The Poor Will Always Be Among Us

I am reading The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. It's fascinating. It's a book about the meatpacking industry of the early 1900s. It describes what life was like, especially for immigrants, working in the meat packing and other poverty-inducing industries.

It explains in detail some of the horrific truths, such as human beings falling into the steam vats and disappearing, becoming part of the soap produced from the lard. Or the chemicals and bleach and moldy meat that was not fit for eating, that was all poured into the sausage bins, not to mention the rats and rat droppings, and dirty water, and much more disgusting articles, all thrown into the same bin. And, some would be labeled "premium" and cost more, though it was all the same meat.

It also describes the extreme poverty, and the lack of rights people had. The story focuses on a family from Lithuania that buys a "brand new" house (15 years old) and signs a contract with multiple hidden fees, interests, etc., and are eventually kicked out. Every person in the family must work, down to the children. They are working for mere pennies a day, in the worst working conditions imaginable.

As I've been reading, I've thought about Michael and my current process of trying to go through our stuff, getting rid of what we can't take with us to the East coast. I have realized how fortunate we are to have stuff to get rid of. And I think about this abject poverty that is so heart breaking. The crazy thing is this poverty still exists in our country and in our world. Obviously working conditions and food sanitation laws are improved, but there are still so many in need. This is part of what Michael is looking to do within his Masters program: figure out how to help people in poverty learn to sustain themselves in less-than poverty conditions.

We (our country, the world) have come so far, but at the same time, there are many needs. We know Jesus said there will always be the poor among us, but what does that really mean? And what can we do about it?

T minus less than 2 months!

Time is ticking away.

Today I sent out 4 more job applications, as well as my application for my Pennsylvania License. Now it's a matter of time for my license to come in the mail. I jumped through all the hoops: Fingerprints while we were in PA, Criminal background check, Child Abuse history, FBI Clearance, Physical exam, application, transcripts...it was a lot of paperwork, but finally I had it all and was able to send it in.

It was a process though. Everything seemed to go wrong today. I forgot my OR License, and I was planning on working on it all this morning in Tualatin while Michael was working (we stayed in town to take friends to the airport last night). Then I rushed home to make the copies I needed and the copy machine at Safeway wouldn't work right (it printed out 11 x 14 documents), so we had to stand at the counter and cut them down. We were trying to make it by 5:00 to the post office. Well, as we neared the post office the road was blocked due to construction. So, I got out of the car and walked to the post office.

I got there and realized I didn't have enough postage on my documents. But it didn't matter anyway because the pick up was at 4:00, and the next one was at 8:45. I forgot my wallet and phone, so I had to walk back to the car to get money from Michael.

All that to say, I will be happy if one of these applications turns into a job.

On a different note, I have been enjoying my summer so far. I joined a local gym in town and work out every day. It's been great. And I've read 4 books in less than a week. Summer vacation is awesome! This is the first summer in years I haven't had a job, though preparing to move is a job in itself.

I'm Official!

Today I packed up my desk at school, turned in my badge, key and parking permit, and was home by 10:30 AM. Tomorrow there is a teacher breakfast that I will go to, but after that I'm done, because all my grades are finished!!

And, my teaching license came in the mail today!

I am officially certified to teach in the state of Oregon.

Now for Pennsylvania...

The End

Today was my last day with my students. It was bittersweet. I am happy that I'm done, but it was sad to see my students (most of them) go. Especially after reading more letters today. They are very endearing.

Instead of writing a bunch of excerpts again, I thought I'd tell stories of some individual students.

There was a group of boys in one of my classes that would be considered on the "fringe." One of them was expelled for a while this semester due to drug-related offenses on campus, another one has a Parole Officer because of vandalism charges (and who knows what else?). These guys rarely missed my class. One of them informed me that my class was "by far" his favorite class, and the other one said he learned more from me than from any other teacher and that students love me. Needless to say the comments from these two were a little surprising/unexpected. One of the girls in my class who tended to sit with this "fringe" group said that last semester these guys skipped a lot and that I made students, including them, actually want to come to class.

In my other class, there was a group of guys who were absolutely obsessed with WOW (World of Warcraft) - Online video game. At certain points in the semester there would be tension in the class because I was constantly having to split this group up because they NEVER stopped talking...about WOW. By the end of the year, we had a fun teasing relationship. These group of guys had some of the best comments in their letters. One boy in particular, who I've been working with all semester to keep his grade up, lingered around my desk at the end of class wanting to know if I had read his letter. This student, as well as many others, had written that they were disappointed on the first day of the semester when they found out I was teaching. But, this student, as well as others, said he was really glad to be in my class. And, he wanted me to know that I am his favorite teacher.

Then there was the comment from a student who literally chose to do nothing all semester, but always came to class, and barely passed class with a D-Minus:

Dear Mrs. Chipple,
I didn't hate your class. I know that doesn't seem like a very great compliment, but I assure you it is. You wouldn't even believe how much I hate school...Not very many teachers give students as much freedom to use their creativity as you did and I really, really appreciate you for that. I enjoyed Mr. W's class more than yours, but don't feel bad because he's my favorite teacher. At first I was a little annoyed to have a student teacher, but you weren't too lame. In fact, you're way better than the majority of teachers out there. I truly mean that. Have a good life.

Well, you can't win them all!

I'll end with the two most significant letters.

One was from a student who I wrote about in February. I had called his dad to tell him he was failing, and the dad chewed me out, saying I was "un-motivating" and boring, and that's why his son was failing. well, This student wrote that after he got used to me as a teacher he began to enjoy the class more and more. That was a big deal to me.

The other student, who I had also called home a few months ago because of a failing grade, changed as well. I knew that at the beginning of the year this student had a hard time with me, I felt he was testing me as a young, female teacher. Well, by the end of this semester things had improved a ton. In fact, during our review game last week he dominated. He told me that he was "sketchy" about me at the beginning of the semester, but said now I am his favorite teacher. Furthermore, he said this class was his best class, with pottery as number two.

I am still reflecting on many of these letters and comments, as well as the semester overall. It's been a huge learning experience and I am still figuring out all the things I have learned and will continue to take with me in my future classrooms.

One thing is that I am less excited about the possibility of only substituting next year in PA, because the chance to really build relationships with students is not there.

From Students

I thought I would post a few more excerpts from student letters from today. Of course, to me these are more meaningful especially considering the story of the individual student. A few of these made me cry as I read them, knowing the student's full story:

You are a nice teacher and there's not many teachers like that.

I usually don't like history but you made it fun.

You are good teacher and you actually seem like you care.

Some teachers are intimidating, but not you! Mr. V is one of my favorite teachers, and when I found out he was having a student teacher this period, I was sad and upset. But on the first day, I changed my mind. I was glad you were my teacher. You have become one of my favorite teachers.

I actually learned something in this class even though my grade doesn't show it...Thanks for the experience and trying to help me get my grade up an I appreciate it and also you have been the coolest teacher at high school I've ever had, more than California and in Oregon, so thanks for that Mrs. Chapman.

You're a good teacher and you're easy to talk to and you keep your word.

I think you really helped me a lot in a subject I'm not too good in.

You were my hottest teacher and was a plus to even come to class...I hope I have another cute teacher like you.

I thought I'd include the last one for a chuckle!

Journal Entry

An excerpt from my journal from this morning:

It's the last week of school...Finals week. I can't believe it's almost over. We're watching Karate Kid in US history. 1980s.

It's kind of weird that I only have my classes one more time after today. It gets me wondering if any of my students have learned anything, or been affected by this class at all. I think about how it would be cool to see what it would be like to have these students for another entire semester. But I do wonder...

Has this class affected these students at all?
Did they learn?
How did they feel in the class?

I'm hoping that the letters they write me along with the final will give me at least a minor glimpse into these questions.

Most of my failing students have brought their grades up, but there are a few that will still fail.

There are some students I will miss, though I have to say there are less from one class than my other two classes. For some reason I just haven't quite connected as well with one of my classes. I'm still amazed how I can feel like a different teacher and a different person in each class, even if it's the same content or level. Time of day and personalities affect the feel of a class a lot.

One of my students came up to me in the hallway in between classes this morning to tell me that he did well at a tournament he participated in this weekend. We had been talking about it in class, and he wanted me to know how he did. It was nice to know that he cared that I cared. Those are the rewarding little moments that make teaching a blessing.

On another note, I just found out that a guy I went to high school with overdosed on drugs this weekend and died on the way to the hospital. The crazy part is his younger brother died a few years ago in a car accident in town. It's amazing to think about how many people we interact with over the course of our lives. And to what effect?

