Spring Fever

So, here we are again, nearing the end of another school year, and no one has Spring Fever worse than I do. This is compounded by the fact that I have to spend most of this week watching class after class waste precious time taking end-of-level tests -- tests that say nothing of students' true capabilities or potential, tests that give no indication as to whether or not the student can communicate (speak or write) effectively, tests that say nothing of a student's sense of humor or love of Life. They call it evaluation. I call it a waste of time and money. But what do I know? I'm just a teacher.

Spring Fever is also complicated by the fact that as the weather turns warm (i.e., hot), our non-air-conditioned classroom becomes almost unbearable. The roar of my jet-engine fan and the hurricane breeze that accompanies it are signs of spring. As usual, I find myself with too many things to consider and no time in which to do it. Everything happens in May: end-of-level tests, National Science Olympiad, band and choir concerts and competitions, Falcon Finale, track, foreign language festivals, student elections, cheerleading tryouts, Art Night, Athletic Awards Night, recruiting trips to the elementaries, final locker cleanout, Memorial Day, the Ninth Grade Dance, Lagoon Day, the closing assembly, Yearbook Day...and those are just the things happening at school. On the outside, recreation soccer ends while baseball season begins. The Jazz go to the Western Conference Finals, so you have to stay up late to watch the games (or, if you are lucky or rich enough, attend them in person). And most of you are still attending all those regular weekly engagements that you have been doing all along: voice lessons, swim practice, Mrs. Money's early-morning math help sessions, dance, church activities, etc. I really wanted to have an Honors English party of some sort to end the year, but when? It seems that every day between now and the end of the year there is already some other activity on the agenda. And there just isn't enough time to tell you individually how much I have enjoyed reading your blogs and discussion posts, "listening" to your writing voices take shape, and seeing the miraculous intellectual development exhibited by the work you leave behind. I hope, knowing as I do how unlikely it is, that some of you will continue your blogs into high school. I haven't had time to touch base with most of you on a regular basis, and I know it probably seemed at times that I wasn't paying any attention, but I took special pleasure in logging on at least once a week to scan the latest entries and see how you tackled new questions and addressed the important issues in your lives. That blinking eyeball on all my web pages represents the fact that I am always "looking in" to see what you have to say.

But now, firmly in the clutches of Spring Fever, you are entering the last lap of the marathon that has been junior high school. Extending that metaphor to include myself, I am just reaching the water table for a refreshing drink (i.e., summer) in the middle of the marathon that is my career. As of this writing, there are 12 school days remaining, and two of them require nothing from you except your presence. The "work" that you've been complaining about lately is almost done. Finish strong!

And don't forget to check in once in a while once you've moved on to bigger and better things. You know where to find me.