Proud

All this week, the local high schools have had exam week. This means that they attend school for half days, long enough to take the exame, and then go home at noon. Today, the last day of the semester, the elementary schools get to get in on the deal, too, and we also had a half day. Faced with the prospect of keeping students under control on a day when their schedules are not the norm, we use this day as Reading Day. This year my fifth graders buddy read with a second grade class, and we had to suprise (to the students) visitors pop in for "breaks." The first was our reading specialist, wearing a bright pink wig, and doing a 10 minute poetry performance with the kids. The second visitor was our gifted resource specialist who came to share patriotic songs. The first was "Yankee Doodle Dandy," which half the kids got into. Next, we did "America the Beautiful," which got a greater response. His last song was Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA (Proud to be an American)." Do you know, every single one of my kids knew and belted out the chorus? Isn't that something, that they don't all know the words to the traditional anthems by heart, but in this post 9/11 era, they all know Lee Greenwood? Especially since the song was actually recorded in 1984, 17 years before 9/11, and about 14 years before my students were born? It shows, I guess, what a place that song has in our history.

Speaking of proud...

One of the most frustrating parts about being a teacher is when you spend weeks (months?) trying to instill good academic habits and they just don't do it on their own. More specifically, I model alot by reading aloud, stopping to ask questions and let the students in on my thinking. The idea is that they internalize this modeling and do it in their own reading. Except, it's always like pulling teeth to get them to do the same thing.

Except today, as I'm walking around and eavesdropping on their reading with their second grade buddies, I had to keep from laughing as I heard several of them mimicking my own phrases! We're officially halfway through the school year. Maybe, just maybe they're learning something from me after all.