A long day of mental mush. However, I can strike one thing off my "Things to Do" list. I completed my lesson plans for the week that I return back to school. So, what was the mental hold up? Just when I was getting a little bit used to the schedule and the expectations, that things were changed...yet again. Now, at my school we are expected to teach Math for 3 periods (4 if you count the first period where we are required to teach Math Test Prep). Problem? 3 hours of one subject (no matter how you spin it) is too much.

Okay, enough about school. The point was that I accomplished one thing of my list. I am feeling a bit pleased with myself. I was planning to type up my homework sheet, but with a week to go, I don't need to push myself. I will work on my HW sheet tomorrow. I was thinking about doing it first thing in the morning, but now I'm thinking that wouldn't be a very good idea. I was able to get my lesson plan done today only because for the first time in a long time, I was able to avoid turning on my computer first thing in the morning. No matter how many times I say I won't, in the past, I ended up staying online for hours, then feeling like doing nothing. Today, I was able to get my lesson plan done, because I didn't turn on my computer (until this evening).

So, what did I do when I finished my lesson plans? I went to get the Sunday paper. After reading the paper, and eating some of my leftover spaghetti, I watched TV. I watched Fox 5 animation lineup 8~9 (switching between that and American Gladiators). Then, I watched the updated version of Knight Rider. I used to watch that show when I was younger. So, how was the new show. In my opinion, the show was a bit boring, I felt like it dragged on for much too long. Short synopsis?

The story is about an old guy living in suburbia, he is the inventor of the US military defensive system, and the talking car. Yet, thugs can basically just walk up to his house and walk right in. When hard rock music isn't being played, then there is the soap opera aspect presented. "The Team" consists of the daughter of the old guy, her ex-boyfriend (who left her years ago), who is an ex military guy who was abandon by his father and then his mother, and who was a bad seed growing up, but managed to turn his life around. An example of a plot point that what had me scratching my head. The old guy has a heartattack, and is presumed dead, but can still be healthy enough to run to a nearby house. Oh, and the chase scenes were too long.

Well, time to go. Now that I have my lesson plans done, tomorrow, I will focus on cleaning my apartment.


Post Date - Monday, February 18, 2008 12:02AM

I almost forgot. While lazily procrastinating and surfing the web, I was reading another blog page. The guy was explaining the changes to the internet. And he mentioned a couple of cool changes. I will try summarizing:

I don't know if the term has permeated outside of the technogeek and/or educational circles, but we've been talking about Web 2.0 a lot recently. It's not a new program, not a new learning tool, it's a reference to an evolution of the world wide web that happened quietly, obscurely right under our noses.

Web 1.0, as they are now calling the first web species, was static, unidirectional and elite. Static because once a web page was posted it could, and often would, remain exactly the same for a long time.

But in the last few years sites like Blogger, Car Forums, Wikipedia and now it's sister-site Wikispaces, Flikr, Ringo, My Faces, My Space and all these other sites have changed how we web. It's now bidirectional, we read, we absorb and then we give out information. It's fluid, very few pages remain the same for more than a nanosecond, someone is always adding, changing and revising.

Now, I will try creating links:

http://wefeelfine.org/
This is a website that collects fragments from around the web related to feelings. The dots represent text and the squares represent pictures.
http://www.43things.com/
This site is a collection of list of things that people would like to do before they die.
http://www.zillow.com/
From a Google Earth Map, you can do a home search by property value.
http://artport.whitney.org/commissions/thedumpster/
The Dumpster is similar to wefeelfine, with the focus being breakups.

Yeah, a lot of this is like Jerry Springer does the web, peeking into people's lives and emotions. But let's face it, when I blog I'm inviting people to peek into my life. I don't put stuff on here that I'm not willing to share, and anyone who does probably would stand at their front window buck naked too. No common sense, there's a reason it's called the world wide web.

And finally, the last link (if I'm doing this linking correctly), is where I learned about the above links. A fellow blogger:
http://www.srossi.net/Homepage.htm


Post Date - Saturday, February 16, 2008 8:09PM

Okay. I have completed my blogging catch up. I am now back in the here and now. Not much to post. Oh,....

MY VACATION HAS BEGUN!!!!

Friday, February 15, 2008
I was feeling a bit excited, but relaxed knowing that I would have a week to regain my sanity. Since the New Year vacation, instead of getting better, I was getting worse. For the last couple of weeks, I was unable to even put together a complete lesson plan for a whole week. I have not been to the gym since the last session with my trainer. Well, now I have another chance to get back on track.

Quick summary of Friday. Friday was my easy day. I had an easy schedule (computer twice). We finally got an outdoor recess. And...The literacy coach in charge of the new program assigned me and one other teacher to view a video about the program. Strange. There are other teachers who are better at the program. And there are other teachers who are new to the program. And, there are other teachers who received negative reviews when the program reps. came for an implementation visit. Strange. So why was I chosen to see the video? Ms. Across the Hall received a very "negative" letter from the literacy coach (CC to almost everyone in Admin) about her messy room, disorganization, and lack of implementation of the program, but I was the one (of two), to be assigned a sub during the literacy block time to come down and watch the video. Now, don't get me wrong, I got a 90 minute break out of the classroom, so I am not complaining. Even if the reason was a negative...somehow my instincts tell me it wasn't.

Anyway, while I was assigned to watch the video, my literacy block class was assigned to the "Spanish" teacher. Although, he is required to do the program as well, it was like I was introducing the program to him. I was a bit nervous, the kids tend to run wild with him. His "teaching" style seems to be a bit too familar (laughing with the kids, stroking the girls' hair, chatting while I'm teaching[in the past], etc...). After the video, the other guy, the literacy coach and myself had a nice conversation about "flaws" in this and that. Again, since this blog isn't about the politics of education or other people in general, I will skip a summary of the conversation.

About 90 minutes later, I returned to my class, and to my (honest) surprise, everything seemed to be in order. I think I got lucky. I think if he had my previous group, then there may have been problems. Or, my imagination could be over acting.

Anyway, the morning went along relatively nicely. After lunch, no drama. None. I was happy. It looked like I would have a pleasant start to the midwinter recess. By the end of the day, it was only Cackler who acted up. However, compared to any other time, I would have to say that her "acting up" was minor.

My plan was to be out of the building by 6pm. However, K6 approached me wondering if I was going for another 7:30 ending. I don't know, but I sort of got the feeling that she was looking for another packmule escort home. Again, it could have been my overactive imagination. Anyway, when I told her that Ms. Across the Hall would also be leaving at the same time, Ms. K6 told us to go; she said that she would be okay. she wanted to stay awhile longer. She also asked if I was interested in doing something this coming week. I thought that was a nice idea.

After walking Ms. ATH to the trainstation. I headed home. I was home about 8:15pm.

So now, it is Saturday evening. I wasted one day. At the moment, I am not upset. Today is the same as all of my other Saturdays, it was my recovery day. I slept most of the day away.

So, what are my plans for the midwinter recess. My original plan was to go somewhere for one or two days. Once again Niagra Falls came to mind. However, NF became a part of someone else's plan. At first I thought it would be cool to do a group trip, but being a bit slow, it took me a while to realize that I would probably be a third wheel. A kind of "Two's Company" thing. I quickly nixed going by myself. It would look too much like a "copy cat" thing. So, my new plan became to get organized. Yes, that ol' standby. I really need to get organized. I know that so much of my stress comes from not being organized the way I need to (and want to) be. This go 'round, I want to get organized, but also to get out. Below is a list (in [approximate] order of importance to me) of what I want to accomplish:

First, my goal is to at least do my lesson plans for the week I return to school.
Second, I want to clean my apartment and relocate my computer.
Third, I want to get on my rowing machine each day of my recess vacation.
Fourth, I want to complete the "paperwork" that I've held for months (if not years).
Fifth, I want to spend one day doing "paperwork"(correcting, grading, posting).
Sixth, I want to do my students report cards.
Seventh, I want to do a couple of shopping trips (mall and teacher's supply store).
Eighth, I want to complete lesson plans for the month of March(in pencil).
Ninth, I want to do at least 3 touristy/vacation things(including one bus trip).
Tenth, I want to make a couple of worksheets (including a weekly behavior check-off list).

There is something I am forgetting, but at the moment, I can't remember. Anyway, the list above is what I think I would need to accomplish in order to start being recharged and in control. So why isn't the gym on my list? In order for me to be consistant with going to the gym, I need to go during the work-week. In the past, I've started workout routines during vacation and dropped the routine (for one reason or another) when work resumed).

Well, I think that is about it. I have a few ideas already in play. But, I think I've been on the computer long enough.


Post Date - Saturday, February 16, 2008 7:21PM

Quick Summary.

