Tag Archives: teaching

Aug12

top 5.

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loved getting a sweet thank you note

from one of my former students

who is moving up to middle school this fall

on the back of her thank you she wrote

the top 5 things that I taught her

and here’s to number 5!

my personal favorite

it will come in especially handy

you never know when you will need this

it has certainly served me well

over the years

i’m pretty sure

that people who know me

really appreciate it. 

—

‘definitely, i think i’m a life coach for real.

the lessons i give are lessons you can take to the bank.’

-flavor flav

Jun12

the time of my life.

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what a wonderful retirement celebration

with sweet surprises galore

very kind words from friends/colleagues

comedy, a musical serenade, lunch together

 songs i wrote with our music teacher made into a beautiful book

a fab dance act from my favorite movie

an explosion of glitter

book of words, poems, haiku, photos, glittered pages, memories, hopes

and of course

so many wonderful pinatas

you can never have too many

filled with special things for my journeys ahead.

they know me so very well

thank you one and all

i had the time of my life.

 

==

“always surround yourself with people who inspire you to be a better person.”

-d. denise dianty

 

Jun5

like a river.

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how lucky am i that this was both for me?

—

on this

my very last day of teaching

 soon to be retired

with who knows what

adventure still to come.

—

“if i thought i knew what was going to happen, it wouldn’t be worth doing. the challenge is how joyfully, with what sense of fun and adventure and playfulness, we will greet it. we don’t have to look for what the next thing will be.if experience is any judge, it’ll come flowing toward us like a river.”

-stephen colbert

Mar13

in fresco.

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“teach the children, it’s painting in fresco.”

— ralph waldo emerson

 

—

How do you paint in fresco?

Frescos are paintings that are created by adding paint to wet plaster. When an artist paints a mural on a wall, they start by applying a layer of plaster to the wall and then add the paint. The paint sinks into the plaster as it dries and it becomes part of the wall.

Jun10

prints.

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when i went to have my fingerprints redone

as part of a routine teacher employment screening

that happens every few years

i wasn’t really prepared

for the fingerprint tech

with her no-nonsense voice

barking out my name from a backroom

where i was waiting with a random group of people,

“BETH!”

walking in

she began talking at me

through her plastic protection shield

telling me to relax

big, scary nails

shaking out my hands

i tried to connect with a bit of small talk

telling me not to tell her anything

not printed on my paperwork

or i’d have to start the process all over again

beginning with making a new appointment

telling me not to ask her to repeat anything

just do what i was told

“are you hearing what i’m telling you?”

“kind of..”

from that point on

she spoke at me using an even louder voice

former military/law enforcement/bad prison experience?

was i going to have to drop and do 100 push-ups?

i feel like she has a story..

almost felt like it was a hazing

or a police sting operation

did they know about my parking ticket from way back in grad school

that may have gone unpaid

when i was hoping for amnesty?

—

“values are like fingerprints. nobody’s are the same, but you leave ’em all over everything you do.”

-elvis presley

Jun8

forever.

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school’s out. 

 

—

“today is the first and last day of forever.”

-stephanie meyer

 

Mar5

warmth.

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after yet another unique and powerful winter storm

with lots and lots and lots of

heavy, wet, beautiful, pure white snow

i woke up early to a power outage

spending my morning in the library

with coffee, power bars, and locals

powering up, reading, talking, and writing

watching as a lovely grandmother

kneels down to her young grandson’s level

as she very patiently and quietly

teaches him and then lets him

check out each of his very own books

one by one

gently guiding him as he goes

only when he needs it

 when he proudly finishes his work

he loads each into his own little backpack

she helps him

put on each woolen mitten and zips up his coat

he holds onto her leg as she slowly stands

 they very naturally cradle their hands together

as they make their way out of the library

 back out into the world with beautiful white snow

what a simple yet powerful act of love

that warms me

more than this comfortable and welcoming building ever will

it’s always the people within who do that.

—

“if a family has an old person in it, it possesses a jewel.”

-chinese proverb

Feb4

guts.

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bandaids are the hot item in my classroom

after a number of kinder came up to me asking for one

pleading their case

(many with very old ‘wounds’)

we gathered together

as they each shared

their personal tale of woe:

i got scraped, the paper cut me, it’s red like blood,

you can’t see it, but it’s ouch-y, something poked me,

my sister, something in my pocket did it, nail polish came off of one nail,

bandaid from home is falling off….

we finally got to our last person, who stated:

“this happened to me on the next day after tomorrow.”

—

“life takes guts.” 

 -lucille ball

Jan13

under the rainbow.

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my classroom is chock full of

multi-age kinder (3s-young 5s)

who stay with us for two years.

one of the very best things

is watching the older kinder

who were the younger kinder

just one year before

as they quite naturally and organically grow

to become the leaders/teachers/helpers/mentors

to the new group of younger kinder

who were at home

just one year before.

what a joy it was to watch someone older

spend a very long time

finding all the special markers she needed

to create an easy to see linear rainbow

for someone younger

who wanted to create

her very own rainbow picture

in her very own style

using all the special colors.

judging by their faces

when she finished her very own rainbow

they were both equally proud of the results.

 

—

“nine tenths of education is encouragement.”

-anatole france

Dec21

essence of life.

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 picture from a past solstice celebration

—

every year

one of my favorite things to teach and share with my class

is the story and traditions of the winter solstice

i get to play the sun

the children play the tilting earth and the seasons

who spin and dance and throw snow

as the season changes

the sun stays in the middle

offering extra light

to the other side of the earth now tilting toward it

knowing it will always return to them

even as our days grow shorter

they quietly rest on the ground

waiting, waiting

only to emerge

when the time is right

  happy to dance once more

in the light of the warm spring sun.

—

*notes: here is my recipe for the winter solstice, and many thanks to all for your low-tech special effects support of this performance: torn paper snowflakes made by the children, many smiles, a bit of dizziness, a sun doing an interpretive dance, a person to turn off and on the classroom lights at just the right moment, a flashlight, a yellow paper sun, a dj to play the music (‘carol of the bells’ by george winston, and ‘here comes the sun’ by the beatles) at just the right time, and a class full of kinder/whirling twirling planets throwing snow, lying down, and awakening as emerging new life in the spring when the sun returns. somehow it all falls into place, each year a bit differently, as is the way of the world. 

—

“spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. joy is the essence of life.”

-agnivesh