Happy New Year - an update

Happy New Year, everyone. I have been busy on Google Docs, but have not written much lately from my notes. I've had a very nice vacation which included family events during Christmas and a milestone birthday for me on the 30th - I turned 50! My 17-year-old son. Logan, got to ride Sunday River's Zip Line on the 27th and after my birthday lunch my dad took him on a plane ride in an antique plane. Dad and my brother are both pilots as their company does a lot of bridge and dam work. On New Year's Eve I celebrated my 50 years with a gal pal whose birthday was the day before mine. We had a great party at my house, along with many family and friends.

But there is sadness, too. A student, Andria Damon, who suffered from Muscular Dystrophy, passed away on the 27th. Andria taught me a lot about not judging a book by its cover. When I first met her I thought, "I can't possibly know how to teach this child." She had been home schooled for two years, was wheel-chair bound and not even able to go to the bathroom by herself. She was in constant pain, fed through a tube, and the smallest cough was excruciating for her, so she missed a lot of school. Still, she was very social, loved to read, and especially loved her history course. While at home with a tutor, she completed more work than my ever present healthy students.

We have been studying mythology and while at home sick for a time she read nearly the entire book that we use, Heroes, Monsters and Gods of Greek Mythology. Just last week, before vacation, she wheeled over to me and showed me that she was reading The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackson series, a sort of modern day mythology, for her personal weekly requirement. She had a sharp wit and it amazed me to watch her type on her Netbook by making use of her long fingernails and the eraser end of a pencil. She never said, "I can't" and wanted desperately to be like others. She even admitted to playing with Barbie dolls, not because she was immature, but because they made her think about what her life might have been like. Andi had dreams of one day getting her license and later living on her own. We knew that her dreams would not be possible, but somehow, if she had survived, I think she might have achieved those goals.

Last week she completed an essay on Google Docs for me on the hero archetype and how it was evident in the myths that we have read about - Theseus, Perseus and Orpheus. I went over it using the comment and editing tools and she submitted her revision just before vacation. I've spent more time in reading and responding to the other essays from her classmates, but I keep thinking of Andria, who has become a hero to me.

Monday is going to be a different kind of day as my colleagues and I face her classmates, share the news and reactions, and then attend her funeral. I wrote this on her online remembrance page:

Andi, You were an amazing young woman, a modern day hero who faced many challenges bravely. As your teacher, it was I who learned from you. You will be very much missed by your Team 1 teachers and classmates. Orpheus is playing a special song for you on this hero's journey. Say hello to Eurydice for us in the Isles of the Blessed and may you later gain Elysium!
Ms. Bancroft

I will print out all of the documents that Andi has created on Google Docs and share them, with all the revisions, with her family.

More on my inquiry project soon and I look forward to seeing all of you in February.

Kristi