Jasper/Ireland, IN

This weekend, I spent some time in Jasper and Ireland, IN.  Although there are many fun things to do in these towns, this wasn't exactly what I would call a "fun" trip.  My grandfather passed away on January 7, after battling leukemia, and his visitation and funeral were this past weekend in Jasper and Ireland, respectively.

Friday, January 14, was the visitation.  Papaw was at the Becher-Kluesner Funeral Home on Newton Street in Jasper.  There were tons of people there!!  There was laughter, tears, and old friends and relatives reconnecting and rejoicing in this wonderful man's memory.  I saw relatives I hadn't seen in many, many years.  I also saw friends and acquaintences that I hadn't seen in some time.  By the time the evening was over, over 400 people had attended Papaw's visitation.  He certainly touched many lives during his short 67 years with us!!

Saturday, January 15, was Papaw's funeral at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Ireland, IN.  Papaw's 6 grandkids were his pallbearers (I was very honored to be asked to do this!).  We met at the funeral home beforehand, and all drove behind the hearse to Ireland.  The service was very nice and several people came to honor Papaw's memory.  Afterward, we had a meal in the community center.  It was so nice to visit with family members that I rarely see!  I just wish it could have been under different circumstances.

I miss my papaw very much.  He was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the end of July, 2010.  He had many blood and platelet transfusions, and spent quite a bit of time in Indianapolis at the IU Medical Center and at the Methodist Hospital.  Our family spent as much time with him as we could.  Through an organization called Fair Haven Foundation, my Granny was able to get an apartment across the street from the hospital.  This greatly helped with the driving back-and-forth to visit Papaw.  He had a stem cell transplant just before Thanksgiving.  The doctors released him to come home for Christmas, and two weeks later he was gone.

I still really can't believe that he's not here anymore.  I have so many great memories of him!!  After he passed away, I helped my Granny, Aunt Krissy, and Mom put together several picture boards.  There were tons of pictures of my papaw, and in every.single.one of them, he was smiling.  Even when he was so sick with cancer, he always smiled and thanked his doctors and nurses for their help.  He was one of the most kind, caring, and friendly people I have ever met.  He was a huge fan of sports (especially the Colts and IU) and loved fishing and animals.  I remember him dancing and playing the tambourine at my wedding reception, and I called him before I went into the Superdome for the Saints game back in October.  I like to think he was very proud of me for having enough courage to go on a trip by myself!!

Here are a few pictures of my Papaw Schitter:

This was from Christmas 2010.  Aunt Mary, Uncle Joe, my dad, my mom, Granny, and Papaw

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2002 at my mom and dad's.  This is probably one of my favorite pictures of Papaw!

My mom and her dad.  (She doesn't like herself in this picture!!)

Christmas 2010.  my cousin Morgan, me, my brother Chris, my sister Sarah, and Papaw.

Snow Days

Today is our second snow day we've used this week.  We have had a lot of snow, and now ice, that have made the roads terrible.  Who knows if we'll go tomorrow or not??  Here are a few pics of our day today.

This is how Isabella spends her snow days.

This is how Max spends his snow days.

View from my front door.  That looks like a puddle of water at the end of the sidewalk, but it's a sheet of ice!

View of my cross-street.  I have heard 3 vehicles and saw one walker go by today.

Not-so-giant icicle.

View up the street.  Thank goodness I parked my vehicle in the garage last night!

Christmas Program

My students just had their last elementary Christmas program on Tuesday night.  Our music teacher, Mrs. Richardson, is new this year.  I think she did a fantastic job!  Here are a few pics:

Here are the happy 5th graders

Santa is in my class

Hard to see, but two of "my" reindeer catching hoops on their antlers.

Here's a better reindeer pic.

The stage.  The Christmas program was kind of like the Reindeer Olympics.  Very cute and entertaining!

I might add that these pics were from the dress rehearsal performance that we put on during the day before the real program that night.  That's why most of the kids don't look dressed up!

Ok, Teacher, How Are You Going to Handle This One?

I'm not really sure how to start this post.  I had a very sickening day today at school.  First, I was observed by my principal as part of my yearly evaluation.  That part went well, but I get so nervous when he comes to observe me.  The next part was what made me sick.

After the principal left, one of my male students came up to me and said he needed to speak with me in the hallway.  I was thinking to myself, "What on earth could he want to talk to me about in private?"  At this age, you expect the girls to ask to speak to you privately about "girl stuff."  Anyway, we finally found a "quiet" spot in the hallway and I asked him what was up.

He proceeded to tell me that this happens every year, but the kids were making fun of him.  When I asked which students, he said "everyone" and dissolved into tears.  Now, I must give a little background info here.  This student is an intelligent, kind, caring, trustworthy, and conscientious student.  He's not interested in most things my other boys are, like hunting, sports, etc.  He's interested in art, gardening, and music.  He has an appreciation for everyone and everything.  As soon as his first tear fell, I wanted to punch someone.  Hard.  We talked a little more through his tears and I narrowed in on the general group of students who were targeting him.  The more we talked, the more he cried and the angrier I got.  Tears started to form in my eyes, but I knew I needed to get a grip and be a professional, not a bodyguard like I wanted to be.

Ok, teacher, how do you handle that?  I think this is one of the hardest things as an educator to deal with.  Sometimes, kids are just being kids.  They are expressing themselves in the only way they know how, whether that's in a positive or negative way.  You can talk to them, guide them, and send them on their way.  Then, after so much guiding and redirecting, there comes a time when more serious measures need to be taken.  Sometimes that's a talk with the principal, sometimes that's a conference with a parent, sometimes it could be a combination of things.  The truth is, I don't think there's any "good" way to deal with a situation like this.  By nature I don't like confrontation (I know, that's a strange thing for a teacher to say).  I like everyone to do what they're supposed to do and that's what makes the world go 'round, in my mind.  When I need to confront someone, I'm not very consistent in my punishments, either (which, granted, different situations require different consequences).

