Today - No TED Talk

So we should be all clear on semester two - teacher assessing work and assigning grades, semester two.  If you have further questions, please see me.

For tomorrow, a blue pen, notebook paper, your Interesting Stuff Journal, and by Friday a pleasure read for your Book Club.

We will learn a little and feed our brains.

Thanks for showing up with open hands.

Love and light,
Beltran

Day One - Second Semester - In The Books

Cryptic blog post because it matters that you are in class.

Find a friend who was and get notes from them if you were absent.

Stuff covered.

Interesting Journals start today.  Have them with you each day.

Prom Dress it up.

Show up tomorrow ready to learn.

Much love and light.

#sympatheticjoy
#chihuahuas

All Done

Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you Monday for Semester 2!

Xoxo

Adios Day 2

Great job today periods 3 and 4 - dancing and presentation wise.  Thank you for feeding my brain and filling up my heart.  You're almost done with your finals!!!  Woot woot.  Good luck with the last round, and I will see periods 5 and 6 bright and early.  Please be patient for my arrival as I have kiddo drop off.  :)

Don't forget your Interesting Stuff journals...what's interesting to me is the wide (shall we call it a gap) between the notebooks.  From one page filled out to almost the whole thing.  Hmm.

Love and light,
Beltran

P.S. - George Orwell's 1984 is currently the best selling book in these United States...have you read it? 

Day 1 of Finals = Done

Thank you period 2 for the lovely dance moves and the presentations.  The four of you who didn't get to present will go first for our SAS Round 1 - Semester 2 next Friday.

For presenters tomorrow, let's try to be quick.  I will be there as soon as I can after kid #1 school drop off.

Good luck studying for Day 2.

xoxo

What I Know To Be True

There's not much that I know for sure these days, but what I do know is that people matter - that kindness is crucial - that YOU are more than the grades you "earn" and the number of likes you get on social media.  All anyone on earth wants is to be SEEN and HEARD - to know they matter. 

You likely don't look at us teachers as people too but we are.  We have good days and bad days, we spill our drinks and get frazzled and overwhelmed and want to just quit.  But what keeps me going is you - the mad dance moves, the quiet grace, the kind gifts, the inside jokes, the music, the LEARNING!

So as this semester ends, and as I reflect on where we've been and where we are going, thank you for bringing a broken heart back to life again.  You make everyday in room 853 a good one.  You are the magic, and I am grateful my days are filled with magic. 

Meet your exams with intelligence and grace.

And be kind to yourselves. 

Much love and light,
Beltran

Monday Monday - Continued

Thank you for completing the Reading Inventory.  Perhaps it will enlighten you and help you with your reading choices.  To read is to engage with stories other than your own.

I'll be making fajitas tonight - just thought I'd share - and reading some Zadie Smith Swing Time.  I wish you well with your studying and finals prep.

For our class, make sure you write your GRADE REFLECTION and give it to me before you leave class tomorrow.  Get your sources and presentation ready for Finals Day.  Sign up for a presentation slot.  Have your Interesting Stuff Journal (with whatever is in it - I'm curious.) Practice dancing?!?!

And, of course, SLEEP and drink some LEMON WATER (which by the way, sorta kinda maybe needs to be warm and done first thing before you eat or drink anything else otherwise the magic might not actually work and for the love of all that is good, try not to do this lemon thing with cold water because we're not supposed to be drinking cold water anyway but I still do it and you probably do too).

Study Hall tomorrow...then FINALS!  Woot woot.  (And to add to the distress, I counted...65 school days to our AP Language exam as of Monday, January 30th!!!!! And only 89 school days total until you're SENIORS and we break up and my heart explodes and I am so sad and...must stop.)

Love and Light,
Beltran

Monday Monday

What better way to spend time than with a Reading Inventory?

1.  Click the "login with Active Directory" button and login with your DISTRICT LOGIN and PASSWORD. (ID#@stu.sandi.net)

2.  Click the "HMH" logo.

3.  Click on "Reading Inventory".

When you are finished (it should take about 30 minutes), please make sure you do the following:
- On a sheet of paper, JUSTIFY and EXPLAIN your semester 1 grade request and citizenship.  Make sure you turn this in TO ME before the end of class on Tuesday.
- Study for your finals or read for pleasure.

xoxo

 

Sending Good Vibes Your Way

Thing 2 (the five year old) and I just arrived home from grocery shopping and I got to thinking about you.  You see, the only thing on my agenda today that has to be done is grocery shopping.  The laundry is done (I have a great husband), there's no lesson planning to prep since it's finals, the house is clean, etc.  I am relaxed and realized you are likely not.

