Summer Reading

Over the past 2 summers, thanks to teaching, I've rediscovered my love of reading.  I mostly like to read fiction, but I also read a good theology or practical life-application non-fiction book.  Here are some that I plan on reading this summer.  (This is kind of like a list for myself, more-so than the rest of you... so I can look back to see if I accomplished the goal of actually finishing them...):

Books to read (that I haven't started yet):

Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

Persuasion - Jane Austen

Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult

Working with Parents - Ruby K. Payne

Books to finish (some of these I've been reading for years!):

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

Uprooting Anger - Robert D. Jones

How People Change - Lane/Tripp

Ministries of Mercy - Tim Keller

Under the Overpass - Mike Yankoski (this one doesn't belong to me... I've had it for 3 years!)

Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

Future Grace - John Piper

Picture Perfect - Jodi Picoult

Salem Falls - Jodi Picoult

Looking at the list, it's become apparent that I have commitment issues with sticking with a book to the very end.  Maybe there's a book to help with that.... :-)  I could tackle this they way you tackle debt - read the books that I am almost done with first so that I can cross them off and feel like I've accomplished something.  

I also have somewhat of a predicament... Nicole Wilson (my roommate) has said that if I read the entire Twilight series, she will watch all the episodes of 30 Rock with me.  I love to watch TV with people, and that's my favorite show, so it seems like a great idea.  But the predicament is that I hate reading or watching stuff that is fantasy/sci-fi/can't be real.  Hmmmm.  I'll update my booklist if I decide to take her up on this deal.

Please feel free to recommend good reads (fiction or non) for the summer!  Thanks!

10 Lessons for New Teachers

I only have 9 more teaching days left.  I'm not sure how I'll feel after these 29 little ones go off to middle school.  It's so crazy that I've spent 172 days with them, a total of about 1200 hours with them since August.  Last year, I was fine on the last day.  I packed up my classroom and said goodbye to them - no tears.  But as I drove home, Say by John Mayer came on the radio, and I started crying and just could not stop.  

"Every little past frustration, take all of your so called problems, better put 'em in quotations."  

The last day of school is a day of letting go, and the realization sinks in for me that I no longer have influence on those little ones anymore.  They are gone, and all I can do is hope I said something right, or cared enough, or helped them understand something well enough. 

Unfortunately, I never seem to be able to harbor those thoughts and feelings when I am actually in the classroom... where it matters most.  Contrary to popular opinion, and the many movies portraying "inner city schools," thought-provoking, emotionally gripping music does not play in the background as I teach in my room.  Usually, it's the sound of a pencil sharpener falling on the ground ensuring that shavings are in every possible part of the desk area, the whine of, "But I didn't do nothin!" or "Ms. Christie, Ms. Christie, Ms. Christie, Ms. Christie, Ms. Christie, Ms. Christie..."  Somehow, I need to find a way to remember to overlook "the small stuff," and to see the bigger picture when I am in the classroom with the kids.  God, please help me with this.

As much as the end of the year is bittersweet, I do love being able to contemplate all that went wrong and right after the year has ended.  Starting over is lovely.  August brings new students, new trials, and new lessons.  It also brings new ideas.  That's my favorite - being able to change the things that just didn't work or that I didn't have the energy to change the previous year.  

Both years, I have learned much from the 2 very different classes I had.  I blogged about some funny stories from my first year of teaching.  Now, here are some lessons I've learned in my second year: 

1.  Never say, or even think to yourself, "It can't get worse."  It always can.  It can also get better.

2.  Sometimes rules simply have to have a negative in them.  It's crazy how specific they become too:  "Please do not follow me around the room while repeating my name over and over and over and over...." or "Please do not crowd so close to my desk that you get tangled in my computer cord and cause it to fall."

3.  When you stay calm and don't yell, it makes it a better day for everyone.

4.  Pray.  For strength, for patience (although it's tough when you get to exercise patience), for the students.  I haven't done that enough.

5.  Just because you think something is super cool doesn't mean they will.  Although, on the other hand, it is all in the presentation.  Sometimes you can convince them to think something's cool just by being excited about it.  

6.  If you don't actually want to know the truth, don't ask a kid.  They will tell you, and it's brutal.  Trust me.  Don't go fishing for compliments either.  

7.  Disney Channel makes eating lunch exciting (and more peaceful).  

8.  If at ALL possible, don't get a substitute during the first month of school.  Last year, I missed the first two weeks of school (chicken pox) and this year, I missed the second week of school (Central Asia).  It's really, really hard to bounce back from.  And I'm not one for using more than one "really" in a sentence, unless I really, really mean it.

9.  Telling the kids that you don't feel good to get their sympathy so they will behave does not work.  In many cases, it backfires, and they see your weakness as an invitation to misbehave because you won't have the energy to stop them.  Firsthand experience here.  

