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. :-)
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
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! :-)
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! :-)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
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. :-)
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. :-)
Thursday, March 22, 2007
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).
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).
Saturday, March 17, 2007
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?????
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?????
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, March 12, 2007
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???????? :-)
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???????? :-)
Thursday, March 08, 2007
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 -
*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 -
Sunday, March 04, 2007
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! :-)
Just some ramblings . . . .
I'm here. I'm alive and kicking.
I have today off from work - No Paws. I have a ton of errands to do so I guess it's not an official day off. I was able to sleep in.
Grades closed for progress grades on Friday. My students were freaking out and wondering what they had missing for assignments. I told them it didn't matter since I don't accept late work. Then, my favorite question comes up. The "Can I do extra credit to bring up my grade?" question. My response is always the same: NO! I don't do extra credit. Especially since if they bothered to do their homework, there would be no need for extra credit. Ugh!
I have my History Book Club on Tuesday. We read Good Brother Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth. I think that once I get to the Lincoln assassination in my US History Part I class, I'll be able to use some of the material from this book. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I learned a great deal about both brothers. I'll be curious to hear how the rest of the Book Club feels about the book.
Received some sad news yesterday. One of the gals I used to teach with a Timberlane was diagnosed with leukemia. Her church did a bone marrow drive on Saturday. You can read about it here. Click on the link of the video from YouTube. Leigh is an amazing woman and if anyone can beat this, it's her! Please remember her in your thoughts and prayers.
I'll try and check in throughout the week - it is going to be busy so if I don't email or comment on your blogs right away, this is why.
Have a good week all!
I have today off from work - No Paws. I have a ton of errands to do so I guess it's not an official day off. I was able to sleep in.
Grades closed for progress grades on Friday. My students were freaking out and wondering what they had missing for assignments. I told them it didn't matter since I don't accept late work. Then, my favorite question comes up. The "Can I do extra credit to bring up my grade?" question. My response is always the same: NO! I don't do extra credit. Especially since if they bothered to do their homework, there would be no need for extra credit. Ugh!
I have my History Book Club on Tuesday. We read Good Brother Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth. I think that once I get to the Lincoln assassination in my US History Part I class, I'll be able to use some of the material from this book. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I learned a great deal about both brothers. I'll be curious to hear how the rest of the Book Club feels about the book.
Received some sad news yesterday. One of the gals I used to teach with a Timberlane was diagnosed with leukemia. Her church did a bone marrow drive on Saturday. You can read about it here. Click on the link of the video from YouTube. Leigh is an amazing woman and if anyone can beat this, it's her! Please remember her in your thoughts and prayers.
I'll try and check in throughout the week - it is going to be busy so if I don't email or comment on your blogs right away, this is why.
Have a good week all!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Long Week . . . . . already!
It's only Wednesday and it already feels sooooo long!
That first week back from a break is always a toughie - why? Because not only are you still in vacation mode but so is the student population that you work with is in that same mode.
Situations that have already "popped up" this week: (Negative stuff first)
*A student cuts my class after I had seen AND talked to him earlier in the day. I also want to point out that his girlfriend GUARANTEED that she would make sure "her boy" would show up for my class on that day.
*Two of my Honor students decided to cut my class. One of the students has a parent that works in my building. I spoke to her today about her son cutting my class and her response was, "How would you handle him?" The other student has a psychotic mother and I'm deathly afraid to call her to let her know that her daughter cut my class.
*Two parent meetings this week - first meeting was good. Second meeting, bad! Their child is failing all of his classes (including his electives) and the parents are blaming us (his Freshman team).
*My school has this tendency to start professional development workshops and then not finish them. First point - the infamous ELL training. The district pulls us out for four classes for this workshop and then decides to pull it and stops it. Reason given: scheduling conflict with the instructors. We are encouraged to meet for three hours once a month after school to finish the training until the end of the school year. Oh, I need to point out that I've already completed the hours for ELL and the district still made me take the workshop. Second point - I signed up for a Co-teaching Workshop back in October. We are supposed to meet every other month. The instructor has met with us once and has cancelled all the other meetings.
