Sunday, November 2, 2008

TEACHING CHRONICLES: OJH DANCE

I am the luckiest woman in all the land because of what I got to witness last week. Thursday after school was the Halloween Dance at Orem Junior. The social studies department has been in kind of a funk lately but I think this really pulled us out of it (Well that was until we had to face our rowdy and rambunctious kids on Halloween. That was just awful trying to teach them). I got to see what I have been waiting all year for: "the junior high slow dance." Best thing to ever happen to me, hands down. All of you who chose professions outside of the public school system are now regretting your decisions because I get to see tweenagers try to make feelings and emotions not awkward in such an awkward environment. Cameo and I went to "supervise" together and just stood against the wall laughing, laughing, laughing. Honestly it was the best time ever. Kids kept coming up to us in what I would classify as an attempt to remove themselves from the ongoings of the dance. Another great part of this day was the group of male students who came into my classroom early that day to practice and show me the dance sequence they had choreographed. It was like Ross and Monica's Rockin Eve dance meets Blades of Glory. Watching those kids perform it at the dance was just too precious to put into words. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, the glimmer of happiness did not last long because dealing with these kids on Halloween was so hard. I showed Hocus Pocus for the last 10-15 minutes in my geography classes and the one time the principal decides to come into my room, we have Hocus Pocus playing. I wanted to die. Way to make a good impression Miss Belnap. I promise I don't suck as a teacher. I was just desperate and needed a way to contain them without causing bodily trauma to myself and my students. We (Allison, Cameo, Ashley) did go out for Red Mango after school on Halloween. It has kind of become the winding down technique of the social studies clan.

I heart junior high dances, Allison, & Cameo (not necessarily in that order)

3 comments:

Liz said...

Hon, you are so cute! I wish I could have been there to watch it with you.

Michelle said...

Oh Ashley, I love it! Right after Jason and I got married we were asked to chaparone a stake dance that was attended only by 14-16 year olds. It was hillarious! The whole thing just made me sooooooooooooooooooooo happy to have left that awkward age behind over a decade ago.
However, I must say that the Junior High was probably even *more* awkward. I am glad you enjoyed yourself so thoroughly!

Meg said...

I don't know how often you are on here so I send this here and on your blog. I have a dance concert this weekend and I would love it if you would come as well as any of your siblings, or paul, or greg. For some reason I have no way of getting hold of them so I thought you could maybe be the messenger! Anyway it's this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM or there is a Saturday Matinee at 2 PM. You buy your tickets at the HFAC or online at BYUarts.com or something like that. The performance is in the Theater Studio in the RB but I forgot what number it is. I would love it if you could come! Let me know whats goin on in your life!

P.s I loved this blog post. It made me think of how flippin awkward I was at dances. I was sooooo afraid of boys.

loves,
Meg