10.  The second you choose to finally go against every fiber of your being and throw something away, you will need it the next day, or possibly a few hours later, after the trash has been removed.  This is true of life in general, but it is magnified in schools.

4 more weeks...

Maybe this is why I'm so stressed out:

the bookshelf in my classroom where students "neatly stack" their books

and yes... this is a boot.  on the bookshelf.  

4 more weeks.

2/11/09

I had a great birthday!  My day started with waking up to streamers and balloons from my roommates, and Nicole made breakfast (chocolate chip pancakes) for us and some friends.  Yum.  When I got to school, here's what I saw:

Last week sometime, my students enlisted the help of another teacher and the custodian, and I guess they just assigned people what they needed to bring.  They had Capri-Suns, cupcakes, an array of chips, candy, and popcorn.  I got balloons, silk flowers, a plastic vase, and quite a few cards.  So sweet :-)  It was a very interesting balance to try to show my students that I was very thankful and that I thought it was so sweet, but that I also still needed to discipline the kids that tried to take advantage of the fact that it seemed to be a "fun day" from the beginning. That was not easy, but it worked out okay.  There were only a few kids who pushed the limit, and for the most part, everyone was in a great mood, and it was a great day.  

After school, I came home and my roommates had invited my friend Cary over, and we all ate Lilly's Pizza.  Yum.  When I went to Community Group, we all stood around outside (because today was SO amazing outside... 75 degrees!).  When we went inside, they had arranged some brownies and ice cream, along with a lovely picture of me:  

This all started when Cary and her husband Jason decided to get rid of a large picture of him at our community group's Christmas gift exchange.  It has been passed around a few times, and now I get to decide who the next recipient is, and I get to put their face on it!  Fun.  Now I just have to find a place for it until then.  Maybe on my desk at school.... 

I am thankful for all my wonderful friends and family who called and wished me a happy birthday.  I have really been missing my mom these past few weeks, and this morning I found myself feeling an overwhelming sadness, even in the midst of such wonderful people and blessings.  I know it's not a bad thing for me to miss my mom, but I am thankful that God showed me that if I focused on how sad I was today, I would miss out on the joy of seeing the family of God care for me and love me.  It was a conscious fight all day long to choose to focus on the here and now instead of on what I don't have, but I am thankful that God showed it to me first thing and helped me all day.  

"What do you have that you did not receive?"  1 Corinthians 4:7

Thank you, God, for the many undeserved blessings you showered down on me today!

Today

2-hour delay today - kids come at 10:45.  Very exciting for all teachers and students.

In reading - we have 6 laptops for the kids to use.  It's very difficult to monitor the use of the laptops while trying to teach a reading group while trying to answer questions about latin stems while trying to keep 3 kids from literally shocking other kids with fake Juicy Fruit purchased at Spencers.

After lunch - one of my lovelies decides he can leave the classroom without asking me.  I don't realize this for about 10 minutes.  A kid goes to find him and brings him back.  I write a discipline referral.

Later after lunch - 4 kids swarm my desk to ask me questions.  In the midst of the confusion, one kid knocks my macbook (my own personal computer) off of my desk onto the hard tile floor.  I yell at them all to sit down.  A blood vessel in my eye bursts.  This is true.  I wait about 3 minutes before I check to see if my computer still works.  I pray this whole time that I will react appropriately regardless of whether or not it works.  It does work.  Praise God.  

After Math - another teacher comes in to let me know that one of my kids was playing with a $100 bill in class.  This is not the first time that has happened this year, both times it's been boys in my class that have these big bucks.  ***(we found out later that one of them actually traded it to the other one for his cookie and bag of chips...  Jacob and Esau?)

After school - a student brings me papers to grade.  This is the news that brightens my day a bit.  3 girls from another class chose to write about me for the last writing assignment.  Here are some of the sweet (and funny) statements they made about me in their writing:

Student #1:

"She is smart.  She is nice.  Although, she can be a little mean when your getting on her nerves, but other than that she's still nice."

"She dresses cool, she's sporty, outgoing and hip."  Ha!  :-)

"Ms. Christie is a great reader, when she reads the whole world stops idmmedieity."  (that word is supposed to be 'immediately...')  "She knows when to punish you and when to love you.  She knows when to act silly around you."

Student #2:

"Ms. Christie is so magnificent and pretty!"  (this one makes me giggle, because I imagine she had a list of words she wanted to use that were 'big words.')  

"Ms. Christie has beautiful shoes."  This one makes me confused, because I pretty much wear the same flip flops every day...

"Suddenly she is very kind."  Hahahaha, again, trying to use a "writing term" but not using it in the right way.  Precious.  

