THE FIRST WEEK

Hi there-- Sorry it's been a while. I actually developed a biting fever, alternating runny noses, unrelenting sore throat, ugly cold sore on my lip, nasty headaches, and a bad cough since Sunday. Oh, and I started teaching my new job on Monday.

Needless to say, I have been a mess. But last night, at around 2am, my fever broke. I woke up soaking wet. No lie. My shirt was drenched in sweat. My boxers, soaked. My legs were slick with sweat.

All that meant to me was that this morning I awoke and my fever was gone! My headache was gone! I could teach at my full potential.

So I will give you a taste of my junior highers so far. I asked them on the first day to write down any questions that they had for me on one side of the page, and on the other would they please write about two or three incidents that have changed their lives.

I will share one life-changing incident and one set of questions today:

"One thing that changed my life was my cousin getting shot. It changed my life because it showed me that gang violence really affects people. Another thing that changed me was breaking my arm."

"How strict are you? If you were to grow out your beard, what would it look like? Do you like pencil erasers? If so, what color? Do you have a pet? If so, what does it smell like? How many pairs of socks do you have? What sort of music do you like? What underwhere [sic] is your favorite?"

I answered all of these questions and more. I'll share the rest of the interesting ones later.

THE NERVOUSNESS

Tomorrow I start my first day at Santa Barbara Junior High, and I am so nervous! I don't even have anything planned yet. That's probably why I am pretty nervous. Don't worry, I will have something by tomorrow morning to last throughout the day. But I am supposed to be planning for the week.

I'll let y'all know how it goes!

-Phil

THE SLICE OF CAKE

Yesterday I got to witness one of the most heart warming events I have experienced since I started substituting two Octobers ago: In my third period HIGH SCHOOL English class, the teacher's STUDENT aide is a recently arrived Chinese student; his English is not the greatest, and his parents do not live here. He lives near the University with a bunch of older Chinese friends on his own.

And he has a huge crush on this little white girl in class.

What happened yesterday made my heart swell, and the class cheer. The girl came in late with her sister and her friends (they had made a trip to Starbucks before class, without my permission). When they all came into the class we were in the middle of reading our novel, The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle, so it was pretty quiet. Everyone booed them and shouted for being late. And the white girl looked at her desk and said "What is that?"

There was a vanilla birthday cake, with white frosting and a strawberry on top, encased in a nice plastic covering. Next to it was a paper crane, with writing on it. Everyone said "Some guy came in and left it for you!" Which was true. The student aide came in, dropped the cake off on the her desk, and left.

Everyone was quiet as they watched her open the cake container, and unfold the paper crane, and read the note inside. Then they demanded that she read it aloud. And so, she did. This is what the note said:

"I don't know why I got you this little cake. It is just as cute as you are. From ---------"

.::It's official::.

I took the job at the junior high school! I start on February 25th. I will get paid as a full-time substitute teacher (105 dollars/day), although I am only teaching three classes and will be done by noon every day.

THE TRUTH?

How shocking is this? I was talking with a 17-year-old student who moved here from Mexico two years ago. I asked her if she had any brothers or sisters and she said she had younger brother and a twin. Who died. A month ago! What in the world? Is that true? Stop, think about that situation, and tell me what you would say to that.

I didn't know how to respond and so I asked about her other sibling, the younger brother. She said he is in Mexico and she doesn't really know him, and he doesn't live with her family. That was about all I could handle, and I didn't know if I was asking too much, so the conversation ended right there.

Crazy, huh?

THE MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT

Folks, I'm really sorry I haven't been posting as regularly as I should on here.

Lately I have been feeling a bit self-conscious about my professional standards due to a few slip ups in the classroom. I forgot to give out a makeup test to one class last week; I am unsure of a certain math problem and possibly give out wrong information; I let students from another classroom come into the one I am teaching and disrupt things (granted, there was nothing to disrupt--everyone had finished their work already).

But worst of all was this, two weeks ago:

I am in a lower level English class, trying to teach through two chapters of Homer's "The Iliad." I draw on the board, read through the scenes, check for comprehension, all the good stuff. We finish early and there is no more instruction for the students so I do the nice thing and let them chat quietly, listen to their iPods, and so on. I, in turn, go to my desk and work on the Rubik's Cube. Because I am addicted.

Apparently I am very focused when I solve the Rubik's Cube over and over again, because at some point the PRINCIPAL OF THE SCHOOL steps into the open doorway to check in on things and I did not notice him for probably three solid minutes.

I finally notice that someone is in the classroom and half-turn my chair with my Rubik's Cube in hand and let out a surprised "Hi" to the principal who is just standing there, arms crossed, staring poison into my skull.

Do you know what he does? He says a colorless "Hi" right back at me and leaves.

THE DECISION?

On Tuesday I will go to Santa Barbara Junior High School to meet the principal there and check out the classroom that I may be teaching from March to June!