When September Ends

Traditionally, I would try to hold myself back as much as possible from getting political on this blog, what with it being tied directly to my job at the school system. And I still won't get overly political on here, because, frankly, no one cares about anyone else's politics unless they want to correct the other person, and I'm not interested in that.

But I have recently found out that Noblesville Schools are in an uphill battle--much more than I realized when I posted about this the first time--to get this referendum through.

If you are interested, look on the website Noblesville 2018 Referendum Facts.

What I've heard over the past few days around here (and on Nextdoor) is that they are just trying to hire more teachers because they are too lazy to handle more than 20 students at a time. They don't mention the things listed on the website. The mental health staff alone would be $1.57 million. This has nothing to do with the security, which would cost $1.75 million. Nowhere on that site does it say they are looking to reduce class sizes, with the exception of the middle school and high school, where many classes have 35+ students. I can assure you that no teacher can be effective with that many students per class to worry about.

It's amazing what four months will do to people's memories.

Celestial Resonance

This is awesome. Watch this! It is such a fantastic look at something that is really really hard to do in a classroom.

The Shape of the Cape

Scroll down to last week, when I had missed Batman Day.

See that picture of Batman I posted? The artwork is that of Mr. Norm Breyfogle. I know that means nothing to you, but way back when I first started reading comics, in the year 1989 (prehistoric, eh?), his vision of Batman was the first one I read, and not only that, but that I could recognize by the artist.

Norm Breyfogle died today. He'd had a stroke last year, and was known to be pretty weak.

What I liked about his art was what he did with Batman's cape. It took on an almost abstract shape, and it made a book drawn by Norm stand out in the crowd.

I had something else planned for today's post, but that's going to wait until tomorrow.

Rest in peace, Norm! The fourteen year old kid in me comes back to life whenever I see your artwork again.

You Belong Among the Warriors

The letters float off the page when you read, right? That’s because your mind is hardwired for Ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you’re impulsive, can’t sit still in the classroom. That’s your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they’d keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that’s because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal’s.

                              --Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

This has been one of my favorite quotes since I read it for the first time. Most of you know I am dyslexic, and it felt very empowering.

I only mean this as a quick shot in the arm for anyone who has gotten into trouble at school for being a little more active than normal, has received a bad grade, or who can't remember to turn their homework in when they walk into the classroom.

You're going to be okay. You're just cursed with being better than normal. 

Time Capsule

This popped up on my email tonight, thanks to a message left by former student Scott "Sco" Croner.

I had completely forgotten that I had to save this on YouTube in order to share it with Charlie's parents. It's a little time capsule of that day in November of 2016.

The little details of this video are what make me a little wistful. Watching how everybody got up when the pledge started, sat back down when it ended, and how I see some stop folders out, because we had undoubtedly just finished doing our Word of the Day. The Spell Bowl advertisement, the fact that the kids are dressed up (which tells me this was probably the day of our BizTown interviews), plus the book trivia all convey a very specific slice of time from each school year. I see Grant, Char, Louie, Abdul, Drew, and Rohan, and of course Charlie, which conveys a special slice of my teaching career.

This video makes me really happy for the 18 years I spent teaching. It reminds me of a special connection that I was able to make with my students--of the power of ritual and culture and custom.

I start my new job on Monday. I only hope that this new job will bring me a tiny bit of the happiness that I found with teaching all those years. I'm looking forward to having time to do my work, to training and teaching people in other ways, and to a different purpose. But I am extremely thankful for all the memories I have of teaching fifth graders. Most people will never get even a little of that.

There Never Was a Plan

Noblesville Schools are finding themselves in a similar position to Carmel a couple years back this November. They are seeking a referendum on the ballot, it's not for the exact same reasons that Carmel did. Back when Carmel did it, it was just to maintain their status quo as far as class sizes and everything else that came with it. It was a tax hike to prevent Carmel from losing what they already had.

For Noblesville this year, though, it's a bit of a different bag, but for good reason. The biggest factor is the mental health initiative. This makes sense because, as I don't need to remind you, there was a shooting by a student at Noblesville West Middle School on May 25 of this year.

It's no secret that mental health is just being recognized as a critical need for our schools. As a person who spent 18 years in the schools, I can assure you that this is not news to the teachers. I hate that it had to come to something like the shooting for this to be seen, but I am still thankful that it is now.

When the Noblesville shooting occurred at the end of the school year, I have to say that I was not at all surprised. I was numb. It was not a matter of if, it was a matter of when. I had been saying this for a long time.

The system is broken.

Good for Noblesville for wanting to do something about it. And don't get me wrong. I have no doubt that the rest of Hamilton County will soon follow suit. I have to think that Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, and San Bernardino have all done the same. I pray that the rest of Indiana would do the same.

For reasons that I plan to go into another time, I will always be a staunch supporter of public education. And I know that I speak for so many public school teachers when I say that it can use all the help it can get. Public education faces an uphill battle every day.

If anyone reading this has any way of supporting the Noblesville referendum, I urge you to do so.

Doodlebug

In case anyone didn't catch the Google doodle today, you ought to check it out.

Shadow of the Bat

Doggone it! I missed Batman Day!

It was yesterday. I hope everyone had a great day with the Dark Knight watching over you.

Today has been a roller coaster. I will report as much as I can tomorrow. (I still have the job, though, so don't worry!)

Where I Come From

Here's a cool website. I was just made aware of it recently through the podcast A Way With Words. The Yale Grammatical Diversity Project has studied the syntax (arrangement of words and phrasing) of the different regions for several phrases and colloquialisms.

What I like best about it is that it doesn't say that one way is correct or incorrect. It's a reflection of the backgrounds of those various areas.

I especially like the interactive map where you can click on the different phrasings and see where they are more common.

As a word nerd (who has admittedly been called the Grammar Police before), I love stuff like this.

Brand New Day

Just in case anyone is still checking in, I am still alive!

Also, I got a new job. More on that soon, but for now, I am wading through paperwork, which is kind of a relief. I'm ready to be back on a regular schedule again.

I have learned a lot over the past few months. I need to write those things down so I can get some content going again.

For now, I'm going to have to get back to actual decent exercising and housecleaning habits, and all those other things that have been evading me while I was on the job search.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

I'm Proud of You

Today is Mr. Rogers's 90th birthday. Or at least it would have been. This makes me feel great to this day, and I hope it does you too.

This is my message to all my former students as well.