10 Things I’ve Learned (or RE-learned) This Week

So, I love videos by this guy named Gerry Brooks. He is a principal, but he makes these hysterical videos about teacher stuff. You can find him on YouTube. This is one of my favorites:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtUQfeCkMjg
His bathroom etiquette one is pretty funny too. And the Grinch one about assessments -  you may wet your pants!
He manages to take the things that are annoying about education and make them funny. . . I wish I could do that.
This week I’ve discovered some things. Some of them are just annoying. Maybe sharing them with you will help me get over it. So here we go.
1.  Very small children do not belong at Orientation, unless you can or will control them.

On Orientation Day, there were all sorts of parents in my media center.  I had two boxes of books out on tables that children could look at and read. .  Every time I went in from the hallway, un-attended children were pulling random books off the shelves and just carrying them around. Really??  Why? I had a 3 year old who decided to completely un-shelf and reshelf the A section of my middle school section. Not just unshelf, but she’d rather see the pages out than the cover.  Oh and by the way, some  kids  need to be on a leash.

2.  Schools, not matter how hard they try, cannot fix bad parenting.

Buses at our school are  a problem. We are working on it, transportation is working on it, everybody is working on it. But here’s the problem:  sometimes parents do not do their part!  For example, if parents drop off a kindergartener in the car at school, but haven’t taught/told that same baby or (that babies teacher) how they are getting home  - that’s bad parenting.  If  a family has moved from one home to another and haven’t changed the address  on all the school paperwork, annd haven't figured out yet that a new address = a new bus to ride – that’s bad parenting.  When a parent comes to school and parks a car in the bus lane and gets out to go do something and clogs up the entire bus line  -- that’s bad parenting. 

3.  People who can’t or don’t read traffic signs.

I turn from I4 to Highway 27 every day.  The turning lane has a sign t hat says “Right turn on red after stop.”  That means exactly what it says. . . You stop, look and if you can go, you go! You DO NOT have to wait for the red arrows to turn green. DO NOT JUST SIT THERE! The whole line of people behind you all want to go. We  can’t go until you go!

4.  Parent volunteers can be both a blessing and a curse.

My school has many, many more volunteers than my old school. Some are wonderful – they will do what ever you ask and even ask you for things to do. My book fair last year only worked because of our volunteers.   Some of ours put together a Student Talent Show last year that was fabulous, just fabulous!   But some are a pain – they think being a volunteer means they get to be the boss. . . And some gossip.  I have a volunteer who is a brother of one of our students – I adore him! He does so, so much for me and I love him. 

5. Some teachers only want what they want and don’t care about anybody else in the whole entire school.  They definitely don't get the idea of TEAMWORK or "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." They mostly are NOT bad teachers, just not good teammates. (And that’s all I’m going to say about that!)
6.  People need to learn the difference in “Reply” and “Reply All.”  They also need to learn how to fix their email settings to spell-check before they send things.  We don’t look like professionals when we send emails that have things spelled all wrong. I think they often use their phones instead of outlook on their computers and write it like a text message.
7.  Some teachers would send me their children to laminate if those same children would stand still long enough. . . Everything that you touch or that ever comes in your classroom door does not need to be laminated. (And if you make signs and posters to hang on your wall, check your spelling before you get it laminated.  And one more thing - if it's made to "write on/wipe off - it doesn't need to be laminated - it came that way already!)
8. School supplies – new pens and pencils and notebooks make me happy.
9.  For every teacher like # 5 up there, there are two or three or 10  that are just wonderful and kind and appreciative and understanding. Those make the #5 ones bearable. There really are a WHOLE lot more of this kind than the #5 kind.
10.  I really, really love my job, even though I haven't done much of “my job” this week.  Seeing my little kids again at Orientation and them running up and hugging me is just the greatest thing.  Hearing my sweet little boy say “Hi Library” again just made my day.  The little girl who cried all the way to the bus for months last year who said “Look, I’m a big girl now” is just fabulous.  My bigger ones who looked around and said “Wow – look at all the new books” – priceless!

Anyone want to be KIND?

So, one of the very, very best books I’ve ever read is “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio. I read it several years ago, and I instantly fell in love with it.  In November, a Wonder movie is being released. I’m terrified!  I love books but most often, when they turn them into movies, they mess them up.  I have TWO signs that say “The book is always better.”  I have high hopes, as it seems to have a great cast, but I’m still worried.
My library bulletin boards this year are  Wonder-themed. I chose blue paper for the background, as the Wonder books are a unique blue color. I’ve actually had students come to the circulation desk and ask for “the blue book.”  My board says “It’s going to be a WONDER-ful year” and has a place for a precept from Mr. Browne, who is a character in the book, a precept from me and a precept from my principal.  I hope it works!

R.J. Palacio has also written a book for younger students called “We’re  All Wonders.”  It is really good too! I already bought a copy for myself that is going to end up in my media center. . .

