Feb 10

Monday, Monday...
 Back to class and students are assigned a creative poem. We are sharing the poem, performing really, on Friday. I am beyond excited about this. We will be at the Old Worthen House Cafe where Kerouac and Poe and Ginsberg and more sat and thought and imbibed. It is a beautiful, old space with Prohibition stories as well as turn-of-the-20th-Century ghost stories. There is a fan system that is legendary and I hear the food is pretty good too.
   The thing I am most excited about is that instead of focusing on Valentine's Day, which thankfully Middle Schoolers are too cool for, we are focused on POETRY!!! I have really pushed my students to be honest, to be open and to say what they mean. I know this is tough and I see my students struggling a bit. However, when they push themselves and write honestly, what they find is how strong their write can be.
   4 Days to go! I cannot wait!

Blog 1/24/14

This is a special week at Hellenic American Academy. This weekend we will celebrate Greek letters day. My students have been working so hard to learn dances, songs, and skits. I posted the students practicing last week or so ago. You can see it on my giveit100.com site. Love seeing them in traditional dance. Looks like fun!

   We put such pressure on our students and have high expectations. The truly amazing thing is the students shine under pressure. They respond to it even if they always seem to dislike our pressure. My question is this- how much more could they do if they had willingness or joy in their endeavors?

   I guess that is the main way I try to teach- I want my students to enjoy learning. Sometimes, that means they know there are rules to be respectful. Like walking down the hall so they are not interfering with someone else's learning. Enjoying learning also doesn't always look silly and messy. Still... Sometimes it does. I think it never quite looks the same way twice.

What do you think?