Can I just tell you three, no, four more things about summer school? It was such a revitalizing experience -- I hope you get those days of work when you are so in the flow that when the last bell rings and the kids finally leave the room after all the last minute conferences/when you emerge from the controlled chaos/when you put down the seven balls you've been juggling/when you have a precious moment to reflect, it feels like you're breaking the surface into another world. Seriously, that was the feeling on the day they did their cumulative Socratic Seminar and I wasn't even leading the show, just observing and taking notes. Damn.
But a couple of other moments I don't want to forget: Nini calling out, "Is Shugs Avery a woman? I thought he was a MAN!" and the other kids yell "No!" and Nina yells, "So they're lesbians?" and the other kids yell, "Yes!" and we're like half way through the book. And later when Nini says, "This is the most evil book I've ever read" and I have to point out the line "when you can't git started without asking the bottle, you in trouble" but he still says he won't tell him mom about what's in the book.
It all feels very far away, on the other side of Ruth's funeral service and the good first week of school where I'm back in the support role I love but the first day back with kids I ran into Basmine in the hall with another kids and it was so good to see her and I asked if I could give her a hug and she said, "I was just telling my friend that he should read The Color Purple" and my entire year was made. My job here is done.
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