In my classroom I have a large storage closet

In my classroom I have a large storage closet. More like a small bedroom filled with shelves and boxes. As I was setting up the room a few weeks ago, I put one of those bright orange ‘live animal’ stickers that you can get at the airport on the door. I did not say a thing to the students about what was behind the door but as they allegedly started hearing things, a rumor began to spread. The students all know my interests in unusual animals and began asking what I had behind the door. I told them, “I will show the class when I think all of you are ready”. This loaded statement was interpreted more like, "there are wild animals behind the door that I am taming after school hours."
To backtrack, I ordered four Giant Marine Toads (Bufo Marinus) from Carolina Biological Supply before school began. I was desperately waiting for my secret order to be processed, as now I could not disappoint. When I received the confirmation that the order would be arriving this past Wednesday, I then told the students I would show them what was in the closet, that Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday morning, I received a few packages but none of them contained live animals. In class the students were restless and beging to please just open the door of the closet. I got halfway through class and finally gave in. I told them that their was nothing behind the door other than a bunch of boxe, they still wanted a look. But then I then told them ,"but, there actually would be some animal arriving later in the day’. They were disappointed but continued to be curious about what was going to arrive. I let the students explore the closet as they swore that unusual sounds had been heard ever since the start of school.
Just as they began to look around I received a knock on my door. Opening it up, there was the delivery; with one of the boxes having round holes in the top and live animal stickers on the sides! I prompted all of the students sit back in their seats and brought the new packages inside. While the students sat on the edge of their seats, not knowing what was going to happen next, I got a portable plastic sink out of the closet. The sink, about a foot and a half deep, with two foot long legs, was intended for use around the classroom. I carefully and slowly cut open the package I thought would never come. Inside were the toads; two of them as large as my hand, with fingers extended. I carefully dumped the four creatures in the sink with the moist moss that they came with and tried to prepare myself for whatever reaction was to come. I picked rows students to come up, one row at a time, to view our new animal friends. As the toads hopped around in the sink, the students became increasingly loud and squirmy. As the excitement grew, I could not keep all of the other students seated and many more started to gather. As most of the class looked over each other’s shoulders into the large sink, something amazing happened. One of the larger round stubby legged toad specimens, probably scared to death and thinking it was judgment day, seemingly defied gravity and leapt out of the sink, right down between two students shoes, landing with a ungraceful plop on the hard floor. The class erupted in yells and screams. Everyone began to backpedal to his or her desks. Girls, and boys, were now shrieking. Students jumped onto their chairs and then on top of their desks. At that point I gave up on trying to say anything to calm the class, as the overreaction was totally out of my control, and actually now becoming pretty entertaining. I quickly became more interested in the toad’s safety and as I looked down. The toad hopped into the dark of my closet. I quickly shut the door, put a piece of cardboard over the sink, and began my attempt to settle everyone back down. Within a few minutes the class was all back sitting in their seats, some still out of breathe. I explained to the students that I could find the toad later and tried to provide a little order in a remaining few minutes of class. Later that afternoon, my ears still ringing, all of the other students and teachers in the hall began to ask, “What happened in Science today Mr. Scherrer, is everything okay?” All I could do was smile.

coke vs coffee

New Roads, Louisiana vs Bellingham, Washington:

coca cola vs coffee, cyprus vs cedar, oversized american truck vs subaru, white egrit vs great blue heron, collard vs kale, 1 speed bike vs 24, live oak vs big leaf maple, gold tooth vs filling, crawfish vs prawns, catfish vs salmon, white vs whole wheat, thunder storm vs rain shower, grits vs oatmeal, cut’n up vs fighting/wrestling, Piggly Wiggly vs Haggen, RIMS vs rims, Mississippi vs Nooksack, throw it away vs recycle, dove vs pigeon, sugar cane vs berries, raggedy vs broken, mingle with strangers vs keep to yourself, bayou vs wetland, 90 degrees vs 70 degrees, miss/mr + first name vs first name, humid vs wet, spanish moss vs lichen, sweet tea vs water, MUSIC vs music, braids vs brush, school uniform vs whatever, tin vs shingle, yes sir/mam vs okay, roach vs ant, air (a/c) vs heat, slow down vs speed up, y'all vs everyone, sweat vs dry, cotton vs hemp, hunt’n vs hiking, swamp vs forest, segregation vs inclusion, above the ground vs six feet under, tradition vs innovation, people vs people…

