School's Out for Summer...School's Out Forever?????

Our last day of school was last Friday. My finals are checked, my grades are in, I'm working on all the end of the year details. And by details, I of course mean re-writing the 9th English and 6th Social Studies curriculums with ACSI Biblical Integrations. No small task, I assure you. Throughout it all, I have had a little time to process the end of the year.

I taught my last class in a classroom for two years. I know that God has an amazing place prepared for my on Wyld Life Staff, but I am really going to miss the classroom. Take this, for example. On my last day of creative writing I had my students share what they learned about writing, what they learned about themselves, and one of their favorite pieces of writing. Three 7th grade girls shared that they joined the class because they wanted to have me again (I student taught them), but in the process fell in love with writing, the importance of words, and gained confidence in their written voices. Another broke into tears as she read a good-bye poem thanking me for all i've taught her about Social Studies, Creative Writing, and basketball. Talk about affirmation from God that I was in the right place this semester.

Or take this English essay: One freshmen girl, when asked what the literature taught her about human nature and herself, responded that a lot of the stories we read (Night, Lord of the Flies, Poison, etc.) dealt with the negative aspects of human nature (aka sin). She said that it was easy to look at the stories and criticize the characters, but she then began to realize that she's just like them. That literature is powerful because it accurately reflects human nature and her nature. She continued to share that our discussions of literature caused her to examine her life and renew her passion for her faith. Again...God is good and was doing greater things with me than I was ever aware of.

My future is in God's hands and if his plans are for me to stay with Young Life or another ministry, then I will pursue that wholeheartedly...and I know that I will still be teaching in very significant ways, but my heart's prayer is that school is NOT out forever!

25 Quetzales

My last unit in Social Studies this semester covered Africa South of the Sahara desert. I started the unit with a powerpoint on a lot of the current struggles the African continent faces: poverty, hunger, disease, war, etc. I decided to do this because these are struggles that I wish I had learned about earlier in my life. My sixth graders, some more than others, were really impacted by the problems and wanted to help.

Enter our final project.

I gave each student 25 quetzales, which totals to $60 for the class. The students were instructed to take the money and find creative ways to turn it into more, and the final collection would go to by animals for families in African villages (Heifer International). Some students washed cars, others cleaned houses, my Koreans sold origami, and more. Two boys, Delrick and Jason, opened a bakery--they made DELICIOUS cinnamon rolls and sold them at school. Needless to say, my sixth graders turned $60 dollars into $250 in the matter of 10 days!

I'm so proud of them and their desire to help others, and their realization that we not only need to help the people around us, but also people all over the world. After all, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ!

El Salvador!

Suzy and I hopped in the car at 5:40am to drive the four hours to El Salvador. We were going to leave the night before, but due to road safety issues we were advised to leave in the morning. No need for a machete to the tires, right?















We saw a lot of beautiful scenery driving through Guatemala and into E.S.




















This was one of our first views of the ocean--gorgeous, right?















We stayed at a little beach (town is an overstatement) called El Zonte. It was basically huts, a few restaurants, a few hostel type hotels, and BEACH. It's interesting to see who you stumble on when traveling--surfers who settled and are bumming their way through life, etc.














I could hardly contain the excitement of actually understanding the worth of the money I was using!!! El Salvador uses the US dollar. Overall, it was a quick trip, but I am thankful for the rest and relaxation it gave me before the last week of classes, and for the opportunity to see more of God's beautiful creation!

Creative Writing

Over the past semester I have had the amazing opportunity of teaching Middle School Creative Writing. Much of teaching writing has turned out to be instilling confidence in children who are at an age of uncertainty. It's hard for an 11 year old girl to believe that she has a voice and that it matters. I spent a lot of time yesterday compiling the poems that the students have written during our poetry unit. What I've been doing is teaching a poem and then using that poem as a platform into their own writing (see Rose, Where Did You Get That Red by Kenneth Koch). I wanted to post some of the work that my students have been doing...I'll start with a link to the starter poem if anyone is interested in reading, and then put some student examples.


Biblical Point of View Poem: No example here, but I asked the students to put themselves in the shoes of a Bible character and write a poem.


The Innkeeper—Melany Sanchez (from The Good Samaritan story)

You did what?
Are you out of your mind?
“Look after him,” you say.
When you first came
I would have refused.
But seeing the gentleness and love
In your eyes,
In your acts,
In everything you’ve done,
Has made the word “no” difficult to find
Everyday as I saw you take care of him,
As I heard his groans of pain,
You impressed me
How could you help your enemy?
How can you love a complete stranger?
Now…as you leave,
Asking me to care for him,
All I have to say is,
“Don’t you worry, he’s in good hands.”


