Release the Endorphins!

I was unprepared this morning when at least three of the new sixth graders answered "nothing" when asked what they liked best about middle school so far. I tried to take it in stride as I read their replies, offering what I hoped was the right balance between genuine concern, a gentle push to dig a little deeper, and the knowledge that everyone will have plenty of opportunities to give more positive responses as the year goes on. 

Later in the class, which was our first block schedule of the year, I introduced the brain break procedures: Each activity is designed to take about 3-4 minutes, no one is required to participate, but anyone who does can pick a piece of candy once they are settled and back to work. 

Well. 

They were all in for that! 

And a little while after, when I was walking around, checking in on their writing and handing out the sweets, one student was positively beaming. "This is officially my favorite class and you are my favorite teacher," she gushed.

"See what a little brain break and a Jolly Rancher can do?" I agreed. "Maybe now you can go back and change that Nothing answer."

Fair Weather Fans

I knew it was a risk when I booked the game. 

The second day of school was Hawaiian shirt night at Nats Park, and what with Heidi and I being newly minted fans, despite the terrible season our team is having, I really, really wanted us to go. I even switched our seats to the first row in the second tier on the right field line, Homer Alley if you ask some. And I had visions of us in our cool new shirts snagging fly balls all night, so I dug out my glove to bring to the park. 

But then this afternoon it started to rain, and the day grew late, and I knew the traffic on 395 would be bad, and that Wednesday morning, the day when we would be setting up iPads and going over block schedule, would come awfully early. 

Oh, I wished the game would be rained out, so that the choice would be taken out of our hands, but it wasn't, and it wasn't. 

So we called it ourselves, and headed home in the muggy evening, instead of to the ball park. 

Court Orders

It was ninety degrees at 2 PM yesterday when we set out to meet some friends at the tennis courts near their home. I was sure it was going to be too hot, but the courts were partially shaded, and the sun went in and out of the big puffy cumulous clouds, and there was a bit of a breeze, too. 

We were there to participate in what one of our friends called Pickle Smash 2022, but was in reality the first time most of us had ever taken the court to play America's fastest growing sport, PICKLEBALL! And friends, it did not disappoint. 

The game is sort of like giant ping pong, with players standing on the table. The court is small, so the game is accessible to players of many fitness and skill levels.The rules are kind of a mash up between table tennis and racquetball: games are played to eleven, you have to win by 2 points, the service must alternate courts, and you can only score points on your serve. The ball is not super bouncy, though, in that respect it's a bit like squash.

The six of us played several games of doubles, with the off team taking care of our friends' baby. The heat was not a factor, and it was win-win-win, even when we lost. 

I can't wait to play some more!

Pleasure Without Purpose

Are you even fun?

The headline on the NYTimes website caught my attention immediately. A quick click took me to a quiz and an accompanying article. I took the quiz first, because, well, it seemed like more fun.

It billed itself as "mostly unscientific" and it was. The first question was, Have you ever ordered a party sub? and the subsequent questions were equally rando. It was always obvious which of the two answers was the more "fun" one, but I found myself strangely compelled to reply honestly, even the one that asked if I ever found myself just hanging with the girls, aka, my plants. 

"Yes! They love me!" I clicked without hesitation.

Twenty questions later, I got my results:

CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR FUN VIBE IS: Low-key!*  

 

Gardening, reading a good book or quietly people watching is your kind of fun. You’ve been known to say, “We don't need to drink to have a good time.” 

*Fun categories extremely unscientific but derived from consultation with actual researchers

I'd have to say that unscientific though it might be?  It sure pegged me.

Hello, Saturday

When you are off for an extended period of time, like, say the whole summer, Saturday is no longer a special day of the week. In fact, Saturday becomes a day to stay home and avoid the crowds in the stores, theaters, museums, pools, gardens, and so forth. All those people cramming their leisure and errands into 12 hours or so can really jam your vibe. 

That was definitely me a couple of weeks ago, but with school starting Monday, I find that my attitude has completely reverted to that workaday spirit. This morning I got up and made waffles, dropped Heidi at a friend's for brunch, filled the car with gas, got my hair cut, went to Home Depot for garden supplies and toilet repair parts, shopped at the Mediterranean grocer for some specialty pantry items, went by Total Wine to restock my beer, took the dog for a walk, fixed the toilet, went grocery shopping, babysat our neighbor's six-month old little girl, and made chicken soup. 

