No, calm down. Calm yourselves down. Gosh darn it. Stop leaping to conclusions! You don't even know what I'm thinking right now! You and your overactive imaginations. Snerb snerb snerb. No! No one has the plague! Especially not me! I'm opposed to things like illness, so horrible germs just bounce right off me. There's no need to worry.
But the actual worrying part comes when it turns out I have to a giant research project about the plague. Yes. The actual plague. Like BLACK DEATH BLACK PLAGUE GROSS PESTILENCE PLAGUE-Y PLAGUE OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION. Ugh.
It's so unfair. One of my friends gets to write about children's literature. I could write about children's literature. But noooooo. I get to write about the pulsating pustule puffer plague of people who refuse to bath on religious grounds.
And there are beautiful entries in the book I have to read, such as, "Victims violently coughed up blood, and after three days of incessant vomiting for which there was no remedy, they died, and with them died not only everyone who talked with them but also anyone who had acquired or touched or laid hands on their belongings." (From John Kelly's The Great Mortality)
Thanks for that, Weird English teacher.
So I think I'll probably write about this guy who kind of might have started the Plague, if you so choose to believe in things such as curses and witchcraft-y things. He seems more interesting than investigating actual parts of the Plague. Plus, real medical things are gross. (I can't even deal with my brothers pulling out their loose teeth, so plague symptoms? I might actually die.)
This guy apparently cursed the king of France because the king of France decided to burn this guy alive for going against the church in one of his public statements. And I guess being burned at the stake is a pretty good excuse for cursing someone. Although, if I were going to curse someone, it probably wouldn't be with plague. There are probably way worse things. Like banishing all the turtles of the world. Or making sure no one could wear orange ever again. Those would be horrible things. And if I died by burning, I'd certainly want to punish the world just like this guy. "You have crisped me! I shall steal your happiness! May a million billion years pass by before the world sees another turtle grace its putrid land, and when the first turtle emerges from the dust of your deaths, may the remaining failures among you bow to it and worship it as a deity!" That would be my curse.
Way better than a stupid plague.
Man, I wish I could have actual powers to curse people. Except there are many flaws in this plan. Like, if I were to actually curse the world with no turtles and hope to still be alive, I would be pretty upset. Maybe I would amend the curse, so it would be that I would be the only one to have a turtle. Many turtles in fact. I could have a whole hoard of turtles, and they would be my magical friends who would embrace me and my life at every chance they got, and we would rule the world from a magical throne that I would make out of evil, only because I would use all my powers to rid the world of evil, and turtles for others, because they don't deserve turtles. So, um, this got kind of confusing. So sorry.
Anyway. If I spend as much time actually researching things as I do writing blog posts and doing other "important" things, I would probably actually be ahead of the game. But alas, I have no such self-control. I'm filled with the extreme desire to finish all 5 seasons of Fringe and catalog them. It's a struggle. Maybe I shouldn't have so much freedom. Maybe I should live in the library this semester. That would be easier to get things done. Plus, books about the Plague live in the library!
Ahh! Except maybe the books about the Plague actually have the Plague, and I probably shouldn't touch them but then how would I get my paper done and oh no I've invented an impossible to solve paradox maybe I should just get to write about children't literature that would be a good solution in which I would both be happy AND not have the Plague.
Please and thank you.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
I FORGOT THE LINKS GUYS I'M SORRY PLEASE DON'T HATE ME
The weird version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJEoASUMZbI
The original version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6DA_WwO90c
If you're scarred for life, please don't sue me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJEoASUMZbI
The original version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6DA_WwO90c
If you're scarred for life, please don't sue me.
How To: Round Two
Oh yeah. Back at college. Because everyone knows that New Mexican heaven can't last forever. And don't get me wrong. New Mexico was amazing. And I miss my kids (if I can really call them mine) and the 55 degree weather and trips to incredible rock features and talking with other people who really care about the same things I care about and dancing to the Pizza Song (see possible links below) while making our own homemade pizza.
But at the same time, I kind of missed the chill of wind when you have to walk to a class that you really really like, like Spanish! and seeing snowmen pop up all around campus after there's been a blizzard and talking to people with different opinions about different things and also the pictures on my desk of all my friends.
So I must simply readjust my settings from New Mexico expectations to real life Iowa expectations.
