Just so you know

I haven't totally been lazying around during summer vacation... my job list for today included:

• painting a section of the living room wall. At this rate, I'm assuming I'll have it completed by the end of next week.
• trimmed and pruned all the bushes in the front yard. Light now shines through the front windows again.
• Hung the new house number sign and removed the tacky reflective stickers from the side of the house. Seriously, it was so tacky I'm amazed that I lived with them for so long... but finding the right house number sign was a difficult choice.
• ordered birthday cake for party next week.
• went to grocery store
• took a nap to get rid of headache. Although they have lessened in length of time, the headaches are still hanging around.

While painting the wall, one of the neighborhood 40 year old adolescents kids let off a bunch of firecrackers. It scared the crap out of the dog and she came running to me - stepping into the paint pan and rubbing up against the wall. She got an emergency bath and I got to wipe off everything I just painted in an effort to remove the dog hair. I hate to sound curmudgeonly, but I seriously hate fireworks more every year.

End of the Year Wrap Up

I spent the last two weeks of year desperately trying to not vomit in class, while simultaneously downing copious amounts of pain killers. It took awhile to get into to see a chiropractor, but apparently I have a vertebra in my neck pointing in a wrong direction and a hip joint that is tilted. According to the chiropractor my right leg was nearly two inches shorter than my left... who knew? Anyways, it may be working to rid me of weeks long headaches I've been having.

In the meantime, I decided officially to do national boards. I may be insane. Last week I attended a Jump Start session. It was somewhat scary and very informative. If you're thinking about doing national boards, I highly recommend attending. On thing everyone mentioned over and over how much time is required to complete everything. Dozens of stories of neglected family members, houses falling apart, no personal time, etc. I'm still nervous about being able to get everything done... especially with my propensity for procrastination.

Since returning home, I've napped for hours, washed the siding, shopped and cleaned. I'm starting the procrastination early.

The End Is Near!

yah... it's nearly the end of the year. Yesterday the entire contents of a teacher's room were moved outside to the lawn. Sadly, it wasn't mine, but then again they probably didn't want to move 8 large stacks of papers, 4 piles of notebooks and more folders than any one person should legally have.

 

And today, we have the ol' stink bomb in the hallway. My class elected to leave via the window rather than suffer the hallway air. Thank heavens I have a window!

 

Finally, I learned my lesson from the previous years and did not assign any final papers or large tests. The projects are coming in - some are really good (I'll have to take photos!) and others... well, lets just say that my passing rate is not going to improve.

 

A week and two days left!

Just Around the Corner

Nine days left for Seniors! This year I finally remembered that I don't like grading final papers or extensive projects that require a lot of reading. It's only taken five years, but I did learn! Instead, my sophomores are creating newspapers devoted to Julius Casear. News articles are short and easy to read. Also, those who are creative (or desperately need an A) can be quite entertaining and fun to read. I've done this project before with Romeo and Juliet - some of the want-ads the students came up with were quite amusing and showed that they had picked up more details that I had thought.

 

AP Language students are creating games based on Catcher in the Rye. This is a class that will be very creative. Previously, I had done this with the Crucible and ended up with a CandyLand version of the going through the play, complete with "evil fungal bread" trying to over power "Wonder Bread" and cards that stopped players for a turn by saying that they had asked for "more weight". There was also a version of Guess Who? called "Who Be A Witch?" that was quite entertaining to watch.

 

AP Literature students will be creating MySpace pages for characters in Much Ado About Nothing. Poor Margaret is going end up with a slightly dim personality and many dirty jokes. I still haven't heard what Beatrice's play list will be, but Don John's will be comprised of screamer metal. I just hope I don't have to listen to it.

 

This morning I handed out the summer assignment to the incoming AP students. After explaining it all, I asked for questions. One student raised his hand - "you have to read during the summer?" When I nodded, thinking to myself.. 'I'm pretty sure I just went over that', he shook his head and handed the paper back to me. The girl next to him exclaimed "no fricken' way" and handed hers too me as well. Luckily it didn't spark a protest wherein they all handed them back. Although I told them that if they didn't want to do it, it's not big whoop, but this year with all the budget cuts it could get hairy. I was asked about removing the summer assignment (our ONLY gatekeeper for AP) to get more students into the classes.  That would be the wrong move in my opinion - another AP class in the humanities does not have a summer assignment and several students fail and bail at the end of fall semester. That class gets smaller and the regular courses get overloaded with the bailers. Sadly, all the english courses will be too overloaded next year to allow any student to bail, resulting in more failures or students not being able to pass the AP test because everything has to move so slow for the slackers.

Next Year

By the end of the week, I should know what will happen with RtI next year. Whether or not we will be having reading and math intervention classes, whether or not we will have money for materials and hopefully, who will be teaching the courses. Hopefully, this year we will have someone before school starts so that we can come up with a curriculum before school starts rather than when school starts. (always a good idea) Cross your fingers for us.

