Yes, It Is Personal!

I remember about 10 years the apartment that I was living in was burglarized. It was right before I had David. I was very pregnant and very tired, so I sent Sam to check the mail. Unbeknownst to me, he left the keys in the mailbox.

Obviously someone found them. They knew exactly whose keys they were since they were found in #9′s mailbox. However, being the dishonest jackasses they were, they did not return the keys. Instead they used my own keys to come into my house and rob me blind while I was at the doctor with David for his one week Well Baby appointment.

Who did it turn out to be? One of my neighbors who I spoke to everyday. In fact, one day I came home to her playing a CD- that she’d stolen from my house. She was steps from my apartment playing it. Can you believe her nerve?
I was P.O., but what could I do about it? Someone told me that they did not consider it personal. It was just business to them. It was, however, personal to me. I was the one who didn’t feel safe anymore. I was the one who felt violated. You damn straight it was personal to me.

I do not understand how someone who steals could not think that the person who they stole from would take it personally. I am experiencing this situation for the second time. I didn’t write about it because I just forgot about it.

Here’s the story. I bought 30 Hot Wheel cars for prizes for my students. I gave away 5. I know about how many there were because I checked on them during the first week of January when I returned early from vacation for staff meetings. I know that there were at least 20 in there. Fast forward==- 1.5 months and I have 6 cars left.

Yes I said 6. One of my students stole almost 20 of the cars. The killer part is that I keep them right in back of my desk in a plastic box. She is almost never at my desk. I don’t know when she could have possibly stolen them. I just don’t.

Everyone kept telling me that this particular student, who I’ll call Stickyfingers, did it. Though I did believe that she did it, I did not have proof. I said that I wouldn’t say anything until I had proof. Well, I got my proof today. She was showing off one of the cars to another students when I saw it.

“What do you have?” I asked.

“Mine,” she said. It’s mine.

“Well, let me see it if there’s nothing to hide,” I said.

She reluctantly gave it to me. I didn’t make a big deal out of then because I didn’t want to embarrass her, but I did discuss it with her later. At which point she agreed to bring back the rest of the 18 cars she stole.

I have heard stories around campus that most of her family steals too. They are all very good at what they do because no one ever sees them do anything, but they always do it.
I know that she’s just a kid, but she understands perfectly well what she’s doing. I am so mad at her, but I know she doesn’t see what all the fuss is about because it isn’t personal to her. Well, it’s personal to me. I need a way for her to suffer some kind of consequences.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Fun with Picasso!

Even though I dislike OCR because it’s not suitable for special ed, I have to admit that I had so much fun a couple of weeks ago with the Picasso story in Open Court (3rd grade). I am happy to announce that I will be switching to Voyager when I have training next week, and provided I can get the manual for it.

I planned on switching to Voyager, however, that 3 hour training turned into 1 1/2, which turned into 1 hour. I have yet to receive the manual. That’s a whole different story which I will save for another time. So, needless to say, I will not be starting Voyager.
N-e way, back to the lecture at hand, to pique the children’s interest, I printed some pictures of Picasso, along with some other famous artist to compare & contrast.

For another activity, we discussed the different styles of the various artists. Their assignment: Draw their version of the Picasso pictures. These were their choices:

“Figures on a Beach”

“The Dream”

“The Guitar Player”

Don’t know the name of this one.

We had so much fun. The other 3rd grade teacher next door wanted to do it.

This is what they came up with: (I will post the pictures later).

So until next time people!

When Teaching Long Vowels…

• In one lesson, teach that vowels say their name at the beginning of a syllable (as in a-pron).

• In another lesson, teach that magic e makes vowels say their name (as in lake).

• Teach the vowel pairs ai and ay, and the rule that ai is used within a word and ay is generally used at the end of a word.

• After these spelling patterns are firm in the student’s mind, move on to teach the other spellings for long a, one at a time.

Vowel Rules

The correct vowel rule should be:

a) An open vowel is long. (Show that an open vowel has no consonant after it.)
b) A closed vowel is short. (Show that a closed vowel is followed by a consonant)

If you teach the real rule, the student can apply it to thousands of words and use it for the rest of his life.

