It's All About the Control Top.

I've been reading a blog for new teachers. One of the suggestions given was to emphasize the procedures and rules expected in the classroom. I had wanted to do something like that at the beginning of school, but just never sat down and did it. After dealing with the craziness in my classrooms over the last few weeks, I sat myself down and wrote out, in detail, what I expected from anyone coming into my class. Boy did it work! I've had some of the best classes the last few days. The students were required to take the "contract" home and have a parent or guardian sign it and then return it to me. I've even had a couple of parents call me in regards to the contract (it was a good question and not a complaint). Overall, I've learned my lesson and will send these home on the very first day next year!

In other news, I started working on Christmas music. And one of the songs we are doing with the high school is "Silent Night." I've always loved this song. It has special significance to me. My great-grandmother used to sing it, in German, on Christmas Eve. Because of that, I wanted to incorporate a little of my tradition into my Christmas program. One of my students is a foreign exchange student from Germany, so I'm having her teach me and the class to correct pronunciation of the German for the song. It's not that hard and we are learning it by rote. Needless to say, I've had several students complaining over the fact that we are speaking German. One student even came up to me after class yesterday and said that she was uncomfortable singing in German- not because it's difficult for her, but because she believes what her brother says: "We are Americans, we should speak America. And the song is in English, not German." Seriously, that's what she said. I told her we were experiencing a new culture, learning how one of our classmates deals with language barriers everyday, and exploring new ideas of music. Not to mention the song was originally written in German, by a Autstrian monk, music composed by a Austrian guitarist, and what language do they speak in Austria? German. Need I go on? She sang the song today... in German. I love being a teacher!

Tears, Spiders, and Fisticuffs

I did it. I made a kindergartner cry yesterday. I wasn't mean, per say. She just doesn't understand that my family calls me "heartless" and "cold-hearted." Tears are not the way to gain my favor. I have no problem letting a small person cry for hours when he/she does not get his/her way. It doesn't phase me at all. Hopefully, Little Miss Teary-Eyed will learn that she must follow directions in order to get a sticker in my class. 'Nuff said.

I suffered through the toughest breakfast duty I have ever had to deal with today. I walked into the cafeteria and started conversing with students and other teachers. About five minutes later, a seventh grader walked in carrying a small container WITH A GIANT TARANTULA IN IT! My heart began racing, and my flight instinct was totally kicking in. All I wanted to do was leave that room and get as far away from that hairy arachnid as possible. But, I was on duty, with the Agri teacher, so I couldn't leave. But I had to get the kids to calm down, eat their breakfasts, and be as controlled as possible... WITH A GIANT TARANTULA IN THE ROOM! I even had to get within two feet of the thing and almost had to touch the container to get the kids to be in control. I really didn't show my strong teacher side when it came to the GIANT TARANTULA!

Two minutes after dealing with the GIANT TARANTULA, an eighth grader starts yelling at an eleventh grader, jumps over the table, and attacks the poor unsuspecting eleventh grader. Now, the harassed eleventh grader is probably six feet tall and weighs a good 250 pounds. The offended eighth grader is probably five feet six inches, one hundred fifty pounds soaking wet. Clearly the eighth grader did not choose wisely in this fight, and since I was on duty, I was one of the teachers responsible for dealing with the fisticuffs. Yes, me. And the agri teacher. So, Mr. Agri makes headway to the very angry eighth grader, and I decide to stand in between Mr. Eighth Grade and Mr. Eleventh Grade. We get everyone under control and the offending parties are sent to the office to have their punishments dealt out by the principal. After a few minutes, I realize, I was standing in between a volatile temper and the object of his anger. Not too smart. But I did have several students tell me they were very impressed that I jumped right in the middle. Now, if the GIANT TARANTULA had been the object of Mr. Volatility's anger, I might have just let him beat the stupid thing to a pulp!

A Letter to My Father

Dear Daddy,

My lawn has gotten out of control again. Would you be able to bring your lawn mower and your two helpers (both under the age of 5- that's not against child labor, right?) and bring the grass back under control? Knee high is a good length for a dress, not for the grass.

And while you're at it, would you please bring your gargantuan spider killer spray? I've got three (see pictures below) new lawn decorations that I would prefer not to have. And since the last lawn ornament I killed last week had to be killed with a hammer (my shoe couldn't do the job), I don't think I'll be able to evict these guys without the aid of your spray.

Hope to see you soon!

Your loving daughter,

Gloria

P.S. Have you ever noticed how much Jason Hawes from Ghost Hunters looks like Jonathan?

<- That's my brother.

That's Jason Hawes from Ghost Hunters.->

**Insert Snappy Blog Title Here**

I don't have a title for this blog. Nothing interesting has happened yet. School is going well. The kids are... behaving. They just seem to be very social. I think I have a student who has volunteered to save my choir from the torturous piano playing I have been submitting them to. And thanks to Nancy, I can't use well or so to start any paragraph ever again!

I think I need a t-shirt or coffee cup that says "I survived Ike" or something. That storm was wicked crazy, and really hit Batesville hard. One of the guys Jonathan works with had a tree fall on his house- into the nursery he and his fiance had just finished for the arrival of their new baby in a few weeks. Darren said the tree fell directly over the crib where the baby should have been. Wow, huh?

I'm having a lot of fun with the 4th- 6th grade right now. They are so funny! The toughest class I have is probably a tie with my Jr. High Choir and my Elementary self contained class. I have 19 boys and 10 girls in this class. I really don't know what it is about this area, but it seems that the boys outnumber the girls almost 2 to 1! Several of my classes have about 15 or 16 in the class, of which there are only three to four girls. Crazy, huh?

Anyway (there's another word for Nancy's anti-word list), I'm heading to bed. I get to meet with my mentor tomorrow afternoon. Oh, one good thing. Apparently my choir website has been getting a lot of attention from the administration. I guess they like it or something. The high school principal has asked all of his teachers to take a look at it and see if it would be something they would be interested in doing. Hmm, does that sound like an inservice workshop that I could perhaps get double the credit for or what!

I like Ike... Not.

It's 5:20 AM. Yes, AM. I'm awake because some crazy wicked hurricane- oh wait, it's now a tropical depression- is sitting right over my house. Literally. I typed in the Longitude and Latitude of where the storm is located and it said, "Ha! That's your house! "

Pine cones are being hurtled at the house and rolling across the roof; trees are being laid down almost to the ground with the force of the wind; and pelting rain sounds like it will shatter the thin glass of my window at any moment. And of course, I'm awake. I usually can sleep through anything, so this should tell you how much noise this stupid storm is making.

But I guess it could be worse. At least I don't live in Houston.

Beautiful, Beautiful Boys

A few weeks ago we celebrated Braden's fourth birthday. Jonathan and Melanie decided that he should have a bike for his birthday. Here he is riding his brand new birthday bike!

Saturday, I spent the day with Landon. And of course, that meant a few photo opportunities! Even though he started breaking out in CHICKEN POX! Even though he has had his chicken pox shot, Landon was exposed to secondary chicken pox. Apparently Braden had the same thing exactly fourteen days ago. So, even if you're child has had the chicken pox shot, he or she can still contract chicken pox!

I Hate the Boonies.

Moving into the middle of nowhere has taught me to appreciate the finer things in life: driving without fear of deer, reliable phone and internet service, and the ability to be in a five mile radius of Wal-Mart.

I miss Wal-Mart. I never would have thought that would have been possible. If you are within a ten minute drive to Wally World, please think of me when you go.