My AP students took their tests and AP Lang reported that it was "easy" and they "knew a lot more than they thought they knew"... I'm hoping that means I've found a sweet spot for getting the information into their brains and helped them find ways to process. The proof will be the scores. Who knows about the AP Lit? They were all thrilled that theHeart of Darknesswas on the open prompt as we had just finished reading it. But they all felt weak on Literary terminology. If you're going to an AP conference this summer in the Pacific Northwest, I really recommend Lance Balla's session - he's probably the only reason I kept sane this year and oh so helpfully provided that unit for Heart of Darkness.

I also got a compliment for a high school principal from another school about my fantastic AP lesson yesterday. He observed us reading Much Ado About Nothing and the students got into a spontaneous discussion about the masquerade scene. Specifically, one students couldn't believe that the characters didn't know who was who if they were just wearing masks. Another explained that they probably did know, but wouldn't admit it since the whole romance of a masquerade is in the not knowing. Personally, I was just glad that all the really snarky complainers were gone while this host of visiting administrators visited my room. I may have to bring in treats as a reward for such a great "discussion".

Did you ever?

Ever sign up to do a project (perhaps even be responsible for it...) and then find out who you would be working with? And think "oh shit!"? Yah. And how diplomatic can you be as you back-peddle away real fast because the handwriting on the wall says the only way it will end up is FUBAR for you?

Lord-luv-a-duck, summer cannot come soon enough.

What to do next...

I have to make a decision as to whether I should go on with the National Boards process. I did not receive a scholarship from the state to pay for a portion of the cost and I really DO NOT want to take out the proffered loan from the state to pay the tuition fee. I could take the money from my emergency fund and hope that I don't actually have an emergency over the next year or so.

My other option is complete the pro-cert program in the fall. My certificate is due to expire next June, so I have to do something and the pro-cert program has changed to where I can simply take the culminating seminar and be done with it. Although it takes some work, it isn't nearly as taxing as doing National Boards and I would virtually be guaranteed to pass. There are so many things outside of teaching going on in my life, perhaps a break may be something to get me back on track. National Board certification has around a 40%(?) passing rate. Did I mention it would cost a fourth of National Board certification fee?

The Pro-Cert program, however, will reap me no benefit other than keeping my job. No raise, no new title, nada, zip, zero. The purpose of it is a rant for another day...

If I do pass the National Board certification process, not only do I get a bonus stipend, but I can also get a teaching job anywhere in the US (for the most part). This may be important later. I made it past the lay-off cut this year, but what about next year? Really, what do I do?

Apparently I Still Have A Job

The deadline for RIF notifcation passed on Friday without any notices for me. At least I don't think there were any... I spent the day at a RtI training in Olympia, so I suppose that there could be a notice sitting in my school mailbox. But collegues at the training told me that teachers were notified on Thursday at their school, I'm assuming that I'm in the clear for the moment.

There are exactly 6 weeks of school left. Next Friday is the first AP test. The WASL is over. I don't think I've ever been more ready to be done with school than this year. It's been a very reflective year for me, which I haven't really written about here (or any where, for that matter). There are a lot things that I need to change for myself, my sanity and my students, but I'm not sure if there is enough time to really make an effective change this year.

It does look like my summer of planning is going to be a reality as summer school seems not have made the budget. I really won't miss it.

Recession and Achievement

The ASCD blog posted yesterday regarding a new economic report that basically stated that the achievement gap has a significant economic impact that has lead to recession and will keep up there, if not remedied. Of course, all the bigwigs have the remedy for this... data collection and breaking union contracts to get rid of all the super-bad teachers (of which there must be millions because everything wrong with education is due to contracts that keep super-bad teachers in their jobs).

Really, I can only offer my anecdotal evidence that to a certain extent, the economic report is true. There are signifcant number of my students who are completely convinced that school is a boring waste of time until they get a JOB. Not a career, not a profession... a JOB. What the job will be is, well, at tad unrealistic. Part of this lack of reality is due to the fact that they're teenagers and everyone over the age of 25 is viewed as an idiot. No matter what is said, adults aren't really believed. Part of is lack of opportunity and part is just a lack of vocational education. Suffice it to say that it is likely that many of my students will be a drain on the economy. They will never achieve employment with full health insurance. They will probably live a lifestyle where a transmission replacement is a major crisis.

So what do we do? And by "we" I mean teachers... not those who view educators as a necessary evil/babysitter. I think that professional development is a necessary step, but it has to change. Most of the development programs are really "sit and listen" types of programs. Seriously, we're teachers... does this work in our classrooms? We almost never get any time to figure out how to implement the information, how to use it to create best practices or improve student learning. There are only so many hours in the day and I would like to also have a life (I know... I'm a horrible teacher because I refuse to sacrifice my personal life for the children. Maybe we should go back to only unmarried spinsters as capable teachers. Wait... I am an umarried spinster. Nix that idea.)

