The Floor Is Lava

Did you know that the Great Wall of China was completed in October?  If you did not, that's because that last statement was a lie.  But there is a wall in October.  I was warned about it from Day One at New Tech Odessa, so I can't pretend that I didn't know it was coming.  But when October came around and I was still flying high with my ideals and beliefs and hope, I thought that maybe I was on the moon and the October Wall was just something that I would see from a distance, snaking around the rest of the world.  

It almost looks pretty from he---ahhh!

The October Wall, like Harry Potter and Bilbo Baggins, has the power of invisibility.  That is its greatest secret and its greatest weapon.  Last week, I hit the October Wall so hard that I fell down and then had to stand up again and make sure that no one was watching. 

Oh, great.  Now I look like an idiot.

I understand that it's just a part of teaching that at some point you realize how futile your work is-- and then you slap yourself awake and realize that you are being an idiot.  I'm still slapping myself.  Good teachers do reflect on what is working for them but also what isn't working.  It's just that you are bound to wind up with some bruises in the process.  

I'm definitely going to grow from this experience.

This week was also Meeting of the Minds for the New Tech Network.  It was generally a cool experience, as we were talking about authenticity in our projects.  We also met some really nice people from a New Tech in Louisiana.  But, of course, I think there was a part of all of us that were panicking about the kids we'd left behind and the work that was waiting for us when we got back from meeting other people's minds.

And that pretty much sums up what I used to know about authenticity. 

Part of that is a trust issue.  At NTO, we preach "trust, respect, and responsibility" like those Rice Crispies guys preach "snap, crackle, and pop."  And I do trust my kids. Mostly.  I trust them to be human beings and also teenagers.  But when you plan a project, if you're like me, you're planning everything down to the letter.  There's room for flexibility, of course, but at the end of the day, those kids need to work.  

Pictured above: A cat working it.  Not what I'm talking about.

And once you've hit the October Wall, it becomes difficult to trust.  It's difficult to trust your kids, but more difficult to trust yourself.  You end up asking yourself all the usual question: 

What if my learners aren't getting it?

What if my projects suck?

What if they don't pass this six weeks?

What if Fahrenheit 451 really is a boring book?

What if I never find out what happens in Season 8 of How I Met Your Mother, because I'm always at school at 8/7pm Central Time?

I can't tell you how to get over the October Wall, because I'm still scrabbling around at the bottom of it trying to get my footing. 

This.  I want this.

But what I've discovered does work in trying to COPE with the October Wall is laughter.  I'm so lucky to be at a school where my coworkers can help me to cope with my frustrations by getting me to laugh. Our work lives have become enormous games of The Floor Is Lava.

If you've never played The Floor Is Lava before, that's because you either had a really great childhood or a really sad one.  The Floor Is Lava is when you climb around on your furniture like a monkey, because the floor is LAVA.  It ends when your parent knocks you down into the burning flames for climbing on the furniture or when you die from your head wound.  

This.

So, if you have hit the October Wall, try doing some of these things.

When your coworkers ask you how your day is going, reply: FIREFIREFIREFIREFIRE.

When your friends from outside of work ask you how you like work, reply, "Please set me on fire."

When your principal asks you how your day is going, reply: "I'm on fire!"

It's funny, because: hyperbole.

After a while, I hope that when my principal asks me how I'm doing, I'll reply, "I'm on fire!" But what I'll really mean is that I've climbed over the October Wall.  But no matter what happens, I rely on my coworkers to keep me laughing at it.

So, for the first time, I'm asking something from my readers.  Tell me a joke.  Tell me a funny story.  Tell me something that will keep me laughing into November.  I think it's amazing that so many people are checking in to read this blog, but I know I can't be the only one who could benefit from a giggle or two in the coming weeks.  

With that in mind, I leave you with these closing words, this closing image, and this metaphor for the mind of a first year teacher: 

This.