Historic Day

I was really looking forward to seeing my students' reactions to the inauguration today. We broadcast it on a giant screen in the library. On normal days the time between 7:15am-9:15am is swamped, noisy, busy- organized chaos. When President Obama was sworn in, it was nearly silent. The most interesting part of the day occurred when the late bell rang during the middle of the President's speech. I had about 120 kids in the room and around 40 risked a tardy to stay and watch the rest of the speech. All of them were boys. Not one girl. I was really surprised (and saddened) by that. However, the boys that stayed warmed my heart because they were so engrossed and interested in the whole day. I did not vote for Obama, but I really enjoyed the reactions of my students and the historical significance of today. I wish I had thought to bring my camera.

Junior-highers

Junior highers are awesome. I've had limited experiences with them in the past few years- mostly involving horribly overcrowded summer-school classrooms filled with remedial students. The past two weeks at my new job have given me a new appreciation for 6th-8th graders. Here's why:

1. They still want to please me. I asked some bored-looking junior high boys if they wanted to help me. They literally jumped up and down from excitement when I had them stamp books. Later I reprimanded a group of 7th grade girls for yelling in the hallway. Several of them came to me a few hours later and apologized for their behavior. And, on the same day, I asked some 6th graders to take their food out of the library. They apologized profusely and immediately put their food away. I had asked the same thing of a high school girl earlier that morning and she rolled her eyes at me.

2. They're holding on to that last ounce of innocence. I've over-heard a couple conversations where students have said something that could have been taken as a double-entendre. None of them realized it. I guess their minds are not quite in the gutter yet.

3. They're a lot easier to make laugh.

4. The boys still in the gross-out phase. One of them was super excited to show me his scab the other day. I won some gross-out points for myself when I showed him my loose knuckle.

July update

It's been about a month since I last posted so I figured I'd post a brief update.

I've been working at my new job for about a month now. It's been nice to start during the summer school session so I can ease into things. Most of my colleagues are on summer vacation, so I've only met a few people but they are all very helpful and very welcoming. One of my (three! woo hoo!) assistants worked with me during my first week on the job. After that, she went on her summer break along with my other two assistants. I'm sure I've spent a lot of time figuring out answers to questions they could have told me, but their absence has given me the chance to ask questions of other staff and faculty and get to know them better.

I'm still checking out local churches. I spent the last two weekends in Salinas since my grandmother was visiting, so I'm looking forward to getting back to visiting churches here in San Jose. I found one I really like, but it's about a 30-minute drive. I'm not sure how involved I could get with a place that far away. Hopefully I can find another one that's a little closer.

I know I promised pics of the apartment, but I'm still trying to save a bit more money before I furnish the rest of it. I still have unpacked boxes and blank walls. I'm working on it...

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks since I'll be having visits from a few friends and my brother and the band will be in town for a show.

Oh, and I finally got the book I blogged about awhile ago: The Dumbest Generation. Couldn't make it through the first half. Too boring- just a bunch of summaries of research studies. I guess I fit the author's stereotype of people under the age of 30 with a short attention span. :)

Currently reading:
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez