Woes and Cons

Yesterday school ended for the semester. On the good hand, most of my kids did very well (much better than expected, and better than I think any class before them) on their mid-term. This translates into only 2, maybe 3 who didn't pass the semester. The day was actually kind of fun and different - the Social Studies team on the 7th grade had the kids in teams making a product for the past few weeks. Many beads, plastic lanyard strings, sparkles and paint were in evidence up to yesterday, which was the marketplace, set up in the cafeteria. The project taught about teamwork, but yesterday taught them about free trade. Some kids had unique or desirable stuff (homemade brownies sold out first). Others had the same stuff others did, like small snack bags of chips. They realized quickly they had to stand out, and then the fun began. Some groups had barkers, others started offering 2 bags for the same price as others had one. I was outside of all this, selling tickets (no cash inside the cafeteria) along with another math teacher. All told the 2 hours netted over $900 (mind you, this is a school where the kids can't afford to pay $2 a day for their lunch, but instead get it free) which goes toward field trips in the coming semester.

Last night was my youngest's orchestra holiday recital, in which she had a solo. Painfully we have to sit through the kindergarten program (every year). Then the music teacher forgot that she had a solo, and wrapped that portion without her performing (he didn't have a list of who had been practicing...go figure). She was pretty devastated, and we could see how upset she was, but she still performed the last two numbers of the concert. She was VERY upset last night, crying and threatening she would not go to school this morning, and she would quit orchestra.

This morning she is in slightly better spirits. Wife and I will go to the school performance (gah, another Kindergarten program), and the teacher has promised to not only remember, but put her first. I also made pancakes for breakfast - man it is easy to do things early in the morning when you are used to leaving by 6:30 - which helped her cheer up some.

Also last night the bigger dog rooted into my bag (closed with velcro) and consumed a loaf cake (wrapped in decorated plastic, and in a foil pan) while we were out. She got a BIG reminder who the alpha dog is (I don't think she liked being carried through the house by the scruff of the neck, back to the scene of the crime) and we are shopping for a muzzle so we can curb her chewing during the day while we are out.

Many many errands today, and both girls are done with school by lunchtime. Then it is officially VACATION time.

Weather Woes

Everything with the weather is always doom and gloom. Last week it was torrential downpours. This week, a rapid cold front with National Weather Service warnings on ice storms. So...

Schools close early. Not canceled, but let's create chaos at the end of the day during the week of mid-term exams. Our students were released about an hour early. Same situation with my daughter's schools.

End result - no precipitation at all over Memphis. Northwest of us got ice, southeast of us got rain. We got jack-all. Unless you count endless hours of weather forecasters breaking in and updating us on what wasn't happening (but still could - possibly - maybe).

Today I am sure 10-15% of my students won't be in school. Which wouldn't be a problem, except they have to take a mid-term, which I have to grade, enter into a computer system (which automatically calculates the semester average), input the score into a spreadsheet of my own design (which calculates the semester average, so there is backup in case the system doesn't work). So a delay on their part translates to a delay on my part.

And if I want to not come to work on Friday, all my grades need to be entered by the end of Thursday. And because of yesterday's early dismissal, I am behind on much of it.

And speaking of mid-terms, let's not go into the stupid requirements from the district. Each test must be no more than 40 questions (this is covering 4 chapters, mind you, spread over 18 weeks). Every question must be linked to a state performance indicator (this is after we were told to disregard these indicators, since we don't want to teach to the TCAP test). And mid-terms will be administered during a regular class period, instead of the normal double length (which gave students enough time to complete the test...usually). So I have a test that doesn't adequately assess the students' knowledge of the material, shoved into a time allotment that is too short.

Yeah, we are all about the children...all about the learning.

The heaven's opened

Rain from pre-dawn through now....probably in excess of 3 inches. Sunlight nonexistent. Enough rain to actually move the heaps of leaves from the gutters in the streets.

Picked up the bike yesterday, all tuned up and ready for the next 6 months. Funny story - as I am driving home with the bike on the rack on the trunk of the car, I look and notice while the headlight is still there, the tail light is gone. Just the mounting bracket in place. I wonder if it is worth calling the shop. When I get home, I park the bike in the storage room. And there on the bag of the mower is the light - must have gotten knocked off earlier when we were moving a bed out and the whole row of bikes knocked over.

Counting down until no students. All review this week, which is a challenge in itself, keeping it interesting. Plus the kids are becoming more of a handful, and we are cracking down as need be. Just so difficult when we are being instructed by the administration to teach to the test (despite claiming not to).

The holidays mean candy. Ordered some of the annual caramel box (5 pounds) from the Mississippi Abbey. Nuns. Convent. Happy prayerful candy. Which made me think of this candy store near Colorado Springs, in a little touristy town on the way to Pike's Peak. They had tons of cool candy, plus made their own fudge. Oldest daughter found some peppermint ribbon candy the other day which brought back memories. That was the traditional candy growing up for Christmas, aside from my mother's homemade fudge. Nowdays I really enjoy candied ginger (I get some good stuff from World Bazaar).

Last three days without the bike I have been at the Y, on the recumbent bike. To ease the muscle strain/tension in my neck I hold a towel across the back of my neck, which gives some arm workout too. Don't like to think about the neck much, the idea of surgery is pretty unpleasant.

Tough Day

The start to the day was the killer. Routine morning, actually. Kids in the halls, at lockers, and teachers trying to herd them along from their lockers to homerooms. Some kids loiter at lockers to socialize, others pretend to check our message boards to see if they need their books, while actually moving to other areas to socialize or whatnot. One boy goes from the extreme end of our classrooms to the other, to trade a non-standard handshake with another boy. We have rules about that, not that every "handshake" is a sign or signal, or that they are in some way "wrong", but they are not allowed, mainly to avoid masking actual gang signs. Anyhow, I told them they knew better, and I got backtalk. As in "this is OK to do, and you can't tell us otherwise."

At the far end of the hall is an Assistant Principal. In fact, the one assigned to 7th grade. While they boys are giving me lip about being asked not to do the hand signals, I bring them to the assistant. Who ignores me. I needed him to put in his two cents about what is allowed and appropriate in school, and he did nothing.

I went to him afterwards, and even in presence of the principal, he dressed me down for raising my voice and making a scene with the boys. In other words, he won't back me up if my actions don't meet his criteria. Never mind that other, non-white teachers can and do get louder, more aggressive and even physical with students. . . I can't raise my voice or it is perceived as confrontational. And the kids have begun to know this, and take advantage of it. I am on the receiving end of sanctioned disrespect, and basically was told that I don't manage my students well, since they don't respond to me.

I expected support, and got slapped down. Same assistant who graded me down on my gradebook because he didn't understand my organization, where another teacher on the team got top marks by printing out grades from TeacherEase. Same assistant who we have problems with making any sort of meaningful consequence to students we refer to him.

I let the principal know my feelings on this, mildly. I don't think I will return next year, and today it was a close thing whether I will make it to Winter Break.

Cold cold cold

Below freezing this morning, but rode through the fog of my breath. Wasn't quite as bad as I expected. On the ride home, was feeling full of energy, crossing the last hilltop and got the *flup*flup*flup* of my rear tire being flat. Immediately saw a nailhead, and pulled...and pulled...and kept pulling...the slender nail was 3-4 inches long. So I got to push my bike home for the last mile or so. Going to get it tuned up over the weekend. Brakes checked and tightened, lubrication, etc. In the meantime, the gym.

Kids can sense the end of days, and are starting to get crazy. Smart mouthing, showing no concern if parents are called, the usual stuff. I am being more relaxed about talking, only stopping them when it gets really loud, and they are responding more quickly to requests for quiet, so I guess that is a victory for everybody. One boy with a father who won't talk to him, an older brother in jail, and a mother who spends lavishly on him but won't spend to get him evaluated by a mental health professional. Everybody (except her) sees he is ADHD. To quote his mother: I try to get him to behave. I have cut down on the sugary foods to keep him from being so active, and I tried this attention stuff from Wild Oats (a natural foods store). And I did try to take him for tests at the psychiatrist, but we got there and he said he wasn't crazy and refused to get out of the car, and I was so tired I couldn't argue, so we didn't go in.

Oh, and the Detour bars...flaxseed is not so good if you don't like gas.

Early Morning

6am (yeah, not early for some people, actually not that early for me, either) and I have time because the weather is cold, windy and wet. Possibility of snow mixed with rain, but not below or even within 5 degrees of freezing, so it won't do anything. Probably will keep some of the marginal kids home, and will definitely keep me off my bicycle. Not a good thing, as I didn't ride all last week, either. Which will be the case in 3 weeks when the Christmas - - excuse me, I meant "winter" break arrives.

The freezer is stuffed with about 100 pounds of turkey. Local grocery store had way too many fresh turkeys with expiration dates of today. So they were on sale yesterday. The big ones, 15 pounds and over were only 29 cents a pound. Since I had freezer space it only made sense to my Yankee frugality to get as many as would fit in there. Frightening, yes, but turkey is easy to include in so many dishes, or even plain.

*BURP*

Another successful feast. Even as I type, the remains of the turkey are in the oven along with some aromatic veggies to make a dark stock. This is not only healthy (rich as sin, too), but forces me to pick all the meat off the bird and get everything out of the kitchen. White meat, for sandwiches, in one container, dark meat, for soup and stews (turkey chili!) in another. I used to just take the white and say the hell with the rest, but my youngest loves the drumsticks - for a little thing she can do a real piranha job. And I don't mind the stronger flavor as I have aged.

Not so many leftovers...small containers of sweet and white mashed potatoes. 1/4 of a pumpkin, and half of a huge caramel pecan apple pie our guest brought, and we can't stop picking at it. Got fixings for an apple pie (tomorrow) in the fridge, maybe another pumpkin. I like to cook, I just don't like feeling that I am being forced to cook.

A breath of relief

Yay - the extra long weekend of Thanksgiving is here. Yes, "Black" Friday is in there (maybe Obama will do something about that name), but I basically avoid leaving the house anywhere you can use money for the whole weekend, so I can avoid crazed shoppers. This year I think will be worse than usual.

The relief of not having to teach is palpable. I don't get to sleep any later, and have plenty to do at home, but not trying to juggle teaching and behavior management (and feeling guilty that the kids aren't listening/learning and that it is my fault) plus all the day-to-day paperwork (of which there is a ton...yesterday turned in the team notebook which includes weekly lesson plans from the four teachers, all conference reports filled out during parent meetings (of which we have at least 3 weekly), copies of any exams, logs of telephone calls to parents (again, several daily)...you get the picture - somebody doesn't think we are doing our job, so it gets complicated by PROVING we are doing our job, which takes away from our job, which makes us look bad)...

Tomorrow I get to relax by cooking. The house will smell good, we have a small crowd - only 12. The usual simple things, turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes (recipe from Cooks Illustrated), somebody else making green bean casserole, ditto with stuffing (tired of hearing how somebody's mother's is better), maybe up to 3 pies for dessert. Then pick the carcass, store the meat and brown the bones and leavings to make dark stock....mmmmmmm.

Monday it was pouring down rain in the morning, so I didn't bike (although the brake situation is fixed), and just was lazy yesterday. Probably will do a fun ride or two over the weekend just to keep the muscles from forgetting things. Enjoying driving the car more than I should - the accomplishment of smoothing shifting...in my early driving days I dreaded shifting. I would avoid potential stops on inclines, I would do anything not to downshift. Now I am having fun doing "real" driving for the first time in decades. It all comes back, just like riding a bike (see how I brought all that back together...and you didn't think I could do it).

Remember Me?

A week "off" to Colorado for Spc. Chris Fox's memorial. Got to meet people I have only heard about and seen pictures of, as well as old friends who I haven't seen for anywhere from 2-5 years. Colorado is nice, but oxygen levels are low. Combine with sleep apnea and my body is aching for long nights of sleep. School doesn't allow this, though.

A week without cycling also takes its toll, although today I realized my brake pads are rubbing some, which is making it harder to drive. Internet to the rescue, though, and I think I can fix it. Naturally it has been borderline freezing the past two mornings, so that adds to the fatigue.

One more week and Thanksgiving break arrives. Then a scant 3 weeks before the year-end break. I think I can do this. Looking forward to cooking turkey and all the extras, especially since there won't be a house full (full to me means the 20 or so I cooked for a few years back. Two turkeys, etc.) so I can put things on or in the stove and relax a bit.

Almost there

It was kind of fun to fill in the dates in my gradebook today. Highlighting out the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Even though there are technically six weeks to the break, I will be out most of next week, this week is already over, so just a week prior to Thanksgiving. Then two and a fraction after that before Christmas. It will FLY by. yeah, right.

The election results ramped the kids up, and brought an interesting racial revelation to light. Almost all my students think because I am white I naturally had to have voted for McCain. I don't discuss politics or religion, so they have no reason to think one way or another. But I find the more unsavory, unimaginitive kids to be the ones to use "McCain" as a curse to me, or to sing-song "McCain lost." It is humorous on the surface, but the underlying message is pretty disturbing.

Little nice things - A book I have been awaiting (Anathem by Neal Stephenson) is in at the library, just in time to take it for a 7-day loaner to Colorado. Probably stop by there coming home tomorrow. I have most of my planning done for next week, just have to run off a bunch of copies and such. There have been a number of kids transferred off the team or just moved to other schools, which has lessened the burden somewhat. Still too many broken ones.

Fall is certainly here. Some trees have leaves directly below, no windblown patches or anything. As if they got Agent Orange'd and *flump* all the leaves just fell off in an instant. Going to make riding somewhat problematical. I can manage small sticks, nuts of varying states of consumption, but wet leaves, not so much. And now, as I am typing (instead of during the day when I could do something about it) I remember that the front break on the bike is not totally secure, which means it won't work. Good thing I never use it.

Grrrr

Today started off as crap. Rode to school, but the jerkwads who were 20 minutes early for the polls (we host voting) wouldn't move to let me enter the teacher's entrance. They had huddled between the two sets of doors, and sort of laughed when I asked to come through. So I rode to the front of the school where ALL the doors were locked, and early (very early) students were available to heckle me and my spandex. So back around to the door and I guess I had a look or something because people got out of my way. While at the front of the school if I had been able to locate my phone I would have called my principal and told her to take my job and shove it sideways.

The day didn't really improve after that. Boy scrawls " is a hoe" (yes, the garden tool, not 'ho), and I tell an assistant principal, and he tells me we don't have proof so don't do anything. Six boys scream loud and long in the bathroom - I round them up and take them to the same asst. principal (who is in charge of discipline for the 7th grade) who warns them, etc. Boy's bathroom smells like an ashtray, which is better than the stale urine smell from yesterday. Two kids transferred off our team, reducing our trouble load, but raises concerns about actually promoting discipline rather than just shifting a problem and hoping it gets better.

Ride past home to vote. Went quickly, in fact half the time of my wife who went during the day. Then back to the car dealership, where amazingly they were able to trim the cost to a monthly payment we would live with. Joking about the washed car (clean and shiny) being the $1000 difference. Got some credits for dinner, and a 3 day/2 night vacation package, plus maintenance, and a full tank of gas (to replace the recently filled tank in the trade-in car - doh!). So we have a shiny new '09 Versa with a six-speed standard transmission, power windows, locks, cruise control. Had 9 miles on it when we drove it away...didn't seem like a popular test drive choice.

Staying away from the news and such tonight. Neck has been bad lately from stress.

The story of my life and how it is messed up, in one incident
When I was young, I remember my parents going somewhere and bringing back helium balloons for me and my brother. This was an extravagence, something we had never dared even ask for, since my family was frugal to a fault. On the way home one of balloons popped, and the remaining one was given to my brother, illustrating his favored status. I, on the other hand, wept for the loss of the balloon and regretted the measly (but to me, princely sum of) 50 cents that had been spent, and lost, on my behalf, knowing that I didn't deserve a frivolous item.

Couple of days

Election day is looming. I can't say I care one way or the other - my pitiful single vote doesn't make a whole lot of difference. I do worry, though, that a lot of the spiteful rhetoric isn't going to evaporate like dew on a sunny day. There are seriously crazy people (on both sides) who aren't going to be able to respect the office even though they might not like the office-holder. And down that path lies social chaos.

Good things I forgot to mention the other day - filling the car's gas tank for $30 or less. Hasn't happened in a long time (and hey, didn't Exxon/Mobil have record profits yet again?).

Been in a foul mood all weekend. No particular reason, but school gives me plenty. Excessive paperwork, a massive student project that has to be "judged" by outsiders to the school, and even though it was not going to be officially graded, somebody had the bright idea of putting it on the report card. Now we math teachers have been slipped a number - 91% proficient. Beats me where they pull this stuff, but I know on a given day I don't have 91% of my kids who are compliant with the dress code. Last year I taught over 100 kids, and from what I could tell from test scores only 8 scored less than proficient. Sounds like I already hit that benchmark, but the sky is already falling and whips are cracking. Plus taking four days off means I have to prepare lessons that are basically self taught for the sub to hand out. And having seen the kids working in groups for two days - well, it is hard to believe they can do anything with OR without supervision.

Today I took some of my frustration out by visiting one of the (four) local Nissan dealerships. We bought our first car from them in 2002 and they send us all kinds of cute mailings about trading in, demand is high for our old car, etc. Reading between the lines, they want to have our debt. The latest mailing said they will give us "maximum trade in" for our current car and will get us a new car at the same or lower payments (the car is paid off, so again, good luck there). We went in armed with a few bits of knowledge - first, the trade-in for our car is around $7000. Second, our niece got a new Versa in June for around $12,000. So, we figured we might be able to get a decent deal. Found the only manual transmission car on the lot, which was an OK color and interior. Went inside to start playing the number game.

The first offer was ridiculous. They not only lowballed the trade-in, but then deducted over $1000 for things accounted for by the estimate I had online (paint, wear and tear, etc.). The "generous" manufacturer cash offer amounted to $500, which seemed less than generous. We came to realize we had picked a lousy time, since all the October deals ended on Friday and the dealers won't get November incentives until Monday. On top of this, they deal more at the end of months, when sales goals need to be met. We held firm, told the salesman in no uncertain terms where we wanted to see numbers, and exactly how they could get them there. Two rounds later we hadn't budged and the manager came in to explain margins on the smaller cars and how he would be taking a loss. I told him I would come back when they sent the "free turkey" postcards out and see if they were ready to put us in a new car. In the meantime we would visit other dealers to see how reasonable they could be. Then we had to wait for our car to be brought back around - they had anticipated we would sign the papers on the new one.

We walked out smiling, not having been forced into anything and feeling like we held the upper hand. And we just might do it again next weekend, with the dealership that sold us the Sentra. We have a plot in mind for them to assume the note on the Sentra, roll the unpaid portion into a new loan for a Versa - as long as they can meet the price we want to pay. It is fun to be a bastard sometimes.

Crazy Times

Good things today -

Paycheck with (finally) our contracted increase. But the retroactive pay (going back to July) will have to wait. With a system in financial dire straits, they hold the money as long as they possibly can.

My "vacation" leave for next month was put into the system without me having to do anything. The substitute, who is almost a permanent faculty member, she subs so much at our school, got it all arranged once I told her the dates.

