brian's Novel (Family Guy)

Maybe something about a region crippled by weekly snowfalls?  No?

Think of the snow as your wing man.  What better way to avoid people you don’t like!

Oh screw it!  Book the next flight out to Florida and come back in the Spring!

The Battle of the Bulge

Six years ago I found myself getting ready for my ten year high school reunion.  I was nervous, almost terrified really.  I thought about what I would wear for a week.  In high school I was thin without trying.  A size two no matter what I ate!  Ten years later…well I would tell you my size but then I would have to kill you!  Besides the nerves and the terror I was embarrassed.  Embarrassed that I had not been preserved in some sort of time capsule only to be opened up at the exact moment in time.  I was grateful for one thing.  I was pregnant.  I was not grateful for the obvious reasons; the joy of carrying a life.  No.  I was grateful that I could use my pregnancy to blame the extra weight I had gained in the decade since I had seen my classmates.  Never mind that I was barely through my first trimester and could only blame a good ten pounds I had gained on being pregnant.  Ten years and what did I have to show for it?  About fifty pounds!  And then this past weekend I found myself getting ready for a mini reunion of sorts.  I noticed something different this time.

I did not worry about what I looked like at all. 

No, I hadn’t become a supermodel overnight and miraculously fit back into those size two skirts once again. I mean I have been working out a bit; I try to run and have been doing my best to live a healthier lifestyle. 

But I noticed something…

This body has seen the world in sixteen years. 

Can I blame the extra weight around my middle on being a very busy mom who sometimes gives up and eats mac and cheese for dinner?  No.  Not blame.  I can however reflect that this is the body that carried one of the most amazing human beings I know for nine months. 

These arms that are not as slim as the arms of eighteen year old me?  Well these are the arms of someone who has held people I love, rocked someone to sleep, hugged long lost friends. 

These shoulders are shoulders that have been there for people to cry on. 

These wrinkles around my eyes tell the story of a million laughs in sixteen years.

We need to stop beating ourselves up over what we look like.  Now I am not concerned about my extra weight as much as I am concerned about not having the stamina to keep up with a very active little boy.  I eat healthier not to starve myself, but to make better nutrition choices in the hopes that my son will follow suit. Will I lose weight by exercising and making better food choices?  Of course.  Am I going to labor over a scale and worry that it doesn’t show the same number it did sixteen years ago?  Not anymore.  Because sixteen years ago there was a whole world I didn’t have.

And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.