The one thing that is great about being a teacher is the moment the kids walk in they can make you feel so good about yourself sometimes. This morning, a few kids came in from the bus and three kids bombarded me. Two girls said, "Oh! Miss Aaron, you're hair is so pretty today." "It's awesome!" Then a boy said, "You should definitely wear your hair like that more often." I said a big fat, "Thank you!! You are all so sweet to say that."
Adults don't do that. They don't googoogahgah over what you are wearing or how your hair looks or how wonderful you are. It's hard enough to get a boyfriend to do that! I just got a note last week telling me, Mrs. Aaron, (no, i'm not married they just screw it up a lot) that I was amazing, awesome, fun, fantastic, i rocked, and the best teacher ever! Another girl wrote an acronym for me:
M-marvols (supposed to be marvelous)
I-increditable (supposed to be incredible)
S-supportive (spelled right!)
S-sweet
J-joyful
O-outstanding
D-'dorable
I- incretdible- (spelled it differently, but still wrong)
A-acute (I'm a small angle?)
A-amazing
R-rock
O-outstanding
N-nice
And before you start thinking that I actually am the best teacher ever or just bragging, kids for the most part are just like that. They honestly would do the same thing even if they had a teacher that was crabby, rude, boring, and old.
I think we should start writing more notes to people. Give them an acrostic, draw them a picture. We think as adults that they have to be long and perfect, but really all it needs to be is, "Hey, You're awesome and the best ever!" Note done. pass it along. and it would instantly make the person feel better. If I ever get married, I would just love it if my husband gave me acrostics or had a little note with a drawing saying, "I rock!" or "You're awesome!" I could even hang it up on the refrigerator haha.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
random girl
I had my 3rd Illinois teacher licensure test on Saturday. I go into the huge gymnasium with about 1,000 people at tables. I find my number and sit down next to a girl who is sharing the table with me. Now I do have to explain a little something that I feel everytime I sit next to a complete stranger, anytime it is just me and another person, like in a bus seat or a plane ride or in an elevator or in a doctor's office. I sometimes have this weird feeling that I have to talk to strangers. Like it is a moment that if you don't talk to this person at that moment, you will never get another chance again. Somehow you might make their day just by striking a conversation. Maybe it is a light, funny conversation or you share some meaningful words. Shoot, they could even become a new, good friend or your next date. Either way, that stranger is there and then they are gone.
That was a huge sidetrack, but back to the girl I sat next to. I sat down, got out my book I was reading and just stared at my words because of course I had this need to strike up a conversation. So, I looked over and then noticed... She had her thumb on the table, practicing how she was going to roll her thumb to get the fingerprint. I watched her practiced and almost convinced myself that maybe I needed to practice rolling my thumb on the table. I decided not to say something and disturb her practice of the thumbprint roll. The woman came and we both did our thumbprinting just fine and made a solid mark on our answer sheet. Good thing she practiced and I thought about it. Then I thought again that maybe I should say something since we had 15 more minutes to sit there. Then she broke the silence and said, "Can you believe how big the thumbprint example is?! Whose thumb is that big?" Of all of the things for her to bring up, I can't believe she said that. So I replied, "That is a really big thumbprint." She seemed so strange that she probably could have used a nice conversation, but on this day I decided to just read my book and ignore the stranger.
oh, btw, the test was HARD. Every question, left me guessing for the answer and wondering why in the world this is important for a teacher to know.