Weather was really nice this afternoon. Of course, I was driving instead of biking. The past two days were super cold (for Memphis) pre-dawn, but it made me realize that a bunch of my doubts about commuting were non-issues. Some of the hills are not even obstacles any more. Riding before the sun rises has been handled, and now I know the best way to dress for anything down to about 30 degrees. I still don't dare brave the rains, though.


Not so great -

The kids are getting VERY restless and disobedient. A few obvious notes being passed, as if they want them to be seen, expressing very negative attitudes peppered with curse words. Yesterday we had a meeting to educate us on gang activities, and I had a less than pleasant dream along those lines and it has put me on a bit of a hair trigger. Meanwhile I have kids who, when a parent is called, disrespects their parent on the phone in the process of trying to explain how and why they couldn't have had an attitude with me. Other parents who basically say "yes, he/she does the same thing at home, I just don't know what to do" and leaves it to us to manage.

Well, one more day, then one week, and I will be having a bit of a break. Then Thanksgiving lands and before you know it, the year is over.

Below Freezing

Yep, getting our first frosty night tonight. We don't get hard freezes down here, just cold. Got the gloves, long shirt and spandex pants and windbreaker for tomorrow. Yes, I plan to bicycle.

Coming home was an experience...heavy headwinds, then nearly mowed down by a Hummer that ran a red fully 5 seconds after it went red. I overruled my better judgment and followed, and actually caught up at the next red light. I came off the curb, parked my bike in front of her and walked to the *open* driver's window.

She: I know.
Me: WHAT do you know?
She: *confused look*
Me: You nearly killed me when you ran that red light.
She: sorry
Me: Sorry? SORRY? *shakes head*
Hops on bike, parting shot includes some F and C words. Back on sidewalk and gone before the light changes.

As the Hummer drives away I notice the emergency flashers are going, and the thing is making some awful squealing sounds. I can't imagine what she hit or ran over to skew the front end alignment fully 20 degrees off, but I hope it wasn't a bicyclist.

Giving up

Had a nice talk with my team teachers today. They can see the stress getting to me, and a lot is my work ethic - I don't want to give up on any kids, even the ones that have barriers to learning, or allowing themselves to try. I buy into the hype, that if I put more effort in, I will reach them. Reality says I won't. On top of it all, the government (NCLB) looks over my shoulder all the time, questioning my value and ability as a teacher.

I just have to let it go to avoid what my colleague calls busting a gasket. They worry about me, as the stress does get to me, plus I have different challenges with my pigmentation. I can't say the exact same things as the others on the team and not catch flak. Plus I allow my buttons to be pushed too often.

On the home front, my oldest got her report card today. 2 A, a C, a D and 2 F. She doesn't give a damn about handing in homework, and holds grudges against teachers, playing classroom lawyer about talking "before class starts" etc. If this keeps up, we won't be paying an arm and a leg for her to finish out her senior year, which will severely compromise her college aspirations.

The Counters

Never did find any suitable tokens/counters, whatever. So this morning I made a ton. 1 inch squares with + or - on them. Different bright colors for each. Even got a teacher to spot me some ziploc bags to store them in. First class was wonderful, enjoyed it. Second class wouldn't let themselves try as much, so were off task and frustrating to me. There are some wild ones in there, so it wasn't so bad. Then the third group...no interest at all. Then again, they are Honors, and sometimes think they are above all this. Still, had to call three parents - shards of rubber bands flying, and finding one (idiot) with part of the same rubber band in his hand, several pieces around his desk and on his books. Of course, he didn't do it. So I called his mother and laid out the situation, even stressing I didn't see him shoot the rubber band. The rest of the class proceeded to argue, led by one boy whose parents have basically given him a free pass to act an idiot. His dad got a call, too, so he proceeded to be a dick while transitioning to lunch. I passed him off to a different teacher.

So, what should have been a victory lap for me was kind of mixed. Two classes got a lot out of it, two others I have to rethink for recalcitrant obstinacy. The Honors class deserves to be forced to think for themselves, but too many are lazy. Nurture over nature on this one.

Writing

I got an email from a regional coordinator (or something like that) for the National Writers Month. I tried unsuccessfully last year, but with the conditioning I have done in keeping this blog alive and pretty much regular, aside from last week, I think I can do it.

I am still struggling with being a "good" teacher. I tend to talk instead of getting the kids involved with hands-on stuff. I don't have a great depth of manipulatives for them to mess around with, plus I don't have a huge level of trust that those things won't be pocketed, broken, thrown, etc. I spent a good deal of time looking for poker chips so I could make sets of positive and negative counters (concrete items for rather non-concrete concepts) to work on adding, subtracting negative integers, and forming zero pairs.

This lack of structure is, in theory, what is making my classes have a potential for disruption. In theory, again, students who aren't engaged will find other things to engage them. On the other hand, some kids won't let themselves be engaged, either because it is more fun to disrupt or because they can't sit still, can't recognize their own behavior. Argh.

Still haven't had that impending bicycle accident, but Memphis drivers are sure giving me a run for my money. Today I checked behind me, let a car pass me and signaled to move into the left lane (which is essentially the double yellow line, as I was going to turn left onto my street) because the next car coming up was in my current far right lane. As I get into my left lane, here is the car, who switched lanes without signaling, and won't respect my position. He cuts past me, half into the oncoming lane, forcing me back into the right lane (where I can't really see what is coming). Naturally, he was on the phone. Banning cell phones while driving wouldn't work here, though, since people ignore any regulations that inconvenience themselves. Like signaling turns, stopping at signals, yielding to traffic, etc. A boy was killed this weekend while riding his bike, and the news reported that hit-and-run fatalities have a 10% solve rate, compared to 85% for murders.

Apathy

Still working my way up the slippery slope of last week. Depression often includes apathy, and I just haven't had the will to get back into a routine. Yesterday I even skipped bicycling to work - I just didn't feel like it. Writing here has fallen by the wayside, too.

Monday we had parent/teacher conferences in lieu of teaching. 4pm to 7pm, every 10 minutes. Naturally we had parents scheduled who didn't show up, and others who didn't have appointments who demanded our time. Quite a few revelations (one boy had been treated at St. Jude and will soon require his jaw to be replaced, another is about to begin treatment for skin cancer) and a few meetings that were depressing in their dysfunctional ways. The mother of one boy from last year repeated the same routine I had seen five times before. Excuses as to why her (obviously hyperactive) son hasn't been seen by a professional (I can't manage the co-pay - although later she mentions buying her son yet another pair of overpriced sneakers) despite his pediatrician referring her to a free service, then talking about how his hyperactivity is due to his diet and how she is trying to cut out sugary foods, followed by tears, followed by a few disjointed repetitions of early statements, sometimes contradicting. Did I mention she didn't have an appointment? And took up 30 minutes?

Meanwhile I feel like a bad teacher. I am not putting in the time I should in preparing engaging lessons that reach all learners. If that sounds like the jargon from an evaluation, you are probably right. But I know I am not doing enough, lately just enough to get by. And it wears on me.

Highlight of the week so far was youngest's volleyball game. They haven't won all season, but have come close. Last night they won their match...not just one game, but two out of three. All the parents were proud, but it was so exciting to see the girls' reactions.

Funeral

Took me a while to calm down enough to post. Helplessness begets anger and frustration with me. Seeing a close friend whose body lay in a coffin, and knowing the contributions made by another close friend - contributions that were being ignored by the Army against the soldier's wishes was quite a bit to bear. The alternative was to disrupt a funeral, and I don't like being arrested.

Even when the sparse gathering (maybe 20 people, all known to each other, except me) was invited by the pastor to come share memories, I didn't. Not because I didn't have any, but because I couldn't have done it without editorializing, resulting in bad consequences.

Too late I realized what I could/should have done. I should have printed out or had sent a picture of him with his family in Knoxville - a portrait of him with his mother, father, 3 year old sister. And tucked it beneath one of his white gloved hands for all to see. To let them know that they were represented.

I could have admonished them, not for not loving and caring for him, but for allowing that love and care to vanish like morning fog when his life got difficult and he needed someone to help him on his final leg to adulthood. None of those present did. The people he named as next of kin did.

I could have filled them in on his life in the gap between their memories of him as a boy and his death as a man. Of a loving home with a room of his own to come to during his leave. A room referred to, not as a guest room, but as Chris' room. Of pictures of him carousing with his sister and her cousins, and of the entire clan he was engulfed by when these people took him in. Of their "Proud Army Mom" decals on the car. Of their shared messages on their webpages.

And of their struggle to come to grips with a soldier who was denied his wish to come home to them, even if his spirit had departed in a faraway land.

Stern

I was stern on Wednesday and it helped keep the kids more in line. I am struggling, though, to differentiate my lessons so the ones who get it early aren't bored and disruptive while I work with those who don't. Then there are the kids who are disruptive whether they get it or not, and whether they have work to engage them or not.

Sad phone conversation with a parent too. Her child is doing nothing in my class, literally. Hasn't handed in a homework assignment since school started. Hasn't been doing daily exercises in his composition book for 2 weeks. Finally got the mother on the phone and she just lost her job because she has become blind from glaucoma and corneal disease. She is wrapped up in her new disability, with counseling etc. worried about losing her home, and is neglecting her sons. She can't see the materials we send home, but has this child's 17-year old sibling read to her. To make matters worse, the boy had a notebook with the back cover decorated with gang signs and profanity. Working on getting help for both of them.

Now to the humor part of our presentation. Got a letter from the school board today. I am to be honored for having perfect attendance last year. Can't decide whether this is so rare that they can afford to have a ceremony for the few people who achieve this, or if this is a morale booster of some sort so the money can be justified. Some of the lines in the letter are laughable - especially the one about how much the community and my students appreciate my dedication - even more so in light of my reception at the awards ceremony earlier this week.

