Monkey See, Monkey Do

We were all a little weary, Treat, Heidi, and I on Saturday afternoon after unsuccessfully attempting to see two movies. We were hungry, too, and with some time to kill before our third try, we stopped into a Chipotle Restaurant. Heidi and I had never actually eaten in one, but I have heard very good reviews from kids and adults alike. Treat concurred, and I knew there would be a vegan option for Heidi.

And so there was. In addition to beans and rice and veggies, the chain is rolling out its tofu sofritas nation-wide, and this branch had them as a featured item. As it turned out, the three of us went for that menu item, in its taco form, Treat with soft wheat tortillas, Heidi and I with soft corn. Our meal was delicious (if a little high in sodium), so yummy in fact that tonight?

My own version of it is on the menu.

Buen provecho! 

An Offer We Couldn't Refuse

One of the many joys of summer vacation for us is going to the movies. In fact, we go to so many that sometimes there's really nothing we want to see. This year, though, after a particularly busy spring, we're starting the season with a longer than usual list.

Yesterday we saw the new Tom Cruise-Emily Blunt picture, and the gray skies this morning had me looking up our next show. Imagine my delight to find The Godfather playing in three places. Regular readers may recall that this is one of my all-time favs, but I have never seen it in the theater.

Until today, that is. Even after watching this movie countless times, or maybe because of that, I felt a thrill when the lights when down and those first violin strains sounded as the title, stark white on black, flashed onto the big screen.

And? Two hours and 55 minutes later I was not disappointed.

Worth Counting

Before they packed up all their pencils and binders for good, last week I asked my students to calculate how many pages and books they had read since September. It's an annual tradition, and sixth graders almost always find their numbers amazing; it's as if they had no idea they were capable of such achievement.

This year students in my classes read an average of exactly 5,200 pages each, with a high of 19,456 and a low of 1,001. On average they finished 26 books a piece. Compared to the past, it was not a stellar year, but the requirement is only 3,800 pages, and they surpassed that by 37%. In addition, I would say the figures show that these kids as a group were workers: very few failed to meet or surpass the minimum expectation.

As an interesting frame of reference, I had one student who read nothing but the Harry Potter series. Her numbers? 4,194 pages, and 7 books, of course.

Fair Trade

I finished up at school a little earlier than Heidi today, and so I sat quietly in my classroom and waited. It was all packed up for the summer-- all surfaces clear and bookshelves neatly wrapped in white butcher paper. The blinds were drawn to conserve energy, and I was still enough to fool the motion sensors into turning the lights off.

As I sat in the silence of the cool dim room, I calculated how much time I had actually spent there. Added all together it came out to over three solid years. No wonder I feel so much ownership of it; thank goodness I feel so happy there; it's hardly surprising that it's always a little bittersweet to leave for summer break.

A couple days ago, one of the students asked me how big my garden was. I thought for a moment, and looked around. "It's almost exactly the same size as this room!" I told her. We were both kind of impressed by that. This afternoon, I remembered that conversation, this time as I stood in my garden, puttering around on the first day of summer vacation.

Consensus is Over-rated

This is the time of year for educators that practically demands reflection and reminiscing.  Students move forward; colleagues retire or move on: everything seems to rush to so many endings. At the party I attended yesterday I stood with three other women as they remembered their earlier days in other schools. One told the story of a principal who, faced with the choice of adopting an earlier start time for the school or sticking with the status quo, called a staff meeting and asked for a show of hands. When the earlier time was the clear winner, she shrugged and said, "Well, I'm going to make an executive decision. We're staying with 9:05."

And that was it.

GST: Garden Standard Time

Our end-of-the-year party was held this afternoon at the home of a colleague. After all the speeches and tears for our beloved retiree, folks stood chatting in small groups, I with our hostess. At noon today, our area was the hottest spot in the country, but a few hours later that back yard looked very inviting, plus I wanted to pay a visit to my tomato plants. "Can I see your garden?" I asked at a lull in the conversation.

It was a popular request. Eight of us stepped out into the still very warm late afternoon shade. Turning to our right, we started at 5 and made our way counter clockwise around the serpentine line of garden beds that hug her straight fence. Roses, lavender, thyme, hostas, peony, lilac, day lily, peas and beans, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, basil, salvia, delphinium, echinacea, butternut squash, zucchini, cucumber, and cilantro brought us back around to 6 o'clock, which it was, so I made my farewells and headed home.

Crowd Control

What to do with three days left in the school year when all your students know that their final grades were due yesterday? Hmmm...

Well, you might find yourself, a bit shrilly but also with convincing authority, informing them that, Those grades were submitted with the expectation that you would continue or exceed your present level of academic performance!

And you conceivably could add (nonchalantly, but with crossed arms to accompany your shrug), I would more than happy to march down to guidance and making any changes necessary.

And then? Wide-eyed compliance would probably be yours.

Mostly.