Cocoa Cookies: The Short Film

In my blogging class, I gave the kids an assignment to make a DIY video.  They're so great!  There's a few on how to do nail designs, how to make a duct tape wallet, and even how to play "The Entertainer" on clarinet!

I needed to make one myself before all these tech-savvy 11-year-olds showed me up.

DIY: How to make cocoa cookies

Giuliano Rap

I found this written on the bottom of a paper an 8th grader turned in...

My name is 'big G' from the Medici
I have a big brother and he's quite wealthy
His name is Lorenzo and he's my bro
I got stabbed to death and I fell on the floor.

Two Views of Barack Obama

The assignment was to create a timeline that included major events from your life.  It was given to 8th graders, who were mainly born in 1998.  "Major" events they chose span from the super-disaster in Japan and earthquake in Haiti, to the death of Michael Jackson and when Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple.

Many students chose the election of Barack Obama as a major event.  Here are the unedited paragraphs written by two of them.

One:
On November 4th 2008 Barack Obama was elected president of the U.S.  Barack Obama became the forty forth and first black president of the U.S. after a long campaign that lasted nine months.  He was running as a democratic candidate against republic candidate John McCain, in his campaign he promoted change and hope for the American people and the world.  When he got elected he started to make an impact immediately by helping U.S. and British forces in Iraq and making sure everyone in the U.S. got healthcare.  He has helped in many global problems such as the Iran Iraq war, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the civil war in Libya.  He is currently running for the 2012 presidential election as well.  This was a major global event because he has made so much impact on the world and helped so many different nations and not just his own.  He has also prevented global disasters such as ordering the death of Osama Bin Laden.  He also continues to have new ideas to help the world and make it a better place, which is beneficial for everyone.

Two:
November 2008- a recent event that has shaped the United States was when Barrack Obama was elected president.  This was a very historical event for the country because he is the very first African American president.  This was not an event that shaped the world but it did shape in some way the United States, because it may encourage other African Americans that want to run for political office.  The presidency has been a difficult one for Obama while it has nothing to do with his race, perhaps he was not qualified enough to take on the huge responsibility of being president and the country has since paid the price for his inexperience.

Wisdom from Kids

I have the best job in the world.  Read and be inspired.  

What do you think this quote means?
"A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for" -William Shedd

Responses from 6th graders:

The thing about the ship is confusing the first time but then you see the point.  I think that ships are meant for sailing, getting different food or money to another place and for war.  In all these there is a part of risk and braveness so you know that the ship in harbor is safe but that is not what it is meant for.  Like in war you are safe in harbor but if you go and help your country you can save more lives than just yours.

I think the quote means that you can be safe and not take risks or you can put yourself out there and take risks.

[It] means that you should take risks, ships can stay in a harbor safely but sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone otherwise you'll never learn anything.  A ship takes a risk every time it goes out of the harbor, it could sink or be attacked by enemy pirates but without ships traveling around we would not have been able to discover new lands before planes!  So you need to step out of your comfort zone sometimes and take risks so you can discover new things too.

I look forward to this school year and I think that life is about taking risks.  I think the quote reflects this concept and that you can live your life very reluctantly, but you shouldn't, because like shouldn't be about being afraid.

The meaning of the quote means that ships... are for sailing across the sea to face the storms.

I think that [the quote] means that kids are nice when they're quiet but they're not meant to be.  They're meant to have fun and jump around and enjoy life and be a risk taker.

Humans are comfortable with what they're used to, but if they didn't change at all they would just have a boring life and waste it.  He's basically saying you have to take risks (even if they're small risks).

I think the quote means that you are not supposed to keep your ship safe all the time.  Harbor is a place where you can leave it at night, but in the morning go sail and have a fun adventure!

 Storm Ravaged Ship by Vladimir Bibiko

Back to the grind -or- I love my kids

Teaching is awesome/exhausting.

Problems don't go away, even if you leave the country for a week.  There are still tests to grade, reports to write, electives to plan, and classes to teach every day.  I'm still not going to get much sleep the next few nights.

But I had a wonderful week in the US.  Yes.  And I got hugs as soon as I walked through the door this morning and helped a child after school talk through a problem, and that makes it all worth it.
 
PS.  I even managed to incorporate this song into a lesson today.  

Single Parenthood (and other recent happenings)

would be really challenging.  Plus points to any single parents out there who read my blog, which is no one that I know of.  But it is rough.  And how do I know?  Because this week I am house/teenage daughter sitting, and next week my mom goes back to the US, so I'll be watching Tommy and Dad. 

