Happy belated B-day to Traci!

Happy birthday Traci!

I've been a horrible friend - I forgot to post your b-day! Ughy! I blame that damn Yankee Homecoming week in Newburyport and all the hours I worked at Paws last week!

Anywho. Traci - thank you for being such a supportive friend to me over the years. You are an amazing person. I watched you become the bestest Mom ever. Over the years, we've had our ups and downs in life but have always somehow kept in touch and helped each other through stuff.

Keep being a wonderful Mom and friend. I wish you much love and happiness on your extra special day.

And, please forgive an old friend for losing her mind!

Love ya kiddo!!!! :-)

Happy Birthday Dorky Paul!

Happy Birthday Dorky Paul!


I have no recent pictures of Dorky Paul.


Who is Dorky Paul? Dorky Paul and I met in college. We both went to Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL. We lived in Tanner Hall. We had some goofy and fun times in college.

We've had our ups and downs throughout the years but we've always kept in touch and always been there for each other.

Happy b-day Dorky Paul! Love ya lots!!!!

Happy Birthday Lauren!

To a dear friend - Happy Birthday!

You have been such a wonderful friend to me throughout the years. Thank you for always being there for me.

I wish you much love and happiness on your extra special day!

Hugs and Love- :-)

Started to update Travel Blog

I've started to update my travel blog. You can check it out here.

Also, check out the University of IL-Urbana-Champaign photo diary here. To access the photos of each week, just click on the dates and scan down. You may recognize a few pics of me. :-)

I highly recommend checking out the other blogs listed on the U of I photo diary web page. You'll get another perspective of the trip.

Oh, the answers to the previous post were:
1) Me, of course!
2) This photo was taken in Bogoliubovo at the Monasteries, built in the 12th century. It is currently a convent. The Russian Orthodox Church requires women to wear scarves on heads and a long skirt. I look like a Polish refugee because I didn't feel like wearing a skirt all day so I threw a skirt in my bag and pulled it over my capris (as did the other American teachers in my group) and then quickly tied the scarf on my head prior to walking into the Cathedral.

Here is a group photo:

Been busy

I've been busy so I haven't had a chance to post anything about my trip yet.

Here's a little "tease":

The teacher in me is coming out so here is a quick quiz:

1) Guess who?

2) Why is this person dressed this way?

Have fun commenting! :-)

Made it back to Boston safe and sound!

I arrived safe and sound back to Logan Airport last night. My plane arrived on time (which is rare). However, I had to wait almost 40 minutes for my luggage. For some reason, I don't think the airlines had enough employees working because my entire flight waited at the luggage claim for over 40 minutes for our luggage! I don't think I've ever had to wait that long for luggage!

Luckily, Carla picked me up at the airport - I had so much stuff to carry back home! I bought too much stuff in Russia.

I had a lovely visit with my parents and sister in IL. I was able to rest and relax for a few days too.

Some highlights:

*Dad took me to the storage place to see their new camper - here is a photo:

Dad put out the sliders to show me the full size of the camper - it's really roomy and comfortable! Mom and Dad are looking forward to living in their new home hopefully starting next summer.

*On Thursday night, Joann had a gathering at her place. We had Rips chicken! This is an old family favorite restaurant located in a town near where I grew up. Nice and greasy fried chicken - your cholesterol is guaranteed to go up! :-) Joann invited a bunch of my friends. Here is a group picture:

*Had a nice visit with Grandma. She still lives on her own at the age of 93! She asked me if I could take her grocery shopping so off we went! I forgot to take my camera so I wasn't able to capture the moment of us gals going shopping!

*Mom, Dad, Mandy, and I saw Hairspray on Friday night. Highly recommend the film - just to see John Travolta in drag is worth the admission ticket! :-)

*Mom made me all my favorite family foods while I was in IL. Thanks Mom!

*Mandy dropped me off at O'Hare Airport on Saturday. She wasn't looking forward to her company outing at Brookfield Zoo on Sunday (Hope you had some fun little Sis!). And, thanks for dropping me off at the airport.

I wish I could've seen more people but I really didn't have a lot of time. Plus, I really just wanted to rest from my journey from Russia.

I'll post more on my trip to Russia the next few days . . . I need to copy all 800 plus pictures to my computer!

Back in the USA!

Wow!

I'm back from Russia! My trip was one of most amazing experiences in my life. I have so many thoughts on what I've seen the past five weeks. The next few weeks, I'll post some stories and pictures that I can't really post on my travel blog (lots of reasons).

I'm at my parents house in Illinois right now resting and relaxing and visiting with family and friends.

I fly back to Boston on Saturday.

Feels great to be back home.

Visit me soon!

Do svidaniya (good bye). :-)

Countdown to Russia

Leaving for Russia . . .

OK folks!

All my school stuff is officially completed. Corrected projects. Corrected final exams. Entered grades into school system. Cleaned and packed up classroom. Checked out with the proper administrators. Had my last American meal in MA with two of my colleagues today for lunch.:-)

Now . . . packing! I can take two pieces of luggage and one carry-on. You should see me trying to pack everything I need for a month into a suitcase and a smaller suitcase. I think I'm going to be over the weight requirement for my domestic flight. I should be OK for the flight to Moscow. Ughy!

My brain is on overload right now - I'm trying to think of everything that needs to get done before I head out of here on Tuesday.

I won't be updating this blog while I'm in Russia. Please feel free to check out my travel blog. I will have limited access to the Internet while I'm in Russia.

Have a good month and I'll be in touch soon!

Lots of hugs and love to all!!!! :-)

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy!

This is Dad and I in 2003 - the picture was taken at Pokagon State Park in Indiana.

Happy Father's Dad to my Daddy! I know I can be a pain in the butt. I know that I can be stubborn. But, I get it from you! (Just kidding). :-)

I do love you Daddy! Thank you for everything you do for me. You are always there to stand behind me and support me. I do appreciate all the sacrifices you did for me when I was growing up. I hear a lot of your words coming out of my mouth now as an adult with my students. Scary, heh? I know I wasn't the "easiest" teenager growing up but you and Mom still stood behind me and believed in me.

Enjoy your extra special day!

I love you mucho!!!! :-)

This lovely picture is a flashback from my 8th grade graduation in 1985. Notice the big 80's hairdo on Mandy and I. :-)

This picture is from Mom and Dad's Surprise 25th Wedding Anniversary Party in 1994. Are you feeling the love???

Winding things down at school and home . . . . . .

I'm slowing getting things done.

Check list:
*Bought all my toiletries for my trip.
*Graded projects.
*Ellie the Cat is taken care of - thanks to Aileen! :-)
*Prescriptions all set.
*Travel to Logan Airport in Boston is all set.
*Contacted my bank to notify them I'm traveling to Russia so they don't do something stupid - like stop ALL transactions! Ughy!
*Contacted my health insurance to notify them I'm going to Russia.
*Cleaned and packed up classroom materials.
*Put my Netflix account on hold.
*Notified my condo association that I'll be gone for a month.
*Stop mail service.
*Travel blog all set.

