Tagged

I've been tagged by the famous HappyChyck...

Here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.


1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was working for a t-shirt company as the graphic designer. I would set up the designs for screen printing and embroidery. My daughter was not yet 2 at the time.

2) What are five things on your to-do list for today?
I need to get my son down for a nap
I need to change my eye appointment for tomorrow
I need to work on my final project
I need to cook dinner for my son and I (pizz-ah!)
You'll have to live with 4 things...

3) What snacks do I enjoy?
100000 bars
pretzels
string cheese

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire
Buy my grandfather's camp in Upper Michigan
Finish school
Get a Chrysler 300 & a '68 VW Bus
Help out my family & church
Invest a bunch of it

5) Three Bad Habits
Too much sarcasm
Lazy
I'm a slob

6) 5 places I have lived...
Just 5?
Boulder, Colorado
Saratoga, California
Chico, California
Fremont, CA
Las Vegas, NV (current)

7) 5 Jobs I have had
Just 5?
Graphic Artist
Lighting Technician
Account Associate for T-Shirt wholesaler
Account Associate for Xerox
Substitute Teacher (current)

7) Six suckers, er people I want to know more about...
Karlana, a great friend and twice the teacher I'll ever be...
Megan my niece who I still love even though she went to USC.
The Educated Shoprat, who has a great blog covering a wide range of topics.
Thomas, who runs the Thomas Chronicles, a great blog that makes you think.
The Pondering Penguin, who knew penguins were capable of such deep thought?
The CA Teacher Guy, the jewel school will be the poorer for his absence.

That was fast!

Wow,
Just one more project to do and my semester at Nevada State is finished. In fact the semester ends on May 7th if you can believe that. The nice thing is that after Monday I can concentrate on teaching until at least Memorial Day when the person I am filling in for is supposed to come back. But she may not because her baby (and boy is he CUTE) is having some health issues. Either way for a few weeks I simply get to teach.

Speaking of teaching I'm trying for a paid internship at the Andre Agassi (yes him) school. Andre built this private school in the heart of North Las Vegas to give kids in the poorest part of town a shot at a good education. They got a grant to give teaching students a paid ($18000) internship which includes paying for student teaching. Now just because I dropped off my application does not mean much because there is one class (literary theory) I need to take that I can't get until the Spring of 2009, which is supposed to be the semester I student teach. The issue is that the rule at Nevada State says that you can only take student teaching, and no other classes. Now I did try to see if UNLV has the class I need but they have it at times I can't take it, (middle of day) and the head of the English Department says no independent studies will be available at all. So my Wednesday meeting with my advisor will be very interesting to say the least.

Finally, I do have one good story to tell about my week. I was Dr. Detention for the 8th graders on Wednesday and I decided that they could use some culture. So I found my daughter's soundtrack to the musical 'Cats' and brought that to school with me. When the students arrived for their time with me I popped the CD in and turned it up. I wish WISH I had a camera to record their reactions. First it was confusion because it didn't register in their minds what they were hearing. Then it was a dawning realization that I had put on show tunes. Then a combination of misery and disgust as they were forced to stare at the white board for thirty minutes and listen to the music. After thirty minutes I told them they better start doing their homework, and no I didn't turn the music off, in fact I turned it up a bit, just to get the point across. The high point was when disc 1 ended and the music stopped, the students breathed an audible sigh of relief that the torture was over... Then I popped in disc 2, yes it's a 2 disc set. Talk about crushing their spirits, it was truly a thing of feline beauty.

Presidential Quotes

One of the things I've noticed around the blogosphere is that bloggers are quote happy right now and that made me remember an assignment I did during my long term assignment in the fall. I posted it on Buckhorn Road in the comments section and thought I'd simply post it here for all to see and (hopefully) use in their own classrooms. I tried to pick presidents throughout our history and narrowed the list down to what is on the assignment. The students really responded to this assignment and I read some great responses to the quotes. There was one in particular that the students liked more than the rest but I'll let you guess which one it was.

Pick Two Quotes and give a 5-7 sentence response to each quote. I want to know why you like it and what it means to you. Be descriptive in your writing. “I like it because I agree with it” is not going to be acceptable for this assignment. Put your responses (1 for each quote) on a separate piece of paper and staple it to this sheet. Each response will be worth 15 points so there is a total value of 30 points for this assignment. It will be due when you return to class.

George Washington: "Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."

Thomas Jefferson: "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

James Madison: "The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted."

James Monroe: "National honor is the national property of the highest value."

John Quincy Adams: "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."

Martin Van Buren: "It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't."

Abraham Lincoln: "If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."

Theodore Roosevelt: "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

John F. Kennedy: "The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived, and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic."

Lyndon B. Johnson: "You ain't learnin' nothin' when you're talkin'."

Gerald Ford: "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."

Ronald Reagan: "America is too great for small dreams."

George W. Bush: "We will bring the terrorists to justice; or we will bring justice to the terrorists. Either way, justice will be done."

My own favorites are from Reagan and Lincoln, short and to the point.

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Worksheets

Worksheets are the stepchild of education in many ways. They're trite, dull, lack authenticity, and are pretty much looked down upon in education school. They're also very handy and don't deserve the reputation they have. Plus they may be the one thing to settle a rowdy class down enough to actually teach them.

The reason I'm bringing this up is a conversation that's been going on over at A to Z Teacher Stuff regarding an out of control class that a teacher inherited. There were several good suggestions but the one that stood out was the suggestion that they students get worksheets to keep them busy the entire hour until they get under control. Apparently there is a comfort factor for students with worksheets that gets forgotten by teachers and so-called experts alike. Student gets worksheet, student does worksheet, it's almost pavlonian once you hit middle school. I think that sometimes we spend so much time trying to reach their zone of proximity and trying to make lessons more authentic that we forget that sometimes the simple approach works the best.

Let's see how 6th period likes nothing but worksheets for a while. That and detention slips may get them back into line. Nothing else has worked so far and I did find six algebra worksheets over the weekend that should do the trick.



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Now playing: Here With Me - MercyMe
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Bring your child to work day

So today was "Bring your child to work day" in the valley and so my daughter got to accompany me to school for the day. She was so excited that she got up early(!) because she thought I may have left without her.

We got to school in plenty of time and she got a tour of the campus and a picture taken next to the cobra monument that is in the quad area. Because I had pushed the chapter quiz back a day she also got to help pass out and collect the homework and even participated in the math battles against other classes. She ended up doing pretty good considering she was going against 7th and 8th graders. She even beat a couple of them. They were a bit embarrassed to have been beaten by a fifth grader to say the least. She even took the multiplication quiz that we do as an opener (she got 49/50 right) and her high score allowed me to tease the kids who got more than one wrong on that quiz as well. (Insert the 'are you smarter than a 5th grader' jokes here)

Everything was fine and dandy until 6th period rolled around. Now even though I had warned them numerous times to sit down and be good when my daughter was there, they were their typical chatty selves. Even though I told them if they acted up I'd make their lives miserable they didn't listen. Even though only half the class was there today they were still a pain in the grade book if you catch my drift. Oh, and I got to hand out two detentions today as well. One in 6th and one in 1st (why can't kids get to school on time?).

So after the quiz tomorrow I get to make 6th period's life miserable. Worksheet city and if they let out a peep, they either get detention or a referral. Good thing I have a bunch made up already...

Yea and 10 out of 25 students are failing in 6th period right now too...