Real Work

I've been reading a book called "Teacher Man," by Frank McCourt. He also wrote "Angela's Ashes," and "'Tis." All of these books are memoirs about his life as an Irish immigrant.

I picked the book up because of the title, and it's supposed to be an inspiration to teachers. It's been really funny to read some of his struggles as a high school teacher in Manhattan in the 60s, and to compare them to some of my own experiences.

His professors told him that you should never reveal any personal information about yourself, or tell stories to you students. But what they don't teach you in Teacher School is what to do when students start throwing sandwiches during class (McCourt picked it up and ate it), or what to do with the student who is unruly in class, but you know if you call home he will probably come to school the next day with some bruises.

He describes how students, especially high school students, are experts on teachers. They have been in school for ten years or more, and can read a teacher from the second they walk in the door. They know if you are afraid, confident, scared, and they know who is in control.

And his students would ask him, "Did you ever do real work, not teaching, you know, but real work?"

Real work. If they only knew.

Students

Today is the high school graduation, and I had 8 students who had to take the final this week, either seniors or juniors graduating early.

For part of the final I wrote a letter to my students asking them to write me back, telling me what they thought of the semester, and to give me any advice or other feedback.

It's been fun to read the letters, and I'm really excited to read all the rest next week during Finals week.

One student wrote that I am one of her two favorite teachers of all time. This same student also wrote that she remembers the first day of the semester when my "voice was shaking" and I was "playing with" my hands a lot, and that now I'm very confident and has loved my class. I wrote in her yearbook, and she emailed me and said it made her cry!

Another told me that I shouldn't change a thing in my class, that she loved everything about it, and learned more in this history class than any other class she's ever taken.

Another student said that normally she takes the final and stares blankly not knowing anything, and she took it and realized she had learned a lot this semester!

All my students wrote that they loved the projects I assigned and just really enjoyed the variety this semester.

All of these comments were rewarding to read and made me excited about continuing to teach. I will post more comments next week after Finals. Only one week to go!

Today I officially applied for my license, so I should receive it within a week or two.

Hope

I was just watching Oprah. The episode was about a family who was in a limo going home after their sister got married. They were hit by a drunk driver head-on who had been driving 70 m.p.h. the wrong way on a major highway for over 2 miles (and had had at least 14 drinks in his system). One of their little girls was killed instantly, her head completely severed. The mom actually sat on the side of the road as her parents, husband, and kids were peeled out of the limo, holding her daughter's head in her lap. I can't even imagine! The driver of the limo also died. This on the night of a wedding. The couple who got married (aunt of the little girl) said her marriage has been rocky from day one because it started with a death.

The second story was about a grandmother who accidentally backed up over her 3-year old grandson.

The third story was a mother who fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a lake, and her 3 youngest (out of 6) children were killed.

The thing that stuck with me through the show, especially during the first two stories, was the lack of hope the families had. The limo family said that their family has been completely destroyed, and that they wish they could all die, except that their are still 3 other children. It was so sad, because they just sat there basically saying their marriage, holidays, and other relationships are now non-existent, and always will be. They said that everyone around them seems shallow when they talk about their problems, and that they will never be able to relate to others, when they have dealt with this.

The grandmother that killed her grandson was so bitter and angry at herself for making a "mistake," and was basically punishing herself. She said she had looked up the definition of forgiveness (to pardon) and decided she could never pardon herself for what she did.

The redemption came in the third story. The first two had happened two years ago, where this story happened 16 years ago. She was on the show to give the other families some hope, and to encourage them to try to move on.

All of the situations were extremely sad, but I kept thinking about how these people seemed to not know Christ. There is hope in Christ even through tragedy. Our family (the Chapmans) experienced that last summer, and the difference in the grieving process is remarkable. Though we were all sad, we haven't soaked ourselves in bitterness. Not to say that it hasn't been heartbreaking and difficult, but, we have found hope in the future and in God's sovereignty.

The Job Hunt

Today I had my last official meeting with my supervising teachers. Yesterday was my last Willamette required presentation. So, I'm officially done and can now apply for my license!! CRAZY!

Obviously, I'm not done teaching, but I only have two weeks left with that as well. My students are doing projects and getting ready for finals, so I feel like I am done planning "lessons."

Today I got my first job rejection. I had interviewed for a job when we were in Pennsylvania, and I found out today that they hired someone else. It's ok, it's just been a frustrating process trying to look for jobs. The system in Oregon is so much easier because the application process is very centralized, but in Pennsylvania it is very random and hard to find jobs.

I have a feeling I won't find one until August, or, I may just end up having to substitute for the year. It would be fine, but not ideal.

It's also bittersweet because the school I've been student teaching at has a social studies position open, and they've made it pretty clear (repeatedly) that they would be thrilled if I wasn't moving and would apply for the job.

Speaking of jobs, I am trying to decide if I should try to find one for the summer. I can only work for 6-7 weeks, with a week of camp and a family reunion in there. So, I am not sure if anyone would hire me for that amount of time.

Graduation!

I'm graduating tomorrow! It's a little anti-climatic because I have to teach for another month, (and have a few more University obligations) but, it's still exciting. Yesterday I picked up my cap and gown and hood. I came home and tried them on for "practice." It was the first time I really felt like I am graduating on Sunday.

Today I am cleaning the whole house since we have family staying with us next weekend for Nick and Lindsay's wedding. It's amazing how quickly a house gets messy with two very busy people who come home and have to work and study all night.

Happy Mother's Day!

Trust

I have been stressing about finding a job in Pennsylvania. Partly because while we were there I interviewed for a job and haven't heard from the school. I have been looking online for jobs, and haven't found too many, but have applied for a few.

The other day I spent some time working on looking for jobs when I was supposed to be working on schoolwork. When Michael found out he told me I need to just stop looking for the next couple weeks and focus on school, and graduation. It was a good reminder.

It made me think about how we had decided to spend the month of April praying about our future, and how we felt that those prayers were completely answered. I realized I haven't been committing this job hunt to prayer, and I need to trust that the Lord will provide in His timing.

Evacuation

Today's Fiasco:

In my US history class, projects titled "The Legacy of Vietnam" were due today. The second group of the day did a project on Napalm. They had created a video that was supposed to show the effects of Napalm (which translates to high school boys lighting anything they can find on fire).

All was going fine until the "jar" came out. This student had asked me if they could use this as part of the presentation. My first clue should have been here, when the student's grandfather was hesitant to let him bring this "jar" to school.

"It's mostly acidic, and will clean up with water," said my student.

"Ok, that should be fine," I replied, stupidly. (Chalk it up to my inexperience?)

After the video came the jar: filled with a substance the students created to simulate Napalm. Yes, red flags went up in my mind. When the lid came off and the styrofoam came out, I still hesitated to stop them. As the boys started shoving the styrofoam in the jar (which immediately dissolved), I was still more anxious.

Suddenly, that last piece of styrofoam went in a little too quickly, and SPLASH! went the "napalm" all over the table. The room filled with a familiar odor.

"What is really in that?" I asked.

"Mostly acetone, sawdust...and gasoline."

This was the point in which I really started to freak out. GASOLINE!! ARE YOU KIDDING? And the odor was getting stronger! "Clean this up, now!" I started getting nervous about the whole thing.

I walked across the hallway to look for my supervising teacher, who wasn't around at the moment. I walked back into the room and the smell hit me hard!

I opened the window to the room, and told my students to step into the hallway. I know that if they had stayed in their much longer students were going to be getting really sick. I started making phone calls, tracking down my supervising teacher, the student center, and the custodian.

I sent my students to the library, because I realized the room was not safe. The smell started to linger into the hallway.

The custodian was able to focus extra air through the vents into the room, thus diluting the air quickly. I took my students from the library down to another classroom to finish the presentations. By the end of the period, the smell was gone, and only my fears and stressfulness remained.

At one point during the whole mess of getting students out of the classroom and to the library, one student approached me with the need to talk to me. I told her it wasn't a really good time (as I was freaking out in my head, but trying to stay calm), and she said, "but it's about what just happened." She proceeded to tell me that what had just happened was illegal, and was obviously very upset by the whole situation. Immediately I knew she would probably be going home and telling her father about the incident. (The same father who believes that the attack of 9/11 wasn't the work of terrorists, but was planned by George Bush who needed a way to begin a war in Iraq.)

After talking to my supervisors about the whole thing, I feel a lot better, though I am still afraid that I will show up to school on Monday with a list of parents who've called and complained that I allowed gasoline in the classroom. Fortunately my teacher talked to the right people to cover all the bases.

