some delightful moments from today!

This morning I was about to hand out some papers that gave the kids an offer for free 6-Flags tickets for reading a certain amount and this is what happened:

Me: Students, I have something exciting to share with you!

Student 1: "You're getting married!"

Me: Haha, no guys, it's not quite that cool.

Student 2: "I know! You have a boyfriend!"

Me: "No, guys, I wouldn't tell you about that in class!"

Students: "WELL WHAT THEN?"

hahaha, as if those were the only two things that are exciting.

Later on in that class somehow we got talking about Mt. Everest. One of my kids raised her hand and said, "Ms. Maxwell, if you climbed Mt. Everest, would you get to God?" I sorta laughed and said no, but she was NOT done talking about it. Then she said, "Ok, so what about if you went up in an airplane? Is that high enough?" By this point I'm laughing but I'm not really sure how to explain this. So I say something along the lines of "Well, it depends on what you believe, but it definitely doesn't make sense that Heaven would be anywhere close to Earth because lots of people have climbed Mt. Everest and nobody has found it up there. People who believe in God believe that He is everywhere." OOOH but that opened up a lot of discussion! "Miss, my grandma says that when we're like talkin' mess at the dinner table, she's like, 'this is God's table'." Then the kid cracked up like it was the funniest thing in the world. Then it really started though and I got all kind of questions! "Miss is hell real?" "Miss, is it true that you get burned in hell?" and then...the stories started. "MISS! My tio, he died, and he sent back a letter that said he was burning!" and that's where I said, "Ok guys, I'd love to talk to you about God anytime, but after class, let's move on."

In other news this week my kids told me I should quit being a teacher and be either a.) a model or b.) on American Idol.

Lovin' it.

Water for Christmas

The last three weeks of school before Christmas break my 5th graders spent raising money and awareness in our school for the international water crisis. We read a book aloud about a girl who lived in Southern Sudan who had to spend all morning walking for water, read Time for Kids articles about clean water problems worldwide, used water words for vocabulary, talked about how it made us feel, and made a plan to raise some funds to provide clean water to kids who needed it. It was a really beautiful time and we ended up raising over 200$ which we will donate to Living Water International (http://water.cc/)

Here are some shots of all of our fun!

Making posters to put up around the school

We had a little competition for which of my classes could raise the most money

I stayed WAY too late after school one day making this bulletin board

This is an excellent book to read if you want to learn about the way that access to clean water affects communities. It's a dual story of a boy growing up in Sudan as a child soldier and a girl also in Sudan whose family suffers from lack of water. It's a really beautiful story and to all my teacher friends, would be a great addition to your classroom libraries. I cried at the end...while reading it out loud!

Spanish and English versions of the TFK articles are available here:

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/news/story/0,28277,2027478,00.html

On bullying

Lately there have been some really sad stories in the news about kids killing themselves because of other kids teasing them. Because of this the district is really pushing us to teach about bullying and what it is and why it's wrong, etc. I asked my kids to generate a piece of writing about bullying and I got some very funny responses. Here is a sampling: (remember they're learning English so don't be too hard on them)

"I hate bullying, it is not nice. Bullying is a group of people who tease kids. They give weggies, they take their lunch. They hurt them and make them cry. And one more thing, bullying is mean."

"Think of the person you are insulting as a piece of paper. As you say something mean to them they start crumpling up into a ball."

"People who bully can't make friends because they're mean. Nobody should ever bully some other person. The end."

"The word bully is something hard to describe. Doesn't it feel sad when you hear bullies talking about you? Bullies love fighting with you sometimes they hit you in the back of the ____ (don't know what they wanted to say here, there isn't a word) with their hand and you really sense. You can even see them teasing others too. Sometimes you can smell their spit when they do it to you at lunch. sometime you are worried or thinking that they will keep on bullying you until graduation."

"My brother always bullies me by saying 'Brian' and I say 'what?' and he says 'sucks'. Also, he will take your girl."

"Bullying is a bad thing to do. Bullies can hurt you until you cry to your mommy. If you get bullied you speak-up loudly until you lungs die. You shouldn't be quiet like a mouse."

"The bullies no make caso to the teacher, persons, and ni a su mom. The bully kick to the others persons and the others childrens. The bullys los inside from the carcel." (In English rather than Spanglish that says "bullies don't listen to the teachers, other people, or their mom. They kick other persons. Bullies are those that are inside the jail.")

who says grading isn't fun???

Are you a Christian? OR...do you celebrate Halloween?

I was really excited about fall last night, so I bought a pumpkin for my classroom. Little did I know how much trouble that thing would cause me.

