I can translate anything...or so I told my 5th period level 3 Spanish class today.
We were working on translations in class. From English back into Spanish...a fun torture device for any teacher to use on a Friday! HA!!! ...well not really...they actually seemingly like it with no fuss (ODD). But with a mixed group of 13 non-native Spanish speakers and 18 native of which maybe 7 have had formal schooling in Spanish and then other 11 had to be moved form "kindergarten" level 1 Spanish, it was the easiest way to show those 11 who have not had any "grammar" that they DO know how to conjugate a verb while at the same time getting a feel of what vocabulary the non-natives need to focus on.
With that being said...nobody was restless...until a non-native Spanish speaking East Indian (right...why would he be a Spanish speaker...he is from India. Well, you would be surprised how many of my students get almost accosted by other Spanish speakers for being a "disgrace" to their heritage because skin color somehow dictates what language you speak...but that is another discussion) boy raises his hand and says, "I'm tired, I need to go to the bathroom.". To which my only response was (eyebrows raised inquisitively), "So, ...you want to go take a nap in the toilet?"...
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
High school fluff and the education of the next cloth diapering generation...
At what point are they mine?
I am sure that sounds selfish...mine, mine, mine...but I was standing in the hall greeting students as they came down the hall and wondering, "when are they mine?"
This of course depends on the class itself and if I have ever had the student in a previous class. So, it goes without saying that my Advanced Placement Spanish Literature class are mine, all mine. So much mine, that they come to me when they have issues in other classes. This is of course due to the fact that I have had the majority of them in either 3rd year Spanish or in AP Spanish Language. It could also have to do with the nature of the class. It is quite intimate in nature...we are a small group, we read and discuss literature, analyze it, and in doing so we reveal small details about ourselves. So, they quickly became mine.
At some point they also gain insight into my life as well. As much as I keep my personal life out of bounds with my other classes, the nature of this one, well, it lends itself to something more.
So, it comes as no surprise that some came to me as to what they should do their informative or persuasive speech (I am not sure which, I am the Spanish teacher). And it just so happened that I had received a new fluffy butt package for lil Quet earlier in the day and had some fun dipes (diapers) sitting in the box behind my desk. Out comes the dipes and I am explaining the benefits: financial, environmental, health, and practical of cloth diapering.
I then had 3 want to do their speeches about cloth diapering. Which I then sent them home to do their research. And I brought in different types for after our next class. They ooh-ed over the fuzzy Itti Bittis, could not believe the softness of the fleecy inside of the Rumparooz or the fun lil skulls print on the Happy Heinys, loved the practicality and simpleness of GroVia's AI2s and their trimness, and were generally amazed that cloth diapering was not "bleh-cky" and actually just as easy, if not more so, as plastic throw aways. In addition, they were so excited, they went home to let older siblings, aunts, and even their mothers know.
So, how did their speeches go? They all got the highest scores in their respective classes (they all had different teachers). And were told that nobody had ever done a speech on cloth diapers before. Also, other students got so excited they stopped by my classroom to chat about this option for their mother or their auntie (and one of the teachers whose wife is due in October). And could their family members ring me for more information?
Amazing, I would say. A whole generation of young ones, who were stuck in plastic,
gel-ed diapers, super excited about cloth? Yep, I'd say, amazing. This is a throw-away generation and they simply fell in love with FLUFF!!!
I am sure that sounds selfish...mine, mine, mine...but I was standing in the hall greeting students as they came down the hall and wondering, "when are they mine?"
This of course depends on the class itself and if I have ever had the student in a previous class. So, it goes without saying that my Advanced Placement Spanish Literature class are mine, all mine. So much mine, that they come to me when they have issues in other classes. This is of course due to the fact that I have had the majority of them in either 3rd year Spanish or in AP Spanish Language. It could also have to do with the nature of the class. It is quite intimate in nature...we are a small group, we read and discuss literature, analyze it, and in doing so we reveal small details about ourselves. So, they quickly became mine.
