exactly

"the worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity."

-george bernard shaw

he also said: "we dont stop playing because we grow old. we grow old because we stop playing."

exactly, g.b. exactly.

well, yes

we've combined our 3rd and 4th graders during reading to get ready for TCAP. its been amusing.

the other day, donna said, "yeah, well not much makes sense in this little world of ours."

and a 3rd grader raised her hand and said, "you know what does make sense? escalators go up and down."

i had to turn around and walk away. because she was serious. she had really thought about it. and it was something that actually made sense to her.

and i couldnt let her see me laughing.

but it was funny.

and then she stood in front of the class and spelled her name in sign language.....

and then she did a "ballet" dance....

and i had to turn around and walk away again.




but i do wish i had that kind of confidence in myself.

is that getting or giving?

[[:: today, in math class, we were working on a problem about adding vs. subtracting. this is the conversation:

me: if sally has 22 pencils and she gives 2 to a friend, how many does she have left?

them: [crickets]

me: ok. if you give pencils to friends, is that getting or giving away?

them: giving away

me: exactly! now is that adding or subtracting?

them: subtraction

me: awesome, guys! [and then we write the number sentence and solve.]
ok. now if sally's mom gives her 10 more pencils, how many will she have?

them: [crickets again. i'm used to it.]

me: ok, if her mom gives her more pencils, is that getting more or giving away?

at this point, 2 of the students say "getting more. that's adding." one stares at me like i'm an alien from space. and 1 screams "giving away!" at this point, i focus on the screamer, partly because she's screaming and partly because the others have either figured out what to write or are still staring at me. again, i'm used to it.

me: ok. lets think about this. if your mama gives you 10 pencils, are you getting or giving away?

her: giving away

me: well, who are you giving them away to?

her: amber, sarah, tori....

me: no, sweetie, if you and your mama are the only ones there. you know, like you guys are the only ones in the house. and your mama gives you 10 pencils. are you getting more [i emphasized this when i said it] or giving away?

her: giving away [like, duh, miss emily, i have already told you this.]

me: [giving her my oh, my good gracious, what the heck am i going to do with you face]

her: getting?

me: excellent. ::]]

this is such a typical day for me. if we arent having trouble finding 25 on number charts, we're dealing with this kind of confusion.

but today, it struck me that maybe she does have the right idea in some way.

when she gets, she gives. and isnt that exactly what we should all be doing? we have been given such an abundance- both physically and spiritually. my heart overflows with the grace, goodness, and love of my precious Jesus. how dare i not pour that out on others?

so tomorrow [and all the days after that] i hope i live a little more like that 2nd grader. she couldnt imagine not sharing all those pencils her mother gave her.

and even though she was completely wrong for the math problem, i think she's pretty right for life.

some theory

the goal of intellectual education is not to know how to repeat or retain ready-made truths [a truth that is parroted is only a half-truth]. it is in learning to master the environment by oneself at the risk of losing a lot of time and going through all the roundabout ways that are inherent in real activity.

- piaget, 1973

a letter to my students

my dear children,

sometimes i forget to love you like i should. i'm sorry for that. i'm sorry that i fuss and i'm sorry that i get frustrated and i'm sorry that sometimes i momentarily forget just how beautiful and special and amazing you really are.

i know that sometimes the things we all ask of you are hard. i know you have to struggle sometimes. i know this isnt easy. and i know i'm asking a lot of you- because i am asking you to learn, to try, to grow. and i know just how painful and ridiculous and gut-wrenching every one of those things can be. [because i am learning and trying and growing too.]

i also know that you can do it. i believe in you. there will be teachers who will give up on you. i wont. there will be teachers who might believe that they cannot teach you. i wont. there may even be teachers who throw their hands in the air and stop trying. i wont.

i can promise you that there will be days when i am defeated, days when i think that i'm getting no where, days when i think i have failed you. and there may even be days when i want very much to quit. but i wont. because i can also promise you that i know that few things in my life make as much sense as going to that school every day and teaching you.

i promise to be real with you. i promise to fight for you. i promise to do everything i can for you. sure, sometimes i wont be enough. sometimes we will all fail. sometimes its going to hurt. but i'll be there with you: learning, trying, growing. and we'll get through this together.

thank you for the chance to be your teacher. i only ask for the grace to become.

love,
miss emily