7:40am: First of all, pumpkins are heavy, and since I always have about 5 things to carry in from my car, it was very difficult. After this awesome twisty spin move where I almost threw out my back, I managed to hold on to my pumpkin all the way in from the parking lot and up the stairs to my classroom. Thankfully, there were some girls waiting outside my room so they held the pumpkin while I unlocked the door. Whew, pumpkin successfully carried in to Rm. 30.

7:45 am: the rest of the kids march upstairs and start getting things from their lockers. All of them start commenting on the pumpkin. "Miss! you got a pumpkin? Are we going to carve it? How much does it weigh? Where did you buy it? Can I keep it? Can I hold it? Is it real?"

7:50am: Students are seated in the class eating their breakfast. I have not had time to eat my breakfast yet. (bad thing for me if you know me at all) A student from the back of the room raises his hand and says, "Miss Maxwell, are you a Christian?" We've been talking a lot about religion lately because it keeps coming up in stories we're reading in class. So I said yes. He instantly shoots back at me, "Well, if you celebrate Halloween, then you're not a Christian."

Boom. the end. Because I brought a pumpkin to school, I no longer am allowed to be a Christian. Let this be a warning to you: you shall go to hell and burn in hell fires if you bring a pumpkin to school.

Just sayin...

One Year In

I've lived in Texas for a whole year! So far I've only...

-dented my car door with the neighbor's truck
-knocked off my front bumper
-been yelled at by one parent
-been hit on by 1 man over the age of 60
-eaten fried pickles and crawfish twice
-recorded one country record
-said "might could" once
-wore an Aggie class ring once
-ridden in the back of a pickup truck once
-danced a wild polka with a 50 year man once
-and bought only one pair of cowboy boots and NO HAT.

For a whole year in Texas, I think that's pretty impressive.

Things I have managed to do:

Learned to salsa dance much better
Become a runner!
survived my first year as a teacher
painted my apartment wall as a chalkboard
Introduced my students to African hip-hop and indie-rock
Learned how to have cute hair in the humidity
got comfortable driving on huge highways
still ride my bike once in a while
fell in love with the cute mexican percussionist at taco milagro
sang karaoke taylor swift to my 5th graders
Taught from atop a desk or sitting on the floor
Cried while reading out loud to my students about the Holocaust
Got kids who have never passed Reading EVER to pass
Got a Texas driver's license
and...made curtains for my apartment.

On the to do list:
-get a tat
-buy a vacuum
-talk to the guy at taco milagro

In all seriousness though, one year in to Texas life I'm content. I have a wonderful support system, I love my job, and I'm learning to know God...know Him, not just know about Him. I'd like a close with a quote that speaks to my heart:

"You may all go to hell, but I will go to Texas"
-Davy Crockett

(Just kidding about the speaking to my heart part)

I really did set out to write a serious post, I guess it's just not in me.

Hopelessness into hope...kinda

A few months ago one of my students just up and moved to Florida to live with his mom. His dad didn't tell us, he just left, we don't know what school he's at or how to contact him or anything. When he moved I was really upset because he was a kid I checked on all the time to make sure he was ok. If he didn't show up to school, we'd call or go to his house. If he didn't eat breakfast, I had food for him. His dad drinks a lot and his two brothers are crazy messed up. Anyway, when he came to school I knew he was at least alive, got two meals a day, and had some clothes to wear. When he moved it brought up this doubt again that God can be trusted with my students. I see so much pain in their lives and wonder often how He can let that happen to them. Without being able to see J every day I lacked trust that God would provide for him and put people who care for him in his life.

Well, this morning my principal came into my room and took me outside in the hallway. She told me that his older brother had been accused of capital murder and was on trial that day. He is 15 years old, and was the person that my student was at home with because his dad was always gone and his other brother was in jail. Apparently this brother killed another teenager and after the kid was dead took the money from his pockets. And it's all on camera so there's no way he will get off. As horrified as I am, at least my little student isn't here to witness all of this. It makes me sick to even think about it--but imagine trying to deal with that if you were an eleven year old and your parents were completely absent from your life and you brother, who you really love in spite of his craziness, killed someone and is being shipped off to prison, probably for life, at 15.

So my little J, wherever you happen to be--I'm glad you're there and not here even though I can't check up on you.

It All Depends On How You Look At It

It All Depends on How You Look At It

I.


Terezín is full on beauty.
It's in your eyes now clear
And through the street the tramp
Of many marching feet I hear.

In the ghetto at Terezín,
It looks that way to me,
Is a square kilometer of earth
Cut off from the world that's free.

II.

Death, after all, claims everyone,
You find it everywhere.
It catches up with even those
Who wear their noses in the air.

The whole, wide world is ruled
With a certain justice, so
That helps perhaps to sweet
The poor man's pain and woe.

-Miraslav Kosek, 10

Died, age 12, in a concentration camp.