Thursday, February 14th (Valentine's Day)
Other than another episode of Drama Queen Theatre in the student's cafeteria, there was not much to write about. I had told DQ if she so much as look at her drama enabler(Cackler), or her favorite target(Giggles), she would have lunch in solitary confinement. So when I arrived to pick up my students (they had just gotten their lunch), the school aid (before I stepped across the cafeteria threshhold) came to me complaining about an incident with...DQ. Since she couldn't have drama with the regulars, DQ found a substitute target...Teacher's Pet.

In a class of 17 students, I only have two students who are on overall academic grade level (one boy and one girl). Somehow, since the girl will usually have the answer, and because she is dependable, and can help speak Spanish to the Spanish girl, that makes her the teacher's pet. Me alternatingly choosing boy/girl on almost everything seems to mean nothing. Radomly choosing students from a cup of popsticks also seems to mean nothing. Lately, when TP gets pick, I get the "you only/or always pick her rantings that the followers seem to like.

Anyway, it turns out DQ had a problem with TP and again she had her 4th grade girls with her backing her up. Having spoken to "Uncle" (late teens), and "Mom"(probably late 20's or early 30's), has had no effect. I also felt a bit that it might have been some how my fault that I was not specific enough. No Drama with the regulars should have been no drama at all.

Moving on. Today the school had a Valentine's Day dance to raise money for the 6th grade graduation. I donated $10. Since the school would be opened until 7pm, my subconscious went to work. I ended up leaving about 8pm.


Post Date - Saturday, February 16, 2008 5:59PM

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Today was the school field trip to a puppet show. All grades from 3rd to 6th went to the show. Luckily, allowances were made for teachers to leave behind students. I had 5 students to leave behind. A couple of my students were left because their parents probably thought $8 was a lot to spend on a puppet show. Also, I had a few students who just did not show up to school. In total, I only had 7 kids with me (all well-behaved). No Drama. No rude mouths or behavior. No arguing. If I had a class of these kids, teaching would be a joy(with a lot more time spent teaching).

So, how was the show? I had a chance to get out of the building, so I'm not complaining. Unfortunately, I was rushing out of my apartment (as usual), and I left my camera behind. A part of me believed that I would not find anything interesting to take pictures of at a kid's puppet show, but I should have taken it anyway.

Quick Show Summary.
We arrived about 10am. The show was at a high school about a 10 minute cheese bus ride away. The cast was made of "professional" puppetteers, they had various (but not too many)puppets and stuff toys(a couple of puppets were recycled for different acts. In order to appeal to a wide audience, there were various songs ranging from Barney, to 80's songs. During one song, Teachers were asked to get up to do the Electric Slide(a popular 80's dance done frequently at weddings[according to Ms. Across the Hall]). I stayed seated. I think I've mentioned once or twice here on my blog site that I am living proof that not all black people having rhythm. There was also an opportunity for the kids to also get up and dance. I forgot what the song (or the dance) was, but it got a very positive reaction. Overall, I thought the show was cute. Not great. Not bad. It was nice. Ms. Across the Hall dozed off once or twice, however, she had no problem busting a move on the dance floor. I should have brought my camera. From now on, I plan to take my camera whether or not I even plan to take pictures.

The show ended about 11:30am. We were back at the school about 12pm. I'm going to skip the lunch time confusion for the sake of time.


Post Date - Saturday, February 16, 2008 5:27pm

Tuesday, February 12, 2008
A bit of a long day. With a 2:30am bedtime the night before, this morning I was really moving slow. I ended up missing my train this morning. I took a taxi to school. For most of the morning, my kids were okay. Oh, AP2 passed out the new daily schedule:

Periods
1. (Math)Test Prep Skills
2. Literacy Block with students from various classes and grade-levels.
3. Math - Day One Test Prep type of material
4. Lunch
5. Math - Day Two Test Prep type of material
6. Math Projects/portfolio activities
7. Extended Groups

During lunch, there was another drama episode with Drama Queen. As soon as I walked into the lunchroom to pick up my class, DQ (according to the school aids and Giggles) managed to get a group of girls from my class and a group of girls from a fourth grade class to taut and tease Giggles. According to DQ, she was just talking about "Blah, blah, blah"(her exact words). When I asked for clarification, she said that she was talking about how I gave too much homework. Her partner in crime (Cackler)said that they were just talking about how "they were bad when they were younger" (her exact words), then partner in crime said that they were talking about another Giggles. I let DQ tell me her side of the story. I made sure to let her finish her side. After she finished, I checked to make sure she had not left anything out, or forgotten anything. When she finished, to be honest, I went ballistic! Same drama, same nonsense! Then DQ's story changed to it was Giggles who "started it". Then, DQ's story changed to Giggles threatened to jump her after school. Never mind, DQ is always picked up by her mother (in a car) or her uncle (again in a car), and never mind that Giggles stays in school for the after school program(doesn't leave the building until 5pm), and never mind that I personally stand outside at dismissal time until every pick up is picked up. When DQ was not getting any sympathy from me, then she turned on the waterworks. I went almost nuclear (if that was possible). DQ cried a river over how I don't listen to her, or how I didn't say anything when she told me that Giggles was threatening her and her family. This is a girl who will change her story in a matter of seconds. She will even add parts as she is speaking all the while looking to to see if she is getting a reaction.

Anyway, I was just not in the mood for the drama. DQ went to cry at another table, and yes, she was surrounded by caring friends who wanted to know who made her cry and why DQ was crying. Since there was a delay(again), my class was just getting their lunch when I arrived 3 or 4 minutes late. Yes, late. I usually don't bother coming down to pick up my class on time anymore because they will usually be just getting served their food. The kitchen staff is great, friendly, and generous with the teacher's portions when they can, however, they are a bit slow. Nice, very nice, but slow.

Anyway, after a few minutes of boo hoo hooing, DQ changed location in the lunchroom, to another area when she is again surrounded by well-wishers, and concerned friends wanting to hear her sides. Finally, when it is time to go, DQ comes to me to tell me she didn't eat. I went ballistic again! There is more to this, but I think you get the idea. DQ now wants to tell her side to the guidance conselor type (I really don't know what he is). This is the guy who is suppose to be doing a conflict resolution program, where he is suppose to come to my class one period per week, but thus far (over the past few months), he has only come about 3 times. One time, one of my students saw him "downstairs eating". Another time, he "forgot the time". The last drama episode, (about an hour before he was due to come) after saying that he was coming to straighten out the mess once and for all, he showed up about 10 minutes near the end of his assigned period to lecture the whole class about "ugly behavior". Since DQ was putting on such a show, the Guidance Guy said that he was coming up to settled this nonsense. To be honest, I was a bit surprised when he actually showed (and it wasn't even his day to come). Unfortunately, he started to lecture the whole class again. This time, I politely interupted and explained that it is the same 4 girls, not the whole class, so the Guidance Guy took the 4 girls out. That drama episode put me in a really bad mood.

Later, running into the Ms. K6 --the teacher who was bumped from her kindergarten class to be co-teacher to a special ed 6th grade class of 30 students...ouch!! Anyway, she had mentioned that she would probably be staying in school until 7 or 7:30pm. Even though I wanted to be out of the building by 6:30pm, I found myself leaving about 7:30pm. There was about an inch of snow that fell. I offered to walk her to the bus stop. I then offered to what until the bus came. She tried to call for a taxi, but none were available at that time(snow). Then she told me where she lived....about 10 blocks from the school. When I lived in Manhattan, I used to walk about 10 blocks just to get the train. So walking was not a problem. I offered to carry her bag, her other bag I put in my granny cart. I gave her my umbrella since she did not have hers. Both bags were about 10 or 15lbs. After walking Ms. K6 home, I headed home myself. I arrived home about 9:30PM. Tired!!


Post Date - Friday, February, 15, 2008 11:20PM

I just left a comment about lesson plans, and I mentioned that I would post a photo of a page of my lesson planbook. That is the attached photo.

Today, I was not in a very good mood, the result was that the kids did not push my buttons as usual. When I'm in an evil mood, they kids seem to know...somewhat. Also, Cackler was absent. The day was okay. My plan was to really get out of the building by 4 or 4:30PM. However, you know me. Something always seems to throw me off. Today, it was the request for the Mid-Winter recess homework packet. Due tomorrow. This time, AP1 wants Math, Math, Math. Oh, and AP2 also made an annoucement, "effective immediately, Math is to be taught for three hours per day. Science and Social Studies lessons, must be (temporarily) replaced with Math.

Anyway, I spent about a half an hour going through my materials to find suitable math related assignments. Although AP1 asked for test prep material, I was in no mood to follow her advice to go online to search for Math Test Prep materials. I'm going to leave the Test Prep component to one of the other 3rd grade teachers.

I left the building about 5:10PM. I ended up arriving in the Bronx in enough time to see the MN train arrive at the MN station, just as my train was going over the bridge into the Bronx. I made a quick stop in the local drug store. I thought it would have been faster than going to Target, but I was wrong. This slow kid was moving slower than a slow turtle. He was moving very slow with a couple people on line, then, the kid just walked away. No annoucement, no nothing. I almost missed my MN train.

