November 2023

November 2 Thursday

Mauricio writes the date on his paper then says, “Wait… We are in eleven month? I can feel the Christmas!”

November 3 Friday

Dante wanders into my room about every other day during 4th period to check in with his friends Eduardo and Frances. While he’s always ostensibly on his way to the bathroom, we all know the reason he’s walking around is his body can physically not stay in one place or position for more than a few minutes. I agree with his taking a break, but when that break includes distracting my students then Dante’s gonna get teased. Every time I see him in my classroom carrying the bathroom pass I pretend to be worried and remind him that he’s not actually in the bathroom. “Don’t pee on my rug, man.”

Today as I’m helping a student I hear Matilda say, “Don’t pee!” I look up and there’s Dante. So she gets the joke. It’s always a good sign when language learners pick up on humor in the new language. Or maybe I’ve accidentally taught her that “Don’t pee!” is the way you’re supposed to greet someone when they walk into a room.

November 6 Monday

Mayoly turns in a paper “ofrenda” dedicated to her mother. This is a project Gail and I use each year to teach symbolism and let students honor someone from their personal life or someone important in their culture who has passed away. Holding Mayoly’s paper reminds me of another student two years ago who dedicated his project to his mother: Herman. I remember the day he spoke to the counselor about suicidal thoughts he’d had while taking nightly walks. He said he missed his mother’s love. Before moving to the US he’d completed sixth grade in Guatemala, then missed four years of school. He started high school at 17 years old and made it through two years. He passed 15 classes. This August he didn’t come back. He was on track but he was also 19. One of his nieces graduated last year, and another will this year — it’s Marta, who loves to tell me she’s failing all her classes so that I’ll tell her she’s not and she’s doing great. Those two sisters were more fortunate than Herman in that they missed fewer years of school and arrived at a younger age. I should ask Marta how Herman’s doing.

November 8 Wednesday

We’re in the second quarter of the school year, meaning classes are halfway over. Also meaning that kids who stuff all their papers from every class every day into one folder have an enormous mess in their bookbags. Gail calls for a purge day. She hands out folders and helps students with no organizational system separate their papers into four distinct groups. I double check the stacks of papers students identify as no longer needed and hand them back to the student to throw into the recycling bin. “Bye-bye!” we tell the papers.

November 9 Thursday

I appreciate the heck out of Eugenio because he has a mind that doesn’t get bored. Even though he enjoyed a solid and continuous educational background (which his older brother did not, which is why they’re both in 9th grade) and could stand a faster pace of instruction, he helps me out by challenging himself. Today as the class is making poster projects, he doesn’t stop and yell DONE! once he’s met the minimum requirements. Instead he says, “I’m going to write more on my poster so I can practice more English!”

November 13 Monday

Oh no- They over-purged. I ask Matilda where her grammar packet is — the one we started in Quarter 1 but are still very much working on in Quarter 2. She looks over at the recycling bin and says, “Bye bye!”

November 14 Tuesday

In my mind Felipe is gonna be busted so hard for recording his classmate on his cell phone without his consent. I don’t believe him when he tells me Jeferson asked him to, so I ask Jeferson about it afterward. I expect Jeferson to say, “What? I didn’t tell him to do that!” But instead he tells me he wants to show the recording to his brother. The one who sponsors him and brought him to the open house back in August. Oh, ok. That takes the wind out of my justice sails but I’m very happy to be wrong here.

November 15 Wednesday

Today and tomorrow I’ll be using sick days to take Mom to some procedures and doctors appointments related to her cancer. She has dealt with tumors in multiple places, but the most critical place right now is her lower back, where a tumor has intruded into the spinal canal. I’m very grateful to have Shirley, a retired ESL teacher who has come back this year to sub, cover for me both days. She’s already subbed this year for Lisa, so she’s familiar with our students and their needs.

