Why my kids need to know "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

"Move your mouth and act like you know the words! Watermelon!"

Photo by Maya Lane / United Methodist Hymnal, 1989

 

I was "whisper-yelling" at my 13-year-old through my teeth, a technique I miraculously inherited from a mom. She had mastered the church-mom skill of setting us straight mid-song while maintaining a smile and staying on key.

My daughters and I have had the opportunity to sing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" three times in the past 30 days. Three! (And we're not even midway through Black History Month.)

At church, my kids are the ones just standing there during worship, looking like they're being punished -- even when the lyrics are being displayed karaoke style. Singing in public is not their thing, even though they've both been blessed with beautiful voices. 

It should not have surprised me that they weren't moving their mouths when prompted to stand for "Lift Every Voice and Sing," but for some reason, their not singing sent me into irrational parent zone.

Unfortunately for my little one, her older sister was not sitting with us during the first event, so she had to deal with her crazy NerdyTeacherMom all by herself. 

"I don't know this song," she started.

"Just move your mouth," I barked.

"But ... what's the big deal?" 

"It's the Negro National Anthem! Wa-ter-mel-on."

I learned the "watermelon" trick from Nikki Lerner, musical director at our church. Once at choir rehearsal, she joked that mouthing "watermelon" when you don't know the lyrics would get you through tough spots in a song. (It works. I've tried it.)

My younger daughter moved her mouth a little bit to get me off her back. I saw my 16-year-old across the room simply looking bored. My frustration and embarrassment that my kids didn't know the lyrics to our own anthem made me go all in. I stood up taller and sang louder, as if to prove that somebody in our family knew the words. I made it through the song relatively smoothly (the last two lines of the second verse always seem to trip me up). I prayed that we wouldn't have to sing the third verse, lest that line about the "wine of the world" force me to go mute and mouth fruit. (Why, oh why, is there always one seasoned citizen determined to sing all three verses of the song?)

"What's the big deal?"

I reflected on the after I going loca about pretending to know the words and not embarrassing the family. What is the big deal? Why was I so ashamed that my kids don't know the words? Why do I feel so guilty that I haven't taught them the song? Why am I embarrassed to admit that don't know the entire third verse myself?

Here's why I believe my children need to learn "Lift Every Voice and Sing":

• My American children need to understand that the song is a significant contribution to American literature that timelessly articulates struggles and hopes of African American people. 
• My Christian children need to appreciate a poetic work of art that acknowledges the role of God in the survival and future of Black people.
• My educated children can handle memorizing a poem that will broaden their understanding of history, poetry and vocabulary. (Heck, it's set to music, making it super easy to learn.)
• My sisterly children can find encouragement in the fascinating biographies of the brothers who wrote the words and music of the song: James Weldon Johnson, prolific writer and civil rights leader; and John Rosamond Johnson, composer, actor and music educator.
• My Black children should get to experience the feeling of togetherness that comes with singing the Black National Anthem with a roomful of people who understand its significance. I want them to feel that rush of pride in their culture, like the natural high one gets singing a sports chant with other fans after their team has won ("Fly, Eagles, Fly") or doing the Wobble on a crowded dance floor and flashing that "you're working it" smile to the person next to you. 

So how does a NerdyTeacherMom get two teenagers to learn the lyrics to a song published in 1921? 

Several summers ago, I convinced them to memorize "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks. It was a short, easy poem that they learned quickly and seemed to enjoy. I know "Lift Every Voice and Sing" won't be as easy.

So far, I've had them repeat each line after me. I did this while styling hair. (I had at least one set of captive ears). Though the exercise was not taken as seriously as I intended, they did, at least, indulge me -- even thought they intentionally sang loudly and off-key. 

My next idea is to find a few renditions that I like (maybe even the hip-hip version I saw on YouTube) and play them ad-nauseam around the house and in the car. (Maybe I'll create a "Lift Every Voice and Sing" playlist on my phone!)

Since my 10th grader can earn extra credit for reciting a poem, I've encouraged her to "kill two birds with one stone" by memorizing and reciting "Life Every Voice and Sing" for her English teacher.

