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| A sucker is born every minute....Okay, so I haven't been as faithful updating this thing over the summer as I thought. No excuses, really, just a general malaise. (That's a vague feeling of ill-being for all of you non-English teachers out there.) No promises of more frequent updates though. I just can't guarantee anything at this point. Summer school has been interesting. As I've told some of you, I am teaching a combined English 11/12 class. Here's what went down: Ron offered me two different positions. He offered me a two hour lead teacher slot that would include some possible tutoring for 504 and IEP students. He then offered me the English 11/12 spot that had a "final" class list of 27. As you know, I was not inclined to teach, as a class that size in summer school could be disastrous. But, before I could answer, Ron also explained that 1) he didn't know what he was going to do if I didn't teach English, as they had four teachers apply (myself included) and were offering four classes (two sections of English 9, one section of English 10, and one section of English 11/12), and 2) if I didn't teach English he wouldn't have a job at all for Dave, the other lead teacher from the last few years, because they were not offering any social studies classes. Sigh. Yep, I'm a sucker. It's like Ron knew I was a nice guy and would do the right thing. I accepted the job for English 11/12. After I hung up the phone, though, I thought to myself, "What the hell have I just agreed to do?" Anywho, it hasn't been nearly as bad as it could have been. The kids are actually pretty good, with only minor personality conflicts so far. I lucked out. We have completed the first 10 days, with only 6 remaining (and then the 2 make-up days). I did have two students added the first day and another added the third day (I think these were kids who couldn't get their first choice of class, so they got shuffled to mine), sending my total to the maximum of 30 - the most of any teacher doing summer school. Luckily, I've had two kids who were no-shows since day one, and, two days ago, another went over the amount of time he could make up (something about a DUI and still being drunk when it came time to go to class). I'm hoping for a strong finish. Most of my days the last two weeks have been filled with teaching (8-12), napping (1-2), and grading and planning (whenever I can motivate myself to do it, but no less than 1-2 hours a day). I honestly can't wait until summer school is over so I have the freedom to stay up late, sleep in, and do whatever I want. My only must-see TV shows of the summer have been Wipeout and Tosh.0. Both are hilarious in their own way. I've also watched a lot of bad movies on cable and HBO On-Demand. Kill me now. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a great mystery. I recommend it. Book club picked The Story of Edgar Sawtelle for its next book (my recommendations were Sawtelle, Drood and The Night I First Believed). I haven't started Sawtelle yet, but maybe this weekend. I've been on a comic book kick recently. I've been buying trades and hardbacks of some of my favorite storylines. Sure, I have most of the issues as originally purchased, but the trades make them much more accessible. For those of you so inclined, I'd recommend Kevin Smith's Daredevil run (Guardian Angel), Frank Miller's second run on Daredevil (Born Again) and Grant Morrison's epic run on the New X-Men. Well worth the price. I had lunch with Roberta and Gwyn today. It turned into a 3 hour gab fest that I thoroughly enjoyed. Joey Chang's in Hilliard is a great place with great food. It's high-end Chinese/Thai food with a decent price. I'd give it 4 stars (out of 5) for food, atmosphere, service and cleanliness. No new music recently. I've been spinning a lot of Weezer and The Honorary Title the last few weeks. With a dash of Brand New on the side. My sister got married in late May (her third). I have high hopes for her latest, for the sake of her kids and his. If you are registered to vote in SWCS, we could use your vote this August. As of now, sports, clubs (including Student Council), high school busing and other stuff has been cut for next year. We have a 4 year levy on the ballot. (We are hoping the four years will be enough until the state gets its head out of the sand and realizes school funding needs an overhaul, not a same-as-always policy.) I would personally appreciate your support. If you want more info, contact me. I guess that's about it. Take care of yourselves and one another. Until next time... | | |
