Barb And Dee Go To The Zoo

I think one of the reasons that Barb the Great and I have remained friends all these years is because we have the same teaching philosophy.

We both come from the school of integration,

Of tying our lessons into classroom learning as much as possible

And using our form of arts education to teach the well-rounded child.

When we taught together, we would often team teach.

I learned about the didgeridoo from her Australian aboriginal art lessons.

I learned about the shamisen from her Japanese lessons.

I began teaching Native American lessons because of her interest in Native American art. 

And I began teaching music from Africa because of her lessons on African art.

 

As part of her lessons on North Carolina, Barb teaches about the red wolf. 

So yesterday, to gain more information on the red wolf, Barb wanted to go to the special red wolf exhibit they were having at the zoo.

Evidently, there are very, very few red wolves still in the wild and they live in eastern North Carolina.

 

Our goal for the day was simple. 

Get a red wolf book signed by its author and illustrator, see the red wolves, and get the North Carolina Zoo swag bag that they were offering.

We weren’t in a hurry.

We didn’t try to get to Africa and see all of the African animals.

We stayed in North America and saw the polar bear and Artic cats and bats and reptiles and sand cats,

And we spent as much time at each exhibit as we wanted.

We saw crowds to come and go,

But we just sat and waited and watched the animals for long periods of time.

That’s really the best way to visit the zoo. 

 

…

 

Barb’s two kids love popcorn, 

So they got a refillable popcorn bucket and filled it four times.

Barb sent her son to get a drink because I wanted a Dr. Peoper. 

He came back with the refillable souvenir cup.

We got it refilled at least 10 times!

We were determined to get our money’s worth, 

And we did!

 

…

 

I wanted to get a friend a souvenir giraffe coin.

One coin was five dollars. 

Four coins were $15.

I didn’t want four coins, but the machine evidently wanted me to have four coins because it told me to select four.

So I got one of each animal design.

I have no idea what I will do with them.

And I certainly didn’t mean to spend $15!

At least I helped drink a lot of Dr. Pepper :-). 

 

…

 

I support the zoo every year by buying a zoo membership.

I get the membership for myself and one companion, so I was able to use that yesterday for myself and Barb.

It made me happy not to have to pay admission!

 

…

 

Every Sunday in church, 

We pray for the church and all of creation.

We pray for people, yes,

But we also pray for animals and habitats and conservation efforts in good stewardship practices. 

Yesterday, I was able to see some of those conservation efforts and good stewardship practices in action.

I was able to spend time in community with people that I love

And I was able to contribute money to an organization whose highest goal is taking care of God‘s creation.

Yes, we made the most of the money that we spent.

But we also knew that it was going to a good cause, 

Whether that was employment of zoo, workers,

Or funds to help make the zoo run.

 

…

 

I debated missing church to go to the zoo.

I can think of only a handful of times in my life when I have intentionally missed church to do something secularly fun.

But I’m glad that I went.

And I’m glad that I was reminded of God’s love and grace in laughter, friendship, walking, waiting, eating, and drinking together. 

 

Where two or more are gathered, there I will be. 

And God was there.

And I am grateful. 

And still full of Dr. Pepper. 

 

Amen. 

ISS Is Not Where I Need To Be

It’s true. I wouldn’t be a good ISS teacher. Read this Throwback Thursday note from 5.19.16 to find out why.

 

——

 

I learned something today: I wouldn’t make a very good ISS teacher.

 

On Field Day, my job is to help cover the re-focus station with Barb The Art Teacher.

 

Instead of being firm and strict with the students who come our way, though, I usually end up talking to them and giving them the individual attention that they crave.

 

This happened today when I began talking to a student about math and ended up sitting with him and discussing the vocabulary in a beehive book. It was actually a very good book. I learned that bees put nectar in cells and leave it there to dry, thus making honey!

 

To hear Barb talk about it, I was patting the student on the back, saying a lot of “Good job, sweetie’s,” and filling the room with rainbows and butterflies 🙂. 

 

I’m not sure about all of that! But it’s true, friends. I wouldn’t be a good ISS teacher.

 

What about you, friends? What have you learned recently? About yourself or the world? I’d love to hear!

 

God of Light and Wisdom,
thank you for giving us
minds to know
and hearts to love.

Help us to keep learning every day--
no matter what the subject may be.
Let us be convinced that all positive knowledge comes from you
and let us know how to find you and love you in all the things you have made.

Encourage us when life is difficult
and when we are tempted to give up.
Enlighten us when our brains are slow

and help us grasp the truth held out each day.

Grant us the grace to put our knowledge to use in building your kingdom on earth
so that we may enter your kingdom in heaven.

Amen.

Seven Days

162 hours. 

9720 minutes.

That’s the maximum amount of time I have with a student if they start and end elementary school at GW. 

It’s less than seven full days of life. 

Yet for some students, 

Those minutes, hours, and days really mean a lot. 

 

After after the K1 program last Friday night, 

One of my fifth grade boys came up and hugged me. 