Self Esteem Drop

Well, nothing like starting the day in a grade-level assembly, 300 kids, all in neat rows (to be sure, our team was the best organized, with the kids being recognized in the front for quick and easy access to the stage). Even better when the first time your name is mentioned, as the team leader who will read the award recipients, you are booed by some of your own team's students.

But wait, there's more.

When I am introduced by the prior team leader, there is more booing, the majority from my own students. Granted, the kids in the front receiving honors tried to cheer louder and rally to my defense (which was touching), but to have the assistant principal have to admonish ALL the collected students - then to have the principal keep my team behind to go over the shame etc. - plus having a guest speaker from the board on hand....well, either we have completely disrespectful kids, or they really don't like me, or they figured they could get away with it in a crowded setting, or my discipline methods don't work, or they work well enough to elicit this reaction, or all of the above. Just pick one and move on.

The rest of the day was basically damage control. Pep rally in the afternoon, so we had the kids all write an apology to the whole team - which for just about all of them consisted of "I didn't boo" and a small handful actually apologized. To my knowledge, nobody wrote that they had booed. Just like every situation where a group misbehaves en masse....nobody did it. Anonymity in numbers. Then, if we punish a group, they cry "unfair."

Two more days.

Short Week Blindside

Four day weeks are nice. Less so if they are also Spirit Week. But since tomorrow is "Homecoming" things should become less crazy.

Yeah, right. The guidance counselor for our 7th grade is, to put it mildly, senile. She is less than organized, doesn't understand the teacher's responsibilities or our deadlines. Case in point, she asked for a list of award recipients due today, but didn't ask for it until Thursday. The day after report cards came out. And many teachers didn't make copies of their report cards before they issued them (not me, I won't get fooled again). So they have no record of what grades, attendance and conduct their homeroom students had. But it gets better. The awards ceremony is tomorrow. She handed me the memo this afternoon at the end of the day. I am presenting awards for our team. But I don't have a list of the recipients, because the aforementioned lack of preparation. Plus, the lack of notice to us means I didn't put the ceremony in our team newsletter, which went out with report cards.

Oh, and did I mention tomorrow, as part of Spirit Week, it is Teacher Tacky Day. Something I usually get into, but I will be damned if I will present academic awards dressed crazily.

Wife flies out for New York on Thursday night. A girls get together for a long weekend or something. Beats me.

Bored and Amused

Yesterday was a standard Friday - as Spirit Week is gearing up kids wore team jerseys, but things went smoothly. We had a reward for good behavior - an ice cream social, and tied it to an outdoor lunch. Beautiful day, kids got out, had lunch, had popsicles or ice cream novelties (and we had quite a few unopened boxes donated by parents) then ran around a bit. When I say beautiful day - low 80s with no clouds, no humidity and a slight breeze so even in long pants in the sun in was comfortable.

On the bad side, isn't there always one, it appears my soldier friend will not be buried in Knoxville near his "adoptive" family who have nurtured, loved and supported him for the past 5 years after his "blood" relatives refused to take him in. Seems the Army, somewhat like the courts, awards the remains to blood relatives first, no matter how strong the connection to loved ones. He may be laid to rest near his deceased mother and grandmother by people that only care for him now (briefly) because he is a soldier killed in action, soon to be forgotten in the middle of nowhere with an unvisited grave, rather than in a veteran's cemetery a few miles from the home he shared with two parents and a 3 year old sister.

Saturdays are always a good day. Today the weather continued to be amazing, so I mowed the front lawn for perhaps the last time this year. It has been really dry (so dry I watered the drought resistant lemon tree today) so the grass has slowed growing, plus the days are shorter, signaling it to cut it out. Weeding front beds too, soon to put down some wood chips for the winter.

Youngest had a volleyball game in the morning, and oldest came with, to get new gravel for the fish tank which had a death last night - 0ne of the two tetras. Surprisingly, she enjoyed watching her sister play. The parents were worried, since this team really blew us out last time, but the second game the girls were up 7-0 to start, and were 14-11 through a couple of service changes before losing 14-16. They still haven't won, but I think this put a little confidence into their game.

After that we went to World Market - I had never been there but I WILL be going back. I could browse the foods for hours, and the tiny little bottles and packages of things make me long for Christmas and custom making some baskets and boxes for friends. Interesting and eclectic beers, too. It helps that I took French in high school and German in college ("Was kommt aus Lubeck?" "Thomas Mann und marzipan."), to decipher most of the products, some of which I have only ever heard of.

Now just hanging out, doing nothing. Going to finish Disk 5 of Supernatural, have some brownies. Listening to Pandora radio (Pandora.com for those of you who have never tried it...it is AWESOME) and sighing at the Warren Zevon (Heartache), and chuckling at the message on Tom Petty's "The Last DJ" while listening to it on a totally computerized "radio" station. Doing nothing is an understatement. I was on eBay earlier, but I don't have too many categories to check out lately. Bike shorts, which I always seem to be outbid on at the last minute or second if they are a decent deal. With the economy in the toilet I expect more bargains as people sell their hoarded goods for cash to run their SUVs. The restaurant we attend en famille on Saturdays was pretty empty, to prove the point. Heard about some woman getting a house for the minimum bid of $1.75 or something - I might have been dreaming I was watching the news, though.

Too many meetings

and too much paperwork. I can't seem to catch a break. Every day our planning period is occupied with parent meetings, or meetings with parents and counselors. Every single day. So I squeeze in grading papers at lunch, during tests, etc. Then of course I have to input the grades, input the parents' emails (although they supposedly supplied those at registration, but this way the responsibility falls to teachers to input them), on and on and on.

Next week is "homecoming" which is an odd idea since none of these kids ever leave their neighborhoods, let alone the city. But it is an excuse for a Pep Rally and other 'spirit' events. And next week is short for them (a nice four day week followed by a 4 day weekend, and another 4 day week. Poor teachers have to be in on Monday for parent conferences.)

Filled out nine folders for kids who scored D or F in my class for the first six weeks. Have to outline interventions to ensure they succeed. Not allowed to write the truth - things like "parents are screwed up and divorced and child craves attention so intentionally fails" or "child is obviously affected by the drugs taken by the mother prenatally, hasn't turned in any homework in 8 weeks and can understand spoken instructions about half the time." Not politically correct, however true and accurate.

Grrr

I hate reading/watching local news, knowing they missed half the story in the rush to find a local human interest aspect to a soldier's death. I want my friend to get the sympathy for her loss, not a bunch of local people who wrote off their "son" or "brother" five years or more ago. And I want she and her husband to get the recognition for their sacrifices and commitment to rescuing a youth who would have never achieved what he did, if not for them. A different channel got it better, interviewing his instructor at the Job Corps where he learned carpentry while studying for his GED.

Mainly I am frustrated, and venting my emotions on things.

Chaperoned a field trip to the zoo today. Impressed my team teacher, knowing all about things and how to get around. Being a docent for five years will do that. The kids were exemplary, and I told them so. Even back in school, with 30 in a classroom eating pizza, they were quiet, organized and well behaved.

Oh, and it was also report card day. Stuffing envelopes (because that is what teachers do) with the cards, and about six other sheets of information that won't make it home.

Tragic

I came home to find a very brief email from a very close friend. Her son was killed yesterday in Iraq. I am still coping with this, as is my family - we all knew him and really liked him. He was a student at my friend's high school, and she helped him get a job as a counselor at the summer camp where we all worked. Back then he was fun loving, but very responsible. A great guy to be around.

His home life was a little bit on the depressing side. His mother was not around for him, and therefore he had little stability, and wound up dropping out of school and living in my friend's house. She and her husband helped him get into some programs to help him develop skills and pass the GED, and to enlist and get a decent assignment. My friends became his new family and he was a son to them. On leave he went to stay with them, most recently only about 2 months ago. Now, like so many serving, he is gone.

On a slightly less depressing note, the meeting with my student's parents went 90 minutes with little or no resolution. Mother refused to acknowledge any point of view but her son's, wants us to praise the positive, but neglected to inform her son that reminding him not to be talking at certain times is not a negative, and he doesn't have to become surly because of it. I see more meetings in the future, as this boy won't rein himself in.

Dinner for the anniversary (shifting to the positive) was nice. We went to a place called Beauty Shop - which used to BE a beauty shop. Some of the seats are those dryers with the hoods. Good food, too. She had steak frites (steak was bacon wrapped filet with peppercorn and mustard crust) and I had a really nice cioppino. mmmm

Another day down

Sad that I feel that way. Some classes easier than others. Some students still struggling with their need to disrupt my teaching to get a sense of accomplishment - one who had a tantrum last week and spent the period drawing got himself an overnight suspension (basically an urgent request for a parent to visit the school to talk about their child) for a "cute" stick figure drawing of him shooting me. The administration talked with the dad last week, but today the mom spoke with another one of our teachers (all of us have problems with this honor student) and wanted to come in to talk about why I am picking on her son, a view that was not taken kindly by the administrator. Should be a fun day - I have a decent size file amassed.

Youngest plays volleyball on the fifth grade team. Some of the girls are pretty athletic, others less so, mine being one. This being said, I still get to chauffeur to and from games, and attend the home games. They have yet to win. To add insult to injury, most of the other schools charge admission - $4 for adults and $1 for children. A little pricey, so I usually watch from the halls. Season is almost over, so I have that going for me.

Tomorrow is 19th wedding anniversary. They are all big these days, but next year is one of those 'round' dates.

Motivation

I know things go easier when I plan out a week in advance, as we are supposed/required to do. The tough part is - there is one lesson to go in the chapter, which means some review. And Wednesday is a field trip for 50 of the students, leaving 60 at school (if none ditch). Friday during the last period we have students we will have an incentive - Ice cream social...and that class is the one farthest behind. Funny how there is always once class that struggles with discipline and falls behind on learning. That leaves me with two "toss-up" days this week, with a test in there.