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Now playing: Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Opus 102 - Disney
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Bullying

I hate it with a passion. There are few things lower than a bully in a school environment and I tend to stomp on throats when I find out it's going on. Today it once again reared it's ugly head. Right before 5th period started one of my favorite students came rushing (with tears streaming) in asking to be switched out of my math class. My obvious question was why? It turns out that one of her classmates (who was literally just reinstated today) threatened to beat her up in the very near future. Oh, and they're both in the same math class...

So I send her to her 5th period class after she flat refuses to go to the dean's office to report it and then call the dean's office myself to tell them what's going on and I tell one of the hall monitors as well just to make sure that everyone knows what's going on.

Now I do know that everyone involved was talked to including some witnesses, but until I see the attendance list I won't know if miss bully will be coming to class. My question is how do I handle her if she shows up? I will go talk to the dean's office in the morning to see what they suggest but my natural inclination is to verbally rip her effing throat out for threatening another student.

There is some good news to report though. My current assignment got extended until Memorial Day so I'm set for the next month.



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Now playing: Electric Head, Pt. 2 [Sexational After Dark Mix] - White Zombie
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Ugh, Mondays

OK, so I was hopeful that Monday would continue on the good track that Friday ended on and that my classes would get into the swing of things without too much trouble.

Oh, really?

I ended up filling out 9 detention forms for 3 classes. That's just the ones that I filled out and handed to the students, that does not count the additional three or four that I have pinned to the wall ready for use the rest of the week. Nor does it count the ones I plan on filling out tomorrow because I ran out of time today. I could literally send 12 kids to detention without blinking an eye.

All because they can't stop flapping their gums. You would think with just 5 weeks or so left in the year they would pay a bit more attention so they don't end up repeating 8th grade or taking summer school but I guess summer school is more fun than swimming all day...

Silly me...



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The Pope

The Pope left the USA today after a six day visit. I did not know what to expect of him when he was elected although the bits that I did hear over the last few years gave me hope for the Catholic faith and their new leader. He was supposed to be an interim Pope, a stepping stone for the next one if you will. That's what the experts thought. Boy were they wrong.

He is a great man, a truly great man. Every time I heard him speak I got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. The look in his eyes every time he was introduced and stunned by the roar of the crowd told me what a humble man he is. And the topper was that he not only addressed the child abuse scandal several times in his sermons. But he also read the riot act to the Bishops and Cardinals and basically told them that this had better not happen again, especially the cover ups and the transferring of problem priests from one parish to the next. The crowning moment was when he met privately met with some of the victims of this terrible scandal to apologize and pray with and for them. The Catholic Church should rejoice and thank God almighty this selection.

To bad some people like that moron Bill Mahr couldn't resist taking shots at him and the Church. I won't dignify that dope by repeating what he said, just turn him off when he comes on the air.

Finally, understand that I am not Catholic anymore. I belong to one of the Vineyard churches here in the valley. However I still follow what the Pope says and does, and in this case it fills my heart with joy.

I hope and pray that I could somehow make that kind of a difference in the classroom when I finally finish school and begin my career in earnest because then I would know that during my brief time on Earth that I made it a better place to live.



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Now playing: Meant To Live - Switchfoot
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Poster Day

First of all let me say that I am feeling much better. Not 100% but pretty close. Lucky for me it was just a 24 hour thing. Chances are I ate something that bit back if you catch my drift. I would even wish that on 6th period and that's saying something!

Today was poster day and it went better than expected. I wish I had brought more glitter glue because the kids went nuts with it. I also wish I had brought a few more markers, but other than that it was a huge success because everyone got something out of it. The kids got to have some fun and they learned something even if they don't realize it.

I got an easy day and my room looks way cool with the posters. The reaction from the students later in the day when they walked in was priceless. Now the room has some character.

Of course 6th period didn't get to do posters, they had to work, which they did little of. So I filled out some detention forms for Monday.

Sick

I hate being sick. I really do. Last night I went to bed and I was fine. I woke up this morning and felt like I walked into a Pepto-Bismol commercial. Needless to say school was more like survival than actual teaching but I managed to gut (pun intended) my way through it. The nice thing is that tomorrow is an easy day. The kids get to make math posters so I don't really have to teach, just make sure they don't thrash the room.

And so far the lesson of the multiplication tables has stuck with 6th period but one of my biggest talkers was not in class so we'll see.

It also looks like my assignment will be extended until late May. The teacher I am covering for needs more time with her son who needs more surgeries (poor guy) to correct some issues, so if you're of a mind for prayer keep them in mind. Trust me God will know who you're talking about.

Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow and be back to normal on Monday.



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Now playing: Prayer Of Saint Francis - Sarah McLachlan
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55 Minutes of Hell

That's what 6th period received today. They got the distinct pleasure of doing their multiplication tables for 55 minutes along with four quizzes that will count for a grade. I made them repeat the 6's three times and then the 9's twice because they were not doing them the way I wanted them to. The very best part was that when they got to the 9s and finished them their spirits began to lift, right until I rewound the overhead back to the 2s and made them start over again from the beginning, and the coup de grace was when I told them that they were not going to be doing posters on Friday because they were doing this instead.

Now I did this for two reasons. The first was because they needed to know that I don't make empty threats, and the second reason is that as a class they are failing and really need to work on their basic math skills. I made the quizzes count because I told them that I would never give them work just to keep them busy, plus I wanted them to take the quizzes seriously, and there's nothing like an impending F for an 8th grader who wants to go to 9th grade to motivate them.

OK, I have to admit I enjoyed making them miserable for a day. I really enjoyed it, but I'm just shallow that way. We'll see if the lesson sticks with the kids who were there today. I had several kids absent who now get to make up the four quizzes. Plus tomorrow I'll just start handing out detentions the second someone gets out of line.

It's Drill Sargent mode until I leave which is the 25th of the month unless the regular teacher decides not to come back.



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Out of control

That's what 6th period is rapidly heading for if things don't change and quickly. Friday was not good, and Monday for them is going to be worse. First thing I'm going to do on Tuesday (Monday is a staff development day) is start writing out detentions for about 7 students in that class and then start to hand them out the second they get out of line which should take about 12 seconds. In addition, I asked the registrar for contact information since I don't have access to the software that has it so I can start calling parents and ask them why their child can't behave in my class. I'm also going to start using the referral forms that I have started on with several students to see if that does not get the message across. It's so frustrating because every time they get on the right track someone is there to make sure the class descends into near chaos. I really don't want to go into Drill Sargent mode but I don't seem to have a choice.

Oh, and Tuesday the get to spend the entire period working on multiplication tables since they can't seem to take it seriously for two minutes, I'm hoping that 55 minutes of them will do the trick. Plus they really need the practice. Speaking of practice, they won't be doing the poster project that the other classes will be doing next Friday since I'm going to spend an extra day drilling them on their multiplication tables. Too bad for them but maybe next time they'll take me seriously when I tell them to get busy or else...

But then again, probably not.



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Hmmmm

Class has been odd this week, although I think that rearranging seats in 1st period and in 6th (again) is helping out. So is the absence of a few students who tend to make life hard to myself and the other students. The one thing that really set me off yesterday was that first period didn't stand up at all for the pledge. Since when is that OK in my room? You can probably guess how I handled that situation. Needless to say today they all stood up at once when it came on the TV.

I also think that not using the overhead projector seems to be helping as well since they can't sleep with the lights on. I've also been getting my observation hours done. I'm well on my way for secondary and done with special ed. Now I have to do my ELL ones. I do think that the students have realized I make them work because they've started to ask when their regular teacher is coming back (April 28) and a few kids are looking forward to that date. What I didn't tell them is that she may not come back at all this year (Insert evil laugh) so they may be stuck with me until June. I can't wait for the interim tests to be done with so I can get back to the regular schedule of teaching math.

