Poem

I wanted to post this beautiful poem that our friend Yang You wrote for us. She is a dear friend and an amazing poet. We miss her because she's all the way in Taiwan. Hope you enjoy!

Farmers
white snow
quiet and Acceptance.
silver mirror
reflect and whole come back to true image.

Diversity of seeds.
waiting for changes.
Farmer! Farmer!
Please come.
I want to grow up and become mature.

Many words in my soul.
Haven't come out.
Maybe a poem?
Maybe a song?
Maybe a golden apple?
who knows?

After being cared by teacher farmer.
A great nature forest of students.
A beautiful garden of students.
A wonderful clear sky will be there.

A fruitful life will come!!

Beware the Ides of March!

The title of this post was chosen because we are now diving into Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, a play in which Caesar is betrayed and assassinated on the 15th of March. My students read Shakespeare's lines as if they are riddles with meanings they can't quite decipher, but they seem to enjoy the concept of murder, betrayal, and dictatorship. Everyone is eager to play the role of dictator even though they disagree with the concept. Oh how power influences... We can't believe that there are just 4 teaching months left in our first year. We are certainly busy, but this new world for us is, at least a little bit, more comfortable now. I must admit my frustration however; the standardized test mania that my students and I have been enduring is outrageous. I feel that I can now confidently testify that the art of teaching resides under a heavy dictatorship of scores, accreditation, and performance which measures nothing in the realm of critical thinking, the love of literature, or ways to be practically successful in the world! Even Caesar might have objected!
We've been having some fun lately, which was largely due to some wonderful visits from some wonderful people including my mama one weekend and Danielle and her sweet pea Andy the next. What a pleasure it was to have such dear guests grace us with their presence! We went to Jamestown, the original settlement that was established 400 years ago, with my mom. The picture is a statue of Pocahontis that was erected there. It was so great to have good friends and family around. Thank you for you; we miss you very much and are so grateful to have you in our lives.
We've been out mountain biking and have had some amazingly warm days. Virginia is gorgeous! We are now trying to figure out our summer plans and I think something abroad may be in store for us again. We are itching for a good trip. I'll let you know what we decide, because weighing our options this time has proven difficult. There are just so many fascinating places to see...and of course the price of a plane ticket makes an immeasurable difference too.
Damien is turning 30 on March 30th! Certainly it will be a celebration of sorts. Another orbit around the sun. We are thankful for every beautiful day of our lives, which are accented with challenges, 5:30 am alarms, police presence at school, the reality that success depends on the circumstances of what situation you are born into, moments of unexplainable beauty and compassion, and of course, without exception, the amount of love that we can bear to give which seems to exponentially come back at us in disguise.