School's Out for Summer!

The title of this post is so unoriginal. I know. Plus it's by Alice Cooper. But I've had a that song running through my head ever since last Friday (the BYU Marching Band version, of course). Last week I was feeling two things: exhaustion and satisfaction (plus cold/flu-like symptoms- so I guess that makes three things). Here are a few highlights:

*Final projects for my World History classes: I had them interview people about more recent (Cold War Era) events. I was a little nervous about how it would turn out, but the students who actually did it had some fascinating interviews. Among these were a student who knew someone who went to Vietnam to film footage, and a foreign-exchange student from China whose dad is a professor and had students marching in Tiananmen Square.

*Yearbook signing: I wonder a lot if I am making any sort of impact on students' lives, so it was nice to have so many students come back and ask me to sign their yearbooks, and to have them write such nice things in mine.

*Westlake's first graduation: I counted, and it was something like the 15th graduation ceremony that I have attended in the Marriott Center (I have a lot of siblings and in-laws that graduated from BYU, not to mention all of their high school graduations also held in the Marriott Center). It was a great ceremony, and I was very proud of my students that graduated. I got to wear a gold robe and a hood that matched my degree and my university (I thought you had to have at least a master's degree). It made me feel special.

And for your enjoyment, here are pictures of my empty classroom: