Homecoming!

8th grade Homecoming with Abel Salazar

It's that time again, HOMECOMING!!  Mums and garters, kings and queens, football and alums all come together to have a memorable and exciting night.  I had fluffy hair and a huge smile at my Homecoming and I know it was something I will never forget.  In case you are wondering, I did complete more than 8 grades in school but I later attended a school that had no sports and no Homecoming.

I do recall my first two years of high school when very kind parents and friends would purchase mums and you would have three, four, five and more pinned on at a time!  I don't remember exactly how many I received, but I do remember thinking I wasn't as cool as the person who got ten.  I'm not sure I even considered the person who didn't get a mum.  There are actually people who don't get mums.  Can you imagine what Homecoming feels like for the people who don't get a mum?  

There are also people who don't get dates to the Homecoming dance.  I often try to make my students feel better by telling them I was never invited to go to a dance except for my freshman year of high school and my parents refused to let me go.  I was never asked to Prom, Homecoming, Winter Formals, NOTHING!!  So, I might've received a mum and likely from my mom and friends, but I do know what it feels like to NOT get asked to a dance.  WAIT, I just remembered!  I was asked to Prom by a dear friend of mine.  I was a senior and he was a junior.  I was in Michigan and he was in San Antonio.  I flew in to attend his Prom.  Otherwise, I DO know what it feels like to go to the Prom with a girl.  I attended my Senior Prom with my sweet friend Julie.  I'm not asking for sympathy.

High school is a crazy time where we are trying to figure out who we are and what we like and who we like and who is and is not our friend.  What is a friend?  What is a boyfriend?  Does your boyfriend have another girlfriend at another school?  Do you know the other girlfriend?  Is Dad going to change your phone number again for the thousandth time because a boy called?  Am I ever going to pass Algebra?  So many questions!!!!  With all the uncertainty of high school, I'm not sure why I ever decided to become a high school teacher.  I think high schoolers are AWESOME!!

Today in class during a vocabulary exercise, one of my students asked another student to Homecoming by writing it on the board.  She accepted and I was required to photograph the evidence before I erased it to continue with my class.  It wasn't the most grammatically correct proposal, but it was a MEMORABLE proposal.  I am always amazed at the creativity that exists inside of my students.  Last year someone showed me this AWESOME VIDEO of a prom invitation.  The guy on the video is a former student of mine who is a stellar songwriter and singer and I am positive you will be wowed by his talent.

During an assignment that involved writing vocabulary on the
board, one of my students wrote the following question.  It isn't
perfect, but she said YES.

High school was a great time and much of what happened those four years have shaped many of us in to the people we are today.  Some of us were star athletes, performers and Senior Class President, but some of us were just normal people learning how to be adults.  If you have children it is important to remember how it felt to be in high school.  Listen more, talk less, and be supportive.  High school can also be brutal for some people.  Don't be your child's friend, be their parent.  They need you to set boundaries and hold them accountable.  Teach them how to be a responsible adult by being the responsible adult.   Keep them safe by knowing where they are and also by trusting that they are where they say they will be.  I heard one of my friends say something profound about her daughter.  She said, "If you listen when they are little, they will talk to you when they are older."  I struggle so often with this phrase.  My daughter sometimes says things that are overly dramatic and I just don't want to hear it.  She will say to me, "Mom, you never listen to me!!"  That very phrase stops me in my tracks and reminds me that I want her to know I am listening and even if I don't agree with her, I respect her words.  Listen to your children.  Sometimes they spout crazy(as mine have been doing all day), but sometimes they just want you to hear them and tell them it will all be okay.

Have a fun and safe Homecoming season!!!!!