When U Seek Amy

Today was a long day, only part of a long week.  This time of year always causes high-strung attitudes, off handed comments, and a range of emotions.  How one person operates can definitely affect a whole lexicon and create a domino ripple effect.

However, it's always darkest before the dawn.  In a winning teaching moment, I think the redeeming process had begun.

My sixth grade class had finished reading Little Women over a week ago, and as a reward we watched the Winona Ryder-Christian Bale version of the movie.  During this time, one of our school aides would walk in and out of our room to do her work, but would get so sucked into the movie during her time there.  She said she hadn't read the book but has now showed interest.

Cut to today when she comes up to me in a marching fashion, and you know there's a statement waiting for you on the tip of her tongue.  "Oscar!" she exclaimed, "I saw the whole movie last night and I'm angry."  I knew it was from Amy having married Laurie and Jo marrying a random older professor.  She was humorously livid, and as she shared her feelings about Amy's interference, my previous class, now seventh graders, overheard.  So moved was one of my students, that she went up to the aide and hugged in sharing her sentiment on Laurie's decision.  Note: This student cried when we read the Jo-Laurie break up scene in class.

That moment reminded of why I do what I do, to allow literature to affect the lives of people and create memorable experiences.  Thanks Amy!

Understanding by Design

Last week was teacher appreciation week, hopefully you told your inspiring educators how you feel.  I did.  Ms. Pilon was a great inspiration in me wanting to become a teacher.  She was, and still is, such a committed educator who genuinely cared about the content and her students that I aspired to be like that when I made my decision to be a teacher.  At sixteen, I told myself I wanted to become a teacher, and since then every career-oriented decision has been driven by that.

It was as if at that age that I realized what I was designed to do.  It made sense.  I've always enjoyed people, I like speaking in front of people and showing what I know so that they would know those things as well.  Once that moment clicked it never unclicked.  However, because it came to me at an age where choosing a college major and making other decisions came soon after, I felt I had some things figured out before many peers.  This causes me at times to be not relatable.  For example, I have young relatives whom are "lost," but the age at which they feel lost in what they're supposed to do, I had finished college and was well on my way to my own classroom.  Not trying to toot my own horn, and one would think they would turn to me to ask me about their direction, but quite the opposite.  I've been seen as the anomaly who was exempt from some treacherous soul-searching mountain climb. What's funny is that I've know people who have it way more figured out than I do, and I feel the same way about them.  I suppose we all feel that way about someone.

As I reach the halfway point of aptly reading Little Women with my sixth graders, I think about their directions. I'm positive that among them are those who already have a plan in place and those whose plan will unfold with life experiences.  Either way, my belief that everything happens for a reason stays true.

I sent Ms. Pilon a message saying that she was that influence.


P.S. My friend Yaya wrote an amazing blog that just got published, congrats: http://www.childrensrights.org/news-events/cr-blog/building-the-strength-to-speak-up/

Theron and the Millennials

I was watching Charlize Theron host SNL last night and she mentioned that the last time she hosted the show was in 2000, fourteen years ago.  This led me to the thought process of how I think of my students and the fact that they are millennials leaves less and less common ground.  In other words, I'm getting older and the gap is getting bigger.  This wasn't just prompted by last night SNL's episode, but it was also prompter back in the last day of April.  The typical joke is that Justin Timberlake meme mentioned that "It's Gonna be May," a spin off of the NSync song, "It's Gonna Be Me" poking fun at Timberlake's pronunciation.  I digress, when I showed the meme to my coworker, she led me to a Buzzfeed list that mentioned this that the graduating class of 2018 high schooler will not know.  The list can be found here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/extremely-upsetting-facts-about-the-class-of-2018
It mentions how they don't know that Destiny's Child is a trio, or at all.  It came full circle as Charlize Theron mentioned how she was in a skit where she played a member of Gemini's Twins in 2000, an SNL group made to parody Destiny's Child.


Funny how those things go, but some things stay universal among the generations.  For example, my niece's favorite franchise, which is all things Oz, came to life as we saw the theater production of "The Wizard of Oz." We got to meet the cast as well, it was great fun.

With my brother and niece and Glinda

My niece meeting the cast

Scarecrow, takes one to know one

These great years that have passed have also brought with it great events, some which occured in the past couple of weeks.  From Britney to brunches.

Vegas!

The Britney: Piece of Me Show

I got my seafood (oysters & crab) fix at the Wynn

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo with these awesome people a la Mexicana

Brunch at Terra Nia

Cruising through Long Beach

Blessed to have awesome people in my life. To all the moms out there, Happy Mother's Day! 

Brain, Over Easy

My brain is fried.  I feel like I'm getting into the groove of things here and there, but my brain is on overwork, overflow, and it is overcooked.  I just got back from a technology conference, CUE, in Palm Springs.  I look forward to this conference, especially after my first experience last year.  Aside from it keeping me away from LA for a couple of days, I get some really amazing ideas from the conference.  However, it takes some time to process all of the information that has been presented, so there is where some of the overflow comes from. I did, however, have some teacher rockstar moments.  Scroll below:

Second row hearing keynote speaker Lavar Burton

(If unfamiliar, from Reading Rainbow, Star Trek, and Roots)

Being front and center hearing keynote speaker Sal Khan (founder of Khan Academy)

An icon in education technology

Fellow teacher Laura and I were stoked to meet Sal Khan before his amazing speech

Other things contributing to the frying pan?  I just recently turned in my clear credential portfolio.  Two years worth of work are out of my hands and we shall see how it goes after the review.  That was a major hot oil fryer.

Aside from recent news, news that always leaves things in the air, it's a bit frying as well.  There are also other endeavors I'd like to partake in, which I'm sure will leave me well done.  Well enough cooking, my fried brain has a lot of sleep to catch up on.