November 16 Thursday

Mom’s not feeling great after the first appointment of the day. She’s just been prescribed new medicine, but it hasn’t had time to kick in and she’s sore from a procedure yesterday. Her afternoon appointment is a follow-up from a surgery she had two years ago and not vital to what she’s dealing with right now, so I get to thinking we should skip it. Mom’s having trouble walking and I suggest we offer to do this second appointment via telehealth or cancel it rather than drag ourselves over there. The suggestion is very well received, so I send a message from her MyChart and we stay home. “I’m so glad I don’t have to go,” says Mom.

I think I will be employing this strategy in my life and work for the next good while: Asking myself, “Is this task vital?” If not, don’t do it. This is a way to protect myself and prioritize my energy on what’s most important to me.

November 17 Friday

Zahra has shown me two more translated messages with ‘ass’. What is she typing that translates to ass? The messages don’t have anything to do with her butt. Another common word is ‘fog’. I would give a lot to be able to read or speak Dari and figure out the translation breakdown. Matt tells me that Google Persian works better for her than Bing Dari, so we make the switch.

November 20 Monday

All the students say they’d rather be the oldest sibling than the youngest sibling in response to the day’s warm-up question. Most cite ‘being in charge’ as the reason. Jeferson’s reason for wanting to be the oldest is different — he says he wishes he had younger brothers so that he could spend time with them at home. Jeferson never sees his older brother who leaves for work very early and comes home late and tired. I think of the video Jeferson made for his brother now as a way for them to connect. I also think of the video as one way for Jeferson to prove, both to his brother and to himself, that his time in school is well spent. Based on previous experience I predict that even if Jeferson’s older brother isn’t pressuring him to work instead of study, Jeferson will soon put that pressure on himself. I hope he and his family keep thinking school is the best place for him.

November 21 Tuesday

Fun fact — Did you know that ‘peacock’ in Spanish is ‘royal turkey’? I hand out Thanksgiving coloring pages to students as they finish the day’s reading assignment and am surprised to notice Estefany coloring hers as a peacock. I guess I didn’t specify that this animal is the regular turkey, not the royal one. But you know what? Sometimes in life it’s not the page you’re dealt, but how you color it.

🦃👑

November 27 Monday

I’m out for another doctor visit with mom. Shirley’s not available so I let whoever wants it pick up the job and hope for the best. Fortunately, I hear that it is someone who did a good job and speaks Spanish. She mostly tells the kids to stop cursing up a storm at each other, which is always helpful. I’m happy to now have two reliable subs.

November 28 Tuesday

It’s Zahra’s 18th birthday. She shows me a message translated on her phone: “I can take the celebration class lunch.” Nothing about fog or ass. This is great! She’s holding a cake so I can infer she’s asking to have a party at lunch in my classroom. Request approved!

November 29 Wednesday

After school we hear an announcement over the PA system — the monthly PLT leaders meeting is starting now. Matt and I look at each other. In the past we’ve informally traded off going to these meetings, so which of us will it be today? Let us examine the two candidates: I got home from the ER at midnight last night— Mom was not reacting well to new pain meds dosages, and they kept her overnight until her blood oxygen level recovered. Matt was literally on the floor just this morning holding Francisca as she suffered a seizure during class (She forgot to take her meds.) We both have moms going through health challenges. We look at each other and shake our heads. Neither of us, not today. Sorry Chris. You know we love your meetings, but this is one of those “Is this task vital?” scenarios.

November 30 Thursday

Wilber is back after many days of absence. He says he lives with his uncle and has no siblings or parents here. He has to pay for his rent and food as well as send money home, and intended to drop out before changing his mind. I want to know more about what made him come back, but all I have time to do today is let him check his grades online and get him started recovering some missing work. My goal is to make his “re-entry” to school smooth, but not so smooth that he doesn’t think twice about dipping back out again. It’s a tough balancing act, kind of how trying to find the right combination and dosages of pain meds when you have cancer is a tough balancing act.

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