Homecoming - Spirit Days 09

It is homecoming week at AHS. Lots of festivities.



This was pretty ridiculous, but we were very good Tacky Tourists!

Update about school/work

It's a funny thing when you are a teacher. You refer to your place of employment as "school." And it is a school... but it is also work. Most days I am having so much fun and loving my time with my students so much that I don't consider it work at all. Then the quizzes, homeworks, essays, tests, and projects come due... and I am absolutely WORKING. It is the toughest part of it for sure.

I do love the sense of accomplishment I get when a stack of papers are done, finished... and then in the gradebook. It is really a sense of accomplishment when you check out the computer gradebook and see a bunch of columns of grades. Finishing a six week's period, semester and the year is really a good feeling.

This week has been tough on me because I keep having that "I miss my students from last year" feeling. I already had them trained. They understood my silly jokes, sense of humor and trusted me that I wanted all of them to succeed and to learn. Starting over is hard. Kids look at me like I'm some kind of alien at first. But, slowly things melt and we really start to connect. Hopefully that will start to happen after our first project is in the books and they present to the class. I learn a lot about them through that process.

This weekend is going to be interesting. I'm heading up to Nacadoches, TX (2 hours north) for 2 days of fantasy football drafting. It should be a blast. I'll probably leave early, early on Saturday morning and then come back late in the afternoon on Sunday. I have a keeper league draft on Saturday and then I'll be defending my championship in the auction league on Sunday (although a year removed. Last year I was unable to attend the auction because of our car accident... can't believe that is 1 year ago!).

Hopefully I will get lots of great players and be very happy with the results. It is a lot of fun to be with the 8 guys that are in the leagues and I hope we have a great time. One of the guys I know well is my assistant principal at school. He got me into the thing. So it'll be fun.

Eagles Win First Football Game

Atascocita Eagles 16 - Hastings Bears 7 game story w/video: Eagles turn up heat in second half, get win
Transfer Carter
shines playing QB;
Bears still struggle
JENNY DIAL Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 29, 2009, 2:23AM

Our Eagles won on the road Friday night. It must have been a very competitive game. Especially since the very controversial QB that transferred back to Hastings this week played the second half and was very good. Proud of the Eagles D for holding Hastings and that awesome QB to only 7 points.

Wish I could see the game next week, but I am heading to Nacadoches, TX for a couple of fantasy football drafts. I'll have to wait for the next home game.

My Classroom - it'll be full tomorrow.

This is going to be a great year.

This is my classroom for the new year. Tomorrow these seats will be filled (38 in my 6th period will do that!). I am so excited about seeing the new students that I will meet for the first time. And I am even more excited about seeing my former students and how much they have grown.

A look as you walk through the door. I am lucky to be back in the corner. Most people leave me alone. If you come through my door, well... you meant to do it. :)


I moved my desk to the back this year. I had it along that window there last year. It was hard to see the computer monitor and this gets more kids in the front of the class. I think that's a psych ploy by me to make them think they are better students. :)


Closer look at my desk. :)


A look at the front of the room. I am going to do more work with me teaching from the board this year. I know, old school. But, the kids get tired of power points and projections. We are going to add a little more light this year. :)

You can see my "Target Board" on the left side. It's where I post our learning targets, agenda, and notes to my 3 preps. Above the board are college pennants, hopefully reminding them of why we are learning what we are learning. This year I added a cut out of the Geiko "Money you would be saving if you switched to Geiko." I'll call it, "Money you could be saving if you prepare for a college education."


Our beautiful school. We are so lucky to call it home. Go Eagles!


Wishing a good first day to all the teachers and students out there.

Welcome Back - 1st Day Introduction Video

The sun rises on a brand new year. This is the video that I will show on Monday to my World History Pre-AP classes. It started as a "Rules Video" a few years ago. This gives me an opportunity to show the kids some of my expectations for the year w/o talking like Charlie Brown's teacher for 50 minutes.

We had a lot of fun with Aidan and the green screen towards the end of the video. There are some neat outtakes at the end.

2009_10_1stDayVideo_WH from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

Our first day video for World History Pre-AP. What will class be like? What will we study? What are our rules?

The video isn't perfect, but I think it sets a tone for a hopefully GREAT school year. Welcome back.