| I'm In the Bitter Barn, and I'll Tell You Why....I knew it had been awhile, but really, that long? I am sorry. This has just been a long few months recently, and everytime I thought about updating, I just didn't have the energy or the time. I won't touch on everything, but here are the highlights. The end of the school year is fast approaching (as in next Friday is the last day for teachers, and Thursday is the last day for kids). My seniors took their exams this week and had graduation rehearsal this morning. I am truly sorry to see many of them go as individuals, but as a class, they have been ready for "the real world" for awhile now. This has truly been one of the more challenging years I've had. I talked with a colleague about it today, and we both agreed that we just aren't the nimble, perpetually happy people we used to be. We are bitter and crotchety, just like those teachers we used to talk about - behind their backs, of course. We have become, in a way, what we used to complain about. Have we gone over completely to the "dark side?" Of course not (my heart still beats with blood and compassion, not dust and hatred), but stuff that used to roll off our backs now rankles us in a way we never thought possible. We don't like every kid we teach. We don't hide our feelings like we used to. We are human, not robots, who consistently treat every student exactly the same no matter what the student has said or done in our class. As I said above, I genuinely will miss most of my students (as individuals outside of the classroom setting), but there are so many that I just can no longer tolerate as students. And if we feel this way now, in the middle of our careers (15 years), how will we feel in another 15 or 20, if we end up going the now "norm" of 35 years? I shudder to think what I will become. Some how, some way, we have to find the answer. Or we run the risk of becoming what we once despised. Okay, enough philosophical BS. Summer school is not summer school this year. I can't remember if I talked about this yet, but there is no lead teacher position for summer school this year (a position I have held for the last 6 years). At least...not yet. The district (wait, no, not really the district per se). A certain individual who made it his/her dream to create a utilitarian military state (where only the strong survive) has gutted the program. Each class needs a minimum of 21 students enrolled before the class will be offered. That means that classes like Modern World History, US Government, English 12, and others, who have never had 21 kids enrolled, will not be offered. Or at least won't be offered as a single class. (Yes, once again, we dump everything upon the teachers, who will be forced to teach more than one subject in the same classroom at the same time.) And if 40 kids enroll in English 9? Well, by the formula, that's only one class, so 10 will be shut out. Oh, didn't I mention the cap, by contract (for regular school year teachers), is 30? Sorry. But we have never wanted 30 in any class at summer school. We usually try to stick around 20 for repeat classes. These are the kids who couldn't survive the regular classroom experience, for whatever reason. What in the world makes this person think the students and teachers can handle/survive a full class of failures (note I said classes, not individuals)? And the poor teachers who have to teach these classes! Alas, what becomes of their sanity? (Note: none of the 6 English teachers we had last year have applied to teach this year - a glaring condemnation about the district's current plan.) We are about to find out...maybe. I am the senior (with the most continuous years of service) English teacher on staff for this summer (12 years and counting). I have asked for English 12, but will probably, in all reality, be an English 11 and 12 teacher this summer. Who thinks 30 repeat English students won't be a "challenge?" Gah! And the savings for the district for making these changes? A paltry $5000 (per the districts own published numbers for making summer school "self sufficient"). (And that's not even mentioning the increase to $175 for in-district students per class, up from $150.) Yep, I'm bitter. Sure, there are ways to make summer school more efficient, and I'd be happy to show the powers that be what I think they can do to be more fiscally responsible. But I wasn't asked to do that. Instead, they have decided to set up the students and teachers for failure. As of now, I am teaching "English" for summer school. But I have also been told that if numbers warrant it, I will be the lead teacher. Pray for me, my friends. I'll make the best of it either way. But I do fear the reality of 30 kids in a class in summer school. Oh, and all summer school enrollments must be made by June 10, a full week before most students are likely to have their final report card in hand. (I'd guess that at least 1/3 of our enrollment for the last 6 years came from kids who registered the first, second (or even third) day of summer school.) What the hell does the district think will happen to our state report card if that many students are shut out of the programs? Enough. I should know within the next two weeks if I will be teaching English, or if I will be the "lead teacher" once again. The school levy failed in May. There is no Student Council next year. We held elections, but it was a bitter-sweet election at best. We elected a President and Vice-president of the Student Body (Jon Arthur