Quite dramatically, he said, 

“Oh those last two songs got me.

I’m growing up. 

I’ve been singing that song for six years and this is my last.

That got me emotional!”

Then I realized that his eyes were red and puffy. 

His mom told me that he cried real tears during “One Small Voice” and the school song. 

 

Somewhere along the way from kindergarten to fifth grade, 

During those maximum 9720 minutes of music education, 

Music burrowed into his being 

And took root. 

He allowed it to form him and shape him and now he has the tools of music appreciation that he will carry with him for the rest of his life. 

 

At the beginning of the year, I was asked to write my educational manifesto. 

I wrote: 

I want to help create kind, respectful, culturally aware human beings with control over their bodies and voices and with a love of music and learning. 

 

I have 45 minutes per week, 

For up to 36 weeks per year, 

For up to six years, 

For a maximum of 162 hours of elementary music, 

To do my job and live into my manifesto. 

 

That’s not a lot of time.

 

Yet every once in awhile, 

Learning transcends time and students get it. 

 

And I am always so humbled and grateful when they do. 

 

Amen. 

Little Love Monsters

My years at Johnsonville were the most difficult years of my teaching career, yet with great difficulty comes great reward. The school was broken. I offered steadiness and hope and safety and encouragement, and the students and staff graciously took what I offered and returned it as best they could. Somehow, I was always flooded with gifts at holidays and during teacher appreciation week and I knew that the kids and staff loved me because I loved them.

 

Today’s Throwback Thursday note takes us back to those days at J’ville. A lot has changed in education in ten years. But one thing remains the same: The need for steady, consistent relationships with people who care. 

 

5.6.16

 

I think I’ve accidentally created some little monsters.

 

Picture me standing in the front hallway of the school, right in front of a set of double doors that are placed at the intersection of a T.

 

Picture a 36 inch stool in front of me, my computer sitting on top of the stool, me working on morning announcements while monitoring the comings and goings around me.

 

I open the door for bus drivers, stop wayward parents from going too far into the building, speak firmly to kids loitering in the bathroom, say good morning to both students and staff over and over again, and give quite a few hugs.

 

It’s in the saying good morning that I’ve accidentally created little monsters.

 

I have one little monster who hugs me every morning and stays right beside me until I kiss him on his forehead.

 

I have another little monster who slowly walks toward me every morning and pretends not to be waiting for me to say, “Good morning, handsome,” but is really waiting for me to say, “Good morning, handsome,” at which point a tiny, almost unnoticeable smile appears on his face and he proudly walks to class.

 

I have one little monster who expects to see me in place each morning, lest her morning start in anxious tears.

 

I have at least five little monsters who stop for a hug every morning and many more who stop at least a couple of times a week.

 

I have a handful of 5th grade boy monsters who like to walk past and speak to me about random 5th grade boy things like shoes and hair cuts. Last week, when the question of the week was to write about someone you admire, one of those boys wrote that he admired me for teaching him music and for always making his mornings better. What got me was that he added the little detail of me making his morning better. Until that moment, I’d not considered my 5th grade boy conversations overly important. But evidently, they are.

 

Friends, I have accidentally created a bunch of little monsters:

 

Little love monsters.

 

It’s one of the greatest privileges I can think for a person to have.

 

To all of you, especially teachers, who daily create and influence little love monsters, too: Thank you.

 

Thank you for giving love and receiving love and teaching others to love in such a way that differences are accepted and quirks embraced and personalities nurtured exactly as they are.  

 

Amen.

It's Hard

 

It’s hard.

Knowing when to speak and when to stay silent.

Knowing when to offer advice and when to just listen.

Knowing when to challenge and when to accept the status quo.

 

I think of a time when I spoke too much. 

As a result, a friend stopped talking to me about two major areas of her life.

In general, she avoided mentioning them,

But it got to the point that she began stretching the truth because she didn’t want to disappoint me or frustrate me by her decisions.

 

Both of us had responsibility in this little rift,

But I made the error of pushing too hard and two passionately for change

Instead of letting her make decisions for herself.

 

People will only change when the pain of their current reality becomes too much to bear.

 

I know this. 

Joe and I talk about it all the time. 

 

Most change is gradual. 

Moment by moment, step by step. 

 

Most change comes from within

And it takes a long time for outer words to take root within. 

 

No amount of passion, logic, wisdom, compassion, empathy, or being right can make someone change if they are not ready to take a leap into the scary unknown.  

And, truthfully, most people are never ready to change because it IS scary and unknown.

 

Again, I know this.

Therapy has taught me that much.

 

But it’s so hard watching people that you care for struggle. 

It’s hard knowing when to speak and when to stay silent.

It’s hard knowing when to offer advice and when to just listen.

It’s hard knowing when to challenge and when to accept the status quo.

 

Oh God, 

Help us to know 

When to do what 

And what to do when  

And forgive us when we do the wrong thing. 

 

Amen.