But coming back for second semester is a little strange, I think. It's easier to get into a routine, because you already know what to expect, at least from things like food and living and work and all that stuff. All you really need to adjust to is your classes, and since you've been going to school for basically thirteen-ish years of your life, that shouldn't be too hard!
And even greater, maybe you even have friends to eat with!
And maybe you have an easier time of just talking to new people in your classes!
And maybe you aren't afraid!
Yeah. That's "How To: Round Two".
Because I do have friends that I like to eat with. And they are lovely people who make me laugh and who think about things the same way I do and who enjoy similar things as I do (Yeah, Settlers of Catan!) and who don't judge me for eating pizza and ice cream, even though it's Friday, and on Fridays we eat pizza and ice cream, even though I definitely forgot that today was Friday and instead ate a fish sandwich and the ice cream machine was broken but it's the principle that counts, right?
And it's way easier to talk to people in my classes, just because I think I kind of know now that even if you think you're basically sounding like a weirdie, everyone else thinks they're sounding like a weirdie, too. And life is all about balance, even if that balance is knowing everyone is as weird as they think they are.
And somehow, you're not afraid people are judging you for walking to the laundry room, because FREAKING EVERYONE has to walk to the laundry room. It's not like you're the only person who does laundry in the whole building. And you're not afraid of people judging you for buying a bag of chips at the weird store, because FREAKING LOTS OF PEOPLE buy chips at the weird store, or else they wouldn't sell them. And you're not afraid of people judging you for taking a shower, because (are you sensing a pattern yet?) FREAKING EVERYONE takes showers. Man. I'm pretty sure life is a lot easier when you realize everyone is just as freaked out about stuff as you are.
So I'm taking some fun classes, like tennis, where I think the main goal so far is to try not to hit people in the head with BOTH the ball and the racquet. And also I have linguistics in which I have to learn a new alphabet, basically. And philosophy of religion, which is like stabbing my brain with a stabber thing. And Spanish! Yah! Yah!
And I also get to work. Today, I served fish to starving villagers. Basically. Except they weren't villagers. But they were probably just about as civil as starving villagers. Anyway. I also am an expert at cutting lemons into wedges now. So if you're ever in need of lemon wedges, I can gladly accomplish this task for you. Even though it was terrifying, and I was like, "Why are these people trusting me with a knife when the first day I worked, I dropped an entire tray of coffee cups on the floor??!!??!!" But no one died. And since number of deaths is the way I measure success, I'm pretty sure I won.
I think I'll be able to survive this semester. I think. It'll take lots of food and possibly a pet turtle, but I will survive!
But at the same time, I kind of missed the chill of wind when you have to walk to a class that you really really like, like Spanish! and seeing snowmen pop up all around campus after there's been a blizzard and talking to people with different opinions about different things and also the pictures on my desk of all my friends.
So I must simply readjust my settings from New Mexico expectations to real life Iowa expectations.
But coming back for second semester is a little strange, I think. It's easier to get into a routine, because you already know what to expect, at least from things like food and living and work and all that stuff. All you really need to adjust to is your classes, and since you've been going to school for basically thirteen-ish years of your life, that shouldn't be too hard!
And even greater, maybe you even have friends to eat with!
And maybe you have an easier time of just talking to new people in your classes!
And maybe you aren't afraid!
Yeah. That's "How To: Round Two".
Because I do have friends that I like to eat with. And they are lovely people who make me laugh and who think about things the same way I do and who enjoy similar things as I do (Yeah, Settlers of Catan!) and who don't judge me for eating pizza and ice cream, even though it's Friday, and on Fridays we eat pizza and ice cream, even though I definitely forgot that today was Friday and instead ate a fish sandwich and the ice cream machine was broken but it's the principle that counts, right?
And it's way easier to talk to people in my classes, just because I think I kind of know now that even if you think you're basically sounding like a weirdie, everyone else thinks they're sounding like a weirdie, too. And life is all about balance, even if that balance is knowing everyone is as weird as they think they are.
And somehow, you're not afraid people are judging you for walking to the laundry room, because FREAKING EVERYONE has to walk to the laundry room. It's not like you're the only person who does laundry in the whole building. And you're not afraid of people judging you for buying a bag of chips at the weird store, because FREAKING LOTS OF PEOPLE buy chips at the weird store, or else they wouldn't sell them. And you're not afraid of people judging you for taking a shower, because (are you sensing a pattern yet?) FREAKING EVERYONE takes showers. Man. I'm pretty sure life is a lot easier when you realize everyone is just as freaked out about stuff as you are.
