Presentation tomorrow...and the Return of Obnoxious

Tomorrow should be our last literacy meeting for the year. These are the meetings where we learn about integrating literacy and ESL strategies, so at least half of it are assignments we have already done. Somehow, since half of our group didn't show up at any of the meetings we set up to complete the presentation, I got left with making it. I guess sometimes you have to do that to make sure it gets done. The only good part is, if all goes well, I should get some post-graduate credit out of all of this. You get enough post-graduate credit and you go up a pay scale step - but I still have a ways to go before I have enough credit. There was that idea of getting a Geography endorsement, which would mean credit. Then I taught Geography last summer, and I think it was my least favorite subject. Maybe it was because I had never taken a Geography class, so it took so much extra prep time. Or maybe it was because my classes were bursting at the seams - and usually the silver lining in teaching summer school is that classes are smaller than usual. Summer school is made up of students that often don't want to be there, but goofing off during the year has led them to being forced by their parents to attend - so smaller groups of them is the thing that makes it manageable. Plus, in the smaller classes, it is harder for them to fall through the cracks. In fact, I am considering taking a break from teaching summer school this year. I have taught the last four summers, and a break would be nice. I could really use the time to get acquainted with the new IB curriculum topics, since this year's topics are being replaced. They do that every 8 years or so.

So, I better have at least one funny story to share. Yesterday two of my former sophomores came to visit - one of whom was Obnoxious Student. The other one was a student who would say"Miss, Miss" instead of my name (sometimes I wouldn't answer him until he proved to me that he knew what my name was...) and he pronounces it, "Mees, Mees." So, about 5 minutes into class, I hear, "Mees, Mees." Immediately you wonder if you have cracked and are hearing things. I turn around, and there he is standing inside the door of the classroom. Aaah! In truth, this student, while being difficult, is pretty entertaining. But, he was interrupting my class, so I had to say hello and then ask him to leave. I guess it's a good sign that students stop by, right?

When Obnoxious came by, he tried to come in and sit down with the other students - the same period he used to have my class. One of the girls asked, "Is he in this class?" "No, he was in my class last semester, he passed, so he isn't coming back." "Oh good, because if he was, I would transfer out. He's kinda mean." Yeah. I do not make this stuff up. Obnoxious looked around and demanded to know where the hall pass he had made me was. I explained that I got a new one. He tried to take my new hall pass. He fetched the old one - the huge, heavy desktop from the desk that broke - out of my office so students could use it. (The "hall pass" has hall pass written barely legibly with spray paint on one side, and Obnoxious student's name on the other side, not my name or class number. Hmm, yeah.) You see, I finally have one of those coveted aquamarine colored PVC sewer pipe ones. (If you went to this school, you KNOW exactly what I am talking about.) How do you explain to a student that having a PVC sewer pipe hall pass is a mark of distinction. Most teachers who have them obtained them when they were new - back in the early 90's. Having one of these passes separates the new teachers from the seasoned teachers. Those teachers who have them, write their name all over them not only so the students don't lose them, but also so that other teachers don't take them. These are legacy hall passes. How do you explain that to a student? You don't. "Well, many of the girls complained that the other hall pass was too heavy to take." "Fine, let those girls take your new one, but have the rest take my pass." Sure, sure.

I don't wanna

I hate doctors, but maybe I should get my thyroid checked out. I'm supposed to get it tested every 6 months, and it's been...yeah...a couple years? Maybe this is more than just January blues. I am going to see a new doctor in a couple of weeks for my annual check-up. Let's hope I can convince this doctor to run a blood test for me to check my TSH levels. Usually, I have to get the endocrinologist to make a blood test order. But really, if my numbers are normal, then I don't need to see the endocrinologist and wait 2-3 months on her waiting list to actually see her. Ever since she declared me in remission, she said I need to get blood tests, but don't actually need to see her unless my numbers drastically change. Let's hope the new doctor is the kind that listens.

Which makes me also wonder if my brother Softserve has had HIS thyroid checked. I would imagine if his thyroid was contributing to his depression, the anti-depressants wouldn't be as effective as they could be. They say that those with thyroid imbalances take longer to (ahem) use the bathroom. And he always took the longest of anyone in the bathroom growing up. And that's my armchair diagnosis right there. So scientific, LOL.

I Caved...

But I made the kid do a three page paper instead of the normal two page paper for extra credit. And he got 5 points instead of the normal 20 points. I told him he could get the A- (which he needed only 3.5 points for) but there was NO way he was going to get a solid A. Piece of hud paper. Rambled for the first two pages, restating the same thing without getting to anything significant. Then the third page was full of incomplete sentence. The sentences would have made sense, you know, if he wasn't putting random periods in the middle of the phrase. Every prepositional phrase was preceded by a period...how annoying to read.

Ok, while I am ripping apart one kid's writing, let me share my current pet peeve. EVERY student this year seems to think that the contraction for should have, "should've" is spelled "should of." SERIOUSLY? Ugh. Talking to another teacher at lunch today about this, she said, "Oh yeah, we had a grammar test with that question. One student said, 'Teacher, both of these answers are correct.'" She responded, "Maybe it sounds like that when you say it, but when you write it, only one is correct." "No, teacher, they are BOTH correct." 'Should've' and 'should of' were the two choices on the multiple choice test.

