Since all my current LIA students hate me, and I have to apologize to them tomorrow and admit my weaknesses, I've decided to prepare myself to face the enemy by reflecting on my three highlights from the week.
HIGHLIGHT 1:
One day, when spouting off announcements rapid fire to my tenth grade class of Latinos in Action, Paty, who has no filter, blurts out "Ms. Davis, why aren't you married?" I had been writing my Twitter name up on the board and she said she noticed the 'Ms' instead of 'Mrs.' At that point, Debora declared, "Oh We've got to do something about that. We need to set you up with someone" and then Michael suggested, 'Hey I've got this mentor, and he is fineeee.'" Tenth graders setting you up is a clear sign that you have reached the age of desperation.
HIGHLIGHT 2:
In my Honors English classes, we are working feverishly on helping the students write effective commentary. To do that, we've been analyzing some poetry and short stories. First up for dissection was Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I could not stop for death." Students filed into class with a pleadingly confused look on their face after struggling with the poem for homework. I decided to pause our agenda for a few moments and explain the poem, it's imagery and symbolism. After I was done explicating it, the students were nodding their heads as the beauty finally clicked for them. But one student, Bryson, decided that he was "going to start viewing all of life as poetry." He said, 'oh that guy is wearing a red shirt? Obviously he has latent frustrations and feels intense anger, etc." The next day, we discussed how the pumpkins in the story "Yours" by Mary Robison represent death and the way the different characters cope with it. All the students were shocked at how I could draw meaning from that image. So Bryson raises his hand and says, "So does the daycare mean something deeper to? What does it represent?" I struggled to stifle my laugh; he was trying so hard to understand how images could have a figurative meaning that he was worried the character's volunteering at a daycare was really a metaphor. The English teacher in me loved it and was laughing so hard on the inside.
HIGHLIGHT 3:
This is a paradoxical highlight because initially it will not sound positive. The LIA classes hosted a "Battle of the LIA classes" this past Saturday, which was phenomenal and almost completely student-run. We had dinner, a brain teaser competition, a lengthy obstacle course, and then heated basketball and soccer games. But, occasionally there were a few moments of down time. During one of those periods, Michael was playing with my SmartBoard and said "This is the coolest. I want one to watch HD Porn." To which all the students laughed, some awkwardly. Obviously I could not let that comment stand without any feedback. Thus, I motioned for Michael to come sit and chat with me about that comment. From there, I started explaining to him that I had research pornography when dating someone who had once been addicted to it. I then proceeded to teach him about oxytocin and the problems that causes when it bonds you with the pornography, how porn is a coping mechanism, how it rewires the brain, how it affects relationships, and other important facts. At one point, I had to stop and give a few instructions to everyone in the room and Michael said "Oh no. I was actually really enjoying this conversation; I don't want it to be over." Eventually, I got to where I said that every man and most women will see 'pornography' at some point in their life especially since it's so pervasive in advertising, on TV, on Internet sites, and all facets of our lives. However, it is their choice to continue to pursue it and see it out for self-gratification. Then, I explained why I cared when people made flippant comments about pornography as if it should be accepted by society as a undeniable fact that all boys will choose to watch it. He walked away knowing a lot more about how it hurts millions of lives.
Why is having a conversation about pornography a highlight? Michael is an interesting, rough kid and I don't believe he will change because of this conversation. But I was grateful that I could explain the WHY and not just yell out a reprimand in response to his comment. I hope it will be more effective. Unfortunately for him, I am ever the teacher and seize even awkward teaching moments.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Sunday, November 2, 2014
#beingbearaware
When one teacher, one school speech pathologist, and two nurses have Fall Break, they escape to Montana in search of their mountain men. In the end, they visit Glacier National Park, sans the men. And here is the result...
It was the middle of October and we HAD to get this trip in because my National Parks Pass expired at the end of the month and I wanted to convince myself that I am outdoorsy and that I put my pass to use. [How unfortunate that we never actually had to show it anywhere].
Despite the drive from Utah to Montana being 10 hours, which thankfully was ONLY 10 hours and not longer due to Kristen's mad driving skills, we all decided it was worth it. Here's why...
or like this...
It was the middle of October and we HAD to get this trip in because my National Parks Pass expired at the end of the month and I wanted to convince myself that I am outdoorsy and that I put my pass to use. [How unfortunate that we never actually had to show it anywhere].
Despite the drive from Utah to Montana being 10 hours, which thankfully was ONLY 10 hours and not longer due to Kristen's mad driving skills, we all decided it was worth it. Here's why...
A lot of our 96 hours together were spent like this:
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| #nothinglikequantitytimeinacar |
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| and pouring chips into Kristen's mouth |
or like this...
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| Remember how it was the middle of October?...on the Canadian border? Yeah, bundling up wasn't an option. |
But look at the beauty we found...
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| Needless to say, we were quite excited about it! |
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| #nofilter #pureH20 |
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This is on the "Road to the Sun" that my parents made me promise not to drive on. What they don't know... |
That one time we decided to go on a hike because, after all, we were in a National Park...but Kristen had a slight panic attack since it was "Grizzly Bear" season. Apparently, she didn't trust us to operate the bear spray. As you can tell, we made it real far away from civilization on the 'hike.'
