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Teacher Appreciation Week


I'll admit that it's difficult to get excited about Teacher Appreciation Week when we still don't have a contract, and the powers that be are being assholes about it.  My job, however, is still phenomenal.  This week we're watching Louder than a Bomb and talking about our upcoming poetry slam.  Today students (well most) came to class with their poem (rough draft, some rougher than others).  Most students are taking the criteria (Speak from your heart and experiences.  Be real.) seriously.

I was also observed by a peer coach today.  Since I scheduled it last minute, he watched today's section (which always makes me tear up a bit).  He was impressed that I break the movie up into sections to allow students to write and practice skills a bit each day.  Really?!  It seems like common sense to me.  I'm not using the movie to kill time.  Rather, I'm using the movie to give examples and teach skills.  Anyway, he also was impressed by my rapport (I can't remember the word he used) with my students.  Really?!  It's the last month of school, and we're writing serious, emotional poems.  We better have a good rapport.

Yesterday, however, was not a showing of good rapport.  Next week we have interviews for our 7th LA opening (my dyad partner).  I misunderstood my principal's message which caused me to send an email with the subject line: Soooooooo.  It wasn't professional or warranted.  After school when I sat in his office looking at the candidate applications, I realized my mistake.  Oops!  At least it's teacher appreciation week, so perhaps he appreciated that I am taking this seriously.

To end the week of somewhat being appreciated (nice cards and emails from students, these were assigned by teachers needing a lesson plan), I received an email from Creative Communications saying 50 of my students were chosen to be in their poetry book.  It doesn't necessarily show that I'm a great poetry teacher, but it does show that I make my students submit a poem to the contest.  My students always have a large number of poems selected.  Although I have no proof, I feel that they select at least half of our students each year.  Sometimes I think if I only sent 20, they'd select 10.  It doesn't matter.  It's a super positive moment for those students that receive the postcard saying they've been accepted.  They will be published authors!  Since everyone doesn't get one, it makes them feel that it is something special.  Isn't that what we all want?  To feel as though we're someone special.





Comments

LH said…
I appreciate this post's focus on the real world.
7:57 AM
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