In life, adults are this way, too.  As adults, our defense mechanisms are better at dealing with negative people.  We learn to let things go, slide off our back, go in one ear and out the other.  Or we get fed up and give someone a piece of our minds. As kids...I think it's harder.  By age 9 or 10, kids are learning that not everyone in the class is their friend (adults already know this).  They learn who they prefer to be around, and who they most definitely do not want to be anywhere near (adults already know this, too).  They have to begin to learn to deal with those people who are negative (ditto on the adults).  I think this is one of the hardest things kids have to do.

So, teacher, what did you do?  Well, first I had to calm down a little.  Like I said, my first instinct was to throw someone into something hard. (I think it's a good thing I don't have children of my own.  I can only imagine how I would react if one of them was in a situation like this!  I would be knowns a "that" mom for sure!).  Next, I talked to a few of the kids that I had a sneaking suspicion they had been behind some of this.  After that, I contacted a parent and possibly tomorrow I will be contacting more.  I certainly don't want to make this into a huge deal, but to this boy, it's already a huge deal.  I have documented this incident, and will be more watchful for others like it.  My principal will be involved in some capacity, too.

For now, I will try to keep calming down.  I'll hopefully get a good night's sleep and be able to look on the situation a little differently in the morning.  I can only pray that this little boy who has been targeted does the same.

Would you have done anything differently?

Evansville with Lily Grace

Today was an awesome day!!  I got to spend most of it with a sweet, soon-to-be-3-year-old.  I've only watched Miss Lily a few times, so I was excited to spend some time with her.  Why was I watching her?  Big sis Regan and her mommy were going to have breakfast with the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Regan all ready for her date with Mommy



Lily and I had plans of our own...I had a few places in Evansville I needed to visit.  First stop was The Teacher's Aid for their 30% off everything sale.  Unfortunately, I made the fatal mistake of taking Lily through the toy section first.

I finally got to do a little teacher shopping and we headed out into the cold rain.  After a quick stop at JCPenney Home Store, we headed to Chick-fil-A for some much-needed chicken n' fries, then for a little playtime.

Which was followed by some ice-cream.  Then Mommy came to pick Miss Lily up and I went to Sams' Club, came home, and took a well-deserved nap.

What a great day!

I Bet You Hate Your Job, Ms. Sutton

One of my students told me this week, after I gave a lecture on behavior to the class:

"I bet you hate your job, Ms. Sutton."

Hmm.  No, I definitely don't hate my job.  Do I have days I wish I was at home/the beach/shopping/etc. instead of at work?  Sure.  Everyone does.  I've had many challenges during the time I've worked for the school corporation.  I had many trying students, coworkers, personal issues, you name it.  Not once did I hate my job.

Hate is a very strong word.  Last year, I outlawed that word (among others) in my classroom.  You could "strongly dislike" something, or "strongly dislike" how someone was acting, but "hate" you could not.

This week has been a trying week.  I can't figure out if we're all getting sick, if there's a full moon, or perhaps if we all have cabin fever (note that it's been in the 70s this week and we've taken full advantage of our recess time).  I am just not sure.  I am hoping it's not a case of "Holiday Hyperness,"  because if it is, we need to get a handle on it quick because we still have a month of school before Christmas Break.

My favorite (note the sarcasm here) thing is when I start to teach and all my students start talking.  Or coloring.  Or reading.  Apparently, they already know how to do everything that I've taught, so they don't see the need to pay attention.  Hmm.  Okay.

Our principal is very big on respect.  You are respectful to everyone, whether you like them or not, whether you agree with them or not.  Not paying attention to your teacher when he/she is teaching is disrespectful.  In fact, our principal spent about 25 minutes in my room last week talking to my class about how we need to be respectful and tolerant of each other (I have a few personality conflicts in my room).  Today we were respectful to our Veterans, but not so respectful to the teacher or to each other.

Now, granted, we have more than our fair share of fun in my classroom.  I strongly dislike being all stuffy and serious for the entire school day.  However, the State of Indiana has deemed me in charge of educating 19 students in the 5th grade state standards.  Unfortunately, you can't teach all those standards in a non-stuffy, non-serious fashion.  You also can't have much peace and order without everyone dishing out their fair share of respect.

Okay--enough of my rant and rave for the evening.  Friday, here I come!!

Veterans Day

I was VERY proud of my students today.  In our school, the 5th grade students take charge of the Veterans Day program.  Our wonderful music teacher, Melissa, taught them some songs and my coworkers found and put together slides for a patriotic slideshow.  I stayed out of the limelight on this one as I am not all that creative and do well enough to get my kids lined up and to practices/performances on time. :)

Anyway...all four 5th grade classes did a very nice job singing during the performance.  They were quiet and respectful during the Veterans' part in the ceremony, and they did a great job getting to and from the performance in a quiet, orderly manner.  A few of my students were chosen to be in the Singing Indians group (kind of like the Swing Choir at the high school) and they did a wonderful job as well.  The performance was short, as the Veterans had many more programs to attend today, but amazingly meaningful.  I asked my students, after the performance, how many of them had someone in their family who was a Veteran.  Most raised their hands.  Next I asked if they knew someone who was a Veteran.  All raised their hands. One of my students has an uncle who recently returned from the Middle East and that student has shared many stories about his uncle.  I hope my students know what it means to give up your time, family, and your life for our country.