So what else has been happening with me...?  I have a tea corner in my classroom. Actually this whole little section included my computer and desk area and it's called "Ms Woodtopia," and no one is allowed to enter unless I invite them in for tea.

A few weekends ago, I went in search of a market with my friend Elizabeth.  We didn't find it.  Well, actually we did, but it closed 2 months ago.  But it was a beautiful day and we had fun exploring the outskirts of Moscow and talking.

So, overall, I'm doing well.  I have a classroom full of amazing individuals who probably teach me more than I teach them.  I am very thankful for my job and all of my friends here who listen to me go on and on about the children.

Time for dinner :-)

Teaching Day Therapy

Today it was Tortilla Soup.  And it was delicious. Usually I make cookies after a long day at work, but I think I'm going to do another run next weekend.

Speaking of running, I ran 10 whole kilometers one week and two days ago!  It was completely voluntarily- no bears were chasing me.  Well, I guess technically I was "voluntold" because one Friday I came home and my dad said, "I signed us up to run the 10K this Sunday!" and that was that.  I had wanted to do it- when I was actually running on a regular basis waaaaay back in the first part of the summer.  The Moscow Peace Marathon, of which I ran 10 kilometers, began at St. Basil's Cathedral and went along the Moscow river, so it's pretty cool just to say I did it.

The Dadster and me before the run.  I should send this to the Taylor Alumni.

Fact: I had never run 10 kilometers at one time in my life.

Booooyah.  Yeah, I just ran a 10K AND I got a picture next to the most iconic symbol of Russia.  And my mom rang a cowbell in my honor.

Tonight I didn't go to my Young Adults Bible Study (I like to call it Yabs in my head...).  Some icky sickness is going around and I couldn't muster the energy to get there, which is sad, because sometimes in Moscow you don't get to do what you want just because it takes so stinkin' long to get places.  Like, if I had a car and there wasn't the crazy traffic, I totally would have been there.  I drove half an hour to get to church (and everywhere else) the whole time I was in college, but it was through peaceful country back roads and not no-left-turns-allowed-ever Moscow.  So I stayed home and made soup.

Tangent: why are Tuesdays the hardest?  Mondays always take more energy than you think but there's a residual relaxation from Saturday and Sunday, so it's not so bad.  And by Wednesday it's already Hump Day, so you can start looking forward to the next weekend.  Thursdays are my favorite day, because the next day is Friday and after school I can see my friends.  But then there are Tuesdays, and they're packed and exhausting.  I had some crazy insomnia Sunday night and only got about an hour of sleep total.  My kiddos turned in a big project yesterday, and I need to grade it.  Whew, so yes, this Tuesday I am tired.

I kind of wondered if I'd feel a skipping-church-guilt for missing Yabs.  I don't really, though.  I more have the sleep-is-my-biggest-spiritual-need feeling where I just want to sit in silence and remember that God is still there and loves me when I'm running on empty.

If you have not heard Dancing in the Minefields, you simply must.  The bridge is the part that really gets me.  It's so good and the video is perfect.

Okay, okay, yeah!

In a school year, there is only one first day of school and I'm pretty sure this is a good thing for everyone.  As one friend once put it, "You know, you come home, have a good cry, and then it gets better."

I came home, had a glass of wine and made cookies.

I also wrote notes on my class lists, made a plan for tomorrow being mindful of the messes of today, jotted down some ideas for my elective, and worked on the online graduate course I'm taking.  Yeah, I signed up for that before the madness of first year teaching ("the grind" as one professor tactfully put it) was an option.  So far, so good, but I'm foreseeing a decline in my social life in the near future... (this is also my public apology for not replying to emails lately). 

I'm still so so excited to be a teacher this fall and I know it'll get better.  I've got some cool kids in my classes and I like my subject.  If I can just make it through this week...

I could go over everything again, and wonder why but
I don’t think that’ll give an answer to me anymore, cause
Now I’ve learned some things just refuse to come to the light, and
It’s okay, okay, yeah
I said okay, okay, yeah

~Waterdeep

A place to call my classroom

It's a work in progress.  Saturday and Sunday I've gone in and turned a room that has been used to teach humanities, Russian, French, and apparently watercolors, into my own.  I should make a list of the crazy things I've found in there.  Many thanks to the band of pre-8th graders, Tommy, and everyone else who came to visit and help.  If anyone has any great ideas of what to do with the space where it currently says "Enduring Understandings," I'd love to hear them!  Especially before Tuesday!

