2002-09-12
PTA night, posted at 7:58 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Today was a long and emotional day for me. It's PTA night, meaning I literally just got home at 8pm. I got to meet a few parents, say some nice things about kids (the one kid who I've had a problem with so far, and that's minor, didn't have an attending parent), and smile a lotKey points of the day:
* I totally forgot it was PTA night, and I wore the most casual clothes I've wore all year - a shirt I bought from the thrift store for 50 cents, tan jeans that sort of look like khakis but aren't, my black baseball uniform belt because it's the only black belt I have that doesn't overhang by a foot from the weightloss and drag like a tail. I also was unshaven and wore my glasses rather than my contacts. I didn't look awful - the shirt was fifty cents, but wasn't bad looking (in fact, it's one of my favorite "out on the town" shirts, as it's dressy casual and is one of the few shirts I own that fits my new torso). The glasses - well, let's just say one of my kids said, "Dang, Mr. E! You look smart today!" - weren't such a bad choice. But I felt guilty nonetheless, and considered running home and changing - but instead decided on catching up on work in the half hour I had after my meetings and before the parents came.
* I'm freaking out a little bit about my house concert, and ended up making 50 or so fliers for co-workers and asking around all day today. I'm worried that Lori is going to drive down from Providence and six people will be at the show. Ugh. I'm hoping more people will come than RSVP'd. Anyhow, this one woman who I work with is so funny, she's always saying nice things. Things like, "Oh, Epiphany, you're such a creative young man!" when I bring in a lunch that's really not very creative at all. Anyhow, as I was asking people, including her, to come, she said, "Oh, Epiphany. You just try so hard!". It was hilarious, because it sounded like there would be a "but..." at the end, as in "You just try so hard, but nothing ever comes of it!", but there was no "but" at all - it just sort of seemed like there would be, the way she said it. She swears there was no "but," that she was talking about my weight loss, my improvement in my teaching, and all this other stuff. But it was still funny. We all laughed for a long time, Boston Betty, Dana, and I. That was probably a story that didn't translate too well, but you've just got to imagine this woman who said it. She can be a riot.
* I found out one of my favorite students got kicked out of the school and is now going to a zoned school. Shit, shit, shit. I feel like I failed him. He was one of my best writers, and I remember seeing once that he was ineligible because he failed three classes. He had a 90 average in my class, but in the other classes, his grades were 60 or below. I was incredulous, but he said he was working on it. He was such a sweet kid, and a damn fine writer - looked just like Ja Rule (cut, but also sort of funny looking, with a squished nose and face and a goofy smirk) and was one of the first kids I connected with last year. Every now and then, he'd ask me to go and work out with him after school, since his friends and him needed supervision down in the weight room. I was always glad too. I hadn't seen him yet this year, and finally went to Guidance to get his schedule so I could track him down to ask him if he wanted to join me on the Outward Bound trip I'm heading up in October. She said he was gone, kicked out for grades. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I want to find the kid and bring him back somehow, but I don't even know how to get a hold of him.
* There's another kid who was in that same class whom I saw today. I'd forgotten just how much I enjoyed him. I think he's going to come along for Outward Bound. He's one of the most decent kids I've ever taught, someone who shakes my hand in the hallway to greet me and talks to me with a great deal of respect. A conversation with him tonight really cheered me up from my earlier doldrums.
* A new teacher came to my room today, put his head in his hands, and told me, "I don't know what to do. Things are awful," referring to his juniors. I didn't know what to tell him. I just kind of listened, gave some suggestions, and tried to tell him how much I struggled my first few weeks. The guy is in his late 30's, though, and isn't new to teaching, so it felt weird. He kept saying things like, "I keep seeing you in here as I walk by, and all the kids seem so busy and well-behaved. I feel like I'm battling." He then asked me to come down and watch his class sometime. I'm not sure if I'm ready to give suggestions, but I'll give it a try. Often, though, I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing.
* The ex-NFL player / basketball coach / administration guy complimented me on my weight loss today. It was a shocker, as I hardly know him, and he wears all these "fly" suits and drives a Jaguar. I actually got four weight loss compliments today; I think it must be the shirt. One kid came up to me and said, "Dang! Mr. E! How much weight did you lose?" and I said, "Dang! Richard! How many inches did you grow this summer?". Because he had grown at least four, I swear. Another time was in 1st period, and we were discussing the film Of Mice and Men (the Sinise/Malcovich version). I was big into prepping for the movie - discussions about the students' preconceptions of the characters, about how a lot thought that Curley's wife would be a redhead or a blonde, about how we imagined the characters beforehand. We then would watch part of the film, and discuss the filmmakers' perceptions, and how they differed. One kid mentioned something about thinking Lennie would be bigger and fatter, and I said that I also had a hard time with Malkovich in the role - he's a skinny guy wearing padding, and I never actually forget he's just a skinny guy. One kid said, "Yeah! I think John Goodman would have been good in the role!" and then a smart-ass (but a smart-ass who I enjoy) raised his hand and said, "Or someone who looked more like the old Mr. Epiphany, eh?".