Hedgetoad Teaching

I still have a draft from the 16th about making a final decision regarding the bungalow... at that point, I decided that I couldn't make a decision and started to freak out. I couldn't even post about it. So I called everyone and said "I'm not buying that house." I start looking at other houses. Not only was it disappointing, but I'm convinced that one was even haunted. And had scary wiring. Every house I looked at, I would think, the yard isn't as big as the bungalow, the kitchen doesn't have as nice of a lay out as the bungelow (and it was built before actual appliances, so you know that kitchen really sucked ), etc. Then the bungelow disappeared from the selling agent's website. A clear sign that an offer has been made? I basically spent the holiday weekend pressing refresh trying to find out. I realize that not only do I desperately want this house, but I'll probably cry real tears if someone else has snatched this diamond in the rough. I...

I am completely caught up with my grading. There's one assignment that is sitting in the box, but I'm not going to really grade it. I'll just put a check on them all and call it good. Shhhh! Don't tell. We talked over the material in class - I know they got it, understood it and could probably regurgitate upon command if needed. That's all I really needed to know. Seriously, my plan for the weekend was to sit on my ass, knit, sew and decorate for the holidays. Then my landlord called, wanting to show my apartment to a potential buyer of the building. It doesn't bode well - local landlords have an abnormal view of themselves and their properties. Basically, they believe that renters are idiots who will pay anything for a dwelling with no rats. My rent is o.k. given what I deal with... but the potential buyers seem to think it's too good of a deal. God! I hope I find a decent house in a decent neighborhood soon! Tomorrow I'm having a sorta stuctural engine...

I knew the rental market was horrendous in this area (crap, crap, crap... and hey! look! more crap!), but now I'm convinced that all visual/decorating/color choice taste has been sucked out of the entire region. What is wrong with these people to think that someone will pay top dollar for a house with a kitchen floored in 68 cent vinyl tile? Do they really think that no one is going to notice that the counter top is bright orange and the all the appliances are baby poop green? Where is the law requiring that updated kitchens must have blah oak cabinets and updated bathrooms must have molded fiberglass bathtub/shower/tub walls insert? Who adds on a "bonus room" with no windows and one electrical outlet? I'm in such shock I can't even type straight. I'm still waiting for an opinion regarding the foundation, fireplace, etc. from the bungalow. I took a really long look at the fireplace yesterday and was disheartened. I think it's pulling away from the house un...

I knew the rental market was horrendous in this area (crap, crap, crap... and hey! look! more crap!), but now I'm convinced that all visual/decorating/color choice taste has been sucked out of the entire region. What is wrong with these people to think that someone will pay top dollar for a house with a kitchen floored in 68 cent vinyl tile? Do they really think that no one is going to notice that the counter top is bright orange and the all the appliances are baby poop green? Where is the law requiring that updated kitchens must have blah oak cabinets and updated bathrooms must have molded fiberglass bathtub/shower/tub walls insert? Who adds on a "bonus room" with no windows and one electrical outlet? I'm in such shock I can't even type straight.I'm still waiting for an opinion regarding the foundation, fireplace, etc. from the bungalow. I took a really long look at the fireplace yesterday and was disheartened. I think it's pulling away from the house unt...

If you're looking for an education related post, please peruse the blogroll to the right. Also, English teachers may get a kick out of the grammar article in the NYT. In the meantime, I'm obsessed about this house. I've written and called everyone I know - and a few people from the blogsphere. I have little notes scattered all over my apartment that read things like " asbestos?" and "wiring '94 - call PUD." I'll be gathering all those notes to put into the notebook I'm using to keep all the paperwork together... although I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I have a notebook (it's sherbert orange and actually says "sherbert" on the cover). I have at least two more people to drag around the house before proceding and either could give me deal-breaker information (foundation? bad! EEEKK!). And secretly, a small part of me hopes that someone else will make an offer before I can get all that done because the ...

We have conferences all week. Basically, we all sit in a common area and wait for parents to drop by to chat. Little actual education of students goes on (the parents however... totally different story). This year we have wireless interent connections, so in between parents I've been perusing the American Bungalow website. It's full of interesting information. Last Friday I mentioned that we couldn't figure out what was on the wall in the bathroom of the house my friend and I toured. Thanks to American Bungalow, I learned that it is actuall scored plaster faux tile and it's fairly common. I even learned how to remove various paint layers without harming the plaster - how fab is that? Seriously, after seeing some of the horrendous stuff that these people have fixed with little previous experience, I'm thinking that this house is in fairly good shape. The floors didn't tilt in excess and I can actually see the plaster walls (most were covered in the 70s with hid...

