A Very Special Birthday

Greetings to you my fellow BETS!

I decided to change my opening greeting because I never know exactly when I am going to post, or when you all will get around to reading it.  So there we go.

Today is not my birthday, let's just get that  out of the way. A week or so ago, I made the comment that I have hundreds of stories about my kids at school that I want to share.  I believe I made the comment that they would be for “Another Day”.  Well, welcome to “Another Day”.  I won’t share all of them of course, just one for now.

Over the last two years, I have kind of kept myself at an arm’s length with my students as a whole.  Some kids of course, you connect with quickly, but for the most part I have tried to shield them from seeing the real me.  I’m not sure if this is for them, or if this is for me.  Maybe a bit of both.

This year, I discovered that I have a few “Birthday Buddies” here at school.  I’m not sure why, but this really got me excited.  I love the fact that I share my birthday with some of the kids!  So much fun to be had, now multiplied by the additional characters!

In learning this, I apparently made it clear as to when my birthday actually falls.  Now this could have been when I mentioned I had birthday buddies.  Or it may have been when a student asked me directly.  Or possibly it was when I would announce every day, two weeks prior to the date, how many shopping days were left until said event.  Anyway, it doesn’t really matter how they found out, but they did.

I was really touched when one of my students came to my room before her class with the bag of goodies you see in the picture.  If you can’t see it well, there is a chocolate bar wrapped in a Dementos wrapper, some truffles with wings added to resemble Golden Snitches, a bag with a Gryffindor tie on it, an awesome Prefect Badge, and a wonderful birthday card with Ron, Harry and Hermione on it.  Obviously she and I had shared our love for the Harry Potter series before this date.

What really got me though, was the time and thought that it took this student to put this together for me.  This was one very special moment for me this year.  A couple of other students also got me candy bars(my students know me), and I think I got a special Doughnut and Coffee in the morning as well.  I also got many, “It’s your birthday today, Mr. Ringenberg?  Happy Birthday!”, which of course was also cool.  But the Harry Potter Gift bag.  Did I ever do any of that for a teacher? No, of course not.  Heck I probably never even acknowledged my teachers’ birthdays.

My takeaway from this was that I need to be that thoughtful in preparing for my kids in the morning.  My lesson plans may not thrill them, and my homework won’t score points for me I am sure.  But maybe, if I plan on being truly present with all of my interactions with each of them, I can convey a measure of thoughtfulness, as my students do to me.  Let’s hope so, huh?

Remember, if you like what you are reading, don’t forget to follow me on Google Plus, subscribe on the top right, and recommend posts at the bottom of each post using Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook etc.  Thanks again for reading!

Update-Garrett The Wandering Goose

Good Morning BET’s!

Today, I wanted to take a few minutes to update you on my status of “Unpublished Author”.  No, the status hasn’t changed, so don’t get too excited.  After two years of submitting my manuscript to scores of literary agents and publishers, I have come to the conclusion that Garrett, the Wandering Goose’s time, has not yet come.

I still believe this story has a lot to offer, but maybe it will be to a slightly different audience.  I would like to see if any specific sub group will pick up on what I view as good humor with a message.  To that end, I have decided to self-publish this through Amazon Kindle Publishing.  I just want to get it out there and see what people think and maybe get some direction for my other efforts.

Right now, I am looking for an artist to come up with a look for Garrett, hopefully similar to how I envision him.  To me, he is a Fonzie wanna be, in a flock that doesn’t understand retro comedy.  I have a couple of students who I am going to approach to give it a shot, based on work they have shown to me at school.  Anyone else interested, shoot me a message and let’s talk.

I did want to share a few stanzas from the text for your enjoyment(hopefully).  Please let me know what you think, good or bad.  Once again, looking for direction here.  I hope you enjoy it.

Garrett The Wandering Goose

I am but a goose with a story to tell,

Just hoping you’ll listen, and you’ll listen well. 

‘Bout a misguided creature so angry and vain,

Aggressive and sure, but hiding his pain.

His skin it is hidden behind certain shielding

That keeps him aloft and provides a warm feeling.

His feet are grotesque, pale, yellow and wide.

And he wears a down coat made of aged fowl hide.

His lips he has none, rarely needing to utter,

His life it is Spartan, no sign of a clutter.

His voice is unnerving, more bass than of treble.

Some call him a problem, still others a rebel.

