Each month, I take note of the things my students say and, at the end of the month, I post some of the more memorable remarks. So far, the back-to-school month has paid off a few dividends of note.
Overheard in the hallway: "I just realized that in almost every final battle scene, they never talk about morality." I would love to hear the conversation that preceded this conclusion.
In a discussion about the Tea Party movement, one of the students remembered that the movement once called themselves the Tea Baggers. As you might know, this name referenced a meaning that the Tea Party crowd likely didn't have in mind. As the laughter died down, I thought that the discussion had wrapped itself up when one member of my government class announced: "They'll always be teabaggers in our hearts." Oh my.
And after I explained the two steps necessary to amend the Constitution (proposal and then ratification), student L announced, "Hey! It's easier to amend the constitution than it is to quit drinking." Quitting the demon drink is, after all, a 12 step process.
It's shaping up to be a promising year.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Abscessed
On Sunday evening, JT reported that he had a sore spot in his mouth which made it uncomfortable for him to chew. I looked inside his cavernous yaw, saw nothing to worry me (please note, I'm not a dental professional, a fact about to be made abundantly clear), and sent him on his way with an ibuprofen and instructions to floss his teeth more carefully.
On Monday night, still in some discomfort, he reported that the tooth had been hurting since Saturday. This news, of course, arrived at 9 pm. So we repeated the floss and ibuprofen drill, went to bed, and hoped for the best.
Tuesday morning, I asked him how his mouth felt. But it was rather a moot question since his swollen chipmunk-style left cheek said it all. Anyone up for a mid-day emergency dental visit?
By 11:30 am, the diagnosis was clear: two abscessed teeth on the left side of his mouth. The remedy was equally clear, if a little upsetting: removal of the troubled teeth, plus a matching tooth on the other side of his mouth to preserve his bite. All three teeth were babies scheduled for eviction anyway. Dr. C just helped them to move out early.
Post-removal, JT took the afternoon off. He nursed a large chocolate milkshake and played video games in the back of my classroom while I taught two of my American Government classes.
The teeth went under the pillow last night. Extracted teeth are much more valuable then teeth which fall out on their own, so the Tooth Fairy paid premium dollar for his ivories. In fact, at this rate I think that I can look for a few more teeth being forcibly removed.
On Monday night, still in some discomfort, he reported that the tooth had been hurting since Saturday. This news, of course, arrived at 9 pm. So we repeated the floss and ibuprofen drill, went to bed, and hoped for the best.
Tuesday morning, I asked him how his mouth felt. But it was rather a moot question since his swollen chipmunk-style left cheek said it all. Anyone up for a mid-day emergency dental visit?
By 11:30 am, the diagnosis was clear: two abscessed teeth on the left side of his mouth. The remedy was equally clear, if a little upsetting: removal of the troubled teeth, plus a matching tooth on the other side of his mouth to preserve his bite. All three teeth were babies scheduled for eviction anyway. Dr. C just helped them to move out early.
Post-removal, JT took the afternoon off. He nursed a large chocolate milkshake and played video games in the back of my classroom while I taught two of my American Government classes.
The teeth went under the pillow last night. Extracted teeth are much more valuable then teeth which fall out on their own, so the Tooth Fairy paid premium dollar for his ivories. In fact, at this rate I think that I can look for a few more teeth being forcibly removed.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
For Love of the Game
JT's joy in playing baseball seems to know almost no boundaries. We get to weekly practice early in hopes that he can have some extra time playing catch with someone. And if there's no one there and he's grown tired of playing catch with me, he practices pop flies in the infield, throwing his ball high in the air and catching it himself.
There's just something about my boy with a baseball that I never seem to grow tired of watching. And that's a very happy thing.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Garden Bounty
Strictly speaking, bounty isn't the word that comes to mind as a description of the 2010 garden season in my part of the world. The summer's intense heat and our local mini-drought really took their toll on this year's produce. The picture below shows one of the more abundant picking days I enjoyed…..a pretty sparse season indeed.
Whereas in previous years I could fill a basket full of tomatoes, beets, squash, and flowers, this year I was lucky to fill my hands. The zucchini did okay but the tomatoes never really offered the abundance I've grown used to enjoying. My peppers never took off and even the beans were rather spare, though I expect a few more limas will still come my way. Last year's carrot and onion crop lasted me until February. This year's won't get me to November.
A garden is always at the mercy of Mother Nature. I can only do so much to coax the growth along. Soon enough the cold will come and the garden will retreat to a patch of cold, empty soil. I'll fertilize the growing space and ready it for next spring. The fertilization will likely be one part organic materials and two parts hope. But that's okay. A gardener lives in constant hope, with a side of crossed fingers. It's always a welcome lesson for me and it's why I love my garden.