What needs to be done:
*Finish grading final exams.
*Enter final grades into Gradekeeper and print out sheets for my students so they can pick up thier grades on Monday.
*Enter grades into school system for report cards.
*PACK!
*Hair appt on Tuesday morning before I leave.
*Pedicure.
*Get money out of savings account for my trip.
*Pay bills
*Gifts for my host families.

I'm probably missing a ton of stuff. If I have the time, I'll update my list.

I work all weekend so this should be interesting if I can get everything done that needs to get down. Ughy!

Oh, add to this, I had to deal with four of my Honors students that plagiarized their research papers. They will receive zeros for their grade which will impact their final grade for 4th quarter. The best part: one of the students - their Mom is an English teacher in my building! Joy! That was a drama in itself yesterday! Ughy! :-(

Can my life get anymore exciting and busy?????????

I SO have to post this picture!!!!

Picture this. Janet and I. Rainforest Cafe at the Burlington Mall. Mr. Frog wants to take a picture with me.

Strike a pose M-Dawg! :-)

Good times!

Thanks Janet for emailing me the picture.

PS I saved the picture on my desktop on my school computer. I'm such a dork! :-)

What is the meaning of summer?

For me, the meaning of summer is fishing. I have some nice memories of going fishing with my Dad.

My friend Cheryl from IL emailed me these pictures of her and her family fishing.


Isn't summer great?

This picture is (left to right) Corey, Brian, and Jacob.

This is Cheryl catching a fish!

Good job Hunt family! :-)

I have a little thief in my classroom

I'm very upset right now.

One of my students had her IPod stolen yesterday in my classroom. Now, let me first state that I don't allow IPods in my classroom. However, this student was digging out her project for me that she needed to turn in and she left her cell phone and IPod out on her desk (She keeps these items in her bag to be used before and after school). She walked over to my desk to staple her research paper. She went back to her desk and the IPod was gone. I wanted the police officer in our building to come down but he was in a meeting so my Freshman Housemaster came down into my classroom. He searched every student book bag and even searched the kids. Nothing. But, at least four students named a "potential" thief. The boy they all mentioned is on probation right now for stealing and having a gun (14 years old) - he was transferred from another school. This kid has quite the criminal record already. The Housemaster searched him twice. Found nothing. However, the Housemaster made the comment that it is possible for the boy to have the IPod down his crotch. Yes, you read it correctly. And, we can't search him "in that area" (for obvious reasons).

This girl is the sweetest thing. She is one of my hardest workers in class. She struggles with school but wants to do well in life. She gets good grades so that she can go to a good college. She is from the Dominican Republic and her father worked very hard to purchase this $250 IPod for her (Her father adores her - he really wants the best for her). She was absolutely devastated yesterday. And the ironic thing - in the morning, she found a cell phone and returned it to the housemaster because she's an honest kid. See where kindness and honesty gets ya???

Fast forward to today: The Math teacher on my team has one of our girls out in the hallway and she's crying. HER IPod was stolen out of outside pocket of her book bag. Guess what kid is in the class? So, the Math teacher asked me to go get the Housemaster. I got him and he searched all the kids again and nothing turned up.

What is up with these kids?

I told the Housemaster if this stealing thing with IPods happens again next week and that kid is in the room, I think they should call the police and have the police search the kid. I wouldn't screw around with the situation at that point. The kid has some serious issues.

The Housemaster did explain to BOTH girls that they shouldn't have the IPods in school. Unfortunately, it's a hard lesson to learn for both girls.

Before I dismissed my kids after the search, I told them how hard I had worked to create a safe environment in my classroom and that was completely blown today. A few of the other students came up to up afterwards and told me how violated they felt about the stealing. I have to admit that I feel violated too.

The Internal Battle . . . . to be sick or not to be sick . . . that is the question!

My body is having a battle of whether or not it wants to be sick and blah OR healthy right now.

The dark side (the sick, blah part) may be winning the battle folks. . . . .

I have Sunday off so I hope I can make it . . . . .

Tired. Very tired.

I'm drinking a glass of orange juice as I type this post. Think it will help????? :-)

Exhaustion is the word of the day!

What can I say? I'm tired. I'm exhausted. And, I'm buried with school work right now. Overworked and underpaid doesn't flow very well with me right now.

I do it to myself at the end of every school year. Only this time, I have the Russia trip to get ready for on top of everything else.

If I've been out touch with folks - it's because when I do have ONE moment to myself, I choose to sleep. So, please don't be upset with me if I've been unable to comment on blogs or email back right away. I am trying to do the best that I can right now.

I'm also working a ton more hours at the doggie store. The owner of the store has a VERY sick Dalmatian so the owner hasn't be able to work her normal hours so all of the employees have been picking up extra hours to help her out - including me. The money will be nice for my trip but it's making me a tad bit more tired than normal. For example, last week I worked over 22 hours at Paws on top of my crazy hours that I put into school. I kept track of my school hours last week - I worked over 50 hours! Ughy! No wonder I'm not feeling like myself right now.

Our union STILL hasn't negotiated our contract yet which means that we are entering into the second year that the City of Salem has saved a ton of money by NOT paying us what we deserve. I really can't afford to be making the same salary for the second year in a row.

People keep asking me if I'm excited about my trip to Russia. Of course I am excited but I have so much stuff to do before I leave that I can't even think about it right now.

Oh, the local paper did publish the story on me going to Russia. However, when you try and check it out online, it's part of the Plus edition. Here is a snippet. There was a picture of me too. If you want a photocopy of the article, let me know and I can mail it out to you.

Oh, and to add more fun to this scenario - there have been a lot of teachers out since everyone is trying to use up their personal days so that means substitute teachers. Our subs are horrible! They never do their job. Last week, I ended up having to pull apart a wrestling match (yes, you read it correctly) in a classroom as the sub was watching and laughing in the middle of a classroom. I happened to be walking by the room and heard laughing and yelling. This also happened on a day of which I teach three 90 minute classes in a row and have the last block for my prep block (I'm supposed to be making phone calls to parents, photocopying materials, correcting papers, attend meetings, etc. during this block). So needless to say, I wasn't very happy about having to do someone else's job at the end of the day. Every day last week, either myself or my other colleagues had to intervene and monitor the subs. We've all complained to administration about how incompetent the subs are but since it's the end of the school year, no one else wants the job so a bad sub is better than no sub. Nice mentality. Ughy!

So, that sums up stuff here.

Great day off . . . thank you Sir, may I have another????

Ahhh! A day off is great for the soul! :-)

I did nothing! Yes, you heard correct. Nothing! I stayed in my pajamas all day and Ellie the Cat and I cuddled on the couch and watched movies. I rented the following chick flicks and watched them to my hearts content:
Because I Said So
The Holiday
Catch and Release

With the exceptional of Sunday, I worked the entire weekend. I really could use another day off but I can't afford to take off any time from school since I'm leaving early for my trip to Russia. And, I have all sorts of curriculum to teach.

I know that I need to take care of myself too so I'm trying to eat more fruits and veggies. I'm also trying to go to bed earlier at night.

What do you do to relax and unwind in the evenings????