Just hard to get things done on the weekends. Weather has been REALLY nice. Dark during my morning commute, so I picked up a front light, not for me to see, but for cars to see me. And since Monday mornings are especially troublesome, I do all my packing up the night before. Breakfast and lunch, clothes, lesson book, etc. in the messenger bag.

My poor breathing machine. One of these days I need to go back and hand them back the replacement part that didn't work. Both of the usual technicians weren't there and the lady helping me gave me something she thought would work, but advised me to just find the part that broke off and super-glue it. Which worked for about a week. At which point I noticed the replacement part doesn't really match the other parts I have. So I have a cobbled together solution. I wish they could just make the mask so it won't break (as this one has, twice, in the exact same spot).

Crazy Times Coming

Slept weird last night. Dreamt of being choked by a strange man. Literally could not breathe. Didn't seem like apnea, just a powerful dream.

Today we had a mini-team meeting, started as just a chat session with all the four teachers. Then it turned to two of our "new" students, both of whom were suspended last year for 180 days (that is a full year) but went to an alternative school (I guess you could think of it as reform school) for a few months and are now kicked back to us. They promise to be a handful, and one I had last year and was more than a handful. He got caught dealing pot in the final month of school, after showing some significant sociopathic tendencies.

On a good note, though, all the classes went well, kids were "getting it" as we worked in our new workbooks and played with equations on the board. Good questions from my kids, and a couple of hard to reach kids were attentive and I got to compliment them after class.

Still, now that report card grades are finalized, now we have start intervening with kids who score D or F. And I got my "improvement" scores from last year and my students were down more than the state average on their test scores. But it couldn't really dampen my good day.

Approaching normalcy

Computer is back, on time and working fine. Having more power doesn't affect anything...yet. Soon I hope to have a new(er) video card and that will hopefully show some differences. Maybe down the road a stick or two of RAM.

Friday (tomorrow) will be an interesting test. Our school has been fight-free since Day 1 this year, which most places wouldn't be an accomplishment, but the longest record had been 29 days. And that was during an incentive period where 40 days got you a visit from a pro basketball player. So, Friday is a no-uniform day, or as the administration calls it "dress down". Mostly it will be OK, but the kids tend to forget that wearing what they want doesn't include acting the way they might when wearing it out of school.

Changing Habits, and not

Let's start with the habits that are slowly changing.  At school I am much more organized.  There is actual filing going on, and I have discipline files sorted by homeroom.  Still not keeping up the way I should with parent phone calls...Also, trying and succeeding in keeping things from feeling personal.  The kids just don't have awareness of how their actions are interpreted, and unwilling to admit any wrongdoing.  Student by student, though, I am working on the honors class, which I think of as the horrors class.  Had a parent meeting today where the girl is slowly adjusting her attitude (but not totally).  Mom was very supportive.

On the physical front - those who know me may remember my affinity for Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper.  A 12 pack or two a week.  Now maybe a can a night.  I have a much stronger hankering for water.  I recall reading somewhere that one reason Americans are more weighty is because they interpret thirst as hunger.  So they eat instead of drink.  I think I am drinking a gallon a day, or thereabouts.  Which also means less hunger.  And my body is conditioned to expect food at regular times.  A piece of fruit before school starts.  A protein bar 4 hours later.  A snack when I get home.  Dinner, which I don't usually want much of.  Lots of water, maybe a small sweet snack after 7, but before 8.  I have found that eating too close to bedtime causes some nasty reflux...bile in the throat making you cough soon after falling asleep is not so good.

With the computer out for the past several days, too, I am reading more (finishing Eclipse, as my oldest calls it "the girly vampire book - why are you reading it, dad?"), watching more TV (Heroes last night, caught up on Sarah Conner today online, Fringe tonight, plus Supernatural courtesy of NetFlix) and spending more time just hanging with the family.  Now if I can balance that with a night or two away from my games once the computer is back and running, things might smooth out.

The exercise is keeping me warm all the time, plus the sense of satisfaction of having done something worthwhile.  The endorphins are not too shabby, either.  I sleep well, but with very vivid dreams.  Got to watch out for those, since they can keep me on edge for a day or so as scenes drift to the surface, triggered by who knows what.

The Lost Weekend

Alas, the saga of the computer.  With advice on ways to upgrade from people even more computer literate than I am, I removed a bunch of stuff I never use.  Including the devil - AOL.  Upon restarting the computer, I got the blue screen of death.  Do not proceed - we didn't start Windows because your computer will explode.  If this is the first time you are seeing this blue screen, try again.

Well, after the sixth time I realized it wasn't going to spontaneously heal itself.  So I ran a diagnostic.  Which took 4 hours.  And told me that one message block out of over several million was unreadable.

Good news is that there are at least 2 other computers here that can access the internet.  A friend from my game (world of warcraft, if I haven't mentioned it) told me the steps.  Except my Windows XP disc wouldn't boot up the repair utility.  Finally it did.  And the repair utility (after two more hours) fixed the fubarred block.

With a mind towards my graphics card update, I took the computer today to the local tech guys.  This is where I would have taken it if it was REALLY messed up, for them to retrieve whatever they could get off the hard drive.  Having them put in a new power supply unit (PSU for those of you into three letter acronyms, or TLAs).  Talking with the guy, at first he couldn't understand why I wanted it.  I explained about my graphics card, and then he mentioned his 1G card ran fine with his 420W.  Then I told him my PSU was 305W.  At that he filled out the paperwork and said "I think we can get a 450W in there."

So the computer is in the shop until tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on how busy they are.  By then a different in-game friend should have shipped me a shiny new graphics card that he has never used.

Oh, and at school it was picture day.  You can imagine how that was.

For the record, I hate how Memphis does traffic lights.  Unless you are heavy enough to trigger the sensor, your light will never turn green.  Treating it like a 4-way stop means that sometimes, like today, I am in the middle of an intersection when the main street goes green.  Lots of honking.  Selfish bastards.

Accomplished

Got through all the composition books today - every student has a little note in their book to show I looked at it. Starting next grading period I will check them weekly and take a weekly grade. Also got all the tests graded today, so all that is left is to input things into Teacherease and let it calculate grades.

This just means more paperwork, as I have to create a STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Report, I think) folder for each student who has a D or F. Thank you NCLB. Which really means less competent teachers will inflate grades so they don't have to fill out any paperwork, but kids won't be learning any better.

School has seen a slight rash of gang graffiti - probably one student, but it was up in two different boy's rooms, and replaced within minutes (across an entire tile wall and the doors of the bathroom stalls) advertising Grape Street Crips 103rd. Likely the scribe doesn't belong to a gang, just imitating what they think is going to shock or impress. A quick Google reveals these are LA gangs, so probably our imitator has discovered a lyric or something about a favorite "artist" and has little or no clue.

Next week should be chaos. Grades are closed, so teachers will be scrambling to enter things into the school's computer system - naturally no way to import things directly from the OTHER system we are required to use. Plus school pictures are Monday - required for students to have their picture on their new ID badges (the temporary ones are breaking off the lanyards because the plastic is too thin. Hopefully the permanent ones will be more sturdy, but I doubt it). Add to this Homecoming week (again, a ridiculous idea in Middle School, but it is all about glorifying sports), plus a required standardized assessment (not the company hired for millions over the last two years, who recycled the first year's test for the second, and whose contract was not renewed) to take place this week. Teaching and Learning? I seem to remember it. Check back the following week.

On the heels of the disturbing "hot ham drink" - at the Kroger (local supermarket) saw a giant can of Bud Light (maybe 24 oz. - didn't want to get TOO close) mixed with Clamato juice. Um, yum? Bloody Caesar ( a drink popular a decade ago in Toronto when I used to go there for business - a Bloody Mary but with clam juice with the tomato) for those without access to a liquor store? Nasty. But funny.

Good Habits

I actually came back and turned on the computer before I called it a night. Writing here has become a necessary habit.

The day was pretty good. A more than dear friend gave me advice about my problem student, and I implemented an easier to track method of discipline. Pretty much ignored his antics, but moved him to a seat where he really has to try to talk to people, instead of being sneaky.

In all my classes I did a free-form review, using questions from the book but with a twist. I let the students volunteer to answer a question, and if they got it right, they got to pick a letter for a hangman/whee of fortune type game. If they got it wrong, I didn't correct or comment, just called on another student. The catch was, I only gave them 60 seconds. Stopwatches are wonderful. In one of my classes the kids figured out scientific notation without me doing a thing - they learned from each other. A proud moment for everybody.

And a nice twist, discussing this with my eldest, she commented she wished she had math teachers with creativity in her school (a private catholic high school). Then she mentioned that I was probably doing more good where I was. Quite a mature observation, and again, I was proud.

Only disturbing part of the day (aside from the poorly parsed sign at a fast food restaurant touting "Hot Ham Drink, Fries $4.99) was in my online game community. I don't write about them much here to keep the geek/nerd quotient down. Anyhow, I had been a part of the core team, but lately I have been being left out. Talked with the leader tonight, and it stems from the less than state of the art nature of my computer. In short, things happen and I see them a second or two later than others...which means if I am on fire, I am dead before I see the fire. It bums me out, but he wants to help me upgrade ( a positive thing). I just feel the same way I do when I have to deal with a mechanic. I use the machine/car, but beyond getting it to do what I want, I don't pay a hell of a lot of attention to the internal mechanics, and when pushed, I am embarrassed by my lack of knowledge. Looks like I will be learning, as I can't spend to get an up to date system, but will have to replace some outdated things, especially the video card, which may create a domino effect in which I have to then replace or upgrade RAM and possible a power supply.