So I'm taking some fun classes, like tennis, where I think the main goal so far is to try not to hit people in the head with BOTH the ball and the racquet. And also I have linguistics in which I have to learn a new alphabet, basically. And philosophy of religion, which is like stabbing my brain with a stabber thing. And Spanish! Yah! Yah!
And I also get to work. Today, I served fish to starving villagers. Basically. Except they weren't villagers. But they were probably just about as civil as starving villagers. Anyway. I also am an expert at cutting lemons into wedges now. So if you're ever in need of lemon wedges, I can gladly accomplish this task for you. Even though it was terrifying, and I was like, "Why are these people trusting me with a knife when the first day I worked, I dropped an entire tray of coffee cups on the floor??!!??!!" But no one died. And since number of deaths is the way I measure success, I'm pretty sure I won.
I think I'll be able to survive this semester. I think. It'll take lots of food and possibly a pet turtle, but I will survive!
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Confessions of the Sickly
It's been two weeks since I've written things. I apologize for my lack of timeliness on this thing. Can I use the excuse that I've been busy? I use that excuse a lot. Maybe I should come up with something better. Like: I got trapped in a swamp full of alligators, but they all wore bonnets and it turned out they wanted to throw me a tea part, but I don't even like tea, so I just pretended to drink it so as not to be rude, but also because they could have poisoned it or something. How's that for an excuse?
In actuality, though, I have been kind of busy. I had my last week in New Mexico, my last week with my students, and then we had to drive home. And so I am home now! Except I've been sick for five entire days. I like to call it "The Disease that Proves to Me How Unnecessary it is to Breathe more than Once ever Five Minutes". And also I lost my voice. You never want to talk as much as when you can't. Plus, I CAN'T SOUND ANGRY ANYMORE, because if I talk at any pitch other than a strange whisper-y thing, my voice vanishes into the distance like a rabid donkey.
So I've mostly been sleeping and focusing on breathing and trying to not cough up a lung and drinking hot chocolate out of my turtle mug that I bought at the Flea Market in New Mexico and also catching up on all the TV shows I missed while far away with poor access to the internet. (Not necessarily proud of that last one, but I'm not going to lie to you guys.)
And I wanted to write about my final thoughts from New Mexico, but since it's been a while, I hope I haven't forgotten all the things I wanted to say!
I think when I headed down there, I was expecting this experience to completely solidify my desire to be a teacher. I wanted it to make me know for sure that this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Unfortunately, that was not the outcome.
DON'T WORRY, YOU PEOPLE WHO ARE WORRYING ABOUT ME RIGHT NOW. I still want to be a teacher. I still think that it's what I should be doing with my life. It's just that New Mexico had me thinking more about the reasons why I want to do it. In fact, there were times in the classroom when I sat there and said to myself, "I don't even know what I'm doing here. I don't want to do this with my life." And then the kind of panic that you have when you're having an existential crisis set in, because I've only ever wanted to be a teacher, and that's it, and I've literally never thought about doing anything else, and what if I decided to not teacher--what would I do with my life?
But I think I realized that I just don't want to be the kind of teacher I was observing.
I want to be the teacher who can connect with all the kids, not just the loud, social ones. I want to teach things, not just throw information at kids with the hope that they'll pick something up. I want to see the understanding in all the kids, not just the bright ones. I want to not leave the bright ones behind because "the bright ones don't need us" (actual quote from my teacher).
There were so many kids that I got to work with just because my teacher had already kind of given up on them, either because they were too slow to work at her pace, or because they were quiet, or because she was just too loud to cater to their style.
I had so many small victories with those kids who the teacher didn't pay attention to that I think I've secured my future in just small moments, small smiles. I'll tell you just a few of my favorites:
One student is a very hard worker, a very quiet student, but he works very slowly. My teacher has a policy that if students try but don't finish, she gives them a 70%, no matter how well they've done (which I think is just horrible, but whatever. It's not my classroom.) So I worked with this student, and he finished on time, and when he presented he got 100% and it was amazing!!! YES!
