Everybody knows that fads come and go. Certain things become really popular for a short amount of time and then before you know it, fade out and are forgotten. The most recent fad amongst kids these days (from preschool to high school) is the Silly Bandz animal bracelets. Those of you with kids might be familiar with them. They are colorful rubber band like bracelets that you wear on your wrist or in your hair. However, when you take them off your wrist they turn into the shapes of animals (or stars or letters or people depending on what kind you buy). Well the kids have gotten more and more into these little bracelets over the last couple of weeks. It is to the point now that almost all the kids have at least a few on their wrists if not 20. They will trade them with each other when they get sick of their own shapes or just take them off in class to show off the shapes that they have and their friends don't. Today, I was finally accepted into their little world. 3 of my 9th graders gave me bracelets today. I now have a kangaroo, an eagle, and a giraffe bracelet. They are so popular that later in the day when my 8th graders came in, I noticed them whispering amongst themselves: "Look, Miss Wilson has animal bracelets." It officially gave me an element of cool.
I can't think of any similar fad from when I was in high school but I do remember pogs from elementary school. Can anybody else think of any good fads from the past?
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
You can never leave
Yesterday I was standing on the edge of the ocean. It's amazing to me how many different colors of blue there really are. On one hand there is the blue-green color of the water nearest the shore in the shallow areas. Then farther out there is a distinct line where the shallows drop away into the much deeper, dark blue of the open ocean. Then a little ways out that dark blue meets the lighter but still vivid blue of a cloudless Florida sky. I let my toes dig into the sand, and the waves wash up around my ankles as I admired the beauty of the ocean, the palm trees swaying on the beach behind me, and the feeling of the hot sun beating down on my shoulders. And I thought to myself, I would have a hard time ever leaving this. I own 10 bikinis and not one winter coat. 2 years ago the thought of staying in Florida would have horrified me. Now, I don't know if I could leave. Life never ceases to surprise me.
Monday, April 26, 2010
When 8th graders play matchmaker...
*Warning: This post is long, but I think that the story is worth it.*
Some of you have been following this story on my Facebook status updates. However, this post includes the WHOLE story. Last week in one of my 8th grade classes, the kids somehow got on the topic of my love life. This has always been a hot topic in school as I am one of 2 single teachers in the entire school. So my students decided that I need a husband (somehow the boyfriend part got skipped...we’re going straight to marriage!). At any rate, they came up with the idea that I should go out with the flag football coach, and they would be the ones to set us up. This conversation then quickly deteriorated into which student would get to be the ringbearer and which would be the usher in the wedding (not to mention what color the bridesmaid dresses would be and whether I would have tulips or lilies). I was slightly worried as to what they might say to the coach (who I have never spoken to before), but I figured they might forget about it by the time practice started.
Well, the next day in class, the kids come piling in with excited looks on their faces saying, “Miss Wilson! Miss Wilson! Coach Smith wrote you a note!” One 8th grade boy held out the note while the girls crowded around and giggled, and the boys tried to act like they weren’t just as curious as the girls. I took the folded sheet of paper and opened it. It was a hastily done note, a piece of paper obviously torn off a larger piece. He had begun to write on the back, scribbled it out, and wrote on the front: “Ms. Wilson, C--- and B--- gave me the message from you. Hope you have a great day! Coach Smith”
I smiled nervously, turned to C--- and said (as evenly as possible), “C---, what was the message that you gave him from me. I never told you anything.”
C--- backed away with a mischievous and guilty grin on his face. “It was B---! I didn’t say anything!”
“C---!” I said again, “What EXACTLY did B--- say to him?”
“Ummm…..he told the coach that you have the hots for him.”
“What?!” I exclaim as the entire class erupts into giggles. “Why would he say that? I never said that!”
At this point, B--- is unfortunate enough to stick his head in the room (he was in a different class at the time).
“Miss Wilson, did you get the note from Coach?”
“B---! Why would you tell him that I ‘have the hots’ for him? That’s not even true.”
“Miss Wilson, it’s for your own good. You’ll thank me when you’re married. You guys can be Mr. and Mrs. Smith just like the movie!”
Yeah right.
So I’m basically mortified by the situation and before long the whole school is aware (small school), and everyone is coming up to me to give me advice. Some kids think I should write him a note back. I just look at them and say, “Seriously? I’m not in 8th grade anymore guys. We’re adults. What am I supposed to do? Write him a note that says ‘Do you like me? Check the box: Yes, No, Maybe.”
The seniors think he is too immature for me. The 9th graders think that he is hot, and I should give him a chance. The 8th graders can’t stop talking about how buff he is and how perfect we will be together. The 10th graders just think it’s funny. And ironically enough, the teachers want me to go out with him!
