Well, I'm off to Ireland! It might be a while before I post. Margie and I leave for Portland today and we fly out tomorrow morning early!

New Update: Lindsey Walker is coming with us last minute!! Whoohoooooo!

See ya soon!

I am really going to miss my little brother. I feel bad.

I came home tonight and he sang me a song, "School's out for the summer!" and then he admitted that he was going to miss Margie and I this summer and that it was going to be boring without us. That made me sad. I feel bad that Margie and I are going off traveling and he has to stay behind.

I wish he could come too. He would be fun. He's such a cool kid.

=-(

So, I have said it a lot and I'm going to say it again! I love my department! Today was the last day of school. I am packed up. Grades are submitted, textbooks are turned in, and my keys are gone! And today after our brunch all of the sudden I got incredibly excited!

Oh my gosh!! I'm finished with my second year of teaching! I did it! From here on out...I know what I'm doing!! (well, mostly, hehe)

I'm leaving for Ireland in two and a half days!!!!!!!!!!

And

I love my department.

Reasons why I love my department:

• we are like family. Edie gives us treats. We all make fun of Byron and Keith's dating lives. We all tease Grifan because...well, because she's Grifan.
  
• We eat lunch together.
• We laugh all the time.
  
• Students know we like each other because they stare at us in our office cracking up.
  
• We run to tell each other things when they happen.
• It is full of stellar teachers. The best of the best. Seriously. For the third year in a row we won 3/6 student-selected teacher awards (and the teacher of the year both times). Both graduations speakers were social studies. We collaborate. We share. We refine. We're intellectuals and focused on improving how we teach to reach every student, even if it means taking lots of time to work together or if it means changing what we're doing as long as what we're changing to will make it better for our students.
  

Things that happened today that made me remember why I love my job:

• We all got together after our brunch to work on the schedule for next year. They really messed up our schedule next year by making us all move and share and just...it was stupid. So we all gathered and switched it all up so that it's best for everyone. I loved it. I mean...we were all there, all working together, all laughing and joking and compromising and I really felt close to them. It's so strange. I really felt like family while we were working through that schedule. We could have all left and started our summer but instead we stayed and just...I dunno. It's silly.
  
• As I was cleaning my room I heard Keith scream at the top of his lungs and when I went out to see what was wrong, saw him jumping and pumping his fist in the air and running whooping down the stairs. World Cup. That made me smile.
• I realized that my school is kinda stressful for everyone involved but I would choose this school over many others because of the incredible staff.
  

Ok all, I've got to finish up packing my apartment! Yay!!! SUMMER HAS ARRIVED!

This was one of my favorites from the second group of videos. Funny, well-done and relevant to what we have studied...well, even Sherwin's rant had some important points...

Well, today was the day. My kiddos are gone. I'm not that sad. I'm not that affected by it. But it is weird. I mean...I know I've said this before, but it's bizarre when this group of people become so important to you--they are a good portion of your time and energy and focus for a year--and then they disappear forever. At first I felt like all that time and energy was wasted but I know it wasn't. They're good people and I really truly believe that it's the people you meet and become close to who shape who you become and I've helped shape these kids. I think thats a good thing...lol.

A lot has happened in the past week but i haven't had a lot of time to write. Final projects came in (which, by the way, were stupendous). I found a place to live next year, I packed up most of my apartment. I got most things ready for Ireland. I had Margie's BD and Father's day. My parents went on a cruise. Then, of course, on Friday was the Teacher Tunnel. This year it was different. I didn't know as many students so a good portion of the time I stood awkwardly waiting for students to come to me. However, it was worth it. Though it wasn't the onslaught of "you're my favorite teacher ever!" like last year, a few kids really hit home. The cool thing that I'm finding is that, the kids that I really touch are the kids that I most admire. I think that's really cool. I may not touch everyone, but the ones that I do touch are those amazing kids that I wish I could be like!

Anyway, a few stories just to get them out of my head. Last Friday a few kids really hit home.

KunWoo--didn't talk at all first semester, then halfway through second semester he came up and was rattling away about how interesting caucuses are and asking questions about why we don't do it differently. I was so surprised. At the tunnel KunWoo didn't say much but he grinned and he said thank you and he said, "I learned so much in your class! So much! It's incredible. I knew nothing about government before this year." It was sortof awkward but I think that was KunWoo's way of giving thanks.

Bar-- My little fashionista. She looks like a model, acts sometimes like a *****, but there's just something about her that I connected with. She's incredibly intelligent and thoughtful and we connected this year. Bar is very critical of people but she made me feel so special because when she spotted me in the crowd she plowed through 10 people to get to me, squealing the whole way, "Ms. Burdick! I've been looking for you forever!!" Just those few words made me feel so special, that when she thought of someone who meant something to her, she thought of me. She said a lot more things and she was so sincere that it really touched my heart.