My supervising teacher made me feel a lot better when he told me about how during his first year of teaching he had an assignment/project due during which in one class period he had to evacuate the room due to an aeresol spray gloss (because everyone was sneezing and coughing), another student had to get stitches, and something else happened that I can't remember (something to do with the fire alarm?)

As he pointed out, this was one of those few moments of high school that many of my students will remember for a very long time. Well, at least my class will be memorable for something.

flying and my ears

I'm at home sick.

When I was little I had tubes in my ears twice, and I have a lot of scar tissue on my ears. Sometimes when I fly my ears ache so terribly that my eyes start watering and I get very plugged up. And it hurts TONS. This happened last night flying home. My ears stayed plugged, and even when I got home and got in bed, my left ear was still plugged.

Well, this morning I woke up with my entire left side of my face plugged. And I have gotten progressively worse throughout the day.

So, I skipped track practice, a job interview (wasn't really planning on working there), and even one of my last night classes.

But, we had an amazing time in Philadelphia. Now my focus is to just push through the next 6 weeks of school. I graduate in less that 2 weeks!!!!

Phili Tourists

Today we did the whole tourist-thing in Philadelphia. We went to Independence Hall, saw the Liberty Bell (through the glass-we decided not to wait through the long line), and went to an old Friends Meetinghouse.

We were planning on spending time with one of my old roommates from college, who recently moved to New Jersey. We have been emailing back and forth for a couple weeks, making plans. Apparently, our reference to spending time in the city, and her reference to spending time in the city, meant different things. We were calling each other back and forth today, making final plans before they were going to take off and meet us in the "city."

Suddenly, she called me back and said, "when you say the city, are you meaning New York?" This whole time we were planning, "the city" to her and her husband meant New York City, and we meant Philadelphia.

So, we were all very disappointed to realize that it would be unrealistic and expensive to try to get together after all.

So, Michael and I just spent the day walking around the city.

It's been a fun trip, though we are both exhausted. We came back here to our room, and Michael is totally out on the bed! It's only 8:30 (5:30 back e did find a Starbucks today. And had Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. Yum!

Quakers and Coffee

I had a job interview today. It went really well. I am really excited to see what happens with this job. I know I need to look at other places, but I've been really excited about this school. I found a few other openings in the area right before we came out here, so when we get home I will keep searching.

The people here at the University have been great. They've been driving us everywhere (including to my interview and back), taking us to dinner (and paying for it), and have been extremely helpful and willing to answer questions and just get to know Michael and I.

We've had some funny experiences/conversations as we mention our affiliation with the Friends Church around here. Out here, everything is named Quaker. The first coffee shop we saw in the airport was called "Quaker Coffee." But, as many know, the Quakers out here are unprogrammed and not Christ-centered.

During my interview today, which is at a Christian school with a very strong spiritual emphasis, the principal noticed my home church was listed as "Newberg Friends Church." He asked me the name of the Christian camp I worked at (he went to college in the Northwest), and I said, "Twin Rocks Friends Camp." At this point he said, "I see you signed our Statement of Faith. Do you have any problems or concerns with it?" I realized he was extremely concerned with the Friends association, assuming that I was not a Christian. It ended up being a wonderful conversation in which I very clearly explained that I am a Christian, and that the Friends in the Northwest are much different than the ones he is familiar with.

We've had similar experiences with most of the people we've talked to, except one professor who had a really good understanding of Quaker-dom. It's been interesting having to explain and clarify as soon as we say "Friends" or "Quaker."

The other thing about this area: NO COFFEE SHOPS!

Actually, they do exist, but no one drinks it like in Oregon. Even the on-campus cafe didn't have any coffee options, not even plain old black coffee...on a college campus!! And we have been STRUGGLING, with the jet-lag and redeye flight. I asked some students and a professor where the closest coffee shop was to campus, and they had no clue. Amazing.

Tomorrow we are going into Philadelphia to do some site-seeing. First stop: Starbucks.

My First Phili Adventure

So, Michael and I are in Philadelphia. We have some good stories of the trip already, and we've only been here since Thursday morning.

We took a Redeye from Portland and arrived here at about 11 AM. We took the train from downtown Phili to the Seminary, where we are staying for the weekend. Public transportation is great, but it was expensive! For taking a short train ride, and having to switch once during the trip, we had to pay $20!! Crazy!

So, after we arrived to the University, we spent some time with an admissions director, ate some lunch, and then Michael and I split up. He went to attend one of the MBA classes, and I went on an adventure to get my fingerprints taken for my teaching license. (For my PA certificate I have to get a whole bunch of background checks, FBI Clearance, child abuse history clearance, and I had to get fingerprinted while I was here).

I had found the directions online, from the train station to the building. So, I set off. I was running a little late, so I found myself jogging to the station. I ended up on the wrong side, and had to run up and around, over a bridge, and back down, to get directly across to the correct side of the tracks.

I had no problem figuring out where I needed to get off the train. The directions seemed simple: Get off the train, walk up the road, cross road x, turn on road y, etc.

Well, as I started “walking up the road,” I realized none of the roads were the correct ones. I started walking by a college campus, (there are over 80 colleges in the area!!) and saw a woman in her 60s or so walking off campus. I asked her where Lancaster Avenue was located, and she told me I was on the opposite side of town. (We figured out that the terrible directions were written without knowing that there was only direction off the train, and thus I should have gone in the opposite direction off the train).

The woman offered to drive me to the building. So, I hopped in her car and we headed across town. We finally found the correct road (I NEVER would have found it by myself, and I needed to be there within the hour. Those directions were terrible!) and started looking for the address number. I saw the number, and decided to just jump out of her car. I thanked the woman for her kindness, hopped out, waited for the crazy traffic, and crossed the street. Apparently, without realizing it, the name of the road had changed, and I was at 950 Country Line instead of 950 Halverford.

So, I started walking again. I figured that if I just walked up the road it would turn into Halverford. After ten minutes I saw a mailman and asked him, and he sent me back the OTHER direction.

Eventually, the road changed and I was able to find the building I needed. I probably ended up walking for a total of 30 minutes. Not too bad, though I had thought it would be a 10-minute or less walk from the station.

At the fingerprinting place, I realized that I had forgotten my confirmation registration information. The short, spunky African-American woman told me no problem. I told her I was here from Oregon. She looked at me, confused, “Oregon, you mean like the state of Oregon? Girl, you came all the way over here for this?” She was hilarious. She told me if we hurried, no one would come check on us, and we were finished in less than ten minutes, though she kept looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was going to come in and “bust her” for letting me fingerprint without the right paperwork. (She did find me in the system, so I’m sure it was fine.)

As I was leaving I asked the woman at the front desk how to get back to the train station. There are two different lines that run through the area, the 100 and the R. I told her I needed the R-line, and she sent me down the street. After at least 20 minutes, I found the station, only to realize that it was the 100 after all.

By this time I was getting pretty tired of walking. Fortunately it wasn’t raining (yet) and I was really enjoying the walk: the trees and all the old brick and stone buildings around here are awesome!

I kept walking down the line. I figured that since I had clarified with the receptionist that I needed the R line, that maybe it was just a bit further down the way. I also knew by now I was no where close to the station that I had gotten off at, and guessed that this must be the next one up. After some more time of walking I decided to ask for directions. I walked into a medical building and spoke with the receptionist. She said, “you’re walking?” Yup! Well, she gave me the directions, and sure enough it was to the next station up. It was a long walk past a couple more colleges (on College Street). But this was the most beautiful part of the whole walk. I finally made it to the train station, and realized the round trip ticket I had bought was a waste. Since I had walked all the way to the next station, I was in the same “zone” as my destination, and therefore didn’t need a ticket. Oh well.

It was a great day for a walk. I arrived back at the Seminary more than two hours after I had left. I spent less than 20 minutes on the train, 10 minutes fingerprinting, and the rest of the time walking. Not terrible, though I realized how out of shape I am!

Possible Job Lead?

I can't talk. Literally. My voice is gone. I've been having to whisper for the last few days. Yesterday I had to stay home from school, because I had no voice.

The only reason I went to school today is because I knew was going to be observed by the Principal this morning. And, that went really, really well!! He had nothing but positive things to say. I made a copy of his notes and brought them home to post on the fridge. :)

On another note: The job hunt continues. Michael has been emailing a contact person at Eastern University who we were also told may have advice about teaching jobs in the area. Well, after a few emails back and forth, he recommended a school that his kids attend. As I have been doing research, I have found that private and charter schools are a HUGE part of the school system in Pennsylvania. I had been focusing on the public school websites and job postings, and haven't had a clue where to start looking for private schools.

Well, after spending a lot of time browsing a ton of school websites, based on this contact's recommendation, I checked out the website of this Christian school, and they have TWO high school history positions. Not only that, but one of them is specifically for US history and Government, which is EXACTLY what I'm teaching right now.

