This blog is dedicated to anyone in Indiana who has ever been a teacher, married a teacher, dated a teacher, been friends with a teacher, known a teacher, or been taught by a teacher. Or, if you can spell the word teacher. This blog is for you too. 

My friend Shannon had a quote by Carl Jung up today on her away message status: "What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Here is the key to your earthly pursuits." This struck a GIANT chord with me. 

As a child, I used to play school for hours. HOURS, people. I would literally go through an entire school day. I would "teach" different subjects -- math, letter writing, drawing, and, naturally, recess. My brother used to HATE playing with me because I really would make us play for an entire school day. He'd be bored senseless while I'd be just getting started. I loved playing school. 

I don't think there was ever a doubt in my mind that I would become a teacher. It was the only career that ever made sense to me. I never really even considered other options. There's something about knowing that I get to pass on my passion for learning and caring for others that makes me love my lot in life. I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't a teacher. I've never even considered it. 

To say that teachers in Indiana (and, I'm sure, elsewhere) are under an exorbitant amount of pressure right now would be a giant, GIANT understatement. You see, we are stressed. I will spare you all the details, but what it boils down to is turning our students into numbers so that we can show that we are, of course, fantastic teachers, and they are, of course, learning all sorts of things.  I find a lot of fault in this system, for so many reasons, but mostly because I don't think learning can be calculated by turning kids into digits and percentages on a spreadsheet. I think learning -- real learning, not memorization -- is hard to quantify. Therein lies the problem, of course, because how do you really measure learning? 

Because of this, I have felt more stress in my job this year than ever before. I feel more stress this year than when I was advising both the newspaper AND yearbook WHILE getting my master's. That is some serious pressure, people. 

I don't have a solution to this problem. I don't know what the right answer is. And as much as I would like to shut my classroom door and do my very best to educate intelligent, well-rounded, and well-spoken students who can articulate their ideas, I can't ignore what the state is mandating we do. So, I try my best to stay positive. I put in extra hours at work looking at spreadsheets. I think about how I will revamp my tests. I neglect time with others, or, hell, even down time for myself, so that I can understand what SLO and IGM are and what Common Core Standards are asking me to do. I go in earlier. I stay later. I try to contain my frustration because cluing the kids in isn't fair (because, damnit, it's not their fault that all of this is happening). 

The one consolation in all of this, is, like my coworker Erica has pointed out, we're all in this together. We're all trying to figure this out with little guidance and a lot of pressure from the state. We're trying to keep our chins up when others are interested in beating us down. We're doing our very best. And I just pray it's enough.

One of my former English teachers, and someone who inspired me to become an English teacher, had this up as her away message tonight on Facebook. I have never EVER been one to spout my political views, but I ask you, if you vote in Indiana, to read the post below and get educated about Glenda Ritz. I truly believe she will work with teachers, not against them, to help make education in Indiana top notch.

"If you have ever been my student or if you were ever a student of any teacher, please read this: Even if you are voting Republican, PLEASE split your ticket to vote for Glenda Ritz for State Superintendent. She is a friend of teachers who

 will work hard to keep class sizes small and make sure standardized test scores are not the only measure of teacher effectiveness. I don't think I can last four more years under the current superintendent Bennett. Above all, VOTE!"

40s, Netflix, and a shout out

This, you see, is a three part post. 

Part I: The Running Part

Earlier this week, I was elated because I wore capris and a short sleeve shirt to work and was too warm on the way home in the car. Then Friday happened. Quite literally, overnight, the temperature dropped in to the 30s, signaling that, yes, winter is coming. It was quite a blow to my holding-on-to-summer ego. My skin feels drier, my head is stuffier, and my joints are achier. I loathe winter. But, today, I was reminded why I love the 40s. 

The 40s are easily my favorite temperature to run in. The air is crisp (but not too cold in the lungs). I don't sweat to death and need to replenish fluids every five feet. And, it's just bitey enough that my joints don't feel the small beating they're taking. I can just run without worrying too much about being too hot or too cold. And it felt really good to get a run in today, considering all I've been living on this weekend is a diet of sweets (hello, Halloween candy), cheese, and apples and caramel dip. Delish! 

Part II: The Netflix Part

So, Dan recently resubscribed to Netflix, and I'm sad to say, I've become addicted. Do you KNOW how awesome Netflix is? It totally solves the problem of there's-nothing-on-television AND I'm-too-cheap-to-pay-for-that-channel. 

