Brain Drain Was So Much Fun

Gosh that was fun.  Period 4 takes the cake for the longest going round.  Category:  books.  It lasted for almost ten minutes with 9 people representing their teams. Thanks for the enthusiasm and preparedness.  Granted some of you were more prepared than others but...

Enjoy your night.  Be safe if you're going out, and remember that tomorrow you are expected to have Stuff About Stuff to share.

See ya then...
xoxo

Brain Drain Tomorrow

Be ready to be given teams and to compete tomorrow.  The 15 categories I've given you will also be interlaced with some fun categories too.  Come ready to play.  :)

xoxo

The Danger of a Single Story

I hope y'all enjoyed the videos today - all very timely, insightful, and needed. I particularly love Chimamanda Adiche's talk on the danger of a single story. It is our jobs as human beings to see multiple perspectives, to educate ourselves against the "flattened experience" and to be out of our circle thingys so we can realize that we are all more alike than different. It's a good lesson to remember.  And as I was taught today, sometimes all it takes is one person to stand up and say, "enough".

What we used to whisper in the back of class is now being typed online. We edit ourselves and present a facade to the world in the name of connection. Use your social media for good. I'm @yrbeltran. Just sayin'.

See you tomorrow for MC#1.

Xoxo

Brain Drain Game 1

Brain Drain Game #1 will be next Thursday.  Be ready and don't forget, period 2, that I added a 15th category:  U.S. Presidents.  Also, tomorrow be READy with quality Stuff about Stuff.  Don't feed my brain junk food - because as good as it is, it sure ain't gonna last.

xoxo

For My Potatoes

Brain

Drain

Tomorrow.

You don't even know.

xoxo

Maybe I'm A Little Afraid of Being Wrong

Why hello there.  Where the heck have you been?  Sorry I've been absent for so long - nothing much to say so....Just reading through your letters and I am finding a common refrain - fear, afraid, scared, worried, what if I'm wrong?  I get it.  So here's the tightrope walking between parenthood and teacher status - love is the same no matter what.  I get disappointed, angry, frustrated, upset with my IRL (in real life) kids but I always love them.  Same goes for you.  Mama love is fierce, and I have the distinct advantage of knowing so.  If you mess up, do something "wrong", have bad manners, etc., I will call you out for that and pause...pause to remind myself of the beauty you are all you have to offer.  Pause to remind myself you are JUST KIDS and I am the adult here - stuck in between all the ages I've ever been (zero to 37).  But let's get real...you have to get over your fear.  Know you are loved no matter what but that isn't an excuse to lose your mind, take from others without contributing anything. Walk into your fear, your wrongness, your I'm not smart like they are.  You're not.  So learn.  Read.  Become better.  I dare you.

"The rhythms of life provide consistency; the best ones also offer connection." ~Kim John Payne

L.O. - Pick a word.  Write on it.

xoxo

Weekend L.O.

Hi, lovelies -

Thanks for your efforts at recasting today.  Go get the books I mentioned if you can.  It's worth it.  For this weekend, practice your precis writing with THIS article.  Read it, annotate it, laugh, and then write a precis.

Y'all have a great weekend!!
xoxo

Ramblings

So, tomorrow we will recast some sentences with last week's timed write. Come prepared to think...over the weekend, your L.O. will be to write a précis on an article I'll announce in class. See y'all tomorrow. Xoxo

And to my seniors who still read the blog (my lunch bunch, my original tot, my wizard rocker, my guitar teacher, burrito buddy, juice box sipper, etc.), here's my Personal Statement:

I'm a reformed hugger. What I mean by that is this: I didn't use to like, appreciate or even want hugs. I was strong, protected by armor, and kept my peeps at arm's length. Literally. Then last year happened - a randomly generated schedule that placed some of your paths in my orbit.  A couple of you appeared at lunch within the first week.  You sat on the other side of the room, I sat behind my desk.  Then some more of you appeared, like the weird dots before your eyes when you get up too fast.  You two crossed the room at the end of 4th period and parked yourselves a smidge closer to me.

And before I knew it, you were always there.

And I liked it.

Now I love it, and my heart quivers at the thought of you not being there next year. How did this happen?  How did you inch into my heart and make lunch THE best time of the day?  Why do I naturally cut my burritos in half and wait for the "Beltraaaaaaaan" at the door?  Why do I love the non Poli Sci days and the times when Calc class is just cancelled?  Well, here it is.  Because I love you.

A love that isn't capitalized or bolded.  Just one that's covering me in stretchmarks.

L.O.

Pds. 2, 4, and 6 - Have your boxes.
Pd. 3 - Shark Tank it up
Pd. 7 - I'm good at...

Excited for tomorrow.  Have the precis on The Ugly Truth About Beauty by Thursday.

xoxo

Rhetorical Precis

For your L.O., reread and annotate "The Ugly Truth About Beauty" by Dave Barry.  Come to class on Wednesday with your notes and a copy of the article.  If you can't print it, email me before 3pm tomorrow.  Write your best attempt at a precis following the format we reviewed in class.

xoxo

Open House

Tonight is Open House.  Fun.  I'm excited to meet the other important people in your lives.

As a heads up for tomorrow, we will be embracing Timed Write #2.  (Insert woot woot)  So, come to class ON TIME, with a dark blue pen, and notebook paper.  I'll hand you the prompt at the door and you can write right away.  Your work will be due at the end of class, and I'll start grading them this weekend.

xoxo

Hope You Read The Blog!

So, here's the deal...to see if you are reading this here bloggity blog - have a printed out copy of Drew Dudley's TED Talk transcript with you in class tomorrow.  Super necessary.  You'll feel weird without it.

Think tonight about his arrangement and style - what rhetorical devices/strategies did he use and WHY???  Come to class prepared.  And those of you who weren't prepared today (cough cough, class period ___ and kiddos in period ___ who had to leave), SHOW UP TOMORROW.  I'M USING ALL CAPS.  IT MUST BE SERIOUS.

xoxo

I love potatoes.