When I arrived home, I reheated leftover sphagetti. I also cooked a piece of defrosted steak. I was going to cook some Minute Rice, but I saw a receipe on the box that I would like to try. Sweet and Sour Chicken. The receipe stated that it only takes about 20 minutes to make. I'll post my results when I attempt to make it.

Well, I better go. I have another long day tomorrow. This morning, I almost caught an earlier train, but I missed it by about 1 minute. I will try again tomorrow. It is nice when I can arrived about 30 early. Until next time...


Post Date - Monday, February 11, 2008 9:15PM

Quick entry. Not much to write about, so this should not take long. Today was another rest day. It felt like only yesterday that I was leaving my classroom for the weekend. Having slept most of the weekend away, I really can't complain about my weekend going so fast. I will have to change that.

Today(after finally getting out of bed), I tried to be a bit productive. I finally got around to cutting my hair, and shaving my head. I told myself that if I waited until this evening, then I would probably spend another late night leading to another week of poor sleeping patterns. After cutting my hair, I went to the laundry to wash my dirty clothes. And after the laundry, I did something I had not done in a very long time...I made dinner (see attached photo). For the last couple of months, I have been too dependant on the convenience of the Weight Watcher's meals. The taste is okay, and the convenience is great, but the food is not very filling. Too many times, I have to subliment the meals with sandwiches, or extra food, which kind of defeats the purpose of the meals. Anyway, I decided to make sphagetti with meat sauce. I used ground turkey meat for the meat sauce. I wasn't sure I would have the motivation to clean up afterwards, so I used plastic fork, paper plate, and disposible cup. To be honest, I've been using disposible dishware for the past few months because I've been a bit lazy about cleaning, but at the same time, I don't like messes. Strange? However, I managed to clean up right after eating. I put the leftovers in plastic containers. I washed the pots, and I even managed to wash the stovetop. After dinner, I did my lesson plans for tomorrow only. I would like to leave school tomorrow about 4:30pm. I would like to make dinner again. From now on, I would like to use the Weight Watcher's meals for last minute meals when I really, really don't feel like cooking. I also would like to try something starting tomorrow. I will try cooking for the next day(or days) after I've eaten dinner. In other words, cooking at 9 or 10 at night for the following day(or days). I've never done that before. I've always cooked when I was hungry for that day. Most importantly, I will have to separate myself from my classroom. Another teacher and I was talking and we both shared the same idea of feeling strange for leaving the building at 3 or 4pm. I also have to stop allowing this job to beat me to the point of near exhaustion (to the point where I have to rest for 30 minutes before I can move). We'll see if anything comes of my "New Me" new year restarted resolution.


Post Date - Sunday, February 10, 2008 10:15PM

Let's see what I can scribble down for a blog entry before I call it a night. This weekend (much like all of the others), was mostly sleeping. Quick Week recap.

Once Wednesday came, my kids had their hyper day of chaos. I was drained, tired, feeling beaten and defeated. By the time 3pm came, I just wanted out. My most hyper decided to push any and all buttons. Forgetting what I had done in the past, I just dished out what they (the hypers) dished out. The more they yelled and treatened, the more I did the same. I thought I had a surefire ace up my sleeve, but I was wrong -- No surprise there. Anyway, due to mysteries far beyond me, my school's admin made major scheduling changes again. Kiddling aside, I think our school that just made well-developed on our Quality Review wants to keep that rating. The schedule change just gives each of the out of classroom teachers a small group of students to tutor. I actually like my new prep schedule. I now have computer three times per week, and gym two times per week. I'd believed that I had the winning combination that would have insured that my kids would behaved. Oh, I was soo wrong. They challenged me at every turn. Every word out of my mouth was something to be critized. They complained. Argued, and of course didn't care what I said. Threats of silent lunch detention didn't work, and that just made me more angry. And relying on very base instincts, the kids smelled blood in the water and took pleasure in tag teaming, and group critism. Anyway, once 3PM arrived, and the kids were being dismissed, I knew that it was my turned. I'd planned to keep the ring leaders (The Cackler, Sneak, Giggles, and Princess) afterschool. They just were not going down without a fight. As I stood at the door waiting for the pick ups to be picked up, the Ring went wild in the stairwell, yelling, screaming, (literally) climbing up the walls. A fourth grade teacher (guidance counselor in training) yelled at them, that did not work. I took the group to AP2 hoping she could put a bit of fear into them (they are afraid of her), but she turned out to be in a very good mood, so there was not much fear given, only the suggestion that I trade off with other teachers for a day or two. Other teachers must have sensed my frustration, because they seemed to be coming out of the woodwork. The sixth grade teacher offered to take Princess. A first grade teacher offered to take them that afternoon. Even the security guard (the tackler) offered to take Giggles who just couldn't seem to keep her attitude in check. At the time, I was happy for the assistance, but I then regained my composure. I knew as nice as the offers were, I really had to be the one to meter out the punishment. I couldn't have other teachers doing the disciplining. Why? One of the first things that I learned when I first started teaching was that if a teacher gives away their power to control (sorry, to manage) the classroom, then he (or she) will lost that power. Meaning, the kids would only behave when the disciplinarian came into the room, ignoring the classroom teacher. I told myself that I would never be the teacher that needed someone to come in to "manage" the students.

Anyway, after about 2 hours of phone tag, and conversation with and about my "Hypers", I was very tired.

The next day, the Hypers were at it again. This time, I was a bit more proactive than reactive. I also took the other teachers up on their offers, but on my own terms. I removed the Hypers not out of desperation, but just out of a need to remove the distractions. My Hypers can be what I call "attention vampires", good or bad, right or wrong, they have no problem with monopolizing my attention. They have no problem with arguing over the smallest of things as much and as long as I allow. Anyway, Thursday was a bit rough, but I was back in charge.

Friday, I received a letter from Cackler's mother putting in writing what AP1 wanted. In writing, a letter stating that I had the mother's permission to keep her child for afterschool detention when she (Cackler) was misbehaving. That letter put a smile on my face. And lo and behold Cackler was (relatively) well behaved. She still has a fresh mouth, and street attitude, but she showed a lot of self-control.

With the new schedule, my Friday, still is my easiest day. I now have two computer (one prep and one lab)periods. And there is the early dismissal at 2:20pm. Anyway, my Friday turned out to be okay. When I kids started to do the hyper thing, I became proactive again. Instead of the 4 or 5 students who deserved detention, I told them that they had the day off from detention, so that I could make an example with Sneak and Princess (who threw a couple of temper tantrums). Once the tantrums were in full swing, I was calling mom on my cell phone, something I just didn't do in the past.

It is late. I better go.


Post Date - Sunday, February 9, 2008 1:20PM

Today (Tuesday) was a trip day. It was my class' turn to go to the Community Program teaching safety for kids in and around cars. I had 5 kids stay in school and two kids absent. Since the weather was not great, the kids were not allowed to ride bikes which was a part of the program. Although the program was only a few blocks away, AP1 ordered a bus. The program is located in a public school. A part of the street is gated off and modeled to be like any other city street. After a lesson on safety in and around cars, we were taken outside to practice what was taught. While the presenter did his lecture in the classroom, I just graded papers. Outside, I took pictures. I was happy that my kids were on their best behavior. I've attached a couple of photos. The first is one of the signs in the gated off area. The other photo is of a couple of my kids practicing crossing the street safely (when there are parked cars).

As for the rest of the day, we ate lunch when we returned to class. The rest of the day was uneventful. Oh, the data coordinator at the end of the school day stopped me to tell me that my class did well on the predicative test for the coming NYS Math Test. My students scored 74% on the muliple-choice, and 64% on the extended response portion. Extended response requires the students to be able to write out an answer and explain (in writing) how they arrived at their answer. The coordinator also showed me the other third grade teacher's scores. She also mentioned that overall, the school did not do well on the extended response. The principal's goals for the school is to score 50% (or higher) on the NYS Test. I felt good about the test scores.

My plan was to leave school about 4:30pm. I even took out the ground turkey meat to make spaghetti when I came home, but my day ended similar to many of the previous days. I was planning to leave at 4:30pm, but I got stopped by Ms. Across the Hall. I then settled for 5pm, but I finally got out of my class at about 5:10 only to be stopped by the Social Studies teacher with a brief conversation about how I was leaving early. Then I got stopped by the 4th grade teacher who told me about Cackler's behavior. I had left Cackler with the 4th grade teacher, she did not deserve to go on the trip. Then the security guard gave me details about Cackler's home life. Cackler is living with the new baby's daddy who isn't her(Cackler's) father. I was finally out of the building about 5:40pm. The subway train choose today to act up. After about 5 minutes, the first train skipped my stop. The next train arrived soon after, but it moved slower than usual. As a result, I arrived in the Bronx with about 1 minute before the MN train was due to leave. I was not about to even try running for the train, so I had to wait for the next train.