and A.J. Sturm - my choices and hard workers), but as of now that means nothing. If you live in the SWCS district, please consider voting for the levy in August. Sure, I will lose around $4000 just on SC, but these kids deserve a chance to be leaders of the school - they are that cool and competent. If you want more info about the levy, please contact me, and I'll give you as much info as I can. Forget my pay, help these kids be as great as I know they can be. Please. Confession time: maybe the reason I'm feeling so bitter right now is that I'm sick. I have the same damn thing I had last year at this same time. You remember - I was congested, stopped up and hacking like a champ last May. I made a visit to Urgent Care. That's right, the "stuff" that kept me sick for close to 2 months last year is back. My conclusion? It must be a new allergy. I can't explain it any other way. Last year, I thought it was because I was overextended and exhausted from doing too much at the end of the year, an already stressful time. This year, I honestly can't say the same. So, here are my drug induced thoughts - Claritin-D is a hell of a drug. Sure, you have to give over your life story to the pharmacist to buy it, but it is worth it. My nose hasn't dripped all week. I've not been sleeping at 100%, but that's a small price to pay. And Mucinex makes a nice one-two punch. I'm hoping to self-medicate myself to health within the next two weeks. The only thing I've heard about as being bad the last few weeks is "tree pollen." And no, the irony is not lost on me. (I'm known as "Tree" and I'm allergic to tree pollen . Sigh.) We have entered a period of "nothing" on T.V. Lost ended on a high note (Jacob! Maybe Esau? Great stuff! One of my favorites on current broadcast programming.) The Office ended on a predictable note, but I still enjoyed the journey. And 30 Rock was as random as ever. I can't really talk about any new music, as the last month has been all about older stuff that I just can't get away from...Jimmy Eat World's Futures, and anything by The Honorary Title. I hear the new Straylight Run songs are available , but I have yet to sample... Book club is reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson for June. Intriguing so far. I have the next picks. I'll let you know what I finally decide on, and what the group chooses. I did start Drood by Simmons, but I haven't have the time to get very far into it. (I will finish it this summer, one way or another, so wait patiently for my review.) That's about it it. One last thing: thank you to the Hirth family for hosting the Student Council picnic this year. Mrs. Hirth was so kind and helpful, and Chris, the grill-master, was indispensable. I really appreciate them opening their home and pool to our motley crew. Thank you! Take care of yourselves and one another. Until next time.... | | |
| This Charming ManSpring Break! It seemed like it would be forever until it arrived, and yet, here we are. All I can say is it is a very welcome respite from the daily grind. Do I have any big plans? Nope. Just rest, relaxation and a little bit of work. The only thing I absolutely have to do over break is work on my IPDP for school so I can renew my license. In addition to my time on TEAM the last three years, I'm using my work with the peer mentoring and tutoring program as the biggest contributor to my needed hours - well over 120 hours the last three years. At this point, I just need to sit down at the computer and type it all up so I can get it sent in to DSC. After it's approved, I'll need to send in the paper work to renew, along with a nice big check (at least $200). Yep, that is $200 for a five-year license. Last time I renewed it was $80 for an eight-year certificate. Oh how the times have changed. (Thanks State of Ohio Department of Education, you greedy bastards.) So, not only do teachers have to continue to take classes and complete professional development, often on our own dime, now you are charging extreme amounts of money for a paper pushing bureaucrat to do 20 minutes of work and issue a $1.00 piece of paper to my school district. Thanks! Just....thanks. No, I'm not bitter. Just a little pissed off. I went to the eye doctor today to get some new glasses. I'm getting new frames and lenses for the everyday pair and new lenses for the sunglasses. Should be about a week before I'm seeing in great detail again. Actually, my eyes have barely changed in the last 2 1/2 years, but the lenses did need a slight update. And my current frames have seen better days. I took them off awhile back to take a nap, and then managed to roll over on top of them, bending the Hell out of the frames. They haven't been the same since. Sigh. Morrissey was in town last week. I made the trip to The Palace to see him along with Alex. It was a good show, but not quite as good as the last time he was in town. Maybe that was because I had Alex and Shawn with me that time, and it was their first time seeing the creator of the modern emo music movement. Anyway, he played the