Open Emotion

Read before entering.

Below is a link to an article that I truely wish I could bring to every single one of my IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meetings, hand out at the beginning of the year, and post on my door. I could list my favorites from the list, but seriously, I started to and realized it was almost every one of them.

20 More Things Your Child's Teacher Won't Tell You from Reader's Digest

The week before Christmas break was absolutely distroying to me. I was yelled at, put down, screamed at, called names, and given excuse after excuse. But look at number 20 on the list. Before leaving for Christmas break, one of my students came to say goodbye and told me that they are really happy that I'm their teacher. THAT is why I teach. THAT is why when I get screamed at, I smile and remember why I do this.

Biggest Loser. not the show.

In the weeks after Christmas vacation (or you PCers out there: Winter Break) my co-workers and I will be taking on a challenge. To lose some poundage and get back to healthier ways. Of course, there will be a team prize and an individual prize. We each put in $10 and then work our lbs off. The team with the highest percentage lost will get half of the pot of money and the individual who has the highest percentage will get the other half!

love

No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich. --Louis Sabin (from Daily Good)

looking forward.

I sit here and think back to the end of the school year. I had just taken my fourteen files to the district office, wrote my last email to those parents thanking them (once again) for a fabulous year, and said my tearful goodbyes.

Next week, I will meet the new group. I follow my caseload through two years of middle school, 7th and 8th grade. We, together, learn how to mature and grow as adolescents and me, as an adult and teacher. There are always tears, demands, pressure, laughter, and always, in the end, I find more love and caring for those teenagers than I always believe I can. By the end of two years, I know their favorite foods, the parents names/addresses/jobs/marital status, how they learn best, what annoys them, and what excites them by heart.

I pride myself on this knowledge.

I'm sad that I won't see my usual smiling faces, but super excited for a new start. scared, but excited. I worry how my little (now) 9th graders will do, but I think I gave them some really extraordinary tools and a sprinkle of self confidence to work with. I hope, anyways.

I really hope to be the best teacher I can possibly be and to, in my small corner of the world, really help a student gather those tools for life, gain self confidence, and to find a love of school and learning.

"Each of us has a spark of life inside us, and our highest aspiration ought to be to set off that spark in one another." --Mark Albion (from Daily Good)

ramblings in the morning...

Summertime is going by way too quickly. It's already the middle of July and I feel like I haven't even started to take advantage of all the beautiful sun. I started going to the pool after work to work on my tan and then walk in the evenings with friends. It should be a good start at beginning to enjoy my summer.

Next school year is going to be pretty hard for me. It's going to take a lot of stamina, endurance, and patience dealing with both the students and the parents. I feel that I do a really good job at communicatiing with my parents, but I do a good job because I'm always doing it. I'll email a parent back at midnight just so I don't forget to do it the next morning. I'll make phone calls on my lunch break and stay after school for hours talking on the phone, emailing, or visiting in person.

Just as my resolution states, I need to leave by 6 this year. Yep, I have to make a goal out of it or I would never do it. I often see the inside of my classroom at 8 p.m. or later. I've been known to be the absolute last person to leave the building and still feel like I could drive back and work some more at 4 a.m. But, this year, no matter if the larger caseload and the more demanding parents ask for it, I have to stop at 6. have to.

Now, since it's not quite school time yet. I'm going to stop worrying about it and enjoy the sun. I'm headed to the Basilica Block party and meeting some great friends!

right now. perfect.

"Oh, but my man you're someone else's man
And that ain't the man that I want
But you keep drawing me in
With those big brown lieing eyes"

"I'm not a victim of cliches
I don't believe in soul mates
Happy endings only one.
Oh, and I met you
And that all changed
I had a taste and you're still sittin'
on the tip of my tongue."

"Oh, we had a night
just a little wine."

~bits and pieces of the song "The One that Got Away" by Pink

it's a song on repeat right now. In my life and on my IPod.

strange ways

 

yep, she really is laying like that!! ahhh! I love my Lillers!!

27, on to 28.

Yep, I definitely...

1. played poker and never won a game. really.

2. celebrated another year of being asked to return to a job that I have fallen head-over-heals in love with in the past two years.

3. spent Christmas in the Bahamas...and the New Year in an airplane.

4. made an offer. on a house.

5. welcomed a new nephew into this fabulous world, Hunter Lee.

