Blood. Sweat. Tears. A cramped hand after 55 minutes of writing. The Sound of Waves, short stories, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Othello, Elizabeth Bishop, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Teaching a Stone to Talk, The House of the Spirits, and Beloved. 11 in-class essays. At least 11 practice essays. Snippets, presentations, projects, practice AP prompts, practice AP passages, practice AP exams, tests, quizzes, and miscellaneous homework and classwork assignments. This is the life of an AP English student.
Blood. Sweat. Tears. A red, black, or blue pen scribbling comments and feedback. Developing a thorough understanding of The Sound of Waves, short stories, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Othello, Elizabeth Bishop, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Teaching a Stone to Talk, The House of the Spirits, and Beloved. Teaching concepts, building an understanding, and finding the necessary resources to complement the works of literature. Grading essays from two class periods of 36 students…11 different times during the school year, sometimes one right after another. Grading snippets, presentations, projects, tests, quizzes, and miscellaneous homework and classwork assignments. Compiling enough prompts, passages, and exams so students will feel comfortable taking the AP exam. Taking a deep breath knowing you did everything you can. Worrying that they will be okay when they take the exam and have enough confidence in themselves to know they can pass. Crossing your fingers that they get at least a 3. Sighing in relief when everything you have worked towards is finally here. This is the life of an AP English teacher.
Sometimes as a teacher we do not understand what our students go through; sometimes students do not understand the time and effort we put into teaching and building a solid curriculum. We take each other for granted. In an AP classroom, there is one big goal: to pass the AP exam. As a teacher, I see the end goal and where students need to be. A student, during the process, might see it as just a lot of work. And I think it is only at the very end, when all is said and finished, a student finally understands why I pushed so hard, made him/her produce something better, think a bit more, say something meaningful in class, and write, write, write.
My satisfaction comes when I receive passing scores on the exam or when students come back and tell me that English courses in college are not that difficult because I prepared them well. That is always enough. So when I received an invitation in the mail from the University of California, Irvine, I was surprised. What could it possibly be? I opened it and inside the envelope was an invitation to attend an Educator Recognition event. I was nominated by Johnson Liu, a former AP student, who submitted my name as a teacher who made a significant contribution to his education and inspired him to achieve academic excellence. I felt so honored that Johnson acknowledged my role as a teacher and it made me feel so special that I left some impression in his life.
I attended the event and was thrilled that Johnson was able to attend as well, taking time away from his studies and busy life as a Business Information Management major. We were able to catch up, talk about his life at UCI and his involvement with the college campus (I am so proud of what he has done so far!), and he was able to talk to Taro in computer lingo and share in his computer science and math classes with someone who could understand and share the same passion. (The only part missing was having Susan there, too.)
Thank you again, Johnson, for nominating me. It was such an honor and it really meant a lot to me…more than you could ever know.
I have not been to The Huntington Library since high school and that is a pretty distant memory. I remember statues and cacti, but beyond that, there is very little. So a couple weeks ago, Taro and I decided to finally go to The Huntington Library after talking about it for months (and potentially closer to a year). We figured we could enjoy lunch there and practice shooting photos since it has beautiful landscaping. I was not prepared for the sight to see and came to the realization that in high school, I probably saw a very tiny portion of The Huntington Library. It is so much bigger than I imagined – and we did not even walk around the entire thing! We only visited the Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden and closely examined the flowers and plants there. I was floored by the different types of roses and the beauty of them in full bloom. At every turn there was a different one – shades of orange and red, white, pink, and lavender. It was stunning. The Japanese Garden somewhat reminded me of Japan itself, but it still does not come anywhere close to it. However, at The Huntington Library, they have Japanese Maple Trees which I simply love.
Taro and I bought a membership to The Huntington so we did not have to rush through the different gardens. We cannot wait to go back and explore some more – and check out the permanent and rotating exhibitions. On a free Saturday and Sunday, hanging out at The Huntington Library with a sandwich from HoneyBaked Ham is definitely the thing to do.
