I am procrastinating.

I really do not want to work. I need to grade preassessment essays and finish the syllabus for AP Lit. I need to go over my powerpoint for "The Writing Process."

Argh, I love my job, but I hate the extra hours I have to put into it.

I should go to school and finish my room, but without air conditioning on a Sunday afternoon, my room is a sauna. I will (maybe) stay tomorrow after school and finish it. I have been very proud of my energy level in school (even though it is the monthly time...I know...too much information. But that is usually the time I go a little crazy and the kids are still saying I am a "nice" teacher.) I am attempting not to sit down at my desk during class. I try to always be up and observing what the students are doing. They usually are asking more questions if I'm up. Also, it is better for classroom management.

Vada is mad about the whole school thing and is currently trying to save me from every sock in the house. They must have holes in them and die. She tried to save me from the bills again by tearing them up. I told her I appreciate the effort, but I have to have socks for school and even if the bills are dead, we must still pay them. Yesterday, she got Cujo on me when I tried to clean the living room rug. I was re-laying it on the floor after sweeping, and she jumped on it and growled. When I was trying to straighten it out...she growled and barked and would not get off...until I got the vacuum out. Sometimes she will try to attack the vacuum. I think she is upset because I am taking her scent out of the rug. Or she sees it as hers and I shouldn't mess with it.

I did my first plus/delta post its of the year and the students are already complaining the class is too hard and there is too much work. Excuse me while I run down the hall pulling my hair out screaming. (I'll post pictures and pictures of my room if I ever get it done.)

Even with this, the students have been very mellow. Maybe because they lost a fellow student this summer. A sophomore drowned in the river in June and they only now got the autopsy and DNA results confirming who he was. The student was never in any of my classes so I didn't go to the funeral. But I feel for the kids. They have to be thinking about the big issues surrounding death. I don't know whether to go on and be business as usual or stop and ask the kids for a day to reflect and discuss the matter and what is on their minds. Our school has no guidance counselor right now, and there was no service during school. Just an announcement of when the rosary and funeral was.

Still, still alive. Will be extremely grateful for Friday.

1. Why can't I do math? I brought home all the kid's pre assessment tests on the writing process. Major math error in figuring up their scores cost me an extra hour of going back and changing all their grades. Arggghhh!

2. Colleague is still annoying the hell out of me, but I'm am trying to ignore. Sucks big time because we have to meet for an hour each day. I'm having a hard time to change the subject five times an hour.

3. Sophomore boys acted very seriously today. They took their test very serious. Of course one was practically dying of something similar to swine flu all period. I put a new box of Kleenex and his own trashcan by his desk as he took his test....and quarantined it afterwards for the janitor.

4. Ok all the volleyball girls are out tomorrow...all day. I'm am giving tests. I told the girls to make up the test before they go...there is after school or during their athletic period. Last year the girls would want to make up during this time and the coaches were ok with it. Whatever, the worst would be that they made it up Monday, but I wouldn't have a grade for the progress report for them.

The coach interrupted my class all huffy and informed me that the girls would be making the test up until Monday, which is allowed. The girls are "conditioning" whatever that means. I informed her of the above. I don't care when they make it up. But what usually happens is the girls forget about it on Monday. Then they get a zero and it is all downhill from there. Then it is my fault.

5. My first essay topic for American literature is "Tell me about a time you did feel or did not feel like an American." OK, this maybe is not a good question for these students. Some are illegal or consider themselves Mexican. I should have learned my lesson. Some students just stared at their papers.

One young man related a story from the first day of school. He arrived late to school and arrived in the middle of our orientation. As he sat down, the new AP informed the students they need to be speaking English at all times. He relates he got angry at her because that is not fair. He told his mother and his mother said she might as well leave now because that is all that is spoken here.

The only problem with this is did this make him feel more like an American or less like an American? I think the boy needs to work on his "idea development" here.

