Thinking Out Loud

My last two weeks have been very full of trips from Reynolds to Pinehurst(FA) where I am getting my classroom ready for all my students. I feel like a wren making a nest. I have washed baseboards, scrubbed walls, boards, and desks, vacuumed, dusted, and found gum that my mother probably left behind in 1946. You see, I really like to start the year out with a clean, inviting, and comfortable room.

It is very exciting to return to the same school in which I taught back in the early 1970's. Like most of you, I have history here. My mother, Louise Edge Thompson, graduated from Pinehurst High School, so I am walking the same wooden floors and halls she walked. In fact, she was the captain of the Pinehurst High girls' basketball team her senior year.  My brother, Clint Thompson, graduated from FA in 1974; I was his junior year English teacher. Then in May of 1999, my daughter, Gracin Collins, graduated from FA. She still talks about all her wonderful friends and happy  experiences at FA.

Now some of you might be thinking I've been around so long that I need to be put out to pasture. It is true that the "old gray mare ain't(yes, ain't) what she used to be" physically; I do tire out more quickly than ever before. In fact, a few weeks ago while moving fifteen heavy boxes from one school to my car and then from my car into the chemistry lab at FA and then from the chemistry lab in the front hall to the English room in the back hall, I do believe I injured my rotator cuff - is that what it's called? Anyway, my left shoulder does not sit as high as it used to sit, and it aches like crazy. But I can certainly take a little teasing from students when I move a little slower than I once did. And I do not like to spend time in a doctor's office when I have students in my charge.

Those 15 boxes contain all I have saved from my accumulated inventory from years of teaching English. Even if I don't use any of the files, I like to know I have them if I should want to pull out an old lesson. Even though I am not young and highly energetic, I assure you parents(and students) that the quality of instruction and my heartfelt desire that each student not only succeeds but excells has and will never diminish. Fairness and consistency in all I do in the classroom are my ideals. I will always be willing to discuss any concerns you have about your child's English class and I welcome your input. You and I are partners in our desire for your child to receive the very best education he or she can possibly get. Looking forward to partnering with you and working with your child in learning.