Our most recent obsession is The Tudors. Yes, I realize this show came out, like, ages ago, but I'm too cheap to pay for Showtime. So, we've started watching it now. We're three episodes in I'm obsessed. The other day, I actually watched half an episode on my phone while Dan was at work, just because I wanted to see what happened next. Obsessed, I tell you. Why did I never know the beauty of paying $8 a month for all this awesome entertainment?! 

Part III: The Shout Out Part

I just have to mention that three of my running heroes (Teresa, Sherry, and Meredith) ALL completed 26.2 in October! Seriously, amazing work there, ladies! 

Wants and needs

Hello, warm snap! Lovely to see you! I'm planning to take full advantage of the next two days of 70+ degrees. Who doesn't love some warmth in the midst of fall? 

Yesterday I got home from work and I was itching to run. This is something that hasn't happened for me in a long time. I wanted to run. I forgot how awesome it feels to want to put my feet to the pavement. 

So, I went tearing through the subdivision for two whole miles before I had to leave for Jazzercise class. It wasn't the long, slow run I was craving, but it was a nice little jaunt nonetheless. 

While I was running, though, I got to thinking about wants and needs. There are many, many days where I feel like I need to do things. I need to go to work. I need to clean the house. I need to pay bills. I need to eat healthy things. I need to drink caffeine. I need to buy shoes. Okay, that's a lie. I want to buy shoes. 

It's funny when we feel like we need to do things. I don't know about you, but a lot of the time, the things I feel like I need to do, I don't actually have to do at all. But, there's always that pressure to get things knocked off the checklist. 

I feel like I'm in a much better place when I want to do things. I want to go to work. I want to clean the house. I want to eat healthy things. I want to pay bills. (Okay, that last one was another lie). I want to go for a run. 

Today after work, I didn't want to go for a run. So, instead, I went to get a pedicure to make my running feet pretty and then decided to park it on the couch. And for once, I've decided that's okay. It's okay to want to not push myself 24/7. And it's really nice to be finally learning that. 

These are a few of my favorite (new) things

Oh, hello. I'm writing you from the couch, where I'm feeling, kind of miserable. In second hour, I got really hot (which, if you know anything about me and school, you will know that I am NEVER hot). By fourth hour, I needed to lay down. And in fifth hour, I was so dizzy, I think my kids thought I was nuts. 

I went to Jazzercise, took a 3o-minute rest, and then taught a 30-minute Express class. Now I'm home, tired, and planning to go to bed WAY early tonight so I can teach Jazz tomorrow morning and teach all day. :) Thank goodness for weekends! 

This post, though, is not about feeling sick. It's about a few of my favorite new running things. Here they are, in no particular order:

Zone Perfect Dark Chocolate Bars

These are SERIOUSLY yummy. They taste like a candy bar but still have 12 grams of protein for 200 calories. The almond one is ah-ma-zing and has turned into my favorite after school snack.

Fuel belt Revenge Arm Bandit 7 ounce water bottle

I can't run (or, go anywhere, for that matter) without water. I need to know that I can have something to sip on close by. This is my favorite new bottle, because I can throw it on my upper arm and go. I don't have to worry about it bouncing around and it doesn't leak. Hooray! 

Epsom Salt

Bursitis, be gone! Arthritis, be gone! Achey muscles... you be gone too! Once a week, I've been indulging in my Epsom Salt bath. Maybe it's just a placebo effect, but I really do feel better after I take one. Just a cup or two and ten minutes in the bath will do the trick. 

Asics Running Socks

By far, my favorite new find are my Asics running socks. They're moisture wicking and really comfortable. They're labled R and L because each sock comes with built in supports for right and left feet. Genius! But, do you want to know what my favorite part about them is? THEY WERE FREE! My parents have been long time fans of Menards. It might even be their favorite store. So, a few weeks ago, my mom called to tell me Menards had these socks on sale for $6.99, but you got the full amount back in a rebate. She bought me three pairs, and when I saw how awesome they were, I got four more! That's SEVEN new pairs of running socks for FREE! Happy camper. :) 

Got any new and awesome things to share? 

World Arthritis Day

Friday, October 12, was World Arthritis Day. This is a cause so near and dear to my heart for so many reasons. But, instead of telling you statistics, I'm going to tell you a story. (YAY, a story!)

For weeks now, one of my junior students has been struggling with not feeling right. She's been to the doctor many times now... at first, they thought kidney stones, but ruled that out. Now, they're throwing around scary terms like MS, fibromyalgia, and lupus, but no action is being taken. She's getting skinnier by the second and, what's worse, she looks miserable. About a week ago, in class, I brought up my RA and other autoimmune diseases when I was leading a class discussion about what defines us. I told my students that I have RA, but that it doesn't define me -- it's a part of me, and I could have let it really shape me as a person, but I've learned to live with it, good days and bad. 

