An Update....Where to start???

This could be a LONG post so grab something to drink, get comfy and settle in. I am alone in my apartment for the moment. DH is dropping the oldest off at a friend's (in celebration of becoming ungrounded for hiding a bad progress update from us for about 6 weeks) and has the other two with him. I think I will break this up into topics so skip the parts you don't want to know about. (Updating to add that this took 3 different sittings as the family came home soon after the post started.) 

School - Same ol' snit, different day. I have been dealing with a large amount of cheating which I detest as I feel like it is lying and I cannot stand to be lied to.  So that has been very emotionally draining. Especially when a student whom I felt I had a really strong connection to cheated on a quiz and I caught him but apparently something was going on at home - Mom has something to do with the military - and that served as a wake up call to her that she needed to be home more.  That ended well. 

Church - Loving the new church! The upcoming sermon series is titled "One Month to Live". I think this will provoke me to blog to get some of my thoughts out. When I start to ponder that I idea I think about spending as much time with family and friends as possible but am very confused as to how to live my life that way when there are bills to be paid. Then I think about my Mom and what will happen when she passes. Then I get really sad and have to stop thinking about it b/c I cannot even fathom it happening.

Jazzercise - I have taken the plunge and am working to become certified to teach it. So much hard work but it is fun and really helping me lose more weight. I go to Workshop April 8 so keep sending me positive vibes. What a way to end my Spring Break, huh? I got duped into take a 'Power Hour' class that was similar to personal training and even though I thought my arms were going to give out from my upper body weight and I would fall flat on my face, I made it through. The next week I was sore in random places but it hurt so good! 

Weight Watchers - I am less than 10 pounds away from my 'goal weight'. That is down about 27 pounds since joining in August. It is the upper end of the official BMI for my height. It is what my driver's license said in High School but I think I even weighed more then. My clothes are all hanging on me and I feel like I am a child playing dress up when I go to put on something I haven't worn in awhile. One morning I went through 2 pairs of pants and three shirts before I found something that I could deal with wearing - I didn't look great but....I hope to get a new wardrobe but am waiting until I am finished losing weight b/c some of the stuff I bought 2 months ago is now too big. It is frustrating but a good frustrating... except for the fact I don't have money to replace my entire wardrobe every 2 months. Another thing it that I have to try everything on. I don't like a lot of the current "styles". I have become a very 'vanilla' dresser. Give me a khaki pair of dockers and a black t-shirt and I am a happy camper. I honestly thought I would never make it this far on my weight loss journey. If I would have thought I could do it before, I would have done it before.  I mean I tried all the over the counter drugs and many of the prescription numbers too (Phen- phen anyone??? I did.) and this program has been the easiest and most successful. I am smaller that I was when I took Meridia a few years back. I would have never believed me if you told me Weight Watchers would work for me. 

So that is what all that has been keeping me busy. One day I hope to be able to blog on the regular but I really feel like I am surviving from day to day putting out the fires that need put out the most and letting the others smolder until another time.  

My week...the highlights....

Tuesday - Former student who is now in the chemistry class next door has a seizure and his new teacher did not know of his history.   Another student whose Mother is also a teacher at the school I am at chews me out b/c she wants her son moved from honors to standard level chemistry.

Wednesday - Faculty meeting where I am recognized for my National Board achievement. Coincidentally the superintendent and the head of high schools for the county is there. Get an email from my head principal about 10pm that the earlier mentioned teacher/mother wants a conference the following afternoon.

Thursday - No alarms went off. Woke up at 6:02am. I am usually awake by 4:45am and at school by 6. Receive several emails in response to gradesheets I sent home earlier in the week. Have conference with teacher/mother after school. She was late to the conference but did apologize for snapping at me earlier in the week. The world's greatest administrator was there with me and lead us through a very successful conference. I felt very relieved.

Oh, and I am working on learning my Jazzercise workshop set for becoming an instructor. My head continues to spin. I wonder what tomorrow will bring for me. 

Giggles....

Hoping I can stay awake to see the midnight New Moon opening. Then my next challenge will be teaching a full day...a pep rally day...a day before Thanksgiving break...

Wish me luck!