On top of all that, I just had this real sense of peace as I looked at the website and the school details. Michael and I both have this sense of peace about this, whatever that is worth. I emailed the contact person and am hoping I may be able to meet with someone while we're in Philadelphia next week.

Another plus, this school is pretty close to Eastern, and is outside of Philadelphia.

So, if you think about it, please pray that God will continue to guide us/me in the job search.

Friends

Last night Michael and I hung out with some friends from college. It was refreshing to spend time with our young married Christian friends. We are blessed with some quality people in our lives.

It was fun for me too because half of us are teachers, so it was fun to talk about our experiences and just know that we're all sort of in the same boat. Three of us are in the job hunt mode as well.

There are definitely things that will be hard to leave from the Northwest, one of the biggest (besides family) is our connections with people that we really enjoy spending time with. Before all this Philadelphia business we were really looking forward to coming North to more of the Portland, Newberg, Tualatin area, since we have a lot of close friends up here.

But, we know that this is a sacrifice that we will have to make. And we will be prepared for that when and if the time comes.

Meanwhile, we plan to continue enjoying our friends and family.

And preparing our hearts for whatever is next.

The job hunt

I graduate in 31 Days!!

Today I had my Mid-Semester evaluation meeting with my University Supervisor and my 2 teachers at the high school. It'd say it went well. My teacher even said he wishes I'd be around to be in the job pool-a social studies position is opening at the school for next year-but knows I am focused on the possibility of moving to PA. I took that as a compliment. I feel like if we weren't leaving I would be OK finding a job somewhere, since that's the second place that has expressed direct interest in me.

On the other hand, I am worried about finding a job in Philadelphia. I've sent in applications, and kept a daily eye on the job postings (there are very few compared to Oregon), so we'll see.

One of the social studies jobs I found is at a high school in downtown Philadelphia, with a 90% African-American population. And we're talking inner-city kids. Much different from Salem, Oregon, to say the least.

Am I ready for that???

Update

I'm feeling restless.

I've been putting hours of time into working on job applications, resumes, essays, and letters of interest for schools in Pennsylvania. I'm addicted. Last night I even found myself looking at apartment rentals.

Michael and I are realizing that we're really ready for this change. We're excited, antsy, anxious.

The other day Michael asked me what would happen if he doesn't get in to school. We both decided we might just go regardless. We have already been financially investing (as well as time and energy) into this, and our mindset right now is that we are going for sure. When we fly out there at the end of the month we'll have an even better idea.

Teaching is going well. I'm getting observed next week by the Principal, who also happens to be my Principal from when I went to high school. I'm a little nervous about that.

Knowing that I graduate in a month makes me antsy, on top of the Pennsylvania stuff.


Michael and I are continuing to feel at peace about all this. We are excited for what God has in store for us.

Changes

This week was the half-way point for the semester. It's flying by!

I graduate in a little over a month.

Michael and I have had a shift in our thinking/plans over the last two weeks. During Spring Break we finally had a chance to talk through our plans and hopes for the next couple years. We realized if Michael is going to go to Grad school, why wait another entire year?

So, we've been spending a lot of time looking into a school in Pennsylvania. Michael enrolled in three online classes (Pre-requisites for school), and turned in his two-weeks notice to one of his jobs on Friday! We are flying to Philadelphia at the end of the month to visit the school, meet with students, and check out the area. I'm hoping to maybe meet with some school districts, or at least get a better understanding of where to look for jobs. Fortunately, my Oregon teaching license transfers to Pennsylvania very nicely, it's mostly a matter of paper work and a fee.

If all goes as planned, we are looking to move to PA at the beginning of August, so Michael can attend Eastern University to earn his M.B.A. in international development. The 15-month program includes the last 3 months in another country.

We decided to take this month to really pray about our future, and have been praying every night. We are continuing to feel a lot of clarity about this, and are really excited to visit the school. We're hoping that will give us a definitive idea if Michael feels good about that school.

Meanwhile, we'll keep praying and see where God is leading...

Breathe out....

Spring Break is here just in time.
I don't think my body could handle another week of stress. It's definitely break time. As soon as my last class was done today, my body started reacting physically. My nose suddenly started to drip, my throat hurt, and I felt achey all over.

This week I accomplished my goal of FINISHING MY WORK SAMPLE! If you don't know what that means, it's a huge notebook full of an entire unit of lessons that I taught, written in very thorough detail, including assessments, pre-tests, post-tests, analysis of everything (with bright colored graphs and pie charts to go along with them), adaptations, summaries, reflections, school/class demographics, and on and on. We are required to turn in two of these during the course of the MAT program. I turned in my first one last November, a unit on US Geography, and then turned in my second one TODAY!!! (This one was on the Civil Rights Era).

This is definitely cause for celebration. That and the fact that the week after Spring Break is the half way point for the semester! (And it means 1 1/2 months until graduation!)

The other focus I had this week was job applications. The job hunt in the world of teachers has begun a little earlier than usual this year (which means NOW), and I was up until past midnight for the first time in months finishing an application.

To give you a glimpse into the teacher application world, and in case you want to empathize with me over the next several weeks and months,here are some sample essay questions taken directly off three school district applications I'm applying to:

1) Please elaborate on teaching strategies or techniques that have worked for you in the classroom. Specifically address strategies for special needs students and English language learners.

2) Describe ways in which you meet the definition of "culturally competent". Include any diversity training in which you have participated and how it changed your thinking.

3) What teaching techniques do you prefer?

4) Provide examples of success in improving student achievement.

5) What classroom management strategies do you use to effectively focus on instruction?

6) What led you into the teaching profession?

7) What challenges do you see facing public education in the immediate future?

8) What are your professional goals?

9) There are a number of contemporary issues in education. Please describe one, your understanding of how it applies to your area of teaching or work, and your beliefs about the importance of the issue.

Unlike writing essays for college applications, I can't reuse my answers to these questions (well, maybe parts), because these questions are all looking for different answers.

My plan is to take a few days off from school-related "stuff."

(Disclaimer: Paula H., if you read this, I'd like to apologize for the number of ex!cla!!mat!ions!! I used in this blog, and the NUMBER of words that I CAPITALIZED! I'M NOT REALLY SHOUTING, I'm just EXCITED!!!)

The process begins

First teaching job interview tomorrow!

Wish me luck!

The Good Teacher

Last summer I received a book, "Everyday Prayers for Teachers," as we were leaving Twin Rocks and heading to Salem so I could begin Grad school.

I want to post one of the prayers every once in a while.

Here's one:

The Lord is my teacher,
I shall not lose my way.

He leadeth me in the lowly paths of learning,
He prepareth a lesson for me every day;
He bringeth me to the clear fountains of instruction,
Little by little he showeth me the beauty of truth.

The world is a great book that he hath written,
He turneth the leaves for me slowly;
They are all inscribed with images and letters,
He poureth light on the pictures and the words.

He taketh me by the hand to the hilltop of vision,
And my soul is glad when I perceive his meaning;
In the valley also he walketh beside me,
In the dark places he whispereth to my heart.

Even though my lesson be hard it is not hopeless,
For the Lord is patient with his slow Scholar;
He will wait awhile for my weakness,
And help me to read the truth through tears.

Weekend Away

Michael and I are headed to A Weekend to Remember. It's a marriage conference that is taking place in Sunriver, Oregon. We've heard a lot of great things about this retreat, and are really excited.

Good friends of ours surprised us by telling us to keep this weekend open, and booked it and everything! We are blessed with wonderful friends, and are excited for a weekend to enrich our marriage.

On a Positive Note...

I thought I'd add that one of the really enjoyable parts of my days lately has been Coaching Track. I am really enjoying getting to know a group of kids in a different environment than the classroom. Somehow it is helping me feel more confident around school, and that carries over into the classroom. It helps that I'm having more fun and feeling more relaxed in the classroom and at track.

A lot more of my students are saying hi to me every time they see me (I think Cranium had to do with this!) and I can't help but feel a sense of belonging when every where I go I hear a "Hey Coach," or "hi coach Chapman," or "Hi Mrs Chapman."

That reminds me of something funny the lady who works in the front office told me today. I have noticed that there are some students who don't quite know my name. Yes, it's been almost 6 weeks and I've learned over 100 names, but they can't learn one! (I don't know what the implications are to that...)

Anyway, the other day a couple students started calling me "Chipple," which is a combination of my name and my supervising teacher's name (Whipple).