At home, I had a Weight Watcher's meal, then I fell asleep. I woke up a few hours ago and watched a bit of the election coverage. Since I am an independant, I can't vote in the Primaries.

Well, that's it for now.


Post Date - Tuesday, February 5, 2008 1:43AM

One step foward. Two steps back. Today I was supposed to restart my New Year/New Me Resolutions, but, well, you know me by now. Promises. Promises. Delays. Delays. Procrastinating all the way.

I started off okay. I went to bed last night about 11pm (early for me). I was up about 6am. I managed to catch the earlier train allowing me to arrive in school about 7:15am. I made photocopying my homework sheet and assignments a high priority. The copy machine the faculty has access to (without putting in a requisition[and a long wait time]) is out of order, so I had to make all my copies on my personal machine. On Friday, Admin having cancelled the Literacy Block in favor of Math Preparation for most of the school, I just assumed that they would do the same today. No, I was wrong. Calling AP1 triggered an annoucement about the new cycle of the literacy program beginning today. Also, my prep coverage was absent) along with about 3 or 4 other teachers. So, I had no prep period. Luckily, my kids were not too hyper today.

I really wanted to be out of the building by 4:30pm. But, just my (regular) luck, the principal chose this time to do a faculty Professional Developement during the faculty conference time. And, instead of ending at the usual faculty conference time of 4:00pm, the Professional Developement ended at 4:30pm. I was out of the building about 5:45pm. I arrived in the Bronx about 6pm. I decided to go to the Target store to look at the digital dictionaries. I bought one ($29.99)for my foster father's lady friend(along with a $30 gift card to AMC movie theaters). Now, I want one.

Oh, that reminds me. I stopped reading "A Storm of Swords" by George R.R. Martin some time in December. Once the new year started, I just hadn't felt like picking up that book again. I might return to it at another time. So now I am reading Book 3 of The Age of Fire "Dragon Outcast". I'm on page 96 (of 350 pages)at the moment. Next up, I think I will read the Golden Compass trilogy. I think I will save the finally Harry Potter book for jury duty. I received my notice in the mail, but I deferred serving until the summer.

I better go. Hopefully, I can try again tomorrow with having a more productive day, and being out of the building at 4:30pm. Tomorrow, my class is supposed to being going on a field trip that Ms. Across the Hall went to last week. Ms. Down the Hall goes on Thursday.

I will try for another 11pm bedtime tonight, and an early train tomorrow morning.


Post Date - Monday, February 4, 2008 8:32PM

Quick Sunday wrap-up. Yesterday, my foster brother called me to offer me an apartment in the Bronx at a lower rent than I am paying now. I told him that I would have to think about it. My rent is higher now, but I like living near the water. Also, my commute is easy in the morning.

Later, Yesterday afternoon, my foster brother called again to ask if I wanted to go visit his grandmother's grave. Since I had no plans, I said okay. The original plan of meeting on 125th street was changed. I arrived at about 8am, but my foster brother kept me waiting for almost an hour. We rode out the New Jersey. We visited graves, then I was treated to a lunch at Red Lobster. I don't go out much, so it nice to go to a fancy restaurant. It was nice going to a restaurant where I was not asked, "do you want fries with that?"

After returning to NYC, I rode the MN train back to Yonkers. In downtown Yonkers, I was planning to only buy a replacement for the scarf that I misplaced. I ended up going to the imitation 5 and Dime Store. I ended up buying a couple of denim shirts, long underwear, gloves, etc... I then went shopping for a few items at the grocery store. The online store was out of orange juice. After shopping, I walked home, then I did my laundry.


Post Date - Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:09PM

What type of person do you attract? Your Result: You attract geeks! Your stunning intellect and love of sci-fi and video games allures the geeks like nothing else. Maybe it is the sparkle in your eye that makes them want to text you, who knows. Geeks make good partners, but tend to be arguementative. If you are a TRUE geek magnet, you will know if that was spelled correctly, and actually care. If it is a bad-boy/bad-girl you are seeking, you are barking up the wrong tree, unless they are just 'bad' behind a PS2 console.
You attract Yuppies!
You attract rednecks!
You attract unstable people!
You attract artsy people!
You attract models!
What type of person do you attract? Quizzes for MySpace

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Philadelphia   Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard.
The South
The Midland
The Northeast
The Inland North
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I have no idea how valid this quiz is, however, I did think it was interesting.

I'll make this quick. I think I am going to lay down for a while. I didn't get out of bed til about 11am, but I still feel bone-weary tired. My groceries just arrived about an hour ago. I ordered my food online last night. This time, the delivery person was a bit annoying. He called to say that he could not find my building. I tried to get his location, but all he kept saying was that he could not find my building. I tried to explain that each buiding has a single-digit number and a name (both I included on my order form, and are posted on plaques on the walls of each building her the lobby door), but the guy just kept saying that he could not find my building. Since I was in my pajamas, I was not about to go downstairs looking for the guy. I'm paying to have my food delivered, If I wanted the pick up, I would have ordered pick up.

The guy arrived about 5 minutes after calling. He dropped off the bags muttering that this is a crazy area, and that he couldn't find the building. Usually, I tip the delivery person $5 on top of the $15 delivery fee, something about this guy just annoyed me, so I was planning to only tip him $3, but he dropped the bags and left before I could turn to pick up the tip that I had left out. So, I just said thank you and closed the door.

Friday, I was in a bit of a good/bad mood. The Quality Review was over (good), it was Friday (good), but my hypers were hyper(bad). I was in one of my moods, so when they started up, I gave them options to have computer time, even though I said that I would take it away from most of the class. I did not feel like being prison guard of a group, so I singled out the major trouble-makers (Drama Queen & Sneak) to make examples for the rest.

First period, an annoucement was made on the PA system that teachers should send down a list of those students who we felt might fail the City-Wide Math Test. I sent my list of 7 promotion in doubt. Later, another annoucement was made that the Literacy Block Program time (90min.) would be canceled. Yippee!!! Then that was followed up with another annoucement that those on the teacher's list would be pulled out for tutoring with out of classroom teachers. Yippee!!! For about 90 minutes, my stress level took precipitous drop, it would have dropped lower if Giggles had been one of the students on the pull out list. That high pitched shrieking, laughing, whinning and crying, was enough to make me put my head (or hers) through a window.

I decided to use the time to have the students work on fixing their portfolios. I modeled with them step by step how the portfolio should be organized. Giggles wouldn't follow directions, doing things her own way, then whinned, then cried when I mentioned items that should have been in the portfolios weren't in hers. According to Giggles, she did the assigments, but they are not there. She whinned then cried. After modeling the correct steps and having the students repeat with their own portfolios. When we finished, I then assigned each student to do another students portfolio who was not in the room. Since Giggles couldn't (or wouldn't) do her photofolio correctly, I didn't assign her one. She then whinned that I wouldn't let her do another student's portfolio. To shut her up, I gave her one knowing that she would botch the job. I was in one of my bad moods. I try to not take it out on the students when I am in a bad mood. Also, my goal was to have a (relatively) pleasant experience with 7 students out of the room). When Giggles started to botch the portfolio, I assigned her to be my assistant, she actually liked that.

At the end of the Test Prep period, the "others" returned. Gym was next period. As I am walking my students to the gym, the Math Coach mentioned that he had sent a memo about having a meeting during prep time to discuss preparations for the Math Exams. I kept Drama Queen and Sneak with me, any other time, I would have let them go, but I was in my mood. After prep/meeting (I will forgo any details about the value of that "professional" meeting), I only had one period before lunch. Unfortunately, it does not take a lot of time for some hypers to get hyper. When the shouting vulgar language started, I started shipping (2)students to other rooms. For lunch, I did a silent detention. If they spoke, it would cost them another lunch period. As a result, I will be doing silent lunch detention for about a week. This time, I had them just take their social studies book. I think a punishment should be productive if possible. I told the students that if I had to give up another day, then the punishment would be another silent lunch, but next time, they would be doing exerises out of the social studies book (if they don't finish, then it is an automatic extention to the next day's lunch period).

After lunch, my class had computer lab. Then, after lab, I did a quick review of the previous night's homework and a preview of new homework. Then, the Literacy Block was reassigned to the afternoon?!?!? Yes, the Lit. Block was assigned for 1:50pm (30min before dismissal). Why? Some had the new lists of their new groups, and others didn't. Then, with about 5 minutes to go, an annoucement was made that we should use this time to say good bye to our old groups, and send a messager to the main office to pick up our new list. My new group and list? I will now be teaching level 3.2 (third grade literacy). My group? Fifteen students ranging from second grade to fifth grade. Yes, second grade to fifth grade. Basically, I will now be teaching a group where 1/3 are above their grade level, 1/3 well-below their grade level, and a few students who (in theory) are now reading on grade level. Among the 3rd graders in my group are 3 of mine (including Princess and Giggles), and one student from Across the Hall's 3rd grade class who she complains is too advanced for 3rd grade work and has to find ways to challenge this kid (who according to data that she has collected is reading on a 5th grade level).

