Hey Jill! Been thinking about you this week, it's not the same without you! I thought you should know...I was asking my class what their favorite thing about third grade was, and ****** shoots his hand up and says, "My teacher." No hesitation, that was obviously the first thing that came to mind for him.
I was so pleasantly surprised to hear this from a strong, dedicated teacher friend this morning.
As you know, I headed to Bethel Friday night with three other teachers for an inservice. This was a much needed break. My students were having a...slightly off day today.
There were three things that I wanted to accomplish in those 24 hours while in Bethel.
1. Grocery shop. Amy and I flew arrived around 5 ( didn't get sick this time), were picked up, driven to the DO to drop off our computers and bags, and then off to AC- one of two grocery stores in Bethel. One hundred and fifty dollars later, we were set up with some cheese, butter, eggs, pasta, marinade, trash bags, the oh so necessary tortilla strips & of course, it's P.I.C ( partner in crime)....pineapple salsa, garlic, and my favorite.....CANNED PUMPKIN. I am so in the mood to start making pumpkin spice lattes. Thank you Miss. Amanda Hamilton from Casablanca for getting me hooked on them. I intend on making my first one tonight!!!
2. Hang out with some of the new crew. We were all asked to sleep at the District Office the night before the in-service, which gave us all a chance to catch up. I headed over first to a friend of a friend's house (which felt so good to be in simply b/c it was a real house, not a bungalow) for snacks/ and a drink. Obviously the goal is to relax and not talk shop, but come on....when you get that many teachers together on a Friday night and we haven't seen each other in a couple of weeks- it's gonna happen. Headed back to the DO and then I think that it was around midnight when I noticed my stomach hurt pretty badly, and not b/c I was sick, but b/c of the constant outburst of laughter that came immediately after someone shared something that happened to him/her while teaching or after school. I still have sore muscles this morning.
Quotes from that evening:
"You know that dream you have when you walk into a room full of people and you notice you don't have a pair of pants on? Well, that happened to me, and it wasn't a dream."
Apparently the boat that he was taking to get to attend a meeting got stuck in a bunch of reeds and he had to get out and push it away from the bank. He assumed wrong when he thought he would r/c a dry pair of pants or shorts from someone when he arrived and his wet pats were taken to be placed in a dryer. He was instead given a towel.
"My kids like to run from the cops at night."
There is a curfew at night. Some go in, the little ones do not.
Some give incentives for good behavior. I give Teen Vogue, with fashion tips.
3. Gain some more insight into the communities/ villages and what would work best for our students. I listened intently to those who would share what works in the classroom. The in-service was about classroom management, what I needed were strategies for intense behavioral concerns. I was able to pick up a few and I will see how best to implement them over the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, receiving that little bit of good news from my previous third grade student made me feel quite good about what I do! It's good to know that I haven't ruined all of my students-lol.
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