At some point they also gain insight into my life as well. As much as I keep my personal life out of bounds with my other classes, the nature of this one, well, it lends itself to something more.
So, it comes as no surprise that some came to me as to what they should do their informative or persuasive speech (I am not sure which, I am the Spanish teacher). And it just so happened that I had received a new fluffy butt package for lil Quet earlier in the day and had some fun dipes (diapers) sitting in the box behind my desk. Out comes the dipes and I am explaining the benefits: financial, environmental, health, and practical of cloth diapering.
I then had 3 want to do their speeches about cloth diapering. Which I then sent them home to do their research. And I brought in different types for after our next class. They ooh-ed over the fuzzy Itti Bittis, could not believe the softness of the fleecy inside of the Rumparooz or the fun lil skulls print on the Happy Heinys, loved the practicality and simpleness of GroVia's AI2s and their trimness, and were generally amazed that cloth diapering was not "bleh-cky" and actually just as easy, if not more so, as plastic throw aways. In addition, they were so excited, they went home to let older siblings, aunts, and even their mothers know.
So, how did their speeches go? They all got the highest scores in their respective classes (they all had different teachers). And were told that nobody had ever done a speech on cloth diapers before. Also, other students got so excited they stopped by my classroom to chat about this option for their mother or their auntie (and one of the teachers whose wife is due in October). And could their family members ring me for more information?
Amazing, I would say. A whole generation of young ones, who were stuck in plastic,
gel-ed diapers, super excited about cloth? Yep, I'd say, amazing. This is a throw-away generation and they simply fell in love with FLUFF!!!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
A rose by any other name... Or... My coaching bag...
So, a few years back I purchased a wonderful messenger bag from LL Bean. This was one in which you could design the outside with different colors and patterns to make it truly yours. Which of course I did, but not overly garish. In this way, I felt I could not lose it amongst the throngs of other bags scattered throughout the bleachers in various gyms or in a golf cart out on a course no where near our school. This bag could contain water bottles, snacks, clipboard, dry erase markers, permission slips to not ride the bus back, medical releases, scouting reports, a light weight jacket for overly chilly gyms or my wind shirt for blustery days on the course, not to mention tampons and such for the ladies. I could even shove at least 3 classes of homework to be corrected on the bus trip or during the boys' game.
OH MY COACHING BAG!!! Oh what have you become?
While it still holds bottles, they are usually not for me. Yes, it still contains snacks...the kiddo friendly kind, but permission slips and medical release forms have lent themselves to wet bags, wipes, and dipes. In addition I add a change of clothing, not for me but for lil Quet (although, it would not be a bad idea to add some for me as well...) and a book or two to keep her occupied.
So, why have I thought about this so late in the game? I mean after all, Quet, she has been attached to my hip for a year and a half now. Well, I was repacking it this afternoon as she will start up with the sitter again tomorrow and I began reminiscing about what it used to contain...realizing that it held more than my clipboard and folders of homework, or med release forms and permission slips. It held young ladies' dreams and hopes, the smell of old leathery basketball mixed with sweat and hoots and woots from the crowd. It held breaths during long putts and impossible sand shots.
It does, however, still hold laughters and loves and futures...
OH MY COACHING BAG!!! Oh what have you become?
While it still holds bottles, they are usually not for me. Yes, it still contains snacks...the kiddo friendly kind, but permission slips and medical release forms have lent themselves to wet bags, wipes, and dipes. In addition I add a change of clothing, not for me but for lil Quet (although, it would not be a bad idea to add some for me as well...) and a book or two to keep her occupied.
So, why have I thought about this so late in the game? I mean after all, Quet, she has been attached to my hip for a year and a half now. Well, I was repacking it this afternoon as she will start up with the sitter again tomorrow and I began reminiscing about what it used to contain...realizing that it held more than my clipboard and folders of homework, or med release forms and permission slips. It held young ladies' dreams and hopes, the smell of old leathery basketball mixed with sweat and hoots and woots from the crowd. It held breaths during long putts and impossible sand shots.
It does, however, still hold laughters and loves and futures...
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