First Week of May

Monday
Every other Monday, I drive to midtown for a counseling appointment. I usually take the freeway and get off at the exit closest to Providence Hospital. For the last year, they’ve been building a new Providence building at the intersection of Halsey and the 43rd St. exit ramp. For a while, Mr. Chandler and I were taking bets about what it was going to be, but eventually we both agreed that it had to be a Providence building. It’s the usual Providence mix of brick and glass, and it’s close enough to the main hospital campus to allow employees to travel between them quickly and easily. The building is almost finished now, and they have been putting in landscaping. At the northeast corner of the building, there are some picnic tables sheltered by giant bronze umbrella sculptures. I love them. One is upside down and looks like it would be fun for kids to play on/around. Some are actually functioning as umbrellas over the tables, although they’re oversized sculptures, so if you actually sat under one, you’d feel very small. The whole courtyard has a sort of Munchkin-Land-mixed-with-Portland effect that I think is very whimsical and creative. I might have to go have a picnic there sometime.


Tuesday
Instead of a staff meeting this morning, we met in the computer lab and had to take a technology test. I have no idea why the teachers have to take this test; apparently the government wants to know how tech-savvy we are. I don’t know what the highest staff score was, but I did a respectable job on the test. That is, I did better than the highest student score, and that’s really all I cared about. I used to teach a technology class, so a lot of it was easy (how do you write a formula in a spreadsheet, etc.). The real issue is not how much the teachers know about technology. The real issue is actually getting technology for teachers (and students) to use!


Wednesday
We had a funny discussion in one of my classes today about rules. My kids are reading a book about bands of children in 1925 post-Bolshevik Revolution Moscow, and the band that the main character joins has developed its own set of rules. Some of my students, predictably, thought this was weird and claimed they would never have rules if they were in a gang of wild kids like that. Others recognized immediately the value of the rules, which included things like no killing, no stealing from each other, no infectious diseases, and no alcohol. A good friend of mine who has now retired from teaching used to use a quote with her students to frame this discussion, and I pulled it out and dusted it off for this particular chapter in the novel. The quote (and I have no idea who said/wrote it) goes like this:

“True freedom requires managing the boundaries.”

There are all kinds of personal applications of this that have been true in my own life, but in this case, it worked well as a hint to the students about the characters’ rules in the book we’re reading. The kids talked about the school rules that make them feel safe and the school rules that make them feel restricted, and then they were able to apply this to the novel and come up with reasons for each of the rules put in place in this band of wild children. It was a great discussion, and I saw several “ah ha” moments take place. (Oh yeah... that's why I love this job...)


Thursday
Yikes. I had a half-day sub today because I was going with a member to an investigatory meeting at one of the elementary schools. (The sub was not the “yikes.” The investigatory meeting was the “yikes.”) This principal is one angry man. Fortunately, the teacher did a great job. She was calm, clear, and honest, and she answered all of his questions and provided more info than he was expecting.

I had to spend some time convincing the principal that he couldn’t just jump in without telling her what he was investigating… “Tell me about this student.” “What do you want to know about him? Where do I start?” “Oh, just tell me about him.” Um… no. The member has the right to know the nature of the investigation. He was really grumpy about this, but he finally got it right.

I know it’s necessary, but this part – representing members in unpleasant meetings with angry administrators – is definitely not my favorite part of this job.

Tonight we went to Home Depot to look for a door that comes with a pet door already installed in it. (It seems easier than cutting a hole in a metal door.) I was discouraged to find out that they don’t actually sell any pet-door doors at Home Depot. Actually, the man in the door section said they don’t sell those anywhere; instead you’re supposed to take your door and the pet door to someone who will do the cutting and installing for you. That seems kind of ridiculous. Why can’t they sell the doors pre-made? Isn’t there a construction industry standard for doors? Argh… I’m not going to pay someone to cut a hole in my door, especially not if I have to take the door off its hinges and transport it to the cutter/installer person. (How is one expected to transport a door, exactly? My car holds a lot, but that’s pushing it.) The Home Depot door man also said that current codes require a solid barrier between the garage and the house, so we're not actually allowed to put a pet door where we want to. We'll have to figure something else out.


Friday
What a glorious day!
Today is the first sunny day of this week, and after such a long stretch of rain, I think my need to get outside was as strong as that of my dogs. When I finally got home, we spend over an hour in the backyard – me trimming flowers and watering plants and generally puttering in the garden, and the dogs sniffing and peeing and barking and running and other happy-dog pastimes.

In addition to the lovely weather and the inviting outdoors, I managed a delightful hat trick with friends today. (Hat Trick = 3 in a row, usually refers to goals in sports)

My Friends Hat Trick --
1. My best friend Soldier Girl met me at school for lunch today. We had a very cheerful time. I’ve missed being able to talk to her in person, and I’ve missed getting to see her while she talks to me. (She’s very expressive.)
2. After school, I met my retired teacher friend Gretchen for coffee (although neither of us actually drank coffee). We had a lovely time. We talked about our families, our anxieties, what books we’ve been reading, what we’ve been learning, what churches we want to visit, and anything else we could think of. Gretchen is a kindred spirit; she understands me in a way that most people don’t. And I understand her fears and what is precious to her more than most people do. It was so refreshing to talk with her -- food for the soul.
3. After a disastrously stressful day, my teacher friend Connie called and wanted to hang out in the evening. She came and vented about her wretched day, and then we laughed together at my crazy dogs, and finally we decided to go see a late movie. Mr. Chandler went with us, and we chose “How to Train Your Dragon.” I’ve actually had an advertising poster for this movie stapled to my classroom wall since December, but I hadn’t seen the movie yet. It was quite entertaining. I really liked the way they animated and characterized the black dragon; he reminded me of a playful cat. The Viking boy was funny, and the animation was extremely creative in several places. I enjoyed it so much, I might have to see it again!