Category Teaching

Get a Towel

Intentergy 2 Comments

Get a Towel

Get a Towel (6).JPG

Monday morning as I was writing, my children were eating their breakfast and watching Sports Center (as all “normal” American children do). My son came running into the office to tell me that he spilled his cereal.

My response was, “Get a towel and I will be right there.” His response was to stand there and stare at me.

I hit “Save” and headed to the kitchen. I found a nicely splattered, milk mess. Again I told him, “Get a towel.”

He just looked at me.

I grabbed a dry towel and a wet wash cloth. Handing the dry towel to my son, I said, “If you will wipe up the spilled milk, I will wash off the sticky stuff.” He started wiping up the milk (as I took this photo, of course).

When I asked him why he didn’t get a towel before coming to get me, he said, “I didn’t know what to do. I thought you were going to be mad at me.” Continue reading “Get a Towel” →

Mayella Ewell’s Red Flowers

Intentergy 2 Comments

Mayella Ewell’s Red Flowers

Sunday Porch sittin.jpg

Caring for my flower beds and potted plants today, I couldn’t help but reminisce sadly as I pruned the plants on my porch. They are a vivid red and reminded me of the red flowers cared for by Mayella Ewell in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

The red flowers in the novel were the only beautiful things in Mayella Ewell’s life.

Mayella Ewell was the poor, ignorant girl who falsely accused Tom Robinson of taking advantage of her. Her accusation came after she tried to reach out to Tom for affection, but was politely rejected. Her rejection was especially painful because her abusive father discovered the two at just the wrong moment, and after Tom fled the scene, Bob Ewell gave Mayella a vicious beating.

Those flowers were essential to Harper Lee’s characterization of the tragic girl. When asked if Tom had any previous interactions with the girl, Tom told of times that he helped her chop fire wood or do small tasks around their home. He recollected seeing her water and care for the red flowers. They were the one bright spot in the Ewell’s dirt-swept front yard, just as Tom’s visits were probably the one bright spot in Mayella’s day. Continue reading “Mayella Ewell’s Red Flowers” →

“I understand” – Powerful!

Intentergy 1 Comment

“I understand” – Powerful!

I understand

Hearing the words “I understand” from my child’s principal was so comforting to me. She has no clue how much power she shared in those two words.

After being nominated to serve on next year’s school board, I had to call her and graciously say, “Thank you, but not at this time.” I simply could not in good conscience accept the position.

I am suffering from a major case of too-much-to-do on top of a sever lack of I-don’t-know-what-is-coming-next, and taking on this new duty would not be fair to the school or me.

Volunteering is something I am good at and enjoy very much, but I just had to say no to someone who I really admire and don’t want to let down.

Her empathy was the cure to the ailing guilt that had been plaguing me. As a teacher, mother, and wife, she related to where I was coming from and assured me that she understood. Continue reading ““I understand” – Powerful!” →

Red Pen Trophy Wall

Intentergy 3 Comments

Red Pen Trophy Wall

Red Pen cemetary.jpg

In 2015 I began my red pen trophy wall. This display was inspired by the trophies my husband accumulated over the years from hunting trips. My students always seemed to have more interest in what he was killing than what I was teaching so as each new pen bit the dust, I began my trophy wall.

The wall developed greater meaning when I applied the infamous words of Kathy Rolwes (fellow teacher and lover of the written word), “Ink is love.”

Kathy always tells her students, “Ink is love,” when returning graded work. Her critiques and feedback are loaded with insight, beneficial advice, and love (of course). Her affections are well demonstrated by the inky sacrifices made by her pens.

This school year I added an additional tradition to the retirement of tragic grading pens. I invited each student, who wrote a deadly paper, to give a eulogy for the pen who gave its life to evaluate them. Once this tradition began, Continue reading “Red Pen Trophy Wall” →