What to Watch

 We live in a world with so many media options, it's often hard to know what to watch. So in this time of spending a lot of time at home, here are my picks for media consumption.   Please don't judge my unique/strange and varied taste, also please no judging about quantity.  Last summer in quarantine and on summer vacation was basically a Netflix binge- We all found our way to survive the pandemic, docuseries and crime shows have been mine. 

Netflix

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution.  Seriously if you haven't seen this yet, take 2 hours this week and watch it. Crip Camp showed me that I don't need permission from anyone to be authentically myself.  In the year since watching it, I have truly started to love myself and care for myself. I have become a better advocate for my students and have found a comfort and sense of belonging in a community. 

High on the Hog- How African American Cuisine Transformed America.  Follow Chef Stephen Satterfield on this 4-part mini-series as he uncovers not only his own roots, but the roots of American cuisine and its African influence. 

We are the Champions- Is a quirky show. Each episode takes a dive into unique and sometimes strange competitions that exist around the globe.  Honestly a great way to turn off my brain and not think, which is often important as someone with extreme anxiety. 

Betty White: The lady of television. 60 minutes long just brings a smile to your face. 

Hoarders.  Nothing like watching an episode of Hoarders to kick start a day of cleaning.  Probably should do that again soon. 

NCIS- While not the ONLY place to watch it, I recommend it on any platform, because, Mark Harmon. 

Trials of Gabriel Fernandez- Completely gut wrenching.  Not recommended for those who cannot handle typical crime shows, or who are able to separate themselves from the trauma they see on television. All that said an incredibly important 6 part min-series show all the ways the system is broken. The importance of always documenting and saying something.  We cannot fix these broken systems if we are too afraid to stand up for what we see failing. 

Dolly Parton: Here I Am- 90 minutes long. Similar to the Betty White documentary, it is nice to see women who have stood the test of time in an industry that is built for them to fail. 

College Behind Bars 4 part mini-series. I've always be interested in bringing high quality education into the criminal system.  My internship in college was at a juvenile facility and I still somethings think about going and working in the prison system.  It's good to see programs like the one shown in this docuseries. 

Down to Earth with Zac Efron. So 1 good lucky guy travels the world to learn how different places are doing better, not talking about it, but actually doing it.  Cool. 

I will also watch basically anything real life crime related. My hubby thinks I'm weird because I cannot watch shows with fake violence, but I can easily sit down and watch real crime and unsolved murder cases without much issue. 

Hulu

Grey's Anatomy- Why yes I have seen every episode in all 17 seasons and yes I will be sad when it's all over. 

I grew up with my mom and her soap operas that had been on for decades (they are still on) and she new all the characters and their drama and relationships and Grey's is that for me. 

Disney+

Really you cannot go wrong but I love watching all of the behind the scenes documentary type stuff...is it clear I have a type I like to watch? 

Signing off for now

-C

 

For the Win Part 2

  If you haven't read part 1 and are interested you can do that here.  

All student individuals will simply be identified as student.  All Co-worker individuals will simply be identified as Colleague.

I am taking time to write down the positive interactions each day.  Most days feel really hard by the end, long and draining, but in doing this daily practice, I leave work happier and feel better about going back each day. 

• A former student reached out to me for help on a career project.  I feel honored they saw me as someone they could still contact for support.  --Just because they graduate doesn't mean we ever stop caring. 
• Several Students finished their High School and Beyond Plans
• An Alg 2 student willingly tested with me and made up 2 learning targets
• Positive IEP meeting
• A student hit the "sweet spot" for Alg 2 meaning they have passed enough learning targets to pass the class this term! 
• My Alg 2 classes are currently averaging a 70% passing rate, which feels good, especially this year. 
• A Student who struggles in the morning is willingly staying after and writing papers- YES PURAL 
• I have an amazing team of para educators I am lucky enough to work with daily. They are all stars and I could not do this job without them. 
• I've connected with all borderline and failing students, we all have plans to move forward for the last few weeks of school. 
• I'm listening and taking care of my body.  I don't have to do it all, sometimes I just need to sleep, and that's okay too.  You cannot pour out to others from an empty cup.

Signing off for now

-C

To people who understand

To the people in my life who understand- Thank you. 

To the people who understand and don't complain when I cancel last minute because of any one of a number of things wrong with me- Thank-you. 

To the people who don't comment when I have to excused myself several time because my stomach hates me- thank you

To the people who are just as content hanging out in my living room as they are going out- Thank you

To the people who are safe venting spaces ( I don't always want my problems solved)- Thank you

To the people who have never had issues with my full authentic quirky AF self- Thank you

To the people who don't make comments about the fact I have a stuffed animal that provides me comfort- Thank you

To the people who keep inviting me out, even though I've probably canceled on you a dozen times- thank you. 

To the people who I never feel the need to mask around- thank you. 

Signing off for now

-C

For The Win part 1

 For the sake of this post, to preserve student anonymity while still celebrating the things that bring me joy I will refer to all as Student.  These are not all the same students, but this just makes it easier for me and keeps their privacy. 

For the last 2 weeks I have been keeping a journey of the daily little wins.  I only put positives in this notebook.  When a day is hard I look back at the notebook as a reminder of the wins of life. Here are the "Wins" for the last 2 weeks of a high school teacher. 

• Student came to me and asked if I could help them get organized, even though I'm not their teacher any more. 
• Student advocated for support in organization, because they "couldn't do it alone". Student proceeded to provide me their entire plan based on the structure we made the week before and went over the progress!
• Student made entire class excited about Sin and Cos waves-anyone who can make my students excited about Algebra 2 brings me great joy!!!
• Student who struggles to ever write anything for classes, came in on their non-house day to work with a teacher and completed an essay and a 2nd assignment
• Student opened up to me and we made a plan to make it better. 
• Student(s) excited about their college plans next year. 
• Student got a scholarship they worked really hard for. 
• Got a lovely thank you note, from a former student headed to college to be a teacher. - They will be a great at it. 
• Student completed 2 math assignments with me.
• Student(s) hitting magic number of assessments so they will pass Alg 2 this year. 
• Co-teacher supporting using this semester's learning to improve 1st semester grades for a student. 
• Colleagues bringing kids in after school to help students be successful. 
• Student advocating independently, and effectively and showing they are really ready for college. 
• Student acknowledging their weakness and asking for support to fill in gaps.
• Student asking for math to be explained a different way and showing up for EVERY SINGLE TUTORIAL!
• Seeing so many students access and appreciate paper copies after being stuck online all year. 
• Having a union meeting were we felt united for the first time this school year. 
• Signing my contract for next fall!
• Having life conversations with students who will soon go off into the real world. 
• Positive final evaluation conversation.
• Support from admin to take on a student teacher next year. 
• Several days of sunshine and warm weather and walks with my hubby at the end of the day

I will post again in a few weeks. Focusing on the positive has made the last 2 weeks much better and more enjoyable. 

Signing off for now

-C