Here's the thing about me that I'm sure you realize (or maybe you don't - who ever knows) but I sincerely care about other people.  As we were driving to the store, I saw a billboard advertising the casinos out east and there was some insane number in big gold type.  "What would I do with millions of dollars?"  I wondered.  Honestly, not much in my daily life would change.  We are full of grace and comfort.  What would change is that I would fully fund college educations for PL graduates who have the fire and spark but not the cash.  Maybe you fit that description.  I firmly believe that education changes lives and that every child regardless of circumstance has the right to an equal and quality education.  They deserve it because an educated society is a strong society.

I care about people and truly believe that we are only as strong as the weakest among us.

I am no better than the homeless man who sleeps in a tent near Petco Park.  Are you?

I am no better than the mom working two jobs to make ends meet.  Are you?

I am no better than the addicted, the mentally ill, the elderly, the wealthy, the poor.  Are you?

So I guess what I am trying to say is that I can only imagine the stress some of you are under as you navigate the murky waters of finals prep.  I am rooting for you and wish you well.

My homework for you is to GET SOME SLEEP.  Drink some LEMON WATER.  And know you are seen and loved.  All of you matter and I grateful to call you MY STUDENTS.  (I always get the best ones...just sayin'...)

Love and light,
Beltran

Final Friday SAS - Semester 1

Thank you for today. I needed to see what I saw and hear what I heard. Get some sleep and rest up for  finals.

Go be love...the world needs you.

Beltran

Thursday Thoughts

Hi, Lovelies -

It was nice seeing you today...

I know I am a bit obsessed with books and that not everyone loves to read like me but for those of you on the "dark side" of staying up too late to read "just one more chapter", enjoy this article.  Regardless of your politics, aren't you interested in reading the same books as the 44th president? I know I am!

Starting tonight, and for the rest of the time you are enrolled in my class, THE FOLLOWING IS YOUR HOMEWORK:  Read for pleasure for at least 15 minutes each night.  Do it! It's an act of radical empathy; it opens you up, you'll learn, you will BECOME.  If you need any suggestions, we are going to be taking a survey on Monday and Tuesday that will shed some light on what books would be in your wheelhouse.  Plus I will help you.  Just ask.  Stop by at lunch or advisory...

For Finals Day, be prepared to articulate the following (NO MORE THAN 5 MINUTES PLEASE):

• Your Issue
• Cite your 6 sources
• Summarize 1 source
• Share your current opinion (and if it's been altered since you began)

AND YOU WILL BE TURNING IN YOUR INTERESTING STUFF JOURNAL/SPIRAL.
 
That's it!  We will write essays galore semester 2.  Promise.

Enjoy the rest of your day and I look forward to a great (and final) SAS for semester 1.

xoxo

P.S. - Get some rest.  Sleep is when your body heals.  An extra hour of sleep improves your productivity.  So, tonight (after you prep your lemon wedges for the morning) read for 15 minutes and GO TO SLEEP. 

All Good

All is well, lovelies. Promise. Have your model essays printed for class tomorrow. I linked them on yesterday's post. And thanks for the lemon water selfies. I challenge ALL of you. First thing you eat or drink: squeeze one wedge of lemon into warm water and chug. It's MAGIC.

Xoxo

Prepping for Wednesday and Thursday and TED Talk Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, lovelies.  I hope your day treated you well. Please stay healthy and get some adequate rest.  I know this is Finals Season but you can only do so much. DRINK LEMON WATER!!

Here's the link for the TED Talk that was shown today.  Make sure you end the semester with a bang and update your chart. 

If you are interested in reading the NYT article about Obama and books, click here.  

And in preparation for class tomorrow, you should have your 2014 packet printed and the sources for Q1 should be read and annotated. 

On Thursday you will need a copy of the 2014 sample responses for Q1.  Sorry to say that my printer is still on the fritz.  :(  We will be working in groups to read and analyze the model essays that got the higher scores.

Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!
Beltran

Lessons All Around

Thanks to Cheyne for today and to Natalie in period 5. It is amazing to me that my kids always come back. So lucky!!

Enjoy your three day and be ready to start the week off with a TED Talk. Be sure to check the previous post for Wednesday expectations.

Be well...
Beltran

I LOVE YOU

You don't even know how special you are, juniors. Your blog comments alone make me smile and I am so grateful to whatever strings were pulled to have our paths intersect. I don't say this lightly: I respect you immensely and thank you for inspiring me.

I'm off to find some fuzzy socks and...wait for it...READ!!!

P.S. Beltran Best Dancer prizes were purchased this afternoon...Aaahhh!!!

Xoxo

Synthesis is a Beast - But a Manageable One

Thanks for the attention today.  We have to be like Boxer in Animal Farm and work harder always.  Before next Wednesday, please read and annotate each of the 6 sources and come to class prepared to do some practice writing.  As for your own issue, start collecting credible sources.  You will need 6 and at least one should be a visual text.

For tomorrow, please have your SAS so we can learn from each other.  Fri-yay's are my favorite.

Love and light and everything else good in the world,
Beltran

Synthesis and Saving the World

Thank you for your presence in class today.  I firmly believe in each of you as the hope and promise of tomorrow.  You are each capable, intelligent, thoughtful young people who will grow and become.  My hope is that you become more compassionate and aware and awake.  After all, kindness is so gangster.

If you are interested in watching the entirety of President Obama's Farewell Address, you can access it HERE. 

I also encourage you to read To Kill a Mockingbird if you haven't already.  I will have some copies for the taking tomorrow at lunch so stop by - first come, first serve.  Though I will be putting the box out at 11:30 to be fair.

For class tomorrow, have the 2014 AP Language Free Response questions (all 3) printed out.  In addition, you need the following 2 things:

1.  Copy the prompt and include your issue..."Carefully read the following six sources, including the introductory information for each source.  Then synthesize information from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that ..."

2.  Turn the prompt into a question.  For example, on the 2014 Q1, the question would be, "Is college worth the cost?"

Enjoy the rainy weather and go re-listen to Thomas Rhett's song "Die a Happy Man" if you want something sweet for your ears.

Wishing you the kind of love that cracks you wide open,
Beltran

TED Talk Tuesday

I hope you enjoyed Dena Simmons' TED Talk today.  You can access it here to rewatch and take notes.  By tomorrow, you should have your 100% "I'm in" Issues Topic.  I will be explaining how you will go about the research and what I am expecting.

As for class prep for Thursday, I need you to print out the 2014 Language and Composition Free-Response Questions.  (Yes, all 3 questions.)  THANK YOU.

Enjoy the rest of your day because what else can you do but actively choose joy.

Love and Light,
Beltran

UPDATED FINALS INFORMATION:
Wednesday 1/25 Period 1, 2
Thursday 1/26 Periods 3, 4
Friday 1/27 Periods 5, 6 

Your Issues

Thanks for presenting today...as the saying goes, "If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for everything." Have your TED Talk chart with you tomorrow...

Where's your tongue?

Xoxo

Happy Fri-Yay!

Thanks for a great SAS.  I learned a lot and laughed a lot too.  Always needed.  I hope you have a safe and happy weekend.  On Monday I expect to hear you present your topics of choice, the rationale behind your choice and the opinion you currently hold on the matter.

I'll also be gathering more books...

Love and Light,
Beltran

An Issue of Importance to You

Thank you for the time today.  I really do find it a privilege to teach you all.  Below you will find some helpful information regarding what we discussed in class.  Please see me with questions.

Also, tomorrow is SAS so arrive to class prepared.

As for books, here's the new deal.  If you are interested in any of the titles pictured, the first one who emails me the book title gets that book.  Only fair it seems.

Monday 1/9:  Present your chosen issue in class.  Include your TOPIC, WHY you chose it, and YOUR OPINION right now.

Next 2 weeks:  Research and gather credible sources that have opposing viewpoints.

Day of Final Exam:  2 things due...1) your Interesting Stuff Journal and 2) a presentation on your 2 weeks of research and your final opinion/thoughts

Love and Light (and Lenny),
Beltran