Finally catching up

Last Monday night in my Anatomy of Speech class, I heard the words I’ve yearned to hear since I entered the public school system: “Great job, Ellie!” (spoken enthusiastically by the teacher) after I’d given my presentation on Asperger Syndrome. Each of us had to teach the class about an illness, condition or syndrome which compromises speech. I learned a lot from the other students’ talks; for instance, I’d never heard of Angelman’s Syndrome and others. I wish I had more time to devote to that class, but I’ve done respectably well on the two exams and the anatomical drawings that we are expected to do each week. We must sketch detailed illustrations of different systems, such as respiratory, or mouth muscles, or larynx, label all the parts, and a write a summary of how they work. Even the smallest system has endless muscles, bones, cartilages, nerves, cavities, and joints.

The past three weeks have been extraordinarily busy. One of the highlights was Jean and John’s visit two weeks ago when they were en route to Florida to spend a month at the condo. We enjoy their company and conversation so much. They are intelligent, well-informed, and curious, and also have happy, upbeat dispositions, so they are joy to be around. The day was sunny and pleasantly warm, so we walked to the docks. Later, they treated us for dinner at the Shell House. After that, we showed them our photos and videos of Europe on the big screen, via the computer. Then we saw John’s film of their trip to France, with music and special effects. I was very interested in the breath-taking Van Gogh gardens, a few miles outside of Paris, and decided I just have to see it someday. John's backyard suggestions were spot-on too. Sometimes it takes another set of eyes to see what I am too busy or tired to see right in front of me. He noted that the lemon tree would thrive if we hired a professional tree-cutter to trim it down from the top and sides. (The lemon crop was limited this year, though the lemons themselves were huge.) So when I told Liberto a week later that I was going to make an appointment with a professional, he was out there within an hour with his ladder and clippers, hacking away at the branches himself. The koi pond water is always murky, party due to the underwater soil in which plants are buried, but I hadn’t thought of adding more filters to the fountain where the pumped water runs out until John suggested it.

This summer, we’ll try to go to Toronto. I visited a few years ago, but Paul and Liberto haven’t been for a long time. The only problem is finding a time when all of our schedules coordinate. Paul’s summer semester at Armstrong begins in mid-May and continues until early July, I finish May 26 but start again in early August and Liberto has to plan getaways around his projects and meetings. At first glance, it looks as though it may be difficult to find more than a few days when we can all travel at the same time.

It’s warming up and flowering now in Southeast Georgia. The school semester has turned the corner into the last quarter of the year. I smell summer in the air! I smell freedom in the air! The Nine Weeks Exams took place last week, marking the half-way point of the semester. As always, it took me far more hours to create the nine weeks exams, print the tests, run the scantrons and add up the total from two scantrons per student, than it took the students to take the exams. We are just a few weeks away from the Georgia High School Graduation Test in English, followed by the End of Course Test. The announcement of these test dates is a harbinger of The End of the Year.

The high school has been preparing all year for SACS accreditation visit last Thursday and Friday. In the fall, all teachers served on committees and collected data; certain teachers spent months compiling the lengthy reports and preparing for the SACS team visit. This week, particularly on Thursday and Friday, everyone was on edge; teachers were forewarned that a SACS rep could randomly walk into anyone’s classroom any minute although they had pre-arranged visits with certain teachers. We had to make sure the Word Walls, Essential Questions, and Standards were posted in full view and Lesson Plans on the desk. We were told we could not have our usual Friday dress down day because the SACS visit extended into Friday. The AP even told me that he would try to get the worst behaved students into ISS and out of sight on Thursday and Friday. I wasn't sure if he was joking. Although the high school is the "best" in the region (i.e., highest test scores and graduation rates), the principal was clearly nervous. But on Friday afternoon at the end of the school day, the announcement came over the email that the school has been fully accredited for the next five years, and that the SACS team liked what they saw. School-wide sigh of relief. Teachers may dress down every day next week! It's a three-day week next week, with a teacher planning day Thursday and a day off Friday, oh joy! Teacher planning days are hang out, do your grading and have an occasional meeting day. No stress.

