breath of fresh air

I can't tell you how excited I am to begin this school year.  There is a buzz of expectation and change around that building that I cannot recall in the past 12 years. Despite the rough spots last year - the ridiculous code of conduct that our former superintendent wanted the teachers to sign,  the furor over Kaffir Boy, and the typical abandonment of an attendance policy during spring quarter - last year did offer some incredible high lights. It's fun and rewarding to think back on them - My first semester Lit and Language 11 class. Talk about a bunch of achievers.  I loved coming to class every day.  There was a mixture of kids in there - resulting in one group sitting on the left and another on the right with a smattering of kids in between - but they enjoyed the class and worked very hard. In fact, I think they gave me the most rewarding class in a number of years when we had an actual discussion and analysis of "The Yellow Wallpaper." Fortunately, I have a few of those students taking my College Comp courses this year. My College Comp II class. These were all great writers.  What they were able to accomplish with their mutli-genre research papers was the highlight of my teaching career.  They opened up and let things spill out that I never could have dreamed getting out of them.  Yet, they didn't just write narratives.  Instead, they also worked in poetry, fiction, research, and professional articles that elevated most of the essays to a stunningly creative and original level. My College Comp class second semester. This class too was a bunch of characters, but they made class interesting every day.  Plus, they loved to work and write.  What more could an English teacher ask for? Other personal high lights (off the top of my head) -- Whitney absolutely dominating our Jeopardy style final review for To Kill a Mockingbird.  Since she did so well, I dug around in one of my closets and found this huge old basketball trophy that I had gotten from Kristie's former employer. Whitney loved it.  But not as much as me.  That was great. Michael holding his breath and solving the Rubik's Cube in my College Comp II class.  Michael was my Renaissance man, and he proved it by this most impressive feat. Janessa's multi genre research paper entitled "Military Boys" in which she wrote some of the most powerful prose on friends who were in the military. Corissa's multi genre paper on her grandfather.  He happened to be a close friend of my father's, and while I read it, it felt like Dad was with me again. Two of my student aides - Brady and Kristen.  Both helped me out immeasurably. Lena's discussions and texting. One of my students, Michael, was once shy and reclusive, but over the years, he really started to break out of his shell.  That was never more evident than in my College Comp II class last year.  I'll miss his laughter, which was always one way to gage whether or not class was going well.  If I could crack Michael up, I knew I'd have a good class. Kevin and Keaton.  Both were hard workers but their prose really took off in my College Comp II class.  I don't know what I'll do without those two hounding me to edit and re-edit and edit yet again their essays.  Actually, both have assured me that they'll email me with any questions on their essays this fall from college. David's whit and sarcasm.  He wrote an essay of feces that I will never forget.  How often can you say that? But for all the wonderful things that happened last year, this year holds even more promise.