It's choreography

We live in a world that compels us to define ourselves in terms of our careers. For several years, I have wondered what I am. Am I a teacher? Am I a scholar? Am I a writer? Am I something entirely different? I've had trouble fitting myself into one box and have wondered how that will affect my future decisions.

Thanks to the upcoming 3rd-grade ceremony, though, I can now eliminate one profession from my list: I am not a choreographer. My students are presenting on United Nations Day. I tried to include them in the planning process as much as possible. Together, we brainstormed ideas for our presentation and settled on a short skit followed by a dance to "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical. Never again. I spent my entire Friday filtering ideas, mediating disputes, restarting the music (which we are getting from a DVD, since they all forgot to bring their CDs), and calming eight-year-olds who can't handle that much stimulation. I nearly gave up after the first hour. By the end of the day we had a dorky little dance choreographed, and as long as I danced it in front of them (my new MacBook Pro bobbing along in my arm so that they could hear it), they were able to follow.

I'll be really glad when the ceremony is over and I can go back to teaching subject-verb agreement and cause and effect.