I'm back.

"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. -Tennyson 

Some of my girls and I at the Memphis Zoo.

Sorry for the disappearance! At institute, they told us this story about a TFAer who was fired from their school and dismissed from TFA because of something they said in a blog (something that was not very serious) and I was spooked. I feel bad because I had pretty loyal reader base for a while. Teaching is great, TFA is great, my school is beyond great. I refuse to sugar coat things, and I thoroughly believe that I have the right to share my own opinions without fear of reproach. I understand there are ways to take it too far, but I also believe in the importance of sharing your story!

 And boy, do I have some stories!

First, the love letter that inspired my return to blogging!

" to ______ _________ the girl I want to be with forever
___________when I laugh I think of you and when I look into your eyes you take my breath away and when you smile you make me think of you as a beautiful young woman of my dreams and when I first laid eyes on you I thought you was cute and when I t
ook my first breath I though of you as a angel from heaven and earth and when you look at me I feel out and __________ I will always love care and alway be there when you need me

Love, _______

lol I'm going a little to far but this is from my heart and soul deep down in side."

I love taking up notes. I always got so angry at teachers for doing this, but now I realize that it is for their own entertainment! It is seriously something I consider to be a perk of teaching! Another teacher took up one a few months ago that said (this is just the good part, it was actually much longer)...

"Dear _______, I know I'm only twelve, but I think I love you even though you have big t******"

Yep. even though. We may need to go over what that particular phrase means, and show how it is different from "especially because."

I stole a glance at two of my Samford boys today to make sure they were paying attention during reading. I see K- looking at C-,  pulling up his sleeves, and flexing his bicep. I am perplexed, and I find this very funny. I stop reading Rikki Tikki Tavi by Mr. Kipling. Everyone notices, and try to figure out what is going on. K- , C- and I are all looking at each other, and I can't even take a grammy because we're all cracking up! I tell them they are ridiculous, make them track their stories, and we get on with it. I'm smiling as I read.

I announced the changes to our FOCUS classes today. We'll switch to a reading-centered FOCUS and the students will be divided by reading level. When M- finds out she's in my group, she slams her fists on the table and grunts loudly. She really dislikes me. I told her make sure her mom waits for my phone call. Consistency is the answer.

Finally, a cute story Geoffrey showed me...

"I used to teach art to various age groups. One day, in the 6-7 year old cartoon class, this kid made a big sigh. He then proceeded to take out a fake phone and answer it. This was the conversation:
"Hello?....sigh what happened now Robin!?....You spilled water on the bat computer again!!? Just leave it, I will take care of it when I get home ."
He then proceeds to hang up and immediately go back to drawing. Almost every other kid is just looking at him, stunned. Sheepishly, a young girl asks "Was...was that Robin from the Batcave?"
"Yeah, he messed up the bat computer again. It happens all the time."
All the kids started talking and saying he was Batman. They couldn't wait to tell their friends they knew Batman. The kid acted like it was nothing. I was trying not to laugh and ruin it because it was one of the cutest things I have ever seen."