I'm exhausted and in desperate need of a day off!

The week has been long, don't ya think?

We had MCAS this week (3 hour delay for the students not taking the test and then an abbreviated schedule for the rest of the day which means not being productive in my curriculum) - Math and US History (FYI: Kids already took English Language Arts). I had to proctor the US History - the state must think that the material after the Civil War is more important since the three hour test focused on everything from the Civil War to the present. MCAS is almost over - we still have the Biology and Chemistry tests on June 5th and 6th. Ughy!

I worked on Thursday from 3:15 until 10:00 last night (Don't forget that I'm up at 5:00 am and that I teach from 7:24-2:02). There is lots going on at Paws. The owner has four Dalmatians. Yes, they are VERY adorable! :-) One of them - Jasmine - is really sick and is dying of cancer in her liver and spleen. So, the owner can't work at this store this weekend since she needs to take care of Jasmine. The rest of us are pulling in a ton of hours to help her out. And the fun part of this: Newburyport is having a festival this weekend which will make the store VERY busy! I feel so bad for the owner - she's really having a tough time right now. Plus, she got a phone call last night that her father was rushed to the hospital (he lives down in North Carolina). I'm working a ton of hours tomorrow and Monday. And, I'm on call for tonight.

The Seniors had their last day of school today. Their senior prank was camping out in front of the school entrance in tents and they parked their cars funny in the parking lots so the faculty couldn't park their cars this morning. At 11:00 am, they all got into their cars and drove around the school for 30 minutes honking their horns. Joy! Next week, they have senior week activities (Six Flags, Harbor Cruise in Boston, Barbecue, and graduation on Friday night). I didn't know any of the kids so I won't be attending the ceremony. The seniors at my last school are graduating so I'm going to try and attend that graduation - they were freshman when I had them as students.

Have a good weekend all and if you are bored on Saturday or Monday, come visit me at the doggie store! :-)

I was interviewed by a reporter today for the Fulbright-Hays Grant.

A reporter from our local paper came into school today to interview me for the Fulbright-Hays grant. He also brought with him a photographer to take a few pictures of me. I felt so uncomfortable having my picture taken. The photographer had me leaning up against one of the poles of the entrance of the school (please keep your mind clean). Hopefully the picture they end up using for the article is a nice photo of me.

I really hope that the article receives some positive publicity for my school. Unfortunately, we've received some negative press lately so it would be nice to portray my school in a positive light.

The reporter told me that the article would be in the paper by the end of this week or early part of next week. I'll keep everyone posted.

Happy Birthday Mandy!

Happy Birthday to my little sister!

Hope your day was extra special kiddo!

Sending ya lots of hugs!

Going on weekend #2 of working at second job and no day off!

Yes! You read correctly! I haven't had a day off since I took my personal day on May 7th. The next day off I have will be May 27th.

And, to add more fun - the owner had extended the hours of the store to summer hours so I'm working more hours on top of teaching. Yes - I know I said I needed money for my trip. I have to admit that I'm feeling this "not having a day off" thing. I'm so exhausted right now. I've been working between 15-20 hours at my part-time job per week. Add to that - my 45-60 hours that I put into my teaching job. Ughy! No wonder I'm feeling not having a day off.

The money has been good for my trip but my body is feeling.

Oh, countdown of going to Russia: ONE MONTH!!!! :-)

Congrats to Carla!

My friend Carla just called to tell me that her Thesis Paper was finally approved so she officially has a Masters degree from the University of New Hampshire!!!!

Carla and I used to team teach World Studies at Timberlane. Carla taught the English and I did the History. We used to have so much fun teaching together and making those great connections in History and Literature.

Carla is currently teaching up in Maine and teaches AP English.

Carla's goal is to teach at the college/university level - the next step - her PhD!

I'm so very proud of her! Congratulations Carla!

Go Carla Go!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I Love You Mom!
Mom's smiles can brighten any moment, Mom's hugs put joy in all our days, Mom's love will stay with us forever and touch our lives in precious ways...
The values you've taught, the care you've given, and the wonderful love you've shown, have enriched my life in more ways than I can count.
I Love you Mom!

Thank you for being such a great Mom!

PS I think we need to have another picture taken of the two of us. :-)

It's been a longgggggg week!

What can I say??? It's been a long week.

*Took a personal day on Monday. Good thing. Come back to school on Tuesday - found out that a student decided to bring a semiautomatic into the school and was arrested. Bad thing. Administration didn't inform any faculty member about what happened on Monday and all the teachers read about the incident in the newspaper the next morning. Really bad thing.

*One of our senior boys was killed in a car accident. My school hasn't had a death of a student in over 10 years. Speed was the cause. The boy was a very popular kid and well liked so the student population is having a tough time. They had the wake and funeral this week so the emotions were up and down throughout the student population.

*On Friday, another student brought in a knife and was arrested. This time, my Principal had an emergency faculty meeting to tell us.

*Thought the drama of the Freshman Fling was over. I was wrong. It still continues. Ughy!

As you can see, it's been a roller coaster of a ride the past week in the land of M-Dawg. And, I was actually trying to teach something this week on top of everything else! Imagine that!

The next month or so is my crazy time. Let me apologize ahead of time if I don't email or comment on blogs right away. The end of the school year can be a very stressful and busy time for a teacher. Add to it that I'm working more hours at my part-time job. And, I'm getting ready to leave for Russia (Consult my countdown). :-)

Oh, a reporter from our local newspaper is supposed to be coming in next week to do a story on me and the Fulbright-Hays grant. Cool stuff.

Tell me again why I teach???

Read all about it here.

The administration didn't even tell us about it. We read about it on the front page of our local newspaper!

Ugh!

Healthy reading

I read a lot of blogs. I try to read most of them everyday but I just don't have the time to read every single blog that I have bookmarked in my favorite folder.

Lately, I've been "on the dark side." So, I decided to post a few positive blogs that I enjoy reading.

Here are a few blogs that I find enjoyable:
*Ali Edwards Blog - Ali is the creative editor for Creating Keepsakes, a scrapbooking magazine for those of you that are not familiar with it. Ali's blog is very inspirational. I enjoy reading her blog because she gets me to stop and think about life. As a scrapbooker, I'm always looking for creative and fun ways to express myself and her blog challenges help me to find that extra help that I need to scrapbook.

*The Quaker Agitator - Talk about a great web site trying to get the word out there about and educating folks about the war in Iraq, Darfur, etc. . . . amazing! The human rights issues that are discussed on this blog will blow you away!

*History is Elementary - I wish that all elementary teachers had as much compassion and love of history as this lady does in her classroom. She does an amazing job and I really enjoy reading about the activities and stories in her classroom.

*Ogretmen - This blog is written by a New York City Middle School Science teacher that is living over in Turkey on a year long Fulbright. I've been reading her blog since the beginning of her journey in Turkey (June 2006) and I've learned so much from her. Her photographs of her excursions on breaks are just spectacular! Reading her blog and admiring her pictures makes me want to visit Turkey someday.

*World History Blog - I like this blog because it makes me think about World History. And, since I teach four blocks of World History, this is a good thing. :-) The author always shares great information to use in your classroom.