There was another student who would sit at the back of the class and not do anything. He'd have an assignment, but never write anything down. On the first day, I went up to him and asked if he was done, if he needed help, things like that. He told me no. And there's nothing you can do about it, and it makes me upset, because no one ever offers to help him, so he just feels like he doesn't deserve help. So everyday, I'd go up to him and ask if I could help, always with the same result. Until I had been there about eight days. On Thursday of the second week I was there, I went to ask if I could help him, and he said yes. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHH. And I was so happy, and we worked and he finished and it was amazing until he said to me, "No one ever asks to help me. I didn't think you meant it." And then.... I don't... I can't.... GAH, NEW MEXICO, WHY DO YOU HURT ME IN THIS WAY????
So I've obviously had a ton of mixed emotions on this trip. I mean, what do these kids do when we're not there? They're stuck with teachers who don't care enough (or have enough resources--it's not entirely their fault) to realize they can finish with ten minutes of help, or who don't even bother to ask if someone is struggling.
But I think in teaching, you just have to realize that you can't get to everyone, and that the victories mean more than the failures. And now I'm kind of just missing the happiness I got from seeing the smiles on kids' faces when they finally understand. But don't worry, self, you'll have plenty more chances to find that feeling. Don't worry.
Suggested life motto: Don't worry.
Suggested life action: Go eat the gummy worms that your mom bought you yesterday.
But really, though, Jen, you should follow your own life motto and don't worry.
In actuality, though, I have been kind of busy. I had my last week in New Mexico, my last week with my students, and then we had to drive home. And so I am home now! Except I've been sick for five entire days. I like to call it "The Disease that Proves to Me How Unnecessary it is to Breathe more than Once ever Five Minutes". And also I lost my voice. You never want to talk as much as when you can't. Plus, I CAN'T SOUND ANGRY ANYMORE, because if I talk at any pitch other than a strange whisper-y thing, my voice vanishes into the distance like a rabid donkey.
So I've mostly been sleeping and focusing on breathing and trying to not cough up a lung and drinking hot chocolate out of my turtle mug that I bought at the Flea Market in New Mexico and also catching up on all the TV shows I missed while far away with poor access to the internet. (Not necessarily proud of that last one, but I'm not going to lie to you guys.)
And I wanted to write about my final thoughts from New Mexico, but since it's been a while, I hope I haven't forgotten all the things I wanted to say!
I think when I headed down there, I was expecting this experience to completely solidify my desire to be a teacher. I wanted it to make me know for sure that this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Unfortunately, that was not the outcome.
DON'T WORRY, YOU PEOPLE WHO ARE WORRYING ABOUT ME RIGHT NOW. I still want to be a teacher. I still think that it's what I should be doing with my life. It's just that New Mexico had me thinking more about the reasons why I want to do it. In fact, there were times in the classroom when I sat there and said to myself, "I don't even know what I'm doing here. I don't want to do this with my life." And then the kind of panic that you have when you're having an existential crisis set in, because I've only ever wanted to be a teacher, and that's it, and I've literally never thought about doing anything else, and what if I decided to not teacher--what would I do with my life?
But I think I realized that I just don't want to be the kind of teacher I was observing.
I want to be the teacher who can connect with all the kids, not just the loud, social ones. I want to teach things, not just throw information at kids with the hope that they'll pick something up. I want to see the understanding in all the kids, not just the bright ones. I want to not leave the bright ones behind because "the bright ones don't need us" (actual quote from my teacher).
There were so many kids that I got to work with just because my teacher had already kind of given up on them, either because they were too slow to work at her pace, or because they were quiet, or because she was just too loud to cater to their style.
I had so many small victories with those kids who the teacher didn't pay attention to that I think I've secured my future in just small moments, small smiles. I'll tell you just a few of my favorites:
One student is a very hard worker, a very quiet student, but he works very slowly. My teacher has a policy that if students try but don't finish, she gives them a 70%, no matter how well they've done (which I think is just horrible, but whatever. It's not my classroom.) So I worked with this student, and he finished on time, and when he presented he got 100% and it was amazing!!! YES!
There was another student who would sit at the back of the class and not do anything. He'd have an assignment, but never write anything down. On the first day, I went up to him and asked if he was done, if he needed help, things like that. He told me no. And there's nothing you can do about it, and it makes me upset, because no one ever offers to help him, so he just feels like he doesn't deserve help. So everyday, I'd go up to him and ask if I could help, always with the same result. Until I had been there about eight days. On Thursday of the second week I was there, I went to ask if I could help him, and he said yes. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHH. And I was so happy, and we worked and he finished and it was amazing until he said to me, "No one ever asks to help me. I didn't think you meant it." And then.... I don't... I can't.... GAH, NEW MEXICO, WHY DO YOU HURT ME IN THIS WAY????