Speaking of observation, being in an English room has really sparked my enthusiasm for my chosen subject again. I am going to ask him if I can teach a lesson, especially since Wednesdays are specifically for writing and that is one thing I really enjoy teaching. Speaking of teaching (wow what a cool segue) I'm closing in on my teaching degree. My main sticking point is that one class is not offered in the fall when I need to take it and my adviser's suggestion was to take it at UNLV. I am going to take a friends advice and push for an independent study instead. Otherwise I'm screwed for a full semester and I can't do my student teaching until fall of 2009 which screws me for the internship I really want to get. No pressure or anything...



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Frustrated

Somethings not right in my classroom and I can't help but feel that it's me. For some reason I've lost my connection with my students. They're not responding like they used to. In the space of a few days they've totally lost interest in learning. I plan on switching back to the white board from the overhead projector but I don't know if that's going to make a difference. I'm also going to change up the seating again which may snap them out of this funk. I really need to do something or lots of students are going to spend 4 years in middle school instead of 3.

Posters?

No, not all of you who comment (and thanks btw!), I mean posters for my classroom which is pretty bare. I've been contemplating having the students make posters dealing with math to put up in my room. There is some upside to this, it'll be a welcome change for the students, and it would add some personality to the room, but I have serious reservations about this.

1. 6th period. I seriously doubt that they'd be able to handle this assignment. Too many kids that would rather talk and disrupt my class.

2. It cuts into valuable class time. This kids are so behind it's not funny, every day is needed just to get my students to even be close to caught up.

3. Would they actually learn anything? Or would this just be a wasted day?

Any ideas?

I hate my students

You read that right. As of 2:11 I despise my students, all of them. Let me give you a quick rundown of what my day was like.

Period 1 alternated between a comatose drool and hyper chatter.

Period 2 didn't give a crap and even had one kid cheat on a multiplication quiz.

Period 4 didn't care about anything except gossiping.

Period 5 was almost awake.

Period 6 was the icing on the cake. One moron took twenty minutes to get a workbook from their locker. Moron #2 cheated on a quiz. Since when does 19 wrong become 14 wrong? And moron #3 bracketed his name with swastikas. So I had two referrals and one detention to fill out. Plus I have to change the seating for periods 1,2 and 6 (yet again). Fill in every stereotype of 8th graders you have and that's what I had to deal with today. Monday I'll love my students again, right now I want to backhand them. Good thing I live across town from them...

My last post was March 11?

Wow, I can't believe it's been that long since I've posted anything. It's not like I've not had anything to blog about, I've been to flipping busy to post here for all 5 of you to read. So in a nutshell here is what's been going on...

1. 6th period is still 6th period. One kid came in late, put his name on the tardy list and then erased it thinking I would not notice. He got suspended for three days. I changed the seating for the third time since the end of February and it's getting better but still not where I want it to be.

2. The semester is almost over at Nevada State College and I'm working hard to get all my observation hours in as well as the projects etc... And I'm trying to get registered next week for both summer and fall. It looks like I have 6 more classes before I graduate. It's gonna get crazy.

3. I had a student in 4th period ask to get her book from her locker and never come back. She got written up for that one. Hopefully a suspension will follow. (She has quite the file in the Dean's Office) Why students think sub=id10t I'll never know, but by now they should know that I don't play around.

4. I was informed on Tuesday that there are school wide intern tests on percentages, proportions and ratios next week. So instead of going into decimals, we're skipping ahead three chapters (that's how far behind my students are) to study those concepts and then going back to decimals. Should be LOADS of fun.

5. Today was wacky, even for middle school kids. My comatose class (1st period) was chatty, my chatty 4th period class was a bunch of zombies (didn't go over well with me) and 6th period was almost an actual class instead of controlled chaos. Go figure.

6. 1st and 2nd period are now a section behind everyone else. They just don't get the concept I'm trying to teach them so tomorrow we'll give it a go for a second time. Still not sure how to approach it tomorrow, hopefully inspiration will strike on the way to school tomorrow morning.

7. My family has way to many flipping birthdays in March. As in 7. I dearly love my little sister but I really wish my niece (who is a total cutie-pie) could have waited until APRIL to give birth.



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Now playing: Armin van Buuren - A State of Trance (Part 2)mp3
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When students get 'it'

I got a very welcome surprise from 4th period today, they got 'it'. 'It' in this case was the importance of checking your answers for accuracy in math. It's the one thing that assured me of getting an A in my college algebra class since I'm pretty good with the formulas and not so good with the arithmetic. I had noticed that many of my students were having the same issue so today I had put up the 'board work' and made them check their answers for accuracy, and because I had noticed that some students were trying to check but not sure exactly how to go about checking their solutions (I guess that I had not modeled it enough) I modeled one more example on the board for them to see the fast and easy way to check an answer.

x+3=42 (subtract 3 from both sides and you get your answer) x=39
To check it you substitute the answer for x so it looks like this 39+3=42. Then you add 39 and 3, which gives you this 42=42. If the numbers match then it's all good. If they don't then you probably made a silly little math error.

Now I had some success with all five classes, but it was fourth period that really had it figured out. Page after page filled with checked answers to the six problems on the board. Now not every student checked every answer or did it correctly but at least 75% of them did at least three of the six correctly and many more had tried to do all six and simply did not finish checking their work.

This more than made up for the last 10 minutes of class when all they did was talk and not work on their homework, so much so that I made them put their heads on their desks and wait for the bell to ring.

Now you probably figured that I'd be complaining about 6th period again and are upset that I have nothing to rant about. All I can say is that I have six kids coming for detention on Thursday and five of them are from 6th period. What part of 'keep talking and you get detention' do people not understand?

Sheesh...



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Now playing: Silence - Delerium & Sarah McLachlan
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6th Period

Update #1: Now they've gone and done it. I handed out three detentions today and then discovered that someone stole the jump drive that was attached to the computer. I have my suspicions and reported the theft to the dean's office, but my chances of seeing it again are slim to none and slim is leaving town on the next bus...

I dislike this class very much. They're rude, chatty and don't work. They're also in for a very rude surprise. After the spit-wad incident a couple of days ago I've been following procedures for discipline. I've talked to the punks er students in question and in several cases I've pre filled out detention forms and referrals. I've also written down when I've talked to students and what they did to deserve some 'special' one on one time and the date that conversation(s) took place.

Tomorrow I am going to find out exactly how the whole detention system works so I don't make any mistakes when I fill my class up with my future inmates er students, or if I send the little hoodlums er students to another room for detention.

In addition I've changed the seating arrangement and highlighted the chatty students on my seating chart so I don't make any mistakes. Lucky for me I have about 6 empty desks to put kids into solitary confinement er separate them so they can concentrate on their work. And given the fact that the class average is about 52% and more than half of them are failing, they really need to buckle down and start learning.

I don't care if they like me or not. But I care very much that they don't respect me as a teacher. And that is going to change weather they like it or not because I am not going to let 6 jackasses ruin it for the rest of my students.

Spitwads

As regular readers of my blog may remember I had a certain class last semester that was the pain in my neck so to speak. It had gotten to the point where I dreaded that 90 minutes of class time for about a month until things sorted themselves out and they became a decent class of 9th graders.


I recently picked up a new long term assignment teaching 8th grade math and I now have a new albatross around my neck called 6th period. I knew they were going to be a handful from the minute they entered the class last week. They're rude, chatty and have little desire to work.

