Tag: positivity

5 happy things 2, Electric Boogaloo

basadaenlaesperanzaLeave a comment

I know I did this recently, but I got tagged by @cats-and-metersticks​ who I think is super cool, and also it’s been a good week so why not?

So here are 5 things that make me happy (in no particular order)

1. getting to see an awesome friend
I got to see her twice in one weekend, it was amazing, she is smart and interesting, she always makes me happy and always makes me think, and I just feel really lucky to get to spend time with this amazing and cool person!

2. getting caught up on grading
I didn’t realize it was a thing I was capable of? But I went to the library for 600 hours on Saturday and again on Sunday, and I GOT SH*T DONE and since then I’ve been like – I don’t have grading to do? Or lesson planning for a few days? What is my life? I don’t know but I like it.

3. not living where I used to be living
You know that metaphor of the frog in a pot of water, and the temperature raises very slowly and the frog doesn’t notice it until it’s boiling? It’s just really nice to not be there anymore. I feel so lucky to have somewhere else to be. I no longer have to wonder how to explain to people that, like, thinking about the consequences of one’s actions on others is something we just do in the normal course of our days? I just… I have so much energy freed up, it’s great.

4. Arabic class
Nothing makes me feel like a complete person like learning. Learning Arabic, learning how to Human, learning to be a better teacher, coworker, friend, etc. Language learning in particular is so wonderful because I also really love to talk. (: It took me less than a minute to read the latest text from my teacher, while the first one she sent in Arabic took roughly 7.5 years to read – progress!

5. Like I would ever have a post about anything good that doesn’t mention MY STUDENTS
One of my favorite students, who doesn’t have class with me today, came into my room at the end of the day just to wish me a happy birthday. Another of my favorite students, I asked him if he feels like he’s starting to understand more in class, and he said he is and then, and I kid you not, he actually said “participation is key” as though he was reading my mind of Things Teachers Want Students To Really Internalize. I got a bunch of surly teenagers to dance to a silly five-minute dance work out. One of my classes has an ongoing story that now involves a turtle who eats souls. I really love my job you guys.

I’m not tagging anyone because I don’t like to pressure people, but please feel free to do this, it’s so nice to read happy things! ❤

5 Happy Things

basadaenlaesperanzaLeave a comment

I wasn’t actually tagged in this, but I think it’s a great idea, and I sometimes forget that I’m having an awesome day / week / etc just because a few rotten things happen. So, without further ado:

1. I talked to one of my students today before class about his behavior and he completely took responsibility, and then was ON FIRE in class today, it was awesome. (And that class is not super participatory, so it was great to have his enthusiasm!)

2. My students were finishing up their drawings of Dani the Gender-Neutral Crocodile, and one student accidentally referred to them as an alligator. I was walking by, and I asked if she knew how to tell an alligator from a crocodile. She started listing some guesses, as did a girl nearby, and I blithely shook my head to all their suggestions and informed them that, if you see it later, it’s an alligator, whereas if you see it in a while, it’s a crocodile. The look on the first girl’s face was just… You have not lived until you see a teenager slowly dying from a teacher’s terrible joke. (Her drawing was, of course, amazing).

3. After one student was being a total butt to me for the millionth time, three different students specifically came up to me at the end of class to tell me that *they* liked my class, and others chimed in in. (That one’s bittersweet, but I really need to remember that the Butt-Acting Kid is outnumbered, and that it’s really special to have a whole bunch of teens admit to liking a class.)

4. Former students *who initially struggled in my class* going out of their way to sprinkle Spanish into the conversation when we chat in the hallway.

5. Seeing my awesome friend at a free concert she’d invited me to, and listening to a song about eggplants and wine, and then chatting with her about pretty much anything.

And guys, this was just from today. (And there’s more stuff, too, like getting to read a little bit of No One Can Pronounce My Name while a class I subbed for watched a video, and eating an ice cream sandwich, and also eating The Best Lentil Soup In The World And I Would Know I’ve Eaten A Lot Of Lentil Soup, and struggling through staying in gender-neutral language while talking about Dani but feeling how good it was to practice it because I’m pretty sure at least one student in that class is non-binary, and explaining the -ito/-ita and -cito/-cita suffix to my students and seeing them enjoy adding it to their names… I’ll make little linguists of them all!)

I’m not tagging anyone in particular, because I don’t want anyone to feel pressure. But feel free to spread the positivity!