** I would give credit if I remembered where I got this from.**

I’m So Proud Of You For Fighting!

“I’m so proud of you for fighting,” I told my students as they related the story of what happened during lunch.

I know this may sound crazy, but that is exactly what I told my students yesterday.
I started off fussing at them for not being in line when I came to pick them up after lunch. However, when I found out the reason they weren’t in line, I gave them all a hug.

They were sort of fighting. Well, they were actually defending one of their fellow classmates, Man-Man. What’s so funny is that Man-Man and one of my other students,  were in a little kicking match right before lunch.

They were like a real family. They may fight amongst themselves, but they’re not going to let anyone else mess with their family. I feel like everything that I am teaching them about sticking together is finally sinking in. They actually think of themselves as a family. They named themselves after that movie “Four Brothers”(the one with Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese, Andre 3000 and some other guy).

I am proud of them and their little group. I am especially proud as this group contains two Hispanic and two black. What makes me the proudest is the fact that this group contains the one who called another one of my black students the N**** word just a little over a month ago.

I guess saying the same thing over and over and over and over day after day actually does make a difference. Here’s to continued success and more fighting .

Until next time people!

The Many Jobs Of Silent “E”

I also got this from the website . If you would like to read it for yourself, here it is: http://www.all-about-spelling.com/silent-e.html

Taken directly from the site.

Here are the six jobs that Silent E performs:

Job #1: Silent e can make the vowel before it long (note).

Job #2: Silent e can make c and g soft (race, page).

Job #3: Silent e keeps u and v from being the last letter in a word (clue, give).

Job #4: Every syllable must have a vowel. Silent e adds a vowel to words with the “consonant+le” pattern, such as handle.

Job #5: Adding a silent e can keep a singular word from ending in s, as in the word goose. Without the e, this would look like a plural word: goos.

Job #6: Other miscellaneous reasons for silent e include:

• The e used to be pronounced (come).

• To distinguish between two words (or and ore).

How To Teach Spelling

While doing some research on teaching spelling, I came across this article: http://www.all-about-spelling.com/spelling-lesson.html. It was quite humbling as I have been doing some of those things that the article says not to do.

I am happy that I came across this information. Now I know what to do as well as what not to do. That’s what research is for.

If you are also looking for information about how to teach spelling, check out this site @ www.all-about-spelling.com

Law of Attraction Gone Wrong!

I finally got a University Supervisor. She came to observe in my class on Thursday. It went well. In fact it went too well. It went so well that I knew that something was bound to happen.

I don’t know if it was like a Law of Attraction/Secret thing or what. Whatever it is, I believe I attracted it. I’m so glad that I knew it was coming.

I wrote in yesterday’s post, here, that I had such a successful day with my students when I had them act out The War Between the Vowels and Consonants by Priscilla Turner. I had such a successful day that it scared me. I knew from previous experience that I was in for something. This is how it is; the way my life works. When something good happens, of course, there has to be an equal and opposite reaction (i.e., all hell is going to break loose).

So, knowing that something was going to happen, I was prepared for it. I think that’s why I took things in stride when it happened. I survived that and will survive whatever else is to come. So, until next time people!

Engaged & Not Distracted, part 2

The War Between the Vowels and the Consonants, which I will review later this week when I get a chance, written by Priscilla Turner and illustrated by Whitney Turner is such a cute little book.

I read this to my students and they loved it. We had a field day with this. Some of them were having trouble with vowels and consonants, so I bought this book. I am so glad I did. It was one of the best purchases I’ve made.

I decided to let the children act it out. I asked them questions along the way. What better way to learn, right?

This came about as a result of a conversation with my assistants. I asked them what they thought the children would enjoy. We came up with games and acting things out, so this worked right into the plan.

I was so proud of my kids. My supervisor was so impressed. She liked how engaged the children were. I must say that I was also. I told them that they could do it once a week. I was looking for something that they would look forward to and I think that I may have found it. Here’s to continued success and finding more things they’re good at!

Mrs. Biddlebox by Linda Smith

Mrs. Biddlebox (2007), written by Linda Smith with beautiful illustrations by Marla Frazee, is one of the most touching books I have ever read. This book, under the guise of a children’s book, deals with the very adult subject of cancer.

