Finding Inspiration (SoLSC 28/31) #sol15

I almost forgot to Slice today! I'm laying in bed about to pick up my book, browsing my Facebook feed and realized I never wrote today. 

And then I realized I saw this picture shared by no fewer than 4 friends:

.

If you didn't already know I live in Wisconsin, a quick scroll through my Facebook news feed tonight at this hour would make it abundantly obvious. (Go Badgers - Final Four!)

Which got me thinking about the regions throughout the country where I have pockets of connections. And it always becomes clearer when something big is going on in an area because I'm more aware of it through what people share. Interesting thought of the day.

What I Hope My Students Know Most (SoLSC 27/31) #sol15

What I Hope My Students Know Most

What I hope my students know most

Is that I care

You may only see me

As your teacher

But each one of you

Becomes my kids

Every one of you

Matter to me

I care

Even if it seems as if I don’t

Deep down where it counts, I do

I carry your burdens with me

I sigh your relief as well

When you cry, I cry

Maybe not always in front of you, but I do

I care

When you cheer, I cheer behind you

When you are angry, I am angry for you

When you celebrate, I celebrate with you

Because you doing well means I have done well

When you are frustrated, I am frustrated

When you succeed, I succeed also

I am right alongside you

Because

I care

If there is only one thing you

Take away from our time

Together

Please know this

I care

and

You matter

You may not remember my name

Ten, twenty, thirty years from now

But I will remember you

And be hoping for the best

For your life

And I hope you remember

I care

Some Days Just Don't Go As Planned (SoLSC 26/31) #sol15

I had an idea this morning about what I wanted to write today. It was early after I let the dog out and was browsing Twitter and Facebook getting my brain to wake up a bit before getting ready to go to school. It was a good idea. But I think I'll be saving it for tomorrow.

You see, today just didn't go as planned. I have battled TMJ issues and severe tension headaches for many years. Some days are fine, but some days are really bad. Today was the third day in a row that I've been fighting a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad headache. I went to school this morning, and shortly thereafter realized I really should have stayed in bed. I just wanted to curl up in the corner and cry I was so sick of it...which was a sign. It was getting worse as I sat there, and I knew today would not go as I had planned.

So instead of writing my Slice (with that idea I loved) while my students were writing, I was instead sending emails to let people know I needed to go home early and find coverage for my afternoon classes and writing sub plans just in case I'm not feeling better tomorrow. I came home. I went to the chiropractor. I went to bed. I took a nap. I finished a book. I ate dinner. I'm feeling a bit better. Now I am just hoping it stays that way ten hours from now so tomorrow doesn't turn into another day that doesn't go as planned.

I'd like to get back to my classroom and my students - we have a lot going on tomorrow - and Slices to talk about. And now I'm going back to bed.

Ten Things You Might Not Know About Me (SoLSC 25/31) #sol15

Inspired by other Slicers*, I decided to do another example of a list Slice today (as I asked all of my students to also try some sort of list while Slicing today)

Ten Things You Might Not Know About Me

1 – I interned with a morning show at a radio station the summer between high school and college. Justus and Friends on New Rock 102.1.

2 – My original college major was Broadcast News at Ohio University. Because I had read Danielle Steel’s Message from Nam and thought I wanted to be a foreign correspondent. I chose OU not only because of their top ten journalism school, but also because both of my parents went there-that’s where they met.

3 – I have traveled to 14 countries in the past ten years, which by the end of this year might be 18.
They are: Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Turks & Caicos, Chile, Argentina, Ireland, England, France, Spain, Italy, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand + Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary (& possibly Germany if the school calendar and available award seats works out how we hope it will). I’m only counting countries where I actually left the airport–connections in Japan, South Korea & Brazil are not counted.

4 – I was on the girls golf team in high school and was on a swim team most of my years growing up. I was often put on the IM because I was one of the ones in my age group who could swim all four strokes successfully.

5 – I played the cello throughout middle and high school. Being in the pit orchestra for musicals in high school is how I was able to sing along to all of the songs in Into the Woods when I saw the movie. And, as a cello player, I have a love/hate relationship with Pachelbel’s Cannon in D…the cello part is the same 8 notes over and over and over throughout the entire song.

6 – My guilty pleasure snack (inherited from my mother) is potato chips with cottage cheese. Don’t knock it until you try it! Which might make you think that I’m not a foodie, but really I am.