And then we ended the evening with some beautiful vistas...
The next day we figured we would go to Canada, aye?
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| Ironically, all of us were "faux" scared here, except for Kristen. Don't let looks fool you; she says she was petrified though her face says nothing but serenity. She swears this truly is her "freak-out scared" reaction. I think she looks like a model when paralyzed by the threat of Grizzlies. Maybe that's not a bad tactic? |
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| Heidi dutifully attempted to make noise to ward off the bears as we walked to ward off the bears. However, we quickly learned that wood on wood is not the most effective technique. |
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| Since our hike didn't last that long, what else do you do? Photo shoot! |
And then we ended the evening with some beautiful vistas...
The next day we figured we would go to Canada, aye?
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| First thing you do when you are in Canada? Celebrate that you got to use your passport! And lament that they didn't actually stamp it. #wefeltjipped |
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| Along the way, we also 'needed' to get out and 'shake it off' like Taylor Swift in an open field. Why do Americans hate Canada so? It was breathtakingly beautiful. Maybe it's the wind..   |
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| One pro of Canada was that it gave me my Sound of Music moment I've always dreamed of. |
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| In the middle of this lake is the divide between the US and Canada! |
Oh the "Power of Your Purse"
1. I love strong women.
2. I love an excuse to dress up.
3. I love Grand America's dinners.
Thus, I was destined to love the "Power of Your Purse" event last Thursday at the Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. It was a celebration of the several hundred female leaders in Salt Lake who make up the Women's Leadership Council. As a branch of the United Way, they donate money with the specific intent that it will go toward helping education. To let these women see where their money goes, the event planners bring in three female students each year from the schools benefitting from this involvement.
By some fortuitous stroke of luck, Cottonwood High School is that school. When the Granite School District shut down the dysfunctional "Granite High School," Cottonwood subsumed a lot of the students from South Salt Lake, a lower SES neighborhood. Consequently, United Way now supports Cottonwood since they are interested in anyone who works with the South Salt Lake population.
Another lucky coincidence is that I teach the Leaders/Latinos In Action program at CHS, which is funded through United Way. All of this adds up to being asked to bring three of my girls to the event as panel members who would talk about their family backgrounds, their challenges, and their aspirations. Initially, I was not nervous at all because I was thinking this panel was all about them. And to an extent it was. But little did I realize that the moderator, which I was, played a big role in the success of the overall panel. When we got to the ballroom and I noticed just how many hundreds of seats there were, I started to feel nervous. Thankfully we were scheduled in the middle of the program, a program centered on female leaders who strive to empower more women. That topic was enough to get me pumped up. I think the panel was a success, especially since so many people sincerely congratulated us. The next day at work, one of the science teachers even showed me a text sent to him by one of the leading doctors in the area who said to congratulate us. If nothing else, it reminded me how much I love these girls and women who make a difference.
2. I love an excuse to dress up.
3. I love Grand America's dinners.
Thus, I was destined to love the "Power of Your Purse" event last Thursday at the Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. It was a celebration of the several hundred female leaders in Salt Lake who make up the Women's Leadership Council. As a branch of the United Way, they donate money with the specific intent that it will go toward helping education. To let these women see where their money goes, the event planners bring in three female students each year from the schools benefitting from this involvement.
By some fortuitous stroke of luck, Cottonwood High School is that school. When the Granite School District shut down the dysfunctional "Granite High School," Cottonwood subsumed a lot of the students from South Salt Lake, a lower SES neighborhood. Consequently, United Way now supports Cottonwood since they are interested in anyone who works with the South Salt Lake population.
Another lucky coincidence is that I teach the Leaders/Latinos In Action program at CHS, which is funded through United Way. All of this adds up to being asked to bring three of my girls to the event as panel members who would talk about their family backgrounds, their challenges, and their aspirations. Initially, I was not nervous at all because I was thinking this panel was all about them. And to an extent it was. But little did I realize that the moderator, which I was, played a big role in the success of the overall panel. When we got to the ballroom and I noticed just how many hundreds of seats there were, I started to feel nervous. Thankfully we were scheduled in the middle of the program, a program centered on female leaders who strive to empower more women. That topic was enough to get me pumped up. I think the panel was a success, especially since so many people sincerely congratulated us. The next day at work, one of the science teachers even showed me a text sent to him by one of the leading doctors in the area who said to congratulate us. If nothing else, it reminded me how much I love these girls and women who make a difference.
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| Dipika from Nepal, Stephanie Pesantes who is the Latinos in Action President, myself, and Taylor Holding who is from the South Salt Lake neighborhood, an honors student, and here because they needed a white female for the audience. |
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| The awkward picture of me that a friend (who was in the audience without me realizing) took of me on the screens while moderating...and then posted on Facebook. |
10 Years in Utah and Still Discovering Hidden Treasures
Family, prepare yourself, because this is where we are going as soon as I can convince you to visit me in Utah. It will most likely take years, but eventually I will get you here...
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