LONG day... LONG post.

I am literally shocked to find myself in one piece at the end of this day.  It been a busy one!

The #1 factor in this busy-ness is most definitely the project presentations my students did today.  This project was by FAR the most ambitious I've attempted in my two years of teaching.  For one thing, it is the first time my students have had to stand up and present something memorized.  AHHH!  (But really, you have no idea how intimidating that can be when its not your first language.)

Not to say its impossible.  OHH no... it is absolutely possible.  But it takes work.  Which was exactly the point of this project.  At some point, I'm no longer interested in assessing whether you can repeat after me or memorize how to spell.  I want to hear you say something and show me what you can do!

The students had to do a 12-step demonstration for the class, with visuals, entirely in Spanish.  Which brings me to the other reason this project was so ambitious... the visuals.  I had topics ranging from "How to Make Frog Legs" to "How to Play the Violin" to "How to Skin a Deer" to "How to Make Sopapilla Cheesecake."  Can you imagine?  Child X has brought his violin, Child Y has an ice chest full of eggs, butter, and cream cheese... plus an electric mixer!  Child Z has a powerpoint chock-full of horrifyingly disgusting pictures of deer guts.   And yes.  I allowing all this.  Why?  So that I can get them using the language in some way that they find personally meaningful.  Call me crazy.

And I couldn't decide how to feel after all those presentations.  For every creative, well-rehearsed presentation, there was a child so painful to watch I don't know how we made it though.  And whenever a student would find themself in this nerve-inducing situation... the first things to fly out the window were always the verbs.  They'd go from what they'd written ("These are the ingredients you need...")  to  "The ingredients.  Eggs.  Butter.  Spoon."  Its cute, but frustrating!  I'm like, "How many days, weeks, months, and years have I spent trying to teach you these verb forms!?"

And I will also add that I was a bit of a jerk during this process.  On a typical day, I try to create a very "safe" atmosphere where my students can feel comfortable speaking, making errors, self-correcting, trying again, etc.  Today was different.  If they hadn't done the prep work to have their demonstration memorized, they were NOT getting help from me.  I decided this ahead of time... because I honestly feel very strongly that they do not need to babied forever.  At some point in life... you must show that you can meet a challenge head-on, well-prepared, and without teacher scooting you along.    

Let's move on to Factor #2 of "Busy Today." The interviews.  I was called out of class VERY last minute to sit in on an interview with a potential new Spanish teacher.  AKA: my replacement. (I was also called out of class last Friday for the same reason... the administration likes for me to speak Spanish with applicants to gauge if they're qualified.)  I tried explaining to the school secretary over the intercom that I wasn't available to leave class today because my students had come prepared with numerous perishable materials to present their projects to me.  She replied, "It's not optional."

So off I went for an hour-long interview with a sweet lady from Stuttgart who... how shall I say this... who I was not as impressed with as I was the applicant from Friday.  But who, after interview #2, I found I may have judged too harshly.  She was, after all, at least able to speak to me in Spanish for a few minutes.  Albeit with errors.

Interview #2 took place after school, and I was also asked to stay for this one.  And it didn't go so well.  Oh she was sweet, smart, engaging.  But our Spanish conversation went... uhh... nowhere.  As in, I asked one question... was answered more or less in English... and then we couldn't go on.  She interrupted our talking to ask me 'exactly how much speaking I do in my classroom.'  I answered, "As much as possible."  And she explained that she does very little and has lost much of her upper level ability in the two years she has taught Spanish 1.  Ouch.  I mean, I was trying to help her out a bit with answers, but you can pretty much toss your application in the trash if you're just going to admit you don't speak much Spanish.  It was just awkward.  I was put in the position of the interrogator, and I'm sure she felt horribly put on the spot... and besides that she was only a few years older than me!  At least with the other two ladies the age gap was wider.  This was just painful.

Speaking of painful... Now seems like the right time to add that I have spent this entire week progressively losing my voice and feeling my throat transform into a fiery furnace.  So all this talking I was doing was immensely painful.   Yikes.  Physically painful.  Emotionally painful.  No more!  No more!

And at the end of all that I went back to my classroom and typed out two recommendation letters for two of my students that were needed by tomorrow, planned my lesson for tomorrow, dragged myself to my car and home to my cough drops.

If you're still here reading, thanks for sticking around.  You're a pal.  Now be an even better pal and slip me some narcotics.  Kidding.  Diet Mountain Dew is my drug of choice.