Are there any favorite and inspirational blogs that you enjoying reading every single day?

Personal Day . . .

I took a personal day today. I had made a Dr's Appt. last month and it's the kind of Dr's appt that you really need to take the whole day off. That's all I'm saying about that. :-(

Here's my To Do List for the Day:
*Get my car inspected.
*Take Ellie the Cat to Petco to get her nails clipped. She won't let me do it and I'll pay the $8.00 to have them deal with it.
*Library.
*Bank.
*Grocery Shopping.
*Do laundry.
*Dr's Appt.
*School work - I'm proud to say I got most of my correcting done last week. I still have my US History -Honors Star Spangled Banner Project to grade. I like to be caught up on my correcting since it can be overwhelming if you wait until the last minute.
*Plan out the rest of the year for my US History -Honors class. I already did my World Studies until the end of the year. World Studies was easy since I've taught the World History curriculum a million times. The US History curriculum is new for me this year. I have to be honest - I don't enjoy the first half of US History. I enjoy the American Revolution and the Civil War - everything else in between just sucks! :-)

I know it's quite a list but I really need to get this stuff done today. And, can I just say it's an absolutely gorgeous day in New England??????? :-)

They finally got over it!

It was a long week last week of drama with the freshman but they finally got over not having their Fling. Yeah!

I stayed at school last week late almost everyday to get stuff done. I always feel like I'm playing catch up with correcting. Plus, I'm trying to get all my curriculum taught that needs to get taught a week earlier than everyone else on the freshman team since I'm leaving for Russia. The Freshman World Studies teachers agreed that we would have to stop at World War II. We have new curriculum this year for World Studies so we were supposed to get to Modern Times such as September 11th or even the war in Iraq. The problem is (like most World History curriculum in the country) is that it's too much curriculum to be taught in one year. And, our state test doesn't even test World History - it only tests US History.

I received permission from my Principal to have my students take their final exams a week a head of time so I could get everything done (grades and correcting of exams). My last day will be June 18th. The students get out of school on June 21st. The last day for teachers is the 22nd.

And silly me . . . . I have two major projects coming in the week before my exams. The World Studies kids have a project on who they think the most influential person in World History would be including a six page research paper and a vision of some sort. My US History kids have a Civil War Scrapbook Project due as well. What the hell was I thinking having these projects due so close to the end of the school year????????? :-)

Plus, I'm picking up more hours at the doggie store for extra money for my trip.

If I don't respond to emails right away or comment on blogs, you can sorta see why . . . .

Mom and Dad's soon-to-be-new-home

This will be Mom and Dad's new home starting next summer. They are sooooo excited about the next adventure in their life!

Here is a picture of Mom and Dad in front of their new home!

The plan will be that they will travel all over the United States. In fact, one of their first big trips will out here in New England (which I'm soooo thrilled). Mom has been making her list of all the places she wants to check out and visit. She's a die hard fan of the Travel Channel so I think that list is growing! :-)

The "good kids" are upset over what happened on Friday

Today, I had to deal with the flack and disappointment of no Fling dance on May 11th. The freshman administrator was out of the building today for a conference so it fell on me to handle damage control.

The parents are upset. They are complaining that "it's not fair." Yes, they spent a ton of money on the clothing for this dance.

The kids are upset because they feel they shouldn't be punished for what other kids did wrong.

The freshman teachers are standing by their decision that the Fling should be cancelled.

The non-freshman teachers who were not even in the auditorium during the 1st assembly feel that the Freshman teachers "over-reacted."

This is my opinion: Guess what???? Life is not fair! I refuse to be treated with no respect and have no consequences for those students actions would be a disservice to them and their future. I will not be treated like shit. I don't get paid enough as a class advisor to be treated like shit. The 16 freshman teachers in that auditorium 100% agreed with me and supported the decision that the administration made for the situation.

I stand behind that decision!

Just a few pictures of Cheryl and her hubby

Thanks Cheryl for emailing me pics of you and Brian. You'd think after all these years of us being friends and getting together that I'd have a picture of the two of you.

Smile pretty for the camera! :-)

I love this picture!

A very rough day for M-Dawg . . . .

It's a rainy day here in MA today. Dreary. Sorta fit my mood all day long. Had some drama at school today. It wouldn't be a productive day without the drama.

I had arranged for a Freshman House assembly today during Homeroom to go over details regarding the Freshman Fling, MCAS Schedule, the new bell schedule next week (that's a separate story), and class dues. It's a huge production to process the paperwork and get permission to have an assembly. I have 392 freshman in the class. As Freshman Class Adviser, I played the game and fulfilled all the requirements. These kids had assemblies throughout the school year so an assembly is NOT something new to them and we've spent a lot of time going over proper behavior during an assembly.

We (the Freshman House teachers) brought the kids down to the auditorium. It took them over 20 minutes to just sit in their seats. I kid you not! We finally had them seated and they wouldn't stop talking and screwing around. Two boys start to fight in their chairs. Another kid was talking on his cell phone. The ridiculousness of the situation continued to get worse throughout the assembly. The Housemaster spoke for a few minutes to the kids and then introduced me to talk (he left the auditorium to go to another meeting). I get up to speak and some of the kids start to boo me! What the %@^@?????

I try and talk about the Fling and every time I would talk, they would be disrespectful to me - yelling, hollering, etc. I finally asked my class officers to speak because I was getting very frustrated with the situation. The class did the same thing to the officers - totally disrespected the officers too. Finally, one of the Science teachers tried to calm the kids down and one of the kids started yelling at the teacher to go away. I pulled the plug from the assembly and told them all to go back to class since they couldn't behave like human beings.

Every single Freshman teacher came up to me and told me that this class does not deserve to have a semi formal dance based on their behavior. I agreed. So, we all went to the administration to tell them what happened and the administration supported me by cancelling the dance.

We called an emergency assembly at the end of the day to talk to the kids about their behavior and try and get them to realize that there would be consequences for their behavior. At the second assembly, they continued to be rude even to the Principal! I was horrified! The decision was made to cancel the dance. The kids were angry and upset. Unfortunately, the problem was the silent majority of the kids were behaving but they are afraid of the obnoxious kids and voicing their opinions. At the second assembly, the Freshman Housemaster told the kids that those students that are fed up with the minority of idiots in the building that ruin the school environment should start to take back their school. I told one of my classes that when one of their classmates acts up, tell them to knock it off. Speak up!

So, now I'm dealing with parents called and complaining about cancelling the dance. There needs to be consequences for their actions - even the good students. The good students are just as guilty since they did not speak up to their classmates that ruined the assembly for the entire class.

And to add more fun to my day, I had a parent meeting today after school regarding an issue of forging a grade on a paper and claiming that I made the mistake. The marked grade clearly was not my handwriting.

As I sit here tonight exhausted and emotionally drained from all the drama and meetings I had to sit in today, I think to myself, "Why did I agree to be a class adviser again????"

