Ok, so more than two years later I'm still teaching the same things and am completely lacking inspiration. I have ideas for ELD and am excited to start something new; however, today my principal found me at lunch to tell me that my last year's class had an overall decrease in CST score - by 9 points. He had the scores sorted by class, and my class was the only one whose average score went down. Well, I know I had a rough class last year, but really, this was ELD 3 - Intermediate English Learners, also known as Long-Term learners, who most likely have spoken English their entire lives but have no academic knowledge. Even though they've spoken English their entire life, lived in the US their entire life, they are classified as EL because another language is spoken at home. It all goes back to that little form their parents filled out when first enrolling them in school. They tend to fail in all their classes. It's extremely frustrating because these kids should not be in an English class in the literal sense of the word. It seems all their teachers through school saw them as English Learners, so that was an excuse for their poor grades & inconsistent intervention.
Put these kids in a mixed 6-8 class, add 5 Resource kids, and throw in a new curriculum I am just learning & there's the recipe. I am still discouraged though - I should have done better. I have no idea how my current group's scores will change. It's too late to do anything. The test is in April. But now I know I am being watched... what, do I start test prep then? Will I be discouraged from teaching ELD? What a failure I'd be then.

I've decided I really need to start completing the assignments that I give my students. I realize these assignments are harder than I think because I struggle with them! So, here are two of my attempts at poetry as that is our current unit. Both are works in progress.

A Perfect Spring Day

It’s a crisp perfect day
Leaves whisper in the trees
Wind kisses my neck
A heart-fluttering breeze

Hummingbirds enchant
Water cascades in a rush
Mud bubbles in whorls
The Spring forest is lush

Bees abound in excitement
At the Manzanitas in bloom
Silence calms as we share
The Bay leaves’ perfume

A couple speaks in confidence
Of the years between he and she
They spot the Mission Bells
Otherwise unknown to me

We perch atop a mountain
Peering across the landscape
As he voices his knowledge
My feelings develop their shape

It’s a crisp perfect day
A chance taken on a whim
Wind kisses my neck, but
I want to kiss him

Running

Running
Is exhilaration
a thrill, an addiction
Jolts of adrenaline thunder
Through my bones
I am my feet as they hit the ground

Running
Is independence
No rules, no equipment
Vineyards are my playing fields
Mountains are my goals
I am me, my legs and my lungs

Running
Is meditation
miles turn into miles
whether a mind at peace
or a mind at war
I am alone and must confront myself

Running
Is endurance
breathe out, breathe in
a slow rhythmic bass
a natural cadence
I am the slow music of my breathing