Wonder is all about being kind.  The first precept that Mr. Browne shares with his class is this: 

“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind. - Dr.  Wayne W. Dyer”

I hate being wrong. I hate it with a passion – it’s part of what makes me a bad loser when I play games.  I want to make it my goal to always choose kindness instead of right. I think the world would be a lot better if we all did that.
I have two copies of Wonder in my media center – one on the middle school side and one in the 3rd to 5th grade section.   I’m going to make this book a big deal, so  I'd like to have a few more copies.  I’d also like a few more copies of  “We’re All Wonders.”    I have seen copies of Wonder on sale at Walmart, Books a Million and of course, Amazon.com.  If I had an unlimited budget, I’d buy a copy for every teacher at my school to add to their classroom library – but I don’t have an unlimited budget.   Would you like to be kind? How about buying a book for our media center?  I know a LOT of people who do LOTs of good for LOTS of people. If any of you could spare roughly $10.00, I could have plenty!
If anybody is interested and would like to buy a book for our library, our school address is 1775 Sand Mine Road, Davenport, FL 33897.  You could have it shipped directly to us!  I have cute little stickers that say “This book was donated to the  Citrus Ridge Media Center by our friend ________________.”  You could be part of our school’s history!  I’ll even put you on our “Friends of the Library” list!
In a perfect world., media centers would always have enough books.  We don’t live in a perfect world, but maybe we can make it a world that is a little more kind!
(If you happen to be a member at www.firstbook.org (which is free and you should be if you ever buy books for children) you can get it for $6.20

I take it back, sort of. . .

A while ago, I wrote a post about my feelings about stick people and stick families on cars.  You can read that here, in case you missed the joy of that post.

http://jim-merson.blogspot.com/2017/02/you-know-youve-seen-them.html

This week, I’ve been in Daytona for a church conference. (Brace yourself, there’s more about that coming too!) Right before I left, I got a surprise package in the mail. It was from my friends, the Everharts. Dr. E was my professor at FSU, her husband Harry is a retired school teacher and now, we’re friends.  Inside I found this:

I have to say this may be one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. I know what I said, but. . I may just have to put this one

on my car.  And look, that could be my Bubba-cat on there too!  Isn’t she just absolutely adorable? I love her! 

It makes me laugh every time I see it!

I’m back. . .

For several years I used Windows Live Writer to write my blog posts. It was easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy. But a while ago, Windows Live Writer quit working, it wouldn’t send my posts to my blog. I could still do it, it just took some extra steps. I miss my blog. I like ranting and raving like a lunatic.  So, since it’s summer and I have a little more time than during the school year, I have been looking for some replacement.  I found it – OpenLiveWriter. It’s open-source, which makes me happy. It looks like Windows Live Writer used to, which I like.  (It may be the exact same thing, which I don’t care, really where it comes from.) This is my test to see how well it works. If it works like I hope it will, brace yourself. I’ve got LOTS of stuff rolling around in my head.

If You Give a Curvy Girl Curly Fries. . .

If you give a curvy (feel free to read that as fat) girl curly fries. . .

                She’s going to eat them. She will also eat the broccoli, because it’s good for her, but she’s going to eat the curly fries.  Then, she may ask the server for cheese sauce for the curly fries.

                After she eats the curly fries with cheese, she’s going to feel guilty, so her friend will talk her into a bicycle ride.  She will try to ride the stationary bicycle and watch her friend on the elliptical, all while trying not to gossip. (Although this fat girl may begin to wonder how it is she even has a friend who can ride? Use?  Whatever the word is for what someone does on an elliptical. Honestly, most of her friends prefer cake.)  After she rides the bicycle for 5 miles, she will feel like her legs are jelly and she will be all sweaty. . .

She will hobble back to her room covered in sweat. Because she’s so sweaty, she will need a shower.  After she takes a shower, she will be exhausted, because she didn’t sleep well for the last two nights. So, she’ll try to take a nap. Because her hair is wet from the shower, it will get flat and dry funny because she’s lying on it.  She will get up, and have weird hair from both the attempted nap and because she has ridiculous baby fine hair that won’t do anything when it’s freshly washed anyway. . She will try and fix the weird hair, by wetting it and trying to dry it properly.  It won’t work.

Because she rode the bicycle and attempted to take a nap, she won’t have time for dinner.  She will go to her meeting with weird hair and feel strange the whole time. She will go to dinner after the meeting with her friends, still feeling strange about her hair. It will be late, so they will have to eat at the IHOP.  She will want pancakes, because DUH it’s IHOP. She will eat half of her best friend’s pancakes, which will make her feel guilty and think about a bicycle ride. . . 

You know you’ve seen them. . .