6. attended weddings with my wedding roommates.

7. danced in front of a crowd for the Staff Folleezz at work.

8. followed my brother to many of his horse races over the summer.

9. got a speeding ticket. got a warning ticket for not driving within the lines...I'm definitely blaming that one on the wind.

10. dressed like a nurse for Halloween and enjoyed adult beverages in Uptown

11. brought my MInnesota bestie to the Rodeo, my most beloved activity

12. wore a fabulous red flower print dress to my cousin's wedding.

13. went camping in south west Minnesota

14. screamed out of joy for my best friend getting engaged...and being asked (and feeling very honored) to be the Maid of Honor.

15. cried. my 8th graders are moving on to the high school.

16. rode and drank on a peddle pub through Northeast Minneapolis.

17. found out that I'm going to have my very own classroom next year. I've never taught in my very own classroom.

18. was a trashy, trashy trailer trash woman with my co-workers.

19. won at bar bingo. $42 buck-a-roos!

20. made some mistakes...

21. loved and adored on a puppy who got me through many of those mistakes, listened to me while I cried about why I had done some of those things, and chased me around the yard while I tried to regain control of my happiness.

22. worked with a para that I fit very well with and felt that my teaching year went extremely well.

23. lived another year in a neighborhood within the cities that is striving with activity and life.

24. got frustrated with my lack of organization

25. did more special education re-evaluations than I have ever done since I've become a special education teacher

26. liked a boy, really, really, really liked this person but I think for all the wrong reasons...

27. tried and did my absolute best for all of my students on my case load. I'm very proud of how this past year went.

I will...

1. wait till said offer is accepted and absolutely jump with joy when it happens.

2. find that lost love of all things about myself. believe that I can and will make a difference and that I'm important to someone.

3. find a passion other than teaching.

4. create pottery.

5. finish and complete my masters. paper, presentation, all of it.

6 find and meet new people to bring into my group of friends

7. be the nicest, kindest, honest person I can be.

8. believe in God and all of his good work

9. smile, laugh, and be always happy.

10. love, adore, and spoil my niece and nephew.

11. visit my family at home more often

12. make a point to stop and visit friends too

13. read more books

14. not have to be at every party, every get together, function...and be okay with that.

15. understand the reasons I'm where I'm at right at this moment in my life.

16. run as many miles as my body will allow

17. kiss someone

18. give lots of love and care to a beautiful pup

19. practice patience when dealing with all the people in my life. I've been working on developing a deeper patience and I hope to grow stronger

20. be the absolute best teacher and case manager I can absolutely be

21. be a friend that is adoring, loving, caring, and always there

22. stop working before 6 each night and enjoy my life outside of school

23. act the way I feel and not worry that I'm getting older and older

24. forget about the goals that I believe I wold have had accomplished by this time in my life and just live.

25. laugh. laugh. laugh

26. enjoy my life and everyone who is in it

27. set some short term goals and accomplish them

28....I hope that I can trust that everything in my life will turn out just as it is supposed to.

Summertime Goals

At school recently, our principal decided to extend a challenge to the staff. Lose some poundage, read some books, and add up some milage. In other words, do what we ask of the students. We have what we call "Key Reading" where the students are supposed to keep track of how many pages they have read throughout the trimester to reach a pre-set goal. We also ask them to be physically active and not spend all of their time in front of the xbox or other type of game system.

I decided that this was perfect summertime motivation.

My fitness goal is to, of course, lose some poundage that I've been carrying around all these years, but that's not the main goal. I want to get into better shape. This past January, I made a pack with myself and went to the gym every morning (at 6 a.m. by the way) until a week ago. I'm back to this commitment (so every morning before summer school, I'll be hitting the gym again) but am making it a little bit more tough. I'm going to bring a second set of work out clothes and try to hit up the track on some of the afternoons. My displayed fitness milage (posted at school) is 350 miles. Can I do it? Yep, you betcha!

My reading goal (which I'm excited to have for some forgotten about leisure books. This I'll easily surpass, considering I'll be doing extensive research this summer also) is to read 3,000 pages. Already on the docket are New Moon, Certain Girls, and (finishing) Barefoot. Research will include articles on research based reading strategies-whoot!

What are your summertime goals?

 

Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant. --Stephen Covey (from my Daily Good email- click the link to go to their site and sign up for you own emails!!)

the little man, Hunter