Colleagialness

30 school colleagues sharing a meal in a teacher workroom before Thanksgiving break. Ahhh....very nice. <3

I am thankful for the people I work with. :D

I'm old....

Today were we encouraged to wear a college (and or sorority/fraternity) shirt in honor of National Education Week and talk to the students about our college experience. First of all A few years back I turned the majority of my college shirts into a quilt which is up north as they are not as needed here in the south. Second the one I have is a slum around shirt and there are 2 small holes in the front. Well, being that I was encouraged (not just allowed but told) to wear my old shirt, I did. Being an older gray t-shirt the only pants suitable was jeans. If you would have told me to wear this to teach several years ago I would have been elated beyond ecstatic. This morning I felt awkward. Like something was wrong with the picture of "the teacher" wearing jeans and an old t-shirt to teach. I was always the person who would fight to say 'clothes don't make the teacher' but I can conclude that they do help. I hate to admit it but I am growing up.

Vicious Cycle

The schools up north I taught at would have parent teacher conferences where us teacher people would meet with parents for 10-15 minutes each to give them a glimpse as to what we see from their student. We would do this for several hours into the night. Most of the time we saw parents who needed that extra pat on the back for good parenting and rarely saw the parents whom we needed/wanted to see to resolve issues. Those were truly exhausting nights. Down here the schools do not do marathon conference nights but have parents schedule a conference for just after the school day finishes at their convenience. I think I am stuck in a conference rut as all my after school days have a conference booked by parents unless there is a meeting of some sort (faculty, department, committee, etc.). So here is that ugly cycle: student feels they are doing poorly for (insert whatever reason here), they complain to Mom/Dad. Mom/Dad schedules a conference - my after school time gets booked. During said conference it is usually mentioned about teachers having office hours or when they are available to help struggling students. My reply is that I am available in the mornings since my after noons are booked with conferences or meetings. Student never comes in during the wee morning hours and nothing changes. :(

Good to know...

This place allows teachers to post projects and filters donations through to the teacher to fund various items at their request. Good to know. :)

Really trying....

Why is it that every time I have tried to do some school work (other than the huge scanning pile - which i did get complete but have not organized into electronic files yet) something stops me? For instance I actually tried to work on my blackboard account but could not remember my log in password. Then I tried to look at the CD rom that goes with the Health oriented Chemistry textbook. Can't get my school laptop (read the only one I have that has a CD drive in it) to connect to my home internet. My last effort came today when I was trying to make a powerpoint showing that I know all the "hiding my cell phone behind obvious things" trick but I could not access the pictures I needed. Is God trying to tell me not to worry about school or is it the technology gnomes that are foiling my heroic attempts of getting ahead?

So nice to hear...

I had a student this past year that I really connected with. She found a love for Chemistry that wasn't there before b/c I helped her be successful and believe in herself in the content. She told another teacher (one whom she did not get along with ALL year - yep, heard about that too) that b/c of me she thinks she might want to be a chemistry teacher. That prompted this series of emails. I emailed her mother since she was exempt from exams and technically out for the summer.

Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2009
From: me
To: Mom
Subject: Student's Comment today

Please tell her what she said about me in Ms. So-and-So's class is one of the highest compliments a teacher can get (Ms. So-and-So shared it with me). Thank her for me too. I will definitely miss her and her exuberance next year.



From: Mom
To: Me
Subject: RE:Student's Comment today

Ms. Me,
Student is an energetic personality and she has many strong points. Thank you for complimenting her and encouraging her in your class and with outside issue as well. One thing that I know about her that has always proved to be true is her 'read' of teachers. She can spot an unorganized, non-leader in a heart-beat. Usually you have to weigh what your kids tell you about their teachers, but she is spot on and it isn't told to her...she reads them. I know she has only EVER spoken so highly of you, your teaching style, your techniques and your bar is high (like Ms. 5TimeNationalChampionsDanceTeacher - whom I also respect enormously). I know she has said many times how The School could use many more teachers like you with a passion for their subject and a talent for teaching it. Too bad we can't live in an ideal world. I am sure there would be more successful students if we could make that come true. :)

Thanks for always keeping up with me this year regarding Student. I will miss you, too...even though we never met (except for Open House).

Kindly,

Mom


It is things like this that make up for the long hours, little pay and endless amounts of paperwork.

