"Tired" Doesn't Begin to Describe...

I have a LOT of exciting stories to fill you in on, but I'm going to do it chronologically--you're going to have to wait for the good stuff.

Wednesday, I got to school early so we could load kids on buses. I had volunteered to drive up alone, in case we needed to send any kids home early from the trip. I had an easy, uneventful ride up to Boston in about 4 hours, and met the group at the BU dining hall.

To a 7th grader who thinks McDonald's is the greatest restaurant ever, they loved the dining hall. The kids were intrigued by the all-you-can-eat aspect, and were all convinced that they were going to gain a lot of weight in college (who doesn't?). They also learned that pizza is not the same everywhere. (Tough lesson, but everyone has to learn eventually.

On the tour of BU, the kids were asking awesome questions: How much will this cost? What do I need to do to get a scholarship? I was impressed with their enthusiasm. It didn't hurt that the BU gym has a climbing wall, Olympic-sized swimming pool, and smoothie bar. My favorite part of the tour, though, was when the tour guide told said that if you step on the university seal, you won't graduate. One student asked, "Is that true?" Another shouted, "We should test it out! Let's get 100 students..." I have succeeded as a science teacher.

I also got a great interval workout during the tour. It went something like this:
"Anyone who gets caught walking behind Ms. Z loses $5!" [Jog a few feet, watch kids scurry.]
Get caught behind, jog a bit more.
Get to BU track, race kids across the soccer field. [1x100 m sprint]
"Who wants to race Ms. Z around the track?" [1x400 m sprint]
Recover by walking to the buses.
It helped me feel like I got some good exercise in, without being too taxing.

I also played a few rounds of laser tag that evening, and was sore from it for days! A few weeks ago, when the students were being pumped up for the Boston trip, the English teacher challenged them to beat me in laser tag. This started rumors that I was great at laser tag. I'm not. Some kids spent the last couple of weeks planning their strategy for teaming up on me. To make a long story short, out of sheer determination, I destroyed them all at laser tag. 1st place. It felt awesome (except for the sore abs, quads, and hamstrings).

Thursday, we went on a Freedom Trail tour (the kids loved it, I was underwhelmed) and I had some pretty disappointing clam chowder at Faneuil Hall. I travel all the way to Boston, and I didn't even find good clam chowder!

That afternoon we went to the science museum. I had so much fun seeing the kids learning and being engaged in a low-stress environment. It was almost, but not quite, as meaningful as seeing In the Heights that evening. In the Heights is a musical about a block in Washington Heights that works together to achieve their own versions of personal success with the support of each other. One of the most meaningful (to me, and I think to the kids) storylines was about a girl who had to drop out of Stanford because she lost her scholarship, because her grades dropped, because she had to work two jobs to afford textbooks. In the end, she turns down gift money from the community but accepts money her parents get by selling their car service business. The end moral is that you can only be successful with the support of your family and community.

This message is one that I can relate to (even though I grew up with every possible privilege) and one that I enjoyed sharing with the students. As a teacher, I spend every non-school moment with a little voice in the back of my head constantly telling me, "The kids would love this" "This is so appropriate for school" and "How can I share this with my kids?" This week, I didn't have to think that. I was able to share a science museum, a museum, some colleges, and more with my kids. And I loved every minute of it.

There are more stories to tell, as I'm sure you know. More to follow.