And all I can think is that the situation is opposite at home. If you don't speak English, most people think you might as well leave the area. Sometimes bigotry is just the opposite sides of coins.

(I know that is an awkward metaphor. Sorry. Having a tough time with the whole English teacher thing. Having trouble with the whole keeping my mouth shut thing too. )

I'm better--just tired, not crabby

1. One of the other teachers keeps bringing up a subject I am really touchy about...dual credit (long distance learning) and online courses for our high school. I think, probably in my paranoid mind, that the school is trying to get rid of real live teachers. I think she is just trying to upset me.

I think I am just going to ignore the whole thing until the whole thing affects me in some way. I mean, I have enough to do. It's not like it is directly affecting me now. (Unless they cancel my senior AP class. Which I don't think they will do.)

2. Most of my students are very nice and good students. I have a few weenies in my sophomore class. Why do boys giggle and smile when they feel intimidated? I mean, I have four boys in that class who act like they don't feel guilty about anything. But every time I mention they are going to be responsible for something, they giggle and laugh at each other like it's their own private joke. I know they are just uncomfortable. I know they are sophomores, but COME ON. SIGH. There's a reason they call them "sophomores."

3. We are reading The Color Purple. One kid keeps pointing out that it has a lesbian relationship in the book. I remind him that we need to be mature about the material and if he is uncomfortable with it, I can assign him another book. Sweet Oprah AND Whoopi.

4. What else? My new AP stopped in my classroom and announced I received an A today for using Bingo during my lecture on my classroom procedures and expectations. Shocked the hell out of the kids. That was nice.

5. Still don't have my room done. I have been so tired by the end of the day, I just go home. Today I got home, made supper, worked on the AP syllabus, felt TERRIBLE, laid down and took a hot bath. Then wrote the blog.

I'm scared my room is never going to be done. I never got done last year either. I just need to go in on Saturday morning and WORK.

6. The seniors are acting like they actually want to be in my class. I am amazed at their maturity. These are the horrible little children I had two years ago in my dreaded sophomore class. There is hope.

I like the fact that I saw these young adult mature in the last four years. I think it is incredible. We kinda have grown up together.

I am crabby and tired.

Really.

Today was the first day with students. I really do have nice students...even the ones I suspect are going to try to get me fired.

That and the new assistant principal was in my room twice today.What do you want to know about that?

I'm tired of hearing other teachers bitch. Seriously. Geez. You didn't know this job was hard. Really. Nothing is going right the first day. Really...Does it ever?

Really, this day was fine. I refuse to get upset about anything until they fire me.

I went to the assisant principal on Wednesday and asked her if it was ok for me to structure the AP as a senior honors class instead of AP. She said absolutely not. That if we call the class AP it needs to be treated as such. Then I told her that if I taught it like an AP class, I needed the administration's backing because those kids are going to freak! They will be dropping the class. I told her I didn't think they should be able to drop the class without a parent conference with me. She agreed. I also said that if we are going to emphasize and encourage students to be in dual credit we should drop AP. The students are always going to take the easiest classes and that is dual credit. She said we are not.

I liked what I heard, but I don't think she's been around long enough to know what she is talking about. I kinda wish I got what she said in writing.

Thursday and Friday were work days. We had a short meeting on Thursday. We got into a twenty minute "discussion" about hall passes. And as a group we decided what to do about it. Some people complained that this argument as a whole group was a waste of time and should be done in committee. I would rather be involved in the whole group discussion. Committees, in my opinion, are worthless. It's just another word for "clique."

I worked on unpacking things all day Thursday. I'm not done, but it is functional. I don't have any lesson plans for my AP class (or a curriculum) so I worked on that Friday. I only am partway done on pre AP and haven't even started on AP. I will be working all day today.

Tomorrow is the first day of school and I am not even beginning to be ready. Well, tomorrow will come and go even if I'm not ready.

Happy New (School) Year!

