Years ago when I did presentations on abuse, I often used a label exercise to make a point to those in my class. Each person who came in was given a name tag that had a negative label on it:
Loser, Worthless, Unloveable, Lazy, Moron, etc.
During the course of my teaching, I made a point of looking at the labels they had firmly attached to the center of their chest. I made them very, very uncomfortable about their label. After awhile, I allowed them to tear off the negative label and choose from a pile of good labels:
Good, Kind, Loving, Brave, Strong, etc.
Then we talked about the power of labels and what labels we may be wearing now that aren't seen but are still affecting us. It was always a powerful experience.
The thought occurred to me to try the same thing with my writing class. This week we were on class seven which is normally "writing to music." The problem with class 7 is that it hasn't really been working. I wanted to show the kids that songs can affect your moods and thoughts, but the point wasn't really getting across. I've spent the last few weeks trying to figure out how to change the class to make it more powerful.
That's when I remembered the labels.
Handing a name tag with a negative label to the 18 kids in my writing class today was much harder than I expected. I asked them to put it front and center on their shirt and then I started teaching class as a meanie-head. I was tough and no-nonsense. Immediately, the kids knew something was up. Some of them kept questioning my tactics. One new kid started swearing at me and ripped his label off. The rest of them hunkered down and tried not to make me turn on them. I think they were all wondering what happened to their nice, fun teacher.
I asked them to write 5 good things that had happened to them in their lives. A few kids said they couldn't come up with anything. That broke my heart, but I had to stay true to my meanie-head persona. I forced them to keep writing. I even pointed out to a few (who I knew could handle it better) that I hadn't really expected them to because they were _____ (and I listed the label on their chest). I forced all of them to stand up (showing off their label) and read their lists.
Then I asked them to write 2 bad things that had happened to them. Only one kid had nothing to write and that was because he didn't want to say them out loud. The bad things were beyond tragic: deaths, drug addictions, murder, teen pregnancy, divorce.... I was speechless. How could so many terrible things happen to kids so young? It didn't seem fair. No wonder they had gotten in trouble.
After they had all written their bad things. I silently walked over to the desk, picked up the trash can, and set it in the middle of the circle.
"Do you like the labels?" I asked. A few of them claimed to have not been affected at all. "Then throw them away." There was no hesitation in ripping them off and throwing them away.
I then let them pick a good label. If they didn't like my choices of good labels, I wrote them a new one-- one of their own choosing. I had two kids who just wanted their label to be their name and I pushed them to tell me how their name defined them. They had really good answers and became the teacher for a few moments.
We then had a discussion about labels and how the labels we create for ourselves and those others give us affect us and our choices. I told them about my own teen years and how I felt like a loner and how I felt worthless and how that lead me to make choices that almost killed me.
I ended the class by telling them how much I cared. How much I believed they were worth it. How sorry I was they had suffered so much pain already. How I hoped they would find ways to work through their pain without drugs and alcohol. How, if nothing else, they would always remember that I cared enough to come and spend my money and learn their names because they were worth it.
I had tears in my eyes as I spoke. I had to end the class since we were already 5 minutes late for lunch. There was so much more I wanted to say.
The kid who swore at me apologized. Three of the other new kids came up to talk to me and shake my hand. I tried to reassure them that my class is fun and for them to give me a chance to show them I am not a witch. I think they were willing to do that.
I am drained from the experience. I know I impacted them. I prayed and prayed and prayed hard that the experience would be powerful and that they wouldn't just end up hating me. It was incredible. I know some ways I'll refine it for next time, but I have 6 weeks to do that.
I asked one of the staff members as I left what he thought of it. He said it was good. He said it was okay to do it. Relieved, I left the pod.
I am home now. The kids are still in detention. I hope they are thinking about what labels they are wearing and what they want to wear when they get out. I hope they make it to the stage where I am at where I know who I am.
And I'm okay with it.
I want them all to get there. That's why I go every week.
And guess who is the guest of honor? (or something like that) And who gets to be interviewed by Doug Fabrizio from KUER's Radio West tomorrow? (a video interview and I have like 4 zits on my face). And guess who has to find something to wear since it's a black tie affair and my hubby says my fabulous outfit is not dressy enough? And guess who is feeling a bit more nervous about it? 
I've never grown eggplant in my garden before and this is the first one I picked. I'm so excited... though I honestly have NO idea what exactly I'm going to do with it.
The tigers and pony rides and chickens and ducks and bunnies and other animals were cool, but this was the best part. It was quite a nice tarantula even though it wasn't especially photogenic-- it kept wanting to crawl off my hand. 
To celebrate the end of summer, our family headed to Liberty Park. 
First, we all made ourselves sick by riding the spinny chair thing. The kids rode it twice and my son almost threw up after the second time. The hubby and I each had a turn and we kept our eyes closed the whole time because it was too much for our aging bodies. 
Being smaller, the toddler got to choose easier rides that didn't induce nausea. Lucky boy!
Then the kids put on their bathing suits and played in the fountains. Even I took off my shoes and waded around in the water. 
We managed to have a good time before a massive thunderstorm rolled in. We had to leave anyways to take care of a couple of errands so the darkening sky was a good excuse to leave.
I can't even remember where I first heard about this book, but I put a hold on it at our local library and picked it up last week. It was amazing. I enjoyed it so much and highly recommend it to you.
8 1/2 pints. And it's very tasty! This is just the first of several batches of salsa for this house.
Then, boil the tomatoes so they aren't so watery. Then add all the other ingredients: vinegar, cilantro, garlic, salt, jalapenos, and such. 
No, those aren't dust bunnies. It's today's supply of shed feathers. You can tell when a bird is molting because it looks like one exploded in my living room. There are little fluffy feathers all over the floor. Just one of the perks of having birds, I guess
We had a pretty strong thunderstorm move in this afternoon. 
I saw the warning on the internet so I knew it was coming. 
I could hear the thunder before the dark, ominous clouds moved overhead. 
Then the lightning got closer and the thunder got louder. 
It grew very dark inside my house. 
The raindrops were big and fell hard, forcing the flowers and trees to bend beneath them. 
But then I noticed a glimmer of blue out in the distance beyond the storm. 
Above the dark clouds, the sun was still out in full force and brightness and the sky was still a deep shade of blue. It would only take time for the darkness to move on. The sun's brightness and the sky's blueness would always return. There might even be a rainbow or two popping out. 
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