Today we had one major activity planned, which was to go see Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Since it was a matinee show, we decided to go get breakfast first and the place that Taro chose was Urth Caffe. We have been there a couple of times before, but never for breakfast. Each time prior was a good experience and I really enjoy their coffee. So this morning, we headed off to Downtown Los Angeles to grab some breakfast with my brother and Vivian. When we arrived, it was pretty packed and as I walked up the steps, I glanced at what others were eating outside on the courtyard area. The presentation of the food looked fantastic and I caught a plate with a Belgian waffle in the corner of my eye. I was pretty much set, until I looked at the menu further. According to Urth Caffe’s menu, their Bread Pudding Breakfast -fresh brioche bread pudding served warm and topped with a choice of baked apples or baked bananas with steamed milk – is the best breakfast in Los Angeles. The best breakfast??? Taro said, “You have to get it” and that was that. Taro ordered the Natural Beef Hash while my brother had an omelet and Vivian chose the quiche of the day. Taro and my brother both ordered coffee, Vivian chose an iced tea to go with her breakfast, and I had an English tea latte. Like I said earlier, I love their coffee and the latte was perfect for the morning.
When our food arrived, I loved the presentation and color on the plate. The only thing that I was upset at was that I did not bring the Canon. Since we were going to the Mark Taper Forum, I knew I probably would not be able to get in with it and I am not a fan of leaving things in the car. Luckily, Vivian had a point and shoot and I was glad that I was able to take photos of the food with it. (I will definitely return to Urth Caffe with the Canon, though!) So was the Bread Pudding Breakfast the best? It was pretty good, especially with the apple sauce on top. It was not too sweet or rich for a breakfast item and dipping the bread pudding into milk was a bit divine. The Bread Pudding could easily be enjoyed as a dessert as well, but as breakfast? Mmmmm…. I enjoyed a bite of the Natural Beef Hash, which reminded me of beef stew. It had a lot of flavor to it and Vivian’s quiche was pretty tasty, too, with the incorporation of tomatoes into the egg custard. I cannot wait to go back and try the Belgian Waffle because I love waffles.
After breakfast, we headed off to the Mark Taper Forum to watch Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Taro heard about this play on KCRW and was able to find tickets for it. It is a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize and that alone made me curious. What did I think about the play overall? When I read the program, it said that the play used magical realism and immediately I asked Taro, “Is it a ‘tiger’?” meaning a man acting as a tiger, who really isn’t a tiger (like aspects of Life of Pi). Taro gave me a confused look and at the start of the play, I knew it was a man acting as a tiger with a voice, which was an interesting concept in a play which I have not seen before. For me, it seemed the life of the tiger paralleled the way Iraqi people might have been treated by American soldiers -encaged, mistreated, and disregarded. The irony is that the Iraqi people originally caged the tiger up, thus showing how we, as people, may be no different from each other. This was only one of many concepts I saw in the play. There was the trauma of the life of American soldiers, the conflict a man has when going against his own people, the perspective from Saddam Hussein’s son on why he felt it was right to fight against Americans, and the question of God’s existence or lack of in our lives, including in the life of a tiger. It was a moving, poignant, and well-written and directed play which left me asking questions at the conclusion. Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was unlike anything I have seen before and I was intrigued by the characters, the conflict each one faced, and it left me questioning so much.
Isn’t this what we ask for when we witness something and watch it unfold on a stage? The way I felt walking out of the theatre made me understand why the play was up for a Pulitzer Prize. If you get a chance, watch Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. It was truly an experience and something you won’t regret.
“I’m sorry I’m bothering you but you’re the only person who can hear me besides the tiger, and the Tiger just keeps on bugging me about epistemology and original sin, which is annoying as f—….”
Omelet (left) and Natural Beef Hash (right):
Urth Caffe Bread Pudding Breakfast:
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