Today they reached a new high or low depending on your point of view. Not only did they get to stay an extra three minutes today, but I had two kids decide that 6th period was a grand ole time for a spit-wad war. Yes, you read that correctly... spit-wads. Now it's not like a spit-wad going through a pen makes a rather unique sound or anything or that I had a good idea of who was involved, but I actually got to see them use their blow guns... All I did was quietly walk by them and tell them to see me after class. And one of the two spit-wad warriors then argued with me when I told him to remove his hood and then to take off his sweatshirt when he did not comply quickly enough. Then I had a third student decide that today was a good day for art and confiscated not one but two drawings. He also got to stay after the class for a little heart to heart.

After the class left I locked the door and let the three of them know in no uncertain terms just how unhappy I was with their collective behavior. I told them that the next time I had even a bit of trouble with them I would simply sign and date the already filled out dean's referal forms and they could explain all their behavior to them. I then proceeded to list the things they had done to irritate me. One student was staring daggers at me the whole time like he wanted to throw down with me. So I looked straight at him and said "Do you have a problem with me? Because I have a problem with you and your behavior in my class!", which he liked even less. After a few more minutes of me letting them know that 'homie don't play that game' I made sure that we understood each other and off they went. As I walked out one of the students was out front and as I passed by him he told me "no more spit-wads", I told him "good, because I have the paperwork all filled out on my desk".

Now we'll see if the other two figure it out or not. My guess is that the artist is going to the dean's office and soon, he needs to see how tough I really am and if I'll really follow through on my promises...



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Now playing: Keep Singing - MercyMe
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Your Tax Dollars At Work

Sheesh. I just took this new long term assignment teaching eighth grade math and I come to find out that the powers that be screwed up on the CRT testing schedule and that the students get to take the test a month early, and instead of actually having time to teach the concepts that are going to be on the test, we get maybe a week or two to do several weeks of teaching.

Now mind you many of the things on the test were not even going to be covered for at least two weeks, so that the kids would actually have time to become familiar with the material and concepts before we were going to start with the test prep stuff.

And to top it all off, none of the classes are doing math at the 8th grade level. Most are at least two to three grades below where they should be and one is literally at the second grade level. They can barely figure out that 20% is the same as .20, and getting them to figure out how to calculate tax is another matter altogether.

Need I mention that math is not one of my best subjects? I'm ahead of them to be sure, but I've not taken a math class since 2005 so I'm a bit rusty to say the least.

I certainly have my work cut out for me, don't I? The one good thing is that I'm used to getting thrown to the wolves and I'm pretty good at figuring stuff out on the fly, so all hope is not lost, but it's certainly not going to be easy, for my students or for me.

And yet we want these same people to take over the health care system... Hell, they can't even figure out when to schedule tests for a bunch of middle and high school kids...



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Now playing: Silence - Delerium & Sarah McLachlan
via FoxyTunes

Buh Bye!

Not once, but twice in the same period I got to remove a cancer, er bothersome student from my class today. Word to the wise, when I tell kids that their pants better not be around their knees, making a big show of pulling yours up is not recommended when I'm the teacher, nor is refusing to do the work that I have asked you to do. This may amaze students but I actually >gasp< pay attention to what students are actually doing in the classroom, and if you refuse to do any work, you're not going to stay in my room for long.

And to nobody's surprise they were both...

Wait for it!

Wait for it!

Seventh Graders!!!!

Now I've sent two kids to the dean in the same day, but yesterday was a first for me, because normally once you toss one kid, everyone else gets the hint and shuts the yap machines down for the rest of the period. Some people are slow learners I guess...




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Now playing: Red Barchetta - Rush
via FoxyTunes

Huh

It's been an interesting week to say the least. I had the smoothest day ever when I subbed at a local middle school of all places. I literally did not have one bad class the entire day. Now that ended the next day when I subbed for a guitar class. The video was OK the first time or two but not all flipping day. And especially not for a study skills class that had no desire to learn about the history of the guitar in Spain.

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Now playing: I Can't Do This - Plumb
via FoxyTunes

I'm not that sub...

I'm not the sub who does not follow through on their threats. I'm not the sub who won't go to the dean's office to make sure the student actually made it to that location and turned in the referral form. I'm not the dean who will double check a kids name who didn't return from an unnecessary trip to the dean's office. At some point you'd think the kids would figure that out...

So during third period a student says he needs a pass to go to the dean's office. Now this happens from time to time and I write the pass and off he goes. About 15 minutes later the intercom goes off and the voice on the speaker says that the student is returning because the trip was unnecessary. Funny thing is he never makes it back. Now I don't catch the student's name so during my prep I walk down to find out who the kid is. When I tell them why I'm there and that he never returned, I get a referral form handed to me which I gladly fill out.

During 6th period despite my warnings and the story about the dork in 3rd period another kid decides that I'm a paper tiger and gets written up. He not only takes 10 minutes for a two minute trip, he returned to class before he went to the dean's and never handed in the referral form I sent with him. So I fill out another referral after school and the dean's secretary makes a point of writing that he never brought the first form...

Dork.

Party above country

As the nomination of John McCain appears more and more likely, a number of conservatives from Mark Levin to Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are having what can nicely be described as a hissy fit and many more conservatives are threatening to vote democrat if this pseudo republican is nominated as the GOP candidate to run against either Hillary or Obama just to keep this "maverick" out of the White House.

My question to all those I just mentioned is this: Are you nuts? Since when do republicans act like democrats and start excluding people who are not "conservative enough" to really be a republican? And why on God's green earth would you vote for someone who is diametrically opposed to everything you hold near and dear to your heart? Do you remember the feeling you got watching the democrats turning on Joe Lieberman in 2006 simply because he supported the Iraq war? Have you forgotten laughing during the democratic debates because it was simply variations on a theme and no real ideas were brought forth and discussed like we had on the GOP side with Rudy, Mitt, John, Duncan, Fred etc? We had choices, real choices because our tent was exclusive, not inclusive you dolts. The strength of the GOP is that you can have Mike Huckabee and The Govenator comfortably in the same party. Since when do conservatives put party above country?

I know that McCain is not perfect, but he's fiscally conservative, pro life and pro armed forces. He is also money when it comes to foreign relations and especially the war on terror and the emerging threat from China. He also admitted that he was wrong on immigration and realizes that before we can deal with everyone here we need to secure the borders and while he opposed the Bush tax cuts he saw how well they worked and now wants to make them permanent.

There is no such thing as a perfect conservative, Reagan ran from Beruit without a fight, granted amnesty to millions of illegals and even had to raise taxes because the democrats were spending money like drunken sailors.

Do you really want a liberal president with a liberal legislature for the next several years? Really?

I'm not giving you my IPod!

The hell you're not!

OK I didn't say it, but it was literally at the tip of my tongue. I was taking my class to the cafeteria so they could start the preregistration for next year when I noticed a student doing the '1 earplug' thing thinking that I would not notice.

Keep in mind that not 2 minutes before I told the class that I do pay attention and that the first time I warn you to put it away and then I take it. If you're cool about it, you get it back at the end of the period. If you're a jackass about it it goes to the dean's office.

So the kid takes it out for all of 12 seconds and puts it back it. I tell him again to lose the earplugs and he ignores me. That's mistake #1, I then tell him to hand it over and he tells me that I'm not going to get his iPod. That's mistake #2. I get in front of him face to face and I tell him he can either give me the iPod or he goes to the dean and can give one of them the iPod. "I don't care, I'm not giving you my iPoid!" is his reply. Yep, strike three... I then personally escort this jackass to the dean's office and tell the secretary that he refuses to give up his iPod. The secretary then asks for it and Brainiac still won't give in, driving yet another nail in his coffin. Just then a dean walks by and she tells him what is going on and the dean holds out his hand and asks for the music player. And this time he not only refuses he tells the dean to call his dad and that he's not giving up his iPod... That would be the final nail in his coffin. He got RPCd for that one. I went back during my prep period and filled out the referral making sure that it mentioned his refusal to give it up to the dean, his secretary and last but not least to me.