Or, I can enjoy life the way I have been lately, with DVDs and non-gaming entertainment. But then I lose a core group of "friends" who I interact with daily.

Wit's End

I didn't exactly lose it today, but my Honors class brought up an interesting request that showed some thought on their part, but in the end it was just an attempt to foist their rules on the adult and continue to ignore the adult's rules.

There is one boy in the class who is especially difficult. He goes out of his way to flout the simplest rules, ignore appeals to stop and if directly asked to cut it out will defy me to my face, complain he is being picked on, and try to cast blame on others. Last week he repeatedly ate candy in my room - on one day he did it twice in the same period after having had to spit out the first piece. This resulted in a phone call to his mother. Two days ago, similar situation - constant talking until I have to call him by name and have a talk with him. This time he turned his back on me, deliberately. When I asked him to turn around, he did so grudgingly. Then proceeded to shut his eyes.

So today we had a long discussion about respect, and things that show a lack of respect. He talked to his neighbors through the whole discussion, but kept an eye on me to see if I would say anything to him. Twice I asked the entire class to stop the side talking. He and his friends didn't. Later he was humming or singing (which seems to be a cultural loophole, as many kids claim it doesn't count as "talking") and I directly asked students in his area to stop. He started again a few minutes later, and vehemently protested that he wasn't talking (loophole) and stopped talking when I asked the class, and never hummed or sang. In other words, my eyes and ears don't work, and I should take the word of an argumentative boy as to what he does or doesn't do.

When talking to the boy, the rest of the class was very loud, so I announced that because they couldn't let me have a private conversation, it would be public. This followed his mother's advice that he doesn't like to be made an example. Several students agreed that he had been talking and disrespectful, and naturally he claimed to have only heard voices that agreed with him. When I asked for hands to show who had heard him, suddenly memories were lost, and several students decided to back the boy - the same students who earlier had requested that I show the class more respect by not making jokes when I correct their errant behavior (What are you chewing? "nothing" Well you are chewing like a cow over there, it is hard to believe you don't have anything in your mouth - - this was deemed to be potentially upsetting to the chewing student).

Long story short, most of this class ate their lunch in my classroom. It was supposed to be a silent lunch, but again many would not be silent, and several continued to argue about the discipline and consequences of their actions. Tomorrow should be interesting, because I will be enforcing the letter of the law with no warnings.

Amazing

It is the final week of the grading period, and we continue to have students register. The girl today attended our school last year, but for some unknown reason (parental accountability) she has not attended any school yet. Which means an automatic fail for the first grading period. What are the parents thinking?

I am still keeping my emotional cool at school, which is not a common thing for me. I am still as dedicated as ever, but I guess I am not taking things quite as seriously, so when the kids derail my lessons, I just shrug it off. Which is not to say I ignore what they do - they get the consequences. And I still have the usual kids who complain things are boring, as they ignore the teaching and scrape by with minimal grades.

Physically I am feeling great. Legs are bands of iron. Metabolism is high, which is good when you generate a 20 mph wind in mid-60s temperatures before dawn. Within a mile I am nice and toasty at the core. Only problem being a furnace is that in normal temperatures with minimal movement I can pop a sweat. Just sitting at the computer can moisten me, and mind over matter means that thinking about exercise ramps up my metabolism.

But not enough to burn off my layer quickly. It is slow going, but in the long term I will be victorious. Too old to expect a six-pack, and not even aiming there. Just fitness, and fit from my normal clothes. Upper body in progress, as I have found that if my pectorals extend beyond my belly, clothes hang well. Oh, and flattening out things so my belt doesn't look like it is bisecting me.

I am a bitch

According to a student, anyhow. Walking my kids quietly to lunch and we passed the gym where a group of boys was waiting for their class to begin. Actually they were released from their earlier class and were waiting for the next class to begin. Not supervised (as is policy, but with exploratory classes, which draw from several classes, it doesn't happen). One of them decides to call out "Mr. Parry is a bitch" loudly enough to be heard 50 feet away, which is where we were. A bunch of my students laugh, and I give them the talk on not encouraging negative behavior. The catcalling continues, though, past when my class has entered the cafeteria. Now several of the boys are shoving on the gym door, trying to keep somebody inside. When I arrive, they all feign ignorance as to what was said and who said it. But several laugh and keep peeking into the gym. "there is a boy under the bleachers" I am told. He crawls out - - long story short he is a Special Ed student with quite a few anger issues, and was hiding from consequences. Our school has a bad track record of allowing kids with special needs to wander the halls with few if any consequences, and this is the result.

In a related story, I have a defiant honors student who likes to challenge me by doing things to provoke a correction (such as eating in my class, sometimes twice during a period). When corrected, he then becomes defiant, trying to rationalize things, and playing the victim to get support from his classmates. Naturally this leads to lost class time, which rewards the students who support his behavior, since they deduce if HE gets in trouble, they get to watch and be amused, and not pay a penalty for not having teaching take place. Long term thinking is not a strong suit, so they don't think of the consequences of losing that time when tests come around.

Getting chilly in the early pre-dawn. Today was in the 60s, and was kind of cool for riding at first. Was still kind of cool on the return trip, as well as blustery. Not to mention a number of little old ladies who cut me off without benefit of turn signals.

Accomplishments

Friday started out with an ego boost. Biking pre-dawn means I see little traffic, let alone bike traffic. But today I saw another biker, with a similar red rear-strobe. When I turned in behind him he was about 100 yards in front of me. I didn't sprint or try to catch up, but my natural pace was bringing me closer. As we went over the interstate, which involves a decent hill, I could tell he was in a much lower gear than me - he pedaled about 3 times for every one of my slow and massive thrusts. At the top he slowed, and I kept on (I had to get to work). As I passed I noticed he was in much better shape, with corded arms, a light racing bike with ultra skinny tires, logo jersey etc. Like a dirty pickup truck passing a sports car.

Friday is usually an assessment day, so there was a quiz waiting. When did kids stop looking at all the pages of a handout? I use all the sides of the paper, back and front, and this quiz went all 4. Granted, the last three pages had one problem per page, but still I had kids who missed the final problem because they never turned the page. On the good hand, I checked their homework while they did the quiz, and then graded it during my planning period, which was oddly not filled with an unannounced emergency.

Saturday was a nice sunny, hot day. The mid-town area has an artsy neighborhood named for the two streets that form the axes - Cooper Young. This weekend is the annual festival, which brings out local artists as well as the usual booths and such that are attracted to street fairs. Went with my art teacher buddy, Heather. Didn't buy anything, though. A few things were tempting. Then came home after a few hours in the sun and mowed the lawn, knowing Ike might stop by. And as if the lawn wasn't enough, I then re-arranged our storage room, which most people would call a garage, even though we can't put a car in it - there is a carport next to it. For you northerners, a carport is a roof over a driveway. Anyhow, turned the place into a reasonably organized room that can actually be used, without throwing anything out. Only casualty is my leg - took a 1.5 inch gash from some sharp leftover ceramic tiles.

Today, more educational fun. Our school decided to scrap the online communication system they had been using (teacherweb) and subscribed us to Teacherease, which is online grades. The downside, even though they knew they would be doing this for months, we only got access last week. Which means grades for the past 5 weeks have to be entered (and not just grades, but setting up classes and assignments - good thing this has a 'copy' feature) before the end of the coming week.

I do feel like I am on top of the organization part. My grades are all in now, they are also in my gradebook in writing. My desk is clear of any filing (this year I am keeping each student's work in a folder, pending parent visits), and the room is pretty close to where I would like it. Once this grading period starts, I am going to introduce some new wrinkles to my classes that should help a bit. Wow, one sixth of the way and I am not uncomfortable yet. This is a good thing, I think.

Crazy

I was all sweaty this morning, so trusting yet again in technology with digital readouts (having not learned my lesson with the lying scale that gives me six different readings in the span of 5 minutes, with a range of 16 pounds), I took my temperature. 100.3. Good thing I wasn't biking today - carpool day! I was kind of lightheaded and loopy the first hour or so, plus the added benefit of a constant sweat. It broke during the day, though.

Just got home from a "Junior Class Meeting" with talks about SAT and ACT scores, grades, colleges, etc. For somebody who went to an Ivy League school, I have virtually no experience in the admissions process. I sent one (yes one) application, and did my darnedest to screw it up so I would wind up at the state school next door. Fate had other plans, and the rest is pseudo-history. It seems to be much more complex, with many many more resources to practice, and more stringent requirements to get into even state schools nowdays. One year to go.

Relief

Woke up this morning to virtually no leg pain, and my throat is not sore. Still coughing some, but it is smaller chunks of oatmeal. No more gummy bears. I think biking helped burn out the cold fast. No clue about the other, except if I had a disk shift in my back, maybe muscles finally shifted it back.

This little news story made me laugh. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080910/D9342OE81.html

I don't think I will encounter a bear on my daily trip, but I have a max speed of 25. When I saw the name of the middle school, I laughed harder. Wouldn't fly in the south.

Fun doesn't encompass my day. Had a cell phone go off in my class today. Kids were in an uproar, nobody would fess up to having it. So I called an administrator with a handheld metal detector. He promised 3 days suspension if he had to use the wand. Still nothing. Finally a girl says she has one, but the battery is out. When asked where the phone is, a different girl says it is over there. Over there turns out to be on a shelf in a cubby, under a book laid horizontally over the books arranged there. Either she loaned her purse to these girls, or something, but they put the battery in it, caused a fuss, removed the battery, hid the phone (to avoid the metal detection) then lied in confidence. To top it off, one of the girls tried to vanish from where we told her to wait for consequences. Principal intervened, and I think a message was sent loud and clear to all those girls, plus the word got around to all our rooms.

