I hope my readers will indulge me with this one. The Beatles play on vinyl in my earliest memories, and I have always enjoyed the playfulness, surreality and yet wisdom of their lyrics. On the topic of why I continue to teach… I thought I would try something a little different and mine their songs for insights.
Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour
She’s got a ticket to ride
Got a good reason
For taking the easy way out
It’s been a hard day’s night, and I’ve been working like a dog
You know I work all day to get you money to buy you things
Eight days a week
You know I feel alright
Words are flowing out like
Endless rain into a paper cup
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe.
Sounds of laughter, shades of life
Are ringing through my opened ears
Inciting and inviting me.
Nothing you can do, but you can learn
How to be you in time
It’s easy.
When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
Who finds the money when you pay the rent
I’d give you everything I’ve got
For a little peace of mind
I’m so tired, I haven’t slept a wink
I’m so tired, my mind is on the blink
You’d say I’m putting you on
But it’s no joke, it’s doing me harm
And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
Friday night arrives without a suitcase
Sunday morning creeping like a nun
Monday’s child has learned to tie his bootlace
See how they run
Get back, get back.
Get back to where you once belonged
See the people standing there who disagree and never win
And wonder why they don’t get in my door
I’m painting my room in the colourful way
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder
There are places I’ll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…
That’s all I want to say
Until I find a way
I will say the only words I know that you’ll understand
It’s a thousand pages, give or take a few.
I’ll be writing more in a week or two.
Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
It’s getting hard to be someone
But it all works out
We can work it out
I get by with a little help from my friends
And I do appreciate you being around
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been clear
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It’s all right
Amethyst Hinton Sainz
Amethyst Hinton Sainz is National Board Certified Teacher in Adolescent and Young Adult English Language Arts, and is constantly trying to live up to that standard! This year she will begin teaching at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona as an interventionist. She has taught junior high ELD and high school English in Arizona for 25 years. She has been a Stories from School blogger since 2012. Amethyst’s alma maters are Blue Ridge High School, the University of Arizona and the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. Her bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Philosophy led her toward the College of Education, and she soon realized that the creative challenges of teaching would fuel her throughout her career. Her love of language, literature, and culture led her to Bread Loaf for her master's in English Literature. She is a fellow with the Southern Arizona Writing Project, and that professional development along with, later, the National Board process, has been the most influential and transformative learning for her. As a board member of the Mesa NBCT Network, she works with other NBCT’s to promote this powerful process throughout the district. She supports candidates for National Board Certification, and loves seeing teachers realize and articulate their teaching and leadership power! She enjoys teaching students across the spectrum of academic abilities, and keeping up with new possibilities for technology in education. Last year she had the privilege of running our school garden, and will really miss that this year. She is currently learning more about social and racial justice and is striving to be an antiracist educator. She lives in Mesa, Arizona with her family. She enjoys time with them, as well as with her vegetable garden, backyard chickens, and the two dogs. She also enjoys reading, writing, cooking (but not doing dishes), kayaking, camping, and travel, among other things.