I will be resigning my position of class adviser at the end of the school year. This event clearly pushed me over the edge but there were other issues as well. My officers not doing any of the work or organizing for the Fling dance, the officers blowing off meetings after school and then lying to me about why they can't show up for a 20 minute meeting after school, and the woman that is in charge of all the advisers not providing any support to me are just a few more reasons why I can't be the class adviser any longer.

That was my day in a nut shell. Oh, and I was supposed to teach my three classes in a row today. So, how many of you want to run out become a teacher?????

Boris Yeltsin 1931-2007

We don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. Freedom is like that. It's like air. When you have it, you don't notice it.
Boris Yeltsin, 1995

RIP Boris . . . . . . .

Happy Anniversary Brian and Cheryl!

I wish I had a picture of the two of them.

Happy Anniversary to Cheryl and Brian. You've got some great kids and a great marriage. Love each other. Accept each other. And, most importantly, keep on smiling!

Lots of hugs to you both!

Back to the grind . . . .

Is it June yet????

I'm such a bad teacher! :-)

Busy week

It has been a busy yet productive week.

*I booked a DJ for the Freshman Fling. It's going to cost the kids a lot of money but that is what they get for waiting until the last minute.

*Went to the New England Aquarium on Tuesday. I had a fantastic time! The penguins were my favorite! I could watch them all day long. Afterwards, Michelle and I walked over the Faneuil Hall and had lunch here. Yes, it was a bit touristy but the food was yummy! We saw a ton of folks walking around Boston that had run the Boston Marathon the day before (they were wearing the official jacket of the marathon). I think if I ran 26.2 miles, I'd have to ride in a wheelchair for the rest of the week! :-)

*Did a ton of school work. I'm trying to plan out the rest of the school year with my curriculum. I also have a meeting next week with my Principal so we can discuss the end of the year.

*Saw The Italian at the Screening Room in Newburyport last night. It's a Russian film about a young orphan boy, Vanya and his goal of finding his birth mother. Vanya is supposed to be adopted by an Italian family but he wants to find his birth mother. The film was pretty good - not your typical "hard or depressing" Russian film.

*Working a ton of hours this week at Paws. I really need to get as much money as I can before I leave for Russia.

*Had some blood work done. Nothing serious. Just routine stuff before my Dr. appt. I need to have a Dr sign off on my paperwork for Russia. I may have to get some shots too. I have my appt on Wednesday of next week so we shall see what he has to say about the shots.

*Filled out paperwork for the Fulbright-Hays. My goodness! A lot of paperwork! I feel like I'm signing my life away!

*Had a hair appointment. Went a tad bit lighter on my highlights and cut about 1 1/2 inches to make my hair healthier.

*Met Janet-poo for dinner. We ate here. Yummy!!!! We then hung out at Barnes & Noble for a few hours. I bought a How to Learn Russian in your car CD to help me learn a little of the language. I figured I might as well use that commuting time productively! :-)

*Dentist appt was on Wednesday. I had two fillings! I used Novocaine for the first time. I thought I could suck it up. No luck! :-( I couldn't talk normally for over three hours! My Mom called me to check in and she was making fun of me! No kidding . . . thanks Mom!

So, that was my week. Productive yet some fun thrown in for kicks!

Random post . . . .

Just some thoughts:

*I totally forgot to give a shot out to Brian Hunt - my friend Cheryl's husband. Last week was his birthday. Happy belated birthday Brian! Hope Cheryl and the boys were extra good to you.

*One of my colleagues at school ran the Boston Marathon on Monday. His time: 3:43:54. Go Dan go! :-)

*The college shootings today in Virginia. So sad. I just don't get all this violence in our world. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all the victims tonight.

*I purchased a Learn the Russian Language in the Car CD. I figured I'd might as well make my 30-90 minute commute more educational and useful. Hopefully, I will pick up some key terms.

*I think I may start building an ark - Noah had the right idea. We are getting so much rain this week. The sun doesn't show up on the weather map until Friday. Blah!

*My folks are camping this week in their new camper with Uncle Jim and Aunt Marilyn here. The first official christening of the new homestead. :-)

*I have to share this cute picture that my friend Traci emailed today. It's her husband Mark and their son Jeffrey! Is this not the cutest thing ever????

I'm on April vacation!!!!!

It's official!

I'm on break.

It's a break but not a break.

Got lots to do.

Working a ton at Paws this next week. Want to make as much money as possible before I leave for Russia.

Have Doctor and Dentist Appt.

Have hair appt.

Meeting my friend Janet for dinner.

Going to New England Aquarium with my friend Michelle for the day (I work with Michelle). I best part - I can use my union card and get in for free! I'm so excited because I've never been here.

Fill out all my paperwork for the Fulbright-Hays grant. Trust me, it's a lot!!!!!!!

Do some school work. Joy - I can't avoid it.

I'll check in periodically throughout the week.

Have a great week everyone . . . . . .

Positive thoughts

I know that lately this blog has gone to the "dark side." The negative space. And, it's not a good thing.

So, today I will talk about a positive event. I just want to point out that I did have some students that did well 3rd Quarter. Those students really worked their butts off and did an amazing job. I gave them words of encouragement throughout the quarter by "harassing them" in the hallway - "Did you do the homework assignment?" or "Don't forget you have a quiz tomorrow!" I also gave them cards and free homework passes. I had 15 failures but 100 students passed my classes. I should be focusing on the passing grades and not the failures. Teaching on the freshman team, we are given the stats of the failure rates instead of the passing rate and the focus is always on the negative and how we can improve the negative.

I think part of the problem is that the building I work in so pretty negative. When you have icky thinking in the workplace, it tends to grow like mold! And, the kids feel the vibe too.

I AM proud of those kids that brought up their grades considerably - these were kids that had failing grades throughout the school year and are working hard to bring up the grade so they can pass for the school year. For example, I had one kid that's been getting 40's for grades but brought up their grade to a 71! This is a wonderful thing!

Does anyone have any ideas of how to stop the "stinky thinking" and get back to that positive vibe?????

I DID IT!

I'm done with calculating and entering my grades into the computer.

Yeah for me. :-)

Oh, I had another drama today:
*Two of my Honors World Studies students came up to me to show me a grade on their paper that I "supposedly" neglected to write in my grade book (these students are best friends). Problem: the grade on the paper is NOT my handwriting! AND, it's pretty obvious that one of the students wrote the grade since it's in HER handwriting. So, guess whose parents I get to call during my lunch tomorrow???? And to add more fun to this joyous occasion - one of the parents that I need to talk to is known as the psycho parent on my team. Joy!

How dumb do you think I am folks???????

Is it Friday yet?????

3rd Quarter Grades are due by Wednesday @ 3:00 pm!

Can M-Dawg do it? Can she get all the grades calculated and entered into the school system????

So, I'm winding down 3rd quarter which means that grades are due . . . ah, tomorrow! Ughy!

Today in my three classes (US History Honors, World Studies Honors, and World Studies College Prep), I gave out printouts of their grades for 3rd quarter so they know before the report card comes out what they are getting for a grade. What a concept! Actually being informed of what they EARNED for 3rd quarter! Never mind that I give them EACH a "Keeping Score" sheet so THEY can keep track of their OWN grades. Very few of them actually keep track of their own grades.