OK, the first GOOD NEWS: I AM GAINFULLY EMPLOYED AT THE BEST JOB "EVEH!" That means:

1. I have a job. (Exactly, a high falutin' CAREER. And that's not easy these days.)
2. I like my job. It's fun, I love to read, and the kids are really funny and amusing. (When they don't make me want to pull out my hair.)

The second GOOD NEWS: MY DISTRICT IS RATED ACADEMICALLY ACCEPTABLE, MY HIGH SCHOOL IS RATED RECOGNIZED (one step above acceptable), and MY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT IS EXEMPLARY (one step above recognized) by the state of Texas. WOOT!

School started Monday for me. This week is professional development and work days. The students come back next Monday.

"Meh" on the professional development. The first day was technology learning day. Since I already am light years ahead in using all the technology in our school I was bored and sat in the back and tried to be quiet and work on schoolwork.

(Only real bad thing...We use a system like "Blackboard" (only cheaper and cruddier) for our school. I have been using the system for two years, while the majority of other teachers don't even know how to open the program. I had all my online tests in there. The coordinator deleted all my tests and account and created a new account/class for me. Like 40 tests, programmed and written by me. I don't know whether to tell him, chew him out, or ignore it. It's not like he can solve anything now.)

The superintendent made opening remarks. You all know how I feel about him. However, you know what? I wouldn't want his job, so maybe it is best he's in that position. I felt very, very sorry for him. He said some things in the welcome back letter that were not phrased very precisely to put it mildly. (And it was an English teacher's nightmare...it made every mistake I tell my students not to.) "Acceptable is no longer @cceptable," he wrote. While I totally agree with the sentiment (it is the same stance I use in my classroom), some high school departments had to raise their scores to a great degree just to be acceptable. Like from 20% to 60% of students passing. Understandably, some teachers got upset. He backpedaled.

He never mentioned the departments at the high school that received exemplary status. Well, I guess I don't teach to get praise from the superintendent. Still, it would be nice.

The second day was instructional strategy day. "Meh." Common sense stuff. Then we had to make out 6 weeks of lesson plans. First of all, I have 3 preps and one class I just found out I had to teach that day and have never taught before. Since this is a totally unreasonable request I just wrote up the four weeks I had planned of English 3 and called it good. I haven't heard anything from the principal.

Today we went over the handbook and decided about hall passes. The new assistant principal took over the meetings since the principal is out of town. (He had surgery and will be back in a few weeks.) She was way nervous and I don't think she liked the way people just had conversations while she talked. She kept trying to do this clapping thing. She explained that when she started clapping rhtymatically we were to join in and pay attention. I think the procedure is a little elementary schoolish (where she is from.) But then again, it's kinda like when I count down from 5 to signal to the students when I want their attention. The kids really felt it was babyish, but it was better than me screaming "Shut up!" or "Get to work" or "Pay attention."

The next two days are "work" days. I really restrained myself and made sure I didn't already start working on my room until this week. I rearranged my desk and cabinets and that's all I have done this week. I am restraining myself from going there tonight and getting an early start tonight.

However, while I have 4 weeks planned for English 3, I have no plans for my other 2 classes: Pre AP English with Sophomores and AP Language and Literature with seniors. So I have planning to do.

At first, I was pleased with the schedule, but now I am nervous. The senior class is worrying me. Remember that pre-Ap sophomore class I had two years ago with Doorknob girl?

This is THAT class. Only older.

Of course, Doorknob girl is no longer in that class and the size has been halved due to dual credit...but the kids in it don't want AP work. And I don't think the administration will support me teaching the difficult material if the students complain or want out. I feel like the school is pushing dual credit more than AP so the numbers/data looks better. So I am considering asking the administration to just make it an Honors/College Prep class. Which is a shame since the kids can do AP work, they just have not been challenged enough in school. Hard things are not worth doing.

What I Did This Summer: Part 2 Crocheting

The afghan was done over three YEARS!. I'm glad to be done.

The triangles are granny "squares" and I think will make an interesting pattern when done.