Very Interesting Ted Talk

I could see this being used as a teaching device in the future. Would love to test it out!

It's Time

Last year's assignment and target board
Today I took Aidan and went into my school to work on my room a bit. I got a lot done and Aidan had a ball. I got my keys, so I don't have to wait in line for that on Monday. I also unpacked my closet - which was jammed with everything that I need for my classroom. I also hung my college pennants above my assignment/target board. That is a lot of work getting those up and now it's all done. :)

Because we host summer school EVER freaking year, we have to take down all our posters, and pack up all our stuff for the summer. Kind of a shame. But, usually I don't mind because I have to move to a new room. This is the first year in the 6 years I have been in my school district that I am not changing rooms. Actually I have had 6 rooms in 5 years! I moved from a portable trailer the first year into a room in the school.

This year I am moving my desk back towards the back of the room. I haven't done that ever. The biggest reason is because it gives the students more room. I think it will be better to have desks the whole way across the front of the room, instead of having my desk to the side. It's completely ridiculous how small our rooms are. I will have to pair up the desks (something I have gotten used to and use in think-pair-share exercises) and I think it will end up looking pretty good.


Last year's desk arrangement. Another reason my desk needs to be moved is because i could not see my computer screen well with the glare from the windows.

We have a lot of time in our rooms next week during Teacher Inservice week. I am going to take advantage of it and get everything ready. It would be awesome not to have to go in on Saturday to get ready for the first day with kids - which I always seem to have to do!

I think I am more prepared and ready for this school year than ever before. My classes and schedule is great:

1st period - World History Pre-AP
2nd period - Planning in my room (at this point, they could put someone in there that period like last year again!)
3rd period - Planning and an English teacher will be in the room that period. Never had back to back planning periods before. I wonder if I will get more done, or less?
4th period - AVID 3 - it will be weird having my Junior AVID kids during 4th period. I have had them during 6th the past two years.
5th period - World History Pre-AP
6th period - World History Pre-AP
7th period - AVID 2 - I'll have my freshmen from last year in this class, looking forward to working with them again.

Football is on the tv... and the school is being prepped. It must be "Back to School Time!" :)

In production - The 2009 Rules Video

I worked on my classroom rules video for the year a little today. I purchased a new software editing program to create videos called Pinnacle. It came with a green screen to be able to do some advanced editing. So I decided to put the green screen up and see what we could do.

Here's the video so far...

Mr Duez Rules Video 09 - Preview from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

The 3 Rules. Aidan gets into "Character" to tell my classes about our three rules:
Be Prompt
Be Prepared
and
Be Polite.

Awesome job Aidan.

I think it's going pretty well. I'll use this portion for the part about the 3 rules. I also have a bunch of other ideas planned for it. Hopefully it will serve as my first day Teacher Babble about rules and procedures. Three years ago I finally cracked and said "No More!" of the first day endless talking. I would stand up in front of the class and it was me talking for 45 minutes - 5 times that day. I'd come home with a sore throat and exhausted.

The kids get tired of hearing teacher babble by 3rd period. So this video serves me very well. We do a little quiz at the end of the first week. It's 95% from Chapter 1 and there is 5% of the rules video that I assess. Of course, we go over rules and procedures a few times, but I post the video on the website and show it a couple of times during the week as a reminder.

Aidan did an awesome job. He loved getting into his costumes. We might do some more with the green screen tomorrow.

Summer is Ending

It is "that time of year." I have a little queezy feeling in my stomach. I know that it will soon be 'Back to School' time.

I have a lot of plans for this year. Most surround my AVID class. My juniors will be focusing on their AP classes and Duel Credit classes. We will be working on learning how to do a research project during our AVID class time. I'm pretty fired up about it. The first part is to study and create a research paper on Martin Luther King, Jr. Then we'll do it in groups. Then during their senior year the kids will write one about a leader in history that has inspired them.

My sophomore AVID class is going to be a challenge. I will probably only have about 15 of them to start the year. It will be a big deal to find at least 10 more kids. The most I have ever added in a school year has been 3. So it'll (hopefully) be "all hand's on deck" to help find sophomore AVID students.

Luckily myself and the other sophomore AVID teacher also teach sophomores in our other classes. So we can be on the lookout in our History and English classes. That will certainly help.

