To You

Dear You,
I saw your little brother today, literally yelled him name as he walked down Newport, and his sweet smile made me think of you. Such a reminder of who I used to be in my high school days - fulfilling a role I thought I had to play, hanging on to people and friendships because it was what I did - a "creature of habit".

As I raise my own two little warriors in a world saturated with a lot of opinions and not enough thought, I think of how I feel like a mother to you as well.  Wanting to protect, love, nurture, guide, and teach.

But at the end of the day, you're going to be just fine.  Authentic, vulnerable, and covered, my friend, in stretch marks.

Adore you.

Xoxo,
Beltran

AND TO MY APES:  what are you doing this weekend?  Figuring out what types of sentences are out there? Reading the new issue of Time - delish, by the way?  Drinking sweet tea and saving hummingbirds? (I heart you Little Sid e.e. Sunhillow). Reading?  Writing?  Dancing?  I'll see y'all soon and we will just keep on learning.

Wow

Wow to infinity for what you brought today. Good, very good.

Tomorrow we will feed our brains even more so come ready.

PERIODS 6&7:  we have the opportunity to attend some spoken word poetry in the PAC. Meet me there ASAP. Check in and make sure I see you for attendance.

Xoxo

Big shout outs to M, F, R, and T in period 6, A in period 4, All of period 2 and my little potatoes in period 7. Kinda just falling in love more and more each day.

Tomorrow...

...tomorrow have something to say, y'all. Don't just say something. Consider the 5 canons and keep conscious, mindful, thoughtful choices at the forefront of your mind. Remember Harriet Rubin's quote. #unleash

Xoxo

Giving an A

That Benjamin Zander!  Your letters are amazing. Period 7, I'll clue you in Monday since we were in the PAC. Enjoy figuring out how to "bring it" for this weekend's L.O.  Email me with questions. Again, period 7, no need to worry. I'll show you Monday. And you, too, Sergio, since you were presenting. Good job, by the way.  :)

See y'all next week. Have a great weekend.
Xoxo

P.S. - Holden and Madi S., your letters made me laugh out loud!  Yours too, NM.

READ

READREADREADREADREADREADREADREADREADREADREADREADREADREAD.

AP all day, everyday

Hey there APEs. Although the class make up is changing a bit to accommodate the 36 cap, some of y'all are still bringing it no matter what. It's all invented, this world of measurement, so why not connect 9 dots and give you an "A". I'm supposed to be reading your essays and all I want to do is eat ice cream and go to sleep. Ahhhhh!  Tomorrow we will discuss what you did with the 2010 prompt. I'll give you some ways to ease into writing the AP way and we will see what happens.

Shout outs to the class pet Bunty (period 7!) and to the headband wearing FS who I thought I lost. So sad.  And to C, E, I, D and the rest of you who dominated the 9 dots.

See y'all tomorrow.
Xoxo

P.S. - nice job on the teacher track meet, A.  It was fun. :)

Today

Today, in a word?  Tightrope.  Just thought I'd share.

Today, for the TED Talk?  Delicious.

Your L.O.?  Explore, rewatch, consume, prepare. Come tomorrow ready to chat.

Xoxo

To the clappers

You know who I'm talking to!  What a great day of presentations and nerdfighters and shades of meaning. We even got JM to smile!  I saw it. And my apologies to Mr. Irby. That hashtag has got to get rolling. #irby looks waaaay better.

Tomorrow (after my heart breaks a little in the morning), we will consume just the most stupendous TED Talk. Fasten your seat belts...(allusion to a a great movie and actress...any guesses?)

Period 7, sigh.

And R and T...Cal Poly Nerds unite.

Could I possibly be more vague?

To Japan, to those mini in stature but magnificent in depth, to lightbulbs, to giraffes, to casting spells, only ten days and being so over the moon.

Xoxo

And if you read this, wear red tomorrow. Just saying...

Friday the 13th

What a day...connotation, shades of meaning, paint cards and freak outs. Just show up on Monday. No shame.

Xoxo

P.S. - #urby. Seriously!