Then, the lady in the office told me today that she's been hearing some funny comments as students give her homework and make-up assignments to put in my box. One student asked for Mrs. Whipple, (you know, Mr. Whipple's wife, obviously!). Another asked for Mrs. Riley (The permanent sub for Whipple is named Mr. Riley).

Oh Kids...Too funny.

1/3 done this week!

Another week of rollercoasters. I had a great moment today connecting with a student who is behind in my class, and then I received an email a few hours later about another student who is struggling. grrrr....

This week I received a couple emails from friends who are currently teaching and/or recently went through a similar MAT program, and each email had the same theme. I was actually surprised how similar they each sounded: (Paraphrase)

God doesn't call us to something that he doesn't plan on equipping us for.

Basically, God has called me to be a teacher, and He will provide me with the strength, stamina, and skills I need to do this and do this well. Something I realized to add on to this thought is that I need to be seeking after God in all I do, and giving him a lot more credit for what happens during my day, and just inviting him to be a much bigger part of my day/life.

God, remind me to stop and talk to you throughout the day, so that your Light shines through me. Continue to remind me that I cannot do anything on my own strength.

Cranium

6 Week grades are this week. I can't believe how fast time is flying. I am graduating in a little over two months.

This last week was a good week. I am starting to feel a lot more comfortable in my classroom. On Friday I gave my class a test, and then I needed to come up with something to do with the last 30 minutes. It was a Friday, and we are starting a video research project on Monday, so I didn't really have a lot of "content" that I wanted to cover.

So, we played Cranium! I justified it because I have been feeling like my personality hasn't really been coming through in my class. I find myself coming across rigid and not relaxed. So, I wanted to do something that was low-key, and also gave my students a chance to interact and go crazy. In fact, I made all my students participate, and after a little while, everyone was into it: the kids that were "too cool" at first, and all the shy kids. Everyone was into it. It was awesome!

I am finding myself enjoying my students more and more, and that's what I needed to have happen this week.

TGIF

This week has been full of ups and downs.

One moment I'm asking myself, "How do I think I could ever be a teacher?"

Another moment I'm loving this whole teaching thing.

This week felt like there were more downs than ups. I started helping with the track team this week, and that's been fun.

I feel like I have not been "connecting" with students the way I want to, and that is one of the toughest parts.

Today I called home parents of students who are failing, and had a really frustrating experience with a father who basically told me the reason his son is failing is because I'm boring and "uninspirational," basically, because I'm not my supervising teacher. He did thank me for calling, however, as did the other parents I contacted.

Either way, it was a conversation full of hard words, and I'm trying to process it.

Thank you Lord for Fridays!

Ahhh..3 day weekend

1/6th of the way through the semester! But who's really counting?

Things are much better than they were the first week. I'm feeling more confident and continuing to learn new things every day.

I am trying to figure out how to respond to a student who I believe has some strong racist viewpoints, and is letting me know through assignments and class discussions. I don't think this student is super obvious to classmates, but obvious enough to me. Do I confront him? I probably will talk to him, since his papers include racial slurs and inappropriate comments. I hope and pray that something I teach the class will come through to this student and break some of his blatant ignorance about race.

Today I told me colleagues at school where I teach that my husband is a Quaker, and they immediately jumped into asking if he wears a tall, black hat, and all the other stereotypes. I was surprised at how little they knew.

Happy President's Day!

Sunday AM

Not too often in my life have I ever been certain that Christ is speaking to me in a direct, verbal way. Many times I have thoughts in my head, but question whether they are Christ or not. But today, I heard and obeyed.

Michael is gone for the weekend. I got up and walked to church by myself. The pastor spoke about the Year of Jubilee. It was an OK sermon, nothing profound really spoke to me. At one point I got a little squirmish. The pastor was referring to jails in the time of the Bible, and how prisoners were usually slaves, because murderers were usually stoned to death. Then, as a side note, he said, "by the way, capital punishment is God's idea." And that hit me the wrong way. The pastor then went on to share about how Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, specifically referring to setting people free as the Jubilee was intended. And my inner-monologue thought, "Didn't Christ also come to fulfill (or change, I don't know what word to use here?) other Old Testaments ideas, like capital punishment?"

Forgiveness, specifically learning to forgive others, has been a huge theme in my life over the years. And I cling to the notion that Christ wants to give people the chance to seek forgiveness, even murderers.

But, back to my morning. I came home from church and made myself an Americano. I sat down to begin working on school/planning for the week. I am overly stressed about my lesson plans, especially considering how I felt leaving school on Friday. But I got a "nudging" (for lack of a better word) to get my Bible out and read for a while. I realized that I need to have my mind and heart at rest and clear, before I can dive into looking to the week ahead.

I am working on reading the Daily Bible this year (the Bible in 365 chronoligical readings). Right now I am reading Exodus, specifically when the Israelites have just left Egypt and are wandering around the desert.

Two thoughts came to my mind:

1) God takes honoring the Sabbath very seriously. I need to take it more seriously. With the crazy week I've had, and will continue to have, I need to allow one day of real rest, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally. Otherwise, I will have a breakdown before this semester is over.

2) I need to call my brother. He (and his new wife of about two weeks) have been on my heart for weeks/months. There is a lot of bitterness and anger wrapped around my family, and it hurts to be a witness to it. And I need to be more of an advocate.

So, I felt like God was saying, "Melissa, call your brother. "And I kept saying, "But I don't know what to say. I'm hurt that I wasn't at the wedding. I don't know what to say or do." And the Voice laid on my heart, "Call him right now. I will give you the words. Just do it." I opened my phone, pulled up his number, and then closed it. "Do it!" So I called him, and left a message on his voice mail, offering to bring him and his wife dinner sometime (they are extremely busy and also have a one-and-a-half year-old). I didn't know that I was going to do that, but I felt like that's what Christ was asking me to say. Will he take me up on the offer? I doubt it. But I will keep calling and keep trying.

Christ,
You are the only One that can bring healing and forgiveness to my family.
Help me to trust you to do this work in your timing, and not mine.
Meanwhile, keep me sensitive to your Holy Spirit
and to the work you are doing in me.

Amen.

Common question asked by students

A poem from one of my textbooks from Willamette. I love it!

DID I MISS ANYTHING?

Question frequently asked by
students after missing a class

Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 per cent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I’m about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 per cent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
a shaft of light descended and an angel
or other heavenly being appeared
and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
to attain divine wisdom in this life and
the hereafter
This is the last time the class will meet
before we disperse to bring this good news to all people
on earth

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

Everything. Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human existence
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been
gathered

but it was one place

And you weren’t here

By Tom Wayman (originally from The Astonishing Weight of the Dead)

Friday means Week 1 is OVER!

Friday has never been so glorious.

This has been one of the most draining weeks that I can remember.

I started student teaching on Monday. I was nervous, but also excited to get into the classroom and get to know my students. There's only so much planning that can be done before you meet your students.

People keep asking me how this week has gone. My answer depends on the day of the week (or the specific class). Some days I came home thrilled and more excited about teaching. Other days, or even just after certain classes, I would be frustrated and feel deflated. I think I'm just really hard on myself. So, I answer the question of how it all went by saying, "well, I've realized I have a lot to learn." Which is the point in the first place; so that's something positive, I guess.

Today was the tipping point. I have one class that I had a hard time getting much response from (or at least, that's how it felt). During the last ten or fifteen minutes they were working on a writing assignment, and I had to fight to hold back tears. That of course frustrated me because I wasn't exactly sure why.

After school I went to talk to my supervising teacher, to try to "debrief" the week, and I couldn't get anything out because I was fighting back tears as hard as I could. I couldn't make eye contact, because my eyes were glistening and I didn't want him to see. Mostly, I just felt dumb. I will probably tell him next week that that happened, because I have been able to process it some. But at the time, all I could think was, "don't cry, don't cry, don't cry."

I got out of there as fast as I could. I called Michael, and while the phone was ringing I started balling. So much so, that when he answered his phone I could barely get any words out. He couldn't even understand me. We both know that I build up emotions and then need to just cry them out, sometimes for no specific reason. Often, something really tiny sets me off and then I ball and ball, and I can't put my finger on why.

I am a big crier, and have to just accept that. This week was draining physically. I came home every night and was exhausted, and usually in bed before 10. (Which is a big deal for me). Plus, I have been getting up at 5:30 every morning, and I don't think I've ever gotten up that early this consistently (and will continue for the next five months).

Besides being my first week of teaching, I had class every night until at least 7. So, Michael and I would both get home between 7:30 and 8, maybe watch American Idol (while he was also still working) and then head to bed by 9:30. So, we haven't spent much time together this week either.

To top it all off, he had to go to Twin Rocks this weekend for a retreat, and I had to be in Salem this weekend, so we won't see each other all weekend, either. I think our schedules have taken a toll on me as well.

