Farewell but not far

Farewell but Not Far

(This is the last post on this blog, to follow my new adventures go to everbrushstrokes.blogspot.com)

This my third, and what turned out to be final, year at VJ started with great promise. I had hoped to engage my students with students all across the county in the Mississippi Investigates Caterpillars project. I had hoped to develop the 1.5 km nature trail around the school. I had hoped to get further in physics than I had ever gotten before. I guess one out of three is not bad.

I have already written about the fits and starts of the MIC project and the absence of writing about the nature trails shows how that dream fell far short as well.

The one really bright spot was my physics class though it too had its travails. With some major and some minor drama four students dropped my class, and I ended up with seven pretty strong students.

A slide from Jessica's final project

One of the seven surprised and delighted me one day when she asked to talk to me and then informed me that she had selected me as her STAR teacher (In Mississippi the student with the top ACT score is selected as STAR student and they are asked to pick the teacher who has had the most influence on their life). Another student was ready to drop but his mother refused to give up and he was assigned to me for tutoring every other day during my planning period. To my surprise and delight it actually helped. It helped a lot and he ended up with a strong B from a low D. This is the first time in my career that I experienced a student I frankly had given up on come through. He helped teach me a valuable lesson but finding a way with every student no matter what his or her ability – I just thought I had learned this.

One of my most talented artists, Michelle, did this for her final physics project and it will go with me.

As I now prepare to teach at the largest school in the district and the state, I bid farewell to VJ but I am still their strongest spokesperson and advocate. By the end of April I had given up all hope of going anywhere else in the last years of my career. I had not been given an interview for the new high school three minutes from my house or for the ninth grade school ten minutes away. I had not gotten the physics job at Clinton high school. All of which were huge disappointments to say the least. However, something kept pointing me back to closing out my career at VJ. I thought I had VJ forever branded on my brow and had learned to accept this as a calling.

Then I met the new principal in the hallway one day. He was introduced by the now past principal. The first words out of his mouth were – Ms. Mitchell wants to talk to you. I had no idea who that was and kept wondering until he finally said she is the principal at Madison Central High School. By then I was pretty burned on any new possibilities yet he persisted. What I really wanted to do was talk to him about possibilities for next year, but I said I would talk to her if she called.

The next day she called during my physics class, and I interviewed that afternoon and got a call for the position before I got home good. It took a few days for my head to stop spinning since things happened so fast. Just when you think there is not hope and you just turn things over a miracle happens.

As I began to leave and word got out, I was again impressed by the unbelievable willingness of VJ students to help. Students I did not even teach came by to pack up my room. It was no small undertaking – it took four or was it six complete trunk loads to move my stuff. Here is a shot of some of the VJ saints who helped me pack. And for my last and fullest load, my teaching buddy, the best math teacher in the state, loaded up my trunk for me – I was at the point of exhaustion and Mr. Hamblin stepped in. Thanks.

As I have now got everything in my new room and school, I have been overwhelmingly received with great kindnesses and helpfulness. Truthfully, I have to pinch myself to see if I am really awake and all these good things are really happening. But as good as it gets, I will always be an advocate for my students and colleagues at VJ.

For the last eight years I have been in the minority fighting for resources and opportunities for the minority in our culture. Many times I have done it with little help from others. I now move to a school where I will be in the majority, and it is my hope that I will always find ways for all to have what they need to learn and to grow and be all they can be.

VJ, farewell but I will not be far from you in distance or dreams.

And one memory that will stay fondly with me along with the kind packers is the hard core, at risk introduction to biology kids coming by my room one by one (I usually started the year with about 40 and ended with about 25 due to drop outs and assignment to alternative school). They all had one mission - they wanted to take their flower home. They had planted it in the greenhouse (funded very begrudgingly by the front office during my tenure) weeks before, plotted its growth on graph paper and nurtured it during my class. Go figure. May your flowers and dreams continue to grow.

Who is Darlene?

Velma Jackson MIC Project Students at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

I finally was beginning to come out of the eclipse this year – the sun and light and hope have been largely hidden from view, and then . . .

There have been bright spots for sure along the way but I have been so busy trying to change a dismal school situation that I may have missed some. Finally I came to terms with it and realized if I could not change the culture and climate of the school put under shadow by changes in “leadership” at the school, I could change myself and my attitude and perspective.

And then after a couple of weeks of extreme fatigue and chest pain and pushing myself to go to school each day, I reluctantly went to the doctor and he thinks I have pneumonia! I had already scheduled a field trip for my caterpillar project, which has had fits and stops along the way (more on that later) for Tuesday so I soldiered on to school.

I was very glad I did. The bus (which was yet another struggle to get arranged) showed up on time and got us back on time. We had to detour along the way to pick up one of the vo-tech students, navigate a busy McDonald’s for a quick lunch in route since no food or drinks could be brought into the museum, and scurry in with just a few minutes to spare. It was all worth it.

The mentor of the project and noonday speaker, Dr. Richard Brown, recognized us before the group, one of my students asked a very thoughtful question during the question and answer period about how butterflies got their color (and another in private which I wished he did not think was stupid – the only stupid question is one not asked, I told him – but his question got to the heart of the lecture and I was glad he was listening and understood). By the way except for blue which is a virtual color due to diffraction of light on the scale pattern (like the “rainbows” you see on DVDs when you tilt them in the light) colors are seen due to packets of pigment in the scales of wings which have “viewing” holes in them which can be seen with an electron microscope.

Anyway the director of the museum was so excited about us being there and about our project. She even suggested we might present some of our results sometime. That may not happen now since I was looking for her after we left the lecture quickly to go release butterflies in the butterfly garden – it was so cool. They had been shipped in little envelopes and chilled. As they thawed out and careful, inquisitive students (and teachers)gently opened the envelopes, the butterflies were launched.

I checked in the library where they were having lunch and asked if Darlene was in there. They all looked at me quizzically. Darlene? I do not know where I got that name from – I do not even know any Darlene’s. Her name is Libby Hartfield. Oh well. While there making a fool of myself, I did manage to give one of our caterpillar samples (extracted from an acorn in my laboratory classroom) preserved in alcohol to Dr. Brown

for him to identify back in the lab.

Later I did find Libby and apologize in advance before she saw the other group who would surely tell her some absent-minded teacher was looking for Darlene.

There two good signs here. We made it on time and learned a lot in spite of all obstacles and, two, I could laugh at myself instead of ruing the darkness. I think I see the light breaking around the bend. More catch up blogging to come.

Felt Right at Home

It was an eight year drought after making the Mississippi State Physics Competition for ten straight years at Cleveland High School. (In that time, we had one first, one third place and many honorable mentions).

The third year was the charm at Velma Jackson where I finally began to hit my stride and to figure how to motivate these kids. After starting with eleven students and after one shocker day where two of the girls (in physics of all things) got into an all out brawl before class even began, I now have seven very dedicated students who have persevered.

I took them to the contest (one was not able to attend) and felt right at home and was reminded again how much I enjoy challenging kids and giving them an opportunity to do their best among the best.

SN: While there I got to collect acorns with my collaborator caterpillar expert, Richard Brown. When we got back my zoology students were excited to find over 26 caterpillars in the acorns!