Big Bowl of Randomness

I spent an hour Friday putting music on my flash drive, so I could use it in my classroom. When I got to work, the only song that worked was Hamster Dance.

This year is Martin Luther King's last chance. If the poster of him falls off the back wall again, it's going in the trash.

I took so many classes this summer that now I'm stressed out trying to apply what I've learned. It probably would have been an easier last few days if I was okay with being a mediocre teacher.

I finally got a Vitamix. Making hummus was so easy yesterday. The downside is I used their recipe, which has way to much lemon if you ask me - and way too much liquid from the chickpeas. Next time, I'm going back to how I used to make it.

I'm in love with peanut butter and cashews. Not together, but independently.

Tomorrow, I'm going to start using the Class Cards app with my students. They might hate it and revolt. Or they might realize that the actually do have pay attention and do something in my class.

I think that there is a 60% chance my phone will get stolen. I have to remember to be vigilant at all times and never trust that my students won't steal from me. Possibly, I will have to resort to wearing it around my neck like a nerd.

I get that it's a cultural thing to use two last names, but honestly, for the sake of the kid, could they just pick one? I have a girl on my roster who's listed as "Margar." I'm guessing her name is Margarita, but I've been surprised before.

Speaking of that, I feel like I'm getting super good at knowing names. For instance, years ago I would have pronounced "Kamal" as Camel (and really gotten angry that anyone would do that to a kid). Now I'm smart enough to realize that it's probably pronounced "Kuh Mal."

Those are probably all the facebook posts I would have made in the last few days. Had I actually had a minute to sit and write them.

Things I Should Be Doing Right Now....

Instead of looking at blogs and writing this pathetic post, I should be:

• Cleaning my kitchen. Cooking all your meals at home makes too many dishes. Every single day.
• Cleaning my house. Living at home makes too much of a mess. Also every single day.
• Organizing the kitchen cupboards. Now that I'm cooking all my meals at home, I need frequently used kitchen stuff to be where it's easily accessible.
• Writing two papers on two books. I'm going back to school. Despite my masters degree, I'm still not at the top of the pay scale. I'm determined to remedy that situation in two years. Same job, but much more money. I'll be taking 12 units this summer. I'm already done with 2 and could be done with 4 if I wrote the papers for them.
• Figuring out how I'm going to cook the fish for tonight's dinner.
• Fixing the look of my pathetic blog. I'm so not happy with it - to the point I think about quitting it altogether.
• Grading research papers. Ug. Seriously. Bad. That could either be a testament to my teaching or a testamint to my student's inability to follow directions - especially ones that are typed out or ask for help. Yes, I know I said testamint - it's a shout out to Christian breath fresheners.

Last Day!

I never thought it would get here - it really did seem like it when I went back to work in January, but it's finally the last day of school! Hurray for summer!

Me, Really?

Teaching can often feel like a thankless job. I do the best job I can do while at the same time trying to be there for my family. Meanwhile, my school still isn't meeting it's AYP and we won't get COLA next year because of the state budget. It would be very easy to get so bogged down with all of the bad things. Many days are filled with battles over petty things like sharpies, or coming on time. Yesterday, I had to make Angel (an ironic name) go out and come back in 4 times before he actually entered the classroom without being a disruption. So many days I just continue to make it through, wondering if I'm actually affecting anyone or anything.

When I went back to work after maternity leave, I really prayed that it would be obvious why I was there. I really wanted to have a purpose if I was going to be away from my son each day. I feel like it's becoming more and more obvious this week that I'm making a difference. One of my former students emailed me out of the blue telling me about her pregnancy. She's a junior in high school and 3 months along. After five years of teaching I still don't really know what to say when students tell me they're pregnant. Instead I was honest with her that I was a little disappointed in her, but that I was sure if anyone could make it work it was her. She has a plan to finish high school and college and has a lot of support from her family. I have a lot of hope and faith in this student, and I think she can do it. She wrote me back telling me how much that means to her that I believe in her because she looks up to me as someone who is smart and successful. I guess I never really thought of myself as anyone people looked up to. I know that sounds so dumb, but really, I didn't.

Yesterday was grade check day. One of my TA's isn't doing well in her classes. When she handed me her grade check, she told me not to get mad. So I looked it over. I let her F in math slide. I wasn't good at math, but I grilled her about her D in her English class and made a plan for her to use the last 10 minutes of my class as a study time for English vocabulary words. Today, after running into her counselor, I decided I wasn't going to let her fail anything else and made her get her math homework done in my class. I really encouraged her to get it together, because right now, she's not on track to graduate. On her way out she told me that I'm really the only teacher she really likes. What a good opportunity to use my influence. I can affect her life in ways I never imagined. She may graduate high school (and be the first in her family to do so) because of my influence.

It's good to know that in a few lives, I've made a difference.

Things You Can do with a Textbook

I learned of one more thing you can do with a textbook yesterday. Here are all the things I knew about:

1. Read it
2. Lose it
3. Cover it
4. Leave it in your locker
5. Share it with 4 friends
6. Write on it
7. Prop up your _______ (table, bed, bookshelf...whatever needs propping)
8. Tear out pages

And the thing I never thought of using a textbook for was...

9. A weapon

Yes, that's right, a weapon. Yesterday one of my students charged the another one and started hitting him in the head with the Literature book. It was the first fight that actually took place in my classroom in 5 years. Thankfully the other student was smart enough not to fight back in class. My guess is that these two had it out at the park or some other place after school was out.

It actually was a really funny scene, but I'm not supposed to laugh about it, so I won't.