Towards the end of the day, Giggles was her loud giggling self. She didn't care when I told her about the lunch periods she would lost. She told me loudly, plaining, and often that she didn't care. She continued to be loud and disruptive. So, I took her coat and backpack.

Dismissal time. I will usually stay outside 5 or 10 minutes waiting for late parents to pick up their child. Without her coat Giggles came to me, I have to leave now. My mother says that I have to go. Basically, after being disruptive, I was supposed to have stopped what I was doing and immediately do her bidding. I don't think so.

About 15 minutes of waiting for after school to begin and the after school teacher to come, Giggles mother came looking for Giggles. Mom was annoyed. I started to explain to the mother. She gave me the usual "Umm Hmms". She said something in her native language, then turned to walk away. I just smiled...waited for the realization to hit. Seconds later, Giggles trying to explain that she doesn't have her coat. Mom was annoyed, pushing Giggles and angrily telling her to get her coat. Finally mom stopped to listen to Giggles explain again in the native tongue. The mother then turns to me to say, "you told her to give you her coat". Yep!(my response). "I told her to have her coat by the time I arrived."(mom's response). --I had told Giggles to wait on the side by the wall, but of course she walked off to go call her mother. Now, mom was standing in the cafeteria expecting to make a quick getaway. I explained to the mother the problem. Giggles does what she wants, when she wants, as loudly as she wants, but then when she is finished, she expects me to jump when she wants something. Giggles (as well as most of my students) has little (if any)respect for me, they have no problems being loud, disrespectful, and disruptive. Inconveniencing me means nothing to them, so one of the few things at my disposal is the inconveniencing of them and their parents.

After the Giggles saga was over, I was happy. I'd made it to another weekend to recover. I was planning to be out of the building about 4:30pm. But then I helped the other third grade teachers with posting their students' grades in the Board of Ed assessment online program. Then, I planned to be out by 5pm, then 6pm, then 7pm. About 6:50pm, I was almost out of the door, when the literacy coach stopped me to let me know that she set the goals for my class in the online reading program. That brief comment turned into a lenghty conversation about the "holes" in the program that allows students and some teachers to (perhaps) cheat. Since this blog is not suppose to be about other people, I will skip providing details. Besides I've been online long enough.


Post Date - Saturday, February 2, 2008 3:14PM

The Quality Review is over!!!

This week, and pretty much last week as well, I've been a bit of a daze. Leaving school at 8 or 8:30pm, getting home at about 9:30 or 10pm, and then stressing about school work at home. The strange part, I was not really nervous about the Quality Review, I was just feeding on the negativity around. The Quality Review is where the School as a whole (and the principal to a certain extent) is given a grade. Last school year, my school received an "A".

Back to the quick summary. While other teachers were stressing out about things like putting Post-its on each piece of students' work, I just laugh...just a bit. When AP1 came in my room for a last minute inspection the day before the Quality Review stressing about Post-Its on kids work (that were already graded, and already had teacher comments), I politely said that I would add it to my list of things that needed to be done. However to myself, I was saying, "This lady must be smoking something".

Anyway, there was a lot I needed to get done, but that was just in general, not because a visitor was coming.

Let me do a quick summary, so that I can call it a night. Hopefully, I will go into a bit of details another time.

Up at 2am
procrastination and preparation
Taxi to work after a later MN train
Literacy block was (relatively) nice
Group meeting with the Quality Review Rep.
Drama in the lunchroom
Program for conflict resolution rep. arrived 40min. late
Planned to be out of building at 4:30pm
Out of building at 5pm
Target to buy cap (lost another) running for the train.
Home about 6pm
Cooked Dinner
Bath
Watched Smallville
Fell asleep about 9:15pm
Woke up about 1am
Now, I'm finished my blog
A bit of lesson planning, then, I'm calling it a night.


Post Date - Friday, February 1, 2008 2:09AM

Last week was a four-day work week, but it felt like a seven day work week. Quick summary of the work week.

Tuesday, January 22nd.
I called this the last minute day. From a 2AM bedtime, it was last minute this and last minute that. I received a call in my classroom letting me know that a art program rep. would be coming to do a project with my students for the whole day. Moments later, an announcement was made over the PA system that all prep periods would be used for Data Analysis meetings. So, what was the meeting about. After being told that it would only take a few minutes, we were told about the program we had already been told about. "suggestions" for using the Internet for helping our kids with listening practice exercises -- again, we were already showed the "suggestions". In the end, a few minute meeting (that was a total waste of time) took, about 40 minutes. After school (with the Quality Review around the corner), I decided to finally tackle my teacher's corner. I left the building about 8:05PM. I decided to stop off at Target for some black slacks. My "work clothes" had holes in them. I could not put off the shopping procrastination any longer. While I was in Target, I also bought some organic skim milk and had my blood pressure medicine prescription refilled. I was home about 10PM.

Wednesday, January 23th.
My kids were okay. A bit hyper, but relatively okay. There was a school wide Math test, so the literacy program was cancelled. Yippee!!!
During the test, I received a phone call from AP1, she wanted me to know that the Art Lady (from yesterday) was returning to finish the project. Even though the project was basically finished. The "Art Lady" did most of the work herself, so I did not even bother to take a photo of the work. For some strange reason, the lady's classroom management was almost identical to the "Art Lady" from last school year. Different lady, but the same "limited" understanding of classroom management. You really can't have a project that requires most of the students to sit and do nothing but wait, and watch. I just started teaching around the Art Lady. During the reading period, I had the students do independent reading. During Social Studies, I had them do social studies activities from the textbook. Etc...
During lunch, Drama Queen put on a show. And I had had enough!!! Sticky Fingers -- since she has not stolen anything recently, I may rename her "Giggles". Came crying that Drama Queen was telling everybody to not be her friend. DQ said that she was not talking about Giggles, but another "Giggles" near her home. I called the friends over and asked each of them how many "Giggles" did they know, each said only one, so DQ changed her tactic. Now, DQ said that Giggles started it. When that did not wash, then DQ turned on the waterworks. I had had enough. I (verbally) tore into her like a bear on piece of fish. "Turn it off, and shut it up" (not exactly my words, but very, very close). I try to never allow the Cafeteria Drama to come into the classroom. Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Also, whatever happens in the cafeteria, stays in the cafeteria...if possible. Kids often have a bad habit of carry unnecessary (emotional)baggage around for days. If you are not careful, you could spend your afternoon dealing with something stupid that happened in the lunchroom...last week, and now they are fighting about it. So, if possible keep it where it started.

Thursday, January 24th.
The kids started out extremely hyper. I felt another one of those extreme days. Instead of using the "reward with praise tactic", I did the "excessive praise with promise of reward" tactic. Quick note-- excessive should not be confused with extreme. The tactic worked. My day turned out (relatively) nice. One incident. During the literacy program (where the kids are grouped in different classrooms), a couple of my students (Cackler and Sneak) were accused of stealing a dollar from a student's desk. Long story short, with my process of elimination/detective skills -- add detective to the teacher's growing list of responsibilities (parent, referee, bodyguard, police, babysitter, guidance conselor, negotiator, maid, servant, etc...). Cackler first said she had no money, but when I said that I would be in the lunchroom to see if she spends any money, she changed her story to her mother gave it to her. I said that I would call her mother to ask. Cackler changed her story to she was saving the money from a long time ago. Anyway, mom made a surprise visit -- AP2 had called on an unrelated incident. Mom, and Cackler put on a very good show. I had to contain myself from smiling. Not that I get off on seeing a child crying, but all of my phone calls, and my letters, and my student written (confessional)letters yielded nothing. But now, here was the Cackler crying her eyes out. And mom, going on and on about a change in the behavior. Mom even gave me her new cell phone number. Mom finished with a "wait til you get home" ending. Cackler had to stand in front of the class and apologize to everyone. My school day ended very nicely. :)

Friday, January 25th.
Cackler arrived late with a smile on her face, and the same attitude she has always had. A few minutes later, she is waving $2 to her friends with a "look what I got" speech. It wasn't even 8:30AM and already she was aggravating me and disrupting my class. I was pissed!!! I couldn't even get a day of good behavior. I called Cackler and asked for the money. I asked where she got the money from. "My mother gave..." quickly became "I mean my brother gave it to me".

Did I call the mom?



No.


Why not?