I wonder if the principal, who, we all remember, doesn't like me for some reason, was only too pleased to at least have me listed on paper for the SACS team as a person with a doctorate and a T-7 certificate. The other day, I was teaching the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. One of the questions was "What can we learn about the Mother through her dialect?" She says in the poem, "For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin'" and naturally, the answer is that her dialect marks her as a working class, less-than-well-educated person. One student, a black girl, said, "Well, our principal says `I's'." Hmmm. Could that explain a lot of the dissonance between us? BTW, the principal at my former high school has been removed in mid-year "to work on curriculum at the Board of Education. Curriculum is her strength" to quote the newspaper. BS!! That was a damage control press release spin if I ever heard one. That woman's biggest concern was never curriculum, but only whether students were wearing hoodies or if she could appear effective by culling a quota of teachers from the staff (numbers talk!).

I forgot to mention that a new math teacher was hired in February and was assigned to teach his class in my room during first block when I have planning. The students are mostly ninth graders, many of the same little sh---heads I had last fall in my basic reading class, and no better behaved. I usually leave and go to the faculty lounge when he is teaching, but coming in and out of the class, I have the chance to overhear a lot of anger exploding from the poor, harried teacher. You also see it in his face: disappointment and despair. Every day. All three of his classes are made up of repeaters who have taken the course once or twice before, and still don't give a crap. Therefore, they misbehave. I see Mr. T. come in and do all the techniques which Harry Wong, the management expert, warns against: Flashing the lights on and off, yelling, demeaning, throwing something loudly on the floor to get their attention (even I jump when he does this). When I was getting ready for my second block class on the Nine Weeks Exam day, one of my students asked me if he could borrow one of the pencils on my desk. I said sure. That's why I keep them there. A box of pencils is 94 cents at Wal-Mart, no biggie. Mr. T. observed this and said to me, "You're much nicer than I am." I was thinking, "What? You would refuse a student a pencil to take a major exam, just on principle?" But I said lightly to him, "Well, I choose my battles." With a "hmmp", he left the room. At the end of one period, he was yelling to the class, "Well, I'm glad I won't have to grade many tests this weekend! Because all of you who talked in these last five minutes, I'm invalidating your tests and giving you all zeroes! I hope you can explain that to your parents! Only 4 of you will have test grades!" OR: (Throwing book loudly onto the floor): "HEY! No wonder none of you get this! Because you're not listening! Later, you'll be coming to me and asking me to explain it again! BECAUSE YOU WERE NOT PAYING ATTENTION RIGHT NOW! Don't come to me asking for help later!" I feel his pain, having had a lot of the same students or same types in Basic Reading. I also pick up the profound vibe of anger and frustration that he projects. I see him in the lunchroom when I have lunch duty; the weight of the despondency hangs upon his face. I wonder if he will last. I've complained a lot on this blog about students, about the system, and much more, but I'm also very VERY grateful that 1)I have 11th graders who are one hundred times more mature than 9th graders (except for "B", a deranged student I have in one class) 2)that I don't have to drive to Georgia Southern any more and 3)that I'm paid through the summer, unlike at Georgia Southern. Maybe I'm feeling grateful and positive because the school year is almost over and I've almost survived another year! That's something to be proud of. I'm sure when I retire, I'll be writing a memoir about my adventures in high school teaching.

I've been tired this week. Standing on my feet for 4 and a half hours per day, enthusiastically going over the material or walking around the room to "monitor their progress" as they work, takes a toll. After leaving work yesterday, with a three day week to look forward to and a SACS accreditation finished, I felt celebratory and went to Kim's for a mani-pedi. It felt so-o-o-o good to have the leg and foot message with sweet smelling lotions and potions. It simply feels nice to have good-looking toes and nails. Oh yes, I am SHALLOW!


Shawn has face-booked me several times. He has arrived safely and is doing well. Since he is a Black Hawk helicopter technician, he is far from the battle front. Those copters cost millions each, so the Army wants to preserve them as much as they want to preserve the men, so they keep both in relatively safe FOB's. Shawn told us that when the copters are damaged beyond repair, the Army destroys them, so the enemy won't be able to learn any of our technology and imitate it.

I slept till 9 this morning, dreaming about Italy and France. I dream about those places almost nightly. I awoke with a good feeling. I have lots of work to do this weekend, but next Thursday and Friday I may be able to catch up with the backlog of grading. Liberto and I will see a movie today and do errands. He dreams about Europe too. Paul says it was the most exciting thing he ever did. Hopefully, this is a sign that we will go again.