*I was chosen to participate in a seminar in Boston through the Bill of Rights Institute. It's free and they give us free curriculum. I emailed my Principal to get permission to attend and I have yet to hear back from him. Cost to him: the cost of a substitute teacher.
Positive Stuff:
*I have a student that has severe dyslexia. He really struggles and it's so upsetting to watch this kid. He NEVER reads aloud in class. It's a huge drama. One on one, he'll read with me. Why? He tells me that I don't make him feel like a dummy. Get this - we were doing popcorn reading (kids read a paragraph of a handout out loud and then they pick someone else in the class to read where they left off). Someone picks this student to read. He gets very upset and refuses. I say fine and let's move on. A few more kids read and this kid gets asked to read aloud again. This time, he READS! He struggled but HE DID IT!!!!!!!! I almost cried because I knew what a huge deal this was for him. He stayed after school with me and we had a nice chat about what happened and I told him how proud I was of him. We did discuss his reaction to the situation and how can he work on his feelings of anger too. He's the bravest 15 year old I know! :-)
*Chosen to participate in the seminar.
*Great colleagues on my freshman team that support me and the kids.
The moral of this post - take what you can get in the game of teaching! You will have good and bad days. Sometimes, it feels like I have more bad than good days. I give 110% of myself to my students and the profession. I need to stop taking it all so personally and seriously. However, I know that this is the way that I am and I won't change that. As much as it is a negative character trait, it's also a positive.
"Effective teaching may be the hardest job there is."
William Glasser
That first week back from a break is always a toughie - why? Because not only are you still in vacation mode but so is the student population that you work with is in that same mode.
Situations that have already "popped up" this week: (Negative stuff first)
*A student cuts my class after I had seen AND talked to him earlier in the day. I also want to point out that his girlfriend GUARANTEED that she would make sure "her boy" would show up for my class on that day.
*Two of my Honor students decided to cut my class. One of the students has a parent that works in my building. I spoke to her today about her son cutting my class and her response was, "How would you handle him?" The other student has a psychotic mother and I'm deathly afraid to call her to let her know that her daughter cut my class.
*Two parent meetings this week - first meeting was good. Second meeting, bad! Their child is failing all of his classes (including his electives) and the parents are blaming us (his Freshman team).
*My school has this tendency to start professional development workshops and then not finish them. First point - the infamous ELL training. The district pulls us out for four classes for this workshop and then decides to pull it and stops it. Reason given: scheduling conflict with the instructors. We are encouraged to meet for three hours once a month after school to finish the training until the end of the school year. Oh, I need to point out that I've already completed the hours for ELL and the district still made me take the workshop. Second point - I signed up for a Co-teaching Workshop back in October. We are supposed to meet every other month. The instructor has met with us once and has cancelled all the other meetings.
*I was chosen to participate in a seminar in Boston through the Bill of Rights Institute. It's free and they give us free curriculum. I emailed my Principal to get permission to attend and I have yet to hear back from him. Cost to him: the cost of a substitute teacher.
Positive Stuff:
*I have a student that has severe dyslexia. He really struggles and it's so upsetting to watch this kid. He NEVER reads aloud in class. It's a huge drama. One on one, he'll read with me. Why? He tells me that I don't make him feel like a dummy. Get this - we were doing popcorn reading (kids read a paragraph of a handout out loud and then they pick someone else in the class to read where they left off). Someone picks this student to read. He gets very upset and refuses. I say fine and let's move on. A few more kids read and this kid gets asked to read aloud again. This time, he READS! He struggled but HE DID IT!!!!!!!! I almost cried because I knew what a huge deal this was for him. He stayed after school with me and we had a nice chat about what happened and I told him how proud I was of him. We did discuss his reaction to the situation and how can he work on his feelings of anger too. He's the bravest 15 year old I know! :-)
*Chosen to participate in the seminar.
*Great colleagues on my freshman team that support me and the kids.
The moral of this post - take what you can get in the game of teaching! You will have good and bad days. Sometimes, it feels like I have more bad than good days. I give 110% of myself to my students and the profession. I need to stop taking it all so personally and seriously. However, I know that this is the way that I am and I won't change that. As much as it is a negative character trait, it's also a positive.
