Thursday, May 31, 2012

"She couldn't scream as I held her close"

Whatcha been listenin' to?

Recently I've been on a KISS marathon to get pumped up for the August show with Motley Crue. Though I'm not a Crue fan I'll give just about anything a listen. In between composing mental Top Five lists of Most Wicked Guitar Solos or Worst Gene Songs, I'm sprinkling tunes from high school and college into the mix like Liz Phair, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Aimee Mann and her husband Michael Penn, Cowboy Junkies, Pat Benatar, and The Pretenders among others.

Just this afternoon I revisited The Killers:


The lyrics in the bridge of this song have always sent chills down my spine:
And someone is calling my name
From the back of the restaurant
And someone is playing a game
In the house that I grew up in
And someone will drive her around
Down the same streets that I did
On the same streets that I did 

Although they evoke many bittersweet memories, I'm thankful for them. As human beings I believe we all tend towards reflecting on personal and social growth, and I am no exception (actually I think I tend to over-reflect). I just finished a teaching assignment that lasted four amazing, excruciating, grueling and fantastic years of my life. On the second to the last day of school, as I told my students that I had grown so much as a teacher, and that this school has made me the teacher and person they recognize and look up to, it felt sad to conclude that the only way for me to continue growing is to move on to new things. 

and someone will drive her around/down the same streets that i did

There was a period of about a week where I was wrought with anxiety for saying my good-byes to a solid community and hellos to a new assignment where the only thing that was certain was the grade level and class I would be teaching. But, after all was said and done, and the students are gone, I'm filled with nothing but excitement and anticipation for what is to come.

smile like you mean it

I've got new, updated Algebra 1 resources that I got for FREE at a math conference two years ago. Now I'm prepared with intervention tools and pacing guides to help me along. I've got group-building activities that have accumulated from having a 35-minute Homeroom each day where we talked about our feelings, social issues, and the importance of passing final exams. In short, I feel prepared -- I just hope that feeling continues on August 21.  

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