Meet Svetlana

Receiving spam in my personal e-mail account seems like a common occurrence.  However, receiving spam in my school account does not usually happen.  On Tuesday, I opened up an e-mail with the title, "I'm waiting for your reply."  Uh-oh, I thought.  Did I forget to respond to a parent or to an authority figure?  As I opened the correspondence, though, I felt a bit of confusion.  I have indicated my internal responses in italics.  Dear bobbie.serensky. You need to learn to capitalize. How are you? Confused.  I hope my letter finds you in a good mood.  Why? What do you have planned for me? I liked your profile and I would like to continue our communication.  What profile?  What communication?  I do not even know your identity!  Please, tell me a few words about you.  Confused, busy, tired. How do you usually spend your free time? Reading weird e-mails like this.  Do you like animals?  Actually, I have severe allergies to most animals.  Thanks for asking.  I guess? I would like to meet a reliable and kind man.  So would I!  But...why do you find it necessary to share this with me?  I want to trust him.  (Giggling to myself, but beginning to feel uneasy.)  Um, okay.  I want to create a big and loving family.  How does this have anything to do with ME?  It seems to me, that you can become my man. Hold on.  What?!  I see something particular in you.  You do?  I do not even know you!  Where, exactly, do you "see" me?  You know, it is like an invisible thread, connecting us.  I do not think you can feel this with any certainty.  I do not know you, and, more importantly, you obviously do not know my gender.  I really hope, that you feel the same, dear!  I.  Do.  Not.  In fact, I feel really awkward right now.  This whole note seems creepily personal, yet way off the mark.  Sincerely yours, Svetlana.  I do not know you, Svetlana.  Why do you think that you know me?  What a strange e-mail to receive!  I kept wracking my brain to figure out how I got this e-mail.  What new contact had I made in the course of the past week? And then it occurred to me this afternoon--I know Svetlana!  Blogger employs her as the voice behind the letter and number decoder.

Rebel Without a Cause

After reading this week's blog entries, I decided to morph three recurring topics: your interest in my non-professional life, the choices I have made in my past, and my perceptions of my students.  As a sophomore in high school--a stellar student and a star member of the band--I had never broken one school rule.  However, one fateful night, I decided to skip a mandatory band function: the Homecoming bonfire.  For some reason, this time I decided to take a stand.  This time, my best friend and I would NOT grace the band with our presence.  This time, from this fateful day forward, everyone would remember me as "The Rebel."  I meant business.  While I cannot recall what exact "business" I sought to accomplish, I did accomplish landing my first (and last) detention. While I revelled in my newfound gangsta persona, I had not considered the consequences.  You see, at my high school, the front office announced the daily detention list on the intercom system for the entire school to hear.  So, the morning following the bonfire, the morning after my trombone-free, confetti-fraught festivities at a roaring fire where I led cheer after cheer, the principal announced my name and my best friend's name on the detention list.  Yes, just our two names.  As I sat in chemistry class, I felt my face redden.  I heard my best friend groan behind me.  I felt the scrutinizing eyes of my teacher and my classmates.  And then, the worst that could happen, did.  My long-time crush, my lab partner at the time, blurted out: "What the heck did you two do wrong?!" I sank down into my seat, speechless, until my teacher asked, "Well, Serensky? What happened?"  Silence.  Longer silence.  And then, begrudgingly, I choked out, "I skipped band last night."  Oh, the roaring laughter!  Oh, the relentless mockery!  For the rest of my high school career, I repeatedly suffered the lampoons regarding my foolish decision to snub my band duties.  And, while I thought I would earn the moniker, "The Rebel," instead, the incident only intensified my true moniker, "The Nerd."  In addition to the stings of comments from all ages of high school students throughout the day, my best friend had more information to share with me after school.  "Bobbie, the band director called me into her office.  She said I need to steer clear of bad apples.  She means you."  So, my dear students, from this horrifying stroll down memory lane, you will understand my desire to keep you off the streets and out of trouble.  Even the greatest rebellions never go as we plan them; instead, they mark our reputation with humiliating stigmas.

D.J. ______________

As much as I hate to admit a weakness that needs fixing, I will swallow my pride and divulge one that I currently face.  I find "Bobbie's Blog Banter" a bit unsatisfying lately.  The atmosphere of the room does not yield as much excitement and energy as I would like.  In fact, I notice only staring, either straight ahead or at one's desk, when the music plays; I notice the paltry golf-claps for the guests.  Overall, I sense a lack of enthusiasm during the show which I would like to ameliorate.  As luck would have it, yesterday at the gym, The Ellen Show graced the television in front of my treadmill.  At that moment, an epiphany occurred:  "Ah-Ha!  I need a D.J.!"  Perhaps a more normal, down-to-earth, grounded person would scoff at this idea.  After all, what teacher truly needs a D.J. in order to present interesting ideas from student work?  Luckily, I possess none of the aforementioned qualities; in fact, I enjoy going overboard in order to entertain! Realizing that I need help on my show led me to the conclusion that it can only come from one source:  YOU!  Each week, I will choose my guest D.J.  Applications will follow these specifications:  1.)  It must come in the form of a blog comment on my blog post that week.   2.)  You must submit your entry by midnight on Thursday.  3.) You must submit three words, with the punctuation of your choice that will convince me to choose you.  I will NOT consider entries with more or less than three words.  Ultimately, I will choose one D.J. per class period.  This person will receive the secret theme of that week's blog show.  She/he will then choose an appropriate song for the show that she/he will play for the class.  In this way, I hope to heighten the energy level of my... I mean, our, show.