Snapshots

I've never been really good at taking pictures.  My husband or my sister always seem to get the best shots so they usually take on that role at family functions or gatherings.  But I've come to find that I'm pretty good at shots of candid moments - when your head is thrown back in real laughter, when you're engrossed in a book, when you don't know anyone is watching. These snapshots are a moment in time, and just like time, they arise, abide, and dissolve.  My mind is on those of you whose schedules will be changed due to class sizes needing to be at 36. What goes into deciding who gets to stay?  Or move to another section?  Or leave to American Literature?

Because I stopped today on my way to my car, I know the answer to those questions.

All I can say is that a lot of things in life are like snapshots - just little glimpses into what was at one moment and is no longer. So a "bad" picture might just be a poor angle and a "good" picture might just be sweet lighting. No matter what, it's just a bit of who you REALLY are.

I know most of you won't understand what I'm trying to say, but just listen:  you are capable of greatness whether or not you're in my class. Period.

I HOPE TO SEE YOU TOMORROW!
Xoxo,
Beltran

Friday is Almost Here

Thanks so much, little tater tots, for writing your hearts out today.  (I assume you did...I'll start reading tonight.)  It's always interesting to see what comes out of this first timed write.  We'll do a little learning with it on Monday so for tomorrow, come to class with an open mind.  :)

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few." ~ Shunryu Suzuki

xoxo

Timed Write Tomorrow

Be ready for a timed write tomorrow.  Have notebook paper and a dark blue pen.  No essays in pencil will be scored.

Today was fun (from my perspective) and I hope you learned a little something.  That good ol' rhetorical triangle is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Do any of you read this blog?  If you do, post a comment (I'll see them, no one else will.) I'd be interested in knowing...and be mindful of what you comment since I'll honestly read them.

xoxo

TED Talk Tuesday

So, we watched our first TED Talk - Brene Brown's "The Power of Vulnerability". Lots of goodies in that one. Create your rhetorical triangle, rewatch the video a thousand times, or at least once more, and come to class ready to discuss. You can find it at ted.com.

Period 3, feel free to watch it but I won't hold you to the same expectations as other classes since y'all had the assembly to attend.

My spirit animal is the pointer dog. No doubt. Energetic, loyal, intelligent, and enthusiastic about what they do. Whoa.

Also, in unrelated news, I ate the most glorious INO burger. It was delicious. Also, sweet bomb dropping, Ty.  :)

Monday, Monday

Grade level assembly - period 3.  Meet me there and check in.

We reviewed the Rhetorical Triangle today and I mentioned some blogs you should check out.

- www.happyolks.com
- www.aumroom.wordpress.com
- www.anniemurphypaul.com/blog
- www.freckledfaultyandfancyfree.blogspot.com

Prepare to have a book with you in class STARTING TOMORROW.  Email me if you need suggestions.

I'm loving what some of you are showing.  Stay off twitter.  Timed Write #1 on Thursday.  Have paper and a dark blue pen.  NO ESSAYS IN PENCIL ARE ACCEPTED.

xoxo

#trolling

I loved today but that's my conditioned state. And Twitter's getting interesting...thanks for class. See you Monday with your assignments.

Xoxo

Some of Y'all Brought It

Thank you for what you showed me today. One of you volunteered to switch schedules. I guess that leaves schedule changes up to chance. I hope to see all of you tomorrow....

Books I announced today are as follows:  Wild by Cheryl Strayed, The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg, How Children Succeed by Paul Tough and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Read them (or not). I recommend them.

Also, get a book to read by Monday - anything really. I just want to see you READING.

Tomorrow be ready to learn something fan-freakin'-tastic.

Xoxo

P.S.  I still love you, JV, ZR, MM, Tot Shaw, AC, DH, ML, MP, HK, EA, AB you fan girl you, I could go on and on and on...thanks for making lunch a time my heart sings. Xoxo

Six Word Memoir

You got your books today.  Fun.
I explained the 6 word memoir assignment.  Good.
Get yours ready and deliver it tomorrow.

I am so excited...I cannot wait.

xoxo

"I really hope they bring it."  ~ Beltran

Year 16

"The language we use creates our reality."

Here's to year 16 and some new APES...

xoxo

P.S. - homework for tonight...start thinking about who you want to be this year, in this class...six words to say it all.