So I've obviously had a ton of mixed emotions on this trip. I mean, what do these kids do when we're not there? They're stuck with teachers who don't care enough (or have enough resources--it's not entirely their fault) to realize they can finish with ten minutes of help, or who don't even bother to ask if someone is struggling.
But I think in teaching, you just have to realize that you can't get to everyone, and that the victories mean more than the failures. And now I'm kind of just missing the happiness I got from seeing the smiles on kids' faces when they finally understand. But don't worry, self, you'll have plenty more chances to find that feeling. Don't worry.
Suggested life motto: Don't worry.
Suggested life action: Go eat the gummy worms that your mom bought you yesterday.
But really, though, Jen, you should follow your own life motto and don't worry.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
It's Hard to Type while Eating Ice Cream, Especially when You Use Two Spoons
I definitely didn't know which of the words in the title should be capitalized, because some of the words seem unimportant and therefore shouldn't be capitalized, but maybe they were important, and maybe I capitalized words that shouldn't be capitalized, and no one really knows what's going on and this probably a good time to announce that I'm deciding to not be an English major. Sorry Mom.
Anyway. I wrote about two of my best friends in the two previous posts, so this is definitely a good time to write about the other one. Hi, Paige! Did you know we're the same person? That means you're basically here in New Mexico with me, experiencing all my experiences. Yay!
Today was pretty weird. Actually. I mean, it was a normal day in school. And I don't really even have anything exciting to say, because nothing exciting really happened. Maybe that's why it was weird.
But people came to dinner that weren't our people! Like the other student teachers and the guy who's kind of in charge of stuff here, I guess? and his family. That was weird. We had a ton of people around our semi-tiny table. And we made chicken. Ish. Chicken-ish.
Okay. Really though. I mostly just wanted to write the first paragraph about how English major is probably not a thing anymore. And of course I had to talk about Paige.
I could tell you about how we tried to go recycle our recyclables in the recycle bin, but then it was locked, and my professor gave me her slippers so I could go bring stuff out there, but it was locked, so I just wandered around in my professor's slippers in the mud. Because that's also weird.
And now we're all sitting around in the kitchen on our laptops because that's just the kind of people we are. I'll just give you second by second updates.
Talking about something I don't understand.
Talking about YouTube.
Talking about Nate's hair, and how he always wears a hat once he starts wearing a hat.
Talking about buying shuttle tickets.
Talking about spaghetti cats.
Pause
Pause
Pause
Pause
Pause
Talking about getting up early to hike up bluffs.
Talking about breaking things.
Talking about weird people.
Talking about weird people wearing masks.
Pause
Pause
Pause
Talking about things I don't understand.
Talking about socks.
Talking about Target.
Talking about money.
Talking about SnapChat.
Okay. Hopefully you find that interesting. Please don't be scared away by my lack of content. Because sometimes I actually write things. Tune in later. Or go back and read the other things I write. Maybe ice cream is disrupting my brain waves, and I can't think coherent thoughts.
Anyway. I wrote about two of my best friends in the two previous posts, so this is definitely a good time to write about the other one. Hi, Paige! Did you know we're the same person? That means you're basically here in New Mexico with me, experiencing all my experiences. Yay!
Today was pretty weird. Actually. I mean, it was a normal day in school. And I don't really even have anything exciting to say, because nothing exciting really happened. Maybe that's why it was weird.
But people came to dinner that weren't our people! Like the other student teachers and the guy who's kind of in charge of stuff here, I guess? and his family. That was weird. We had a ton of people around our semi-tiny table. And we made chicken. Ish. Chicken-ish.
Okay. Really though. I mostly just wanted to write the first paragraph about how English major is probably not a thing anymore. And of course I had to talk about Paige.
I could tell you about how we tried to go recycle our recyclables in the recycle bin, but then it was locked, and my professor gave me her slippers so I could go bring stuff out there, but it was locked, so I just wandered around in my professor's slippers in the mud. Because that's also weird.
And now we're all sitting around in the kitchen on our laptops because that's just the kind of people we are. I'll just give you second by second updates.
Talking about something I don't understand.
Talking about YouTube.
Talking about Nate's hair, and how he always wears a hat once he starts wearing a hat.
Talking about buying shuttle tickets.
Talking about spaghetti cats.