"Effective teaching may be the hardest job there is."
William Glasser
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Last day of Feb break
A Quote from the film Billy Madison:Billy Madison: "Back to school! Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool! I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight! Ohhhh, back to school! Back to school! Back to school! Well, here goes nothing!"
It's back to school for me on Monday. It's been a relaxing break.
We might get a snow storm tomorrow so who knows if we will have a delay or day off.
Am I bad for saying that I would like another day off?????
Friday, February 23, 2007
Winding down my Feb break
It has been a very good week. I'm relaxed. I'm content. I was incredibly productive. Life is good.
I work at Paws today, Saturday, and Sunday. I hope to see my favorite puppies! :-)
Tonight, I'm meeting Janet and Lauren at the Cheesecake Factory for a belated b-day dinner at the Burlington Mall. I enjoy spending time my girl pals! :-)
Got my federal tax and state refund checks (gotta love direct deposit!) this week. Added bonus!
Not much to complain about . . . until next week! :-)
Have a good weekend all!
I work at Paws today, Saturday, and Sunday. I hope to see my favorite puppies! :-)
Tonight, I'm meeting Janet and Lauren at the Cheesecake Factory for a belated b-day dinner at the Burlington Mall. I enjoy spending time my girl pals! :-)
Got my federal tax and state refund checks (gotta love direct deposit!) this week. Added bonus!
Not much to complain about . . . until next week! :-)
Have a good weekend all!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Happy Birthday Susie!
A very Happy Birthday to my college friend, Susie! This picture was taken on my 21st birthday at Western Illinois University. What a great time we had that night!
This picture was taken on the day of Susie and Wayne's wedding. I was one of her bridesmaids. Again, another fun time!
Susie - thanks for the good times. Thanks for the friendship! My wish for you is much happiness this year. . . . enjoy those handsome boys in your life.
Hugs and love! :-)
PS Sorry about the old pictures - I don't have any recent pictures of you and I.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Plugging along during my Feb break . . . . .
The week has been pretty good so far. Productive yet relaxing.
On Saturday, I worked at Paws. It was sorta busy in the sense of high maintenance customers. Lots of hand holding. I usually don't mind but some customers are more high maintenance than others and it can be a little frustrating.
Saturday night, I met Carla in downtown Portsmouth for a belated b-day dinner here. Very yummy! Afterwards, we went here for drinks and dessert. Again, yummy! I've never had a bad meal at any of the restaurants in Portsmouth! Amazing food! Thanks Carla for a nice evening of great food and company! And, I loved my b-day gifts too! :-)
Sunday, I totally vegged out on the couch and watched videos. I have Netflix and I'm working my way through The Golden Girls series. I used to LOVE that show!
Monday, I went to my old school to visit. It's been a while since I've been back. It was so nice to see all my former colleagues. I had a select few that I really wanted to see and visit. NH has their Feb break next week so I figured that this would be a nice time to go. Somethings never change in that school. The "old boys network/club" is still hot and heavy.
Today, I have to run a few errands and then I have some work to do around the condo. Mostly organization and cleaning type of stuff. I find during the school year that certain things don't get done or are pushed aside. I like to use my breaks to get that stuff completed. It's not stressful type of stuff just things that tend to get pushed aside that at some point needs to get done.
Hope everyone has a nice day - :-)
On Saturday, I worked at Paws. It was sorta busy in the sense of high maintenance customers. Lots of hand holding. I usually don't mind but some customers are more high maintenance than others and it can be a little frustrating.
Saturday night, I met Carla in downtown Portsmouth for a belated b-day dinner here. Very yummy! Afterwards, we went here for drinks and dessert. Again, yummy! I've never had a bad meal at any of the restaurants in Portsmouth! Amazing food! Thanks Carla for a nice evening of great food and company! And, I loved my b-day gifts too! :-)
Sunday, I totally vegged out on the couch and watched videos. I have Netflix and I'm working my way through The Golden Girls series. I used to LOVE that show!