So, it all came crashing down as the week drew to a close: I cried, talked it out with Michael, went home, "freshened up," and rewarded myself with a "Snickerdoodle": a white mocha with vanilla and cinnamon from the coffee drive-thru around the corner.

I am a big journaler, and blogging is a good way for me to process the week. Hence, the long blog!

A History Lesson

I have spent the last two weeks getting ready for next semester. I have been making lesson plans, my syllabus, figuring out what to teach, etc., and am ready to just jump in and teach on Monday. I'm starting to feel restless. There's only so much planning that can be done.

Other teachers in my building have been warning me about certain students or overall classes I am getting. That's OK, but I am looking forward to a clean slate, both for these students and for me.

Today I was working on a lesson that I will be teaching in a few weeks about the US Bill of Rights. I was reading through the South African Bill of Rights and the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I have been very surprised at some of the issues covered in both of these documents, which the US Bill of Rights doesn't come close to covering.

Reading through the UN document, which was written Post-WWII, made me think of all the ways these rights have NOT been upheld in our world (especially in the US), and the implications these have on current events.

For example:

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (Does this include for military or terrorist activities?)

Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. (What about Mexicans coming to the US?)

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

And from the South African Bill of Rights:

Everyone has the right to life. Everyone has the right ­

1. to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and
2. to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that ­
1. prevent pollution and ecological degradation;
2. promote conservation; and
3. secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

Every child has the right (to name a few...)­

1. to a name and a nationality from birth;
2. to family care or parental care, or to appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment;
3. to basic nutrition, shelter, basic health care services and social services;
4. to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation;
5. to be protected from exploitative labour practices;
6. not to be used directly in armed conflict, and to be protected in times of armed conflict. (What about the children soldiers in Sudan?)
   

I am very appreciative of the United States Bill of Rights, but I also know we have a long way to go; however, just because they are written in a Constitution doesn't mean they are upheld.

Another quote

We mourn the victims of the World Trade Center attack. Their pictures cover subway walls. We mourn the firefighters, as well we should. But we are blind to those whom we and our allies in the Middle East have crushed or whose rights have been ignored for decades. They seem not to count.

-Another quote from the same book

War

Once we sign on for war's crusade, once we see ourselves on the side of the angels, once we embrace a theological or ideological belief system that defines itself as the embodiment of goodness and light, it is only a matter of how we will carry out murder.

-From a book I just started reading, called War is a Force that Gives us Meaning by Chris Hedges.

No School!

Today was supposed to be my first day back at my high school placement. Instead, it was a two-hour-delay-turned-into-no-school-day.

One of the great things about Michael and I both working in the school district is that when school is cancelled, we both get to stay home. We both came home and slept for three hours on the couch (we got home very late last night from his soccer game and had only gotten five hours of sleep). It was wonderful!!

I'm working on planning lessons for my upcoming teaching debut. I start teaching full-time in two weeks. I am nervous but excited. It's going to be a lot of work for the next few months.

Somehow Michael and I have to balance school, work, stress, finances, and try to fit in time for our marriage (date night!)

New Car!

Michael and I have been looking for a second car for the past few weeks. School starts today, and once I begin my full-time student teaching we will both need our own cars.

We kept getting a lot of frustrating emails and calls that said, "sorry, it's already sold." At one point we were on the way to Portland, and were only a few minutes away, when the guy called us back to tell us the car had been sold. But, last night we found a car that we were determined to check out, and we did.

And we drove it home!

It's a 1997 white Jetta. I am so excited. It will be my car, and Michael will drive the Subaru that we own. The funny thing is that Michael's dream car has always been a Subaru, and I've always wanted a Jetta, and it just worked out that we having matching white cars.

God definitely answered our prayers as we were hoping to get a car before this weekend.

The other answer to prayer was that we had a strict budget for buying a car, and all our research paid off, because this car was less than the maximum amount we were willing to pay!

Christmas

I haven't posted anything new in a while because we've been insanely busy. Here are some highlights:

-My birthday was the first week of December. We celebrated by having a Bunko party with friends.
-Michael and I celebrated our two year anniversary in Rockaway Beach. We stayed at Harbor Villa on the coast.

-We had Christmas with my dad's family, and then spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with Michael's parents at our house here in Salem. This picture is Michael after he ran into his dad's room to wake him up on Christmas morning. And his sister Amy is on the phone.
-The day after Christmas we drove to Idaho and spent time with Michael's family: cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. We had a white elephant exchange, each person bringing something with the letter "S" (the last letter in Christmas). Michael got a Snow Scraper and I got a Starbucks package with a thermos and coffee. Michael also won the Ankeny Ping Pong Tournament.
-We all got sick while we were in Idaho, so this is a picture of us all sitting around with the flu. It was so bizarre, everyone but Nick, Amy and Devonne and Kenny were sick. It was the pits!-For New Year's Eve our friends Katelyn and Brett came up to visit from California. This is our second New Year's Eve with them.

Michael started back to work on January 2nd, and I go back to school on the 11th. I'm getting pretty nervous about starting my semester at the end of the month, but I'm excited too.
My New Year's resolution is to (of course) lose weight by working out and eating right. I started my training for the Hood to Coast in August. I'm also reading through the Daily Bible, which puts the Bible in chronological order in 365 segments, to finish in the year.

Quiz

Check out this website. After only 8 questions it will tell you what political label to give yourself. For example, I am a Centrist with a bit of Libertarian in me. Tell me how you score!

Christmas Decorations

Friday night we got our Christmas tree!! I was so excited because this is our first REAL tree since we've been married. We rearranged our living room and now it's cozy and feels like Christmas. I had a permanent smile on my face all night.

Today I decided to use up some of the branches we cut off the bottom of the tree and made a couple wreaths. It was so fun. I had never really done it before, but I think they turned out well.
I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

DONE!

I just left my middle school student teaching placement. I am finished!! I still have to work on my work sample (many detailed pages of everything you could possibly think of: leson plans, adaptations, school demographics, evaluations, data analysis...and on and on), but I don't have to go back.

The last month or so went by really fast. I will be back at Willamette for the next two weeks, and then it's CHRISTMAS BREAK FOR 3 1/2 WEEKS!!!!

SNOW!?!?

Snow!

I took these pictures with my laptop at school on Monday. The kid went CRAZY with the snow, especially after a five-day break.

And then yesterday was a snow day! So, no school/work for Michael and I. Instead, we had FANTASY BREAKFAST. It's a tradition we started with a couple friends. First, we had FANTASY CHICKEN BURGER night. We thought of every topping we could ever want on a chicken burger, and had those available. Then, yesterday, we made a ton of different breakfast foods and ate! The menu included french toast with strawberry butter, cinnamon rolls, lemon scones, hashbrowns, biscuits with sausage gravy, eggs and sausage, and orange juice. It was so good!!!

Call me Crocker. Betty Crocker.

Today I baked the following:



Sour Cream Peach Pie

Iced Lemon Scones
Chocolate chip and white chocolate Scones

and a lemon meringue pie!

Yum Yum!

Turkey Gravy Mishap

Last weekend one of my high school friends and I decided to have a big Pre-Thanksgiving dinner and invite all our close friends from high school. Yes, I am one of those rare breeds who still talk to and even keep in close contact with many of my high school friends. It helps that I'm living in the same town, but I have kept in touch with many of them since graduation.

Anyway, neither of us had ever cooked a Turkey, and we wanted to try it. We were worried that prepping the bird was going to be a long process, but we were pleasantly surprised when it didn't take very long. That turkey neck is one ugly piece of giblet! Because we thought it would take a while we had opted out of stuffing the bird with bread stuffing. Instead, we just put in cut up carrots, celery, and green onions for flavor.

Fast Forward three hours.

After we took the bird out, I was going to make the gravy. My friend had bought a new baster and for some reason it was not working very well. Once I took the cleaning brush out it worked much, much better. I put all these turkey "juices" into a pot, along with the veggies that had been cooked inside the bird. After boiling this my next job was to strain the vegetables out of the gravy.

Disclaimer: When I think of straining something, I picture straining macaroni or spaghetti, where the object is to get rid of the liquid and keep the solids.

So, I got the strainer set in the sink, (with two of my friends standing there watching), and proceeded to dump the pot into the strainer. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a liquid going down the garbage disposal, and I screamed, "NO!!!" OOPS! I forgot to put something to catch the gravy and instead dumped it down the drain.

Fortunately, Michael was already at the store buying milk for the mashed potatoes, so I called him (trying to decide if I should laugh or cry) and asked him to pick up some gravy packets.

