Okay, so contrary to what the title says, it was not me being a Valley Girl. I know, I know, it just fits so well :-)
Right now, I'm actually at school and what I'm about to write happened about 30 minutes ago. It's so funny that if I don't cement it in the blogging world right now I might forget it.
So there I was, explaining to my class what the word devoted means and how we can use it in sentences. I was using a student as an example. She is completely devoted to doing her hair each and every morning. I said the following (names have been changed), "Based on this we know that Sally is totally devoted to doing her hair."
A student of mine that is a typical punk teenager, loves: bmx biking, boarding, talking about alcohol and drugs, pretending to be bad a**, etc. pipes up, "Yeah, like totally; she's totally devoted."
What?! Where the heck did he learn how to talk like a Valley Girl, much less deliver it with such finesse? Oh the things that never cease to amaze me as a teacher.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
a TEACHING day in the life of me...
Today in my 8th period class (co-taught English) I had an AWESOME day of teaching ... by making a total fool out of myself.
I was leading a co-discussion with my co-teacher, Boyd, about a short story called "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. It's quite a suspenseful little one ... if you ever feel the desire to read it.
We get through the first page.
I'm doing a great job "thinking aloud" my thought process of what is building the suspense, vocabulary instruction, etc. Boyd was doing a great job of showing them how foreshadowing was happening, why Jacobs chose specific words, etc. The class was engaged and all was going great!
We moved onto the second page; at the bottom of the page I read this passage, "He took something out of his pocket and proffered it. Mrs. White drew back with a grimace, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously."
The it was the Monkey's Paw.
I stopped reading right then and said to the class, "you know if someone brought out a monkey's paw, I think I would look at it curiously too and then I might, ya know ... as I made an awesome throw up/gagging sound ... and continued on. Meanwhile, Boyd chuckles and says, "Then it will be a Monkey's Paw with throw up on it." Well that hit my funny bone super hard! I started giggling, then laughing, then I squealed. Yes, folks, that's what I did ... S.Q.U.E.A.L.E.D.
I was standing at the front of the room, Boyd was to my right over by the wall. I looked over at him and said, "I just squealed didn't I?" The look on his face was - don't laugh at her - but all he could do was say, "Yes."
Well that was enough license for the entire class to burst out laughing. I started walking towards the door and said, "Okay I'll go be embarrassed outside ... be right back." To which a darling student of mine replied, "Too late for that."
I was BRIGHT red. It was delightful. It provided some comedic relief and, thankfully, we were able to get through the rest of the lesson.
It has been officially decided that I have a contagious laugh and that it's okay that I laugh with my students before Christmas break. p.h.e.w. for that one!
I LOVE TEACHING :-)
I was leading a co-discussion with my co-teacher, Boyd, about a short story called "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. It's quite a suspenseful little one ... if you ever feel the desire to read it.
We get through the first page.
I'm doing a great job "thinking aloud" my thought process of what is building the suspense, vocabulary instruction, etc. Boyd was doing a great job of showing them how foreshadowing was happening, why Jacobs chose specific words, etc. The class was engaged and all was going great!
We moved onto the second page; at the bottom of the page I read this passage, "He took something out of his pocket and proffered it. Mrs. White drew back with a grimace, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously."
The it was the Monkey's Paw.
I stopped reading right then and said to the class, "you know if someone brought out a monkey's paw, I think I would look at it curiously too and then I might, ya know ... as I made an awesome throw up/gagging sound ... and continued on. Meanwhile, Boyd chuckles and says, "Then it will be a Monkey's Paw with throw up on it." Well that hit my funny bone super hard! I started giggling, then laughing, then I squealed. Yes, folks, that's what I did ... S.Q.U.E.A.L.E.D.
I was standing at the front of the room, Boyd was to my right over by the wall. I looked over at him and said, "I just squealed didn't I?" The look on his face was - don't laugh at her - but all he could do was say, "Yes."
Well that was enough license for the entire class to burst out laughing. I started walking towards the door and said, "Okay I'll go be embarrassed outside ... be right back." To which a darling student of mine replied, "Too late for that."
I was BRIGHT red. It was delightful. It provided some comedic relief and, thankfully, we were able to get through the rest of the lesson.