7 – I had my shoes picked out for my wedding before I even looked at dresses.

8 – I only read one entire book (out of the ones assigned to me) throughout high school. It was Invisible Man my senior year in AP English. I have no idea why that one spoke to me when others did not. I read parts of many other books, but that was the only complete one I read every page of. Don't get me wrong - I read voraciously outside of school...I just didn't like to read books that I was told I had to read that didn't speak to me. 

9 – All three kids in my family have advanced degrees…my parents’ emphasis on the importance of education paid off! My older brother, Drew (Duke undergrad), has an MBA; my little brother, Cameron (Yale undergrad), has a JD; and I have an MA (someday I might go for that PhD).

10 – My birthday is the day after Christmas, yes, December 26^th. And I turned 30 in Paris (which was a great distraction!)

*The other Slices that inspired my format today:

http://oneschooldayatatime.blogspot.com/2015/03/solsc15-day-13.html

http://mrsobrienc17.edublogs.org/2015/03/11/top-10-things-you-may-not-know/

http://1gratefulteacher.blogspot.com/2015/03/ten-things-you-dont-know-about-me.html

Things I Know For Sure (SoLSC 24/31) #sol15

I've been toying with the idea of a list Slice after being inspired by many others, and as an option to show my students. Today's came about from just one little line that started a waterfall of ideas.

Things I know for sure…

~Teachers have a really hard job. There is much more involved in it than people think. Impacting the future is no child’s play.

~I am a reader at heart, mostly thanks to the influence of my parents when I was a child.

~Life gets harder as you get older with more responsibilities, but with experience comes perspective, which can make things easier.

~Relationships change as circumstances change, and that’s ok. 
Some people are only in our lives for a short time for a reason.

~My 30s have been way better than my 20s. Being more settled in my life and sure of myself made it easier. Don’t be scared of a new decade.

~Everyone has numerous roles to play. Mine include wife, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, friend, author fangirl, writer, reader, photographer, presenter, supporter, listener, adviser, colleague, mentor, teacher…and I cherish them all.

~Middle school is hard. It was a hard time to be an adolescent, and it’s a hard time to witness the adolescent struggles of my students.

~Technology/social media can enhance and help just as much as they can distract and hurt.

~Having a dog to come home to, who always runs to the door tail wagging happy to see me, is good for my emotional sanity.

~Talking to myself is also good for my mental sanity – there’s no better listener.

~Venice is a magical city.

~There are no right answers (except maybe in math). There may be wrong answers, but there is not always just one right answer to problems.

~Choice is everything.

~Everyone has their own journey and path through life. You don’t know what someone else has gone through to get where they are, and remembering that is important.

~Remembering that there are always multiple perspectives and perceptions of any one moment can make life easier.

~Angkor Wat (& Ta Prohm & the Bayon Temple) in Siem Reap, Cambodia is a must see once in your life kind of place to visit.

~It’s not easy to work successfully in an environment of fear/mistrust.

~My heart breaks for the struggles and hardships some of my students have to face. Every. Single. Time.

~Test scores will never show you the full picture of who a child is. There are too many important elements of character that can’t be tested.

~Knowing who your true friends are who won’t judge you, but will judge with you, can make all the difference.

~Kids are not levels – they are readers.

~Sometimes just knowing someone understands and is there can be just what you need and make everything better.

~Kindness is crucial and respect is essential.

~Oftentimes it’s harder to be nice than to be right.

~Travel can open your eyes to the wider world beyond yours, giving you perspective on your own.

~The right clothes and shoes can make you feel more confident.

~Sometimes a day may be just a waste of makeup, but that doesn’t mean it was a loss.

~Goals may change, but you should always have one to work toward.

~There is nothing quite like meandering the streets of Paris.

~Feeling loved is important, being loveable more so, giving love most so.

~If I know better, and I don’t try to do better, I am doing it wrong.

~The sound of waves crashing on the shore, sand under my feet, and sun shining on my skin will always improve my mood and make me feel relaxed.

~There is nothing wrong with taking a mental health day.

~The right book, in the right hands, at the right time, can make things right.

~Writing can be hard, but the more I practice it and do it, the easier it becomes. The more I write, the more I believe I am a writer.