Weird...Whacky...Wonderful

No.  Seriously.  That actually happened to me.

BUT that is not the point of this blog.  In fact, I am not sure that I can get to the point of this blog because it is very, very late and I have had the Weirdest, Whackiest and most Wonderful 19 hours.


Today I stood in my former Middle School.  I was flooded with memories that I didn't know that I had.  I mean, we may remember our Experience in school but do we remember the layout?  The artwork?  The hallways?


And no, I did not just randomly go stand inside my former Middle School.  I was there to meet with the Principal who agreed to host me for this semester's fieldwork.

 
The first thing I noticed was that there was a team of news cameras in the building.  (Naturally, I assumed they were there for me.)

The second thing that I noticed is that the cafeteria was not nearly as large as it seemed when I fell on the first day of school with my tray of food while 800 students clapped and pointed and laughed.


The third thing I noticed was......an AMAZING amount of diversity.....students from at least 20 countries.....all blended together.  Seated together.  Eating together.


The Principal appeared to be  a major component to the lunch-time process.  Walkie-Talkie and rubber gloves.  And yet.......connected.  Present.


I introduced myself and he quickly whisked me towards the ELL portable classroom outside.  I couldn't stand it any longer so I asked him what was up with the film crew.

"Oh....Blue Man Group was here.....watch your step."

I walked over the SAME buckle in the sidewalk that I walked over oh so many years ago.

"Whoa!  Blue Man Group was here,"  I chirped...trying to keep up and trying not to look at the back of the school where I had my first kiss.

"Yes.  We are a magnet school.  We do a lot of community service.  It is important to..."  his voice trailed off as he opened the door to the portable.  He briskly introduced me to a woman.  He left.

Two Somali children were hunched over laptops.

Actually, there were 12 laptops.  

And the woman he introduced me to has a double major in Language Training and Education Administration.  She is working on her doctorate.  She teaches mainstream ("content area") teachers differential instruction to meet the needs of ELLs.   

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???????

I can't be sure but I am fairly swept off my feet.  The woman I spoke with (who was sooooo patient with me and my dumb questions) is going to be my mentor for the next 10 weeks.  She has already paired me with a student (ELL L2 Level B for those of you who like acronyms).  

My preconceived notions exploded.  

Like a scene from a JJ Abrams film. 

Being that I am a person who believes in Unicorns, this is a good sign that I am on the right path.

I will not take a single moment of this process for granted!