Humanities at KVCS

Andrew, Tanner, Mike and Brandon typing their 2nd drafts

There’s nothing better than the sound of keyboards clicking away as your students diligently type their second drafts…if you’re an English teacher that is.

Yep, we’re using the writing process here. We started with a list of ideas. All I asked was, “What do you want to write about and how do you want to write it?” and they took off running. Kids want to write. I think we all do, some of us just don’t know where to start. Well, you have to start with ideas.

Next came brainstorming. I had them just sit down with a piece of paper and something to write with (some found a nice place outside while others stayed inside). Once you have an idea, the thoughts start flowing, but if you don’t write them down, you’ll forget later. I told them not to worry about organization yet, just get everything down on paper.

After brainstorming for a couple of days, we started putting things in order by using graphic organizers and outlines. It was like a puzzle. They had all the pieces from the brainstorm and now they could start putting it all together.

This process took about 2 and a half weeks and then we finally started writing the first drafts. There were no complaints, no whining, no “I’m stuck and don’t know what to write.” Yeah, the writing was rough and full of misspelled words and grammatical mistakes, but that’s exactly what I wanted. That’s why there’s a second draft and a final draft.

Our goal is to publish one writing assignment a month and we’re well on our way.

I’ve always enjoyed Thanksgiving. Not just because we get a nice little vacation or because we get to eat a lot of food. I enjoy it because it’s a time of coming together and reflecting on what’s really important. It’s actually kind of sad that we had to set apart one specific day a year to think about what we’re thankful for, but atleast we have that.

Thankfulness is one of those emotions that is often hard to express. We really only have a few ways of showing it. The one I hear most often is, “Thanks,” which hardly amounts to anything, mostly because of the way it sounds, being nasaly at the vowel sound and having no voiced consonants. It just kind of pops up and promptly falls to the ground. But, this is how we do things these days. We try to shorten our conversations as much as we possible can to the shortest linguistic representation of our thoughts and feelings. “Mornin’” instead of, “Good morning.” “Bye” instead of, “Good-bye.” Even worse is the Instant Messaging (which we refer to as, “I-M-ing”) like “Cya,” which is short for, “See you later,” and then, the ever popular, “Luv U.”

I guess it’s not such a bad thing. I mean, we’re busy right? We’re getting more things done in a shorter amount of time. Efficiency is a vital component of success, and who doesn’t want to be successful? But at what point do we begin to lose sight of what’s really important? Thankfuly, there are still mediums such as blogging that keep the language alive. More importantly though is the insight we gain through conversation and sharing our thoughts.

Our existence is driven by relationships. So, at the risk of sounding cheesy…I am thankful for the people that surround me, support me, challenge me, and encourage me. I appreciate those who make me laugh, make me think, and make me more than I could be without them. I am indebted to all those who have allowed me to be where I am today with all the blessings I experience and enjoy. And I am much obliged to the ones I call friends, who have never backed down…Thank You.

Well, even though we didn’t find any Shoshone arrowheads in the creek-bed yesterday, we sure had a lot of fun. It was a little wet outside, but we didn’t care, that’s what rain gear is for. The sun even peeked through a couple of times. As I recorded information on a soaked piece of paper, the air was filled with laughter as my students found joy in being outdoors. I am always impressed with this group of young people as they continually find a way to make the best out of any situation. Whether it’s quoting movies, making up stories about being lost in the woods and miraculously finding all the supplies we need, or just being downright silly, these kids know how to have fun.

They had a mission to accomplish and they did it. Then, in a celebratory mood, they decided to ford the creek, going downstream as a group tied together with rope instead of trudging through the wooded banks back to the cars. I don’t know how I ended up in the water with them, but there I was in my hip waders, sloshing through the muddy water, laughing all the way.

I really can’t remember a time when I had this much fun outdoors. And eventhough I ended up getting soaked up to my waist, this is a memory I won’t soon forget. My hope is that these students will look back on their year(s) here at KVCS and remember these times when they worked together to accomplish something.

It’s only been three months since school started and already this group has had more opportunities than I did my entire time in high school.

So, here we are on the eve of a new era in American history. It is a time of many firsts and, I hope, a time of many lasts. For me, I just moved from the country to the city with my beautiful wife, Emily whom I’ve been married to for a little more than four years now. Our new apartment is our first place that has just about all we ever wanted in a home minus the option to have a pet. It is also the first time we have felt that we can start a home together.

Our first place together was the apartment I lived in during my college years which was perfect for me and my room-mate, but when he moved out and Emily moved in, it was an awkward transition and we never really felt like that was our home. We then moved out to the country where the air was clear and free of the city noise. It was a nice place with cheap rent, but it was also just a move of convenience.

We had just both graduated and Emily was blessed with a teaching job at Kings Valley Charter School, a small country school with about a hundred students. Our new place was only ten minutes away from her work. As I struggled to find a full time job, subbing as much as possible, I ended up staying home a lot. It was nice to be able to have the time to myself and to be able to think about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but a person can only do that for so long. And neither of us we able to really feel at home because of the conditions of our new place…smelly water, no storage, no closets, no dishwasher (I love dishwashers), no mailing address of our own, and being twenty minutes from the nearest grocery store wasn’t exactly convenient. We did, however, enjoy being close to some good friends of ours who also work at the charter school.

Well, I finally landed a job as a high school Humanities teacher at…you guessed it…the same school Emily works at. KVCS added 9th grade this year with plans to add a grade each consecutive year. This year has been more than I could ever hope for. It is a joy to come to work everyday and be a part of my students’ lives. This job is probably the most demanding job I can think of, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else or doing anything but this.

So, we can finally afford a nice, new place in the city. A place we can finally create a living space that we can enjoy to its fullest and be the hosts that we’ve always wanted to be. We love having friends over and we can’t wait to enjoy that company.

Moving forward, change, hope, growth…all these things are good. But the truth is they mean nothing if you don’t share it with somebody. We may face challenges in this life, but we are never alone. When you work with somebody you can accomplish anything, go wherever you want to go and do whatever you want to do. It just takes a little work, some patience and a positive attitude.