Oh! We're halfway to halfway there...

That's right. End of term 1, friends. I have made it through an entire term and.....

(drumroll please...)

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I still love this job.

Especially on days like today.

I have a genre analysis activity that they will be doing with a sub next week (and I'm dreading what is going to happen in my class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday), so I spent today's shortened periods explaining the assignment they will be required to turn in and modeling it for them. Purpose? So I can effectively hold them accountable if they don't do it or don't do it right next week with the sub.

But since it was Friday, I had to liven all of it up somehow....

So we analyzed the genre of SONG!

And Bruno Mars sang to me every period. Surprisingly, his "It Will Rain" song is incredibly juicy and full of opportunities for analysis.

My seventh graders had a hard time paying attention. Why? Because they were singing along. Not timidly, by the way. So the periods after that, I made sure I reminded students during the song that they should be taking notes and I walked around the class to monitor. Problem solved.

My eighth graders? They tried to pretend they were too cool for Bruno and that Mrs. Brown was so out of touch with what was cool, but I saw a few of them mouthing along, bouncing their heads to the beat and tapping their feet.

It really was fun.

And what, you ask, have I learned over the course of term 1?

Read the blog. Cause I've learned a lot.

However, one of my most valuable lessons is this: SMILE. A simple smile is often the difference between a student knowing you care about them and a student thinking you could care less. Just today, I had a student who was SO not focused and after multiple reminders, I stood in front of his desk and gave him the stinkiest stink eye I could muster. He got the message, but I also saw a look of fear pass over his face. So the next time I walked by his desk, I could tell he wasn't sure how to act. I gave him a smile, and the fear and trepidation disappeared. He smiled back and started writing some more notes (while he sang along with Bruno, of course).

Is it serious? Oh yeah. But each day doesn't have to be a life or death situation about grades or about responsibility or about life. Some days, it does, but mostly it's about getting to tomorrow and trying again which is okay.

Here's to term 2 and a whole new line-up of adventures!