The Sophomores are going to be working on curriculum from "Road Trip Nation." I'm very fired up about this. But, I haven't gotten any details on it at all lately. Hoping that comes together. Road Trip Nation is a series on PBS, but it has morphed into a community and a movement. From their website:

It all started with four friends and one dilemma: "what do I want to do with my life?" Fresh out of college and unsure about the career paths in front of them, they were determined to expose themselves to more than just the traditional life roads. They hopped in an old RV, painted it green, and hit the road to talk with inspiring people from all walks of life to find out how they came to do what they love for a living.

Today, Roadtrip Nation has evolved into a PBS series, three books, an online community, and a student movement. We send people on the road who are interested in exploring the world outside their comfort zone, talking with individuals who chose to define their own road in life, and sharing their experiences with our generation.

I am very excited about using RTN to motivate students. We'll see how it goes. I may end up using materials from the site, even if I don't have complete buy in from our AVID director.

For my World History Pre-AP classes, I want to continue to refine and improve things. One of my biggest goals is to get all the kids onto the laptops and get their emails into my system. I also want to get them all signed up for our online paper turn in program called Turn it in dot Com. This would be a valuable resource for me, in terms of giving feedback to students about their work.

I also want to continue my World History Blog, but with more student involvement this year. We'll see how it goes.

This will be the first year since I have been in my district that I will be in the same room two years in a row. In fact, I have had 6 rooms in 5 years (the first year I moved 1/2 way through the year). That is going to be cool. I'm very big into visualization and it's easy to see what my classroom will look like - since it's the very same one as last year. I have a lot of new ideas for classroom setup and organization (moving my desk further back in the room to give the kids more desk space - my room is tiny).

When we get back from our short trip to Oklahoma (never been there before!), I plan on creating my Classroom Rules video for the year. Here are the ones from the last two years:

2008-2009 Classroom Expectations Video
2007-2008 Classroom Expectations Video

What do you think needs to be done to improve them?

I definitely will be featuring Aidan this year. He is able to follow directions, speak and be heard clearly, and hopefully it'll be cool. I might have him dress up in his super hero costumes... that would be awesome!

Cornell Notes & Philosophical Chairs

Today and tomorrow I am a presenter in my district for AVID Path Training in Social Studies. Basically it's two days of time with middle and high school teachers to present 'best teaching practices' to them. The great thing about the training is that we actually 'do' and model the work.

Today we focused on topics like Using Poetry, Cornell Notes, Jigsawing, Quick Writes, and Philosophical Chairs. Two things jump out to me and seemed to be significant. First, teachers really appreciate well-prepared and on task professional development. A teacher stopped me and my partner about an hour in and announced how excited he was that this training was going so well. He has been through three professional development experiences this summer and was stunned that we were on the ball. It was great to see how appreciative he and others were.

The other thing that stood out was how two techniques went over well with the teachers. The first was Cornell Notes. It may have been the best and most clearly designed Cornell Notes lesson that I have taught. (I might finally be getting the hang of this thing) Here is the power point that I used to introduce C Notes:
AVID HISTORY PATH: Cornell Notes

At the end of the power point, I distributed a sample of US History Cnotes with a grading rubric on the flip side. Then I had each of the participants grade it for themselves. Then we did "4 Corners" and had the teachers go to an A, B, and C corner (There were no Ds). After discussing it in their corner group, one person presented the faults they had with the notes.

This was a wonderful way of emphasizing with the teachers what good note taking is and how they could do this with their students to impart just how to take notes and what the teacher is looking for. I think it went over very well.

Also we did a wonderful Philosophical Chairs debate. The teachers got into it. The first thing I did was show my power point on PChairs to introduce the rules:
AVID HISTORY PATH: Philosophical Chairs PPT
Then we modeled Philosophical Chairs with this question:
Should the "Cash for Clunkers" program be continued by Congress?
The debate was split in 1/2 and was very lively, but well mannered. I think the teachers got a great feel for just how they can use it.

I am looking forward to presenting Engaging the Text, Document-Based Questions, Free Response Questions and Socratic Seminar tomorrow. This has been a wonderful group to work with. I can't believe that school starts in less than 2 weeks!

School Pride

Today it was really great to meet up with Egypt again from MissTeacha. She has been in town this week for an AP World History institute at Rice. Norma has been there all week as well for Economics AP. We had a chance to have dinner with her earlier in the week, but today she came up to Kingwood to see the house, our school and have some chinese food with us.

