#75 Who us?

What a unique opportunity I have to work with such amazing kids!  Calling them kids seems strange, but young adults, adolescents, teenagers just don’t fit.  Maybe that is because I think of them as “my kids”.  They are such an important part of my world and they really are a part of my family.   I am always so amazed at how they step up and rise to the occasion, even when it requires them to go way, way out of their comfort zones. They do listen to me, they hear me and that makes me feel good. 

Marielle stepped up and motivated everyone to move from The Wall to the Lecture Hall. Then she stepped up again and asked everyone to move closer to the stage.  She didn’t hesitate so much the second time.  She has a very good teacher voice!  I was impressed. Everyone listened quite quickly!

Lisette, Thérèse, Aline, and Madeleine also stepped right up when I told them that everyone had to go onto the stage and read why people in our community feel like they don’t have a voice, and why the do.  The look of horror on their faces is hard to describe.  They were relieved when I started talking to explain a little more of my story about my finding a voice.  They were also sadly disappointed when I didn’t forget that they all had to come up to the stage.  They did awesome!  Just like I knew they would!

Not many people would believe that I was actually very shy in high school.  I always dreaded the teacher calling on me to respond to a question. I was always afraid of making a mistake, or sounding silly.  In college, I was so freaked out by Speech class that I waited until the summer before my senior year to take it.  Yes. I did know I wanted to be a teacher.  Yes.  I knew that being a teacher meant talking in front of people. None of that mattered; I was just shy.

Pierre mentioned tonight that he was thankful that he has overcome his shyness.  One day in class we talked about this.  How can it be easier to talk about philosophy and metaphysics and not be able to carry on more personal conversations? I guess it comes back to being vulnerable.  Yes.  That is it.  How proud I was to see him up on stage sharing that reality about himself.  It reminded me of myself and I know that others could relate as well.  That is the power of sharing from the heart.

I can so relate to my kids who struggled to get up and speak out in front of our community tonight.  Maybe that is why it was so important to me that they do it.  I know they can step out and speak up. Maybe I can help encourage that courage.  What a great word – encourage!    

Tonight a friend who has not seen me “in action” with my kids before asked one of them “Is she always like this?” He meant jumping up and down with excitement and enthusiasm…and talking fast!  Chantal confirmed it and my friend wasn’t so surprised.  Chantal continued to say that it is a nice change from her other classes.  I told my friend that I just can’t help it. He often reminds me to breathe, a necessary reminder that I do appreciate.  What is ironic is that there still are situations where I am hesitant and struggle to share with enthusiasm. Breaking out of shell is not an easy task.

So, to my “Who us….get up and talk?” crowd.  I am so, so proud of you for stepping up and using your voices to share with everyone.  It made a difference for us to hear you say out loud peoples’ ideas about having voices.  You made a difference.  Have courage!  You are awesome!

For ALL my kids who went out of their comfort zones tonight to stretch and grow….

This is why I teach.

#74 A one-of-a-kind shirt by Séraphine

Ma chère Séraphine, thank you for making my t-shirt and one for Alexis as well!  Having one made by you makes it so much more special.  It means so much to me that you wanted to make sure that I had a t-shirt too and took the time to create one for me!  I will always remember that!  Your enthusiasm and energy Is so amazing and makes me more excited; I know some people don’t think that is possible, but it is!  I always enjoy our talk and appreciate all you share. 

One thing that I will always remember you sharing with the class was the day when you said “Madame, why do we écrivez so much in here?”  I can still hear your voice saying that and it makes me smile. I guess that it had an impact because I did have you write less.  Bravo in using your voice in a way that made the whole class laugh and get out of writing a 5 sentence paragraph!

Merci Séraphine pour ton enthousiasme et énergie, en classe et en dehors.  Tu es toujours de bonne humeur et c’est amusant de te regarder quand tu parles avec Alain ! Tu me fais rire et sourire.

For a one-of-a-kind t-shirt made with love….

This is why I teach! 

#73 Elisabeth, the painting elf

Tonight at our community event, I put up a picture of our handprints on the wall and it was powerful, just like it is powerful when I look at them when I am out at the wall. They are our handprints, representing us as individuals, yet they also represent us as a community. It is difficult to find my handprints. I actually wouldn’t know where they were if it weren’t for a video that the kids took.  The thing is really that it doesn’t matter where mine are.  More importantly they are with everyone else’s.  I am just a part of a greater community.  We are all connected, side-by-side on this crazy journey.  How awesome it is to not be alone. I can be myself yet be a part of the community, not lost within it.

Ok, now for the funny story. The day we were “finishing” the Wall, it was time for hand prints.  This was so exciting, like more exciting that you might anticipate.  But, then again, that describes each and every part of this project!  We needed someone to paint hands.  Elisabeth volunteered and painted everyone’s hands with chalkboard paint.  Feeling the paint on my hands was interesting because it made me feel more connected to the project somehow.  Seeing how excited Elisabeth was to paint everyone’s hands was also fun.  The most fun part came when she started jumping into every painted hand photo that we were taking.  It was funny at the time, but even funnier when we went back and looked at the pictures.  Having pictures of this experience is so special. I am able to appreciate things that I didn’t notice at the time they were happening.

As I went through the pictures to pull some for our book, I started seeing the hand pictures and one after the other, there is Elisabeth.  The best thing is that the joy on her face is so awesome.  There is this special light that shines in her smile and it is just fun! I don’t know how she jumped into each of those photos and has the look down in each and every one.  Now, the experience was fun to begin with, but her energy just added something even more special and one more aspect we can laugh about and enjoy. Gallery of hand pictures...