I was also thinking of finding sheet music for the instruments around the house. (I suspect that might be a great waste of printer ink, since getting them to practice instruments is on my list of parental fails.)

My last resort will be cash. I'm thinking $20 should get them to care, but I'll start the bidding lower.

I Googled myself and found ... reviews!

I've been working on a movie review assignment for my AP Spanish class. Each student is watching a film from their Spanish-speaking country of interest and writing a movie reviews. (I offered them the opportunity to videotape their reviews. When I told them they could be like Siskel and Ebert in Spanish, their blank stares reminded me of how freakin' old I am.)

I had the idea of sharing a review of the movie "Erin Brockovich" that I wrote (in English) so long ago that I don't even remember where I lived when I wrote it. I typed my own name into Google and found several reviews I'd written in the early 2000s.

Back in the day, I really wanted to write reviews. I got my feet wet with a few reviews of books, movies and restaurants. I loved getting free books and relished the idea of eating on someone else's dime. I dreamed of getting into movies and concerts without paying the hefty ticket prices and of having a free CD collection so large that I would have to categorize it by genre. .

Yes, I was cheap and looking for freebies. But, looking back, I am reminded of how much I enjoyed the writing.

I wrote several reviews for a now-defunct online magazine called Crescent Blues. I don't remember getting paid. If I did, it certainly wasn't much. But what I do remember and appreciate most from my Crescent Blues experience was the editors' requirement that forms of the verb "to be" show up sparingly in the brief reviews. Writing a 300-word critique without the words "is," "was," and "were" proved no easy task. The assignment pushed me as a writer -- and I loved it.

Thankfully, the magazine editors kept the online archive of their reviews on the Internet. Here are my  Crescent Blues submissions:

FICTION
Candice Poarch: Lighthouse Magic

Don Bruns: Jamaica Blue

Laura Castoro: Crossing the Line

Kristin Hannah: Between Sisters

NONFICTION 
John Kisch & Edward Mapp: A Separate Cinema: Fifty Years of Black Cast Posters

MOVIE
Erin Brockovich: Winning Spunk

Testing My Confidence on Day One!

Source: http://wifflegif.com/

This week, McGraw-Hill Education posted my guest blog, Feeling Like a Fraud as a Teacher: Reconciling with Your Abilities and Gaining Confidence in Your Own Teaching. In the blog, I disclosed some of my insecurities as a Spanish teacher and shared how I overcame them.

On today, the first day of school for teachers, my confidence was hilariously put to the test.

Our school's new Spanish teacher lived in Japan for seven years. When a colleague introduced him another teacher who speaks English, Spanish and Japanese (yes, we have kick-butt teachers at our school!), the new teacher greeted her in Spanish, then started going!

I'd been anxious to hear the new teacher's Chilean accent, but my mouth dropped when he started speaking. In my head I was thinking: Oh, crap! I can't understand a thing he's saying! This is NOT going to go well for me!

Turns out he was speaking Japanese!  Whew! Who knew Japanese could sound anything like Spanish?

We all had a good laugh at my expense.

(And yes, by the way, I can understand his Spanish!)

Worrying less, praying more: Feeling powerless as a parent

Despite the endless amount of energy and worrying that we pour into our children, we still have moments when we feel absolutely powerless. Or maybe I should speak for myself: I have moments when I feel powerless.

For example, I feel like I'm constantly fighting to impress upon them the importance of screen-free time. And I don't feel like I'm winning that fight. Yes, I can snatch a cell phone or turn off the WiFi. But a big part of me wants my children to want to experience life outside of their devices. I want them to enjoy reading books and magazines, going outside and finding something to do, playing board games and doing other creative activities.

Bullying is another area that has stripped many parents of their power. I heard a mom friend recently express that seeing your child hurting and knowing you can't do anything about it is the worst feeling in the world.

My third biggest day-to-day worry is totally out of my control: the state of our country and world. Racism, drug abuse, sex trafficking, terrorism ... I could go on and on. It's enough to make a parent throw up their hands in defeat.

This is one of those topics that I wish I had my mom around to discuss. While the details of our parental worries have likely changed in the past few decades, I'm sure worrying itself has not. I think about how crazy it must have made my mother for me to go out for hours and hours -- with no cell phone -- in a community where age-appropriate activities were scarce and violence was commonplace. Although she can no longer tell me how she coped, I am confident that I know exactly what she would say. She would tell me that she prayed.