In my World Studies Honors class, I had an interesting drama:
*As I'm passing out grade sheets, one of my female students (who never pays attention or hands in homework assignments) asks if she can ask me a question regarding her grade. I had already explained that if she (or anyone else) had issues or concerns that she (they) can come see me after school on HER (their) time. She ignores my remark and tells me that I've "made a mistake" on her grade sheet. I asked what was the mistake. She tells me that she was absent on this one particular day and that the zero for the missing assignment needs to be deleted. Why? "Well, M-Dawg, I was absent! I'm not responsible for making up the work that I missed in class that day." Hmmmm? I try and explain to her that it states on my syllabus and I've reminded them a million times that whenever they are absent, they are to see me for the missing work and assignments. This girl barely gets C's in my Honors class - I didn't recommend her to stay in Honors next year but her mother waived her in anyway.

In my World Studies College Prep class, I had this drama:
*One of my students chose to cut my class last Thursday. Thursday was the last day a teacher could accept any late or missing work. I don't accept missing or late work except if the student has an excused absence. This student "freaks out" on me about not accepting his homework from the last class. I'm trying to explain to him that since he cut my class, I'm not under any obligation to take the assignment for a grade (this is stated in the Student Handbook). He was yelling in my face and I kept stepping back since he was in "my personal space." He then calls me a "racist." For anyone that knows me, I'm soooo not a "racist" - this student was upset and angry over a bad choice that he made and now he will have to suffer the consequences. He was taking his anger out on me. I kept explaining to him that I don't accept any missing work from a student that cuts my class. I don't care who or what you are! I have to say I was somewhat amused by his comment. Trust me, if I was a racist, would I be working at an inner city school???????? I think not. I did ask him to step out in the hallway to calm down. Unfortuntely, this is a kid that is never held accountable for his actions. So, I wrote him up and we shall what happens. I did try and speak to him after class and he was still too angry to talk to me.

Tomorrow, I give out grades to two classes. I wonder if anyone will "go off" on me?????????

Ahhh . . . the books I've read!

Saw this on many blogs the past month and thought I'd give it a go!
*Look at the list of books below.
*Bold the ones you’ve read.
*Italicize the ones you want to read.
*Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) - Book Club - Loved it!
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) - amazing book!
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)-a high school read
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) - Wow!
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)-love this book!
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)-it was OK
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel) - Book Club -not a huge fan
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)-Oh, soooo dramatic!!!!
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom) - I cried!
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) - the movie sucked!
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) - good chick flick
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)-High school read
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb) - Good - She's Come Undone is better.
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) - thanks for Carla and the rest of the English teachers for the summer read at Timberlane.
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) - Book Club - Amazing!!!!
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)-brainless read
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom) - Wow!
45. Bible-I was brought up Catholic, what do you expect????
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) - good read - Teacher Man is good too!
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb) - AMAZING BOOK! I could so relate to the main character!!!!
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) - not a huge Dickens fan - my teaching partner made me read this book - I hated it!
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger) - Been wanting to read this one.
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) - Nothing like a long Russian novel!
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy) LONG!
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice) - I think every high school in the 80's read this book!
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)-Love this!!!!
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding) - great chick book and movie!
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)-Great childhood memories of this book.
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)- high school read - didn't like it.
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd) Book Club - Loved it!
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
101. Jurassic Park

Happy Easter!

A little Easter humor . . . .

Happy Easter All!!!!!

Excitement! :-)

What can I say??? I'm really excited and I wonder how I'm going to make it through to June 19th! I have so much to do prior to leaving . . . lots of paperwork to fill out for the trip, go to Doctor for a check-up and updates of shots, get a Travel Debt/Credit Card from AAA, read up on Russian History, PACK for five weeks, plus get all my final exams graded and grades calculated before I leave on the 19th of June. There's obviously more to do before I leave but this is the main stuff.

The director of the U of I Fulbright-Hays program has been sending us a ton of reading packets to brush up on Russia prior to our trip (she sends the readings as attachments through Microsoft Word documents). She also emailed us a form to fill out about our host families. It's a questionnaire asking us our preferences such as smoking vs. nonsmoking families, do we have allergies, special eating preferences, etc.

I had Friday off from school (Good Friday). I had made an appointment at Saturn to get an oil change and get some stuff fixed on my car. That's the disadvantage of commuting . . . I'm putting more wear and tear on my car so things are starting to go wrong with it. I correcting my school work for three hours at Saturn. $600 later - I walked out. Ughy!

I went over to Borders afterwards to check out some travel books on Russia. I found three books that I think will be great references for my trip.

I'm going to start up a travel blog soon to document my experiences. I'll be giving out the address to family, friends, colleagues, and my students. I thought it would be fun for the kids to read about M-Dawg. :-)

What are the plans for the weekend? I work today at Paws. I don't know if it will be busy or not since it's the day before Easter. Believe it or not, folks get Easter stuff for their pets too! I hope to see a few of our "regulars" come in today: Bula the English Bull Dog, Sasha the Poodle, etc. Bula is my favorite!!! She's my baby girl! :-)

Not doing too much on Easter. I bought myself a small spiral ham, making Mom's Green Rice, and some green bean casserole for my meal. I had a few invites but I really just want to relax. Carla mentioned something about seeing a movie on Sunday night so I might do that.

I have all next week in school and that following week we are on April break. Looking forward to getting some stuff done since I won't have another day off until Memorial Day.

Update on Russia Trip

Thanks to all that commented on my last post.

I also should clarify something I said about my parents and them not being proud of me. I know they are proud of me. They are not saying it to me but I know they are proud. I called my Grandma last night to tell her the good news and she told me that my Dad had called her to tell her earlier in the day. She told me how proud and excited he was in sharing this good news with her.

You'd think that after all these years that I could live my life without having to have the acceptance or approval of my parents in any of my life decisions. I guess it doesn't work that way.

And, I know that I'm not a parent yet. I know they are worried about me and that they love me.

I read the last post and realized how insensitive I was in saying that I wish my parents were proud of me. I know they are proud of me . . . I just wished that I could hear it from THEM and not other people.

I'M GOING TO RUSSIA!!!!!!

Oh my God!!!!!

I was notified this afternoon via email that the Fulbright-Hays grant was approved and I'm heading to Russia this summer!!!!!

I'm soooooooo excited!!!!!

I called my Mom today at work. My folks have many concerns about this trip:

1) My safety - the idea of me traveling that far away is freaking them out.

2)They don't want to see me get in trouble financially and overspend.

3) Leaving my cat for such a long period of time and having someone else take care of her.

I understand their concerns. But this is such a wonderful opportunity for me, personally and professionally. Everything is paid for by the grant except spending money. I promise not to get too crazy with spending. The safety issue - something could easily happen to me here in the United States too. I refuse to live my life in fear. I love traveling - I want to see the world before I settle down and get married. What's wrong with that? The Ellie the Cat issue is understandable. Mom wants to make sure that her "grandcat" is taken care of. I'm a good Mom. I will make sure she's all set.