That was a huge sidetrack, but back to the girl I sat next to. I sat down, got out my book I was reading and just stared at my words because of course I had this need to strike up a conversation. So, I looked over and then noticed... She had her thumb on the table, practicing how she was going to roll her thumb to get the fingerprint. I watched her practiced and almost convinced myself that maybe I needed to practice rolling my thumb on the table. I decided not to say something and disturb her practice of the thumbprint roll. The woman came and we both did our thumbprinting just fine and made a solid mark on our answer sheet. Good thing she practiced and I thought about it. Then I thought again that maybe I should say something since we had 15 more minutes to sit there. Then she broke the silence and said, "Can you believe how big the thumbprint example is?! Whose thumb is that big?" Of all of the things for her to bring up, I can't believe she said that. So I replied, "That is a really big thumbprint." She seemed so strange that she probably could have used a nice conversation, but on this day I decided to just read my book and ignore the stranger.
oh, btw, the test was HARD. Every question, left me guessing for the answer and wondering why in the world this is important for a teacher to know.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
oh Brazil
So I was able to take a vacation in Brazil a couple weeks ago. It was a pretty amazing place. There were just a couple random moments that I thought were funny/odd enough to put on paper.
First of all, I get off the plane and Sparky and I find the apartment. Of course I desperately need to go to the bathroom, and he says, "Oh, by the way, you can't flush toilet paper anywhere in Brazil." My response was, "You said what?!" He tried to convince me that it was normal and the toilet paper in the trash cans next to the toilets never smelled, but of course I didn't quite believe him. So, I wipe and I put my toilet paper in the trash can like a good Brazilian would. And then the next 8 days there I did the same every time I went to the bathroom. And no matter how busy the public restroom was and how full the trash can was, Sparky was right, it never smelled. So it wasn't that bad at all.
This isn't exactly a story that would only happen in Brazil, but it seemed pretty funny to me at the time. So we are sitting in this perfect restaurant. At a perfect table with candlelight and a wooden duck, right next to a window with no screen, a warm breeze and the view of the stars. (note: Supposedly Sparky has become an astronomer because he could find all of these constellations that you can only see in South America.) Anyways, it was the waiter that made the night even more perfect and hilarious. He didn't mean to be funny, but his intensity for being our waiter was awesome! He stood by the wall and watched us and every time I took a sip of wine he would come over and grab the wine out of our ice bucket and fill my glass back up. After my tenth sip and his tenth time of running over and filling it up, I felt like the queen of Brazil or something. Then, when he added food or glasses to our table and had to rearrange or our cup was on the side of the table that was against the window, he would disappear as quick as he came and then reappear outside of the restaurant with his head leaning in and start fixing our table or our candle or our drink from outside of the restaurant leaning in the window. Once he was done he would run back inside the restaurant and finish what he was doing on the other side of the table. (Very small table may I add) Every time he ran outside and then popped his head in, I would laugh and giggle while he was doing it. He was definitely a man that took his job seriously and I loved him for it. He did serve us the best moqueca I have ever had. Well I've never had it, but I LOVED it!
Another little tidbit from the trip, I noticed right when I got on the plane to Brazil from Canada. I looked at every row and every aisle and I am pretty sure I was the only blonde on the huge plane. Even once I spent time there, noone else seemed to really care that we were the only blondes, but every once in a while when Sparky and I would walk around it was just funny to be the only two blondes in seeing distance everywhere we went. I actually kind of liked it. I'm used to blending in for the most part, and I kind of liked the change of scenery and pace.
So I survived toilet paper trashcans, intense waiters, brunettes everywhere, and even a monkey flying at my head. I loved every moment! :)
Where should I go next?!
First of all, I get off the plane and Sparky and I find the apartment. Of course I desperately need to go to the bathroom, and he says, "Oh, by the way, you can't flush toilet paper anywhere in Brazil." My response was, "You said what?!" He tried to convince me that it was normal and the toilet paper in the trash cans next to the toilets never smelled, but of course I didn't quite believe him. So, I wipe and I put my toilet paper in the trash can like a good Brazilian would. And then the next 8 days there I did the same every time I went to the bathroom. And no matter how busy the public restroom was and how full the trash can was, Sparky was right, it never smelled. So it wasn't that bad at all.