Prayer. It's the parenting tool that I know I should keep sharpened, but that I admittedly do not utilize consistently. In my busyness as a working mom in this fast-paced culture, I run and run, not taking the time I should to present my worries to the only One capable of handling them. Yes, I pray daily. But if I compared the amount of time I spend praying for my children with the amount of time I spend worrying, I'm sure worrying would win.

I need to change this, not only for myself and my own sanity, but, more importantly, for my children. I wonder where I would be today -- who I would be today -- had it not been for the prayers of my mom, dad and others who cared. Looking back at some of the situations I walked away from, I am thoroughly convinced that God's angels protected me. And I strongly believe those angels were dispatched as a result of prayer.

My plan to pray more for my children includes the following:

• Just pray. In the words of the Nike slogan, just do it. 
• Build your skills. A search for "praying for your children" will result in more resources than you can imagine. How to Pray for Your Children by Mark Batterson is a great article  with specific strategies on how to pray.
• Write your prayers. For me, personally, I find that writing my prayers in a journal also keeps me focused. So, I'm going to grab a blank journal and designated it for this purpose.
• Read other people's prayers. Pray the prayers of others. I'm sure God will listen to them, even if you didn't write them yourself. I ordered The Power of a Praying Mom (you can order from the affiliate link below), and I plan to use it to help me stay on track.

The Power of a Praying® Mom by Stormie Omartian

The Power of a Praying® Parent by Stormie Omartian

How do you pray for your children? What strategies and resources do you use? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Let's encourage each other to keep our kids lifted in prayer.

Why Teachers Work in the Summer

In case you didn't know, teachers don't get paid over the summer. I find myself needing to remind people of this frequently, when they start talking about how teachers have it made this time of year.

In my county, teachers are 10-month employees. Most of the teachers I know opt to have their paychecks spread out over 12 months, in order to keep getting a check during the summer.

Let me say something else about Howard County, Maryland. It has listed among the 10 riches counties in the country. But keep in mind that the cost of living in one of the riches counties is a lot higher than in other places. Yet, teacher salaries here are not the highest in the country.

Trust me, I am not complaining. Just pointing out that some of us can't afford to just chill all summer.

In the past, NerdyTeacherMom has taken the summers off for several reasons.

First, I was too fried to do anything else. Usually, by the end of the year, I have absolutely no motivation or energy. I typically plan to work throughout the summer, to alleviate the workload during the school year, but I end up am too pooped to touch anything related to teaching.

The second reason I have not worked during the summer was that my daughters were too young. I realized that any money I earned would immediately be handed over to the camps I'd have to put them in while I worked. So, my summer job, in essence, was running mommy camp. And believe me, this was work. I typically planned an itinerary that included a morning activity, lunch, afternoon activity, and dinner.

The girls are older and fend for themselves for a few hours. And NerdyTeacherMom could stand to pay off some bills. So I approached this summer with a plan to find work.

Most people think Summer School is an easy option for teachers. I did, too, until I applied this year and did not get the job. Turns out, summer school teachers don't want to give up their jobs. The hours and money are pretty good, I hear. My county didn't need another Spanish teacher this summer. When I got the news, I was too stunned to even ask if there was something else I could do, or to seek a position in another district. So, no summer school for me.

When the topic came up in a Facebook group of teachers, I realized that teachers all over the country are working during the summer. Some of the teachers posted that they drive Uber or paint houses. Others work as on-line tutors, teaching English to students in China and other countries. I know teachers who have summer gigs in retail and at concert venues. Teachers are getting it in!

One advantage of having worked outside of education is my ability to remember that there is life outside of the school walls. (Okay, I remember this sometimes!) So, for some fresh ideas, I went to YouTube and searched for tutorials on "side hustles." Gotta love YouTube! I found more than I could watch. But what inspired me most were the ones related to writing. In the past, I've blogged about how much I've always loved to write. (And how difficult it is for me to just sit down and do it!)

I've decided to make my side hustle something that I love: writing. I'm not sure how much I'll make, but I'll enjoy the process.