It has been officially decided that I have a contagious laugh and that it's okay that I laugh with my students before Christmas break. p.h.e.w. for that one!
I LOVE TEACHING :-)
Friday, September 10, 2010
a FRIDAY day in the life of me...
Well folks. I've done it. I've been in school for 3 weeks now. It's hard to believe that my summer came and went and now I'm back in the swing of things and it feels as if I was never even gone from them - weird.
My students are darling, if not challenging. But hey, if it wasn't for that, my job would be too easy. It's so nice being a second year teacher. I feel so much better prepared for the situations that confront me and for the arguments that the students give. I feel like I heard it all last year, yet they still amaze me with what they can make up.
Already I've had some funny comments:
We sitting at a small table. I was working with 5 students. I had one student write something down super fast - I figured he probably didn't get it correct, so I turned to him and said "What's your answer." He gave it to me. I started to say "That's not correct." but he interrupted me and said "I wasn't done writing yet," as he continues to elaborate on his answer. We all started laughing so hard, himself included, and he almost fell off of his own chair. It definitely made me smile.
Besides school I've been having some fun too. My Steiner family went on a camp out up in the high Uinta's. It was so fun and beautiful. I forgot how much better everything tastes around a campfire.
I've had a BBQ at my cabin with my friend Wendee and her husband Gian. We roasted hot dogs and had an awesome salad, chips, drinks, etc. It was so relaxing to just sit and listen to the river, listen to each other, and just enjoy life for a minute.
My Steiner family went for a day at Yuba. Besides the water being 55 degrees and outside being 72 degrees, it was a fun day. I was on the wave runner with Aimee, just enjoying ourselves. We were chasing some waves, when all of the sudden, one decided that it wanted to fight back. We were engulfed with freezing water. It hurt. My teeth started aching, because I was so cold. We got hit with a second wave and that's when I decided that we needed to go back to shore. Burr - I didn't warm up until after I'd taken a hot shower that night.
I've moved into a new ward and am enjoying it. There are some very NICE and FUN people! It's going to be a great experience.
I finally get a paycheck again - that summer was long.....
I'm back in my dance class. We are focusing on skills and technique for a little while. I had it on Wednesday and was so sore after the class. My posture, balance and muscle strength is sadly lacking; however my arms in leaps and turns are great! hahaha. I love dance.
Well that's a brief catch up :-)
My students are darling, if not challenging. But hey, if it wasn't for that, my job would be too easy. It's so nice being a second year teacher. I feel so much better prepared for the situations that confront me and for the arguments that the students give. I feel like I heard it all last year, yet they still amaze me with what they can make up.
Already I've had some funny comments:
We sitting at a small table. I was working with 5 students. I had one student write something down super fast - I figured he probably didn't get it correct, so I turned to him and said "What's your answer." He gave it to me. I started to say "That's not correct." but he interrupted me and said "I wasn't done writing yet," as he continues to elaborate on his answer. We all started laughing so hard, himself included, and he almost fell off of his own chair. It definitely made me smile.
Besides school I've been having some fun too. My Steiner family went on a camp out up in the high Uinta's. It was so fun and beautiful. I forgot how much better everything tastes around a campfire.
I've had a BBQ at my cabin with my friend Wendee and her husband Gian. We roasted hot dogs and had an awesome salad, chips, drinks, etc. It was so relaxing to just sit and listen to the river, listen to each other, and just enjoy life for a minute.
My Steiner family went for a day at Yuba. Besides the water being 55 degrees and outside being 72 degrees, it was a fun day. I was on the wave runner with Aimee, just enjoying ourselves. We were chasing some waves, when all of the sudden, one decided that it wanted to fight back. We were engulfed with freezing water. It hurt. My teeth started aching, because I was so cold. We got hit with a second wave and that's when I decided that we needed to go back to shore. Burr - I didn't warm up until after I'd taken a hot shower that night.
I've moved into a new ward and am enjoying it. There are some very NICE and FUN people! It's going to be a great experience.
I finally get a paycheck again - that summer was long.....
I'm back in my dance class. We are focusing on skills and technique for a little while. I had it on Wednesday and was so sore after the class. My posture, balance and muscle strength is sadly lacking; however my arms in leaps and turns are great! hahaha. I love dance.
Well that's a brief catch up :-)
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