Recent Events!

Goodness has it been long! Overall I am much, much happier! Life at school is calmer; I know students are learning better and I am far more mentally and emotionally healthy because of it .

Here are a few recent highlights:

1) Making a player run a significant sprint after cursing in practice.
I have recently taken an assistant coaching position at a local high school (although this school shares similar to demographics to my school, the team is all white with the exception of two Asian players). The dynamic is totally different from that between me and my students. There is an automatic level of respect that the head coach and I receive that is not exactly as inherent at school. Lax practice has become the saving grace of my day, something that I look forward to when I wake up, at lunch time, and when I go to sleep at night. Our game schedule extends from March until May, so it will help carry me through this spring.

2) Relationships with students are far better than last semester.
While I continue to bounce students who are too behaviorally challenging to stay in the classroom if we are to learn anything, my relationships with even these students are filled with greater trust and support than last semester's. Whenever I ask a student to leave class that day, I make a strong point to hold a brief discussion with the student in the hallway. It usually ends in the student's apologizing for his or her behavior and our leaving on decent terms.

3) Referrals rain from the sky at times.
Indeed, I have been called a B far less this semester and more importantly, with less sincerity (now it's more to show out in front of peers than to express true disdain for me); however, student disrespect to one another is extremely high. Not a day goes by without a student flagrantly cursing out another student, calling someone stupid, a faggot, a stank a** b****, or at the very least mouthing f*** you to a peer. But! I am remaining calm, which is the most important thing to relax a verbal altercation and get the class back on track.

Shout out to Midd Women's Basketball! After a solid run this year, their season saw it's last game come and go this past Saturday. I wish all those on the team good cheer and high spirits in the painful, awkward first week of dead time after the season. My thoughts go out in particular to the seniors who ended their college athletic careers this weekend and those who decided not to play this year, may all be content with their time and decisions. If you have lost passion for the game, rekindle some this spring through maintaining and fostering strong friendships through playing some spring ball!