Normally I'm not nasty and most kids get the hint and put the phones etc., away when I ask them to. But you break rule 3c (respect me) and you get the evil Mr. "L", and I don't do disrespect from a teenager.

Fire Alarms

You know what? I'm beginning to despise fire alarm/drills! Doing one or two a semester is OK, the alarm goes off you and the kids go to the parking lot and wait to return. No big deal, unless this is the fourth or fifth time since January 7th that you've had that particular joy. And I've had the pleasure of having two in the same flipping day! Good thing I pack aspirin in my bag because those alarms are instant headache generators, and that is supposed to be the student's job! And let's not start with the disruption to class and learning because then you have to get the students settled down again and back on task. I always tell my students that if there is a fire drill and I see less kids come back, I take roll again and if they are not present the 2nd time, they're absent. It works wonders to keep kids from taking the rest of the day off.

Hopefully this plethora of fire drills will pass and things will get back to normal, whatever that is.

Update 1/29... Yep another drill. This makes 5 since Jan 7th., maybe the fire district really likes me...

Easy Come Easy Go

So I thought I had this cool gig set up today. I just got a call from the school saying that the job had been given to someone else and thanks but no thanks. So I cancel 6 jobs for nothing. Lovely. Now I have to start all over again and even though they said they'd call me I don't know how much stock I'm going to put into that school any more. And I have to start lining up new jobs again. Now that a new semester is starting it should not be too tough but it still sucks.

It's the Shirt...

So I'm subbing at a middle school on Monday and because it's cold (for Vegas) I decided to wear my Northern Michigan University sweatshirt since it's warm and uber comfortable. One of the deans sees my shirt and strikes up a conversation with me about my shirt and Michigan in general. She asks me what class I'm subbing for and if I was ever interested in long term assignments. Silly question that one was. I reply that yes I was interested in long term assignments and that I missed the opportunity to really teach since my last one ended in December. So they take my sub number down and tell me that they'll put me on the list to call when they have openings and we part ways.

As I was looking for work last night for today and Tuesday a one day assignment pops up at that same school. I take it and today I get approached by the principal for a long term assignment teaching robotics. Now robotics is not my specialty, but the curriculum is already in place and since I know some basics about robotics I figured that I'd be able to handle the job. Plus because robotics is part of the magnet program, chances are that I won't have too many meat heads in my classroom to deal with. There will always be a few, but while the smart kids are chatty like everyone else, they are also very driven to succeed so I know that I'll get kids who actually want to be there and I'll be learning right along with them, and I love to learn. Finally they also seem to be good with me doing observation hours during my prep period for Nevada State College.

Now I've heard that it's what and who you know that will get you jobs, but what you wear? Heck I wore it because it was 40 degrees and that is one warm piece of clothing. Not to get a job, but I'll take it!

Mountains out of molehills

This article caught my eye while surfing the web and is worth talking about. Kelly Tilghman's on air gaffe regarding Tiger Woods went from a 10 second news story to a big huge freaking deal. Look saying that the players want to lynch Tiger was dumb... DUMB. But Tiger is one guy who I look at and forget that he's not white. Kelly immediately apologized on air and then to Tiger personally. That should have been the end of it, but it wasn't. Pharisee Al Sharpton got wind of this and went into attack mode. You know, calls for firing etc...

Really, she should be fired. And we expect to advance race relations how with this kind of attitude? Oh, wait... The good pharisee doesn't want to ADVANCE them, because he'd be out of a job, he wants to make them worse so he can continue to garner money and power...

Sheesh...

Rant

So I get an email from the teacher that I did the long term assignment for asking me about a lost poster from the fall. I get that settled and then get another email asking if I had lost anything else because students are swearing that they turned stuff in and that I lost it...

Needless to say I was not so thrilled by email #2. I go from looking like a capable teacher to looking like an incompetent boob. I guess I should not be surprised that the students are blaming me for their missing work but I am. Plus I'm worried about how this makes me look at that school. Is that why I've not seen any assignments from them? The last thing I need is a school that thinks I'm not worth calling back.

One more thing to worry about.

2008 and more

Well,
The two week break is over and a year awaits. Well, the break would be over if I could get a flipping gig, but so far I only have Thursday and Friday filled. The break was nice but it was without pay so our finances are hurting to say the least. It's really going to hurt if I can't find work and fast.

As far as the holidays went, it was very nice. My favorite two gifts were the Regan Dairies and the DVDs Animusic 1 & 2. I'm still reading the book and so war it simply rocks. It's not often you get to see the mind of someone in power, much less the President of the USA. One of the most moving parts is where he's in the hospital after the assassination attempt praying to God to survive when he realizes that he needs to forgive the mixed up young man who shot him. That alone was worth the price of admission. It showed me where his heart really was. If you like politics at all, get a copy of this book. Regan was the only president who kept a daily dairy of his time in the White House and it's a fascinating read.

I'm not much for plugging products but if you have a good TV and surrond sound system, you have to get Animusic 1 & 2. I just have a regular 27" TV with the stereo speakers hooked up and it rocks, so it's that much better on a HDTV etc... You can view clips and even download two of the pieces to view on your computer. It was worth the $30 to get, kids will also like it and I'm going to use it when I get my own English class to do a compare and contrast essay with.

Reflection

Now that it's been a full week since my long term assignment ended, I've been able to look back and reflect on what I did and didn't do while I was there. And boy was it a shock to go back to day to day subbing again. It was weird to get home and not worry about grading, planning or the 1000000 other things that I dealt with while I was teaching those 9th graders.

One of the things I did learn is that I was not as hard core on turning in stuff on time as I thought I was. Now that may change as I get some sort of a system that will allow me to really keep track of work the kids turn in, but the ones who care will get the work turned in that the ones that want to fail won't.

I also learned that the bigger the class is the more time you spend managing it and the less time you get to really teach. Once you get above 40 kids it's really hard to keep all those balls juggling at one time, and that goes double for honors kids. And speaking of honors kids, they seem to like nothing better than a challenge. Every time I had them do something out of the ordinary like the compare and contrast project, or the presidential ad where they either support or attack a candidate and you get some great work. Now not every kid takes to this stuff like a duck to water but most of them did.

I also learned that sometimes the kids that challenge you the most are the ones who appreciate you the most. 3rd period, yea THAT 3rd period made up a card in class and had everyone sign it. And they also wrote me notes on a separate piece of paper the last day I was going to see them. I have them thumb tacked to my wall along with a couple of notes from students in other classes to help me when I get overwhelmed with trying to balance school work and family. It's hard to look at those cards, letters and notes and not get a lump in my throat. I miss those kids, even the ones who where a pain in the a**...

I also want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year. Thanks for reading my blog and taking the time to comment!

Now for something a little different

I'm still gathering my thoughts about my assignment that ended on Friday to put into a post. In the meantime while bouncing around on the web I saw this. Everything in bold is something I did. Feel free to copy and paste it for yourself and just bold the things you did.

Wanna play? It's simple. Copy, paste and if you've done it, bold it.