A garden is always at the mercy of Mother Nature. I can only do so much to coax the growth along. Soon enough the cold will come and the garden will retreat to a patch of cold, empty soil. I'll fertilize the growing space and ready it for next spring. The fertilization will likely be one part organic materials and two parts hope. But that's okay. A gardener lives in constant hope, with a side of crossed fingers. It's always a welcome lesson for me and it's why I love my garden.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Real Life Conversations with Mom: I'll Do it Myself Edition
The backstory: There is a rather famous story about me as a toddler and the very first sentence I uttered: "I'll do it myself." Based upon this morning's conversation with my mother, let's just say the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
Me: Let me know when your suitcase is ready and either JT or I will carry it downstairs for you.
My Mom: It only weighs 30 pounds. I can do it.
Me: I know, but just let me carry it for you.
My Mom: I lift 45 pounds at the gym every day.
Me: Okay. But let one of us help.
My Mom: It's really not heavy.
Me: Here's the deal, Mom. If something did go wrong, how would I explain that I let my 68 year old mother fall down the stairs carrying her suitcase? Totally bad press for me and I end up in News of the Weird. Let me carry your suitcase downstairs.
My Mom (grudgingly): Okay.
And then my father weighs in, "Go ahead and carry it downstairs for her and then she'll carry it back upstairs and carry it down the right way." And then we all laughed, some of us harder than others. I expect that my mother is plotting her revenge.
Me: Let me know when your suitcase is ready and either JT or I will carry it downstairs for you.
My Mom: It only weighs 30 pounds. I can do it.
Me: I know, but just let me carry it for you.
My Mom: I lift 45 pounds at the gym every day.
Me: Okay. But let one of us help.
My Mom: It's really not heavy.
Me: Here's the deal, Mom. If something did go wrong, how would I explain that I let my 68 year old mother fall down the stairs carrying her suitcase? Totally bad press for me and I end up in News of the Weird. Let me carry your suitcase downstairs.
My Mom (grudgingly): Okay.
And then my father weighs in, "Go ahead and carry it downstairs for her and then she'll carry it back upstairs and carry it down the right way." And then we all laughed, some of us harder than others. I expect that my mother is plotting her revenge.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Real Life Conversations with JT: XY Edition
The backstory: My mother and I were having a conversation about a potential new sofa for the living room. JT, overhearing, offered his own advice.
JT: Let's not get a sofa, Mama. Let's just get three comfy chairs.
Mama: How about we get some reclining Lazy Boy chairs? We'll get the kind with a cooler attached for our beer.
At this, my mother and I burst into laughter. JT got mad and accused us of laughing at him.
Guilty as charged, your honor.
JT: Let's not get a sofa, Mama. Let's just get three comfy chairs.
Mama: How about we get some reclining Lazy Boy chairs? We'll get the kind with a cooler attached for our beer.
At this, my mother and I burst into laughter. JT got mad and accused us of laughing at him.
Guilty as charged, your honor.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
On Jefferson
I am rather a fan of Thomas Jefferson, not just because every time I read the preamble to the Declaration of Independence my heart swells with pride at the promise of those ideas, but also because of his amazing curiosity about the world. Jefferson always reflects a very human sense of what could (and should) be accomplished. I respect that perspective. I've read Notes on Virginia, of course, so I know that Jefferson also disappoints. But I still admire him, warts and all.
In fact, I keep a Jefferson quote at the top of my writing journal; it's been there for years: “No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity." The idea is one part consolation; one part karmic justice coming down the track.
Recently, I read Annette Gordon Reed's amazing The Hemingses of Monticello and though the book is really a detailed accounting of the rather remarkable Hemings family, for very obvious reasons Thomas Jefferson also looms large in their story. The book is full of impressive Jefferson quotations and quotes about him. In particular, these gems:
William Short, speaking of Jefferson, said this, "Jefferson's greatest illusions in politics…proceeded from a most amiable error on his part; having too favorable opinion of the animal called Man."
Writing to his daughter Martha, when she was frustrated by the actions of her father-in-law, he advised, "Every human being, my dear, must thus be viewed according to what it is good for, for none of us, no not one, is perfect; and were we to love none who had imperfections this world would be a desert for our love."
Jefferson on his dislike of big cities, particularly New York City, "I view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health and the liberties of man." Pestilence seems a rather strong a characterization, but it sure made me laugh.
Jefferson on his religious beliefs: "I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know." No doubt this will be news to those loons on the Texas Board of Education who yammered on about the Founders and their creation of a Christian nation.
The first few weeks of U.S. History and American Government, during which time we study the founding and talk about the Constitution, are upon me. And with this time comes yet another opportunity for me to both appreciate Thomas Jefferson and share him with a new crop of students. I wonder again what Jefferson would think of the nation we've become. What would surprise him? What would make him proud? What would disappoint him? I look forward to having these conversations with my students in the weeks ahead.
In fact, I keep a Jefferson quote at the top of my writing journal; it's been there for years: “No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity." The idea is one part consolation; one part karmic justice coming down the track.
Recently, I read Annette Gordon Reed's amazing The Hemingses of Monticello and though the book is really a detailed accounting of the rather remarkable Hemings family, for very obvious reasons Thomas Jefferson also looms large in their story. The book is full of impressive Jefferson quotations and quotes about him. In particular, these gems:
William Short, speaking of Jefferson, said this, "Jefferson's greatest illusions in politics…proceeded from a most amiable error on his part; having too favorable opinion of the animal called Man."