Aidan just loved being with her. She is so kind, nice and warm. He just really loved having her at the house.




We had a chance to drive down to the high school and it was open because of summer school, but all the kids had left. So we walked through it to show her the school. My classroom was open, so she had a chance to check it out.

I know the school is special. It's beautiful. But, you take it for granted when you work there and you see it every day. But, the look on Egypt's face and the "Wow," that kept coming out of her mouth reminded me... I need to remember how lucky I am to teach at this school. Both Norma and I have to count our blessings. We've taught in many different schools and AHS is by far the best.

So tonight I'm feeling fortunate. Fortunate to have had a chance to meet and spend some time with Egypt. Very fortunate to have this wonderful life that I have. I must have someone looking out for me!

Pictures from our very first year at the school:

AHS Open Nest

A brief video that shows some of our AHS pride/culture:

1_Introduction: AHS 2007-2008 Video Intro from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

This is the introduction I used for the year end videos in my World History Classes.

2007-2008! It was great.

Our Alma Mater video that I created:

AHS Alma Mater 2007 from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

AVID SI Luncheon - Summer Institute Speeches

One of the highlights of AVID Summer Institute is the luncheon. The luncheon is in a huge ball room. There are about 2,000 people stuffed in there. And there are two luncheon days. They happen on Wednesday and Thursday. The food is good, but the speeches from AVID teachers and students are way better.

Here is an editorial from this week's Dallas Morning News. It gives an overview of the luncheon that I was at and also about how powerful it was.

Editorial: These kids prove college is achievable goal
05:25 PM CDT on Thursday, June 25, 2009

If only those naysayers who believe Texas puts too much pressure on kids, especially poor ones, to attend college could have been at the Dallas Hyatt Regency on Wednesday.

They would have heard straight talk from Monica Washington, an English teacher from Texarkana; Ron Rossingh, an Odessa Permian sophomore; Elizabeth Ruiz, a top Edinburg High School graduate; and Gerardo Venegas, a Lake Highlands grad headed for Baylor. These were some of the most determined students and teachers you could meet. They not only dream big, they fuel it with the passion to realize those dreams.

They spoke to a summer institute run by AVID, a nationwide elective program that gives elementary and secondary students an extra push toward a college future.

Washington was first. The thin, soft-spoken African-American woman stared into the 1,800 faces staring back and launched into an inspirational address rivaling something out of Barack Obama's mouth. She had every bit of the crowd's attention when she described hearing a student in her AVID class say, "If I go to college..."

She knew she had to change that to, "When I go to college..."

Rossingh, broad-shouldered and round-faced, offered an arresting personal story. He was brutally frank about his drug-addicted mother, his spiral into gang life and his grandparents and middle school teacher who helped him turn himself from a smart-mouthed C student to an inquisitive A student.

What did it? Part of it was realizing that "gangs don't hand out scholarships."

Then, he leaned over the podium and said in the steeliest voice, "And I will be a college graduate," as adults around the room reached for tissues.

This is what Rossingh and his peers represent: They prove we can overcome the achievement gap, that pernicious divide that separates wealthy and poor, white and minority. It will take effort, programs and money, but we can get there. Initiatives like AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) prove that, by believing that every student can get to college with rigor and support.

Yes, the same college that naysayers say is too hard for some kids to achieve. Try telling that to these students. They want to go places, and their teachers believe they can get there.

The rest of us should get out of their way.

Definitely a highlight of my week.

AVID Summer Institute 2009

AVID Summer Institute in Dallas was great! We got in early Monday morning. I rode up with the new AVID teacher at Summer Creek High. It was great to tell her all about the 3 students that she'll be getting from my class. :)

I also spent a lot of time with the folks that teach at Atascocita Middle and Timberwood Middle. They were great and it is really awesome to learn who they are and how they work. We are so lucky to have such great teachers in our district.

This summer my class was for "AVID College Readiness." This meant I was learning all about what we should be doing during the Junior year of AVID. I am excited to say that I am now ready with tons of lessons, plans, and ideas. During the session I was lucky enough to have a tremendous facilitator from Wichita North in Kansas. They have an amazing AVID program there. She helped me so much.