Pause
Pause
Pause
Pause
Pause
Talking about getting up early to hike up bluffs.
Talking about breaking things.
Talking about weird people.
Talking about weird people wearing masks.
Pause
Pause
Pause
Talking about things I don't understand.
Talking about socks.
Talking about Target.
Talking about money.
Talking about SnapChat.
Okay. Hopefully you find that interesting. Please don't be scared away by my lack of content. Because sometimes I actually write things. Tune in later. Or go back and read the other things I write. Maybe ice cream is disrupting my brain waves, and I can't think coherent thoughts.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Everything Is Danger
I haven't written in a long time, as my lovely friend Mia pointed out. Because she's just so on top of me to keep writing things about things! Where would I be without you, Mia? Probably in Antarctica. Although I don't know how I would have gotten there. Anyway.
Truthfully, though, I haven't written because I've been very busy. Busy in the classroom, and also busy wandering around doing dangerous things. The list of things I've done on this trip that you previously probably could not even pay me to do is pretty long. (We were talking about lists, in case you got confused by my ridiculously long run-on sentence. Anyway. I think I'll tell you about all these things.
Firstly, last week's school week was very intriguing. I learned a lot. About many things. I can't really remember many things. Why don't you spend eight hours a day learning things rapid-fire. And then come back and tell me what you know. You won't be able to say one thing, I bet. Because I know. I know everything! Ha! Contradiction. Okay. But the thing that happened that I wouldn't have done was this: There was an emergency that my lovely teacher had to take care of out in the hallway, and she was like, "Ms. Stanley, please lead the class while I deal with this." And so I did. I gave a 20 minute lecture in a Spanish class, and I didn't even die. You know what? I didn't even freak out like I do when I have to give a presentation in a class. I just calmly and collectedly told some kids what "playa" and "iglesia" meant. I'm so proud of myself for not freaking out! Ah ha ha ha ha!
That also happened again this week, except it was about the days of the week. And I was more prepared this time. So even less dying than no dying. Be proud of me, people.
I probably also would not have approached random people to try to help them, but that's what I've been doing mostly in this week and last. "Hello, child. Can I assist you in some way? Tell me your Spanish flavored troubles." And then sometimes they do, and then I help them! And sometimes they're like, "Leave me alone." But whatever. I'm still learning.
Also, unschool related, I climbed over a barbed wire fence to climb a mountain.
And I walked through a scary cemetery after it was closed to the public (nighttime) to find a giant boulder. And then I climbed the boulder. Getting up the rock wasn't actually the scary part, but going down was like death. Except all the people assured me that I probably wouldn't die. And I guess if I had to do things that were dangerous, I was glad to be with a bunch of people who know how to calm people down, and also make sure people survive dangerous rocks. Yeah. We're gonna be teachers.
I also climbed "600 sheer feet" down into a canyon. Admittedly, that was very cool and worthwhile. But it doesn't mean that it wasn't dangerous!
I also did something rebellious with two of my fellow travelers that I can't tell you until after we leave New Mexico, in case one of the others read this blog (unlikely) and I inadvertently break my sacred, unbreakable vow. (We've been having a Harry Potter marathon.)
I've also eaten ice cream every single day since I've been here. Because our professor thinks we like ice cream. Which is true. But occasionally it's a little ridiculous. I'd show you a picture, but I boycott photography, unless you go check my Facebook page, because I post photography on there, so there.
It's hard to believe that we only have like a week and a half left here. It's going so fast. And scary. And dangerous. But you know. It's pretty exciting. I like it here!
PS: We had a two hour late start today at school because of "cold, ice, and mud." So we got to sleep in. And then there was a lock down at the end of school. Because I don't know why. But it was pretty weird. As far as I know, there was no danger. But who knows. Everything is danger.
Truthfully, though, I haven't written because I've been very busy. Busy in the classroom, and also busy wandering around doing dangerous things. The list of things I've done on this trip that you previously probably could not even pay me to do is pretty long. (We were talking about lists, in case you got confused by my ridiculously long run-on sentence. Anyway. I think I'll tell you about all these things.