If Only—Eleanor Cabrera

If only I could touch the border of your mantle
If only I could see your face
If only I could touch your hands
I would be free, I know it.

If only I could touch the border of your mantle
If only I could hear your voice
If only I could get near you
I would be free, I know it.

All I want is to be free from this sickness
All I want is to be accepted
All I want is to be loved

Please Lord, heal me.



Concrete/Abstract: See Emily Dickinson's Hope is a Thing with Feathers http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=171619

Frustration, the Evil Cat—Hannah Slingerland

Frustration prowls and growls waiting for
A chance to leap and catch you, the mouse.
Frustration hides in the shadows
Cautiously waiting for your smile to fade
Frustration’s long agile legs attack
And snatch you with a wisp of a tail
Frustration is crafty and meows
For the day to come to get you, the mouse.
Frustration is mysterious, it comes
And goes and disappears
Frustration will hold on after
Hard times have left and are gone
Frustration won’t let you go if you
Let it snatch you with a wisp of a tail
Beware, Frustration is on its way
And if you don’t watch out, it will
Catch you, the mouse, forever and ever.

Perseverance—Kum Ji Yoon

Perseverance is the one that shines
So good and bright
That it eliminates the dark
To brighten up your lives.

Perseverance is the one that comforts
Touches your face
With such a warm, gentle light
To reach the goal of your dreams.

Everywhere I go
I see it right there
Shining upon me
Always there for me.

Descriptive Poems: See Wallace Stevens 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird and Someone Puts a Pineapple Together http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=174503

Ways of Looking at a Baseball—John Leckrone

I
As shrunken head
Bearing a long, curved scar

II
A swift white dove
Trying to escape the bird catchers’ nets

III
An autograph book
Filled with many heroes

IV
A Barbie
Dressed with a large assortment of clothes

V
A rocket taking off
Landing on a good smelling planet

VI
A boxer who’s lost his match
Only to be replaced by a fresh fighter

VII
A museum’s keepsake
Reminding us of history

VIII
A pitcher’s paycheck
Hogged selfishly

IX
A Native American’s instrument
Under much superstition

X
Jesus being driven to a roaring crowd
His friends are downcast.

An Overhead Projector—Amanda Agrellas

1. A snake, coiled and about to spring
2. A little robot, scuffling around with one big eye
3. A dancing platform with a light-up floor
4. A crane, lifting piles of dust from the ground
5. A dragon, breathing fire from its mouth
6. A spotlight, shining upon a theatre stage
7. A puppy, jumping across the road

***I'm leaving it there for now because I've lost this same post about 4 times. More to come on school updates and a recent trip to El Salvador!

International Fair and National Cemetery

This past Tuesday the sixth and seventh grade students hosted the international fair. It was a culmination of about 1.5 months of independent work. Each student in my sixth grade class was responsible for choosing an Eastern Hemisphere country and putting together a ton of information--from government to people to geography. Each student then put together a presentation. All the elementary students received "passports" and were able to visit the countries, learn about them, eat a little bit of food from the country, and get their passports stamped! It was a successful day and I am extremely proud of the work my students did!

Yesterday we had the day off (Labor Day) and my roommates and I went to visit the national cemetery in Guatemala City. The cemetery is a mass

ive plot of land, almost a small city itself, literally surrounded by trash. You can see the big dump on the right that countless people filter through for their livlihood and daily eating. Needless to say, the air is rank and there are vultures everywhere...a great setting for Poe's "The Raven"

In the cemetery there are numerous different grave plots. The rich people have plots the size of a small house--the Egyptian Pyramid/Cross picture is the family plot of the founders of Guatemala's beer, Gallo. Poor people are crammed in small boxes and their families are forced to pay rent. If a family member misses rent, the remains are pulled and thrown in the dump, to be replaced by someone else.

The cemetery had a very different feel than one in the states--because of different traditions down here, a cemetery is not nearly as somber. There were families having picnics and lighting off firecrackers on graves, tons of flowers, and vendors everywhere. Very interesting to observe.

It sounds strange that I took a trip to the cemetery on my afternoon off, but it really was a unique opportunity to experience culture here in a different way.

Oh, and in unrelated news....some of you may know that I worked on a research project with graphic novels/comic books all last year. The article I wrote was printed in Christian Educator's Journal, and recently reprinted in an online magazine. My professor's name is on it too...but I did most the work on this one :) Check this link out if you're interested in reading! http://www.catapultmagazine.com/draw-me-a-story