usual suspects and a few surprises. I liked the selection of Smiths's songs, but was puzzled by a few additions from the Smiths and his early solo career (Death of a Disco Dancer? Seasick, Yet Still Docked? I Keep Mine Hidden? ). In exchange for these oddities, we did get This Charming Man and Ask, as well as tracks off the new album. I guess the moral is, you never know what you're going to get from Morrissey. My favorite Moz show still has to be the Chicago show with Jim. I'm dedicated to reading a couple of novels over break. I'm halfway through the newest Star Wars novel (Outcast) right now, and the coffee table has another three or four stacked up on it. I'm not sure I'll get to Drood right now, it maybe a summer read, but I'll review that one as soon as I get it done (sorry Teresa). Now that Battlestar is done, I'm hoping for strong finishes from Heroes and Lost. Heroes has been better recently, and Lost has been really good all season long. In Student Council news, MORP is dead. (That sound you hear is me rejoicing.) The kids wanted to have it, but they also wanted an outside DJ for name recognition. Their DJ was going to cost us $865. I was appalled, but it's their money, and despite my protests, they weren't listening. But, when I went to submit the purchase order, the activities account secretary said she didn't think DSC would approve it. They know we have our own equipment, and she doesn't think they would allow us to spend that kind of money on something we can do ourselves for free. Hallelujah! I had my out. It still took a little bit of persuasion, but I convinced them to let it die. If we have Student Council in a few years, that would be the time to bring it back. I was also told the day before break that some of the seniors don't think the Prom Fashion Show is going to fly this year. Seems they are having trouble getting the Fairy Goodmothers people to call them back. The event is scheduled for the Sunday after break - the 19th, I think - so we'll have to see if it happens or not. At this point though, I have no idea what they have done to get ready for it. It may be a moot point. With that in mind, I think we only have a few things left - a last Bloodmobile in late April, DJ services for Prom (but that's just me and a few helpers), and the end of the year picnic. And there's the senior awards assembly for scholarships. Heh. Sooo much better than last year's something-every-weekend-for-the-last-eight-weeks-of-school disaster that left me sick and exhausted. I'm not sure if I'm doing summer school this year or not. They posted the jobs, but lead teacher wasn't there. When I asked Ron about it, he said he wasn't sure if they would have the positions or not. (They are trying to make summer school completely self-supporting, even though it only costs the district about $5000 above what students pay in each year. Seems like a poor place to try and save money, considering what the program does for graduation rates in SWCS.) Anyway, Ron recommended I apply for a teaching position for now, and then if the lead teacher positions open I can apply for one of those. I want to go back as a lead teacher, but I dread having to teach in summer school again. I applied for the 12th grade English position (I'm kind of over the whole OGT thing at this point), but I don't know if I'll teach or not. I'll keep you informed. Man, if I don't do summer school this year and the levy goes down and Student Council doesn't happen next year, I'll be out around $6000. Meh. It's only money, and the time I put in isn't even close to being worth that amount. Wow, I may find myself with a whole lot of free time on my hands.... Well, I guess that's about it. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but you know how it is. Take care of yourselves and each other. Until next time.... | | |
| I'm writing to you from my new computer. That's right, I finally bought a new computer. It was time. Ever since I got the iPhone and started putting my music into iTunes and downloading songs I've been having some issues with the old computer. On one occasion it locked up and had to be restarted, which isn't a big deal, but when it asked me to pick a restore point, I was a little worried. And last weekend it was locking up while I was exploring eBay. So, it was time. After some careful comparison shopping, I settled on a new Compaq. My last two computers have been Compaqs, and I have been very pleased with the quality and performance. The new machine has 3GB of Ram and a 250GB hard drive. Since the old computer was rocking 256MB of Ram and a 40GB hard drive, I feel I can safely say that I have made the transition to the 21st century. I went ahead and got a new monitor (19" flat screen) and a new printer (a Brother fax/copier/scanner/printer all-in-one). I had needed a new printer for awhile, ever since the old one quit working when I installed a generic printer cartridge that evidently didn't work properly. I (obviously) have the computer and monitor up and running, but the printer is going to take at