7 alarms
set on 2 devices;
2 snooze
buttons pressed.
One
coffee with milk & sugar,
My teeth
are brushed,
And I’m
quiet.
This was
the fourth night in a row that
I had a
vivid dream, so I wrote it in my
Journal.
“Father,
what does it mean?”
Bethel
ministers to my spirit as I read
Of Josiah’s
faithfulness to the Lord and
Follow-through
with the commands of the Lord
When Deuteronomy
is read-aloud to him for the first time.
He
disregards the patterns of his father
And sanctifies
the land.
My messy
mind loves reading the Bible chronologically.
One more
alarm later signifies the end of my
Set apart
time and I get dressed and ready for the day.
My coffee
is reheated, my bag packed, and my shoes are on!
I walk
out the side door, through the gate,
And call
out, Bonjour Nouryann to my neighbor
Who fries
goodies that school students purchase fresh
on their
walk to school for the day.
Shiny
cars, tinted windows, tap-taps, motos, beat-up vehicles,
Students
from other schools, parents of other students, employees,
wanderers,
goats,
Pass me
on my 5 minute commute from home to school.
I enter
the gate, greeting the guard,
Greeting
students on the path alongside the soccer field,
As I move
towards my classroom.
Today is
Tuesday, so I don’t have a staff meeting.
I write
comments on a 2nd draft of a 9th grade student’s
Autobiographical
narrative and deposit it in her classroom mailbox.
Several students
come in to ask questions before
First
Period begins.
I read
several parent emails and respond.
The
nurse asks me about my health as I descend the high
School stairs
in search of staples:
They ran
out.
I catch
the principal by the lockers for a conversation about
An assignment
and my next class arrives as I break away during
The climax
of the discussion.
Middle
school typing. Students type up assignments
Using the
correct fingers we’ve learned
Or continue
on their typing lessons.
I have
to chase two students out of class at the end
Because they
are determined to finish the lessons they
Are working
on!
*Sigh*
(Good sigh)
High
school break before next class.
Three 9th
grade girls linger in my doorway
And one
says, “we appreciate you, Miss.”
The lot
of the 9th graders hustle in
For English
class.
I now
lock my door when class begins
Because tardiness
was becoming an issue.
Word of
the day, writing prompt about your favorite room
In the
house, mini-lessons on writing traits, etc.
Class is
over.
Lunch.
Picnic
table conversations with coworkers
A glutton-free
friend
Eats glutton
by mistake.
Discussions
about church messages, adoption,
Students
with lots of energy, etc. ensue.
Upon
leaving the lunch table, I tell a coworker
That I want
to tap her brain later for input
On an assignment
I am giving students.
1:30pm,
we agree.
I rush
out the gate to say my daily, Bonswa
To my
friends on Delmas 75 before returning
to my
Classroom.
My best friend, Venise, is not there.
M’ap vini, pita (I’ll come back later)
I
promise as I wave goodbye to Natasha.
Natasha
is probably only a year or two older
Than my
students.
She is
not fortunate enough to go to school.
Back in
my classroom, I conference
With students—asking
them questions
About the
books they read this month.
One
after the other…minus the students who
Blew off
the meetings.
I quickly
check my email and find one from a parent
That I’ll
need to respond to soon.
Another message
calls for a brief staff meeting after school.
12:45
and I head down to middle school to join
My coworker
and friend during her writer’s workshop:
7th
grade writing!
It’s
school picture day
And this
class period is interrupted to take the photos.
As
students return they continue poems, essays, memoirs,
Short stories,
among other brilliant escapades on paper.
After
students leave, we briefly discuss some of life’s
Challenges,
disappointments, frustrations,
And hope
for some more insight as we pursue
Our separate
directions for the next hour.
It’s
1:30pm.
I walk
up to my other friend/coworker’s classroom,
Where much
brainstorming, advice, insight has occurred
Over the
past 2 years.
We collaborate
well.
She
helps me get unstuck as I sort through frustrations
With an
assignment I have given to my students.
Mesi Jezi!
It’s
2pm.
Classes
are switching.
I walk
diagonally across the hall
Back to
my classroom and turn the AC on
As students
show up for Study Skills.
They
work independently on assignments from other classes.
I conference
with…it was going to be three students…
But two
weren’t prepared.
So, one.
We talk
about the book he read this month.
I give
the “evil eye” once or twice as
Under-the-radar
whispering begins.
Mozart
plays softly in the background as students
Read,
work on Geometry problems,
Peer
edit papers, prepare Socratic Seminar notes…
“We have
four minutes left. Please fill out your work logs
And then
feel free to have a quiet conversation with people
Around you.”
I have
students signed-up back-to-back
From 3-4pm.
The
first one is a no-show, so I pop into the staff meeting,
Leaving a
“Back in 2” note on my door.
The
annual staff retreat is being postponed this weekend
Due to unrest
on the main road leading to the beach. L
Back to
my classroom to finish out student conferences.
In between
no-shows, I respond to the necessary emails
And prepare
my whiteboard for tomorrow.
The last
book conference adds sparkle to my day.
She read
The Giver this month.
After
answering questions about the book,
She explains
that she thought about how the
Dystopian
world in the book is almost like
What life
would be like without the Fall.
There is
no pain, but there is also no freedom. There
Is no
room to make mistakes. You try to deviate from
The “norm”
and you are automatically “released” AKA: killed.
She was
intrigued by what Lois Lowry did with twins in the book—
The babies
are both weighed and the smallest one is “released.”
My 9th
grader decided to apply this to her life—what would this mean
For her
family? She asked her mother the birth weights
Of her
and her sisters. My student discovered that her oldest sister
Was the
smallest birth weight: what would life be like without her?
It would
be really sad because she is the sister who both of the
Other girls
get along with the most.
(Disclaimer:
It was better when she explained it)
The power
gets turned off at 4:30ish.
I open a
window and finish grading an assignment
and
stick it in the 9th grader’s class mailboxes.
I pack
my bag.
It’s
just after 5pm.
I walk across
campus saying “goodnight” to
Students
who are still hanging out.
I see a
security guard who I haven’t seen in a long time.
I switch
to Creole.
We talk,
he asks about my father’s health.
I pass
through the gate and find my friend Venise.
She is
tired today.
My
friends Linda and Patricia are also working today—
I don’t
always see them!
Patricia
has been caring for her baby and hasn’t
Been working
on Delmas 75 much lately.
Yornell
chides me for not saying “hi” to him.
I
apologize profusely. :P
Some of
the other ladies selling fruit beckon me over…
We talk
about not having seen each other for a long time;
We talk
about hair; we joke around.
One of
my friends says she will stop by later on tonight,
And I tell
her that I have some things I need to finish up
 |
| My walk on the way home from school. |
Because I
then have somewhere to be at 7:30.
I walk
home.
I greet
Manushka
And the
next door neighbors
On my
way into my gate I hear one of the friends
Of these
neighbors call out in English,
“Hey what
did you bring me.”
I turn
around and call out to the rest of his friends,
Li fou paske li te mande m’ kisa m’
gen pou li, men
Li pa gen bagay pou m’! (He’s crazy because he asked
What I have
for him but he doesn’t have anything for me!).
They
laugh…perhaps at my ridiculousness in responding
Or maybe
my joke is a tiny bit…funny? At least
The overkill
jesting I used to illustrate my point, perhaps.
Here I am…I
burned some leftover pizza as I heated it up on
The stove,
unobserved.
And
here, I write.
Thinking
of how I must shower and then call Mark
To bring
his moto to take me to worship
tonight!
Thank
You, Father, for the day You have provided.
May all
I have said and done bring glory to You!
