We've just completed our first full week. People ask me, "How's school?" and I reply, "So far, so good," but that isn't accurate. It's only just begun, and I really don't know. The sixth graders, they're still in the "honeymoon state." They don't quite know what to expect of us yet, so they're still behaving pretty well overall. (I did have to have a "talk" with one today, and since the sixth graders are still rather scared of me now, it's better to nip things in the bud right away.) All I know is true is that I can hope for a really great year. I know I'm going to have it in two classes (seventh and eighth), so, as Meatloaf sang, "Two out three ain't bad."

When my great-aunt Kit died, I found this book in her house entitled A Search for Self-Discovery THE FRIEND IN YOUR MIRROR by Edward Cunningham, and I keep this book at school. Today, after the final bell rang, I pulled it out, and this particular piece caught my attention:
Speak honestly to yourself
of people you knew,
Recalling the kind ones
who taught you lessons in love,
The thoughtless ones
who made you feel the bitterness
Of their own self-doubt...
and the very human ones
Who may have done both.

Leaf back
through the album of time.....
What portraits stand out
in sharpest detail?
Whose faces can you see
most vividly?
Whose voices can you her
most clearly?

Re-enter tht world you shared
and see them all
As they appeared to you then...

When the years go by, what will my students remember about me? Will I show them that I'm human and have them remember the good and the bad? Will they remember the crazy antics I invent to try to help them memorize different things, or the way I bang my head on the board if I continue to get wrong answers over something I KNOW they should know? Will it be the funny times, singing on the bus, on overnight field trips, or the "eagle eye" I give them when I mean business? Last year I had a student state on his blog, "Sometimes she makes me want to pull my hair out, but other times I don't want to leave her class."

That's a good way to be remembered.

Summer Readings

Summer reading is required where I teach. Most everyone complains, so I try to pick books that are interesting. I know the eighth graders wouldn't agree, but there selection is to get them in the mind set of what lies ahead in high school.

I had a great summer reading lists, especially since I was able, for the most part, to choose my own. Two books, The Missing by Chris Mooney and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, were my book club pics, but since I had choose The Missing and had already bought The Thirteenth Tale before it was picked by my club, I knew I would like them, and I was right! Although The Missing reminded me too much of Kiss the Girls, I couldn't put it down! I started it at night before I went to bed. At 2:00 A.M. I made myself put it down, but once I woke up, I finished it off. The Thirteenth Tale I read twice. I read it at the beginning of July, but since I was hosting the meeting in August, I wanted the characters and plot to be fresh on my mind. It, too, was one I highly recommend.

I have waited for the seventh Harry Potter with baited breath, and it was by far the best one. I kept hoping that J.K. Rowling would continue, maybe have Harry become a professor, but sad to say the story line is over. However, since so much time has passed since I picked up the first book, I had forgotten some details. So, I started re-reading Harry Potter. I'm now reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

When I traveled to Gettysburg this summer, I picked up a book, which was a diary of a girl living in Gettysburg at the time of the battle. First hand accounts seem to bring a touch of humanity to the story.

Speaking of first hand acconts, I finally read Night by Elie Wiesel. There is a section that is so...I can't think of an adjective that'll do it justice. He's questioning the existence of God. I cried. If I'm still coaching Oral Interp. next year, I'm going to have the person memorize and recite it. It is so powerful.

On a lighter note, I read my first Stephanie Plum (she's the character) novel entitled One for the Money. It, too, was a quick read and FUNNY! I'm looking forward to reading the others.

I Feel Sorry for My Neck was another hilarious book about growing older. When I read the section about how the neck really tells a woman's age and if you haven't done anything by the age of 43 it's too late, I was jumping out of bed and lathering the lotion on!! On thing I felt good about - I don't carry one of those purses that can sneak out a seven-course meal!

I had a busy summer, but I was sure to make time for myself and read. I still didn't get all the books read that I wanted, but I put a fairly good size dent in my list.

And just think, this doesn't count the three books on tape!