Updates.

I don't have time tonight for a real post, so a quick update will have to suffice:

* Going on a field trip tomorrow with our G/T kids - we're going to an independent bookstore so each kid can choose a book, taking a tour of the downtown of our closest city to expose them to some history of the area, and visiting an art museum for some culture'n'stuff. The kids are SUPER excited, as am I - when we're back, we're going to do a Socratic seminar on beauty (specifically, is it in the eye of the beholder or is it universal?) and it's gonna be suh-weeeeeeet!

* We're about to start a unit on commentary and I've spent the last hour pouring over Leonard Pitts' collection Forward from this Moment. I'm a little bit in love with Leonard Pitts now. I knew he was good, but DAMN. He makes me laugh, he makes me cry, he...well, he makes me want to be a better person and stand up for things that should be stood up for. My only problem? Narrowing the columns I love to a reasonable selection. I've gotten it down to seven (from fourteen) but I need to cut to five. Husband's being enlisted to help because how can I drop any others?

* Feeling better from yesterday. Being back at school, seeing my kids, actually experiencing all the things I love and not just trying to remember them....it helped. Immensely.

* I like how even my short posts are actually kind of long. Writing too little has clearly never been a problem of mine.

(Image credit to wwarby)

Just five more minutes, mom, pleeeeeeeease?

I love teaching.

I love my kids, I love helping them understand new concepts, I love reading their work, I love it all.

But this weekend has been delightful. I have done nothing school related except for read some stuff that I could potentially use in the classroom (some as content, some to inform my practice). I have cooked, and read, and watched movies, and hung out with friends, and walked my dogs, and slept in. I haven't stressed about our upcoming change or felt overwhelmed by planning and grading (though I sure will be come next week....) or had to help a colleague when I'm just squeaking by myself. And it has been fabulous. And I don't want it to end.

Is it a bad sign that I'm really, really, really not ready to go back?

Just as good as the first.

My five day weekend started off beautifully this morning; after my husband left for work and the dogs went outside, I spent my first few hours of freedom immersed in Catching Fire. Magnificent. Damn, Suzanne, what am I supposed to do until Book 3 comes out?

(My 8th grade pal from whom I'd borrowed The Hunger Games is just as bereft as I at the wait, if not more so. He has decided to write to Ms. Collins in hopes that his letter will speed the publication. Though I think it unlikely to work, I also think it's an awesome idea and I'm all for it.)

Just stay out. How hard is that?

The weirdness continues. Card Player has been told that he is not allowed to have any contact with me. At all. Can't talk to me, can't come in my room, can't stand by the door, nada. Mi casa no esta su casa. Which I think is appropriate, particularly in a covering-myself-so-I-never-get-accused-of-anything-inappropriate way. Because this is gross.

Last Wednesday, he was lurking outside my door, waiting for a friend. Okay, not great, but at least he didn't come in.

Thursday he came in. Didn't talk to me, just to his friends, and I sent the whole group out as I had a meeting, but not cool. So I emailed the appropriate people to say, hey, this is happening, I don't think it's supposed to, can we make it stop?

Friday he showed up again. Again, I sent everyone out. This morning I went and tracked down the behavior specialist who's involved. She was surprised and annoyed, as she'd been the one to tell him to stay away. She assured me she'd remind him of the expectations. I thanked her and went on my merry way.....

....till he appeared AGAIN after school today. WTF, y'all, WTF? I was leaving to go run a club so I shooed everyone out but was stewing about it a little bit. The behavior specialist happened to drop by the club, so I told her. Oh, homeboy's in trouble now.

And for the first time in my life, I know what it's like to be stalked. Not like this is anything near as intense as what some people experience, but still, it's pretty dang creepy.

We have one more day before the Thanksgiving break. Here's hoping this kid stays away at least tomorrow so I don't have to deal with it yet again.

(Image credit to Richard.Fisher)

Lucky #13.

A belated link: the latest EduCarnival V.2 is up!

Hungry for a rockin' new read?

The Hunger Games is the scorchin' hot title at my school right now. Our library's copies are always checked out with quite the waiting list, and those at our book fair sold out by the second day.

One of my students devoured it; he'd come to class, slide into his seat, and read frantically until the bell rang, signaling the end of passing period. Walking through the hallways, his face deep in its pages, a friend walked next to him to help steer. At lunch, he gobbled his food before slipping his bookmark out from between the pages and diving back in (he didn't want to read while eating because he feared dripping ketchup on its pages). Any time he had a free moment, he read.

When he finished, I asked him if I should track down a copy and read it.

He looked at me, clearly stunned. "You haven't read it?"

"Not yet - it's always checked out and I don't want to take a copy away from student availability."

"You HAVE to read it. It's like the best book I've ever read. Ever. You HAVE TO."

I smiled. "Wanna loan me yours?"

His face lit up. "I'll bring it tomorrow." And he did.

For the first week that he'd loaned it to me, I had no time. I was sick and in a grading crunch, and keeping up with that was about all I could handle. He'd check in every day, and every day I'd have to admit that no, I hadn't started it yet. And every day, he'd shake his head and tell me I didn't know what I was missing. And I'd say I'd start it soon. Then I just kind of forgot about the whole thing.

Yesterday I remembered. It had been buried under a pile of papers on my desk, a pile I finally sorted through. So I popped it in my purse to take home this weekend.

I started it this morning. And finished it this morning. And then scampered over to my computer to place a public library hold on Catching Fire (though I think I'm going to have to hit my local independent bookstore tomorrow to buy a copy - I'm number 45 on the hold list of 34 holdable copies and I just can't wait that long). Hot DAMN, that is a compelling read.

I'm late to the HG bandwagon, but I'm firmly on now. Thank you, Suzanne Collins, and thank you to my 8th grade reader who showed me the light.

Un-blargh?

The Antagonizer did more work today than any day yet this year. He was generally polite, and mostly quiet. When I told him he couldn't do something, he argued momentarily, then got back to work.

Huh.