#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!  

#71 Is there anyone out there?

Sometimes when I am writing I just wonder to myself “Is there anyone out there reading these?” This whole online journaling is quite the interesting experience. I have kept journals all my life, but they have only been for me. They are the story of my life, yet I have kept it to myself.

What an exciting and scary adventure this is in sharing my voice, my ideas, my emotions, everything about me. The additional element in this experience is that I am not just telling my story anymore. I get to tell everyone’s story. And everyone gets to read it, right away, with the push of a “publish” button.  This is both awesome and scary.  I don’t want to get things “wrong”. But how could I if I am sharing me and my perspective?  Well, the answer is that I can’t.  Honesty is a powerful thing. 

When we allow ourselves to “Be 100”, thank my kids for teaching me that one, we no longer have to be afraid. We get to celebrate our perspective, our story and the story of the people in our lives, the people who are so important. We are “right” when we are ourselves.

I found out yesterday that I have a special person in my life who has ready every, yes every, one of my posts!  Now I feel loved and heard.  Being vulnerable has its rewards, great ones at that.    

To my one reader who has read every one of my posts…..your reward is that you get two!  : )

 

Merci Vanessa. Tu es formidable!  Bises.

Knowing that I am heard and that others want to hear my voice…

This is why I teach! 

Reason # 70 Chocolate pretzels and slurpees

I tell my students certain things, make certain requests.  One is that it is frustrating when students turn in work the day grades are due to be submitted officially.  Do they listen to me?  Oh, I wish.  With all that has been going on at school with our project on top of our normal activities, I admit that grading has not been at the top of my list.  So, I was working to get caught up on grading the day grades were due.   We were in the computer lab when I hear this sweet voice say “Miss are you doing grades?” My first thought…..Here we go. When I looked up, there is Vanessa with this big smile, knowing that this is the question I dread the most at this point in time.  Now could I refuse the request so politely and nicely asked with that smile.  I needn’t answer.  I can say that it cost a chocolate pretzel, one of my favorite treats, especially with toffee. 

Later the next week, we were working on The Wall in the hot sun, well at least most of us to finish it up before the news crew came.  I looked to a table in the courtyard and see my group of girls all visiting.  I had some questions for them and what did I see on the table but big slurpees!  Now, did they have an extra?  Sadly I realized they did not.  Who was the first one to jump up and offer to get me one?  Yes, it was Vanessa.  Now this time it did cost me a dollar, but well worth it.  Slurpees in the sunshine, nice.

Tweeting is a strange new experience.  I still don’t totally understand how it works, but I am making efforts with this new technology even though having 8 followers still makes me a little sad.  Vanessa asked me to tweet her a picture of what she wrote on the wall.  When I did, she tweeted a <<Merci.>> with a little smiley face…why do those always make me happy?  It is the little things, really it is. Now this was special as it was, to hear back immediately that she got the photo and made her happy. When she got to class and shared that it almost made her cry, well that almost made me cry.  This wall experience keeps doing this.

 

This is a difficult time in the year when seniors are graduating. They are super excited and while I am also excited for them, it is a time of mixed feelings.  I don’t like knowing that they won’t be in my class next year. I get used to being with them every day and life just isn’t the same when they move on to life beyond high school.  Letting go….another lesson of the classroom: a challenging one.  

Ma chère Vanessa, mon cheerleader future à UNM. Merci pout ton sourire et ton enthousiasme.  Tu es un rayon de soleil dans la classe et tu vas me manquer beaucoup !

Knowing that sharing the little things really does make a difference....

This is why I teach! 

Reason #63 Tweeting power

Yes. It is a reality that we are changing the world!  My students believed from the moment they saw the story about New Orleans.  Now just six weeks later, they have changed our world with their willingness to share and create something that never existed before.

We were on the news today! The news station heard about our project the day after we started writing on the wall. The district heard about it hours after we started sharing when our principal sent a tweet, one little tweet….the tweet that started the expansion of our project to the world beyond our school. 

Who would have thought that a tweet could be so powerful! Our new technology has created a language of its own….some people think that tweeting is for birds. I guess it still is, but there is a new application.

I now have my own Twitter account. You can check it out and follow. Why does it suddenly mean something to have “followers”? I felt fine yesterday not having a Twitter account and not having “followers”. Now I really want to have more than three.  

Olivette, I so appreciate your Twitter lessons. You are the expert and I am so happy you took on Twitter so we can share our experience with so many others who have been tweeting for a long time now! 

Thank you my other new followers. You are the first to start the movement.  Now I am not a lone nut and I am happy to not be tweeting to silence. 

Anyone else like to hear me tweet?  Start here...

Is it time to get a smart phone?  I will need lessons to learn that as well!  To all my students who say I need one, you will be my experts so get ready! I will trade you French lessons.  ; )

Learning to tweet…

That is why I teach!

      The tweet that started it all: