Lately I have been overwhelmed with this desire to be a "blogger." I presume that I must think it is the cool thing to do or something. Maybe it is simply that I wish to have some sort of documentation for the things in my life. I have this inkling that one day I would enjoy to look back through something like a blog, and read about the day to day occurances, that at that sweet moment, seemed to be of the utmost importance.
There have been many a day recently when I have truly wanted to sit down and blog, whether it be because of cute things that happened in 2nd grade, or because I was fit to be tied over this, that, or the other.
Tomorrow is Veterans Day. The first thing that Veterans Day implies for me this year is that we are out of school. God bless the public schools and their random vacation days here and there. I believe they are a strong component of the sanity of teachers. Teaching is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but teachers need breaks every now and then. I am thinking every Wednesday would be great for break day, but unfortunately I don't believe that is going to happen.
As a "teacher" I took it as my responsibility to attempt to "teach" my 23 seven year olds this morning about the meaning of Veterans Day. Let's be honest, all tomorrow is to my kids is a day off of school. It means that tonight they can stay up late, spend the night with a friend, watch extra tv, etc. I have to be 100% honest, I am right there with them. I didn't do any school work after school today. I hung out with some friends, went to IV, and now here I am BLOGGING at almost MIDNIGHT! Midnight is unheard of these days in my world. But anyway... there is much more to Veterans Days then these perks which come as benefits to being out of school.
I decided to try to help my angels see why we are out of school tomorrow. The principal gave a nice little speech about it on the announcements at 7:40 this morning, but as I could have figured they weren't listening. When I asked about 20 minutes later what she had said on the announcements about Veterans Day, not a single kid could raise their hand and tell me. (This also, let me tell you, was a preview for how well they would listen for the rest of the day including the time during my formal observation by one of my professors... thanks kids.) At that moment I began wondering how much of what I say to them is going in one ear and out the other?
Well, we went in for the second attempt at explaining Veterans Day. We instigated their prior knowledge, watched a short video clip, and had some discussion about the holiday. Whether or not the kids will think twice about the meaning of Veterans Day tomorrow, I definitely will. Teaching something helps you personally to learn more about a topic and be more aware. I will definitely be thinking twice, or three times, or four times, or more, about the people who have served our country.
I may not start the morning off with the pledge of allegiance, as I do every other morning during the week, but I can safely say I will be more highly aware of the gift I have of living in this country. So many people have fought for our freedom and our safety. What a gift, and what a blessing.
Thank you veterans
