JOANNE
PAYLING
Diary #2
A Swirl of Names and Faces
A fine week was had by all. I think. Ok, a fine week was had by me, their teacher. I can't speak for all of the 191 students I have. Kaleidoscopic views of names and faces swirl in my mind. So many Jason's and Jennifer's, Travis's and Stephanie's. How will I ever separate and remember them all? We spent this first week interviewing and introducing one another by discovering what we had read this summer and by sharing one unique thing about each of us. The answer "I didn't read anything this summer" was not an acceptable reply. With a few hints, their creativity kicked in and we discovered that their reading ran the gamut from cd covers to road maps to Tom Clancy and Tolkien. I hope my students got the message that reading is omnipresent in our world and that, consciously or unconsciously, we all read. During a discussion of one student's uniqueness and how his grandfather had traced his ancestry back to Richard I of England, I began to wax lyrical about Richard and John and Eleanor of Aquitaine, their mother, not to mention Robin Hood, of course. One boy said in wonder, "How do teachers KNOW so much?" I regret to say, I missed the opportunity of the perfect reply. The answer of course is, "We Read!" As the week's progress, I will expand their horizons to include newspapers, journals, fiction and non-fiction. For my voracious readers, I will introduce new authors to delight them, and for the reluctant ones, I hope I can help them discover that "Aha" book or genre that is out there just waiting for them. Stunning diversity The diversity of my students stunned me. Pleasanton draws people from all over the world. Many of my students are first generation Americans with parents (or themselves) from countries as widespread as Russia, Sweden, Korea, Belarus, Australia, India, England, Japan, Mexico, China, the Philippines, Norway, Germany, and Mexico. For Open House, the students have written the words Hello or Good Day in all of these languages and more. I will display them on a bulletin board near the door. As the year advances I will be hanging posters from regions all around the world. I believe it is crucial that we all recognize that we are a microcosm of the world and that we must educate ourselves about our diversity and celebrate it. Next week begins subject area teaching. Introductions are over; the honeymoon is nearing its end. Here comes Daily Oral Language, Spelling homework, and literature. I can't wait! I will manage to work in the reply that we all know what we know in no small part because we read!