Firstly, last week's school week was very intriguing. I learned a lot. About many things. I can't really remember many things. Why don't you spend eight hours a day learning things rapid-fire. And then come back and tell me what you know. You won't be able to say one thing, I bet. Because I know. I know everything! Ha! Contradiction. Okay. But the thing that happened that I wouldn't have done was this: There was an emergency that my lovely teacher had to take care of out in the hallway, and she was like, "Ms. Stanley, please lead the class while I deal with this." And so I did. I gave a 20 minute lecture in a Spanish class, and I didn't even die. You know what? I didn't even freak out like I do when I have to give a presentation in a class. I just calmly and collectedly told some kids what "playa" and "iglesia" meant. I'm so proud of myself for not freaking out! Ah ha ha ha ha!
That also happened again this week, except it was about the days of the week. And I was more prepared this time. So even less dying than no dying. Be proud of me, people.
I probably also would not have approached random people to try to help them, but that's what I've been doing mostly in this week and last. "Hello, child. Can I assist you in some way? Tell me your Spanish flavored troubles." And then sometimes they do, and then I help them! And sometimes they're like, "Leave me alone." But whatever. I'm still learning.
Also, unschool related, I climbed over a barbed wire fence to climb a mountain.
And I walked through a scary cemetery after it was closed to the public (nighttime) to find a giant boulder. And then I climbed the boulder. Getting up the rock wasn't actually the scary part, but going down was like death. Except all the people assured me that I probably wouldn't die. And I guess if I had to do things that were dangerous, I was glad to be with a bunch of people who know how to calm people down, and also make sure people survive dangerous rocks. Yeah. We're gonna be teachers.
I also climbed "600 sheer feet" down into a canyon. Admittedly, that was very cool and worthwhile. But it doesn't mean that it wasn't dangerous!
I also did something rebellious with two of my fellow travelers that I can't tell you until after we leave New Mexico, in case one of the others read this blog (unlikely) and I inadvertently break my sacred, unbreakable vow. (We've been having a Harry Potter marathon.)
I've also eaten ice cream every single day since I've been here. Because our professor thinks we like ice cream. Which is true. But occasionally it's a little ridiculous. I'd show you a picture, but I boycott photography, unless you go check my Facebook page, because I post photography on there, so there.
It's hard to believe that we only have like a week and a half left here. It's going so fast. And scary. And dangerous. But you know. It's pretty exciting. I like it here!
PS: We had a two hour late start today at school because of "cold, ice, and mud." So we got to sleep in. And then there was a lock down at the end of school. Because I don't know why. But it was pretty weird. As far as I know, there was no danger. But who knows. Everything is danger.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO RACHEL REGARDING NORWAY (And A First Day Analysis for Everyone Else)
Yeah, first day of school!
Kind of!
You know.
First day of being in a school to learn about teaching, instead of to learn about things.
And it was pretty great.
I think I have too many thoughts about it to write down. They're all just kind of swirling around in my head right now. I had a lot of questions I didn't get to ask my lovely host teacher (I'll just call her Mrs. S), and probably a lot of things we just didn't get to talk about. Because there's so much to talk about.
In Miyamura High School, about 80% of the students are Native Americans, 10-15% are either Mexican or Arab, and the remaining 5% are white students. It's a pretty eye-opening experience to be in the minority, even though many of the teachers themselves are white.
I did some working with kids taking Spanish One during the day. It was pretty weird to be called Ms. Stanley. I think that's probably something I'll just have to get used to. We were working on a review where the students had to fill in the blanks about their vacations. I think the question I was most asked was, "How do you spell 'vacations' in Spanish?"
When we started out the day, the students were very talkative. Mrs. S just let them go off on tangent after tangent. I was really confused, because they weren't talking about anything related to school, or Spanish, and most of the topics seemed very inappropriate for school conversations. But soon they all got settled and Mrs. S called me over to her desk.
"Do you know why I just let them talk for so long?" she asked me. I told her no, and that I honestly had no idea why she did that. She said, "It was for you. It was for you to see all the problems these kids face, that kids in high school shouldn't be facing. It was so you could see that school maybe is the most stable place these kids have."
Because what I had thought of as just inappropriate conversations were actually things that these kids deal with. Drugs and homelessness and their own children and abuse and countless other things that are mostly still stuck in the unimaginable part of my brain.
These things aren't just issues in the high school, but in the younger grades as well. Hannah, who works with the middle school told us at dinner that there was a student absent from one of her classes today, and all the other kids just blatantly told her that "he was in juvie." A middle schooler. I think Hannah summed up all of our feelings when she said, "I just wish we could all give Gallup a hug."
After school, I got a chance to talk with Mrs. S in a room not filled with students. I asked her how she deals with such rambunctious classes and students. And I guess it wouldn't be a good learning experience if the answer didn't make me cry.