I would love to be able to sit around all summer with my fellow teachers and create really great lessons, but that's apparently out of reach. In fact, anytime teachers ask for time to work with collegues on curriculum, we're looked at like time-thieves. Nobody wants to actually pay a teacher for an extra minute beyond interaction with students. Entire days? Crap! Teachers might have to be paid like a professional business person instead of stupid drudge who couldn't get another job. In fact, my district will probably not offer any professional development or collegial time next year at all due to budget cuts. Instead, I'll be teaching summer school (completely different curriculum), and my collegues will be painting houses, working contruction and putting sports camp after sports camp to achieve a middle class (the real one... not George Bush's) life.

random questions

1. First thing you wash in the shower?
my hands
2. What color is your favorite hoodie?
grey - they're all grey
3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
no.
4. Do you plan outfits?
sort of - I try not to miss-match and generally only wear my fav combo of green and red during the holiday season
5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
relaxed
6. What's the closest thing to you that's red?
the scarf on my grizzly bear christmas ornament/computer montior topper
7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
I dream a lot, but don't really put effort into remembering unless it's really weird... like the time I a co-worker borrow my foot for her medical school disection assignment.
8. Did you meet anybody new today?
Luckily, no. But it's only the middle of the day. Usually all new students are dumped into my afternoon class.
9. What are you craving right now?
Lunch. I forgot to bring on.
10. Do you floss?
Yeah, but not as much as I should.
11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
cabbage rolls and soup
12. Are you emotional?
Yes.
13. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
no.
14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
lick.
15. Do you like your hair?
yes, if it could only hold onto the dye for more than a week.
16. Do you like yourself?
most of the time
17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
eww. NO.
18. What are you listening to right now?
Students wandering into their classes.
19. Are your parents strict?
I know they like to think they were, but not really.
20. Would you go sky diving?
no. I didn't find paraponting that exciting, so I'm thinking that I wouldn't find sky diving that great either.
21. Do you like cottage cheese?
honestly, it's been so long since I've tried it, I really don't know.
22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
depends on what you mean by celebrity... do politicians count? The notorious?
23. Do you rent movies often?
well, I pay for Netflicks every month but I've had one movie sitting on my shelf for about 3 months.
24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
the snowman being built by the grizzly bear of the aforementioned christimas ornament.
25. How many countries have you visited?
7?
26. Have you made a prank phone call?
yes - hasn't everyone?
27. Ever been on a train?
many, many times. I like trains, it's a great way to travel.
28. Brown or white eggs?
brown
29.Do you have a cell-phone?
of course
30. Do you use chap stick?
rarely
31. Do you own a gun?
a water gun (actually two)
32. Can you use chop sticks?
yes
33. Who are you going to be with tonight?
the baby
34. Are you too forgiving?
I think no.
35. Ever been in love?
maybe
36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow?
going to work
37. Ever have cream puffs?
yes, once.
38. Last time you cried?
last night during that humane society commercial
39. What was the last question you asked?
what day will you all be here? (the seniors are a little sketchy when you have less than a month to go.
40. Favorite time of the year?
summer - because I'm freezing the rest of the year.
41. Do you have any tattoos?
yes
42. Are you sarcastic?
Is the Pope a Catholic?
43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?
no - doesn't that have Ashton Kutcher? I dislike his acting.
44. Ever walked into a wall?
yes, about 30 minutes ago
45. Favorite color?
pink
46. Have you ever slapped someone?
yes, but not lately
47. Is your hair curly?
flat as a pancake. It's nearly impossible to get a curl.
48. What was the last CD you bought?
I do itunes
49. Do looks matter?
apparently so.
50. Could you ever forgive a cheater?
no
51. Is your phone bill sky high?
no. I'm cheap like that.
52. Do you like your life right now?
at times - the adoption thing is very frustrating
53. Do you sleep with the TV on?
sometimes.
54. Can you handle the truth?
it depends what we're being honest about.
55. Do you have good vision?
Lord-luv-a-duck no! I'm nearly blind
56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
not really. I tend to forget about them after a week or so.
57. Do you talk on the phone a lot?
no - I've actually come to really dislike it.
58. The last person you held hands with?
can't remember... how sad is that?
59. What are you wearing?
jeans, turtleneck and fleece pull-over. my standard work outfit thanks to the near incessant cold air blowing in from the "heater".
60.What is your favorite animal?
dog
61. Where was your default picture taken at?
The Courtyard
62. Can you hula hoop?
I used to...
63. Do you have a job?
at the moment. Although I've been assured that it is unlikely that I will be RIF'd the state legislature did away with the initiative that pays for me...
64. What was the most recent thing you bought?
Books, of course
65. Have you ever crawled through a window?
more than once.