We will be spending a great deal of time on four essential skills that colleges look for:



We will be using a long term research and writing project around "Leaders" to accomplish our goals of learning these skills. We'll do the skills as a full group, in smaller groups and then finally individually.

Last spring we finished the year in a really strong way. I can't wait to get started in late August. It will be a huge year for my AVID juniors as they begin to take Advanced Placement and Dual Credit classes. Everyone says the Junior year is the toughest academic year. We will also be focusing on SAT and ACT preparation. Juniors will take the PSAT in the fall, and then SAT and ACT in the spring.

And for my sophomores it will be a big adventure. We'll need to replace a lot of students and continue to tweak the skills we learned as freshmen. I am also really excited about the project the sophomores will be doing. It's called "Road Trip Nation." Check out a little sample here:

Official Road Trip Nation Website



Follow Road Trip Nation on Twitter

08-09 Reflections on the School Year

I asked my World History classes to reflect on their school year. Here is what they answered to the first question:

Mr. Duez's World History Pre-AP Class - End of the Year Reflection
What were the best activities or assignments of the year? Why? (Things you enjoyed doing)
[examples: projects - rock art, religion pstrs, castles, human rights posters, video project, career project; or cnn student news, philosophical chairs, socratic seminar, trench warfare.]

Video Project = 40
Castle Project = 33
Philosophical Chairs = 15
Rock Art Project = 13
CNN Student News = 12
Trench Warfare = 12
SOCRATIC SEMINAR = 11
CAREER PROJECT = 10
Human Rights Poster = 8
RELIGION PROJECT = 2

It's very interesting looking at these numbers. Obviously our Video Project ( see the Video Project Blog here ) had a huge impact. It is great to see that the kids enjoyed it.

The Castle Project was a pretty close second. This can be a massive project. But, the students put a lot of creativity into it. Many students commented negatively about this project as well (I'll run those numbers later). And I may continue to tweak it to make it better and a situation where students might be able to learn more.

I only used Philosophical Chairs during the fall semester and Socratic Seminar during the spring. I am going to change that up next year and mix them up more. And I am going to use both more. I think the numbers would have been higher if we would have done them more often. It is just hard to turn things over to the class sometimes as a teacher. The benefit is that they learn from each other in their own language and it is a powerful way to get ideas across. I just have to plan and work harder to get these activities into the class better.

Trench Warfare was fun (as it always is). We take two sheets of notebook paper, make balls out of them, divide the class into two teams - East and West (Germans and French) and have them fight it out in trenches. The trenches are created by using the rows in the classroom. It is fun and it does give the students a bit of a feeling of what it must have been like to hide, attack and maneuver through the trenches.

Here is the form I used for the survey (adapted from one that MissTeacha inspired me to use):
Year End Reflection-WH

Teaching reflection on subjective grading...

I was reading a blog post by Ms. C over at her blog: Cant of Cheating and Judging and it really made me think tonight. She is obviously a gifted teacher and very insightful thinker. One of her comments made me think deeper about what I have been working on over the past two years with Assessment for Learning and my adjustment in my grading practices. Here is what I wrote:

I just wanted to make a comment about something you said,

"one of the goals of those who seek to refine grading systems is that they want to make grades less subjective and more objective-- admirable on the surface, if not a bit unrealistic, but let's leave that aside."

It really interested me. In the past two years I have changed my viewpoint. I tried to be "less subjective" and what it always brought out in my teaching and corresponding student learning was too much rote or simple learning. So I have used the principles of Assessment for Learning and re-assessment to focus on being much more subjective.

I have done so in these ways,
1) Students have multiple avenues for feedback. I have encouraged students to use a window of time to turn work in to me, get feedback and then redo it for a better assessment.
2) Re-assessment of homework, quizzes and tests that do not reach a level of 85 or above. They have one opportunity to come in to reassess and the must come in for tutoring/feedback and extension of learning before this occurs.
3) Constant encouragement of students to use me, their teacher, as a reference to improve their learning. I try to show the learning objective/target, rubric, and what I am asking for them upfront, but I am removing the guessing game by having them work with me to improve their aim.

What I have found is that there is less cheating. Students are seeing that the class is not about a "gotcha" grade, but rather it is focused on improvement. Anyone can improve their grade if it is not up to their satisfaction. It has improved student motivation, effort, and by the end of the year I had some real breakthroughs with students I didn't expect to pass the class at the beginning of the year.