On Friday, World Arthritis Day, my student came up to my desk and asked if she could talk to me. Ever have one of those defining moments where you KNOW this is powerful? That was Friday for me. She sat down and told me how awful she feels, how miserable she is, how she's hurting and sad and scared and doesn't know what to do next. I literally catapulted back to 12 years ago... I swear it was me sitting on the opposite side of my desk. Mostly, she told me how alone she felt in all of this. 

At that moment, it didn't matter what my class was doing (they were working on speeches, by the way, and were engrossed in their work). It didn't matter what my lesson for the day was. It mattered that I could support this child going through something terrible. It mattered that I could tell her, "I've been where you are and I know how this feels but it's going to get better." It mattered that I could say, "You are not alone in this." She cried. I cried. My class either was or pretended to be oblivious (bless them, little angels). 

Autoimmune diseases, especially juvenile arthritis and other juvenile diseases, can be so isolating. Kids shouldn't get sick. Period. But they do. And feeling sick and alone is even worse than just feeling sick. So much, I wish I could take the pain away from my student, take it on me so she wouldn't have to feel it and all the repercussions from this right now. I told her it was okay to be sad and hurt and angry, but it still doesn't make it any better. 

Something good DID come out of it, though. My student sent me an email over the weekend saying she'd talked to her mom and her parents are going to take her to a specialist. She sounded so much more upbeat in her email, and her last line was, "Thank you again for everything. I can't remember the last time I felt good talking to someone." 

If someone in your life is struggling with a disease... arthritis, autoimmune, or otherwise, I urge you to give that person a hug, ask how s/he is doing, and remind that person, whether verbally or otherwise, that s/he isn't alone. 

Heroes

This weekend, I had the privilege of running five miles of the Chicago Marathon with Teresa and Dave. I wish I could put into words how awesome this experience was! At mile 25, when they could have been in terrible moods and ready to quit, they kept pushing. If that doesn't make a hero, I don't know what does! 

We woke up bright and early on Sunday at Lisa's and traveled to the two mile marker. We arrived just in time to see all the wheelchair participants come by. They were followed shortly after by the leaders of the elite group (who, by the way, hit mile 2 at 9 minutes and 20 seconds -- insane!!). They were followed by the rest of the elite runners and then... about 43,000 other people. There were people everywhere -- obviously, the runners, but moreso, there were people -- spectators galore! 

I'll write more inspiration later, but, for now, a pictorial! 

So many runners at mile 2! 

Andrea and Lisa with the super cute Teresa and Dave sign! 

Me and D at McDonald's before mile 13 :) 

The halfway point! They're smiling! 

Mile 25! They looked fantastic and were doing great! Heroes, people! 

Tranquility (An ode to being Type A)

Today at school, I introduced the Benjamin Franklin Planner project to my students. Essentially, my students pick one of Franklin's 13 virtues and try to improve upon it over the course of four weeks. Most students tend to lean toward procrastination, order, or frugality. I've decided this year, I'm doing it along with them. I, however, am focusing on tranquility. 

Last week, I got an about.com email with a quiz called, "Are you Type A?" You can find a link to said quiz here. It asks questions like, "Are you often in a hurry?" (Answer: Of course), "Do you grind your teeth at night?" (Answer: Ask the mouth guard I've chewed through), "Do you find it difficult to sit in traffic?" (Answer: Dan would say YES), and "Do you often multitask?" (Answer: You mean, since I'm grading papers WHILE taking this quiz?)

I mean, I've always known I was Type A. I'm someone with a chronic need to overachieve. I'm on every committee possible. I have three jobs. I spend my day trying to cram stuff in. I get excited when I get to cross things off my to-do list. I go to bed planning how best to finish things tomorrow. I rush from work to the gym from the gym home to grade from grading to TV watching while lesson planning. I even rush to bed, like the opportunity will go away if I don't get there RIGHT THEN. 

It's exhausting. And it is the opposite of tranquil. 

So, along with my students, I've decided I will spend the next four weeks forcing myself to be tranquil. I will try my best to focus on one task instead of 20. I will listen intently to conversations instead of making to-do lists in my head. I will try to simplify as much as I can so that I can actually enjoy life. Dare I say it, I might even try to get bored now and again and NOT fill that time with a million other things. I'm going for tranquil here, people. 

It's never too late to learn, right?