For the rest of the night everyone gave me a hard time, such as, "hey Melissa, can you get me some pumpkin pie, as long as you don't strain it!"

35 Days Until Christmas!!!!!!!

It's true. I counted.

I pulled out my Christmas decorations yesterday, to the "silent protest" of my husband (his words). As I put up my nativity scene and sang to my Christmas CD's, I was reminded of how much I love this time of year.

Yes, I have heard of those grinches out there who believe Christmas music (and all the decorations and hoop-la that goes with it) should be limited to a tight After-Thanksgiving-Until-Christmas Day schedule, but I couldn't disagree more.

I walked into Starbucks the other day and my mood changed. I was happy and cheery. Yes, partly it was the peppermint mocha I bought, but I had to buy it, to match the festive decor of the store. (No need to point out that yes, I am a sucker for this type of advertisement). Those decorations and all the Christmas happiness and joy that comes with the season is what put me in a great mood. That, along with the realization that another Christmas is almost here. My 3rd Christmas as MRS. Santa. :)

And of course, as I put up my decorations (scant as they may be), I had to acknowledge that Christmas is sooo over-commercialized. But I don't care, because I know the real meaning of Christmas, and I'm so excited it's just around the corner!!

Ready or not people...CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Success

After some up and down feelings about my lesson plans over the last week, today was a great day!

I felt like my students were really engaged and focused and learning.

After the period was over I actually remember thinking, "that was a lot of fun." I really enjoyed helping kids today, seeing them understand what they are studying and making connections.

I gave my students a homework assignment last week to interview someone at a home, a parent or other person, and find out about their ancestry. We are doing a unit on immigration and I thought it would be interesting for them to find out about their own family's history. Well, today I was reading the assignments that were turned in and I almost cried (out of excitement that they LIKED the assignment)! Many actually wrote that they had never asked their parent about any of it before, and had learned a lot about their parents as a result. There are quite a few students in my class whose parents immigrated here from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Mexico, all within the last twenty years. One girl wrote about how her mom was illegal for a while but recently became legal.

Later in the day I saw a student who had been absent during my class (she said she had to go to court, again) and told her she could come by after school and work on her project if she wanted. Well, she did. I had been worried that she was falling behind, because she had missed class and is usually a little behind even when she is in class. It was SO rewarding to work with her, to see all the work she had done, and, to top it off, I asked her what she thought about this assignment, and she started rattling off all the things she's learned about Japanese-American immigrants (her assigned research topic). It was so great! Sometimes I think teachers start to wonder if students are really learning anything. So, today was a big boost that reminded me why I want to teach.

Just an update

Yesterday's election was the first that I had ever voted in. I don't really have a good reason why I hadn't before then, because I do see that it's very important. And, as a social studies teacher I think I definitely should be aware of politics, etc. Last night I found myself anxious to find out the results, to both elections and ballot measures. I've truly entered adulthood.

On another note, today I taught my second lesson. My professor from school also came to observe me. I felt like the whole thing sort of flopped. I'm sure for the most part it was ok, but there were a few glitches in the morning that caused some temporary chaos. But I am learning a lot, and that's the point, or so they keep telling me. Either way, I'm 1/3 done with my teaching here.

Michael and I have completely opposite schedules. He is gone three nights a week, and I am gone when he is at home. I find myself coming home, watching Oprah, reading the newspaper, catching up on email and blogs, and just laying low all night. I need to get motivated and go work out or something, but I just feel so tired most of the time. Today's teaching wore me out! I felt so exhausted after that period, I was really surprised.

Only four more lessons!

It's Official!! #2

Today our team was officially accepted to run the Hood to Coast relay next August.

This is Michael and my Christmas present to each other. We signed up about a month ago with a random group of friends who asked us to run. Only 1000 teams are chosen by random drawing, so we weren't sure if we were one of those lucky teams until today.

We ran our first "training" run a couple weeks ago, and haven't gone again since. We realized we wouldn't be as motivated to train until it was official, and now it is.

I read somewhere that you shouldn't being training for a marathon (which is different from this, I know) until you have worked up to 15-20 miles per week. I would say that our first goal is to run this, but in reality my first goal is to run any length at all each week.

As we all learned in "What about Bob?": Baby steps, baby steps.

It's Official!!

Today I taught my first full-length lesson plan.

And I survived!

I was really nervous last night and this morning, but during it and afterwards I was loving it. I've been observing classrooms for the last few months and have been really antsy to get into the classroom. For the most part it went well. There are a few things I would do differently. But, overall, my students seemed really engaged. I was happy about that because I haven't seen this class do much beyond research on the internet and give speeches to each other. So I had no idea how they would respond to me up front teaching. But they seemed interested.

I gave them a pre-test and was able to see they have a lot of room for improvement. :)

The topic for the next few weeks: US geography and Immigration. Woo hoo!

Strength

Michael finally got paid for the first time since we moved to Salem, over two months ago.

So, last night Michael and I had to redo our budget. And we concluded that it is the pits to not have money. We aspire to live simply, but there are basic needs! Money is such a source of stress and tension between people. Have you ever borrowed money from someone and forgot to pay them back? Or worse, have you ever lent money to someone and never got paid back? And you didn't want to bring it up for fear of being seen as stingy?

Yeah, money stinks.

But money also talks, and we really can't do too much without some form of it. And steady streams (or trickles) of it helps.

Today I got home from my student teaching school to find Michael at home. Normally this is a pleasant experience, and it was, but I was also confused. He was supposed to be in Newberg at his other job. He told me that the car broke down on the highway on the way to his job. Not just broke down, flat out broke, as in it's not worth fixing the axle that completely broke into two.

I surprised myself at how calm I was. He was upset, mostly frustrated and worried about money. We sat down and tried to talk about it. Michael was also trying to decide if he should still head to Newberg, because he had registered to take a 3-week class on Preparation for the GRE, and it started tonight. He was debating going because of the money, but more importantly because he has still been unsure if he should take the GREs, or even go to grad school next year. And I suddenly realized that we needed to stop relying on ourselves, something we do often.

So I prayed. I prayed for peace and guidance and thanked God for all the ways He's provided for us lately: scholarship, Michael finding two jobs, etc.

And a few minutes later Michael suddenly realized he had to go to Newberg to get his computer, and he also went to the GRE class. God had answered my prayer, literally, only a few minutes later.

God is good, even when our car breaks, or our dryer breaks, or surprise bills arise.

Church is a Verb

Michael and I have had a hard time finding a church. It's hard knowing that we're probably only here for a year, and then we'll be leaving again. We did that last year, and by the end we felt like we had checked out, and so had the people at the church.

However, that's no excuse for us. This week I have been thinking a lot about how much I miss being surrounded by a community of supportive and prayerful Christians. I am (trying to) learn how to live the way Christ is calling me to in a secular world, while still maintaining my integrity and faith, and I'm finding that it's difficult at times.

I received a phone call from a friend this week and he reminded me that it's ok to just be me, that I don't have to try to be this super-Christian (I'm paraphrasing). That was helpful. Then last night Michael and I went to a Harvest Party hosted by some old friends from Fox. It was crazy because many of my worlds were colliding, there were friends from high school, college, and my old church all in one house. But again, it reminded me that I have been aching for a young married-Christian-type supportive community.

Yesterday we went to a wedding that also reminded me of the importance of having others within the Christian community supporting Michael and I and keeping our marriage accountable.

Today Michael and I went to the same church that we went to a few weeks ago. I felt a peace there today because the sermon was about some of the exact things Michael and I have been talking about lately when discussing the Church. The pastor spoke about the disconnect between Jesus' teaching and the way Christians live their lives. He shared a story about a young woman he met that complained that Christians are angry, judgmental, hypocritical, and politically motivated. The pastor realized that this girl wasn't saying that she didn't see Truth in God or the Bible, she just saw this huge disconnect between the preaching and the people and didn't want to be a part of that.

The pastor said a lot of Christians are extreme, they are either A) Turn or Burn or B) Stick their heads in the sand. This sort of resonated with the phone conversation I had that reminded me that it's ok to not be extreme either way. I have to remember that yes, people are watching me and I need to represent Christ as best as I can, but I know I won't do it perfectly or fairly. And that's part of the learning and growing process.

The sermon was the first of a three part series called, "Church" is a verb, and the point was there's a lot more to the Church (big C not little c) than showing up on Sunday for an hour.

1 Peter 2:12-13(MSG) "Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the people so that your actions will refute their prejudices."

In a rut...

Well this is the week I finally hit a big wall.

