On Thursday, Betsy and I felt like going to a special pre-school breakfast at Waffle House. I usually get to school so early that we didn’t even to really adjust our schedule. I just showed up a little “late” (by my typical schedule), but still early to school. We hadn’t been to Waffle House in a while, so it was nice. It helped me wake up a bit to finish out the week.
Enter my world! Here’s what I do every morning when I arrive at my classroom. Usually I am among the first arriving at school, so the halls are empty and quiet. I like the time before school because no one is there and I can always get lots done, even in a short period of time. Usually I make the PowerPoint for the day, drink some coffee, make some copies (if I need to), and read my school email, among other things. Getting there early helps me to be mentally prepared for the day and energetic by the time the kids get there. Plus it usually saves me time at the end of the day so I can get out of there a bit earlier than I used to.
Tonight Betsy and I sat out on our patio. It was just so nice weather that we couldn’t resist. In fact, it was a bit chilly so we made some hot tea. Betsy read a book and I graded a few papers. But I got bit a few times by some mosquitos. We’ve got to get one of those candle buckets.
Betsy and I love going to breakfast on the weekends. We don’t get to eat a full breakfast during the week, so it is quite a treat. It’s so relaxing on the windy upstairs patio. The food is great, the service is great, the atmosphere is great. And most of all, the company is great! hehe.
Today was my last day of A.M. parking duty, in which I am to monitor the parking lot where kids enter in the morning. Considering this was the last day of my duty for a while, and considering the great opportunity for exposure, I just had to do it. I had to pose as don Quixote himself and guard the entrance.
We have been reading don Quixote in class for the past 2 weeks, but for some reason it hit me this morning to do something very quixotic. Surprisingly, the kids ate it up! I thought I would encounter apathy. Well, actually I didn’t really think it out too much. But, kids started to gather around to see what I was doing. They were saying “This guy is crazy!” Kids were coming out of the cafeteria just to see what was going on. I even saw kids whipping out their cell phones to take pictures. I tried not to break character.
I would scream at the students walking near me, “Halt! I am don Quixote, keeper of this castle. I am charged with keeping all evil giants out. Are you an evil giant?” If they said No, I would respond, “You may pass.” I would force people to acknowledge the beauty of my Dulcinea. One group of kids came up unexpectedly, giggling like crazy. Then one of the girls said, “I am a windmill!” and flared her arms. I ran after her with my sword.
Surprisingly, again, later in the day, a student came up to me and said that he had video taped me this morning and asked if I wanted a copy of it. So, the video you see above was shot by that student. Enjoy! I sure did.