First day

Today was my fist day of school. I set three alarms, I was not going to be rushed this morning. School starts at 7:45 and I have hall duty begging at 7:10, so everything starts a little earlier than Bellingham. Today was a half-day and lasted from 7:45 until 12:30. The buses were about half an hour late, so after packing up and getting ready to leave I had to refocus the students for another half an hour before they left. This was the only real struggle in the day. We were the first group to have lunch at 9:30! Served were cheese burgers, jo jos, and beans, and everyone ate hot lunch, every single student. Fortunately this is not the normal lunch time. I spent the day with my core class, which I will be meeting with first thing every morning. The class is full of bright and excited young minds. Of the class, twelve students out of fifteen were present, what small class sizes, yes! My schedule for the coming weeks is shaping up. There was some confusion about one section of Health that I will be teaching and upon further investigation one of my five classes a day will not be in 5th grade, but kindergarten health. This adds some additional excitement to the year. Anybody have any tips for teaching kindergarten? Also, I will have more planning time for the next week and a half before the kindergarten students begin their year. So, all in all, the day was a little chaotic, but it went as smooth as possible. It is going to be a good year at Rosenwald.

Check out this cicada that I found on a walk this evening. It's huge. I hear they are the loudest sounding insect in the world and can also live to be up to 17 years old are are not considered a pest. Right now it's hanging out with me on my computer speaker. It's a little slow. I think it might have got dowsed by the bug truck that sprays the neighborhood ever so often.

for more about these facinating creatures check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada

Why does it all have to be fried?

Man, I have been having some cravings like no other for anything fresh and vegetable-like. After a week and a half of eating the local deep fried fare I finally can't take it any longer. Fried Shrimp Po’ Boys, Fried Catfish everything, Fried Sac-au-lait fish, Fried Chicken, French fries….i'm cutting back. My last three meals have consisted of salad, salad, and a variation on the first two. I have heard that when people go to Antarctica for extended periods of time they get cravings for what they call “freshies”. Now I have even more respect for what one might have to go through in such a place. I have been on the lookout for local farmer's markets and have heard that there are some out of town. I also heard that New Roads had one in the past; something that might be worth looking into- it is such an agricultural area.

The classroom is almost set up, now I need to begin my work on lesson planning. We have a pacing guide that pretty much dictates what we will teach and when. We cover so many different content areas in science; I don’t think there would be any way for a regular multidisciplinary teacher to cover close to half of the material.

Tonight when I was riding my bike home, I was followed by a truck spraying a large plume of pesticides up into the air, all throughout the neighborhood. I have heard that this practice to limit West Nile and other mosquito-born diseases. I have also heard that the amount of spray that is used doesn’t really do anything for the bugs, but instead just gives the feeling of "security " to local residents. Trying to outrun the spray of that truck did not make me feel safe at all.

More about the bugs later, large and small.

Parlange Plantation with Spanish Moss, Built 1760s, Old Slaves Quarters with sugar cane field in background

Another picture...my camera battery charger has arrived!

This is another picture from my room. I have been cleaning and painting during the last few days. All of the poster and white boards needed moving up higher on the walls becuase this classroom was used for kidergarten during the past few years. The desks/chairs look to be built quite some time ago but are holding up pretty well. Tomorrow I will continue to organize and begin to put up posters and decorate!

My class with a fresh paint job. 5th grade Social Studies teacher Ms. Facione is in to check up on my progress...