Hip Hop Hooray

Yes, that's HIP HOP hooray.

I've found the perfect thing to get my mind off of the little monsters that I call my students. I think about them while I eat dinner. I think about them while falling asleep. I often think of them when I get up, and during the night I tend to plan lessons in my dreams. But twice a week, when I go to my Turbokick class, I get a whole hour where the thought of school does not enter my mind once, and it's fantastic.

My class turned out to be much different from what I expected. I sort of expected more kickboxing, less hip hop. It was the opposite. But I haven't run crying from the room yet. I watch myself doing moves called "Soldier Boy" and "Check your watch" in the mirror, and just giggle at myself. It has set music and we learn a routine to it. In fact, here's the part we learned last week:



FYI, that very first move right after the sirens is the move that we call "Check your watch." Doesn't it look like that's what they're doing? This is week 4 out of 8. The teacher said we can wear costumes when we learn the whole thing, but I think she might have been kidding.

Just in case, though, I'm hunting for a sequin hat and some black high tops. And perhaps a new set of students.

Persistence

This post has no point. Then again, do any of mine really have an important point?

On with it anyway.

My whole life, I've wanted to like oatmeal. I don't really know why I've been so persistent about it. Maybe because both my parents really like it and eat it a lot, and my mom always raved about how much she liked oatmeal. So when I was little, each time my mom made oatmeal, I asked for some too. I wanted to get what she got out of oatmeal. I tried it sweet, with cinnamon or sugar (brown sugar, regular sugar, and all combinations). I added raisins. I tried it with just salt, like my mom ate it. Nothing.

Finally, maybe 6 months ago, I started to like it. I found the perfect combination of salt and sugar. And then I began to ween myself off of some of the sugar and salt, since the two tablespoons of sugar I was dumping in the bowl sort of negated the healthiness of the oatmeal. And now I've gotten to the point where it's a filling, but mostly healthy snack or breakfast that I eat at least 4 times a week. I LOVE OATMEAL.

So naturally, I've been on the lookout for other oatmeal ideas since I like oatmeal for what it is finally. I tried stirring in about a tablespoon of strawberry preserves---delicious! I also read about adding some peanut butter and fruit. I'm thinking about trying some bananas with it.

Anyone know any good oatmeal ideas from one proud oatmeal lover to the next? I'm a bit sad that it took me almost 28 years to finally like the stuff.

Consensus on the census

I'll bet you didn't know that last week was a special week---Census in schools week! How fun! There's a week for everything! It was a Massachusetts Department of Ed thing (though maybe it was happening in all states?), pushed down to towns and cities because Massachusetts was one of the most under-counted in the last census. It was then pushed down on the schools from the superintendent because the city where I teach was one of the most under-counted in the state. It's no surprise, really; the city is a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants. Almost all of my students have parents who are immigrants (and many of my students are too), but I have no clue how many of them are legal.

So, I taught a few lessons in the afternoons about what the census is, why it's so important to do it (new schools! playgrounds! enough hospitals!), and encouraging them to tell their parents all about it. We spent most of the time talking about what happens when the census takers come to your house and the fact that they only want to count you and don't care if you're a citizen or not.

I gave my class a few small census-related homework assignments, the last of which they had to interview an adult about the last census. One-third of my class chose not to do their homework, because my class blows. Out of the rest of them, some had parents who weren't living in the country yet, a few reported that their parents filled out the last census and wrote about that, and the rest found out various reasons why their parents didn't complete the last census. Sadly, a bunch wrote that their parents didn't have time or didn't know it was important. And one, THE one who gets me through each day because she actually wants to learn, and whose parents I assumed knew the importance, had a disappointing interview. Her response to the question "Did you know that your answers to census questions are kept confidential and not shared with others?" "My mom said it is a liy." And furthermore, "What did you learn during your interview?" "I think it is to count poeple but if you didn't come with immergration papers after the census they cent people to their countrys back." It's awfully frustrating knowing I took time out of our jam-packed day trying to get the kids excited to encourage their parents to take part, and this is what we're working with.

Also, there's like 60 something school days left, and I couldn't be happier.

Also part 2, I'm watching Ryan Seacrest interviewing Miley Cyrus on the red carpet Oscar before-show. Who knew she sounded like such a redneck?