Uncensored

Since yesterday's posting was a little on the dark side of things, I thought I'd start today off with a little bit of positivity.

First off, it's a beautiful Spring day. The sun is shining and my zyrtec is so far working.

Second, it's a Wednesday.

Finally, something really awesome and amazing happened last Friday.

My students - of their own accord - gave up part of their Friday night to see theater. That's right, seven of my students made the trek from east BK to west Manhattan. To. see. theater.

And? The show was really freaking good.

Uncensored is the culminating piece for the acting company of the MCC Youth Theater program. It happens every Spring and, as far as I can tell, it's always pretty freaking awesome.

Monologues, scenes, poems, abstract performance pieces about them, by them.

Yeah, my kids loved it. Here's hoping the inspiration (and motivation?) sticks for a little while.

Theater and students. Once again, proof that it's almost always a good idea.

The 20%....

80% of my class is engaged.

Why am I so worried about the 20% that's not?

Is T really sick or is the short story that boring?

N is trying, but this is definitely a struggle.

Is 100% engagement even possible? Especially when you have 11th grade reading levels in the same class with 6th grade ones?

How do you "differentiate" a read aloud? (And yes, read alouds are mandatory - silent reading would result in even more snoozing....)

What made J check out 5 min after coming into class?

What time do they go to bed?

What are they eating for breakfast? Are they eating breakfast?

Is it just because it's a Tuesday and I woke up in a funky mood too?

If Tuesday's like this, what will happen on Thursday?

Am I allowed to have a lesson not blow their minds?

Why is teaching so much about perception and participation?

Why do I feel like eating chocolate right now?

Maybe it's ok to let some things go. Maybe not every second needs to be an ah-ha moment. As a professor at NYU once said, "Remember, it means everything to you, but it's only 55 minutes out of their entire day."

True dat.

But when your students only come once or twice a week and still fall asleep, doesn't that 55 minute nap become more than everything? A lost cause? An sleepy premonition about the future? A small, but devastatingly sad metaphor for public education?

The good(?) news: I have 9 1/2 more weeks till June to figure it out.