Writing to his daughter Martha, when she was frustrated by the actions of her father-in-law, he advised, "Every human being, my dear, must thus be viewed according to what it is good for, for none of us, no not one, is perfect; and were we to love none who had imperfections this world would be a desert for our love."
Jefferson on his dislike of big cities, particularly New York City, "I view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health and the liberties of man." Pestilence seems a rather strong a characterization, but it sure made me laugh.
Jefferson on his religious beliefs: "I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know." No doubt this will be news to those loons on the Texas Board of Education who yammered on about the Founders and their creation of a Christian nation.
The first few weeks of U.S. History and American Government, during which time we study the founding and talk about the Constitution, are upon me. And with this time comes yet another opportunity for me to both appreciate Thomas Jefferson and share him with a new crop of students. I wonder again what Jefferson would think of the nation we've become. What would surprise him? What would make him proud? What would disappoint him? I look forward to having these conversations with my students in the weeks ahead.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Of Time and Wishes
We have a routine. I set myself on a bench at the entrance with a jug of iced tea and a long book. JT heads in to play, checking back with me every once in a while. We can literally spend hours at play in this fashion.
On our last visit, as JT was playing and I was reading, a mama with a large bag on her shoulder paused in front of me, trying to keep two small kids by the hand as they walked toward the parking lot. She caught sight of me and my book and said, "your kids just go in there and play, don't they?" I could hear the longing in her voice; I could see it in her eyes.
I nodded yes and then re-assured her that extended time with her book was in her future soon enough. We both smiled and she headed to her car.
I know that future will come much sooner than she thinks. Whereas I once had a boy who was in the middle age range of the kids at the park, on this trip to the playground, I realized that he's one of the bigger kids at play. I know how that tired mama feels. And as surely as I know that feeling, I know that time is flying by. Though it was once impossible to imagine, within a year or two, JT probably won't want to play at this park. We'll have moved on to new adventures. But I'll still wish for a few more hours with a little boy at the park.
It can be difficult to be that mama with the clinging small children; with no time to read her book. Or shower in peace. But I should have called to her one last bit of advice….don't wish away this time. It will be gone soon enough and then you'll miss it; you really will.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Unexpected Blessings
On a regular basis, I try to slow down and take a few moments each day to be thankful for something. Though it might be something big and significant, more often it's something smaller, maybe even ephemeral but worthy of note: the changing leaves on a tree, fresh cookies in my lunchbox, a favorite binder clip. Something that brings me a smile.
This past week, my daily note of grace has been somewhere in between the big and the small. Each morning on my regular drive to school, I've found myself briefly pausing behind a school bus stopped on a very busy road. It's the short bus. As all the traffic comes to halt, a developmentally disabled young man, a teenager from the looks of him, bounds down his driveway, happily waving good bye to his mama and calling hello to the bus driver, waving at all the cars that have stopped for him.
That all of the New Jersey drivers have stopped, by the way, is something of a minor miracle. But that's not the note of grace I have in mind.
The grace is in the young man's simple happiness to be going to school. I know that raising a developmentally disabled child is no easy task and I imagine that his mama, no matter how much she loves him, is glad that he has school for the day. There's grace in that. I imagine that the school provides him challenges and makes him feel valued and proud of himself. More grace. And the way that he waves to the stopped cars, that might very well be the biggest grace of all. He's happy to be alive, to say hello, to head off to school.
It always brings a smile to my face. And that's happy.
This past week, my daily note of grace has been somewhere in between the big and the small. Each morning on my regular drive to school, I've found myself briefly pausing behind a school bus stopped on a very busy road. It's the short bus. As all the traffic comes to halt, a developmentally disabled young man, a teenager from the looks of him, bounds down his driveway, happily waving good bye to his mama and calling hello to the bus driver, waving at all the cars that have stopped for him.
That all of the New Jersey drivers have stopped, by the way, is something of a minor miracle. But that's not the note of grace I have in mind.
The grace is in the young man's simple happiness to be going to school. I know that raising a developmentally disabled child is no easy task and I imagine that his mama, no matter how much she loves him, is glad that he has school for the day. There's grace in that. I imagine that the school provides him challenges and makes him feel valued and proud of himself. More grace. And the way that he waves to the stopped cars, that might very well be the biggest grace of all. He's happy to be alive, to say hello, to head off to school.
It always brings a smile to my face. And that's happy.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Pretty Packages
I've had occasion to wrap some birthday gifts in the last few weeks. These two turned out particularly well.
Inside this package are three new books for a bookish friend of JT's. All three were new to the birthday boy (an avid reader). So that was happy.
A package of bonus desk supplies for a fellow teacher, plus some cookies to start a long week.
I always enjoy wrapping packages. The ribbons and paper, tags, and cards are just the sorts of things I love to collect and organize. And that's happy.
I always enjoy wrapping packages. The ribbons and paper, tags, and cards are just the sorts of things I love to collect and organize. And that's happy.
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