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...



----------------
Now playing: Silence - Delerium & Sarah McLachlan
via FoxyTunes

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...



----------------
Now playing: Keep Singing - MercyMe
via FoxyTunes

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...



----------------
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...




----------------
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.

----------------
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.