There is a committee made up of parents and teachers, where parents can communicate, voice concerns, and make requests, etc. It was this committee of parents that decided that Social Studies teachers should be the ones to teach Sex Ed instead of Health. Yeah. We are supposed to find ways to bring it up naturally...because social studies is the 'dumping ground of the school' as one teacher put it. So, when we did our Mock Congress final project on health care, I assigned one group the topic of AIDS screening and prevention. I had the chance to tell the students what the difference between HIV and AIDS is, and how you contract it...in a natural way. One bright student asked, "What is AIDS?" We had a good conversation in that class. My most immature class - the one that is 80% male - "This isn't health class teacher, why are we talking about this, this is dumb...." Anyway, I walked into a coversation today at work. I guess parents were complaining about the things their kids are struggling with at this committee, and the teacher in this conversation was saying, "Yeah, we know. We've noticed the same problems. What do you want us to do?" For example, high schoolers who still can't read - and I'm not talking about students with disabilities. Some of our kids are in homes with NO books. Their families never go to the library. And the parents want to know why they can't read. I mentioned to these teachers that I have had more than one student ask me seriously, "Why do we even need books anymore? We have the internet." It's like in the Time Machine, where the people have an archive of information, but no one knows how to read or cares to find out what's in the archive. There is so much information, most of it fluff, that we get overwhelmed and distracted from things that have substance. Sorry that this was such a rant. The first week of the semester was only 4 days long, but it felt really long and left me exhausted.

Halfway Through the Year

Sorry, I have not updated my blog lately. It's been a little crazy with the end of term. Next week we start a new semester with 200 new students. I have to learn names all over again. Meanwhile, last semester's kids keep emailing, begging me to raise their grade. Does this seriously work on some teachers? I'm sorry, the deadline for late work and extra credit projects was last Monday. I was nice enough to accept a few items the next day, but enough is enough. One kid was promised a car if he got a 4.0. He took up about an hour of my time today, at least. I even excused one assignment for him. But that only brought him up to an 90% A-. I finally told him that was the grade he had earned in a final tone of voice, so he finally said okay and left. So, then I entered in the last two assignments that were in the in file - one of which was a 5 point assignment from a few weeks ago. How hard is it to write a paragraph giving your opinion on who should win a supreme court case...especially when I gave them the answer and then let them add to their answer...yeah. He tried to BS some crap. He wrote, " I think" which is barely legible and then wrote a bunch of squiggly lines to make it look like half a page. These aren't nonsense words, not even words, just squiggles, like he was adding waves on an elementary school drawing of water...I kept the paper, you know, in case his parents want to see it. Worse case of BS I have ever seen, and I have seen people try to get by with a lot. See, I'm one of those strange teachers that actually READS the answers when I grade. Anyway, losing that 5 points cost him a percentage point...so now he has a B+. Then this afternoon I got two emails from him, wanting to know why his grade slipped, and telling me how he had convinced his parents he still deserved a car with an A-, and then again begging me to let him do an alternate assignment so he can get that A- that was so repulsive to him this morning. Yeah, because I have nothing better to do than create an assignment and then grade it just because he put in a B+ effort all term and that was the grade he received. Did I mention that this kid got that B+ by doing an extra credit project? So, really, he would be more like 39 points out of 250 away from an A-, if I hadn't already helped him out. I have done all I can that is fair for this kid. Truth is, you mess around in class, you don't get an A! Period.

So, two classes down, three more + my IB class left to grade. And I am SOO behind in grading that IB class. I have a journal and two essays for each student to correct.

Christmas and New Year's

I didn't post over the holiday because we were so busy. The last couple of days, I have been holed up at home recovering from all the fun. I made a goal to be asleep by midnight and up by 8 each day over the break. Umm, yeah. Didn't do so well. Last night I couldn't fall asleep until 3am...probably because I slept until 1pm the day before. In my defense, we had a lot of family over and family visits that went in to the wee hours of the night. But it was a blast!

First, my sister came to visit. We had the apartment presentable and the game room/guest room ready. All I have left to unpack and organize is my scrapbooking/craft/sewing stuff now. But the tree is in its box and put away in a closet. /cheer. It was great to see her. She is such a helpful shopping partner! She watched WallE for the first time. (She still needs to see Mulan, /ahem.)

Christmas Eve was the family party at the Senator's home. My siblings and I performed Joy to the World to represent my grandmother's branch of the family. Christmas was a 5 hour brunch with Werty's family and then presents and dinner at my sister Sue's house. Lots of back and forth between the families.

Werty and I saw an exhibit on Japanese woodcarvings for our anniversary, after having lunch with my grandparents and my siblings. Unfortunately, I caught a stomach flu bug - half of Werty's family caught it too - later that night.

We had Werty's sister from ID and her husband over one night. Another night we had his other sister Rena and her husband over for lasagna and watched Crossing Delancey (a little 80's classic). Then on New Year's Eve, we went to Ged and Klari's for a low key celebration. Zinx and Cherry came in time to toast the New Year with us. We played WiiMusic while we waited for midnight. I still haven't touched the foot high stack of papers to correct...so that is tomorrow's task. It has been nice to get as much sleep as I want!

For those who like the Twilight series - there is a Japanese anime mini-series that Werty got for Christmas called "Fruits Basket" that you might like. We started watching it today. An orphan girl welcomed into the home of a strange family with a strange curse - sound similar? It's a little different, of course, or the anime would be boring. :D Thanks for all the gifts and the time shared with us this holiday!

My Honey Turned 30!

All of Werty's family met us for dinner at our favorite restaurant, even his siblings who live in ID. YAY! It was amazing to have everyone together. Then after dinner, people came over to our place. We made good use of the DDR my sister and brother gave us for Christmas.

Our Finished Tree...before we take it down

Werty and I had a great FHE shopping for ornaments. Once Werty got in to it, he went to town. Made me laugh a little, because when the evening started, he was not in a mood to shop. (I think he was envisioning being dragged all over town and dealing with hours of holiday shopping traffic...thank goodness for Michael's having all the ornaments we needed.)