Wanna play? It's simple. Copy, paste and if you've done it, bold it.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said I love you and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken some one's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed some one's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Para sailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved some one's life

The end is near

The end of my assignment at the high school, the end of 2007, and the fall semester are fast approaching. While I'm not sad to see the semester end, I am dreading turning in my keys on Friday and bidding that room farewell. I had such a blast the past three months and I dread going back to day to day subbing where I don't have a chance to really connect with the kids and I'm going off of someone else's lessons. Not to mention dealing with kids who are going to be playing games with me to see what they can get away with (nothing) in the classroom. The part that really sucks is that my assignment is ending a week early so now I'm once again trying to find work for next week. I found something for Friday but that's it so far so right now I'm only $400 short for the week. Woo hoo...

Is it that big a deal?

Over at Buckhorn Road, Mr. Chanman blogged regarding the black on black violence that not only about a column written by Jason Whitlockplagues the inner cities in this country, but claimed the life of Washington Redskins Safety Sean Taylor. His post was as interesting as the article itself was. Personally I love reading Whitlock's writings, he is often right on the money and cuts to the chase. I mentioned that I was using that column for an extra credit assignment and he thought that was a ballsy move on my part given the hyper sensitive world we live in.

When I made the assignment available for extra credit I did so because of three reasons.

1. It's a current event and many of my students are fans of the NFL and have heard about the case.

2. His column really makes the reader think and that's always a good thing when it comes to HS students, thinking is something they don't do enough in my (not so) humble opinion.

3. Because it's thought provoking it's perfect for a written response which is how 99% of my extra credit assignments work anyways.

I'll be honest, I didn't even think about how ballsy the assignment was, I just saw an opportunity to make my students think about the world they live in and maybe shake them out of their comfort zone, if only for a short time. I've already had some strong opinions on this assignment from my students and at least 6 or 7 of them are going to do it for the extra credit.

So was it that big a deal? Boy teacher Chanman really made ME think!

You get an A for that teach!

Switching Bodies...

Yea, that's it! That's why 3rd period acted like actual human beings and 7th period acted like a bunch of jackasses on a sugar high. To make matters worse for them, I had Karlana come in and observe that class today. I have not read all her notes, but the most honest assessment I can come up with to describe that period would be grease fire. Although train wreck, total disaster, and perfect example of how not to teach would fit as well. Those are the ones that don't involve the seven words you can't say on TV. Let's just say it was an embarrassment and a real learning experience. It was nice to have an extra set of eyes to point out the things I was missing and to confirm some of my suspicions.

On the other hand 3rd period which normally drives me to drink was by far the best class of the three. There are two reasons for this and neither involve yours truly. One of the big trouble makers got himself suspended pending expulsion and I had three other students move out of the state so now that class is down to 33 students, way better than the 40 I had when I started. They did all the things that 7th period didn't do. They knuckled down and got their work and took really good notes on a rather lengthy PowerPoint on the Presidential Cabinet. They have a test on Monday and hopefully they'll study their notes.

Well, I have three big projects to get to work on, so I'm off to actually do some homework myself.

Wow!

Wow, that's all I can say after my first two honors classes had their discussions on their big project. Not only did they understand the material but they really caught on to what the candidates were saying, what they were not saying and what they were implying.
For those of you who are not familiar with what you're reading let me recap this quickly for you. My 9th grade honors students had to pick two foreign policy essays, one from a republican candidate and one from a democratic candidate. They then had to read both of them and take notes. Then they discussed their findings with the other students who had chosen the same essays that they had. Any new information was to be added to their notes and then put onto either a Venn diagram or a double bubble map. Then they would start on their essay drafts finally finishing them around the 11th of next month.

Right now two of the three classes just did the notes and the discussions and boy did they pick the essays apart. Hillary and John Edwards really got hammered in 8th period and the criticism was spread around pretty evenly in 2nd period. It was also nice to see that the periods had different opinions and views about the six essays. 7th period is going to do their discussion tomorrow and I am going to add a second set of discussions next week because it was so helpful for everyone today.

If this project is going to be my finale at this school then it looks like I'm going to go out with a bang and not in a ball of flames.

If you want to read the essays in question go here.

Winding Down

Well, my long term assignment is starting to wind down. I only have about three weeks until I go back to day to day subbing, something I'm not excited about. I did start my big project with the honors classes, I hope it goes well. It's nothing if not ambitious and if I'm going to crash and burn I might as well do it right the first time. Third period is still third period and they're not about to change although my goal is to do just that so that when their regular teacher comes back she won't have a stroke when they start to act up again.

Too many kids...

Sometimes I feel like I'm more of a zoo keeper than a teacher. Officially, I have 282 students over 6 classes. That's way too much some days. That averages out to 47 kids a class, but the most I have registered is 45 in two of them. Now some of them are suspended and others are sick but normally I have about 42 kids a class most days. . Now the good thing for me is that I was able to get semi caught up with my grading, which was a stack literally six inches high of assignments and projects that I had to grade. This will allow me to get caught up on my observation hours which I am behind on because of all the grading that I was doing for the last week or so. 1st and 3rd period get a pop quiz when the come back since they didn't feel like doing a flipping thing on Friday before the long weekend.

It's not wise to piss off the teacher and give him a headache.

The Coming Storm by Vegas Art Guy

So,
Grades come out this week. It should be interesting. I'm sure there are going to be some unhappy parents. And yet I don't seem to care, not one bit. Each student earned the grade they got and despite their best efforts I have not moved that 79.8% to an 80%. Maybe they should have studied harder on the test maybe? The one that most of them failed...

Maybe they'll study harder next time. But judging from the quick look at the amendment test, looks like they have not learned their lesson yet.

End Of Quarter by Vegas Art Guy

Well, the quarter ended today, well yesterday actually and there are going to be some angry parents and grounded kids next week. It's not like I didn't bend over backwards to make sure their assignments were turned in, (I did) and it's not like I didn't warn them over and over again about the end of quarter and what it meant because I did (even 3rd period) that as well. It's that they figured that somehow they'd pass without actually doing the work. Boy are they in for a rude awakening. I have 17 out of 40 kids failing in one class and 14 out of 42 failing in another. Toss in the fact that the mercy ended when school did on Thursday and it's going to be a long quarter for a large number of kids in my classes.

Oh, and one more thing, I have a new rule...

If there is no name on the assignment, I throw it in the trash.

Not just a bunch of rules... by Vegas Art Guy

We're in the middle of our unit on the constitution and the quick write that I asked ran along the lines of what do you now think about the constitution since we've been studying it? The most common answer had this in common:

1. I never realized how many rights we have.
2. It's not just a bunch of rules and regulations.
3. I learned a lot about how it was written.
4. The framers worked really hard on this and I'm thankful.
5. I have a lot more respect for it now.

It made my day to read things like this. Now they didn't all have these answers, but you would see at least one of those in a good 60% of the answers that I've read so far which is about 100 or so out of 265 kids.

Yea I have 265 kids to teach...

Yes I'm nuts...

Class Discussions by Vegas Art Guy

Last couple of days have been interesting. My last quick write asked my students (even those in 3rd period) what the most important issue facing the US was. Not surprisingly, immigration was top along with the war on terror (including Iraq), economy and education. What was surprising was they had a genuine desire to learn about those things. I am trying desperately to clear space on the schedule to have a class discussion. The honors classes are going to tackle immigration and the regular classes that understand 'sit down and shut up' get to deal with illegal street racing. It should be interesting to see how it goes but I'm just as tired of worksheets as they are. Worksheets are good and all but two weeks straight?

Me either...

3rd Period... By Vegas Art Guy

Well, I now know what class is going to be the albatross around my neck. 3rd period has laid claim to that title and shows no signs of letting it go. Today they got a visit from another teacher who is Ms. Fogila's best friend and let them know that Ms. Fogila was not happy rant moan blah. She would have been better off banging her head against a wall, because they quickly reverted to form.

