Thank You!

Today my fourth graders threw a little party to say good-bye to me. I started crying as soon as I walked in the door of my classroom and saw the huge yellow banner the kids worked on for a week without me knowing. One mom was so sweet to bring in cupcakes and pink lemonade for all the kids. Then they gave me a class gift they compiled of all their favorite things for me to remember them by. The bag was full of candy, pictures, and cards. As I dug through it I found a book of letters they each wrote to me. Next, my master teacher Judy gave me a beautiful book she made of pictures of all of us. Below you can see me crying when I opened it. The rest of the afternoon I was smothered by hugs.

Thank you Burton Valley Elementary Room 40 Fourth Graders! I will miss you all so much and remember you all for everything you TAUGHT ME!

The Ants Go Marching One by One...

My roommates are going to be mortified when they see this, but I just had to take a picture to show how outrageous this was. We woke up a couple of days ago to a massive ant EXPLOSION. We cleaned them up but if anyone has any home remedies for preventing them from coming back let me know!

The Audacity of Hope

I just love that title - The Audacity of Hope. A couple of years ago I saw Barack Obama on Oprah talking about this book. This was before he officially threw his name in the running for President. However, I was intrigued by this man and the message he was trying get across. Yesterday, I was in Barnes & Noble and with a 30% coupon in hand I finally picked up my own copy. I figured I had no excuse now. This was a better time than any to read it. So far I've only read one chapter and it has really been thought provoking. It seems to come to me at an important time in my life. The book reminds me that despite hardships we may face there is still a common thread that unites us together that for too long we have forgotten. You guessed it right: HOPE. Now this blog is not an attempt to express my political views or convince anyone otherwise. Really this blog is just a time for me to reflect on hope.

As many of you know I'm in the middle of intense assessment of my teaching. It's been a very draining process at times, not only this assessment but also everything I have gone through to get this far. Test after test, class after class. I'm seeing why teachers get burnt out so fast, why they fall victim to just doing what the state tells them to and not taking the time to consider their individual students' needs, why they lose sight of why they really got into teaching in the first place. Therefore, posting this blog this evening is merely an attempt for me to take a deep breath and remember what kind of hope I have. I'm posting excerpts from an essay I wrote a couple of months ago on my philosophy of education. The whole thing was 7 pages long so I wont bore you with all of it.

Finding the Individual
“You can be anything you want to be.” When a young girl about four years-old, sitting on her father’s knee, hears him say these few words she believes it. Not only does she believe it; she dreams endless possibilities. She sees her name on a ballot for president, on a patch of an astronaut’s suit, and on the plaque of a teacher’s desk. Yet, when she is fourteen, sitting on a street corner, feeling alone, contemplating the thought of dropping out of school, she laughs at the thought of remembering her father’s words. Her father is now encouraging her to work two jobs to support the family, her mother wants her to help raise her two younger siblings, her friends are encouraging her to join a gang, and the media is enticing her to sell her body for attention. She smirks to think, be anything I want to be? I can only be what others want me to be. What happened in ten short years that changed this girl’s confidence in herself? Why does she now feel her options are so limited, when they once seemed never-ending? At this point of feeling helpless is when most students recognize a common dilemma: how does one balance societal demands and one’s own personal dreams, desires, aspirations and goals. It is my philosophy that everyone struggles to comprehend the endless possibilities within their own personal lives due to society’s demands. They can only be freed to entertain such options by receiving an education that promotes self-realization and provides the skills to seek these opportunities.

Basically then I went on to talk about the different roles teachers, administrators, and the classroom environment can go to play in a student seeking their full potential. It outlines what I hope to do as a teacher.

So why did I put this small excerpt up here? Because I need to remind myself of this now more than ever not to lose hope. Hope in the fact I will someday be where I want to be. Reminding myself that the dream I had as a little girl that I could one day make a difference is still inside me. Just because I'm older and the hustle of daily life wears me down, doesn't mean I have to lose hope in that dream and neither do you in yours.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I was lucky to have a weekend full of a few of my favorite things. First, Cap and Matt came down for the weekend. I got to babysit my little cousin Savannah on Saturday. She's a doll. That night I not only got to hang out with my roommates, some friends, Cap, and Matt, but also got to watch Saint Mary's men's basketball team dominate Pepperdine. Sunday evening dinner with the Peers and fireside at the Temple. There was fun (and seriousness) to be had on Monday mini-golfing. As you can tell there was also plenty of love to go around :)

Perspective

Last night I was sitting in class absolutely overwhelmed with everything I have to do. I'm currently in the middle of completing a huge assessment in order to get my teaching credential. So while I was in class I started going on and on and in my head about everything I have been required to do to become a teacher about how all the hopes and big dreams I have had for your students can get sucked out of me so fast when I'm too busy worrying about fulfilling requirements that really mean so little in the grand scheme of things. Then, not by chance I believe, my classmates and I were reminded why we are pursuing the career we are. One of my classmates, an older, black gentleman in his 60's told my professor he was able to attend in the inauguration in D.C. on Tuesday. She asked him if he would speak on it for a few moments to us. Well, a few moments turned into a few minutes, but I did not care. I was hanging on to every word. He spoke about how if you were in D.C. on Tuesday you would have felt the specialness of the occasion in the air. He felt how unified our country became. He felt the power of dreams and how truly wonderful America is. I cannot recall everything he said, but what I do remember was how he made me feel, the same way I felt on Tuesday that dreams are still alive in America and all of us regardless of our race, gender, or station in life have the ability to reach our fullest potential. As he went on, I was reminded this is why I teach.

Winter Vacation

I cannot remember a time I've had a more exciting, relaxing winter break than I did these last two weeks. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, and I'll fill in what they cannot. I am grateful I got to spend time with my family. Our Christmas Eve tradition was brought back this year, but with a new twist that looks like it is going to stick for years to come: awhite elephant exchange. Everyone got a kick out of the gifts. Next, my parents, sister, and I took a much needed family vacation. We visited the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose and the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. This was the second time I've visited Winchester. I would recommend it to anyone in the San Jose area. It's a fascinating story about how it came to be. The only downfall is all of the original furniture in the house was removed after Sarah Winchester's death, so the house doesn't have the same feel it may have had during Sarah's time.
Our next stop at Hearst Castle was so fascinating and beautiful. I highly recommend this place to anyone. It's worth the windy drive down Highway 1. Yet, I also recommend people educating themselves on William Randolph Hearst soon before or immediately after they attend. Watching Citizen Kane is a great start. Finally, I was really fortunate to spend so much time with Matt. It may sound cheesy, but I'm seriously the happiest and most comfortable I've ever been when I'm around him, and this vacation was no exception. What a great holiday! Spending time with the most important people in my life - enough said, vacation was perfect!