I've gotten my feet wet with my first Kindle ebook, Fun Activities for Spanish Club Meetings, a compilation of games, crafts and other activities teachers can do with their Spanish Club students during the school year. .

Happy Summer!

How to thank your child's teacher (and not look like a suck-up)

www.homeroommom.com

A parent recently asked NerdyTeacherMom for advice on how to get her daughter's teachers to think of her favorably as they wrap up their grading for the year.

If you don't have a child in high school, you might not see the big deal. But for those of us with high school students, we know (or will soon understand) how significant quarter grades are. In my district, quarter grades, along with midterm and final exam grades, are averaged into the overall grade earned for the course. This final grade is what is used to calculate the grade point average (GPA). The GPA, of course, helps position students for more competitive colleges and scholarships.

I asked mom who her daughter's teachers were. I figured I could give her some hints on what those teachers might like. But when she named colleagues who I actually don't know well, I was forced to give her question some more thought.

As much as I, personally, would love to walk into the summer armed with gift cards to Starbuck's, Target and Dunkin Donuts (or anywhere else -- I'm not picky), I have to admit that I would wonder about the motives behind an influx of such affection. In our district, we are allowed to accept gift valued at $20 or less. But teachers of integrity aren't going to show favor (or even grace) to a child solely on the promise of a cappuccino. In fact, such a suck-up gift might actually have an adverse affect:

What kind of teacher would I be if I bumped up Mary's grade just because her parents gave me a gift card when Marsha's parents may have wanted to but couldn't afford it? Now I definitely can't bump up Mary's grade.

And, coming from a teacher, one of the easiest ways to become a pesky parent is to act like you are entitled to everything you want -- from unlimited amounts of teacher time and attention to the grades you think your child should get.

I decided on two pieces of advice.

First, write a note of gratitude. Acknowledge the teacher's hard work and sacrifices of time. Tell the teacher something that he or she has done to help your child grow. Be sincere. Put it on paper. Keep it short and simple.

Second, talk to your daughter. Tell her that with one week left of instruction, finish strong. Tell her to put her phone away in class for the last week of school. (Let her know that you know this is not an easy thing to do and that you know other students will have theirs out.) Tell her that when teachers see students using phones in class, they make assumptions about how much those students care. Fair or unfair, I view students who put their phones away during class as much more serious and dedicated to learning then those who don't.

Since mom's question was ultimately about how to influence her daughter's teachers to think favorable about her, I encouraged her to urge her daughter to create positive, hard-working images of herself finishing out the year as a motivated learner.

I would venture to say that most teachers are pretty easy to figure out and to please. We want people to acknowledge that we sacrifice a lot of our personal time, money and energy. (Some of us even wake up in the middle of the night thinking about your child!)  For most teachers, a verbally acknowledge from parents is sufficient. And while students can tell us, too, their showing us -- through being cooperative and respectful and treating our classes as if they are valuable -- is what touches us most.

Rethinking the Mommy Blog

Finally, I'd created a blog and started writing about topics that were both easy and fun to talk about. I'd sit at my computer, and the thoughts would flow easily. Writing about my younger daughter's elementary school antics, with a few mentions of my middle schooler sprinkled in, had me mapping out my plan to deal with the popularity that would surely come from becoming a well known blogger.

Then it happened. My older daughter started high school. And not only did she start high school, but she started 9th grade at the high school where I teach. What more could a NerdyTeacherMom ask for? I was convinced that I would have enough material for a daily blog entry. And I did, in fact.

Except I couldn't bring myself to write about any of it.

Publicly reflecting on my child's academic shake-ups, social dramas, and physical and emotional insecurities just didn't sit well with me. Every time I thought about writing, the idea of me -- her mother -- putting her business out there for the world to read (not to mention the kids at school) made me feel extremely self-centered. I wondered if I'd be pimping my own kid for some views. Would I become a shameless, opportunistic, reality-TV-type mom?

When I couldn't bring myself to write about other topics -- my teaching, my own personal struggles, my interactions with students, their parents and colleagues, I knew I'd hit a wall. I almost out-and-out deleted NerdyTeacherMom.

