Fond Farewells and New Beginnings

It's that day again.  It's the day when I say 'goodbye' to another school year.  It's the day when I bid farewell to the children, for they are moving onward and upward.  Some I will see out in the community.  They'll either be screaming my name when they see me, or they'll be red-faced and pretend they don't see me at all.  Some I may never see again.  Sometimes I wish I could get regular updates and see if I've had an impact on them.  Sometimes I wish I could hold onto them just a little longer because our work here is not finished.  Sometimes I am ready for them to move on.  

Every year, my future as a reading educator is more in jeopardy.  Funding gets cut, hours get cut, positions disappear, morale dwindles...I could go on.  With all the unknowns from one year to the next in this position, there is one constant.  Funding can be taken, hours can be taken, enthusiasm can be squelched, but there will always be that bottom line...that little face with the big eyes that can't wait to share his discovery in that book he's reading, or that paragraph she's written. 

My colleagues and I are the winners.  We follow the rules presented to us and see that the little scholars are assessed. Then we move on and have the opportunity to let them be children again and grow, learn, create, sing, draw, run, and, of course, READ! 

Somehow, there will always be a new beginning to follow the fond farewell....a renewed enthusiasm as the new readers enter their journey of discovery...a new set of big eyes full of wonder, and a reason to continue my journey as long as I'm able, and as long as they'll have me........   

Father's Day's Coming!

As old married people, one of our favorite things to do is read to each other.  One of us will read a news story to the other, though we've already watched or read the story before.  Sometimes we read Facebook posts to each other, though we have the same friends and see the same posts.  Today I decided to entertain my honey with verbal reactions to the mail. Imagine my excitement when an examination of the pile of recyclables revealed a 20% off coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond.  My favorite part of that store is the alliteration in its name.    "Ooh!" I exclaimed facetiously.  "20% off at Bed Bath and Beyond!"

"Father's Day's coming." Jackie responded.

"Ooh, that'll make me happy." I retorted.

"When the Mom's happy, the Dad's happy." I cannot and will not, in any way shape or form,  argue with that one!

Down the Tube, Rube!

This week, the entire Reading Department of the building I work in, the third and fourth grade building, went across the street to the kindergarten, first, and second grade building to assess the second graders' reading capabilities for instructional placement in third grade.  It's been a tough week for me.  Before there was a plan to visit the latter building, I had arranged to take Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off to spend with my wife Jackie in Cape May, New Jersey celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary, and those plans were carried out very nicely.  Thursday I accompanied the third graders on a field trip to the Herr's Potato Chip Factory.  Friday was finally my day to join my already exhausted coworkers in the time consuming task at hand.  It wasn't a good day.  Joining an operation such as this on the final day was frustrating.  Now, I'm not one to stir up trouble, but I had to learn the system created by the Reading Specialist in a matter of minutes, and although I had not been in the company of my colleagues for most of the week, it was 'Let's Pick on Joe Day' in the 90% female Department.  It was like they had planned their barbs and banter while I basked on the beach.  When the task was finished, I volunteered to take the cart full of materials from one building to another, which involved walking across the street and uphill in the wind and rain.  As I proceeded to the elevator of the testing building, a class of second graders was lined up against the wall waiting for their next instruction from their teacher, and the elevator door opened.  I entered the elevator with my cart.  I could hear a short second grade conversation as the door was shutting that sounded like this:

STUDENT 1:  Who's that?

STUDENT 2:  I don't know.  I think he's the janitor.

STUDENT 3:  That's not the janitor, that's Rube Goldberg!

I had heard the name Rube Goldberg, but couldn't remember who he was, so I 'Googled' him and discovered that he is a renowned cartoonist, author, engineer, and inventor.  I also learned that a Rube Goldberg Machine is one that is complicated in design, and is used to perform the simplest tasks.  

A Rube Goldberg Machine

Now that I had been enlightened, I had no problem accepting the correlation between Mr. Goldberg and myself. Then I saw his picture.  

Rube Goldberg

Yes, those three darling second graders accessed their prior knowledge of a gray haired, intelligent looking, mild mannered curmudgeon named Rube Goldberg, and made a connection between him and me.  

The barbs and banter, the trip uphill, the gray hair, looking old.....um.....distinguished:  DOWN THE TUBE, INEVITABLE........
Celebrations of happy milestones, basking on the beach and kids accessing prior knowledge and making connections:   PRICELESS!

All in all, a great week after all!