So last Wednesday after school, I was out on duty making sure that all kids are in their correct locations. The 9th grade girls came over and were urging me to go over to the practice field and talk to the coach. Meanwhile, I hadn’t decided the best tactic to use in the situation. I did have a moment in the middle of a giggly conversation with these girls about what to say to the coach that I thought to myself, “Wow, I thought that I had graduated from high school but apparently you can never leave!”
As I rounded up kids to go to aftercare, I walked past the field where the flag football team was just finishing up practice. The boys were running to the sideline, saw me and started yelling my name. The coach then looked up, smiled, and yelled, “Hi, Miss Wilson!” I stopped, looked over, turned a couple of shades closer to the color of my pink shirt, and decided that I had better just get the conversation over with. To a chorus of 8th graders making kissing noises, heart symbols with their hands, and “Aw, look how cute” exclamations, Coach Smith and I officially (and awkwardly) introduced ourselves to each other. A brief conversation followed after which he said, “Well, I have to go now, but I’ll be here tomorrow” with a hint of “I hope you will stop by to chat” in his tone. As he left, I ushered a group of giggling kids to aftercare amidst excited exclamations at their perceived success.
The next day the coach said hi to me as I walked past the field, and we had yet another brief but awkward conversation about basically nothing at all.
Today, the kids asked me if we had gone on a date yet. When I said no, they gave each other troubled looks. Apparently things were not moving fast enough for their tastes. Drastic measures needed to be taken since flag football season is over on Friday. And this is where Shakespeare comes in. We just finished reading Much Ado About Nothing in class. In this play (for those of you that are not familiar with it), Beatrice and Benedick end up falling in love with each other because their friends trick them into it by strategically having them overhear conversations saying that the other is secretly in love with them hence causing them to face their own true feelings of love. I guess the kids really did learn something because they decided to try this tactic.
I was innocently sitting in a chair outside this afternoon watching the kids play out on the basketball court. I see the flag football coach come to the edge of the field and call to them to come to practice. Most of the kids run straight over to the field but two 8th grade boys walk over to pick up their bags which are sitting near me. As they lean down to pick them up, the following conversation begins at a volume loud enough for me to hear:
C: “K---, did you hear that Coach Smith has a huge crush on Miss Wilson?”
K: “Yeah, I did hear that. He was talking about it at practice the other day.”
C: “I guess that he doesn’t know how to actually tell her.”
I, of course, start smiling to myself knowing full well what they are trying to do. And then came the line that was so darn adorable that no matter how much they drive me insane, I couldn’t help but love them at that moment.
C: “What exactly was he saying at practice the other day?”
And then turning to K--- he added in a lower voice but still loud enough for me to hear: “Bait the hook well, this fish will bite!”
A line directly from the play we just finished reading! How adorable! They WERE paying attention! They learned something! They understood the story and even related it to a real life situation. I can almost forgive them for embarrassing me.
Well, I didn’t speak to the coach today, but the kids sure are persistent even to the point of using my own curriculum against me.
And that is what happens when 8th graders play matchmaker. More to come, I’m sure.
Some of you have been following this story on my Facebook status updates. However, this post includes the WHOLE story. Last week in one of my 8th grade classes, the kids somehow got on the topic of my love life. This has always been a hot topic in school as I am one of 2 single teachers in the entire school. So my students decided that I need a husband (somehow the boyfriend part got skipped...we’re going straight to marriage!). At any rate, they came up with the idea that I should go out with the flag football coach, and they would be the ones to set us up. This conversation then quickly deteriorated into which student would get to be the ringbearer and which would be the usher in the wedding (not to mention what color the bridesmaid dresses would be and whether I would have tulips or lilies). I was slightly worried as to what they might say to the coach (who I have never spoken to before), but I figured they might forget about it by the time practice started.
Well, the next day in class, the kids come piling in with excited looks on their faces saying, “Miss Wilson! Miss Wilson! Coach Smith wrote you a note!” One 8th grade boy held out the note while the girls crowded around and giggled, and the boys tried to act like they weren’t just as curious as the girls. I took the folded sheet of paper and opened it. It was a hastily done note, a piece of paper obviously torn off a larger piece. He had begun to write on the back, scribbled it out, and wrote on the front: “Ms. Wilson, C--- and B--- gave me the message from you. Hope you have a great day! Coach Smith”
I smiled nervously, turned to C--- and said (as evenly as possible), “C---, what was the message that you gave him from me. I never told you anything.”
C--- backed away with a mischievous and guilty grin on his face. “It was B---! I didn’t say anything!”