But part of me still wants to write. So instead of throwing out the baby with the bathwater, I'm rethinking this blog and what I intend to accomplish by writing. I've decided to view my girls' experiences as inspiration, when appropriate. In the meantime, I'll need to be more creative and dig deeper within to find material that will motivate and inspire. And if I fall short of motivating and inspiring, perhaps I'll simply help a few others realize that they're not alone trying to balance the draining, yet fulfilling duties required of working parents.

Planning for an international field trip during Spring Break

The house is quiet. One kid is at a friend's house checking out each other's Christmas gifts. Another is out grabbing groceries with dad. I'm cuddled up on the coach, listening to the audiobook version of The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris. *

The book is one of several recommended to the students and teachers traveling to Ireland, Wales, England and Paris during Spring Break 2017. A few weeks ago, after months of procrastinating, I completed A Tale of Two Cities. *  Next on my list is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. *

One of my goals in life has been to travel. In recent years, despite my strong desire to do so, I simply haven't gotten out much. As a Spanish teacher, this is far from ideal. My dream is to visit a different Spanish-speaking culture each year, bringing back stories, pictures and momentos to share with my students. A big piece of this dream is being able to bring my daughters with me. Over the years, I've observed that my students who have traveled out of the country have a tremendous academic edge over those who haven't. They think more critically, articulate their understanding of cultural differences more clearly, and appear, overall, to be more open-minded.

But the reality for this NerdyTeacherMom is that much of my cultural learning has happened here in the States. And outside of a road trip to Toronto two summers ago, my children have never left the country.

But that's about to change.

When more than 50 students at my high school signed up for a Spring Break trip to Europe, my colleagues asked me to be a chaperone.  Despite the fact that the trip does not include a Spanish-speaking country, I was flattered and thrilled to say "yes." Chaperones pretty much travel for free (we pay for insurance and tips). Not to mention, I didn't see any foreign travel on the horizon for me.

So the idea of this trip was not a complete novelty for me. In 2014, I tackled a huge fear of leaving my family and chaperoned a trip to Barcelona. southern France, and Italy. I had "gotten the travel bug," but hadn't been able to get another trip going. But what makes this trip so special is that my daughter, a 9th grader, is traveling with me. My dream of exposing my children to other parts of the world is finally coming to fruition.

Selling the idea to my husband was not easy. (In fact, I still don't think he's actually "sold.") With a tween and a teen and the overall expenses of life, dropping a couple grand for a trip to Europe is not easy to do. (The rate for my daughter is the same as for other students.) But, I saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Will other travel abroad opportunities present themselves to her? Probably. But will we have another chance to make this particular trip together? Probably not. I feel blessed to be have this opportunity.

I honestly do not know if my daughter understands how significant this trip will be, how blessed she is to be going, or how much of a financial sacrifice it is to make it happen. My hope is that it comes together and "clicks" for her.

* affiliate links

Longest week of the year

The first week of school has to be the longest week of the year!

I had planned to blog each day -- to give true insight into the first week of a NerdyTeacherMom. But, as you can see, it's Labor Day, and this is my first post since school started.

The week leading up to teachers' returning was met with denial. Remember all of that "I'm going to work several hours each day in August" talk? Well, that didn't quite happen. I did, however, watch some good Spanish programming on Netflix (I could argue that was work-related) and reached new heights in Candy Crush.

After a few hot hours in the school building on the Saturday before students started (the air conditioning was not on), I managed to be ready for three classes of Spanish 1, two classes of Spanish 2 Honors, and a new weekly homeroom class called Bear Time.

Monday was grueling. Despite a large mug of dark roast, I felt like I never really woke up. Dang those summer mornings sleeping until 10 a.m.! After school, my mind told me I needed to work out -- it tells me that all the time -- but as usual, I didn't listen. I took a long nap instead. And I enjoyed it!

Tuesday was kind of a blurr. I felt like I was coming down with a cold, so I did nothing after school and went to bed before my kids.

Wednesday happened, too.