Absence of pain feels pretty good after a couple of days. Good thing pain pills won't cut it for me usually, or I might get hooked. Nice to feel comfortable.

Gummy Bears

I can remember a time, long long ago, when Gummy Bears (actually called Gummi Bears, since they were imported from Germany) were the only gummy candy and you could only find them in well-stocked candy counters. They were hard at first, and would soften eventually in your mouth, from both moisture and heat. Bear with me, there is a connection.

I could barely talk today - throat was pretty bad. Sometimes I was so hoarse I could only croak, other times the frog in my throat would interrupt my breathing and force me to cough. Said cough was wracking, and produced the aforementioned gummy bears. Size and consistency. Such fun. Trying to burn this out of my system through exercise. Might even work.

The upper leg pain continues. Not sure if my lower back is being compressed by muscle development or poor belt/pant interface. Painful all day, standing or sitting - nothing much changed it, so I just lived with it. Took a couple of the pills I used to take for my neck pain (which isn't currently holding a candle to the legs). They make me pretty sleepy after a while, and hopefully will allow me to get a night's sleep.

Today's pet peeve: pronunciation. I have always hated the urban use of the word "axe" to represent the spelling "ask." Now my students have an equally annoying problem they are unable to correct - pronouncing the long "U" sound as 'er'. It makes them sound like idiots, and worse, it makes them harder to understand, since they rarely make an effort to speak properly. I get to hear things like "comperter" and "skerl" instead of computer and school. This laziness means that many different vowel sounds are replaced by the easy to learn, easy to master "er". Where is it? It is over ther. She has a bow in her her. Hey, he got more than me, that's not fur. I am not skered of him.

Chronic Pain

No clue what I did, but I think it involves my lower back, and probably our big cat Max who tried to kill me. He was chasing a fly and ran between my feet when I was walking. My back (right) foot caught his side and it staggered me. I have a mass advantage on him, so I didn't go down, but it twisted me good. So last night I had sciatica pain in my right leg, on top of the cold that was occupying my throat.

Today I was pretty tired. Still, biked in. Was uncomfortable to stand, sitting didn't do much to ease that. Not really painful to bike, and it is definitely not muscular. Tonight it continues, both thighs (which is new, since now my nerve pain is on both sides), so I plan to take a little something to cut that edge. Throat feels sandpapered, with some irresistible coughing thrown in. Which of course affects the nerve pain in the neck and shoulder.

Funny, the things we remember and forget. (Switching gears here, so bear with me) Got a Facebook message from a good friend's sister, asking if I was the person who used to play pool in her cellar (basement) and drink their liquor. For the life of me, I can't remember a basement. Or playing pool there, for that matter. I am sure I did, it is just blank. I remember a few Christmas parties there. I remember playing with her son and his He-Man and Masters of the Universe set. But a basement? Totally blank.

Growing up we didn't have a usable, finished basement. It was a creepy place, with a low beamed ceiling. One side where you could walk was floored with gravel, over dirt. The other side didn't extend to the floor - just dirt contained by rock retaining wall about chest high. You never knew what sort of nature lived there, or was just visiting. And since the house itself didn't have a very big footprint, the basement was tiny. I kind of envied friends whose houses had basements that were actually rooms, and that didn't scare you.

Good and Bad News

New superintendent of schools sent everybody an informational email yesterday or today (I don't pay attention to date stamps). Good news is they have balanced the budget, sort of. It takes some $40million of cuts and another $30million from reserves. This means that once the state approves it, the negotiated 2% raise will be instated, plus the annual "step" increase, which is like $1,000 each year you stay in. Again, IF/WHEN the budget gets the stamp, it will be paid out, retroactive to July (which means windfall, with 3 months of increases coming at once).

Then the bad news. As part of the cuts, 208 (or so) unfilled jobs will be cut, and 126 existing jobs will be eliminated. There was an "emergency" meeting this afternoon that I missed due to picking up oldest and her friend from school. Rumor was (from my union rep who is also a teacher on my team) that the 126 people surplussed, if they choose to stay in the system, will be able to 'bump' anybody of lesser seniority out of their teaching position. This brings up all sorts of questions of school/team dynamics, seniority over quality, etc. Some of those teachers have been sitting on their asses, essentially invulnerable, just doing time to get their retirement. I imagine the teams they join will ostracize (wow, spelled that right on the first try) them for breaking up their teams, etc. I also assume that this will be limited to a single wave...in other words, if I got bumped out of my position, I wouldn't be able to bump somebody in return. That would essentially kill off a generation or two of new teachers, and cripple the system in a new and different way.

I have five years. Probably more than enough. I teach Math, a subject that gets the scrutiny along with Reading/Language Arts. I am highly qualified. "Remora" teachers, clinging to the system won't want to work hard and get results. But I am at a middle school that is probably the most desirable, both in terms of physical plant (building is only 8 years old) and environment, so it might attract some attention.

I've been saying I can cope with change. However this affects me or my school, I think I am going to get to prove my boast.

Cranky

This week has gone on long enough, dammit. If weather cooperated, I would be biking tomorrow, but oldest wants to invite a friend home with her, and needs me to get them from school. Since she socializes so little, we want to encourage it, but I get to sacrifice my exercise. On the other hand, I have a nasty scratchy acidic feeling on the back of my throat which should develop into a cold soon, so maybe rest is a good choice.

Feeling kind of alone.

Things I forgot

For example, Monday I took the oldest to the successor to the Mid-South Fair, the Delta Fair. Or as some call it "the white-people's fair" since the old fair is held in a pretty ugly part of town, attracts lower socio-economic demographics, and is kind of cheap and sleazy. Not that this wasn't, it was just not in the middle of a city. Same kind of food, same rides, etc. Got a dandy sunburn from four hours of cloudy but windy.

NetFlix is in the house. Got the first disk of Supernatural tonight, and enjoying the hell out of it. Also watched five episodes of Dexter online. Not sure how this will keep going, as shared experiences around here have a relatively short shelf life. I anticipate watching things myself and reporting back to the wife, or waiting an exorbitantly long time to watch them together, and having it never happen. Yes, cynical.

The saga of the school pep rally continued today. Not satisfied with canceling it at the last minute, and requiring teachers to refund the money, the school cut all the homeroom teachers a personal check and told us to cash it, get singles, and refund the money to the students by today. Since I didn't get to a bank until after they closed yesterday, and I get 20 minutes for lunch, I scraped up some singles and refunded most, then cashed the check this afternoon. Too much of a burden on us, especially for somebody else's screwup.

Mood: melancholy. Feeling kind of alone, surrounded by people. Socializing more at school, thinking about having some teachers over for grilling and gaming (Guitar Hero and Rock Band). Wife is going out of town early/mid-October - back to NYC for a "girls' weekend" whatever the hell that means. Not sure why this bothers me, but for somebody who didn't like my travel schedule when it was required for business, she is taking a whole bunch of personal trips, and not talking much about them.

I think too much.

Hardship

Today, with Gustav sending tendrils north, was not so fun. Train in my way, stopped dead. Waited a few minutes, then peeked down the tracks. Intersection a mile down was clear, so had to ride an extra bit, then go fast to make up the lost time. Not so easy with 30 mph headwinds on a bicycle that can only go 25 mph if I am going down a decent hill. Then I got to school and my peach (breakfast) had gone too far. Smelled good, but was pretty mealy and not sweet or flavorful. Choked down half imagining I was starving and needed the nutrition.

Left earlier than normal, too, to get home before any weather. Biking is getting much easier. No admirers today, though.

Lemon Tree

Not a parable, a morality play or any of those disguised stories with a message, but a little thoughtful story about my Lemon Tree.

Years ago, I got a little tiny lemon tree on clearance at one of those home improvement stores. It caught my eye. Lemon Tree was in a little one gallon plastic pot, with a couple or three tiny white flowers. There was potential. It was a comfortable time, with friends around, and Lemon Tree found a home in a newly cleared garden by the "patio." For lack of a better word. Because "ugly slab of decaying concrete" sounds less impressive.

As summer slid to fall, Lemon Tree produced a small lemon, very tiny but lemony. Perhaps the size of a fingernail. But perfect and cute. Fall slid further to winter, and Lemon Tree succumbed to a few days of hard frost. If I remember, we had 4 days around Christmas that never went above 20, and there was ice. Lemon Tree became a stick. And I wrote off Lemon Tree as a failure.

Spring did not change anything. The rest of the garden exploded with weeds and some bulbs that kept memories of absent friends alive. Lemon Tree remained a stick. Summer, though, brought a surprise. Leaves sprouted from Lemon Tree, and over the warm months it looked as though Lemon Tree would regain its former glory. Glossy, deep green leaves, long wicked looking spikes.

Winter, though, had other plans. Since Lemon Tree had survived once, I let it continue on borrowed time. Again, the frost reduced it to a stick, actually two sticks now. And when spring and summer came, again I had no hopes of seeing another rebirth. Lemon Tree was not destined to survive a week of harshness. Memories of orange farmers in Florida placing smudge pots among their groves to protect the trees from frost (well, actually the fruit) made me doubt.

Finally, late in June, Lemon Tree again burst forth with leaves and growth. This time I did not let it down, but gathered a shovel, a large pot and some tropical soil. And Lemon Tree became a commuter. It lived on the deck until late October, then moved several feet, in view of the deck from inside the french doors. And Lemon Tree continued to grow, slowly, basking in the weak winter sunlight, and protected from the harsher elements.

Spring commuted Lemon Tree back to the deck. This afternoon while smoking a brisket (which has nothing to do with inhaling), I admired it. From the former "sticks" two new shoots have emerged. The existing growth has flung forth branches with handfuls of leaves. Even in this relatively small pot (3 or 5 gallons), it is more than waist high. No blossoms or fruit since that initial surprise. And no single trunk to speak of, but a spreading, chaotic mess of leaves, thorns, branches and stems. And when winter threatens, back inside to bask. Eventually to a bigger pot, perhaps with casters, since it will be getting heavier. And it will always remind of of who, and when, and not to give up, even if things seem to have fallen through hardship.