"She loves when I ask questions about math.  Sometimes when I really understand it she is very excited.  She is never creul" (cruel) "and she believe in me."  :-)  sweet....

Student #3:

"You are very special to be in her clas.  But she makes you take your shoe off if you ask her for a pencil.  But she is still a spectaculart teacher."  

"She helps you when you need it.  An she give out candy to.  I love candy.  How about you?  Don't you like candy?"  This one makes me laugh because I honestly don't give out candy very often.  But maybe I did one day - she obviously remembers it as a very motivating part of being in my class....

Now you have been on a virtual field trip of my day.  Hope you enjoyed it!

Spot Conlon

My all-time favorite movie is Newsies.  If you haven't seen it, watch it.  If you still use a VCR you can borrow it from me.  I've probably seen it at least 100 times since I discovered it on the Disney Channel in 7th grade.  My friend Amber and I would rewind the tape over and over again to learn the dance moves (yes, dance moves) and sing along.  Ridiculous, but so much fun. My first TV crush ever (beating out Matthew Lawrence from Brotherly Love and Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains) was Spot Conlon, the tough kid from Brooklyn who sort of saves the day in Newsies.  Here are some pictures for everyone's enjoyment: 

He's about to save the day.

He's saving the day.

He's happy he saved the day.

Here are a few Spot quotes from the movie:  

"I say... that what you say... is what I say."  

"Never fear, Brooklyn's here."

Talk about your Oscar-winning writing... 

If I haven't made a good enough case for the movie, I'll go ahead and do some name dropping. Christian Bale is the main character, and it's one of his first noteworthy films.  That's right, I consider this film to be worthy of note.  

Now, the main purpose of this blog post was not so that you would learn to love this classic (although that will be an obvious by-product of reading this).  It's because I recently found out that "Spot Conlin" is more than just a name.  It is found in the Urban Dictionary and the verbatim definition is:

Spot Conlin:  (n) Brooklyn; (v) To beat someone up or to use a slingshot.

Who knew that my first fictional crush would turn out to be so famous that they put him in the Urban Dictionary as not only a noun - "I live in Spot Conlin territory", but also as a verb - "Look my way again, and I'll Spot Conlin you."  Looks like I chose my first entertainment crush well.  I mean, no one goes around saying, "I'm gonna Zac Morris or Jason Priestley you."  Now, it is important to note here that Spot's last name is actually spelled Conlon, but in the urban dictionary, they spell it Conlin.  Maybe spelling things a little different than the original is the urban way.  Like getting your hair done at Kiki's Krazy Kuts or something.  I'm not sure.

So, in summary... 

Looking for a movie to watch this weekend?  Rent (or borrow) Newsies.  Starring:

Christian Bale

Bill Pullman

Ann-Margaret

Robert Duvall

Praying in Faith

There is a war going on in my mind.  I don't know how to pray in faith.  I know that it is biblical to pray expectantly, in faith, knowing that God desires to do good to His children.  

"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"  Romans 8:32

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for afish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"  Matthew 7:7-11

My pitfall is this:  As soon as I pray, asking God for whatever I may be desiring, I immediately go to the thought, "He probably won't do what I've asked, because of all those other times my prayers weren't answered the way I wanted them to be."  My mom dying really shattered a portion of my prayers for a while (it's still not quite healed).  I had never begged and pleaded for anything so much in my life, and yet, it was not God's will for her to live.  My "petition" prayers became non-existent after that, because I believed that since God will do as He pleases, why should I even tell Him what I want?  I don't want to live or pray this way anymore, because it is unbiblical, but I don't quite understand the balance of knowing that God wants us to pray and to ask Him for what our hearts desire, but also recognizing that ultimately, what He has ordained will prevail.  Help!  Thoughts? Scriptures?  Books on the topic?  I would appreciate any advice that anyone has to share about this, especially if you have wrestled through similar issues.  

The interesting thing about this blog post is, I literally just finished typing the top part up to this point, and I decided to flip through my Valley of Vision book.  In it, I just read a prayer called, "The Divine Will."  Here is an excerpt that has given me insight into the very topic I was asking about just minutes ago:  

"Help me to pray in faith and so find thy will,

by leaning hard on thy rich free mercy, 

by believing thou wilt give what thou hast promised;

Strengthen me to pray with the conviction 

that whatever I receive is thy gift,

so that I may pray until prayer be granted;

Teach me to believe that all degrees of mercy arise

from several degrees of prayer,

that when faith is begun it is imperfect and must grow, 

as chapped ground opens wider and wider until rain comes.

So shall I wait thy will, pray for it to be done, 

and by thy grace become fully obedient."

So ironically, in my asking for help to understand how to pray in faith, God has answered.  :-)  

I love Him.

Please let me know any further insight you may have on this topic, as I will still need all the help I can get in understanding.  Thank you!