And then there was the longest day of the week: Thursday. It was a relatively normal school day followed by Back-to-School Night. As a 9th grade teacher, I ate pizza with our team at 5:15 p.m. and attended Eat, Meet, and Greet with the parents of freshman at 6. An hour later, the program for all parents started. By 7:40, parents were passing to their children's first-period class, where we teachers explained what they can expect this year. By 9:15, I had keys in hand and was dipping into the parking lot to beat the rush. I'd enjoyed meeting new parents and greeting familiar ones, but I was pooped. All told, I'd spend about 11 hours in the building that day.

On Friday morning, our awesome principal greeted us with coffee, donuts and bagels. I snatched the last maple-frosted donut, feeling like I might actually be able to make it. I did, and I even conjured up enough energy to take tickets at the football game that evening.

Saturday was my day. Thank God my family could read the "leave-me-the-heck-alone" signals I flashed. I spent most of the day on the deck, reading magazines, caring for my four lame-looking plants, and crushing candy.

Needless to say, I am planning to give up a good portion of my Labor Day to prepare for Week 2. But I'm actually okay with that.

"Children are a blessing to be enjoyed"

When dealing with kids, sometimes you have to encourage yourself.

After threatening to "slap the black off you," "knock you into the middle of next week," or "slap the taste out of your mouth," my mom would simply pray out loud: "Jesus, keep me near the cross!"

My sister and brother and I would then know she was on edge, and we were usually smart enough to back off.

These days, my go-to line is more of an affirmation: "Children are a blessing to be enjoyed."

It's one of the many sayings I've learned from listening to Joel Osteen on satellite radio. Taken from Psalm 127:3, it reminds me that no matter how far my girls have gone, how much they are weighing on my last nerve, I need to be thankful for them. Saying it aloud helps me remember to not get worked up over little things.

Hearing it aloud alerts my children that they are "skating on thin ice." Hearing me chant it multiple times further drives the point home.

I found myself saying it at school a few times last year, usually with my eyes closed in a mock yoga pose. While the students chuckled, I seized the moment to remind myself that all children are blessings to be enjoyed -- even other people's kids.

My plan to NOT lose sleep

NerdyTeacherMom has only 17 more days of summer.

I envision my colleagues enjoying themselves, stress-free. I see them reclined at the pool or at their beach houses. I picture them in their home theaters with their feet up surfing the Netflix menu. I assume many on on their decks sipping out of wine glasses and chatting with their friends.

Why such imagines? Everybody at school seems to talk about spending weeks on the Eastern Shore or Delaware beaches. I, on the other hand, run around my house telling kids to stop bickering and wondering how Chic-Fil-A and Costco manage to pop up so frequently on my account statement.

And I'm already losing sleep over the school year that hasn't started. Of late, the routine is to wake up around 2:30 a.m., go to the bathroom, get back in bed, think about all the things I have to do.

After losing good sleep on three nights this week alone, I've developed an action plan. I've decided to devote 2-3 hours each day until school starts getting myself ready for school. This is a lot easier said than done, but that's the goal. During this designated time, I will do the following:

• Plan out time table for the entire year for Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. After all, college courses spell out the semester with a syllabus. It can't be that hard. Yet, after 11 years of teaching, I have yet to do this. Will this year be different? Yes! Of course it will. 
• Plan out Spanish Club activities for the entire year.
• Organize my units and resources for both courses on Canvas, the instructional management software our school district is using. (And pray that after doing all of that, the district won't switch to a different system and waste all of my time.)
• Read up on classroom management and assessment strategies.
• Come up with more games to play in class this year.

Of course, that's just the stuff related to school. I have another whole to-do list for home-related tasks that I need to complete before returning to work. That's on paper, and it's about two lined-pages full. But I need to add one more thing: Get some ZzzQuil. (Just in case!)

Ugh! July's almost over!

The end of July conjures up a bit of anxiety for this NerdyTeacherMom. I know, I know ... the Bible says "be anxious for nothing." I'm working on that.

This is right about when I start to lose sleep about the upcoming school year. The 3 a.m. worries are typically things like

• how can I do a better job teacher question words this year, or
• I should find someone now to talk to my classes about why speaking Spanish is so important, or 
• maybe I'll try planning a field trip this year.

On top of the usual worries, this year I've added a biggie: I am pursuing my National Board Teacher Certification. Becoming a Board Certified Teacher will be validation that I am an "accomplished teacher." It will help me improve my teaching and make my school look good. Plus, it will add a few extra bucks to my paycheck.