Hot and Whatnot

Friday I rolled in behind a teacher friend. Literally. She let the door nearly hit me as I rode up. Didn't hear me coasting on my bike. On the way down the hall she mentioned that I must really be in shape with all the biking. Only when I got to my classroom did my radar go off. So I went back to her classroom (she was on my team the last 2 years, and we are decently close friends) and said to her "you sly fox, I realized what you did." She looked a little nervous so I explained - "when you asked about me being in shape, you hung back a little, and you were checking out my ass." She laughed and admitted she was checking out my calves. But still, a nice ego boost on a lazy Friday.

The day itself was uneventful. Test administered, handwritten progress reports issued. Test graded (most kids did really well, and I graded it gently). On the ride home, however, another ego boost (ok, not really). The final intersection I rode past about 3 cars in line, knowing I was going straight to a basically dead end street. My bike was still in a high gear, so to get going, I had to stand up in the saddle. And as I get to the other side, a pickup truck makes the left behind me and one of the contractors yelled something about "hey sexy"...so anyhow.

Signed up for Netflix this morning. Got a 30 day free trial, and so now I am watching some free online stuff. Dexter, Season 1. Almost bought it, then skipped it, and never watched it rerun on CBS. First episode was really interesting and a little creepy. Already ordered Season 1 of Supernatural (oldest daughter wants to watch it, too) followed by Torchwood. Just 1 disk at a time, but we wouldn't need more than that, anyhow.

Was out in Trenton today, for nephew's birthday (17, a year ahead of oldest, but they are in the same grade). His stepdad is a real Texan...got up at 4am to start smoking the dinner...we had brisket, pulled pork shoulder, ribs, chicken....a real meat faucet. And I plan to smoke my own brisket tomorrow, even though I don't know how many, if any, family members might wander by.

Sights along the way

Today was a non-day at school, nothing much of interest happened. Which is actually a good thing, since tomorrow all hell might break loose. Friday before a 3 day weekend. Progress reports going home, and a Pep Rally that has been touted all week will be announced to have been canceled (and lucky me, I get to be in charge of refunding $3 to all the students on my team who paid already).

Instead I think I will relate some crazy but typically Memphis things I get to see while driving. No, not the idiots or maniacs who drive, but the unusual. The non-emergency medical van label "Ray's Transpotation". The guy next to me in the turn lane today who had a nose that looked remarkably like a penis - I think he might have had some sort of medical condition. The woman who talked constantly on her cell phone while her two boys in the back seat (neither properly restrained) leaned out to the waist, then started tossing small papers and things from the windows on both sides, while she remained oblivious. Can't say I have seen any bumper stickers that have given me a chuckle...not much new under the sun on that front. Too many variations on the Jesus Fish, though...mucho tired of that.

One nice side effect of my exercise and increased metabolism...I don't feel the need to eat as much, or eat many sweets. Lots of water is very satisfying. Small snacks here and there, especially fruit. It is like my subconscious is getting my appetite in line.

Open House Mania

What a long day. Open house at the middle school - actually kind of fun. Had about 20 students and their parents visit my room. I was upbeat, shared (briefly) grade info with some parents, but mostly showed them my weebly page and told them about what we had been doing, how 7th grade is more hands-on, etc.

Then off to my youngest's open house at the elementary school. So I got to hear the opposite side, except en masse instead of parents trickling in over the course of 90 minutes. At least it was over in about 20 minutes. No real surprises, after having at least one of these for the last 6 years annually.

School is still upbeat. Teams are working really well together, and it is showing. Everybody is commenting (and being sincere about it) that this is the best start to a school year we have ever had. And that feeling is driving us to work harder to keep it that way. I stayed at school between dismissal and the beginning of the open house to get caught up on grading, and put batteries (4 AAA per) into 33 calculators. Nice suitcase full of TI-83s, plus I have a nifty transparent one to put on the overhead to show the kids how to use it. Maybe I will do some graphing with it, later. Also might be useful to teach the kids NOT to rely on a calculator, because if you screw up the order of operations, the calculator won't know what you meant to do.

Why me?

Another smooth-ish day, although some things kept me from getting everything done that I wanted, and much of that list was work that shouldn't have been heaped on me in the first place. Got tapped for traffic duty - we are trying to get the parents/relatives who pick up students to allow a lane for those who have already picked up to leave. So far, so good...today we got the place cleared in 15 minutes. Still, we had to be out there 45 minutes before dismissal...45 minutes of my planning period lost. Which means I am behind in entering attendance into the system for the first two weeks of the school year. Never mind we had to submit daily written logs of who showed up for every period, and they kept changing kids around (and my homeroom was the overflow/temporary assignment), now we have to put that into the computer. My impression, obviously wrong, was that the attendance secretary would put all that in as she took our logs. Nope.

Also, we were told we were dropping our old online communication for Teacher-Eaze (sp?), which means we put in grades weekly and parents can see them faster. This system will also allow us to generate progress reports. Guess what. The system is not set up yet. But, we are required to issue progress reports for every student (120 or so) by Friday. The old fashioned way, without benefit of a weighted average program, with minimal grades (since the first week was impossible to take grades, with the churn of students), and hand writing them on a form I just created for my team.

And trying to put painters tape around the perimeter of 32 one-square-foot tiles of dry-erase board. Got half of them before I decided to leave. At which point I discovered my back tire (the new one) was flat. Not just low, but flat. It was fine inbound, and odd that it could deflate that much over the course of a day. Yes, suspicions surfaced about my students, especially the ones who laughed after asking me what type of bike I had, after a period of my being in the hall trying to understand why two of my female students should have arrived at my class with the rest of them, but were 10 minutes later. The tube showed no leaks, but on the safe side I replaced it.

Biking, I have now retired (mostly) the fifth gear, and get by with just the top two. Only exception is at the beginning of each transit, especially in the morning when it takes me a bit to get the leg muscles warmed up. Weight-wise, the lying scale seems to be consistent over the past 3 weeks. Not losing, but not gaining either. Which means I am losing fat as my legs become like mighty oaks once again, since muscle weighs more than fat.

Wet

Coming out of school today, sprinkling. No biggie. But within a mile it was a downpour that clouded my sunglasses (yes, there was enough sun to need them) and threatened to flood my left contact lens out of my eye. Then the cool/cold rain stopped and the steam began to rise from the pavement. yuck. Plus the road grime that my tires kicked up into my face and up the back of me. Laundry time!

Counting down to a long weekend/short week combination. Still trying to focus on the positives (spinning quiz scores as "what you did right" instead of focusing on wrong answers), throwing in mini-lessons as time allows, and starting to formulate strategies on how to help students who were below proficient on the TCAP last year. Goal, set by the administration, is to reduce those numbers by 50%. Since I only had 8 last year....but none of those translated to 7th with me. I need to find out so I can target them.

Another week

It ended in flames, sort of, and the next one looks to be a challenge to find some hands-on stuff for the kids to do that relate to the lessons, although I might have that locked down.

I have quite a few students I taught last year. More than the 30% you would expect from just random classroom placement. One of the kids was just terribly spoiled, immature, disrespectful and disruptive. His mother ignored all four teachers' comments on his behavior, focusing only on his grades. When those started to slip, she took some notice, only because she plans for him to go to private high school, again ignoring the fact that if her son can't even control himself enough to be allowed to practice a sport, he isn't going to get past admissions.

I have him again. And in the first two weeks, he has made an impression on every one of his new teachers - the same impression he made last year. On Friday we got called into a meeting with his mental health caseworker. Seems that mid-June, right around the time his mother called me in the middle of a class at University (to, coincidentally ask me for more indications he might be ADHD), she submitted him for mental health services. She ignored teachers for 10 months, but 2 weeks of having him full time and she throws in the towel. Anyhow, on Friday the mom had sent the caseworker in to find out what was going on, as the boy tends to fabricate stories of what happens in school (with himself as the victim) and his mother believes him no matter how farfetched. We spent an hour talking with her, and him, as he got progressively more defiant and angry. Good that she got to see how he acts, regardless of who is around.

I don't think we are going to see any progress, because the mother isn't behind what we are trying to do, she just wants to delegate it, but not help, either with emotional support, or withholding the spoiling she is doing.

Keep having all sorts of anxiety dreams lately, too. Most are school related, but others have involved planning a dinner party and other strange things. Maybe having had three weather related days that kept me from riding my bike. Curse you Fay.

Uplifting Day

Strangely enough, the best part was our team meeting. We shared and talked and supported each other in order to keep stability in our classes. Everybody gave and took and shared...very different than other years. Everybody is also a "one"...I am the one white, we have one woman, one person new to the school...hell, the fourth person doesn't fit, but anyhow.

Spent time discussing different students, who needs interventions, who is acting out for attention, etc. Really acting as a team, and it makes me very optimistic.

Did a lot of presenting Guided Practice from the textbook website, something I like to do once a week. The kids show what they know to each other, and they see the answers and even learn the concepts from playing with the questions and answers. At once point I looked up to see an Asst. Principal and somebody else (could have been an inspector from the board *shrug*)...hopefully they were impressed with the use of technology and the guiding questions I was asking.

Oldest daughter woke up sick this morning. Just fed her some rice from dinner. Looks like she will make it to school tomorrow (she had been talking about going to see Casablanca downtown tomorrow night with a friend...not sure if that is still on). And I got to pick up her carpool as normal on Thursday. Routines begin again. I think our classes have finally leveled out and we can start getting down to business.