His ways they are timeless a true epic struggle

He’s obviously needing a blanket to snuggle.

When his problem grabs you, there is no good end.

I’m speaking of course of not being a good friend.

To speak of him scares me I have to admit.

But his story must carry, this I submit.

So without further fanfare, without any ruse,

I present to you Garrett, the wondering goose.

And remember, if you like what you are reading, don’t forget to follow me on Google Plus, subscribe on the top right, and recommend posts at the bottom of each post using Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook etc.  Thanks again for reading!

Experimental Education...ers! I Just Can't Help Myself

Good Afternoon BET’s!

Okay, so today I am addressing my regular readers…all seven of you.  If you are a friend of mine on Facebook, you are familiar with what I am about to share.

This fall, I am going to be trying some new educational techniques with my students.  These techniques are some that I have come across in my extensive research of leading education…ers…niner.  Okay, this is something that I came up with and has no data to support its effect on learning.  But, it is a cool idea, I think.

Here is the gist.  I want students to incorporate music, poetry, writing, drawing, painting or any other ways of expressing themselves, into the computer curriculum that I have put together.  I want them to feel empowered to express themselves in various ways, and allow that expression to be a part of the lessons that we will be working through daily.

To this end, I have asked my Facebook and Twitter followers for donations of any musical instruments (really, ANY) for use this fall in my classroom.  So far, I have received a guitar a drum set, and possibly a banjo!  So now I extend this invitation to my many readers!

(Most Important Paragraph)

I am also asking for your help with any ideas you all may have regarding how I might accomplish this.  If any of you have any great ideas or experience in this area, your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  Although I have a general idea of how I want to proceed with this, I can use all the help I can get from your vast experiences.  Please comment below and give me all you’ve got.  There are no stupid suggestions!  Please, comment away!

So, I thank you in advance for all of your ideas and donations.  Remember, even a harmonica could have a great impact on the kids this fall.  So, dust off those cellos, bassoons and drumsticks and let me know how I can get a hold of them.  And yes, I would accept the chicken drumsticks as well…just not too spicy please.

And remember, if you like what you are reading, don’t forget to follow me on Google Plus, subscribe on the top right, and recommend posts at the bottom of each post using Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook etc.  Thanks again for your support!

Family Comes First

Good Evening/Morning Break Even Teachers!(depending on when you read it.)

Once again, I start with an apology for not writing more.  Time seems to fill up with so many things I want to do these days.  I guess once a year is not that bad. (He says, with a truly John Lennonesque tongue in cheek!)

Anyway, we are only into the summer a couple of weeks and it has already been a whirlwind.  Just to keep you up to speed, I just finished my second year at Culver Community Schools as the Business and Computers teacher.  When I started this journey two years ago, I really thought I would be back in Sales and Marketing field pretty quickly.  At first, it just wasn’t clicking for me.  So many nights of thinking, “What have I done?  I can’t do this!”  But this last year and a half or so has been truly amazing.  There are so many stories I want to share with you.  Maybe another day, hopefully not a year from now.

So, this summer, I was offered another teaching job in another school district.  It was for more money.  It was a bit closer, so the commute would be less. It would be teaching more Business and less Computers, which is what I had wanted originally.  It seemed to be a perfect fit.  But the more I thought about it, something just wasn’t right.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt as if I would be letting my family down.  Not my wife and sons, but my other family…my Culver Community Schools family.

Now I’m not one to use that terminology loosely, either.  When I first started here, the teachers in my wing talked that way.  “You’ll love it here…it’s like a family.” they would say.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Everybody says that about the place they work, right? After a few weeks with the kids, I felt like I wanted to be more of a foster family.  I just didn’t seem to be connecting with them.  Then, everything changed.  All it took was one student, (who shall remain nameless), that stood up for me to her classmates.  She jumped in there and had my back!  I couldn’t believe it!  It was great!  From then on I started to treat the students differently, and they started to treat me differently, as if we had some kind of connection.  This then, became a wonderful self-fulfilling prophecy, so to speak.  There WAS a connection!

I have wondered for two years what I would do if I were put in the position to make a move.  Now I have my answer.  These students and teachers and administrators and parents have all become a part of me.  I get excited when they get excited.  I mourn when they mourn.  I look at the kids every day and wonder how I can be of help to them today.  They have become my family, and I couldn’t be happier.