least another day. I didn't realize I would need to buy a USB cable to hook it up. Remember the days when electronics came with everything they needed in the box? Yeah, me too. Anyway, I need to pick up a printer cable and maybe a special USB cable to hook up the two computers together so I can transfer files. I haven't decided if I want to do that or if I want to just get an external hard drive and transfer everything that way. Guess I'll decide when I get to the store tomorrow. Or whenever. I got everything from Best Buy, but I had to have it shipped. Only the printer was available in the Columbus area, and I didn't feel like driving to Reynoldsburg to get it. All told, the cost with shipping and taxes was only $660, which I think is a great price. The monitor was less than $100 in the bundle, which I'm told is a really good bargain. My only complaint? As with my old machine, when I put the computer into sleep mode, it turns back on within 15 minutes or so. I think it's the internet connection that keeps waking the computer up, but I'm not sure. I solved the problem on the old computer by creating a short cut to disable the internet when I wasn't using it, but I'm having a bit of a hard time navigating Vista to figure out how to do that. Meh. It can't be that hard. Actually, there is another complaint: who in the Hell uses Microsoft Works? Why don't computer manufacturers just get over themselves and put Word and Excel on every machine they sell? I mean, really... School has been school. I find myself quickly losing patience with my seniors most days. They are really annoying me. I have never encountered a group of students who have been as whiny and lackadaisical as they have. It sounds terrible, but I can't wait for most of them to be gone. Grading has been okay. I'm pretty caught up right now, so that's a plus. I have a secret (or not so secret) admirer. I have received no less than 4 envelopes addressed to "Tree" with hearts all over them in my mailbox this week. Inside each envelope is a couple of Indiana Jones Valentine's. I have pretty good idea who they are from....okay, I know exactly who they are from, but I still find them hilarious. They have really made my week. (Thanks Nick!!) Ben was in town two weeks ago. It was his last hurrah before shipping off to Iraq. I believe he left Wednesday or Thursday of this week. He has started email updates so we can keep track of how he is doing. If you haven't received the first one and would like to be kept in the loop, let me know and I'll be happy to forward them to you. Please keep Ben and his men in your prayers. I really like the new Morrissey CD. The new U2 is pretty good, but it definitely has to grow on you. Battlestar Galactica has two episodes left. This half season has been gut wrenching. They still have some questions to answer, but I have faith that they won't leave the fans hanging. I bought some new books recently. Domino Men is the follow up (two minor characters transfer over, but I guess its really not a sequel) to Barnes' The Somnabulist. I also picked up Drood by Dan Simmons. It's a thriller (sort of) about Charles Dickens. And Peace Like a River is the latest book club pick. Along with the last of the Star Wars: Coruscant Nights trilogy, I have more than enough to keep me busy for awhile. I guess that's about it. I'm sure there's more to fill you in on, but a lot of it is school related and I just don't feel like talking about most of it on the weekend. Sorry. Take care of yourselves and each other. Until next time... | | |
| Years of RefusalWow. It has been over a month. I am so sorry. I never meant for it to take me this long to get a new post up, it just sort of worked out this way. I promise to try to do better. (But you've heard that before, haven't you?) Anyway, where to start? This week has been long. Not that there's been a lot going on, but it has just felt like longer than a week. I guess it might have something to do with the fact that this is the first full five day week we've had at school since early January. We came back to school after break and muddled through a five day week and then faced exam week. The Friday of exam week was a snow day, so that pushed the last exams back to the following week which was a short week anyway because of MLK Day. That meant the last of the exams were on Tuesday, and that made for a very short week. Last week we were off two days (Wednesday and Thursday) for the "Winter Storm of 2009" as the local TV stations are calling it. I'm not complaining. Snow days are always a welcome occurrence. But, they just made this week that much longer. Whatever. I'm tired, but it's worth it, I guess. I currently have a lot of grading to do. I collected literary analysis papers from my seniors last Friday, and I have a second essay from my juniors that I collected today (I graded their first essay of the semester this week). So much for keeping up with my grading... I'm actually looking forward to stepping down from TEAM and the peer mentoring and tutoring program at the end of