So now they get the bookwork treatment. From now on it's worksheets and bookwork. No group projects, nothing fun. And when they start talking they get booted out of class. Now this is on top of the essay they are working on and some of them actually had a draft done today. Those kids got extra credit points which meant some of them went from getting grounded to not getting grounded for their grades.

Wednesday they get to see the evil me, they've had flashes but this has not changed their behavior one bit. In addition I'm going to start moving people around and put all the yappers close to me so I can either keep them in line or kick em the hell out of class until they get a clue, their choice, because right now I no longer care about their feelings or what they think, I have a job to do and I will not allow a few bad apples screw it up for everyone else.

Irritated... By Vegas Art Guy

An irritated teacher is not a good thing if you're a student, especially if the teacher had previously warned you about talking in class after you had been told to stop. Sooooooo, I have not one but two classes of mine that are in the doghouse. Why? They can't keep their yaps shut. Looks like I need to start switching seats along with the Bill of Rights essay they now get to do.

It's so flipping frustrating because my other 4 classes are very good and yet I hate cracking down on them, but I don't have a choice. Tomorrow I have the day off and my daughter and I are going to go decorate my room for Halloween and I'll start coming up with more little assignments to keep them busy. Plus, I need to alter the essay to include a power point on how to cite a source because these kids have little or no experience on how to do that. PLUS I need to make sure that I'm not violating any IEPs with the time frame, rant moan blah. What part of be quiet do people not get? Welcome to the realities of teaching.

Don't get me wrong, I love LOVE teaching kids, the coolest thing today was helping one young lady who was totally frustrated and had gotten nowhere. I spent about 10 minutes helping her out (and chewing the class out) and then she just got BUSY. I think she has an IEP but I'm not sure. That was cool, I spent a couple of minutes helping her out and boom! She's off and running.

There's hope for me yet I think.

You would think... by Vegas Art Guy

You would think that if someone wanted your vote for say, president, they'd put the addresses of the local offices someplace on their websites wouldn't you? After all if you wanted to get a sign for your candidate and put it in your yard to show support that local office would be the place to go right?

So I'm working on this lesson for my honors and regular history classes that I'm taking over tomorrow and I want to get some campaign materials to set the mood. The only candidate of the four that had office locations on their site happened to be John Edwards. Now while I'm not a big fan of his, I do appreciate the common sense his team had in listing office locations. Rudy, Barak and Mitt did not have locations listed anywhere and for once Google was no help. So I emailed the other three candidates and asked them for the location of their offices and hinted that displaying such information might not be a bad thing.

That lesson I'm referring to? I am going to have the students write an essay reacting to the foreign policy essays that they wrote earlier this year. The honors kids get to read 1 from each party and then compare and contrast them. I keep hoping Hillary will write an essay so I can dump John Edwards' essay but so far no luck.

Special Thanks to Dr. Douglass for posting the essays and giving me the idea for the lesson itself.

John Edwards' Essay
Barak Obama's Essay
Mitt Romney's Essay
Rudy Giuliani's Essay

For every action... By Vegas Art Guy

There is an opposite and equal reaction. Sound familiar? Maybe students should pay more attention to this maxim. Maybe it's the full moon, who knows. Yep, another class got to enjoy the wonders of essay writing, this time with a bonus, their parents get to sign it. (Don't worry Karlana, I didn't mention who gave me the idea) It's not like I told them more than once to be quiet, especially during a quiz, and it's not like I didn't flat out tell them what would happen if the continued to goof off. And yet, they played 'how dumb is the sub?' yet again, and yet again the sub wins. I'm now 5-0 this year. And the best part is the teacher I was filling in for knew that I kept that option open and had no problem with it. The sad part is that the first three classes were a joy to teach and the fourth, although chatty, did more work than anyone.

In addition, I was called off my prep period to sub for girls PE and about 6 of the girls I already had in my class, including the 5th period essay writers. Apparently my reputation preceded me because they gave me no problems and all I had them do was walk 1 lap around the field. They got to talk with their friends and get some exercise and I got an easy period. Everyone one. I made sure their PE teacher knew how well the behaved. I also made sure the science teacher I was filling in for knew who did what when.

One more note, how dumb to kids think we are? Do they really think they can wear an earring in the shape of a marijuana leaf and it goes unnoticed?One young man did and I made him take it off and told him if I saw it again, he goes to the dean. Boy did he lose it in a hurry... LOL

Much Better! By Vegas Art Guy

The last two days have been much better. After the RESPECT lesson from Wednesday, I was much better prepared for Thursday and Friday. I'd like to say that no other class got to write about respect, but I'd be lying.
Thursday went very well for the most part. The kids were respectful, eager to learn and seemed to enjoy themselves. There was however, one class that played "How dumb is the sub?", they lost. See, there are two bells for lunch. And this period leaves in the middle for lunch. Yes, that's how it works there. The thing is that this class has to wait for the second bell, but didn't. So I tell the kids still in the class that I am going to take roll and anyone not in the room is absent. Boy did kids re-enter the room in a hurry! Now I was not happy so I told them exactly how I wanted them to leave... or else.

Yea, they went 'or else'. So when they got back from lunch a new assignment was on the board. 5-6 sentences on respect. Then it went to 6-7 sentences and finally 7-8 sentences. Not to bright this bunch, that's for sure. What I find odd is that it's the 'regular kids' I have all the issues with. The honors kids are normally wonderful, and you'd think that the average group would be OK and the kids who are behind would the most trouble. But the kids who are in the 180 program have been very good for the most part. Can someone 'splain that one to me?

Today was only a half day, 3 periods with two classes. Yep, one class for two periods. The first class went great, surprise, they're the honors class. Good kids and good writers. The second class were harder but after telling them what I did to the last two classes, and that I'd be taking roll twice to make sure kids came back from the bathroom between periods everything was alright. I had to spend more time on managing the class that I would have liked but they did get real work done and they did use their brains, and I can sleep well knowing I did my best.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T by Vegas Art Guy

I have a backup plan for every class that I am in. This plan isn't in case the regular teacher forgets a lesson plan and has nothing prepared. This one is just for the students who decide that listening to the teacher is not worth the effort. Like my 6th period Earth Science Class today at a local middle school. They were the perfect candidates for this lesson. Why? No respect. Here is how this lesson plan was executed today.

I had been warned that the 6th period class was rowdy, not just mine but the school in general, so I knew that I had to be meaner quicker. That was not a problem, because 5th period missed this lesson by about that much and I was in a bad mood to start with. Being the honest person that I am, I flat out warn the class that I'm in a bad mood and unless they want misery the rest of the class they need to behave. I then offer the carrot of free time at the end if we can get the worksheet done early. Warning & offer fall on deaf ears, not surprised, just disappointed.

However, I decide that we need to get on with the lesson on convection, and begin the lecture, which after about 5 minutes was a train wreck. I then switch to nasty mode, which when you're 6'5" and 250+ can get nasty. I silence the mob for about 5 minutes and warn them that if they do not get on with work that I have another lesson they won't like that will last the end of the period. Now most kids when faced with choices like this would go the easy route, after all why add more work to your day right?

These were not most kids, after about 5 minutes of relative peace, they revert to form. I swing the trap shut. And they spend the next 30 minutes writing about respect, three kids get to sign the honor roll of kids who didn't listen and one brain sturgeon got to do the reflection sheet. They turned in incomplete worksheets (their problem not mine) and the essays.

