school | BulgingButtons

November 8, 2015
by BulgingButtons 3 Comments

What is it About the Owl?

Last Friday I gave my fourth graders a five minute recess at the end of the day. They were happily playing on the playground when one of my little girls came over to show me something her friend had given her. It was an eraser with a picture of an owl in the middle, no doubt a leftover from Halloween.

Had I known, I would have chosen a different theme.

My student was troubled, though.

“I can’t keep it,” she said.

“Why not?”

“It has an owl on it,” she said.

“What’s wrong with the owl?”

“I’m Navajo,” she responded, as if that would clear things up for me. It did not.

She went on to tell me that owls are considered bad luck in Navajo culture, but she didn’t want to just throw the eraser away. She was troubled because she wasn’t sure what to do. I held out my hand and she happily gave it to me, then skipped off to play, unburdened by the offending owl.

This morning, I noticed the owl on my counter and suddenly realized, I have owls all over the classroom. Each student has an owl with his or her name on it, and I have bulletin board borders with owls on them. There is a large owl on one board that shares messages with the students. Even the mini-posters with the class rules have owls on them. I had no idea.

If that one little eraser was troubling to her, what must that classroom feel like?

I think it may be time to redecorate the room. I wonder if she’ll notice.

October 7, 2015
by BulgingButtons 6 Comments

Sucked in to My Own Little World

I hardly know how to begin.

I’ve written the first sentence and deleted it at least four times.

I’m ashamed. Embarrassed. Filled with doubts and fears.

Doubts that any of my dear readers are still around after I’ve more or less abandoned you. Afraid that I’ve damaged my own reputation by disappearing.

The flip side of that, of course, is the realization that there probably aren’t too many people (if any) who have actually noticed that the blog has gone quiet.

Oh sure, my personal Facebook friends are probably relieved that they haven’t had to scroll past my announcements over the past several days, but in terms of actually missing my ramblings, I don’t think there’s anyone out there who has been wondering what I’ve been up to. Still, I’m going to enlighten you.

Not much.

Naturally that’s not entirely true, but not much that’s particularly earth shattering.

I’ve been drawing into myself, and I don’t necessarily think that’s entirely a bad thing. I’ve been taking care of myself, eating well, and keeping up with my visits to the nutritionist. In fact I’m down almost twenty pounds over the last six weeks.

I’ve also been crazy busy at work, well until last Friday when my fall break began. There were report cards to prepare and parent-teacher conferences to hold and post-break lessons to plan, so it was a rough week. Still, it ended several days ago, so I suppose I could have gotten off Pinterest, closed the book I’m reading (Wild, by Cheryl Strayed), and started writing. Obviously I didn’t.

What I’ve done instead is immerse myself in the world of a high school student who is preparing to apply to college. It seems that our home life has become dominated by talk of SAT’s and college fairs, common apps and scholarship opportunities. Essays are being composed and websites are being scoured. We’re having lots of conversations about making choices and setting priorities. Today my son decided on the five universities he would like to apply to. I think he’s made good choices based on his interests, talents, disposition, and career goals. I’m proud of him. Any one of those five institutions will help him to achieve his goals, and I think he would be a good candidate for all of them.

Frankly, I’ve been having a little trouble with this phase of his life. His high school experience is completely different from mine. He doesn’t go to parties, he doesn’t drive, and I always know where he is. I’m grateful that he’s a much better behaved kid than I ever was, but I think it will make the inevitable separation that much more difficult. Frankly my parents were probably relieved when it was time for me to go away to college. I dread it with my son, but I know he’ll be ready. At least I hope he will. Still, it’s not going to be easy.

August 8, 2015
by BulgingButtons Leave a comment

I’m Afraid of the Honeymoon Ending

I’m talking about school again, of course. We teachers do this. We obsess over school for the first few weeks, and then we remember how boring we are to the general public, so we go kind of quiet with our obsession for several months. After the summer break, though, we forget and start right back up again. Circle of life and all that.

So yes, the honeymoon period. That can last from twelve seconds to almost an entire school year, depending on the class. This year I’m so lucky. So far it’s been an entire week. This is a new world record for me. I’ve had thirty-one children in my room each day this week, and it’s been blissful. They have been hard-working, kind, and funny.They are learning about weather and character traits and autobiographies, while they are simultaneously learning what I expect of them and how fourth grade works. They are doing a great job on all counts.

I’m just a little scared by all of this goodness. I’m kind of waiting for the honeymoon to end and the shenanigans to begin. Still, I’m working my butt off to build a collaborative community of learners, and I’m hopeful that those efforts are paying off. Positive reinforcement is my friend, and the children are thriving. They’ve been encouraging each other and putting a lot of effort into their schoolwork. They work very hard for praise and the opportunity to take home a positive note to parents. So far, so good.

This may be the class. It may be the one for the ages. I hope so, because I’m falling a little in love with them already.