I knew the behavior would not change from the show that was given yesterday. I was hoping for a couple of days at least, but I knew the behavior wasn't going to change. So, what is the purpose of exposing my hand too quickly. I explained to Cackler that her "early morning show off" the very next morning after her mom made a big show in front of the classroom in front of the teacher and AP2, would embarrass her mother if I was to call. I further explained that mom may not do much about the constant complains from the teacher, but if she is called out for the show in front of the classroom. She (mom) would be upset with her daughter. I could see on Cackler's face the rusty mental gears turning in her head. She understood. So why not call mom immediately. For me, it is a matter of survival. I play the hand that I've been dealt. If I reveal my hand too quickly, then I have little (if any) cards left in play. I was honest with Cackler when she asked what I was going to do with the money. I gave the options of a teacher's response or an honest response.

She chose the honest response. I told her that I would use that money as much as I could. Meaning, the threat of a phone would be in play until she forced me to call. She smiled, went back to her desk and was (relatively) good for the rest of the day.

Other quick Friday notes.
The Daily School Bulletin had a list of the results of the "Dry Run Quality Review". Things that teachers had to have before the Quality Review.

This post is long enough so I am going to skip what would be another 30 minutes. Besides, this blog really is suppose to be about my boring life, my job really is not meant to be a main focus. Suffice it to say (I hope I used that phrase correctly), teachers could do one of 2 things, laugh our head off, or beat our heads against the wall (or a combination of the two).

Oh, and four of my boys were suspended for writing curse words on the walls in the bathroom. Since I was focused on helping my students update their portfolios, I relaxed my guard. Normally, I only allow one boy and one girl out of the room at a given time (but not if they are from the same table). Students also have to sign out in the sign out book. I took it personally that it was all my boys, not even other teachers with wilder classes. However, no one (not even the principal) attached any blame to me, I was happy about that. The end result was that 4 of my boys would have a "Principal's Suspension" for (I was told from the security guard) 5 days. Wow! A part of me was annoyed that 3 of the 4 are not problem kids (just talkers). If I could have chosen a 5-day suspension for any of my students, 3 of those boys would not have come close to being on my list.

I was out of the school building about 8:30PM. I was fixing my classroom library. I finally got around to putting labels on all of my library baskets. As I was leaving a couple of teachers were still in their rooms -- beating their heads against the wall :), since their classroom are on the list for a closer review and the school's grade would be based on what was seen in their rooms, they wanted to make sure they tackled everything on that last minute list. Although the school would be opened on Saturday, none of the teachers, I spoke to said that they would be there.

Time for me the go.


Post Date - Sunday, January 27, 2008 1:48PM

Quick blog entry. My first heavy yawn just came, so I will have to finished this quick or I'll be sleeping in this car in a matter of minutes.

Quick summary of my three-day weekend. I slept most of the weekend away. On Monday, I did a bit of cooking (something I hadn't done in several months). I made bake chicken with Stove Top Stuffing,and green vegetables.

Another heavy yawn just came, so I will need to to end this now. I'll do another entry when I am not so tired.


Post Date - Wednesday, January 23, 2008 9:44PM

Quick blog entry before bedtime. After blogging a couple of hours ago, I did my grocery shopping online ($130). I then went shopping at Staples.com for more supplies for my classroom (about $200). I bought 2 cases of paper for my personal copier, an ink cartridge, a case of 24 bottles of water, a box of granola bars, and a couple of boxes of golf pencils. After dinner (frozen chicken and vegetables in the microwave, and microwavable rice). I ended up watching a movie on PBS entitled "The Robe". The movie was about the Roman soldier who executed Jesus. Richard Burton was the star. The movie was okay. I also grade some of my students' papers while I watched the PBS movie. I then watched "Family Guy" and "South Park".

Now, I am about to call it a night.


Post Date - Sunday, January 20, 12:38AM

I was not planning to post a blog entry now. For the last few days I have not been in a blogging mood. It has been almost a week since my last entry. Quick summary since then, my Monday last week turned out okay. Strange, but for about 3 hours of sleep, I did okay. I did go to the gym on Monday and Tuesday. My personal trainer told me on Tuesday that she would not be available on Wednesday, so I used Wednesday to fall back into my old "late leaving school" routine. I think I left school almost 7:30PM everyday from Wednesday to Friday. My trainer told me that she would not be able to come on Thursday, and that Friday would probably be her last day. She left a message on my cellphone Friday at 3PM offering to give me the 5th session of the 5 session package I paid for, but since my cellphone was home, I did not get the message until I returned home about 9PM. However, since I canceled last week, I don't feel she owed me that last session, but it was very nice of her to offer. Now, I am on my own to get up and out to the gym.

On the school front. Wednesday, my students were at their wildest. Wildest!! I had flashbacks to last school year when attitudes, anger and disrespect was boiling over. Nothing was working in terms of classroom management. I ended up doing an after school detention for the serious offenders. They had to write a letter to their parents about the things they did in class. That letter had to be signed and returned to me. If it wasn't, I would mail a copy to their homes. I followed up the letters with phone calls, so I assumed that the next day would be better.

Thursday? They picked up right where they left off. My hypers were just as hyper and disruptive and disrespectful. Every statement from me was followed by a "I don't care" from the hypers. Most of the morning was off the wall. Finally, I decided to swing the pendulum in the opposite direction. I focused (I said) on the good kids. I had an unopened bottle of soda left over from the Year-End party, so I told my class that I would be giving a special reward for the good kids(the soda). That put me back on the offensive. I lowered my voice (something I have to work on doing consistently), I gave lots of praise for the good behavior. When the hypers tried to seize control of the classroom, I started shipping them to other teacher's room. I had to remove three (Sticky-fingers, Cackler, and Sneak) -- Princess quieted down so she stayed. By the afternoon, I was in control again. Also, due to an incident in the lunchroom, AP2 called Sticky-finger's mother. That gave me the opportunity to speak to the mother a bit. Basically, the mother was there because AP2 called, for me, I just get, "Umm, Hmmms". Since Sticky Fingers was in trouble (more or less), she did not do anything disruptive. And as a result, her "sisterhood of disruption" turned on her. They called her names, tauted her, etc...

Sticky Fingers left early with her mother, so that left me with Princess and Cackler who were defiant to the end, so I did the afternoon detention again. Cackler who now seemed immune to the letter -- she said that her mother wasn't angry, and just signed the other letter. I made her put that in the letter also. Sneak who was writing on the chair, I made him (after I got the okay from calling his mother earlier in the day) scrub all of the desks (all 22 desks). But first, Sneak owed me a letter. When Cackler's time was up, I dismissed her....big mistake.

On Wednesday, after doing the afternoon detention, I fell back to the softy and walked her out of the school building and across the street (me without my coat in the middle of winter), to make sure she got home. I then called the mother to let her know where her daughter was.

Thursday, having gone through this afternoon detention/ waste of time again, I was in no mood to trekking up and down the stairs, so I just dismissed Cackler. Later, I found out she got caught leaving the building from a side exit. The office worker told me that Cackler was caught by AP2, but he would still have to tell AP1. Moments later, AP1 called me on the class phone. She was very upset because according to her the only person who would get into trouble (if Cackler "flipped her story") would be the principal. What I did was wrong for not getting permission from Admin and the parent(in writing). Not once did she ask why I kept the student in detention, nothing about other options I could have tried, or should have tried. Her only concern seemed to be that "if anything happened, the principal would be the one in court, the principal would be the one in trouble". It is nice to know that if I was a sick individual, that I would get away from any punishment for a crime, and that the principal would be the only one who would take the fall.

After that phone call, I then spent another hour cleaning up after the mess Sneak made scrubbing desks. I left school almost 8PM totally disgusted.

Friday, Cackler was absent...I wonder why?(not really -- Sorry) Sticky Fingers was absent (I knew she would not be in school today because she took great pride with the "I don't care, I won't be in school"[doctor's appt.] attitude). That just left Sneak, who was a bit better behaved. And Princess, who (I wasn't planning on allowing to participate in gym) got pulled off my line by AP2 from the lunchroom incident harassing another girl with her sisterhood of the street in training). AP2 can be a bit of the Admin enforcer, but I think she is treated as a bit player on the Admin ladder by Queen Bee and Second-in-Command. Sorry, I got sidetracked.

Princess was put in another class until her mother came. Another incentive for becoming an administrator. My phone calls do nothing, but a call from Admin has pull. Now, it was Princess' turn to face the angry mother (inconvenienced for having to take a day off from work). Mom's suggestion was that she would (maybe) send Princess back to Africa for a month because there she will get an education, and there they can deal with kids in a way that would cause problems here. So, how long did Princess stay good before slowly reverting back into Princess...about 90 minutes. I think she might need more than a month. :o

Friday was a very nice day. We had a visitor from the literacy program who came to see how the program was implemented. However, I've been on this computer long enough, so I am going to pass of summarizing and commenting on that event.