When it comes to making a big decision, I'm a talker. I'll talk the hind leg off a dog - and keep on talking for the other one. When I stop talking, the decision has been made... and right now, I'm dying for someone to talk to. Buying a house is a huge decision! And there are lots of things that keep me from crossing the line besides the lack of decent properties. Issues 1. Can I commit to living in one place for several years? My friends and family have entire pages devoted to me in their address books. Since graduating from high school, I haven't kept the same address for more than two years (and that was a P.O. Box!) Granted there were outside issues - roommates, dorms, finding myself , butt-ugly apartments, bad neighbors... etc. If I do purchase a house, I can make it not ugly, kick any potential roommate out and research the neighbors. What happens when I start feeling antsy and want to move on? So far, just thinking about moving all my books has quelled the idea o...

I've been house hunting for a while and I have to say that it is not easy. Western Washington is not the greatest place to look for a place to live - especially outside of the Seattle Metro area. Most of the time I'm driving by house that appear to crack dens. What's the point of looking inside. Today I went to look inside - it was in a good neighborhood and didn't appear to be on the verge of falling down. Of course, the friend who went with me immediately pointed out that the chimney seemed to be tilting towards the roof... maybe that "falling down" comment was a little hasty. The hysterical thing about touring the house - I'm mentalling making price lists in my head, like the project estimators on Flip this House . Switch fireplace to gas - $400; house value increase - $1000. Remove 50 years worth of pain - $100 (and every free moment until June); value increase $5000... there's a shitload of paint, but it's gorgeous underneath. Sadly, as the ...

Our school Book Club selection this month this month is A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. First, let me recommend the book because it's a great read! Basically, it's a bio of a alcoholic crackhead doing a stint in re-hab. However, it's not preachy in any way. The author is matter of fact about the whole thing and more than a little resistant to the traditional AA path... for himself. It is pretty graphic at times and I can see a lot of students really getting into the book. There's also a lot of swearing, which is always popular with 14 year olds. Some students were put off by the recommendation of Oprah. Her being old and having a show for housewives (in their eyes) pretty much deems everything from her as "stupid." Someone also point out that some parents may have issues about the language and there is discussion about a rape and a couple of other sexual scenes. However, it wasn't anything worse than I see written on various notes I've taken fr...

Someone asked what I learned at the Shakespeare inservice I attended a couple of weeks ago... it was fun, but I also got some good things out it. Somethings that Shakespeare's audiences would recognize immediately are jokes and playing around with the social hierarchy that he does. To help convey this to students there are couple of games that can be played in class to really drive home how this hierarchy works. There are two options. Social Rank Game Option One - get about 6 to 10 students to volunteer. Explain to students that they will select a card from a deck of playing cards. The card they choose (between Ace to King) will denote their social status. Aces are the lowest of the low - Kings are the highest. Have each student pick a card from deck and place card (facing out) on forehead. Students should not see their own card! Ask one student to "host" the party and greet other guests (students) as they pretend to arrive to the party. Students should treat those with ...

How appropriate that my last post should be centered on my dred of using substitutes. It's 12.30 pm and I'm sitting at the computer in my pjs... on a school day no less! I have my huge supply of kleenex, odwalla wellness , and huge stack of stories to grade. Let the healing begin. I went in yesterday, and was told that I looked horrible, sounded horrible and was disgusting because I had to blow my nose every 10 minutes. Working with teen-agers is such a joy. At least you'll always know where you stand on attractiveness scale. However, it did seem like I would be loosing my voice today, so I asked for a substitute to be called. I'm really hoping that by getting the call in early, a competant sub was reached. Getting a subsitute teacher to cover my classes is never a relaxing thing. The few times I've done it in the past meant a day was lost - and my classes got the reputation of being hellions. Luckily, another teacher has already scored that reputation this year. I...

I was tagged... Here are the instructions: 1) Go into your archives. 2) Find your 23rd post. 3) Find your 5th sentence (or closest to it). 4) Post the text of your sentence in your blog along with these rules. 5) Tag five other people. Here it is... Since I was to be in a meeting all day, the district hired a substitute for my classes. And thus my aversion to having subs in my class was born. Or rather the unknown factor of them - the planner in me cringes at the thought of being off schedule. Of course, I could be flexible, but flexible is much harder.