Merci Elisabeth pour ton enthousiasme et travail comme notre Elfe de peinture.  Tu es si rigolo et ton énergie est fantastique !  Ton sourire est comme un rayon de soleil.

Having the opportunity to have my hands painted by an elf and put my handprints on a wall…

This is why I teach!  

Reason #62 The day we will all remember forever.

What an amazing day!  Now, why it had to be 45 degrees with a high of 55, we have no idea. Did that stop anyone - no way!  It just added to the memories of the day. Maybe hands will thaw out in a week, by the time everyone will be sharing on the amazing wall that is emerging 

Though I am utterly exhausted, I just have to write about today. This has to count for way more than one reason why I teach, but for now, I will let it be simply #62. It is not in any way simple, however. 

I will always remember the laughter, excitement, amazing energy, and bringing to life of the vision that was developed as a community and is now a reality for everyone at our school, not just today, but for a very long time. 

The way this post is evolving is a long thank you list. 

Angelique – Thank you for being the first one at the wall this morning all ready to go. You did such an awesome job on so many different aspects of the project today! Your efforts and enthusiasm are so great!

François – Thank you for being so creative as to take a paint can opener and try to scrape the wall since sanding it proved to be quite ineffective.  Your ingenuity led to us figure out that we needed to scrape the entire 40’x8’ space. That was job security for all for the entire day! 

Jacqueline, Gisèle, Angélique, et Brigitte  - Thank you for wanting to do personal interviews with staff and students alike. How great it is to now have on tape what people believe it means to have a voice and if they feel that they have one.  After five or so interviews, during which many people showed off the French they know, you decided to apply the idea of use celebrating diversity at Highland and interview at least one person who speaks every language at our school and record their responses in their native languages.  Your starting the list on the board which grew and grew by the end of the day was a good idea. It was fun to see that one by one, you crossed off the languages and added more. I loved watching you run across the campus with their video camera in hand searching for the next person to interview. How awesome it will be to hear from all the voices at our school, in their native languages.

Merci Colette G for working so hard all day long doing whatever needed to be done, when it needed to be done.  You were always watching and ready to help out, even shoveling

Nurse Danielle, that you for being so ready with all of the band-aides so many busy-hornets needed while scraping the ten layers of paint off the building.  We didn’t expect to have to shed blood along the way to making our wall come to life. 

Officer D, thank you for being a part of our Advisory Board. We really appreciate your enthusiasm and support. We also appreciate the special role you play in our community. You have been a part of Highland for so long and your dedication and connection shines through every day. We are fortunate that you have chosen to be with us.   

Alphonse G – thank you for all the work on the stencils. That was such an important part of the project and you really took it on and got things going.  On top of that, you did an amazing job contributing to the “uncover the math building” scraping and chiseling.  I hope that your hands recover quickly!

David I – Thank you for your constant effort and enthusiasm. You helped in so many different areas! You were so willing to go out first thing in the cold and work with organizing all the supplies and then the taping off of areas. That really made a difference in how we got started. You chiseled and scraped and painted all day! Way to go!

Alex – We would not be seeing so much of that chunk of concrete on the wall if it weren’t for your concentrated efforts and determination.

Céline -- Thank you for uncovering the huge patch of stucco on the south side. You worked through the cold with such great attitudes and excitement. Your enthusiasm for the project has added such great energy. I still remember you saying about how you have never been so excited about something at school.  Well, you are helping it come to life!

Marielle R – Thank you for working so hard with Céline and Marielle A. You certainly did show off your super powers by winning the battle with the stone!  Talk about strong!  Step back everyone!

Marielle A – Thank you for working with the 273+ interview cards to organizing everyone’s thoughts about having a voice. How interesting it will be to see what everyone thinks and feels! 

Solange G – Your work with the guys was impressive!  You kept right up with them in helping to uncover the north wall. Way to go girl!

Alice et Alexandre – Thank you for coming together to work on the Tumblr page. Alice, you were the first one to get us on social media the very day we got started over a month ago!  

Alexandre, thank you for teaching me about #tags. I may need further instruction. 

Jeanne-Marie et Cristelle -  I so appreciate you listening to me about not climbing on the ladder. I know you are enthusiastic and you really go all out!  Your jumping skills are awesome!

Cristelle – Thank you for coming in during lunch yesterday to help with the bracelets. They are going to be awesome! I also appreciate your making the phone call about having the t-shirts created locally!  That will make a big difference for everyone!  Thank you also for keeping Jean-Marie in the loop about what clothes to wear for painting. You are a great best-friend!    

Gabriel – Thank you for finding the sledge hammer, I mean rubber mallet, and chisel.  We were frightened at first. It certainly made a difference! 

Jean-Paul – Thank you for your expertise in the field of painting and building scraping. Your efforts and solutions to challenges really made a difference.  

Pierre – Your dedication and excitement are just awesome.  You are making not only the wall, but also our special portable board.  Part two of the project will come to life in a big part due to your design and hard work on the structure of the board. 

Jean-Paul et Pierre - Thanks for staying until the very end and helping to clean up the final pieces of the wall.

Christiane et Candice- Thank you for checking out the i-pad and taking some fun photos and video.

Nicolas – Thank you for getting Instagram started. I still don’t know what it is really, but do know it is going to be a great way for us to share. Thanks for taking it on.

Olivette – Thank you for working with Twitter. I look forward to all you are going to teach me about it!  I hope the ribbon I got is “girly” enough! The next time you are going to go with me to Hobby Lobby!   

I know that I have not been able to remember everyone as I would like to.  I will add more as the memories come back. I can’t wait to check out all the pictures….on Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram…..and more! 

What an amazing experience today has been – thanks to all of you!  What an amazing team!

Life-changing moments….

 

This is why I teach! 

In three days time....