I know you’ve seen them. I don’t know how you feel about them, but I know you’ve seen them.  I don’t like them.  There, I said it. I don’t understand them and I don’t like them at all.  I don’t hate them with a white, hot burning hate, but I just don’t like them. It’s none of my business if you want one, but I don’t even like looking at them.
What, you may ask, are these items of my distaste? Think about it. You’re driving down the road and all of a sudden on the vehicle (read mini-van) in front of you, appears a family.  A stick family on a car.

 One day, I was with a bunch of ladies from church and I’m not lying, the entire back of the van was COVERED with stick people. It must have been grandchildren.  They were EVERYWHERE on the back of that minivan. 
There are all kinds of stick families. Superheroes.  Zombies. Families with Disney ears. Feet. Flip flops.  People with hobbies – golfing dads, soccer playing kids, cheerleaders. . . You can find any kind of stick family you want.

If I were forced at gunpoint to pick one, I’d pick this one:

 This one makes me laugh.

I saw this one the other day:

But, I think my all time favorite is this one:

 And then there’s this:

I bet I could really find this one in Polk County!

For some reason, the stick families just creep me out.  I get it, it’s not really my business. You may not like my JoyFM sticker or my AWANA “Kids Matter to God” sticker but hey, that’s my thing. Your stick family may be your thing.   But, every time I see one, I cringe!

This one made me snort:

Thankful to be. . . “Library Girl”

    The other day at school one of our kindergarteners couldn’t remember my name. He said “Hey, hey, hi, hi Ms. . . Miss. .  . Ms. .  Hi Library Girl!”  I laughed and laughed  and then laughed some more.  I love that!  I started to wonder and think about how I went from the Social Studies teacher to Library Girl. . .
     Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you’d gone left instead of right?  Or asked that question? Or taken that chance? I have been reminded lately of the best decision I ever made.  When I make a list of the things I am thankful for, this is near the top of my list.
     Raise your hand if you know I have a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Florida State University!  I thought so. . . Most people who know me know that!
     But here is what some of you DON”T know:  Two professors at FSU got a brilliant idea to transform classroom teachers into school media specialists.  They wrote a plan and  got a HUGE amount of financial help from the Laura Bush Foundation to turn that idea into reality.  Doctors  Eliza Dresang and Nancy Everhart created this whole thing called Project LEAD, and that’s how I got my degree.
     Way back in 2006, somehow I got an email from our district media services person. There was a meeting about this brand new program that would help teachers become school media specialists. There were going to be six spots in our county – and a meeting on September 11, 2006.   That was my fork in the road – and the choice I made has literally changed my life. I went to that meeting, met Dr. D and Dr. E and the rest, as they say, is history.
     We started class in January 2007.  It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  Looking back those  2 1/2 years just sort of seem like a big blur. I learned so much more than I ever thought I needed to learn,  and was stretched so far out of my comfort zone.  Part of that time included my 6 week trip to London in the summer of 2008,  an absolutely fabulous trip, but again, way out of my comfort zone. I could count on one hand the times I’d been in a different STATE than my family, but to be in a completely different CONTINENT?  For 6 weeks?  I’d spent TWO nights in my life EVER in a hotel room alone.   It was hard, but it was good!
     Here’s the most surprising thing.  Somehow, along the way, my professor, Dr. Everhart, along with her husband Harry, turned into my friends.  I’m not sure how or when it happened – it may have been the 6 weeks in London.  Maybe the time we were both got carsick on the bus on the way to Stratford –on-Avon was the bond.  (I’m not sure but I think throwing up together may do it! )  I know  she moved to the “One of My Most Favorite People Ever List”  – when she found grits for me in London! I know it sounds silly, but I’m a Southern girl and I missed my grits!
     Oh and her husband, Harry? We just clicked. We talked about middle schoolers and there was just a connection there!  I read his blog (and so should you – it’s great – (http://everhart.blogspot.com/)
Since our graduation, we’ve seen each other here and there,  off and on. We’ve had dinner together a few times when they were in the area. I was looking at my old emails and when I got the media specialist job at my old school – I sent Harry an email. When I got my new job at my new school this year, I sent Harry an email!   For years, they have invited me to their home to visit Tallahassee.  So, finally I decided to take them up on it and headed north on November 10th.  had a fabulous weekend – but  that’s a story for another day!

     Here’s the thing. . . I can’t even imagine what my life would be like now if I hadn’t attended that meeting on September 11, 2006.  If I’d decided the GRE was just too hard, or I didn’t want to write that essay, what I would have missed. Today is Thanksgiving – and we think about the things we’re grateful for. I’m grateful that Dr. D and Dr. E had an idea. I’m grateful the Laura Bush Foundation funded that idea. I’m grateful that I could get my degree while I was still working, grateful we could do class in our pajamas at home.   I’m grateful for the friends I made along the way – the other girls in my county, the other Project LEAD people, for Dr. E and Harry. I’m so, so grateful for the opportunity I was given. I’m thankful that because of that, I get to be “Library Girl!”