John Yip -- Oh man, I love John. Smartest kid I've ever met. Kindhearted too. He has, quite literally, taken every single social studies class we offer and he loved every one of them. But he adores me and he adores my class and when I saw him at the teacher tunnel he said so many things that just made me feel special. John is one of those stellar students, and when a stellar student like John can't stop talking about how wonderful my class was and ...man. I'll stop but it made me feel like a star teacher.

Cami - Cami made me hold back tears. She came over, took both my hands in hers and with shining eyes, said so many things that I'm embarrassed to say them. To sum it up, Cami told me all the things I taught her, and she was convinced that I taught her how to be a good person and how to love people even when they make life difficult for you and how to be kind and solid in your beliefs and moral and ethical and honest. And all I could say was, "Cami, you're an amazing young woman!" and she just said that it was me who taught her how to be that way. She was lying, her parents taught her that, but that was one of the first times I've had a student tell me that my example as a person has affected them. I see my role in the school as a ministry. Even though it's kinda creepy, I kindof see my role as a way I can influence students to make moral and ethical choices. So many influences in their lives turn them away from those things. I always try to be a good example but a lot of times I feel like I hide so much of my personal moral opinions to myself that my kids can't learn from me. But, apparently, they see.

And then, though I didn't get a Golden Burd Award this year, I did get made an honorary DG. There is a group of 5 boys in my Gov class and they go by "The DG's." All year I have been trying to figure out what that means. They tie it into everything. When they need a team name, "DG." When they need a descriptor, "That is so DG." ANYWAY, finally last week I coaxed them into telling me what it means. No one else knows! Believe me, I've been trying to figure it out all year. Anyway, they finally told me what it meant. It has to do with a video game (they're all gamers, though you wouldn't guess it) they all played when they were in middle school together. Well, at the Teacher Tunnel all five of them gathered around me, and told me that they were making me an honorary DG! So, I had to make a lot of noise and then we had a big group hug, basically I got smushed in the middle since I'm quite a bit shorter. Anyway, that made my day.

MAGAZINES! (more about them later)

Tiempo - Mag on Mexico

Half the Sky - Women's Mag in China

Teen Vogue Iran (that's Bar on the far left and Quincy holding the mag)

Russian Man - Russia

My 6th Period!!

My 7th Period!!

Quincy fawning over the actor who will play Edward Cullen.

The DG's!

So yesterday after school I found something from my brilliant students. It was a two page doucment on the scheduled meetings and activities involved in the senior prank. Seriously, everything was there. Meeting, money generation, planned dates and possible pranks. I was thinking, ah...yes, my brilliant students. I thought our kids were supposed to be smart but apparently not smart enough if they leave their whole spread-sheeted plan out to be found.

Anyway, here is the first of the Senior pranks! It's hilarious if you know craigslist and know how people are always trying to buy up real estate to send their kids to our school.

For your viewing pleasure

Things from today:

My freshmen and I may not make it to the end of the week! They are getting increasingly antsy and it is making me increasingly pissed off. I was so angry today at my 3rd period. I don't know if I told you about their shenannigans, but they used to be my favorite class and now I dread them every day. I'm sick of repeating myself. I'm sick of them not listening. I'm sick of them calling the phone in the middle of class so that it rings 4 times. I'm getting ready for the year to be over too and so with the combination...I don't know if I'll make it and I don't know if they'll survive me. I feel horrible about it because I understand why they're so jittery and I'm not helping the matter with my own irritation but they just make me so mad!

I finally got to see some of the new videos from 6th...oh man, they're SO much better this time. I think my own video "upped-the-anty." This batch is sooo good!

AND...7th period's magazines are fantastic. Seriously...I wasn't sure...but they are fabulous. I am so impressed. And the kids are impressed with themselves too, which is better. One group came in angry today (after having worked 13 hours yesterday on their magazine) and I felt really bad. One said he couldn't wait until it was over because he hated it. He didn't like it at all. I felt bad. But, it was kindof their own fault. I kept telling them they needed to start formatting. BUT ANYWWAY, two groups took their magazine to be bound at Kinkos (not a requirement) and came running back to show me the finished product. They were so proud of themselves! They were practically beaming! One group was the mad group. I said, "See! Look how great this is!" Avi said, "You know, earlier today I was sure I wasn't going to like it even if it looked good, but I have to admit. It was worth it."

I will show you what they look like when they hand them in tomorrow. You'll be impressed.

Today I had to go to Renton on errands and I still have a whole bunch of essays to grade and I can't make myself grade them. So, I went to a coffee shop and oh...it was perfect. Yes, I was grading essays. Yes, I was creating a rubric for 7th's magazines (which was much more complicated than you'd think...I wish I didn't try so hard to be fair), but I was also eating yummy food, drinking a lovely caramel sauce latte and I was sitting in a massage chair! It was so perfect! I got so much done because I was relaxed and enjoying my massage!

So for the rest of the night I was so energized that I graded half the essays, mostly completed 7th period's rubric, and have decided I'll get up early and half-wing-it and half prepare tomorrow morning for my freshmen.

Reflection: Sometimes good things take patience and grading should always be done in a massage chair.