While reading the Odyssey to a class, one of the students actually said they were really enjoying the story - now... meaning, with me reading, stopping every stanza to summarize, dramatizing the action, etc. The question for today is, how do you get students to do that on their own?

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We're going to a Shakespeare play! One with real paid actors who think Shakespeare was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Enthusiasm and a desire to do it well - these are not things the average high school teacher sees on a daily basis. As part of our Shakspeare experience, we had an inservice on teaching the bard in class. I would rank this inservice as one of the top two I've ever attended! No powerpoint or overheads! It was all movement based andgot me thinking seriously of how to use the theater for the classroom more. We learned (and participated in) a couple of games to illustrate status in elizabethan society, understand imabic pentameter and how to interpret text and deliver a line. We also learned how to dance - which I love doing with the freshman. I have instituted a "almost, but no touching" rule in the past (which is hysterical to watch as they compete to see who can get the closest without touching or having "nurse" drag the girl way yel...

The other day, I walked through the office and forgot that it was only October... it feels like there never was a summer, just an unending school year. Reason #927 to live in a region with 4 definite seasons. My sophomore class started reading Fahrenheit 451 this week. Apparently, they all really like it. Kind of shocking, but an introduction to the author through a short story seemed to get them into the novel. Even my future criminal elements are reading it with gusto. Go figure. The Freshmen started reading the Odyssey - number of "don't turn in this 'this is a stupid story' crap for your assignments" = 2. So far, one student has expressed a positive thought... it's going to be a fabulous month in these classes.

I had a group of students reading a short story by Ray Bradbury. We're going to start reading Fahrenheit 451 next week, so this seemed like a good story to introduce the author without actually introducing him. Also, the story has really good examples of irony and the main character is the setting... lots of literary things to discuss! After reading the story, the students were to answer a bunch of questions in the book because it's a good way to make sure they actually read it and will remember it tomorrow. A student raises his hand to ask a question... which is quite normal. However, in the ensuing conversation, I realize that said student has no idea how the people in this story die - they're basically reverse shadows on a wall, nuclear bomb having exploded sometime before the story begins. The student cannot figure this out because he has never what happens when a nuclear bomb is dropped on a population center. He is familiar with the effects of a "dirty bomb,...

Friday people, two more days.... until then it's left over chicken and applesauce. In my quest for extra cash, I learned how to work the scoreboard last night. For the unimportant activities like volleyball, I can now work the scoreboard for a little extra cash (heavy emphasis on little ). At least I hope I can... scoring is not the same as it was in PE or even in coaching middle school. It's fairly fast paced now and concentration on the referees is definately a must. I also volunteered to be a department representative. Unfortunately, I have to share this duty with two other people. Again, emphasis on little extra cash. But it's better than a kick in the head.

I am feeling the pinch of a teacher's budget this month... and probably will for the next few months. Right now my bank account reads in the negatives thanks to a very busy beginning of the school year. I really couldn't have been bothered to sit down and figure out that I had been paid a couple hundred dollars less than previous months, or that I was having to pay out a couple of hundred dollars more. Whoops! I'm hoping to make it too the end of the month without spending anything (spagetti again? wonderful!) I do have to buy football tickets for a game next month. This may sound frivilous, but it is a moral imperative. Or at least a familial obligation. I'm taking two younger cousins to a WSU football game and a tour of the college. One will be entering high school next year and we want to keep him on the right track. The other has had a very tough and will soon be facing more challenges than should be acceptable for a 4th grader. Plus, I'm desperate to visit the...

We lost the game. Our team scored the first touchdown, but when the final siren rang it was the only one. While losing the game was a sad moment, the excitement of the crowd and community spirit was fantastic. The game was attended by nearly 10,000 people - a huge number for a non-championship football game. There was tons of great foot (although the I think someone needs to show the concession managers a photo of an actual nacho) and lots of old traditions revived. ******* Week two went by pretty quickly. I have a huge pile of essays to grade tonight and need to figure out something good to do for the short story unit. So far, even I'm thinking it's a huge waste of time... and I'm the one planning it. Revamping is definately needed. ******* My huge class of 35 shows no signs of being reduced. Luckily, two students have never shown up, so I squeeking by with only 32 desks and a computer. To be honest, I don't really feel I have the right complain - my number of repeater...