Mar. 10 -- Tuesday

Why is it that following the rules is just so hard? Why is it that when you say that someone can't do something that's the first thing that they do? Is it being stubborn, to prove that you can? Is it just plain will power? What is it that causes us to do the things that we do?

Being a teacher, one tends to wonder why students do the things that they do. It doesn't always make sense, that's for sure. It's confusing the way that their brain works and you just have to realize that's just how it's supposed to be. I'm assuming that's how I've got to think about things. I mean, I just have to realize why they think the way that they do.

I do know that in a sense, we all do this, it's just more blatantly obvious at school. I guess it's just one of those things that I've got to understand.

I'm starting to understand that it's not really a stubbornness that is causing people to do this particular type of activity. The reason why this happens is to see just how far the boundary can be pushed before we get castigated for what we've overstepped. The more boundaries or expectations on kids, the more that they realize that you care enough to give those boundaries and want them to exceed.

It's very interesting to see that perspective as a mom and a teacher. I couldn't see it when I was a student myself. I just thought that my parents were too strict. But now that I look back at it, I'm so glad that I had parents who cared enough about me to put those restrictions on me and try to protect me in a manner that they saw fit. I so appreciate them now for all the hard work that they did.

Heaven knows that in my classroom, I have students who don't have parents who are active in their lives and they think that they can do whatever it is that they want to do and get away with it. And we wonder why the children of today are so misunderstood. They don't know who to look up to.

We had this training called Capturing Kids Hearts and it talked about various things to build a "relationship" with the kids and to get to know them better so that you can have a balance in the classroom. One of the things that was given to us was to meet the kids at the door with a handshake everyday. Their was one student this past year who refused to shake hands at the door with a particular teacher for the whole year. The teacher continued everyday to hold out his hand try to engage that kid to get to know him better and every day, that kid would turn away and shake his head. At the end of the school year on the last day, the teacher held out his hand and surprisingly, the student finally shook the man's hand and went inside the class. The teacher was so shocked that he went into class and after it was over, he caught up with the kid and asked, "Why the change? Why did you shake my hand today and not the rest of the year?"

The kid responded, "I wanted to make sure that you were for real." Basically - are you consistent in what you say and what you do.

It's absolutely amazing how students can blow your mind with some kind of little thing like that.

~~**~~

Mar. 8th - Sunday.

It may not be time, but....

Beware the Ides of March (March 15).

In Roman times, it might have been a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a parade was held, but most people usually associate this day: March 15 as the date that Julius Caesar was assassinated. "Et tu Brute?"

Julius Caesar has been on the mind as of late since in my English 2 class, we are actually going to read Julius Caesar. It's going to be an interesting ride. I'm just trying to find out how I'm going to put it in a way that they will understand.

I understand: "Veni, vidi, vici." But how to get the kids to understand it is just another thing entirely. I wish that I could get that across to the kids at some point to: "Obtain the unobtainable. Dare to dream, conquer, and celebrate. Live life to it's fullest!"

But... that's just in one class. The other classes are going to be just as intertaining.

English 1: First we are going over the wonderful story of Helen Keller, then we will be diving into the Epic of Ullysses. Now... that is fun. I love Ullysses! :)

English 3: I know that we need to finish up doing the story : Of Mice and Men. We're actually on the final three chapters of it. I think that they are really getting into it.

English 4: Ohhhh help me. MacBeth. I'm honestly not sure of what to think of MacBeth. I've read it... yes. But do I remember it? No. I can honestly say that I don't. I'll have to study up on that one. So... it's going to be an interesting bumpy ride there. Don't be surprised if I start babbling around the computer with thee's and thou's.

Well, I do know that I'm going to slowly wind down the rest of the year. There are approximately 59 days of school left... only school days. I'm not talking weekends there.

So, we'll see how the rest of the year progresses. I'm just wanting it to be all calm and serene. I don't need anymore stressful moments. I've had enough this year. Honestly.

*~MJ~*