the year. It has been 11 years since I joined up with the ragtag group of misfits (thank you, Roberta, for one of the most enjoyable, meaningful components of my teaching career), and I am burnt out. It's time for a change and time for some of the younger members of the staff to step up. I never really thought I'd say this, but I now understand why some members of the staff have shrugged off the outside-of-school responsibilities. The new admin. has a vision (I assume - our contact with the admin. has been "spotty" at best) about where things are going, and I am content to step aside and let someone else take up that banner. The new admin. has been disappointing most times, but there isn't the doom and gloom of last year. I hope they have been simply biding their time, observing, and are ready to implement change at the beginning of next year. It will be welcome, for the most part. Student Council started meeting again this week and they have an ambitious schedule for second semester. They want to maintain all of the activities of last year, including MORP. I am in favor of scraping MORP altogether for a couple of years and then trying to bring it back, but they want try again this year. Sigh. I am skeptical, but I will abide by their wishes. I'll keep you informed. My iPhone has been great. Dan showed me how to make ringtones without buying them from iTunes, but I quickly forgot everything he taught me. Sigh. I must be getting old. I have a few complaints about the iPhone - it can't receive picture messages, but you can look up those pictures in the web browser on the phone...uh, what? And the volume for phone conversations is a little too low for my tastes, but that's about it. Overall I am extremely pleased with my purchase. And I've played way too many games of solitaire on the stupid thing. Is it possible to be addicted to solitaire? I also opened an iTunes account, but I really haven't even begun to get my music into iTunes like I should. Unfortunately, I foresee this as being a long, tedious process. (You'd really understand if you knew how many CDs I own.) In more important news... Battlestar Galactica returned a few weeks ago. These are the final episodes of series. So far, so good. I'm enjoying them more than the first part of Season 4, which dragged a bit. They've revealed the final Cylon (maybe), and they have really turned everything upside down. A scorched Earth, suicide, loss of faith, mutiny. I can't wait to see how it all ends! Lost returned in January. They have taken a more hardcore sci-fi approach to the season (time travel in every episode), but I haven't minded. It's been cool to try to guess what era the characters will end up in each week. With one more season after this, I find it interesting to see how they will make all the plot points come together. Heroes also returned this week. The new plotline is encouraging and has some cool potential. Worst Week is as funny as ever. You need to get on board with this hilarious series if you haven't already tried it. And in the most exciting/weird category, Hell's Kitchen started a new season last week. What had been a summer staple for me and many others has returned much, much earlier. Same drama, same vulgarity, same highly entertaining chaos. The only difference is that this season the head chef wannabes are much more experienced than in years past. And I have to say that I have actually cringed at Gordon Ramsey's treatment of Colleen, a self-described cooking teacher from Nebraska (?) who earns big bucks for every lesson to teach the culinary arts. He has been especially cruel to her. Mmmmm.....delicious. Perhaps the biggest news is the new Morrissey album. Yeah, I know most of you don't care, but I do. I already have the new album (thanks Alex!) and tickets to his Columbus show on April 1. I actually pre-ordered the album through iTunes so I could get the tickets a day earlier than regular folks, so I don't feel a bit guilty about having a pirated copy - I've technically already paid for it! It's not bad. There are some good tracks and some "meh" tracks. Typical Morrissey.  I guess that's about it. I have the ACT administration in the morning and I bought Zack and Miri (Make a Porno) - they changed the title for the DVD release - earlier this week. It's Kevin Smith's latest movie. I think I'll go pop that in, relax, and get some much needed sleep tonight before getting up at the ungodly hour of 6:00 AM. Take care of yourselves and one another. Until next time... "In the absence of your love,
And in the absence of human touch,
I have decided I'm throwing my arms around all of Paris because only stone and steel accept my love.
In the absence of your smiling face,
I traveled all over the place.
And I have decided I'm throwing my arms around all of Paris because only stone and steel accept my love.
I'm throwing my arms around all of Paris because only stone and steel accept my love." -I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris, Morrissey | | |
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