Monday, I went to my old school to visit. It's been a while since I've been back. It was so nice to see all my former colleagues. I had a select few that I really wanted to see and visit. NH has their Feb break next week so I figured that this would be a nice time to go. Somethings never change in that school. The "old boys network/club" is still hot and heavy.
Today, I have to run a few errands and then I have some work to do around the condo. Mostly organization and cleaning type of stuff. I find during the school year that certain things don't get done or are pushed aside. I like to use my breaks to get that stuff completed. It's not stressful type of stuff just things that tend to get pushed aside that at some point needs to get done.
Hope everyone has a nice day - :-)
Friday, February 16, 2007
Almost on Feb break!
As of today at 2:02 pm, I will be officially on Feb vacation!
I'm looking forward to some much needed time off. Of course, I do have a list of stuff that must get done over the break. And, I picked up some extra hours at Paws. Some quality time with friends is scheduled too.
It's still a break from school and student drama!
I'll be checking in throughout the week - I'm here but not here. :-)
Ellie the Cat and I will be enjoying each other's company too! :-)
Have a great weekend all!
I'm looking forward to some much needed time off. Of course, I do have a list of stuff that must get done over the break. And, I picked up some extra hours at Paws. Some quality time with friends is scheduled too.
It's still a break from school and student drama!
I'll be checking in throughout the week - I'm here but not here. :-)
Ellie the Cat and I will be enjoying each other's company too! :-)
Have a great weekend all!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
It's my Birthday!
I turned 36 today. I already got a ton of emails, phone calls, cards in the mail, etc. from family and friends.I am so blessed to have such wonderful folks in my life. :-)
Yesterday, one of my students made me a birthday cake and we shared it with the class. It was very sweet!
I always have mixed feelings about my birthday. Since my birthday is on Valentine's Day, I've always felt like it was this jinx on my love life. Unfortunately, I've never had a great love life. As I am getting older, I tend to focus on what I don't have in my life (Ex: husband and children). If these things are meant to happen to me, it will happen. I feel my "clock" ticking because I really want to have children some day. It's an ongoing struggle in my life and I let it consume me and that's not the most healthy thing in the world.
I need to realize all the positive things in my life: a supportive and loving family, wonderful friends, a job that I love, Ellie the Cat, and most importantly, good health.
As my Mom would say, "Age is all in your mind and what you make of it." Mom, you are correct. I vow to try and work harder at being more positive and not let my age get me depressed or down.
Thank you everyone for your love and support on my extra special day!
Lots of hugs and love! :-)
Snow Dance Worked! :-)
It's 6:05 AM and I just got the call. No School!!!! Snow Day!
I get a day of sleeping in and relaxing!
And, it's my birthday. :-)
I'll post more later. I'm going back to bed! :-)
I get a day of sleeping in and relaxing!
And, it's my birthday. :-)
I'll post more later. I'm going back to bed! :-)
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Happy B-day to Corey!
Corey is on the right. Jacob - the younger brother is on the left. My friend Cheryl (she's the Mom) sent this picture to me - it was taken on the first day of school.Happy Birthday Kiddo! You are such an amazing young man! Enjoy your extra special day!
Lots of hugs and love! :-)
I'm doing the snow dance!
Crossing my fingers for a snow day on Wednesday - we are supposed to get a nasty storm starting tonight and lasting until Wednesday evening.
All of my teacher friends at my school are doing the snow dance!
I hope my school makes the call to cancel tonight verses in the morning. It's sorta nice to be able to get a good night rest and not toss and turn thinking you "might" get that phone call of no school due to snow the day of.
I really could use one day of nothing. One day of sleep. One day of vegging out.
It will suck to have to make up that snow day in June but it will be worth it.
All of my teacher friends at my school are doing the snow dance!
I hope my school makes the call to cancel tonight verses in the morning. It's sorta nice to be able to get a good night rest and not toss and turn thinking you "might" get that phone call of no school due to snow the day of.
I really could use one day of nothing. One day of sleep. One day of vegging out.
It will suck to have to make up that snow day in June but it will be worth it.
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