A job-related post

This time next week I will be relaxing and getting ready to enjoy my fall break.  Rumor has it that this will be our last year to have fall break, and I will miss it terribly!  By the end of the first nine weeks, I am in desperate need of a break.  But I guess I'll adjust.

It's hard to believe that the first nine weeks are almost over.  I told my students the first day of the semester that the year would be over before they knew it, and here we are...1/4 of the way through.  Whew!

One of my students made me chuckle the other day.  I'm going to call her Bitsy because that name makes me think of someone who is just the tiniest bit air headed, and she is definitely an airhead.  She is blond, literally and figuratively.  Anyway, on Wednesday I was letting the kids play a review game for their Chaucer test.  They always enjoy this particular game, probably because they get to see the actual test questions and answers, but I award 10 points to the winner of each group.  These points are added to their overall test grade.  I enjoy observing them as they play because they will FIGHT for those points.  The group that Bitsy was in wasn't made up of the brightest students in the class (I let them choose their groups.)  Bitsy was getting extremely vocal because she felt like the other members of the group weren't playing fair.  As I walked around, I overhead Bitsy yell out, "NO FAIR!  You're over there rememberizing the questions!"  Rememberizing.  I'm going to guess that the definition of that is to remember and memorize simultaneously. 

Today they had their pilgrim project presentations.  After we study "The Prologue" to The Canterbury Tales, I let them pair up and select a Canterbury pilgrim.  Then, they create a Facebook page (on a poster) for their pilgrim. They have to have a good understanding of the pilgrim based on the reading in order to fulfill the requirements.  They have to select ten friends, 2-3 quotes, books, music, interests, etc. that their pilgrim would relate to.  I just started doing this project last spring, and they seem to enjoy it.

As my last block class was presenting, I sat in the back of the room watching them interact, and honestly, I was almost moved to tears.  They were being so funny, and it made me realize how very much I love my job and my students.  Sure, sometimes I could strangle them because they don't put forth the effort I KNOW they are capable of putting forth and sometimes they are just little snots (but how many 17-18 year-olds AREN'T little snots at least occasionally??)  But I would do anything within my power to help any of them.  I know I'm an extremely lucky person because I do have a job...a job I love, and not everyone is fortunate enough to say that.

I guess that's it for tonight.  I've GOT to go put laundry away, and I've GOT to make John go clean the kitchen for me.  Neither of us WANTS to, but tomorrow is game day, and I don't want to come home to dirty dishes or clothes that need to be put away.

Have a GREAT day, and

ROLL TIDE!!!