Yin and Yang

Why is it that when the school front is going good (well, as good as I think I am capable anyway - there just some things out of my control), the home front goes to hell? (And vice versa of course.) It's like all places cannot coexist in harmony in my life. It give me a case of the sadz.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

End of the School Year Frustrations.....

I know times have changed and I understand that my friends and I were probably “cut of a different cloth” (my BFF was one of 3 valedictorians and I was friends with the others as well)……but seriously – how can you as a student sit through an entire class period and do absolutely NOTHING! I do appreciate that you respect me enough to follow my rules and the school rules (extreme kudos for not sleeping, not texting, not talking and not skipping – I guess you know that I will take the time to write you up and turn it in) but geez…..you’re just sitting. Breathing. No doodling or reading. Nothing. Just there. Using Oxygen. Creating CO2. Blinking. Staring.

How?

I get it some of it. You, the student, know you have failed for the year. No sense in trying now as you have to recover your class credit somewhere else any how (summer school, virtual school, retake it next year, etc.).

I have been places (workshops, meeting, etc.) and been bored to tears but I cannot just sit. I draw, make grocery lists, plan lessons, create birthday party ideas, etc. But to just sit in a high school class is beyond me. I have been teaching long enough to know that most likely as a teacher you are not walking into a classroom of dry sponges eager to absorb any and all new information and practice using it. Especially in difficult content areas (like say….any SCIENCE….where it is just as much about information processing skills like predicting, analyzing and quantifying as it is about knowing basic facts) but I just don’t understand. I can empathize but not comprehend.

(Cue flashback sequence) Back when I was in high school….. I did my work not because I really wanted to learn at that point but because it was what I was supposed to do. I did not have a strict parent nor was I threatened to get good grades. I thought my teachers would think of me poorly if I didn’t do my work. I would have disappointed them or maybe even hurt their feelings. I bet that is why I am taking this so tough. My feelings are hurt.  I also feel helpless. I have tried since day 1 to change some of their minds – motivate them, excite them, interest them and would only get a glimmer every now and then (which is why they are in the position they are in now not passing the course). How can I make it better?

I am really trying to let it go as it is out of my control (choices they made against my advising) but I can’t cop out like that in my mind. I can talk that talk but not walk the walk. I know I can’t change their minds, habits, work ethic now but I am thinking ahead to next year all ready. What can I do differently to promote learning? I want a fool proof (pun possibly intended) way of teaching.

One of my girls.....

and again....


Down here they can take dance as classes at the school I teach at.....pretty cool.

Now I know....

the panic it is to be in the middle of a true bomb threat. It was one of my students! Really freaked out.

Two Students Arrested After Bomb Scare On Mid-Term Exam Day

-- There was a real bomb inside High School on Thursday, mid-term exam day, and two students were arrested. Instead of taking tests, all the students had to be evacuated. The bomb was a homemade device found inside the school. It was made out of a CO2 cartridge and some explosive powder.Three-thousand students were evacuated and police put the campus on lockdown as a precaution. Anxious students phoned or texted parents. Some had to wait outside the campus for 90 minutes until it was deemed safe.One worried mom decided to keep her daughter out of school for the rest of the week."The threat may be gone, but if they found one bomb in the school, there might be others. The kids don't know that," parent said.Police took two students into custody after a student spotted one with the device at 8:30am and told a teacher. Police located the student and found the device on him.Investigators said the two students arrested are 15-year-old and 16-year-old. They were charged with incendiary device possession, destructive device on school property or at school event and disturbing the peace/disturbing school function.Police call the device a "stinger," or small pipe bomb. In this case, it was a CO2 canister available at any hardware store, but this one had powder inside and a fuse."It did appear to have the capabilities of exploding. County EOD removed the device," explained Police Department.Students that Eyewitness News talked to said there's often joking chatter on campus about bombs from certain pranksters, but nothing serious until Thursday."I know all the kids and they would have done something stupid," student said."Are these guys troublemakers?" reporter asked her."Pretty much," she said.Thursday was the final day of 9th-week exams, but the students' motivation for bringing what looked like a working bomb onto campus is unknown for now.


So....it was an interesting day to say the least. Happy to be alive.