Despite recommendations to spread this process over two years, I have committed myself to submitting all of the required components in only one. Why? I hate dragging things out. Plus, the other world language teachers in the group are doing it in one year, and we've promised to support each other.  

Why am I worried about this now? Because I know this process is going to steal time from my family and personal life. Every year, I say I'm going to spend summer vacation time planning lessons so I'll feel less stressed and harried during the school year. I never do. But I know if I don't get started on mapping out my lessons this year, things could get ugly. I love sleep too much to be up 'til midnight every night! (It's bad enough I'll be up late Sunday nights watching Power and Survivor's Remorse.)

My plan ... I've prayed. I've claimed success.I'm shutting down most of my other activities. (Bye, Candy Crush!) I have forbidden myself to speak doubt or negativity about the process or the school year. 

I can do this! ¡Sí se puede!

Give Them Choices

When given an opportunity to select topics for projects, my children know that they are free to choose their own. There's only one catch: the topic needs to be Black.

Okay, maybe they aren't free to choose. 

Why limit them? Because they need to know our history. Their history. Period. And I'm not going to leave it to others to make sure they are self-aware.

Over the years, the girls have submitted projects on Bessie Coleman, Wilma Rudolph, Barack Obama and Gabby Douglas. They've researched places like Bermuda and the Bahamas.

Then there was this year's 5th grade bottle project. The assignment was to use a 2-liter bottle to create an image and write a one-page report telling why the selected person is a leader.

When Morgan came home with this assignment, my mind immediately went to work with suggestions: Madame C.J. Walker, Langston Hughes, Malcolm X ...

But she had another idea. "I know you want me to do somebody Black, but I really want to do ... Donald Trump," she said.

Okaaaaay. What do I say? I'm a teacher. We teachers are all about letting students choose. I firmly believe that students are more vested in their learning when they are studying something they are interested in, something they care about. But Donald Trump? Really?

"Go for it, sweetie!"
"But he's not Black. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is," I said, already wondering how I was going to break this news to my husband.

Let me pause here and note that I am not the most political person. I've always been rather non-confrontational, so I pretty much avoid situations that will get me all worked about about politics. When these discussions come up at gatherings, I'm usually the one mixing up drinks or observing from the kitchen. My husband and I both are registered independents (or at least he was last time I checked). So my daughters aren't growing up in a politically fanatical household. We simply like to "keep it real" when it comes to issues that concern African Americans.

Dad's initial reaction was this: "Why?" Then he went on to drill me about whether I had questioned her sufficiently about her intentions. "If she's going to choose him, she needs to be able to explain why."

Her reasoning was simple: "He's funny."

So maybe this will be a learning opportunity. Perhaps she'll discover that a candidate needs to be more than "funny" to run a country. In the days that followed, she did ask about "the wall" and seemed more in tune to what was going on in the primaries.

We spend a few bucks in Michael's (I get a teacher discount there!) purchasing materials for the bottle person: fabric for Trump's suit and yellow yarn for his hair. In a craft box in the basement, we found adhesive eyes, clay for Trump's nose and lips, buttons for his suit, and pipe cleaners for his arms. I reminded Morgan that this project was "all on her." Armed with a glue gun, she went to work, transforming a bottle of Dr. Pepper into The Donald.

I was impressed with the end result. But what surprised me was the response at school. On the night of the Enrichment Fair, where projects were displayed, Donald Trump was the second most popular project. (The first was a candy machine built by a fourth grader.) There was an actual line to see him.

I stood back and watched for a few minutes and heard kids saying, "Mom, you have to see Donald Trump!" One Latina classmate said to her mom, "This is Morgan's project. It's Donald Trump. But she's not a racist." Too funny!

Leaving the building that evening, a teacher asked if she could borrow the project. "We're planning to make an end-of-year video for the staff," she explained. The principal, standing nearby, chimed in saying, "Yes. And I would love to show it to my children."

I offered to let them keep Trump, but they returned the project on the last day of school.

I learned a big lesson from this project. I need to remember to step out of the way and give my kids choices. They will learn. And so will I.