Spring Cleaning

While I need to do that at home, it will be awhile. I am taking a couple of classes over the summer for another degree (hence the whining about writing). I love to talk and argue - just not on paper. This blog has been good practive for me but, they want more than simple paragraphs.

There has been a lot of spring cleaning at school. Several less than effective teachers are leaving. I like some of them but they insist on bragging about how they bamboozle their students and the system. I teach low level courses, sometimes well, sometimes not. But I had several in my class this year who were also in Pinnacle classes - they took my class to learn something. That is what they told me. I knew their other teacher. They never were rude about him, but they made it clear whch of us taught.

Another - well, let's be nice and say she had a meltdown. She let herself, her colleagues and her students down. The relief at knoewing she will not be back is palpable.

And then the Administration. Halleluljah we are getting all new ones. Yes, I know that the devil you know and all that, but I have worked a little with the new principal and he is a class act - I will have to improve my game to be worthy. I think that is why some of the underlings are gone. I know that is why Pinnalce is gone.

I think a lot more paperwork is in my future so I am working on organizational skills.

Yep, avoided my (student) classwork enough - back to the books.

It's that time of year

Time to laugh and relax. Long past time.

And a little screaming is good too.

It is an epidemic

Two women were "play fighting" at the birthday party of one and fell through the window. The birthday girl was killed. It was her 30th birthday.

Really? Thirty year olds are adults. Do you "play fight" with your buddies? Do you play anything strongly enough you could hit a window in a hotel and fall out? These women weren't playing.

The woman who turned 30 left a 15 year old daughter - that means she was pregnant at 14.

Just wow.

Six Word Saturday

All done but the shouting - hoorah!



For more Six Word Saturday participants, click here.


Graduation and a day of sign up/clean up - then a summer of writing. Not my favorite thing.

Blogger - just as helpful as my administration

I have been locked out of blogger since Tuesday. So you have missed all the joy (sarcasm) of the last few days - but we will come back to that.

Thanks to PO (teachers always come through!!) who suggested trying Google Chrome (which didn't work) I thought outside the box and instead of using Firefox (which seems to give me a lot of grief), I used Internet Explorer and HERE i AM!!

(Bows to the applause) Thank you, thank you, it is good to be back.

OK, this week there have been tornadoes (here, no problem immediately close but 3 people died)(and Joplin, where I have family, some of whom have not been reached yet), exams ("Hey, Ricochet, is it a problem if I fill out the scantron in ink?"), micromanaging (like not telling us until today that they will not let us into the building tomorrow for graduation).

I got a special gift from a student. I told the class a story from my high school days - and she painted a picture of it!! And gave it to me!

And my test scores trump the rest of the department (except for the gifted kids) - so much for being the worst in the department. (And, no, I would never get an apology for Hulk saying that).

And the member of our department who totally screw over her students (and while I don't mind throwing her under the bus, it would give me away) will not return to our school. HAPPY DAYS.

Random Thoughts

* Student asked me to get him a pencil. I told him they were on the desk, and kept walking. Two minutes later, he asks for a pencil again. (Actually, he said he needed a pencil). I said I'm sure he did, but they are still on the desk. Where do they get the idea that I went to school to wait on them? (BTW, go get a pencil from the desk has been the rule since August.)

* Student bangs on the door. And again. And again. And again. And again. The kids (who have tried to get up to answer it but I wouldn't let them) have been yelling "It's not locked." Student bangs again. I open the door to a snotty "I KNOCKED on the door!" So I jiggled the handle to show it had not been locked. I will not miss that one.

* Six students - seniors - owe me work and didn't show for the final. Don't get it.

* I have a pass rate of 3 times what I have had in the past. Sounds impressive until you realize the past rate was about 12%. Not bad for teaching a group that never listens.

* This year has been difficult. I hope next year is better.

* An adult comes in to borrow a printer while I am on the computer. I said 1) I am fixing an exam for tomorrow 2) I am in the middle of something 3) Can it wait - while the adult kept insisting that I let her print something. Then she says - just tell me if I am a pain in the butt. I thought I did.

* The seniors have been coming by to say goodbye. It occurred to me, listening to the kind things they said, that the teacher those students saw is not the one my horrid class sees. But, to be honest, I don't see the horrid students the same way I have seen students in the past. It isn't every class or every student this year, but it is a lot of them.

Email of the day

Garrville Smith, a store manager for Best Buy in Augusta, Georgia, told police he observed a male customer, later identified as Tyrone Jackson of Augusta, on surveillance cameras putting a laptop computer under his jacket.

When confronted the man became irate, knocked down an employee, drew a knife and ran for the door. Outside on the sidewalk were four Marines collecting toys for the "Toys for Tots" program. Smith said the Marines stopped the man, but he stabbed one of the Marines, Cpl. Phillip Duggan, in the back; the injury did not appear to be severe.

After Police and an ambulance arrived at the scene Cpl. Duggan was transported for treatment. The subject was also transported to the local hospital with two broken arms, a broken ankle, a broken leg, several missing teeth, possible broken ribs, multiple contusions, assorted lacerations, a broken nose and a broken jaw...injuries he sustained when he slipped and fell off of the curb after stabbing the Marine, according to the police report.

Cpl Duggan is ok.

And on a totally unrelated note.