The last couple months of school have been busy, but not extremely difficult. The last few weeks we have been slowly transitioning from observing to preparing a two-week unit to teach at the middle school level. I am so excited to be having more interaction with students and to be moving on to this part of teaching. Along with that comes the extra stress and difficulty of planning lessons and class time.

Many of us in my MAT program are starting to feel overwhelmed with the work load of homework and all the planning we are doing for teaching.

I just need to remind myself to push through this next month or two, and then I will be home free!! Well, sort of. Once everything is turned in during December, I can really focus on my student teaching full-time experience for second semester. I can't wait for that!

But alas, one step at a time, one lesson plan at a time...

It's true...

"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

Habeas Corpus only applies to Americans

I am blown away by the signing of the Military Commissions Act which was signed on Tuesday. I barely can comprehend how this country has justified this. I understand that the bill is directed towards "aliens," as in, not American citizens, but this comes back to the question: Is an American life worth more than ANYONE ELSE? Well, according to Bush and this Act, Yes it is.

Basically, this Act says prisoners do not have a right to ask a court why they are being held, a core value of our American heritage. It also gives the President the right to detain anyone he wants indefinitely, another slap in the face of the Constitution. Again, whether this is referring to American citizens or not seems beside the point . Basically, this Act is saying that we believe in natural rights of Habeas Corpus for Americans, just no one else.

This bill also gives Bush the power to "interpret the meaning and application" of any limits on prisoner treatment, or what does or doesn't qualify as torture. So we've put this determination into the hands of our President, who is now able to cover the rear-ends of all the people involved in the explicit torture of prisoners over the past few years.

All this justified because we are "fighting" a "War on Terrorism."

In The Oregonian this morning there is a story about an Iraqi in search of missing relatives, only to find them tortured and mutilated to death. The last statement he made at the end of the story spoke loudly:

"I don't believe there is anything or anybody that is cheaper than Iraqi lives these days."

How to vote regarding education this Novemeber

Today I received this email and I thought I'd spread the word. Now that I will be part of the public education system, I am suddenly a lot more aware of issues that will affect me as a teacher.

I don't agree with everything, but a lot of it is good stuff.

This link is the Oregon Department of Education's recommended list of how to vote on key issues in the upcoming Oregon election.

I encourage you to be educated before you vote on these important issues.

Sarcasm and a movie

"Sarcasm is the devil's tool for destroying intimacy."

My old Young Life leader from high school used to say this. And I've quoted him ever since. In college I had a couple friends that were extremely sarcastic, and I'd whip this little line out. They would reply, "I don't want to be intimate with you." Then I would have to explain that the point of the saying is that people who are sarcastic are using sarcasm to build up a wall, because they are afraid to get close to people. (I'm sure there are more interpretations.) I usually just got more laughs and sarcasm.

Lately I've found myself making sarcastic comments constantly, especially at school. My quick-witted responses and sarcasm get a lot of laughs, but it's almost like I'm addicted to it now. I feel like I am way too sarcastic all the time. So I'm trying to be more intentional about what I say and how I say it.

On another note, Michael and I were given free movie passes by some dear friends, so we went tonight. I can't remember the last time we had seen a movie in a theater. We saw "Man of the Year," with Robin Williams. It looked like it was going to be a comedy, but it actually had a lot of depth to it. It was funny, but also made some important points about our nation's political system. I recommend the movie!!

Hmmmmm

I've officially entered the world of education; along with that comes the world of politics and other exciting ways to spend my time thinking.

And boy does it have me thinking. I am not becoming some whacked-out-crazy-liberal; however, my "conservative" roots are giving way for issues that go beyond the typical Republican, (especially the Far Right Christian Evangelical-type Republican.)

Let me explain.

It all began my freshmen year of college. I remember reading a school newspaper article in which a student argued that many (most?) Christians are Republican for two reasons: 1)Anti-Abortion issues and 2)Anti-Gay Marriage. The point of the article was to argue that there are other issues besides these two that Christians should be concerned about. And I remember agreeing that all I ever heard about politics growing up in the church was to vote Republican because Democrats were Pro-Choice. That was my basic understanding:

Democrats=bad because of Immoral Bill Clinton and because they are Pro-Choice.

An example of this was in The Oregonian a few weeks ago. The article discusses how Jerry Falwell equated Hilary Clinton with the devil. Then the article explains why Falwell, and religious conservatives (aka Christians), "do not favor Clinton for several reasons, but mostly because she is an abortion-rights advocate, 'the cutting-edge issue for social conservatives.' "

One more time: why is abortion (and gay-marriage) the only major issue(s) with so many Christians???????? Can someone explain this to me???

I have to clarify that I am still Pro-Life. But, if Christians are Pro-Life, what about after the babies are born, such as Health Care? Education? (the list could go on and on)...I'm Pro-Life for these issues as well.

To be totally honest, I have been doing a lot of reading and studying of current issues lately. And I have been unimpressed with Republican stance on issues of social justice. Yes, the statistics of abortions are alarming and downright sickening, but what about the number of children (or people) that die from war, starvation, war, lack of clean of water, war, homelessness, WAR, suicide, and war? Shouldn't Americans, I mean Christians, be concerned about these issues as well??

And, to get on my soap box for a minute, (which I can do because this is my blog and no one reads it anyway), what the heck is up with Christians=war mongers?? There is a disconnect to me. I'm embarrassed to be associated with the "Religious Right" that supports torture and war and all the other things that I just don't think Christ would support. As Bill Maher said, "of all people, you'd think Christians would be opposed to torture...Christ was Crucified!"

Speaking of Maher, have you listened to his show? He finds these evangelical, far-Right Christians and tears them to shred on his show. The ironic/maddening part is that I usually tend to agree with him. He knows the Bible better than some of the people he brings on the show!!! It's people who are extreme fundamentalists that have caused people like Bill Maher to 1)stereotype all Christians as the same, and 2) denounce the hypocrisy of Christians and thus Christianity itself. And I can honestly say, as I listen to his show, I get frustrated with what many Christians say and do, because I don't agree with them.

The even more frustrating part of all of this is that there are Christians that are doing really good things, but they get overshadowed by the extremists.

I recently registered to vote in my new county. And I had a hard time picking a party to be affiliated with. As cliche as it sounds, why can't we vote for the issues instead of strictly by party??

Numbers

Is an American life worth more than an Iraqi?

Is a Christian life worth more than a Muslim?

426,369-793,663 Iraqis haved died violently since March 2003

2,756 Americans haved died since March 2003

Blah!

I hate being sick.

I hate it even more when my husband isn't around to take care of me.

I'm sick and Michael's out of town.

Waaaahhhh!!!!!!

Yesterday I had to leave school because I was feeling shaky and cold and feverish. I had to go talk to my professor and tell her I wasn't feeling up to class, and as soon as I walked into her office I started balling! I was so embarrassed because I couldn't stop.

I got home and went straight to bed, where I was still crying, shaking, and freezing for the next hour and a half. I was sort of freaking out, because I felt so weird. I started calling people, but no one was answering their phones. I don't know what I thought anyone could do for me, but I called anyway.

Finally I got ahold of a friend who came over. By the time she got there I had finally stopped shaking. Well, I went to bed last night feeling better, and then woke up at 3am and the whole thing happened again: shaking, freezing. So I got up, made some tea, and laid on the couch for a couple hours.

Needless to say I called in sick to school today, even though it was supposed to be the first day at the middle school where I will be teaching a unit in a few weeks.

I'm feeling better tonight, though still weak. A lot of my symptoms remind me of when I had mono for a week in high school, although in that case I was hospitalized for a week, and I'm not that bad.

Tomorrow I have to go to school and then leave early to make it to the Portland airport. I'm flying to Fresno, California where Michael flew yesterday for a wedding. The busyness never ends.
Hopefully I'll get some good sleep tonight...

Carmel+Cider+Whip Cream= YUM!

I just finished my last paper of a looooong string of papers due this week for school. Many of my classes are ending tomorrow as a new set of classes begin.

Beginning Friday I will be moving from the high school site I've been observing at to a middle school. For the next month I will be observing a 7th grade Geography class twice a week. In November I will be teaching a two week unit (on what specifically, I'm not sure yet.) Of all the social studies topics I could have been assigned, economics is the only subject that falls below geography in my interest level. I am excited to find a way to make geography engaging both for my students and me!!!

I have no doubt this will be beneficial in the long run.

On another note, I'm so excited that it's the time of year for Carmel Apple Cider at Starbucks!!! I love to eat the whip cream and gooey carmel off the top!!! There is nothing better. A good friend emailed me recently to remind me they are in season. This particular friend and I used to take study breaks in college and head to Starbucks for this delicious treat. It's funny how tastes and smells evoke such strong memories...