Today, I:
- Picked up my hideous school pictures.
- Greeted five students at my classroom door after I did my morning school errands; they come a half hour early.
- Thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Mahamed, a junior in my last period class, who stopped by to say hi before school. That was a gift, as he is the first to do that at my new school.
- Had irrational bouts of self control when one of my ninth grade students came in four minutes late and asked loudly, “Am I late?”
- Discussed the immigrant experience in America with my beginner students, who talked with me about school uniforms, testing protocol in Africa, living without parents here in America, living in a place where everything is new, capital punishment, respect, freedom, communal eating habits, and a bajillion other intriguing topics about their new lives. Lesson plan down the tubes; discussion won. Amen.
- Worked with my intermediate students on a Ray Bradbury story called “A Sound of Thunder.” Chatted about sequence, foreshadowing, and the element of surprise. Watched the Ray Bradbury Theater film of the story. We generally agreed that the story > film. Thank you, children.
- Had five students retake a test they had failed. Success matters.
- Helped myriad students find books to take home for the weekend. Love that. So much.
- Made an appointment to work with a senior who is struggling with her reading; she asked if I could tutor her during study hall because she wants to be a better reader.
- Had my last day of bus duty. In the rain. No umbrella.
- Broke up a fight between two much taller than I boys during said bus duty. Just the end of the week I’d been dreaming of (don’t judge me for ending my sentence with a preposition).
- Had a charming chat during bus duty (after breaking up the fight) with Khalid, who asked if I liked the rain. I said I was hoping it would make me grow as tall as he, and that perhaps I’d be his height when I see him on Monday. He suggested that if the rain didn’t work, I could stand in the shower for a long period of time over the weekend.
- And then, my friends, I came home.
- Happy Friday! Cheers to loving and standing by children. They matter.
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