Although I understand these procedures wouldn't be welcome at all schools, I am lucky enough to work at a school where the focus is on the student's learning and what we can do to move them closer to that.

In your discussion of the moral consequences of cheating, I thought I might offer this up as a potential positive alternative.

I wonder if cheating is really something students would do more of if they felt trapped by their situation? For instance, if they know they have an opportunity to re-assess that test for a grade up to an 85, will they cheat less? I don't know the truth behind it, but I know how it feels in my classroom. I have less looks of fear, frustration and resentment about tests, quizzes and homework. Students seem to look at those assessments as less about 'finality' and more about where they are at that point in their learning.

I don't know. It just made me think a little bit tonight.

The New Humanities

I just love this video. Found it on Karl Fisch's Fischbowl.

After you get past the introductory portion about the professors, there is real vision here. They imagine an English department of content creators using Web 2.0 technology and not just the typical, read and write papers curriculum. Fantastic imagination.



For my own personal classes, I consider this a great challenge: Get students ready for a world that is improving faster than schools can keep pace with and the pace will keep getting faster. So what can I do? Chip away at the process by starting students down the road of content creation.

In my 5th six week's period my students this year created videos and we showcased them on this site: VideoProject09.Blogspot.com

It is my hope that the students learn how to create content in a stronger way. And it is my hope that they can move people in a new direction. As they said in the Rutgers video - Content Creation, Creativity through the portal of connected and networked computers.

I am very lucky to have a technology background, but I do believe that any teacher can start down this road and improve it. When I first started my "Video Project" it was merely a power point project. But, as technology has changed we changed with it. And I learned as much from my students as I have passed on to them. That is so much fun for a teacher!

Teachers out there, this is the time - it's summer. Think outside the box and try to find ways to give your students a chance in this new world.

Revisiting the 08-09 School Year

I was sitting tonight and thinking about my school year. I came across the video I created for the first day of class this year. It is amazing how little Aidan was! Crazy. I am looking forward to doing this video again. There are some things I am definitely going to change. I may add some of the comments from the student surveys that I handed out - like "words of warning" for next year's students.

I love doing this video because on the first day I don't even talk "Rules" with the kids. I just show the video. We discuss it a little and I ask if there are questions, but we move right along to getting to know each other.

Next year I'll probably make it a lot quicker and faster paced. And I will add more information. Maybe a preview of topics we'll talk about during the year and maybe some clips from students from the year before.

Aidan is so cute in this though. He will definitely be making another acting engagement next year!

Welcome to 2605 - Mr. D - 2008-2009 from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

This is Mr. D's Rules and Expectations Video for 2008-2009. Starring Aidan!

Appreciation Part II

Continuing with another letter of appreciation from a student. This one was handed to me in our main hallway (called "Main Street") as I was running to class the other day. The student stopped me and just had this big look in their eyes. He just said, "Mr. D. I wrote this for you, I mean every word of it and Thank You for everything this year." I was stunned. But, not as much as when I sat and read it.

Dear Mr. D,
Easily the greatest man I have ever met in my life. I envy the happiness that you have, the love you have for your wife, your son, your job, and every aspect of life. From what I can tell you must have had a difficult childhood, but you took the best out of it and became somebody important.

You never gave up on me no matter what, and to have you there saying I could do it was so helpful. The last few years for me have been rough, especially this year. For the career project when my group stood up and I said I wanted to be a lawyer and you commented that I could do it most definitely, well that almost brought me to tears.

You tell me that I have so much potential, well Mr. D. I will try to push through the bad and be all that I hoped to be and more. You are someone I look up to and hope that I will be like one day. Your son is so very lucky to have a father like you to grow up learning from. The world is a much better place with David D around. I know I would have been lost this year without you.

Whatever I do in this life I just hope that I can reach your level of happiness. I hope that one day I will be like you, Mr. D. I do not think there are words to express how I feel. All I can say is thank you for everything. I will not let you down, never change, and I will see you down the road.

I will never forget you or all that you have done for me Mr. D.

Sincerely,
Your student

ps: One of my favorite all time quotes... it's really funny... "If it's free it's for me. If it's free, I'll take 3!" - DD

Kind of leaves (even me) speechless.