“C---!” I said again, “What EXACTLY did B--- say to him?”
“Ummm…..he told the coach that you have the hots for him.”
“What?!” I exclaim as the entire class erupts into giggles. “Why would he say that? I never said that!”
At this point, B--- is unfortunate enough to stick his head in the room (he was in a different class at the time).
“Miss Wilson, did you get the note from Coach?”
“B---! Why would you tell him that I ‘have the hots’ for him? That’s not even true.”
“Miss Wilson, it’s for your own good. You’ll thank me when you’re married. You guys can be Mr. and Mrs. Smith just like the movie!”
Yeah right.
So I’m basically mortified by the situation and before long the whole school is aware (small school), and everyone is coming up to me to give me advice. Some kids think I should write him a note back. I just look at them and say, “Seriously? I’m not in 8th grade anymore guys. We’re adults. What am I supposed to do? Write him a note that says ‘Do you like me? Check the box: Yes, No, Maybe.”
The seniors think he is too immature for me. The 9th graders think that he is hot, and I should give him a chance. The 8th graders can’t stop talking about how buff he is and how perfect we will be together. The 10th graders just think it’s funny. And ironically enough, the teachers want me to go out with him!
So last Wednesday after school, I was out on duty making sure that all kids are in their correct locations. The 9th grade girls came over and were urging me to go over to the practice field and talk to the coach. Meanwhile, I hadn’t decided the best tactic to use in the situation. I did have a moment in the middle of a giggly conversation with these girls about what to say to the coach that I thought to myself, “Wow, I thought that I had graduated from high school but apparently you can never leave!”
As I rounded up kids to go to aftercare, I walked past the field where the flag football team was just finishing up practice. The boys were running to the sideline, saw me and started yelling my name. The coach then looked up, smiled, and yelled, “Hi, Miss Wilson!” I stopped, looked over, turned a couple of shades closer to the color of my pink shirt, and decided that I had better just get the conversation over with. To a chorus of 8th graders making kissing noises, heart symbols with their hands, and “Aw, look how cute” exclamations, Coach Smith and I officially (and awkwardly) introduced ourselves to each other. A brief conversation followed after which he said, “Well, I have to go now, but I’ll be here tomorrow” with a hint of “I hope you will stop by to chat” in his tone. As he left, I ushered a group of giggling kids to aftercare amidst excited exclamations at their perceived success.
The next day the coach said hi to me as I walked past the field, and we had yet another brief but awkward conversation about basically nothing at all.
Today, the kids asked me if we had gone on a date yet. When I said no, they gave each other troubled looks. Apparently things were not moving fast enough for their tastes. Drastic measures needed to be taken since flag football season is over on Friday. And this is where Shakespeare comes in. We just finished reading Much Ado About Nothing in class. In this play (for those of you that are not familiar with it), Beatrice and Benedick end up falling in love with each other because their friends trick them into it by strategically having them overhear conversations saying that the other is secretly in love with them hence causing them to face their own true feelings of love. I guess the kids really did learn something because they decided to try this tactic.
I was innocently sitting in a chair outside this afternoon watching the kids play out on the basketball court. I see the flag football coach come to the edge of the field and call to them to come to practice. Most of the kids run straight over to the field but two 8th grade boys walk over to pick up their bags which are sitting near me. As they lean down to pick them up, the following conversation begins at a volume loud enough for me to hear:
C: “K---, did you hear that Coach Smith has a huge crush on Miss Wilson?”
K: “Yeah, I did hear that. He was talking about it at practice the other day.”
C: “I guess that he doesn’t know how to actually tell her.”
I, of course, start smiling to myself knowing full well what they are trying to do. And then came the line that was so darn adorable that no matter how much they drive me insane, I couldn’t help but love them at that moment.
C: “What exactly was he saying at practice the other day?”
And then turning to K--- he added in a lower voice but still loud enough for me to hear: “Bait the hook well, this fish will bite!”
A line directly from the play we just finished reading! How adorable! They WERE paying attention! They learned something! They understood the story and even related it to a real life situation. I can almost forgive them for embarrassing me.
Well, I didn’t speak to the coach today, but the kids sure are persistent even to the point of using my own curriculum against me.
And that is what happens when 8th graders play matchmaker. More to come, I’m sure.
The beginning
Through much urging from various parties and a desire on my own part to get back into writing, I have been inspired to write a blog. This blog is not meant to be an online diary of my deepest, darkest secrets but rather to entertain and amuse friends, family, and strangers (if they so desire) on the plight of a single, high school English teacher. So enjoy!
P.S. To avoid trouble, I refer to any students by their initials only.
P.S. To avoid trouble, I refer to any students by their initials only.
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