Okay, now some of you might think that I'm just hot on the Aggies because they played GREAT football against #7 Oklahoma last night, AT Oklahoma. Under the bright lights and in front of 90,000 screaming Sooner fans, the Boys of Blue really shined. We took it to Oklahoma, surprising them and the nation. Sure, we didn't win, but we kept it close until the very end, and sent Oklahoma fans home wiping the sweat from their arrogant brows. The truth is, I was going to blog about the Aggies this week anyway. This weekend's football game just got me more jazzed up than I had planned to be.
As a second year teacher, I've discovered that I have more time in my schedule and more free space in my brain to try new and fun things, now that much of the stress in my life has been removed like a cancerous tumor. I have the ability now to try to implement some outside-of-the-box thinking into my classroom. So, in that vein, this year I decided to nickname each of my classes by a different college (I assigned class nicknames by the alma mater's of each classes homebases classes - for example, their science teacher went to ECU, so they're the Pirates, etc...). The idea here is to open up a dialogue about higher education and remove some of the negative stigma that these kids have for college. My homebase happens to be very lucky. They are the Utah State Aggies, even though they live in North Carolina and wouldn't know Utah from the Strait of Gibraltar.
In addition to the nicknames, I have a corner of my room plastered with college paraphanelia (College Corner). I've also instituted an optional dress code in my classroom. It's pretty simple, really. The only real proviso is that every Friday is college day, and kids (and teacher) wear college garb if they have it. This was only the first week, but we did have a few participants, and I was pretty happy with the turnout.
To really spoil my homebase, I got in touch with my friends Jen and Whitney Putnam at the USU Admissions office, and they sent me a USU banner, pennant, and a mess of USU pens and stickers, which I distributed to my homebase. They thought it was awesome.
I've always loved Utah State. And though I left it behind for a new chapter of life, and will likely never return except to visit, my heart will forever yearn for its song and Spectrum, and the silhouette of Old Main against a setting sun.
GO AGGIES!!!
Jackson, I think you should go to Law School and be a teacher 'on the side.' What an inspiration you are! I love the college idea and the seeds that you are planting in these young minds. You are truly making a difference. . . and yes, GO AGGIES! They were awesome!
ReplyDeleteJust one week later they came out with a victory! The Aggies are showing some serious improvement on the football field. Gotta love it. Wish you were here to attend a game or two with me. We'll miss you.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I love what you are doing with those kids. They will always remember you for this. You really are changing lives.