I put this on my blog for 2 reasons:

1) I hope some teacher somewhere reads this and realizes that you never know what kind of impact you can have on a student. Every day I come to work and try to be consistent and show passion for my job and build relationships as best I can with my kids. Sometimes we forget that what students are going through when they are not at school can be pretty tough. Being there for them is important. Never forget the impact you can have.

2) I hope Aidan reads this some day and understands why my job is important to me. I hope some day he realizes that a job is not just measured by a pay check. Sometimes the pay that isn't in the paycheck is priceless.

Appreciation

I have had several notes of appreciation from students in the past week. They really have meant a lot to me. I am going to type a few out here, but they are not for me... really they are for Aidan. I want him to be able to see why I do what I do.

When I left technology and turned down a lot of money to come back and teach, I hoped I would have an impact. That's really part of the pay. Knowing that what you do for a profession has the chance to improve the lives of others means a lot to me.

So here goes, the first letter was from an AVID student that gave me a Starbucks gift card for my birthday a few weeks ago. I know she probably can't afford to give me a gift card so it really meant a lot that she'd spend any amount of money towards something for me. She is a special young lady. All As in her classes. And she has 3 honors classes! So very proud of her.

This is for the most amazing teacher ever who never gives up on his students, is always there for anyone who needs help, and is an amazing role model. I thought this card would be perfect for you because I know you also long to see the world changed. Thank you for caring for us and may God bless you with an amazing birthday!

On the Starbucks card it said that money from purchases goes to support the Global Fund. She has the biggest heart and is always concerned about others. She wants to be a youth or childrens minister/pastor when she grows up. I think she'll be incredible at anything she chooses to do.

This was a letter that I got on that crazy Friday when we had a lock down on campus. This student has gone through a lot this year and it was the last full day of class. Everyone else was taking a test, but she was working on the quiz she missed a few days before. After she finished the quiz, she wrote this note and gave it to me. Then she asked if she could read it to the entire class. Of course we were all pretty emotional and stunned.

Mr. D, I've never really showed or have said how much I appreciate having you in my life. So I sit here and write to you. You've helped me in to understand that things in life come and go and sometimes there are road blocks along our path that we must break through. This year hasn't been the easiest, but the most worth while of my life. To be honest, I love my fifth period class and the adventures and journeys in here have been wonderful. It's come from not just the bottom, but through my whole heart to say you are THE GREATEST TEACHER on the face of the earth and probably the kindest most compassionate man I will ever come to know. I never knew that one person could change the outlook on the way I see life until I met you and I'm glad I did. I came into this year with very little self confidence and I am coming out strong and with pride and with so much confidence that I never knew I could have. So, I want to thank You Mr. D for teaching me not just what I can find in a book, but the things I will use for the rest of my life and with that I hold dear to my heart and go on to do something good with my life.

Stunning. It really gets to me, but I am just so happy that she is feeling better about herself.

So, Aidan... when you are old enough to finally read this on your own, "Pursue a job that isn't just a job... but something you are passionate about. Find the job that when you look at the clock on the wall, you hope it slows down because you have so much more to do today. Not the job where the clock on the wall is creeping along and you are hoping it could speed up until quitting time. It makes all the difference in the world."

[more tomorrow.]

Graduation day

A picture from my cell phone cam. I had GREAT seats. Two rows back.
A beautiful day in Houston, Texas for our AHS graduation at Reliant Stadium. It was our second graduation ever... and it went off perfectly. Norma took some pictures from the stands. I was sitting on the floor with my advisory kids as they graduated. It was a neat feeling to be down there with them and able to share it with them. But, it was a LOT easier than last year when I had to read the White Community names as the kids crossed the stage. Talk about pressure.

Graduation is such a happy and sad mix. You are so proud and happy for what these kids have accomplished. But, you are so sad to see them moving on, yet it is exactly what must happen. The old make way for the new. We'll have a new group of freshmen on campus next year to take their place and the beat goes on. But, this was a very special group. They spent grades 10-12 at our new school and had come to us from the freshman campus. So they never spent any time at the old high school. They were 100% our kids. Next year will be the graduating of the first group to spend all 4 years with us. That will also be very special.

Here are a few pictures from the day:






Two of my seniors, they were so excited. Such great kids.