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.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, October 20, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, October 6, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
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.
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.
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