Thanks

I just want to thank everyone at the BWP last year for helping me grow as a writer and teacher. Now that I'm teaching full time at VSU, I've used so much of the material that I first read/experienced with the BWP. For instance, just this the past week, my students read Anne Lamotte's "Shitty First Drafts." They loved it! They can relate to Lamotte, and she makes them laugh. Though I may not post on here often, I've kept up with the posts because they bring back a bit of that "summer camp" feeling.

Teaching full time is both harder and more rewarding than I ever dreamed. I know I wouldn't be staying afloat if it weren't for the help of my friends from BWP 2007.

organization

I'll never be accused of being overly organized. It can't have anything to do with heredity because if that were the case, I'd be OCD organized. I think I'm the only disorganized person in my family that I can think of anyway. I'm waiting for my desk to be declared a federal disaster, illegal dump, or hazardous waste site maybe then I could get funding to clean it up, or someone from the EPA Superfund to create a plan to mediate the problem. But I haven't stopped there. Disorganization has taken on a life of its own and leaves its wake as I pass through a room. My desk waste site has oozed into the living room which actually is the same location. It's like toxic waste leeching from a landfill into the the water table...it just slowly expands. Then there's my photography equipment/dollhouses/boxes o'crap/large dog crate room. I think that pretty well describes that room. And like the Blob, it doesn't stop there.

But I am going to stop, publish, and head downtown to Hildy's. See you soon.

Summer Vacation

Okay Donna and Matt, I am officially jealous now. I was pleased with just being able to go to the beach. Don't get me wrong I love the beach, and I go whenever I get the opportunity. I really didn't do much as far as a vacation. I worked on things for my classroom and spent the afternoon by the pool. I did redo some of the demos from this summer and adapted them so I could use them in my classroom this year.

Speaking of this year, so far it has been wonderful. I started the year with a mission. I want my students to develop a love for writing. I also want to get to know my students through their writings and individual conversations. I think we are off to a good start. They seem to like to write and talk.

It is amazing that I have continued to write in my journal. I even bought a new one so I could begin keeping a "more personal feelings" type journal. A good idea or not, I will soon know. Have a wonderful school year.

My Summer Vacation

Okay, let's hear what everyone did after the ISI ended. We know Matt went to Italy. Lucky Matt! (If you don't know about that, scroll down to see his post with a link to pictures and his blog.)

I went to the beach. Here are some pictures: http://wessewell2.bravophotos.com/wordpress/?p=87 You can see some of the family I end up writing about in some of my posts and freewrites.

And if you really want to be jealous, I'm attaching a link to the blogpost about Greece: http://wessewell2.bravophotos.com/wordpress/?p=40 There aren't any pictures of me, but you can see some of the scenery. Of course, that was in April, but still it was part of my vacation.

What did the rest of you do?

8th grade part deux

The last time that I was in 8th grade was eighteen years ago in 1990. Oh the memories. My first real boyfriend and my first real kiss (at Lowndes Middle School, nonetheless!). It was a really good year in which I excelled academically and personally, a year which secured my fate to become a teacher.

That was the year that I met Marnie Cowart. She was my 8th grade English teacher, and we were her first class. During the course of the year, she became engaged (in front of my class) and got married. She also fell victim to the common and unfortunate cattiness of middle school girls who were used to getting their way and were determined to get her fired because she, Miss Cowart, did let them do what they wanted. I'm not sure why we connected, but we did. And because of her, I realized that even though teaching wasn't the coolest profession, it was what I was destined to do. (This was not entirely clear though until I had a teacher who was the polar opposite in high school. That teacher inspired me to become a teacher because I never wanted a student to have a teacher like that. But that is another story.)

This year as I teach 8th grade, I am trying to remember how Miss Cowart (now Mrs. Reynolds) made me feel as an 8th grader. I even decided to put up paintings by Monet (something she did in her classroom; it was the first time I had ever heard of him) and other artists in my classroom in lieu of typical wall coverings. My principal keeps talking about relationships as one of the things that we are focusing on this year, and I wonder if I could build such relationships with my 6th graders. Don't get me wrong; clearly I have in the past because when I see former students in the hall, we exchange hellos and even hugs. But I kind of feel like for the past two years that I haven't been able to be myself. Hopefully, now that I am at the other end of the spectrum, I will be able to reconnect and impact my students the way Miss Cowart did me. It wasn't necessarily that she was my friend; it was that she challenged me. And challenging my students is what I aspire to everyday.

Only time will tell . . .

Journal Writing continues!

Hi all, I had never kept much of a journal for anything before Blackwater, but I really liked the experience. I decided when I went on vacation to Italy last week that I would make journal entries each day of the trip as a way to remember what all I did and saw. Well, it got out of hand as far as length, but I am glad I stuck with it. I was able to capture a lot of minutiae that to me comprise the memories that surround any experience I have. Yes, I saw all the classical stuff in Rome, blah, blah, blah. But, I think little things like having a wreck in a parking lot at a hardware store in Terni and a Russian kid running around on the plane screaming,"I am THE Batman" are what create the experience. HAHAHA!

I am including a link to my journal on my other blog. I put the pictures first, then the journal.

Thanks, Matt B.

http://ursuluscaruscapillatusque.blogspot.com/