What a Charmer!

The following video is one that brings me more joy than I can express in mere post form. Namely, every time I watch this MTV video I find myself desperate to get up and dance. PLEASE! Listen to this fantastic song. I dare you not to watch it twice. And, when you are done watching it, please respond to this blog and tell me you love it too, as I am sure you will.

Linger, Just a Little Bit Longer...

Today I have been at the school since 7 am with no reprieve.  It is now 7:30 and I anticipate being here for another two hours.  Juab School District requires their teachers  to go through an evaluation process every three years.  This is my third year in the district (Can you believe it?) and on top of that I am earning a Masters degree.  I am insane.  There is SO much to do, and so little time!  I graded Roots test during my first class and also worked on my syllabus for the ENGL 1010 course which I teach.  At least I can multitask...that makes the evening seem less painful.  Each Tuesday this year I will be at the school for about 14 consecutive hours.  Think of me fondly on Tuesdays, yes? :)  

Falling Behind

My life is full of all good things but I do not have time for any of them. Please advise.

Ants in my Pants

This weekend I wanted to attend President's Ball at Westminster College.  I searched the web for details and lo and behold, I cannot find it listed anywhere.  This, dear friends is a tragedy, because I most certainly have ants in my pants and I want to do a dance!  I am so eager to get out of Nephi for any reason.  My days are getting a little blurry and I am sinking into the lack of social life that the school year always seems to offer.  I need to shake things up!

This summer I purchased a Vera Wang skirt from Kohls.  It is a $98 that I bought for 90% off.  It is too fancy to wear to school, and too fancy for church.  Can you suggest another use for such a frivolous skirt?  OR, does anyone out there know details for President's Ball?  

:) Cheers!

Community Building...

Today my 10th graders participated in a little community building activity that brought me so much joy.  We finished reading "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket" by Jack Finney,  (I am such the English teacher who must cite her sources), a little tale about a man who goes out on a ledge 11 stories high for a sheet of paper.  I try to simulate the experience in a challenge by choice activity, and the students just eat it up.  It's really just a sneaky way for me to make them think about the story and summarize for me. 

Here are some challenges Tom (ledge man) faced, followed by the replication:

Height No way to replicate 11 stories high in my classroom and not kill a kid :(

Fear There is a tape ledge in front of the room...being in front of your peers is scary!

Cold My box fan, on high

Wind Ditto

Dark A blindfold with some mesh for partial visibility

Vertigo Spin around 10 times before you give it a try! 

Oh, my.  It was an incredible thing to behold.  Many of the students throughout the day took my challenge and tried to walk my ledge.  The premise was they had to walk down 15 feet without touching the tape, and the tape ledge was a little less that the width of a man's foot, up against the wall.  It seems like last year after we did this activity, I had them eating out of my hands. And, what a fun day for me!  I am making friends instead of my enemies out of my class members.  They are seeing each other attempt something grand and supporting that attempt. It was such a fabulous day, seeing my students in this regard.  Even more so, I know that they will remember the gist of this story for a long time.  Teaching rocks.