(These are all of how it looked as of 4pm Saturday)

Utterly Amazed and Thankful

The weather has been so weird today.  First it was sunny, then it rained hard, then the sun came out again, then it rained, then it was sunny, then it poured, and now it's overcast.   Kind of like me.

Ok that's being a little to melodramatic (and personal) for this Web 2.0 setting, but really, this week has had quite a few unexpected ups and downs.

If I haven't told you yet, I got hired to teach 6th grade Humanities!  It's at the school in Moscow where I substitute taught last year and I'll be working from the start of the school year through about November.  I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity I've been given.  That last sentence feels like a complete understatement.  To be trusted and believed in is such an amazing feeling.  On Thursday I was introduced as "highly qualified."  The other teachers have been so kind and wonderful to me, too.  We start classes on Tuesday and I am completely overjoyed.

At the same time, I only got here on Monday, was hired on Wednesday, and started work Thursday.  My classroom is a mess, I'm frantically learning the Humanities curriculum, planning an elective from scratch, and I don't even have a class list yet.  I'm still jet-lagging every afternoon.  And my heart is breaking a little over the people who won't be in Moscow this year. 

I'm also really hoping there won't be a first-year-of-teaching 15....  Some people might come home from a long day of work and feel like running and exercise is the best way to relieve stress, but not me.  There has been probably like one time when this was the case.  More often, I'll be found on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and wearing comfy pants, eating chips, and watching whichever Take Home Chef or whatever TLC show is on.  Today it was strong coffee and dark chocolate. I'm thinking of joining the pilates class in the staff health and wellness program.  Keep me accountable, k?

Tonight I'll begin lesson planning and tomorrow I'll work on my room.  I live 2 minutes from the school- hugely thankful for that.  This is an experience that will drive me to my knees again and again.  I'm nervous, but I feel so prepared.  I had such a great education- in education- at Taylor and my student teaching placements.  I know this is what I want to do and I'm working in an incredibly supportive community.  One more thing- today I found out that another teacher in my section, one of the new hires, graduated from a small Christian college in Indiana!  What are the odds?!

(by the end of writing this it is sunny again).

O divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek 
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.


~St Francis of Assisi

Who are you gonna be?

Yesterday, I met the Travel Answer Man in the waiting room of a hospital, of all places.  He travels and gives advice on tourism.  Sitting for hours listening to his stories of his worldwide travels and the things he's done, my mind simultaneously was racing with "How can I get this job?" and "I'm so glad I teach."

Even though the name I've chosen for my current profession is "Freelance Educator," a born freelancer I am not.  That's why photography wouldn't have worked out for me as a career, although I love it dearly.  My friend, Ian, is an talented photographer, but he has the business sense and work ethic to keep getting jobs (in creative places, like Alaska).  Having that much flexibility would drive me crazy.  I like the school day schedule, and even more the school year schedule.  I like working with the same colleagues and seeing the same students day after day, and feeling like I'm making even a small difference in one place.

I am not a wanderer either, at least not in the way I once was.  The world is a glorious, glorious place and has many wonders to behold- but anymore I'm not wandering wondering.  I know, for the most part, who I am and what I want, and finally have the confidence to live like I know it.  I hope that doesn't sound presumptuous of me.  I have found, as the Travel Answer Man and I discussed, how to take the things I'm good at and enjoy, and turn them into a job.  Most people have that backwards, I believe.  A few years ago, I stopped worrying about what job I could get with which degree, and made a list of the kind of person I wanted to be and the things I wanted to do in life.  So I teach.  And I happen to teach in Russia.  And I travel a lot and I love it.  And I can build on the foundation of my original list.

I am a wanderer, in that I search for new things, places, and ideas, but I am much more rooted in me.  I am very content with where I am right now.  Perhaps I'll expound on this tomorrow...

Has anyone else had a time of their life of wandering wondering?  Are you still in it?  Stories!

Mouths closed, eyes here, please!

Today I magically returned into my alter ego- Miss Wood. I'm subbing 6 & 7th grade science, so I spent the day explaining independent and dependent variables. Unfortunately I forgot how much using a teacher voice takes out of me and I promptly fell asleep as soon as I got home to the tunes of Dido (ok ate a brownie and ice cream while watching Say Yes to the Dress, and I walked around the block with Mom first). Three glorious hours later I awoke refreshed and had dinner on the patio with Mom (ie salsa, chips, Camembert, crackers, and wine).

