Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 28 and 29: Welcome Ms. Wind!

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 28 and 29: Welcome Ms. Wind!:

Week 28 and 29: Welcome Ms. Wind!

by alicemercer

I took the picture above before the start of the day at my school a few weeks back. The fog was lifting off the field, and the air was still. It seemed to capture the moment, and the time of year well. Since then spring, and all the “hell” that goes with it, has broken out. There is no stillness. This week was capped by two-days of extreme wind that had everyone on the edge of madness. If you’re a teacher, I don’t have to explain why a windy day makes everyone crazy. I also don’t have to explain that the sixth graders are doing things that leave all of us thinking (and occasionally uttering), “Have you completely taken leave of your senses?” — which they have, because their brains are slowly being bathed in a hormonal mix that favors action over thought. As the oldest grade in our elementary, they are going through a process of “separation” which involves loving me and their classmates madly one moment, and loathing us the next. Some manage to do both at once. My favorite