I just wish that they would be proud and happy for me.

Is it June 18th yet??????????????

It was an up and down week . . . . . .

Last week, I felt like I was on this emotional roller coaster ride. There were some ups and downs going on throughout the week that really messed up my karma. Let's review the week, shall we?

*I was supposed to chaperon a trip to London during my April vacation with one of my colleagues from school. ONE kid pulled out so now if I want to chaperon, I would need to come up with the $1500 plus spending money to go on the trip. I agreed to chaperon in the beginning since I wouldn't have to pay for the trip. The deal is they needed a certain number of students to go on the trip per chaperon. London is one of my favorite cities in the world to visit and I really wanted to go on that trip. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money.

*My HS made it to the finals for Mock Trial but ended up second in the state. If they would've won first place, they would be going to Washington DC for nationals. The kids did an amazing job and in the history of our school had never made it to the top 16 let alone the finals so it was a huge deal.

*Pink slips were given out on Friday to all teachers on waivers (mostly Math and Science folks). I was having severe panic attacks all day Friday - I was having the memory of what happened to me last year and not having my contract renewed (no reason given). I'm not on a waiver but you can't feel that anxiety and wonder if I will lose my job again. I've received two evaluations so far and they've been wonderful but I had wonderful evaluations at my last school too. As far as we know, my school will not be having budget cuts (unlike the majority of the schools in MA) so I hope to have a job next school year.

*I was officially notified by the University of IL of the Fulbright-Hays grant that I was one of fourteen teachers in the country chosen to go to Russia for five weeks this summer. However, they are still waiting on the gov't to approve the grant money. No grant money - no trip. My family and some friends are not happy about this since they see all sorts of danger traveling abroad right now for an American. Instead of being proud and happy for me, they are stressing out and trying to convince me to not go on the trip. Joy! I understand their stress however, I truly believe that I can't live my life in fear and this is too incredible of an opportunity for me (personally and professionally) to pass up if we get the grant money.

*I met with one of friends/former colleagues from my old school on Friday night. We ate dinner here and chatted and caught up. She told me that morale and attitude at my old school are not positive. They will have some major cuts in teaching positions. And, the interim Principal is not doing her job. She sits in her office all day and does nothing. I have heard similar stories from other former colleagues and students too. This colleague is having a major issue right now with an AP English students' parents and this Principal is not siding with my friend. It sounds like my colleague will be leaving education within the next few years because she's sick and tired and fighting the good fight for her students. The job is incredibly harder now and even though she's an amazing educator (she really is an amazing teacher!!!), she just can't deal with the administration and politics anymore. She's been teaching for eight years (same as me) and is really frustrated with the bureaucracy - can ya blame her?

So, that was my week. I know that I've been in this negative place for a while and it's so hard to just get out of the funk. I think it doesn't help that I also have some personal stuff going on too. My family and non-teacher friends are getting sick of hearing me complain. I have no one else to vent to so I apologize that they are getting the blunt of this abuse.

I have such a difficult time separating my personal life with my professional life - probably since I don't have much of a personal life. That was one goal that I wanted to work on this year. I did go on one date that was a flop so at least I'm getting out there again.

This stinky thinking has got to go! What's a gal to do??????????

Update on freshman driving me nuts . . .

I had a mandatory meeting today with my three officers. The president is the only one that showed up for the meeting. Lovely.

One of the girls had a death in the family so I'm fine with that (duh!). The other girl went down to the middle school to socialize with her friends. Yes! Blew off the meeting.

I also had an announcement read today about an organizational meeting on Monday after school to plan the Fling. I'm getting lots of feedback from other kids so it sounds like they want to help out.

Since the class officers won't do the work, the other kids will step up to the plate and produce for me. Score!

I'll keep ya's posted . . . thanks for the positive words and support all. :-)

My Freshmen are driving my nuts!

OK. I'm freshman class advisor. I know. Stupid me for getting involved yet again. I have three class officers (I'm down one officer since no one ran for the office of treasurer).

I had to cancel yet another dance because my officers can't follow through on anything! Let's back track . . . Back in December, they come up with this brilliant idea to have a Valentine's Day dance. I say Great! Good idea! Will bring in a ton of money for the class. Well, the week before the dance, they have NOTHING done! Nothing! No DJ. No paperwork signed. No administrator. No police officer. No chaperone's. So, I pulled it. They proceed to tell me that they would like to try a St. Paddy's dance (notice a theme here????). Again, great! BUT, you need to get all paperwork and other stuff in two weeks before the dance. Why? Because people (teachers and administrators) have lives! Guess what??? No can do! They ask me if they can put it off to March 30th. Again, I said sure! Same thing as before . . . get all the stuff in and approved. Postponed again for April 5th (we don't have school on Friday since it's Good Friday).

Well, today I called a meeting and only one of my three officers showed up. I cancelled the dance for April 5th since nothing was turned again.

NOW . . . for the REAL fun of this dilemma. The freshman are scheduled to have a Freshman Fling on May 11th. It's like a semi-formal dance to be held at the high school. The date was chosen by the school so we have no say in the date. I've been on the kids since at least January to start planning or organizing this dance. It's a huge deal for the kids. Yet again, guess what hasn't been planned yet?

So, I went to the activities director who's in charge of all the class advisers today (I had emailed her twice with my concerns and she never responded). I should point out that this woman doesn't do her job and gets a paid stipend of $10,000 and does nothing!!! I tell her what's going on and I ask her if I have the authority to pull the Fling. She tells me no. She does tell me that since my officers are not doing their job that I can put an announcement out that anyone in the freshman class that is interested in planning the Fling should see me. This Fling needs to be planned either way. We originally had a DJ planned but the officer that was supposed to follow through in confirming never called him back so he gave away the date. Great!

So, do I plan this Fling on my own? I have to say I'm a tad bit resentful at this point since I've already graduated from high school and have done the school dance thing. These kids are soooo lazy and not motivated to do anything. And, the best part about it???? My officers are blaming me and so the freshman class is angry at me. Joy! I have been telling them what needs to done, who they need to contact, and the importance of why this stuff needs to get done in a timely manner. They just don't listen. The only reassuring thing for me is that the sophomore class advisers are having the same problem with their officers.

I think what I'm going to do is put in an announcement starting tomorrow for a meeting next Monday for anyone that wants to help plan the Fling should meet in my room after school on Monday. I'm also going to talk to my Freshman Housemaster to see if he can motivate the kids since they are not listening to me.

Sound like a plan, spam???? :-) See . . . I'm trying to keep my sense of humor through all of this.

All of this drama is why I'm not advising next year. I'm done. I'm toast! I'm outa here! :-)

A Night in Boston

Last night, I took the train into Boston to meet one of my good friends (Carla) for her birthday. She desperately needed a night out - she's a nanny and the children are always around so she gets no privacy and no sleep. To get a night of peace and quiet, she booked a room at the Hyatt Regency Boston. She used Priceline.com and bid a price for her room. The room is normally $200 plus! She paid $90! That's pretty cheap for a four star hotel in Boston for an evening! The room was gorgeous!

