Will you look at that? I spend a Labor Day weekend away from civilization and a laptop connection and KA-BLAM. It’s Thursday night Friday morning and I haven’t posted since last week! Lately, I’ve been a horrible online communicator and I’m going to have to work harder at that. This post will be all over the map. Keep up, folks. But there is a theme. I promise. Without further ado, here is an update on the contest and Donors Choose activity.
Congratulations to the winner of the contest,Kelly (I didn’t pick her because of her name) (it’s such an awesome name though, right?) who happens to have a son with autism. I’ve already contacted her and she said, like so many commenters from the previous post, that she wanted Mr. C to have the prize. He and I have been communicating the past few weeks about Donors Choose and how they’ve been helpful to him along with many of you who voted and donated money. In fact, I feel quite lucky to have a blog community that has such a generous spirit. There was no shortage of tears when I read that some of my friends donated as much as $200 to Mr. C’s classroom. Words cannot describe the incredible feeling both Mr. C and I have experienced lately. A hearty thanks to you all and to the winner, Kelly, for your giving.
I’m sending this speech to my kids’ teachers. Both of my sons have had to work on speeches for school this week and I don’t see how anyone could do any worse than this whackjob.
This is not really a slice of crazy. It’s like the whole dang pie.
Morgan had a one-minute speech to give on communication (or, if you watched that clip above, COMMUNI-CATION) and Mason has a 16-minute speech to give for his sociology class. Now, I realize he’s in college now and that he needs to be stretched, but to take a class and give a SIXTEEN MINUTE SPEECH as a college freshman who hasn’t even taken Speech as a class yet is totally out of line. I showed both of my boys this video this morning and said, “This right here? The exact opposite of what a speech is supposed to be like. He is an example of how NOT to do it. Also? He’s an example of someone who would pull out a shotgun at the end and waste the entire audience. Do not do this.” Sometimes, motherhood is easy. Giving out master’s degrees in Communication is, also, apparently easy.
Some readers asked how much I would like my new position at the middle school and I have to honestly say this: I am ridiculously happy here. My family tells me how much nicer I am and how much more relaxed I seem now that I’m working with this age again. Every night I have stories to tell about how cute the kids are and how fun it is to watch them. In fact, Mason now works with me as a playground supervisor during lunch and he’s doing a fabulous job. Most of the time when I’m describing something he knows what student I’m talking about. (It goes like this: “This adorable kid in class was working on longitude and latitude and took me over to the globe to show me where the Equator is and then explained why it’s hotter there and OMG CAN I BRING ONE OF THEM HOME? THEY’RE SO CUTE.”) This is not his mother speaking. This is the educator in me getting to watch my son work easily with children. He and I both do playground duty for an hour and a half each day. As I’m teaching him to watch out for certain behaviors in kids, he is responding so well that I’m beginning to wonder if I didn’t produce a kid who would follow in his mother’s footsteps. He’s always said that he wants to be a youth minister and his goal is to attend a Christian university once he finishes his first two years of college. The whole thing is working out well so far since he decided not to go away to school and live at home.
The hard part, for me, is not pushing him into education, but I’ve already thought this out. See, he can become a teacher and work during the week at a school and then be a youth minister on Sundays and during the summers when he’s off. Brilliant, right? I know. This is me, as mom, trying to communicate with him via my blog which I know he doesn’t read. Maybe I’m not so smart after all. Still! Mason! You should consider it! I am an expert at seeing what makes a good teacher. And you, kid? You got it.
Not that I’m trying to sway him or anything, but I am wondering what you think makes a good teacher. What qualities are a necessity for them to posses as they go into education?
Lay it on him, folks. If nothing else, he’ll get to see if he possesses those same things as he decides what he wants to do in life.
Besides being an awesome son.
There are lots of ways for him to reach kids in a Christian setting. He could teach at a Christian school. There are some churches large enough for full-time youth pastors. It sounds like he’s on the right path, Mama. (This coming from a mom that has a 19 yo. in Bible college, yo.)
O.k., first, what is up with that guy? Is he off his meds? I feel kind of bad for him.
Second, I think the most important quality for a teacher is a genuine interest in helping children. Teachers who think about the kids they are teaching and not just the subject matter are, by far, my favorites. If your son is already focusing on what makes each kid different and what their attributes are, he’s more than half-way to being a great teacher.
I like it when your posts are all over the place. And, I like them even better when I can keep up!
OMG, I can’t watch past the first 43 seconds of this speech.
Your son, however, sounds like a wonderful young man.
Angie
My first position as a school counselor was for an elementary principal in Maine who told me he looked for four things in every teacher candidate he interviewed: integrity, compassion, enthusiasm and common sense. Why? Because, he said, these are qualities one either has or doesn’t have. These are things that CANNOT be taught. This has stuck with me and after almost twenty years in education, I believe it.
Compassion, joy, enthusiasm, passion, knowledge, drive and desire to impact and make a difference.
To mark the world forever, to change lives and make children/people feel they matter.
That, is what it takes to be a teacher (a good one, no, a REAL one)
SIXTEEN MINUTE SPEECH? Dear heavens, that’s insane.
Oh mercy. What a whack job. That county is in dire trouble if that’s the best they can do. He needs to spend some time in a little locked room with a white jacket. He is off his rocker. He scares me. I’m glad he’s not in MY state!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Really, for doing this, for posting all this, for caring so much about kids, for just being such a positive force in bloggyland.
XOXO
I read your interview this morning and was so deeply touched by your words. I love your smile and the way you love your family. Very beautiful.
@devivo is a natural born teacher, too and the head of her department threatened her with excommunication if she dared consider education. He said she was too smart–that made me furious, don’t you want the people who develop your children to be smart? grrrr. Your boys are beautiful. It is so entertaining to read about how you love the middleschoolers, our assistant principal was moved to an elementary school as principal and she feels the same way!
That guy’s speech is ridiculous.
I had to give a speech the other week on gun control, but it was only five minutes-a 16 minute speech freshman year? That’s ridiculous!
A good teacher knows when to pay attention and when to back off, how to control a classroom, and how to make students want to do the coursework.