That's almost more than I did all summer, when the day's accomplishments usually consisted of doing the wordle and crossword puzzle. (Which, for the record? I also did today.)

A Shift and a Shed

One of my priorities when I started teaching was to build a big classroom library full of books that my students would want to read. To that end, I have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars acquiring books that I knew kids liked, and over the last 29 years I have assembled a library that fills six bookcases. 

That's a lot books, and it is despite the fact that I have lost many to careless and unscrupulous borrowers. In fact, any used book sale within 5 miles usually has one or more volumes stamped with my name and a plea to return it. And just this week, several teachers cleaning out new rooms have brought me books that the previous occupants had on their shelves, despite the clear labeling.

But when, upon returning to my classroom after summer break, I unwrapped my neatly papered cases, I found a note that I had left myself back in June. Go through these bookshelves! it advised me, as well as to Have a good SY 2022-23! At my age, I have come to embrace writing myself reminders, especially prompts for the middling future. To be completely honest, I had no recollection of writing that note; I just recognized my own handwriting and knew that it was good advice.

Even so, my bookcases remained a bit of a jumbled mess for the entire first week that I was back to school. It was only today, with many other must-do tasks looming, that I began work on the shelves, slowly at first. As I sorted through the volumes one at a time, I noticed a few things. First, there were the multiple copies of books that were wildly popular in their day, but then flamed out, supernova-style. There were also books that were ragged and repaired with packing tape and sharpie. And finally, there were many books that were obsolete, their plots either too dated to ever become classics or too offensive by contemporary standards for me to conscionably to keep.

So I grabbed an empty box, took a deep breath, and for the first time in 29 years started paring my library instead of adding to it. As I worked, depositing box after box of discarded paperbacks outside my door, colleagues came by to express their alarm and concern. "Are you actually throwing books away?" asked one, and when she put it like that, my stomach did a little twist.

I read years ago about a trick to clean out your closet. The advice was to turn all your hangers so that the hooks are facing inward. Whenever you wear something, replace it and its hanger the usual way. After a certain amount of time, months, a year, whatever, you will be able to see what you have worn, and what you have never touched. If you haven't worn it in that time, then you should get rid of it.

For me, the problem with that method is the worry that I might really need or want that particular garment sometime, and then I would regret letting it go. The same was true for certain books today. I knew they hadn't been read in many years, but I had to decide if they would ever be in demand or appreciated again. 

A movie novelization of Little Women published in 1994 really drove the dilemma home for me. There was Winona Rider, as the character of Jo March, right on the cover. I got Little Women for Christmas the year I was in sixth grade, and I absolutely loved it. Plus, kids today might appreciate reading a book with Joyce Byers from Stranger Things, right? 

No! 

It wasn't even the actual novel.

I tossed it, but the struggle? Was real.

Ready, Set, Go

Today was our annual open house for students and their families. Always held on the Thursday before school starts, the event is usually very well attended by sixth graders, who are new to the school. In recent years, we have opened it up to all students, which especially made a lot sense last year, when many 7th and 8th grade students had either been away from the building since March of 2020, or never even been here at all.

For me, this was my 30th open house; 29 in person and one virtually. The format has varied over the years. For a very long time, we held ours in the evening to accommodate working families, but that changed about 10 years ago. Since then, the hours have shifted from late afternoon, to midday, to morning, which it was today. 

At nine a.m. all homeroom teachers poured out the building holding signs with their names aloft. After that, it was on the kids and their folks to match the name with the one they got on their welcome letter. Over the next 15 minutes or so, 11 of the 16 students assigned to my advisory found their way over, and we headed into the building while their parents attended an orientation in the theater.

I must confess that I am always nervous to meet the new students. Despite years of experience to the contrary, I dread the possibility of some unpleasantness. It's almost like that dream where you realize you have a test that you're not ready for, but in reverse. Every year I realize again that I'm totally ready.

After a fun 45 minute get-to-know-you session, it was time to say good-bye until Monday. "Enjoy your last few days of summer!" I said. "You're kind of lucky, you know. My summer ended last week."

"It did?" asked someone in alarm.

"Yes," I nodded, "teachers have been working since last Thursday." Then I shrugged. "But it all kind of seems worth it, now that you guys are here!"