What a great week.

I should really write more on here, but i get so carried away with all the work for school that I do not post enough. Also, some of the things that occur in school and in the classroom are so absurd as to be incomprehensible. This week has been eye opening in terms of appreciation of my surroundings. I hadn't taken much time to stop and smell the roses recently but on my drive to Ruleville 45min away from my home I took some long deep breaths and thought about just how great everything is.

This week in school we learned about area, perimeter and the following valuable words - twice, double and half. We had some fabulous interactive centers set up and the kids got it....well most of them but more then enough to make me happy. I beleive my kids will do well on the MCT (state test) which at this point is do or die for our district. If we fail the state will threaten to redistrict the schools and we could potetnially be shut down. This would in turn kill the towns of Shelby and Duncan as the school system is the primary employer. So say a prayer and send good vibes my way.

Yesterday I drove to Ruleville where a handful of friends organized a wiffle ball homerun derby at the local field. It was awesome, I made it to the second round twice but did not bring home the home made "wiffle ball home run derby champion belt".

Afterwords we went to this jukejoint in the middle of nowhere. Let me explain. You can not see the lights of this place from the road. You have to drive in to Merigold make a left then find this diagonal veer off onto a gravel path and drive about a mile and a half until you arrive at this falling down shanty with haphazardly strung Chirstmas lights. The venue has been here for ever, it is a cultural icon of the area. It has no schedule and is closed more often then not. The tiny place has low ceilings and my buddy C... who played college baskeball had to stand like a hunchback the whole time. This evenings event was sponsored by the local Universtity so there was a good turn out. The music was awesome and the vibe was great. It reminded me of going to local festivals when i was travelling in South America with out the language barrier, well almost with out the language barrier.

I am going to get in the habit of posting more often. Some of what happens around here is so far removed from anylife I have ever experienced before and it is fantastic.

What you know about that?!

Every few months or weeks a hot song comes along, some of these hold popularity for 2 days some for endless weeks. The big songs of the year have been Still Tippin' by Mike Jones which lasted from July when I was at institute until October and led to continuously unprovoked outbursts by the students calling out an elongated "I'm Mike Jones" during class and in the halls. This led to me doing a lesson on subtraction dressed as Mike Jones with tin foil in my teeth and hollering out I'm Mr.C with the SKC. Then there was D4L with the song Betcha Can't Do it Like Me. While in the halls and at their desks the students mimic the dance moves from the song. This is still happening. Arms flail and heads snap back. The only real way to get a good visual is to see the video or download it from AOL music. Well, cause we are hip, these dance moves were integrated into our attention getting desk clap, so Mr. C calls out betcha can't do it like me and the students bang on their desks do the dance move and then finish by sitting in sponge position (hands clasped, eyes on the teacher, feet together on the floor). Now the hit of the moment is What You Know About That by T.I. I have not yet successfully integrated this into a classroom procedure but it is amusing none the less. They go "Mr. C what you know about that" and I respond with a variety answers usually resulting in a student consequence. Mid measurement lesson a hand goes up. Mr.C what you know about that. "I know that 3 feet equals a yard and that you are off task, put your clip down." At lunch on meat loaf day Mr.C what you know about that. "I know that this meatloaf is gross and that your vegetables are good for you, eat them" In the hall, Mr. C what you know about that . "I know that you are speaking in the hall and you are not standing straight in line, when we get into class put your clip down." Then it transformed, now I find myself asking the kids what YOU know about that and thankfully I get answers like the probability is 1/4 because 2 out of the 8 places are blue and we need to simplify 2/8 to 1/4 or 2.28 is smaller than 2.68 because 2 in the tenths place is smaller than the 6 in the tenths place.

Apologies for the delayed post. We are in the last 9 weeks with only 6 more left. This is home run time, pointing to the fences, high stakes testing, the SKC Olympics are in session full speed ahead. Its like the rocket is blazing back through the atmosphere at a billion miles per hour and everything is in a state of mildly (emphasis on mildly) controlled chaos. I look forward to telling you about the amazing things that are happening in this final hurrah. I will be sure to send an email when the next post goes up. Miss you all.