Something that always puzzled me during student teaching was that I got crazy cravings for chocolate. I have, despite my gender, never really loved or craved chocolate in my life, but I had to keep a supply with me during those 4 months. As soon as it ended, so did the cravings. During my second class today, they returned. Strange, no? During my semester abroad in Nizhni I developed an appreciation, to say the least, for dark chocolate, which is probably the most common here. Yet on Sunday I discovered chocolate мята (mint), which I had never seen here before, and it's actually amazingly delicious. I think I'll be making a trip back to that store very soon...

and all that Jazz

I've been lesson planning lately (Roaring Twenties, Harlem Renaissance, Great Depression, and FDR) and have compiled a playlist to get me in the mood. Without further adieu, I share it with you:

(shuffle on)

It was 58*F today

Even so...

Documentaries I like

For my World History class we had to watch a documentary about primary education for seven children around the world, and three years later did a follow up. As an education major, and big fan of kids in general, I found these very informative. They were produced by PBS- Wide Angle.
Now that I have given credit, here are the links:

Time for School

Back to School

Sat

I have a very busy Saturday, in terms of "stuff" I need to do. This must be differentiated from "places" I need to be. I am actually quite relaxed now. I got a headache from 4 hours of sleep, but that can be taken care of with a simple nap. I have to write support letters for my Spring Break trip, but that can be done while doing something mindless (ie watching a movie). Speaking of giving me money to help Russian orphans, you can do that here. Just put in my name and Russia by the Spring Break option.

And finally, I think this is Really funny, like I'd probably use it in my future classroom funny (what? American children don't ever get taught about Norway and Sweden? They will in my room). Click on it to make it bigger for the full effect.

IMGONNABEATEACHER!

I'm teaching a high school class today. I'm pretty excited.

On my way to becoming a teacher :-)

I started observing at a high school last week! I observed for 3 hours, but normally it'll only be two. I really like the teacher I'm observing. Mrs. Smith teaches two blocks of a special eleventh grade history class. Students are in this class for a variety for reasons. Some are considered to be slower mentally; some have emotional problems that prevent them from learning in the regular class; some are considered to be “high risk” and are placed in this class so they can be give special attention. Instead of regular lecturing, these students must complete worksheet packets and tests up to a certain chapter of a textbook. Mrs. Smith called this class “individualized study.” I sat in on both blocks and observed many instances where Mrs. Smith exhibited positive traits. One situation, however, stood out to me as something that exemplified her teaching philosophy.

As the 50-minute class block coming to an end, one girl (“Tina”) finished her packet and began trying to convince the boy in front of her and the girl sitting behind her do The Wave, which they did. “Tina” asked Mrs. Smith if she would “sponsor an activity,” for the whole class could do The Wave. Mrs. Smith laughed and agreed to it for the “last 30 seconds.” While only half the 12-person class participated, the girls who initiated it seemed to enjoy it. I though it was a wonderful thing for Mrs. Smith to agree to and hope that I would allow such creativeness in my future classrooms.

This situation seemed small, but in the context of the whole day I felt that it was rather significant. First, the earlier individualized study class had been larger and louder, and after it ended Mrs. Smith told me that she could have made them settle down but she understood that there were several distractions that day and decided to let some of it go. She told me, “Every time you crack the whip, you lose a little of your relationship.” You have to pick your battles, especially when dealing with such an emotionally precarious class. Mrs. Smith works very hard to maintain the balance of having a trusting relationship with the students and keeping them under control and on task. With this situation, she was rewarding Tina for working so diligently, but there was another reason. She told me that Tina had been in one of her classes last year and had been absolutely lifeless. This year, however, Tina has become more energetic and helpful. Mrs. Smith said it is good to see her smiling, doing work, and being creative. The true outcome of something as trivial as allowing one student to lead her classmates in doing The Wave was to encourage and reward a relationship. I think that it is also significant that Mrs. Smith asked to teach these individualized classed. I believe that this in itself says a lot about her teaching philosophy. She saw a need in the school (addressing the failing and dropping out students) and took initiative to find a solution: individualized study classes. I think that I am going to learn a lot from observing Mrs. Smith this semester.

God loves me

Amazingly, this whole adding a major thing is working out brilliantly. I just finished my 2-year schedule and, hoping that Twentieth Century US history is offered in J-term again, I'm going to be all right.

I haven't written in a while and I blame Apple. My computer broke. But I suppose it's given me time to hang out with people and do some reading whereas I would have been wasting time on the www.

Classes have started and I think it'll be a good semester. I have 100, 200, 300, and 400 level classes which makes things pretty even. K, I gotta get home now.

Until another month, ciao.