The kids were (relatively) nicely behaved. The afternoon (and evening) was spent tackling my teacher's corner. Our school will soon be having a Quality Review visit. Since we're now an "A" school -- don't ask me, I don't know what passes for an "A" school. Admin will soon be making their rounds doing their inspections. This whole school year, I've allowed myself become overwhelmed with everything, it is time for me to start digging out of the hole I've created. On Friday (evening), I finally tackled the mound of papers that was about 2 and a half feet high. I also finally got around to putting on the desk lock. I did not have a key for the old lock, and the builder of the desk put the insertion hole about a half inch off, so the lock (old or new) could not be used. I solved that problem by drilling a new insertion point in the correct spot. Now, I can lock my laptop in my desk instead of the closet. I also replaced the locks in the teacher's closet and classroom supply closet (about $15 per lock). The desk lock was about $7.

Today was my recovery day as usual. I spent most of the day in bed. I got up about 10am, and was back in bed about 12PM. I finally got up about 5PM. I had a bowl of organic oatmeal and a bowl of Strawberry Frosted Mini Wheats, and a cup of hot green tea. Unfortunately, I've been eating a couple of honey on wheat bread sandwiches with my Weight Watchers over these last few days, so I am back up to 200lbs having dropped to 196lbs. My goal now is to spend next week getting my classroom (and my students' portfolios) in order. Hopefully, I will be able to resume attending the gym on January 28th. Now, I am going to do a little bit of online grocery shopping. Now that I've figured out how, I will just use my previous order to make my order. That will save quite a bit of time.


Post Date - Saturday, January 19, 2008 6:46PM

Almost 3am and I have very little to show for it. An incomplete homework sheet and a very incomplete lesson plan. Wet clothes drying by the heater, and not packed for tomorrow (now today).

Now (having not showered in a couple of days, a shower is a must. If I don't get distracted, I should be in bed by 3am. Hopefully, the morning commute won't be a mess. I also postponed my 3 remaining training sessions with my trainer for today(tomorrow and Wednesday). Today will be a very long day. This has to be the last time I go to bed for 3 hours of sleep.


Post Date - Monday, January 14, 2008 2:24am

The previous blog entries have been sitting in my draft folder for the past few days. I don't know what, how or why, but I was too tired to do anything within minutes of returning home. Both previous blog entries were ended with me falling asleep in mid sentence. I deleted the gibberish that came from me sleeping with my hands on the keys. Hopefully, next week will be a better week.

I don't really have anything to post, so I am going to end this now and get off this computer.

Quick weekend summary. I slept most of Saturday away. I finally got up at about 5pm. Saturday evening, I spent about 3 hours sticking the adhesive tabs onto the plastic sheet protectors for my students portfolios, I also wrote the labels and inserted the labels. I then finished the evening grading a few (a very few) papers.

This morning, I was working on the Classroom Action Plan Goal Setting sheet, it is due tomorrow. Instead of handwriting the sheet, I searched the Internet for a copy of the NYC seal that our school uses for a header. I then typed up my Goal Setting sheet to look identical to the form that was given out. I also revised the sheet. My sheet has a place for the teacher's name and classroom, along with the school year.

Well, I postponed my gym workouts for a week, with the (false)assumption that I would use last week to get my classroom organized. Well, having broken all of my New Year's Resolutions within 3 days, I will have to try again starting tomorrow.

Now (when I get off this computer), I will shower. Write up my lesson plans for next week, go to the laundry, and make a quick run to the brick and mortar store for groceries. There is suppose to be a heavy snow fall due this evening and tomorrow morning. I hope it is not too great. With all of the hills and mountains, they are a bit slow about shoveling snow around here. Now, if it snows so much that schools are closed, then, well, let it snow. :)


Post Date - Sunday, January 13, 2008 12:18PM

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Train trouble, so I took a cab.
4th graders had a day three test. I gave my students a math practice test assuming that Admin would want the rest of the "testing body" to be in a testing mode. after I'd already started, a memo was sent via student delivery mentioning giving the practice test I was already administering for Friday. the memo suggested that classes work on workfolders and portfolios. I called and was able to reach AP1 who did not seem to mind me doing the math practice test so I continued. In a moment of rare peace and quiet, my class managed to stay in test mode for the Literacy Block time that was dedicated to the "testing mode". I was able to administer the practice test and grade it.

My hypers were hyper, and I did not get a prep today, so I was not in the best of moods. AP2 made an announcement on the loudspeaker that all testing grades would be meeting during their preps for planning for the State Math Test, but my prep teacher never showed to take over. He is always, always 10 to 15 minutes late, so I just assumed that he would be late as usual. He is one of the nice people, but he will often let the kids get too hyper. Not as extreme as the "Spanish" teacher, but having him for a prep is a "finger crosser". Anyway, it turns out he was doing some kind of assisting with the 4th grade test. I called the Math coach to appologize for not being there, but the coach did not seem to know about the meeting. I'm thinking I missed about 20 minutes of the meeting, but no one showed up, and the coach did not bother to call, he just said that no one showed up. I guess he didn't want the meeting either.

Lunch detention. One of the powers that be decided that this afternoon would be a good time to administer the 8th week assessment for the reading program that we are using this year. Even though only about half of the school would need to be testing, the whole school went to the Literacy Block groupings for the last hour of the school day. Wouldn't it have been better to do the testing on Friday when the literacy block schedule resumes, but what do I know.

Another day wasted on "planning" to get organized. I left the school about 7pm only just starting to tackle the mounds of papers in my classroom. I told myself that I would not go to gym this week to get organized in my classroom, but I have yet to do anything of substance.


Post Date - Sunday, January 13, 2008 12:03pm

Sorry about the last post. I fell asleep while I was trying to type. I should have clicked on "save to draft", but instead, I clicked "publish". To wrap up yesterday's entry, I had to take a later train, which meant that I would have to take a taxi from the Bronx.

My goal for yesterday was to finish my hall bulletin board. There was a faculty meeting at 3PM. I finished my bulletin board and was out of the building at about 7:30PM. When I got home, I called the Y to postpone my one-on-one training for a few days. This week, I want to get my classroom cleaned and organized. After dinner, I was out like a light (clothes and all). I woke up about 5:30AM, it took me a while but eventually, I was able to get out of bed. I then typed up my bulletin board "Task Card".

Although, I was up early, I was still tired, so I was moving slow. I caught my "on time" train...with about 30 seconds to spare. Today was day 1 of the NYS ELA exams. My kids were actually (relatively) well-behavore......



Post Date - Sunday, January 13, 2008 11:59am

Today was a tiring day, but it was actually okay. The Cackler was absent, and Princess was very quiet today.

This morning after going to bed at about 2:45am, I was very tired this morning. I called the Y the tell them I was cancelling my appointment with my trainer. On top of the little bit of sleep, I wanted to finish my bulletin board. Being tired, I was moving very slowly. I knew that I wouldn't be able to catch my regular train, so I took the next train. That means

I just finished correcting and printing my students' character sketches. Another bad start to what I know will be a stressful week. Tuesday and Wednesday are the oh-so-important City-Wide Exams for ELA.

Nine Resolutions, and I broke eight of them within four days. Strange, I am not as upset as I would have been in the past. The purpose of the resolutions was to give me a focus in the new year, not really a sudden transformation. I was a bit disappointed, but nothing major, no binging on a pint of Haagen Daz. I just told myself that I will just start again on Monday. I hated the idea of spending the $100 on a personal trainer, but I am glad I did. Without the trainer "expecting me there", I probably would have an excuse for not going to the gym. I have 3 more sessions with the trainer, then I am on my own. The real test will come when I am on my own.

This weekend. I slept Saturday away. Thursday evening, I went to bed at about 2:30AM, so I was very tired when I did my workout on Friday with the trainer after a full day in school. On Saturday, I did some corrections of the students' writing. Yes, I am still doing that character sketch project. Mainly, due to my disorganization. Somehow, I went from an almost complete set of 15 (two students were absent) to about 6 or 7 completed and typed writing assignments.

Today, I was a bit productive, but not by much. I did about 4 loads of laundry. Now, that I am attending the gym, my dirty clothes pile has increased. I have a trainer that does not seem to mind getting close to her clients, even when I am sweating up a storm. Being a bit self-conscious, I get a bit nervous when I am working out and my trainer doesn't seem to mind getting close. She evens likes helping me with my stretches (before, after, and even during the workout). After the laundry, I ate dinner (Weight Watchers - Beef Steamer) with a cup of microwavable rice, and a couple of honey on wheat bread sandwiches. I then finally got around to cleaning my bedroom. There was enough dust to choke a horse. I was tempted to take a photo, but I decided against embarrassing myself. Since I was in a cleaning mood, I also tackled half of the bathroom.

I just took a break from completing this blog entry to buy some online flowers. One of my colleague's husband died last week sometime. Although I put in $10 into the collection, I wanted to do a little more. A spouse is different from a grandmother or distant relative you hardly see.

