Thursday, September 22, 2011

Bonsai

Pin It I did announcements at my school today.

I do this on occasion, usually when my principal is out of the building.

I’ll be honest here, when it comes to announcements, I pull out all the stops.

I use my ‘Mr. Voice’ Voice—the one I reserve for ComedySportz. I combine this with some rockin’, kickin’, upbeat, get-your-blood-pulsating-in-your-veins-music through the intercom system as I belt out:

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Amelllllliiiaaaa Eaarrrrhhhheaaarrrtttt Elemmmmmeeennnntttaaarrrrryyyyyyy!”

I’m pretty awesome…well, to kids under the age of twelve.

I usually try to keep things upbeat and pulsing until the end as I announce birthdays, upcoming events, kids who were caught being amazing around the school, and stuff like that…and then I bring it down.

I play some Kenny G.

Okay, maybe not that; however, I kill the tunes and then always try to share a poem or a thought of some type—sometimes something ‘ish’ I’ve written from my blog—but a kid version. This is the time when I encourage the kids to be kind to others and remember that they are teeming with awesomeness. I try to help them remember that they are in charge of the choices they make each day and help them to remember that they need to make good choices—but it is only they can make that choice as an individual.

The message I shared today was about appreciating their teachers. I decided to share this because we had seven or eight teachers out of the building—training up in Salt Lake—and I was thinking of the third to quarter classrooms in our school where substitutes were going to be instructing for the day.

I didn’t want the kids to eat those poor souls alive.

I talked about being appreciative. I told them about writing their teacher a note or having another way to let them know they cared because these people became teachers because they wanted to make a difference.

I told them that their teachers loved them. I let them know that this is why teachers do everything that they do.

I signed off, letting them know that the choice of how they would behave today was theirs, but Mr. Z had all confidence that they would make good choices—after all, each and every single one of them was teeming with awesomeness.

I hung up the intercom. I walked the empty hallways back to my classroom. I reached the door.

When I arrived I saw one of the boys standing just inside the door, looking out the small side window. When he saw me he cried out, “He’s here!” and then vanished back into the classroom.

Puzzled, I opened the door and was greeted with a scream of “Bonsai!” from 28 prepubescent children and found myself practically slammed against the wall from the blunt force impact of the group hug that followed.

How can I not love being a teacher?

Especially when I love them back so much?



Bonsai is our class' awesomeness yell of the week...heck, it probably will be for the whole year. And, just if you were wondering where it came from, it was mentioned in our Treasures book basal reader and was subsequently a pop culture media reference as well.

Yeah, the kids love it, too...




BTW, Don't forget that this Saturday is Christmas in September...

21 comments:

Mindy said...

Your students aren't the only ones "teeming with awesomeness"... :-)

What an excellent way to remind them of their power and potential...

"Bonsai!" Mr. Z.

"Bonsai!"

Gerb said...

Little O is sitting on my lap as I read this post. When the picture came up he yelled, "That's my friend!!"

Bonsai.

Just SO said...

I kind of wish I could have you do announcements here at my house.

My kids just got done watching the second Karate Kid. I tried to talk them out of it but they persisted.

Marnie said...

Now if that doesn't make your day, what will? Amazing! You sound like a very cool teacher!

DB Stewart said...

Some teachers are good. And some teachers are good like rock stars.

Lacey Lou said...

LOVE this! I think you made some good choices when you decided to teach Mr. Z. ;)

tammy said...

You really have a great life.

mCat said...

Be careful, you might just get asked to do the announcements EVERY DAY! And the reward of a class/group hug?? Bestest!

CB said...

BONSAI!!!!! Can I say it too!!
I can just picture the whole scene and I love the photo!!

Anonymous said...

Love it when they love you back. =)

Tracy Jo said...

Your post warmed my heart! Keep up the awesomeness!!

Sand Castles and Snow Forts said...

I wonder how many times the echo of that in your head made you smile that day! They'll take that with them forever! Raising the level of awesomeness... you rock!

Karen M. Peterson said...

You're pretty awesome to kids over age 12, too. ;-)

mamahasspoken said...

Ah the reason I keep doing what I do. All we need is a sign (or a shirt) that says 'will work for hugs'
Good job teach!

Connie said...

I can picture it in my mind and it's awesome! You, Mr. Z. are a fabulous teacher!

Justin said...

How cool! I used to do the announcements in high school. I'd try to throw some jokes in there every so often, but my announcements were never as inspirational as yours seem to be.

Bonsai.

Danielle said...

J--You're so awesome! ;)
Glad we're related!

Unknown said...

You leave me wishing we had Mr. Z. at my kids' school. :)

Leah Z said...

I think you should install an intercom in your house and do announcements every time Y, J and I come to town.

That's the only think I could think of that would have made our trip any better.

Anonymous said...

How fantastic is that? My kids like their teachers, but they don't love them enough to want to tackle them. Relish that. Take that with you on the days you're feeling your lowest.

Richard & Natalie said...

The day I heard your announcements I sat in my car in the front parking lot with my window rolled down so I could catch every last word. I was sitting there thinking of how awesome you were, when I looked over and saw another mom doing the same thing! After, words were exchanged about how cool the announcements were and we both left that parking lot "teeming with awesomeness" for the day.
Bonsai, TF. BONSAI!

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