This isn't exactly a story that would only happen in Brazil, but it seemed pretty funny to me at the time. So we are sitting in this perfect restaurant. At a perfect table with candlelight and a wooden duck, right next to a window with no screen, a warm breeze and the view of the stars. (note: Supposedly Sparky has become an astronomer because he could find all of these constellations that you can only see in South America.) Anyways, it was the waiter that made the night even more perfect and hilarious. He didn't mean to be funny, but his intensity for being our waiter was awesome! He stood by the wall and watched us and every time I took a sip of wine he would come over and grab the wine out of our ice bucket and fill my glass back up. After my tenth sip and his tenth time of running over and filling it up, I felt like the queen of Brazil or something. Then, when he added food or glasses to our table and had to rearrange or our cup was on the side of the table that was against the window, he would disappear as quick as he came and then reappear outside of the restaurant with his head leaning in and start fixing our table or our candle or our drink from outside of the restaurant leaning in the window. Once he was done he would run back inside the restaurant and finish what he was doing on the other side of the table. (Very small table may I add) Every time he ran outside and then popped his head in, I would laugh and giggle while he was doing it. He was definitely a man that took his job seriously and I loved him for it. He did serve us the best moqueca I have ever had. Well I've never had it, but I LOVED it!
Another little tidbit from the trip, I noticed right when I got on the plane to Brazil from Canada. I looked at every row and every aisle and I am pretty sure I was the only blonde on the huge plane. Even once I spent time there, noone else seemed to really care that we were the only blondes, but every once in a while when Sparky and I would walk around it was just funny to be the only two blondes in seeing distance everywhere we went. I actually kind of liked it. I'm used to blending in for the most part, and I kind of liked the change of scenery and pace.
So I survived toilet paper trashcans, intense waiters, brunettes everywhere, and even a monkey flying at my head. I loved every moment! :)
Where should I go next?!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
procrastination
I love the comic strip, "ZITS." Teenagers are funny.
I'll try to relay the one from last Sunday's paper...
So they show the mom doing 6 different yoga poses
in her last pose, her son says, "Mom...?"
She opens one eye to look at him.
..."Can we leave five minutes early and drop by the office supply store so I can get some poster board to make and illustrated timeline of 14th century European trade devolpment on the way to school?"
The mom, with her yoga mat in hand and black fuming coming out of her head, says, "Only my kids could undo forty minutes of yoga with one sentence."
My mom saw it and laughed and laughed. She said, "This sounds just like you when you were in school!"
I'll try to relay the one from last Sunday's paper...
So they show the mom doing 6 different yoga poses
in her last pose, her son says, "Mom...?"
She opens one eye to look at him.
..."Can we leave five minutes early and drop by the office supply store so I can get some poster board to make and illustrated timeline of 14th century European trade devolpment on the way to school?"
The mom, with her yoga mat in hand and black fuming coming out of her head, says, "Only my kids could undo forty minutes of yoga with one sentence."
My mom saw it and laughed and laughed. She said, "This sounds just like you when you were in school!"
Earth Day
So, in honor of Earth Day, the students actually decided to keep our lights off in our room all day, very interesting day in the dark. We watched the "Story on Stuff" and of course did some Earthy Day math problems, and even went around the muddy, school grass and picked up trash.
Just in case you need some good Earth Day tips, Here are a few ways that my students committed to going green today...
-I will not long for more things. (good one.)
-If something breaks use it for something else
-grab a few napkins not a lot
-I will plant plants
-stop homework (I didn't agree with that!)
-use biodegradable substances
-use cloth and towels instead of papertowels
-buy fresh vegetables instead of canned
-use a fan, rather than air conditioner
-unplug your computer, tv, and electronics to save energy
-don't drive to short distances that you can ride your bike or walk to
-shop less
Just in case you need some good Earth Day tips, Here are a few ways that my students committed to going green today...
-I will not long for more things. (good one.)
-If something breaks use it for something else
-grab a few napkins not a lot
-I will plant plants
-stop homework (I didn't agree with that!)
-use biodegradable substances
-use cloth and towels instead of papertowels
-buy fresh vegetables instead of canned
-use a fan, rather than air conditioner
-unplug your computer, tv, and electronics to save energy
-don't drive to short distances that you can ride your bike or walk to
-shop less
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