My mistake as usual was that I was too nice for too long. I should have kicked out kids earlier and even sent a couple to the dean, but I am getting faster on the draw.

Here is the definition of Respect.
–noun

1.	a particular, detail, or point (usually prec. by in): to differ in some respect.

2.	relation or reference: inquiries with respect to a route.

3.	esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment.

4.	deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment: respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly.

5.	the condition of being esteemed or honored: to be held in respect.

6.	respects, a formal expression or gesture of greeting, esteem, or friendship: Give my respects to your parents.

7.	favor or partiality.

8.	Archaic. a consideration.

–verb (used with object)

9.	to hold in esteem or honor: I cannot respect a cheat.

10.	to show regard or consideration for: to respect someone's rights.

11.	to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with: to respect a person's privacy.

12.	to relate or have reference to.

I now know by Vegas Art Guy

I now know why I chose not to teach elementary school, because kids would die. Seriously. Today I subbed at an elementary school in the library. I had grades K-3 in the library today and while I would sub there again, I'll never teach long term at an elementary school.

Now the 3rd graders were the best of the bunch, they struggled with geography but listened pretty well and gave the work a good effort and that's what I want from students, their best shot. The kindergarten kids were also not bad, considering how young they are and that they are just learning how to read. The second grade kids did well with looking through a newspaper to find information and all of those groups had no trouble checking books in or out.

I also helped out a second grade class for a period with a writing sample about Las Vegas. I was impressed with their thought process and their willingness to write for someone they'd never seen before.

That leaves the first graders. Think of every stereotype of a school-aged kid and that was them, loud, obnoxious, deaf, etc... I made sure that the librarian who I covered for knew they were terrors. She had day long meetings so I met with her a couple of times to keep her abreast of things. The only good part was when I led the discussion about fiction vs. non-fiction books, but aside from that 10 minutes the rest was a train wreck.

I teach science tomorrow wish me and the students luck!

A complete 180 By Vegas Art Guy

Well, after yesterday's adventure in subbing, I figured that today's gig was going to be at least a bit smoother. In fact, it was the complete opposite of the behavior school and all the issues contained therein.
Today I got to sub a a local magnet middle school. My assignment was to go to three different rooms and help the kids there with their reading. Many of the kids I got the honor of helping today were reading at least 2 years behind where they should be and some of them were literally reading at the first grade level.

Now a few of them were on the cusp of getting back into a regular English classroom and one of the teachers pointed out a young man who came into 6th grade reading at the first grade level and is now at the 4th grade level. Yes, I know that he's still behind but look at how far this kid came. He basically jumped three grades in reading in one school year. My guess is that at the end of the year he'll be in a regular English class.

Now get this, and keep in mind I got paid to do this. My main job was to have the kids read to me and then I would have them tell me what they just read and what they thought about it. Now is that cool or what? Sure they stumbled over words, and a couple of them couldn't get the words out fast enough. One gal didn't think much of the main character's method's of getting the guy she had the hots for attention, she thought it was sneaky and underhanded. But they were getting it, and they were thrilled to read out loud to someone. I told several students to read about things that interested them and I gave book suggestions to one of the girls who is just about at grade level and gave the teacher some ideas for books to get that my daughter has read in the passed and really liked.

That's a job I could get used to in a hurry. Next week I have jobs 4 days next week and I think I'll get enough work to get me to October 8 when I get my own (sorta) class for the rest of the semester.

Well, THAT was interesting! By Vegas Art Guy

So, I just finished, or survived my first subbing assignment. I could have picked something easy, but no, I took the alternative school, you know the one where kids go when they get kicked out of their school and have to earn their way back in? Yea, THAT one. Jeffrey Behavioral School, and these kids were there for good reason, truancy, drugs, fighting, talking back to the teachers, that sort of thing.

Now the day started out pretty well, I had two English classes and they went pretty well. They read the short story Seventh Grade by Gary Soto, whose a great writer. They did not get all the way through it but they were catching on pretty good. Then the second period had to write down ten sentences according to the lesson plan left by the teacher. Third period was great, since it was my prep and I could relax and hope the second half went like the first. Not a chance in hell. Fifth period was OK but starting to really push my buttons. It was at that point I should have started the exodus to the dean's office, which would earn them an extra two weeks at the school. It was 6th period that was totally out of control. I sent one brat er girl down to the dean and should have sent 6 or 7 more right after that, stupid me. That class was totally out of control and it was my fault. I threatened and did not back it up. I learned my lesson for 7th period and after brat #2 got sent down for his 2 week extension things started to calm down. 8th period was just 4 boys and that went well because we talked about careers and they got into the discussion and had some good things to say.

Tomorrow I help out at a middle school so that should go better than this one did. I'd probably go back because I don't want to be the one that the kids run out of there. I'll start by stepping on necks and referring people to the dean until they get the picture. I'll let them know ahead of time to expect multiple kids from my class.

The good news in this, aside from me actually not committing a felony, is that the rate of pay is higher. Instead of $12.50/hr I get $15.28/hr, enough to buy some extra beer.

Life and More by Vegas Art Guy

I got to spend the day observing the class that I will be taking over in October for a teacher who is expecting her first child. (Thanks again Karlana) She is an excellent teacher and I hope that I can be half the teacher she is now. I'll be teaching US History to 9th graders for the remainder of the semester. Three of the classes are regular ones and three are honors classes. Mrs Fogila is also going to allow me to teach a couple of my own lessons in addition to the ones that she has already set up. She also gave me a copy of the power point presentations that I'll be able to use (and fix up) while I am in her class. Needless to say, I am very excited about this chance. I decided by that much to teach English instead of History so I won't be flying blind with this subject like I would with science or math classes.

Now on to other matters...
While perusing my emails, I ran across an interesting breakpoint commentary by Chuck Colson dealing with the sub-prime crisis and the forgotten third leg of the economic stool. It's a fairly short read and well worth the time. There is a line in the Bible that goes along the lines of man's inability to serve two masters.

It's also worth noting the passing of Dr. D. James Kennedy, of complications following a heart attack late last year. Alan Seers writes a nice obituary here. He did his best to live his life by the beliefs that he preached from the pulpit. I was lucky enough to hear many of them on the radio, and even when I did not totally agree with him or his guests (I'm not a young earth creationist), I was always impressed with how he backed up his statements and the amount of time he took to prepare his lessons for his congregation. He will be missed by many around the world, including this desert rat.

She said what? By Vegas Art Guy

Whoppi Goldberg has decided to defend the indefensible. Yes, she actually had the gall to defend Mike Vick (now a convicted felon) and dog fighting. What, exactly, is she on? I don't care if it's part of the 'culture', dog fighting is brutal, and a felony is still a felony.

Let me ask you something Whoppi. The Jim Crow laws were part of Southern Culture for 100 years or so, why don't we bring those back too? Oh, wait those were wrong too!

Why do people continue to defend the indefensible? Why do people continue to make excuses for Mike Vick and his role in the dog fighting ring?

Why?

Freedom Writers by Vegas Art Guy

Saturday night my wife and I watched the movie Freedom Writers based on the work done by Erin Gruwell at Woodrow Wilson HS in Long Beach CA. Ms. Gruwell took a bunch of unteachable at risk kids and allowed them to discover the human buried deep within. She had to convince not just her kids that they were worth a damn but the administrators and fellow teachers as well, many of whom had written off these kids long ago.

What really struck me, besides her dedication and pure will was the asinine attitude of the administration and her fellow teachers. More than once, my jaw hit the sofa as I listened to these so called educators tell Erin what reality really was.

I just hope that I can be half the teacher she is.

Click here for more information on the book and the movie.