She said: "You know, the kids who act out the most are usually the ones who have the hardest, least stable home lives. Break can be a stressful time for them, especially such a long one. When they act out and I respond--even by just teasing them--it gives them validation, a sort of recognition that they're still a person and that they still matter. You know [that boy]? He is physically abused at home. All the time. Constantly. And he just expects it now; it's normal to him. He just puts on that face, the one that says, "nothing can touch me" and that's why he acts out. And [that girl]? She got kicked out of her house the day before break. Where was she going to go for Christmas? She's resentful, and she acts out. These kids, they just need someone to show them that they still matter, and if acting out gets that validation for them, I'm just going to have to deal with it."
I.... I just want to do something important. Like help a kid. Or help all the kids. You can't help all the kids. This school district has so many open positions, it's crazy. All they need is more people. More people to care about these kids. All the teachers want to be in a good school, with a good area, where there are no problems, but those aren't the places that need teachers. Places like Gallup need the teachers. These kids can do so much, but they're missing the people who realize it.
So maybe instead of moving to Norway, I'll move to New Mexico. They probably need me more than Norway anyway.
Kind of!
You know.
First day of being in a school to learn about teaching, instead of to learn about things.
And it was pretty great.
I think I have too many thoughts about it to write down. They're all just kind of swirling around in my head right now. I had a lot of questions I didn't get to ask my lovely host teacher (I'll just call her Mrs. S), and probably a lot of things we just didn't get to talk about. Because there's so much to talk about.
In Miyamura High School, about 80% of the students are Native Americans, 10-15% are either Mexican or Arab, and the remaining 5% are white students. It's a pretty eye-opening experience to be in the minority, even though many of the teachers themselves are white.
I did some working with kids taking Spanish One during the day. It was pretty weird to be called Ms. Stanley. I think that's probably something I'll just have to get used to. We were working on a review where the students had to fill in the blanks about their vacations. I think the question I was most asked was, "How do you spell 'vacations' in Spanish?"
When we started out the day, the students were very talkative. Mrs. S just let them go off on tangent after tangent. I was really confused, because they weren't talking about anything related to school, or Spanish, and most of the topics seemed very inappropriate for school conversations. But soon they all got settled and Mrs. S called me over to her desk.
"Do you know why I just let them talk for so long?" she asked me. I told her no, and that I honestly had no idea why she did that. She said, "It was for you. It was for you to see all the problems these kids face, that kids in high school shouldn't be facing. It was so you could see that school maybe is the most stable place these kids have."
Because what I had thought of as just inappropriate conversations were actually things that these kids deal with. Drugs and homelessness and their own children and abuse and countless other things that are mostly still stuck in the unimaginable part of my brain.
These things aren't just issues in the high school, but in the younger grades as well. Hannah, who works with the middle school told us at dinner that there was a student absent from one of her classes today, and all the other kids just blatantly told her that "he was in juvie." A middle schooler. I think Hannah summed up all of our feelings when she said, "I just wish we could all give Gallup a hug."
After school, I got a chance to talk with Mrs. S in a room not filled with students. I asked her how she deals with such rambunctious classes and students. And I guess it wouldn't be a good learning experience if the answer didn't make me cry.
She said: "You know, the kids who act out the most are usually the ones who have the hardest, least stable home lives. Break can be a stressful time for them, especially such a long one. When they act out and I respond--even by just teasing them--it gives them validation, a sort of recognition that they're still a person and that they still matter. You know [that boy]? He is physically abused at home. All the time. Constantly. And he just expects it now; it's normal to him. He just puts on that face, the one that says, "nothing can touch me" and that's why he acts out. And [that girl]? She got kicked out of her house the day before break. Where was she going to go for Christmas? She's resentful, and she acts out. These kids, they just need someone to show them that they still matter, and if acting out gets that validation for them, I'm just going to have to deal with it."
I.... I just want to do something important. Like help a kid. Or help all the kids. You can't help all the kids. This school district has so many open positions, it's crazy. All they need is more people. More people to care about these kids. All the teachers want to be in a good school, with a good area, where there are no problems, but those aren't the places that need teachers. Places like Gallup need the teachers. These kids can do so much, but they're missing the people who realize it.
So maybe instead of moving to Norway, I'll move to New Mexico. They probably need me more than Norway anyway.
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