Penal system for Hardasses

Dear Joy,

You're the best!

I think blogs are special places to speak our minds. We're not writing in an educational journal here and we're writing as friends, not colleagues. I think that there will be moments where we'll have some serious dialog, but if I know us well, then there will always be some humor (even bawdy humor).

Today I wrote an email to a mom and went back and forth on whether to use the word "hard ass". I decided to go ahead with it. We've got a great, friendly relationship, and I've used cussing strategically with homeless clients, coworkers, teen students and families for years. I've got one mom who said "You are SHITTIN' me!" (a very New England exclamation, I must say) and I thought "Aw. We're friends. She likes me!" right way. (And who are we kidding? I'm clearly a hard ass.)

In the same way, I'd say that I imagine that we'll find a shared rhythm and a style over time. I linked to some of my favorite blogs in the margin, take a look. There are a few people who can get very serious about the serious things, but are generally casual and conversational and that's the way I'd like to keep it, if it's cool by you. I didn't link to Dooce, because her blog has become about a lot of things (not to say I'm so hardcore I started following her when she was having post-partum depression with her first kid, but I am.) like hair care and furniture instead of Mormonism and crazed dogs but I love her style of blogging in general, and she's totally worth checking out. In fact, after going to the page to get the link, I think I might start reading it again!

I think that even THIS conversation can be linked to teaching. Yes, a kid in the class I'm observing did mention my boobies and my butt. (His comments were overheard by my supervising teacher while I was not in the room, thought.) Everyone handles humor and cussing in the classroom differently. I am known as "Ms. Something" for the first time ever. When I told my S. teacher my name, she said "Woof." so I told her I could be "Ms. P". A little girl in the class told me the school already has a Mr. P and a Ms. P. I told her she could call me "Ms. PJ" and she liked that. I'd tell them to call me Kendra or Ms. Kendra, but I don't want to buck traditions and mores that I don't fully understand yet.

When I was in 6th grade, our science teacher Mrs. August had a brain tumor or something and was out for a long time. Our substitute was the most beautiful earth child (besides you) that you've ever seen. She was really short,shorter than me in 5ht grade and she had long wavy hair and wore long flowery dresses. In my memory she's barefoot at the front of the class, but I think that's wrong. Her name was Daniel. Even at 10 years old, I could see how the simple choice of using her first name aroused distrust and animosity from all the other teachers in the school. We loved what she taught us (in our unit on flight we started with the story of Icarus!) and we loved her but we tried not to act like it in front of the old guard. Eventually I figured out Daniel's last name and started using it when speaking about her in the third person to other teachers so that they might see past her name to her great teaching.

Till next time,
Ms. Pj