"Is it lunch yet?"

First day success! Minimal tears and, as far as I know, no bathroom accidents in the whole school.

All this week, the kids leave at 11:30. It's a happy way to begin the school year. And most of the instruction is about how to sit.

They really need to know how to sit. But...

Around 9:30, after an hour and a half of sitting in various places, a first grader semi-yelled at me, "Is it lunch yet? Because I've had enough."

Oh you just wait, first grader. Sitting's just the beginning.

Jitters

The balloons are ready and it's the first official day of school tomorrow.

They're going to come wearing backpacks and jumpers. It'll be the cutest. And then they'll go home at 11:30.

Back 2 school is cool!

I am the tin man!

My whole brain report said:

"She will most probably not be comfortable in an environment that requires her to be emotionally sensitive and show empathy."

I'm semi-devastated and am rethinking my life choices.

Field Trip!

We're going to Riverdale tomorrow to do something called a Whole Brain Workshop. It might involve color coding.

Oil Spills, the book

We have day-long meetings these days, and it's hard for me to sit still. I've tried weighing myself down with boxes, and that helped somewhat.

But today we got to read new books. Mine had a sad otter on the front. It was tragic.

It's a hilariously not-so-age-appropriate book about oil spills, with a clear political bent. So sad! Apparently there's an oil spill a day somewhere. And if I learned anything from Saved By The Bell, it's that ducks don't like oil spills and it's sad for everyone.

Wangari Maathai

I got to sit on the floor and be read to today. It was inspiring. 

Another teacher read us a kids book about Wangari Maathai, who is maybe the most amazing lady. 

She was born in 1940 grew up in a village in Kenya, helping grow crops. She was a stellar student and won a scholarship to go to college in the U.S. She ended up with a Masters and then got a PhD from the University of Nairobi. This was way before Columbia accepted ladies, period.

When she returned to Kenya, there had been tons of deforestation. So she planted some trees, planted more, and got local women to plant trees themselves. Somehow in the process, she spent time in prison for causing trouble. This whole thing started the Green Belt Movement, which has now resulted in over 30 million trees being planted. 30 million!

Am I the only one who didn't know about this? 

She got the Nobel Peace Prize and is now part of Kenyan Parliament.

Cheesy moment? Yes. 

Inspiring? You bet.

Hello, ladies!

Project!

We will open with 6 classrooms, each of which needs to be named after a special lady. Some parameters:

• She must have gone to college.
• She must have had a positive influence on her community or profession.
• Her accomplishments must be able to be understood by 5- and 6-year-olds.
• As a whole, the group needs to be ethnically diverse.

So far, I've got Majora Carter, Michelle Rhee, and Indira Gandhi.

Suggestions?

I need to doodle

We have lots of meetings before school begins. I'm all for it, really. It builds school culture and sets expectations.

But I have to be on my best behavior.

This is hard for me because I can't sit still. One of our professional norms is "Be Fully Present" and I really can't.

I usually doodle, and the helps me focus. But I've been getting some sneers, so I've tried not to doodle. It doesn't work. I nod off.

Back To School

On the first day of 90+ heat, my summer is officially over. And I started teaching at a new school. Eek!

It's brand new. Like first year new. 

We're on a bright yellow floor in a giant middle school building. It's a typical NYC public school building, which means it has a labyrinthine system of up and down stairwells, old brass doorknobs that say "NYC Public Schools," and gigantic windows that require multiple pulleys and poles to open.

The cafeteria has scary, anthropomorphized foodstuffs painted on its walls. I hope I adjust.

So far, it's just teachers. Kids come later.