Well, it is past Midnight...again. Not a good start to the work week. I should have gotten in bed much earlier. On Friday, I left school at about 5pm to be able to make my gym appointment, but I left my classroom a bit of a mess. I did not even put up the schedule for Monday. I hope this is not going to be an indication of the type of week I am going to have. I do know that I will have to finish my bulletin board tomorrow. I also know that the first Monday will mean a faculty meeting. I hope tomorrow won't be a crazy, stressed-full day.


Post Date - Sunday, January 7, 2008 11:59PM

Sorry. Too tired. And, too sore to post a blog.

Quick entry. I have to finish editing/correcting my students' character sketch writings, something I should'a/could'a done during my winter vacation.

Day 2 of the "Me Year". I had another restless night. After my first workout in almost 20 -- yes, I did write 20 years. When I returned home last night, since I did not have time to eat dinner before the workout, I ate dinner afterwards, I also pigged out a bit on rice cakes (half a pack), I also added a cup of microwavable rice to my Weight Watcher's meal, along with a couple of slices of bread. I also drank about a quart of orange juice. My stomach was in knots from the workout, but the late night meal didn't help either. I went to bed about 12:01, so technically I broken one goal. But personally, a minute (in my opinion) is not a major break. And even if I did break a major goal, I would still have very little choice but to get back on the horse.

This morning I was very tired, and almost missed my train, luckily the train was a bit late. My day was basically the same as previous blog entries have stated. I also managed to leave the school at the same time


I just fell asleep here at the computer. Old habits die hard.

Post Date - Thursday, January 3, 2008 11:37pm

Day 1 of the "Me Year". Quick summary. I hope so. Or at least a 30 minute summary.

Last night after spending about an hour cutting up the large cardboard box into 17 frames, I cut my hair, then shaved my head. Due to the time, I had to settle for a shower instead of a bath. I was in bed by 11:17pm. Unfortunately, I think my subconscious was at work over the return to work because I didn't sleep well. I was wide awake by 3:33am. I only dozed on and off throughout the night.

Today, I was out of bed at about 6:10am. I caught my "on time" train, then transferred to the #1 train in the Bronx. Unfortunately, an extremely loud lady was having a very adult conversation with her grandson. She just went on, and on about (probably) to boy's father and how he (the father) was low down and dirty. Then, she went into this long drawn out explanation about how the "dirty dog" had to have been the one to do something or other with the phone. Then went into details about how incriminating evidence is difficult to remove from a phone if you are not careful. A 20 minute ride and she wouldn't shut up.

My kids for the first couple of periods were sleepy angels too tired to do much of anything disruptive. Unfortunately the sleepiness wore off. Then the old behavior came back with a vengeance. Princess Peanut (formally beady betty, formally temper tantrum tina) is just spoiled rotten that is all that I can say.

Today, AP1 called my class phone to inform me that a special ed student would be mainstreamed in my classroom during Math because (according the AP1) the student can be quite a talker but she (AP1) knows that I am a "no nonsense" teacher that won't tolerate the girl's talkative behavior. Really?!?! If she wanted a "no nonsense" teacher than she should have put the girl in the 3rd grade class down the hall. However, I think "Down the Hall" would have raised a stink. And Across the Hall was absent today, she had to handle some personal business. Luckily for me, a substitute teacher was assigned, so I did not have any extra kids.

Uh Oh. 9 more minutes left.

Well, I was out of school at about 4:56pm. :) I arrived at the Bronx with about 10 minutes before the MN would arrived, but I spent too much time in Rite Aid and missed the train. Since I had about 20 minutes to kill, I went to Target to buy a timer for home and another for my classroom. I managed to catch the 6:03pm MN train. I returned with about 4 minutes to spare before the Southbound train to Yonkers would arrived. So, I had no time to change clothes. I grabbed my gym bag which has been sitting on my dresser for the last 4 months packed ready to go. So....

After about 15 or 20 years, I have finally returned to the gym. I arrived a bit lost, so I asked for another tour of the place, and I in the end, I ended up buying 5 sessions with a personal trainer. Considering how lost I felt, I am not going to count the $100 expensive as a waste of money. If the personal trainer helps me get off to a good start with the gym, then I think it is money well spent. I have only one minute to go, so I will write about my 20 minute trial session another time.

Finally, I returned home about 9:12pm. Weight Watchers for dinner.


Post Date - Wednesday, January 2, 2008 10:47pm

I just finished updating my other website. Recently while cleaning up I came across some old paperwork that gave me the idea that I should update the old website with current photos. Just in case. :)

I added two pages to the old website, each page is for the previous year and this current school year. The 2006~2007 year page has 20 photos of my bulletin boards over the school year, but also the photos that I took of my classroom in June. The current school year page only has about 4 photos (those have already been posted on this blog site). Yes, I know the site is a bit of a mess from the "add ons" over the years, However, for those that have suggested in the past that I should just overhaul the whole site, I have not forgotten. I will do it...eventually.

I posted here one of the photos of a bulletin board that I did last year. I don't think I've posted it here before.

Well, I better go. I've pretty much run out the clock on this vacation. Now, I think I will cut my hair and relax in the bath. Then, I'll need to iron my clothes for tomorrow, pack my granny cart for tomorrow, then try to relax. A part of me is dreading the return, but another part is looking forward to the return. I am a worker at heart. I'm not a good teacher (satisfactory yes, but not good [at least not yet]), however, I am a very hard worker.

So what about tomorrow, well that is my official start of the "Me Year". With a two-week lesson plan:

Goal #1 - No more filling up the granny cart for hefty trips of unproductive through the mass-transit system only to leave the materials untouched at the door, only to drag the back breaking cart back through the mass-transit system.

Goal #2 - Lesson planning in the classroom not at home. Or at least main planning done in the classroom leaving the detailed planning for home. Remember new goals shouldn't start cold turkey. As long as I am not carrying 20 or 30lbs up and down several subway stairways and in (and over) turnstiles, I'll be happy.

Goal #3 - Making 5PM my quitting time (Monday through Thursday). 6PM on Fridays.

Goal #4 - Learning to relax more. Trying to not have the urge to finish everything even though knowing it will not be finished(and then stressing about it).

Goal #5 - Not letting things pile up (physically as well as mentally) to the point my mind just goes blank.

Goal #6 - To the gym at least 4 times per week. With rowing taking care of the other days. I am going to trying allowing myself a day off from going to the gym, so if I miss a day, I'll just call it my day off. If I miss another day, then I will use the weekend for a make-up day...I hope.

I better stop here. I was not planning to ....

Oh, and Goal #7 - limiting my blog entries to 30 minutes or less. I think I'll need to buy a timer to help me with this goal.

Oh, and I should also add Goal #8 - getting a grip on my spending habits.

Anyway, I need to stop here. I wasn't planning on writing goals. I think I will cut and paste these goals and print them. I think I will need to be looking at these as a reminder. I will try adding a time limit to my goals.

For now, the above goals are only good for the period of January 2nd until January 31st. Starting tomorrow I will tape up a single page of the extra large calendar that I was wondering what to do with. Now, it will be my goal calendar. I will only tape up one month at a time, knowing me, seeing the extra months will only stress me out. I will post my goals next to it.

Hopefully, this will be the "NEW [ME] YEAR".


Post Date - Tuesday, January 1, 2008 5:25PM

I thought this was interesting. However, to be fair to the young lady, I chose to post the Today Show clip with her attempt to clarify rather than the response by itself.

Happy New Year!!!

One more day to go. Then, it is back to the salt mines. Today started off fairly cold in my apartment. There was no heat or hot water. I woke up stuffed up, and the beginings of a runny nose. Any other time, I probably would have stayed under my covers, but with a day to go until the vacation ends, I did not want to stay in bed. I got out of bed about 10am. Since there was no hot water, I had to boil a pot of water so that I could sponge off, brush my teeth, and shave. After getting dressed, and having to deal with cold hands and a bit of a runny nose, I turned on the oven for heat. Since my apartment was cold, I brought in my lesson plan book into the kitchen. I did lesson planning in the kitchen. After a couple of hours, I decided that I wanted to go to the Y to sign up adult boxing class ($35 per month). I took the MN to Yonkers, first I stopped off at the bank to deposit a couple of checks into my checking account: Teacher's Choice($260), daily rated pay check for the summer training teachers were "strongly encouraged" to attend($128), an old money order I found while cleaning that I'd never send off for something (#19.95), and finally, a UFT refund check I also found while cleaning($1.44). That was suppose to have been my spending money for me, but I now have to use that money to pay my bills. After the bank, I went to the Y. I was told that the boxing class was canceled. I went food shopping next. Back home, I had a Weight Watchers dinner. Then, I finished up my lesson plans. I also managed to type up my homework sheet. Lastly, I worked on updating a small part of my other web site. My other web site is kind of my professional portfolio.