We didn't know where we wanted to go for dinner so we asked the Concierge to recommend a restaurant for us. He did good! We ended up here. Very yummy! I had a chicken dish and Carla had a shrimp dish. We also dipped into dessert - I had Creme brule and Carla had a turtle cheesecake. Everything was incredibly yummy!

The weather started getting icky out - they were predicting between 2-5 inches of snow so I needed to head back home. I took the train back to the Alewife Station where I parked my car and headed back home. The roads were a tad bit icy but I made it home safe and sound.

Happy Belated Birthday Carla - hope you enjoyed your night out. :-)

A rant - please ignore my mood! :-)

I was driving into school the other day listening to NPR (National Public Radio) and they had a commentary regarding testing. Get this, the federal gov't TESTS Head Start programs/kids! Head start kids are preschoolers folks! Before the age of five for goodness sake! What am I missing???? How can the gov't justify this??? They want to know how well their programs are doing so they figure if they test the little tikes, they will get an idea of how well the kids are learning. These are LITTLE kids folks . . . is it really necessary for them to be tested so young???

Read/listen to it here.

Maybe I'm in a negative mood right now since we just finished MCAS this week (the English Language Arts portion - the rest is taken the end of May and beginning of June). I'm annoyed at this standardized test that my students need to take in order to graduate from high school. I don't believe a test is the answer to all the problems with public education. The politicians seem to think it's the best answer but they don't know/understand what we deal with every single day in our classrooms. If a student receives an A in my World History class, the state basically says, "Yeah, that's fine BUT they need to receive a specific score on OUR test to determine if they will graduate from high school???" So, our opinion doesn't count and our grades don't count for anything. And, they wonder why teachers are not respected - it's because THEY don't respect us (gov't, politicians, etc.). I'm annoyed that for three days, my school was on three hour delay (9th, 11th, and 12th graders came in three hours late) and I lost a ton of curriculum hours from my teaching for a test that only 10th graders have to take. Last, I'm annoyed that I will get stuck proctoring all the MCAS exams and that there are teachers in the building that don't have to proctor ONE test!

Where are all the tests leading? I teach to a test now. I hate it. I have a lot of students have similar learning styles like me - I don't test well. Is life nothing but a standardized test????
According to the state of MA, life is like a standardized test - you never know what ya might get (sorry for the Forrest Gump reference).

What is M-Dawg reading these days????

I am a book addict/junky. I read everything and anything. I also have this nasty habit of reading two or three books at a time. The habit developed when I was in graduate school. Bad M-Dawg! :-)

I'm reading the following books:

1) Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol. You want to get angry and upset about the conditions of our inner city schools, just read this book! It was written in 1991 but I have this sneaky suspicion that the condition of our inner city schools in America still hasn't changed much since the publishing of this book. Since I work in an inner city school, I thought I could relate to this book. I definitely could relate to the lack of funding, not paying teachers very well, and the high drop out rates. The book addresses six different inner city school systems in this country. Very intriguing and eye-opening read! I hope our politicians have read this book - maybe they would realize that something needs to be done about the education of millions of innocent children!

2) A Year in the World by Frances Mayes (she wrote Under the Tuscan Sun - yes, this book was made into a movie starring Diane Lane). I'm a traveler at heart! I adore traveling. Since traveling costs a ton of money that I don't usually have at the time, I sometimes will read books about other travelers and their experiences. The author decides to take a year off from her job and the real world and travel around Europe and Northern Africa. The author has a unique writing style that I enjoy immensely. As I read this book, I visualize myself in the locations that she's writing about - Spain, Greece, Turkey, etc. It's an amazing journey!

3) The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (I've already read this but I'm re-reading it for my Book Club). The book discusses the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the murder and intrigue that took place. I like the book because it addresses a part of Chicago history that tends to get ignored - the history about Chicago tends to address the gangsters and Al Capone. :-) And, Larson does a great job at writing the book to make it not sound so much like a history text.

What are you reading/have read lately in your free time?????

Professional Day in Boston

Today, I drove into Boston to attend The Bill of Rights Institute Seminar on the 1st amendment. The official name of the seminar was Conflict and Continuity: The Story of American Freedom. Very intriguing! Got lots of free curriculum and teaching ideas . . . which is always a good thing.

The seminar was held here. Let me tell ya, this is how the real folks live and work! Very fancy place -

One of my colleagues from my department attended the seminar with me. There were also a two middle school teachers from my district there. We sat and chatted and compared notes about students and curriculum.

I have to say that I'm exhausted from sitting there and listening to speakers all day. I took a ton of notes that I hope to be able to use in my lectures. I hate to admit it but I'm so used to being on my feet and walking around the classroom that my butt fell asleep at the end of the seminar. :-)

Oh, they also fed us some great food! And, the grand price of this trip for me: gas and parking. That's it!

It was so nice to be treated as professionals. Unfortunately, as teachers, we don't always get treated with respect.

Warmer weather . . . . finally! :-)

YES! Finally! The weather has warmed up here in New England.

I have this fear that it's just teasing us. You know what I mean. Let's just torment those folks and trick them into thinking that spring is here when it's not really here type of stuff.

It was in the 50's today. In fact, I was sooo motivated by this lovely weather that I washed and vacuumed my car!

How's that Mother Nature???????? :-)

Random thoughts . . . again! :-)

*It's been colder than crap here. I'm so frozen that I can't feel my fingers anymore. Ughy!

*We've had some serious drama at school with the older students. Let's just say that it has something to do with MySpace, inappropriate pictures, parents buying their children alcohol and partying with them, student athletes, and alcohol and drugs. And, we've had at least four major fights each day this week. It's bad folks. Real bad. The Police dept got involved.

*I finally purchased my LCD Projector for my classroom. It should be arriving any day now. :-) Yeah for PowerPoints! :-)

*My freshman are trying to organize a dance for March 30th. Again, lots of drama with organizing it. They tried to plan a V-Day dance in February and that failed miserably. They still don't get that you can't do things last minute when it comes to organizing a dance. They still haven't started planning or organizing for their Spring Fling which is in May. I've been on them about organizing and they refuse to listen to me. Ughy! The dance on the 30th is the same day as the Junior Prom -which means that no administrators will chaperon our dance since they all will be at the Prom. BUT, we have two appointments on Friday with two DJ's. Go figure!

*I work all weekend at Paws which means I will have no down time this weekend. BUT the weather is supposed to be warm and nice so I hope everyone brings in their puppies! It's the best part of the job!!!!! :-)

Have a good weekend everyone -

Happy Birthday Lea!

This is a picture of Lea's Mom, Lea, and myself at The Maples in Peru, IL.

Happy Birthday Lea!

I've been friends with Lea since high school. We went to two different area schools but we shared the same friends. It wasn't until we both got hired at Taco Bell that we got to be good friends. We've had some great times over the years. Lea came here last spring for a visit. The picture below is Lea in front of the Witch Museum in Salem, MA. She loves New England!

Fishy - wishing you much happiness and love this year. Thank you for being a good friend and always putting a smile on my face!

Love Ya Fishy! :-)