This is the author’s personal story of her own battle with cancer. Sadly she lost her battle. She died before this book was published, but her legacy lives on.

I know this is kinda’ heavy for a children’s book review, but that’s what books are for. It helps make things easier to deal with.

I loved this book when I first had it read to me. I was introduced to it in my Children’s Literature class. Thankfully, my teacher, Katherine, knew the history behind this book because I’m sure that I would not have known what this book was about just by reading it. There are so many little hidden things in the book. Someone without the background knowledge that I have simply would not understand what this book is about.

The book begins… On a knotty little hill,

In a dreary little funk,

Mrs. Biddlebox rolled over

On the wrong side of her bunk.

The picture shows Mrs. Biddlebox sitting on the wrong side of the bed in a dark, dreary little room. There’s a goose in the picture (more about this later). There’s also a little funk seeping into the room.

It was just one of those day. Nothing is going right.

I was so moved by this book. I wanted to give it to my aunt (whose name is Linda also) who was battling breast cancer, but didn’t like the fact that the author lost her battle with breast cancer, so I decided not to. I may eventually give it to her. I’m still undecided.

The story behind the book- 1.) The publisher really wanted Marla Frazee to illustrate this book. However, she was contractually obligated for a couple of other books and did not have the time. The publishers could not get past her secretary, but decided to relay the story behind the book hoping that the message would get to her and she would illustrate it. Of course the message did get to Marla. She was so touched that she made time to illustrate the book. (2.)-The goose. Since Linda Smith was already gone by the time the book was published, Marla Frazee received the book and didn’t know which way to go with the illustrations. She phoned Linda’s husband and asked for suggestions. He told her to illustrate it the way she saw fit. Marla thought it would be unusual to put a goose as a pet. Unbeknownst to Marla, Linda Smith did in fact have a pet goose. (3)-Two pages from the end, you see Mrs. Biddlebox opening the window to let the light in to celebrate her successfully whipping her day into shape. This is Linda Smith, literally going into the light.

It ends with…

On a knotty little hill,

In a cozy little heap,

Mrs. Biddlebox rolled over,

Closed her eyes,

And went to sleep.

Goodnight, Mrs. Biddlebox. Goodnight, Mrs. Smith.

This could be a book about many things. It could be about having a bad day and turning it around, or something dark this way coming.
This book is so heartwarming. Do yourself a favor and purchase this book for someone who may be dealing with losing someone; or maybe for someone who is dealing badly with something because it hasn’t been their day, their week, their month, or even their year. (Humming the theme song to Friends)

Until next time people!

Still Learning!

Although I abandoned Open Court three weeks ago, I participated in the Unit Opener yesterday so that my children don’t feel left out. I enjoyed it. The other teachers are really supportive. They try to make sure that my children are included.

I just decided to participate the day before, so I didn’t reallly have anything well prepared. I had an brilliant idea (@ midnight might I add) for the Unit Opener. My idea was to read Math Curse, by Jon Scieszka, to them. This was my way of thinking on this- I was going to read a snippet of Math Curse to them about the little girl who can only think about things as a math problem. I was going to equate this to thinking about something that they want. After we had the discussion on something they wanted, I was going to ask them how they were going to get it; how would they earn money.

I was then going to introduce the bubble map so they could brainstorm ways to earn money. Needless to say, the idea wasn’t quite so brilliant when I tried to present, so I tried to pull out of the Unit Opener.  Damn that midnight thinking .

I called one of the other teachers and told her that I was going to pull out. The problem- the teacher was in the middle of her lesson, so the AP, who was observing in the class at the time, answered the phone. As usual, since she can’t have a decent conversation without yelling or talking very loudly, I had to hold the phone away from my ear as she talked.

“You can’t do that”, she yelled said. You are scheduled into the rotation. The other teachers are counting on you.

This is so laughable. No one is concerned about me any other time. However, there was a visit from the Big Boss (who’s so cute by the way), who wanted to see the Unit Opener, so of course there was now concern about what the Special ed teacher was doing.

Oh, now I’m included! Was I included in any of the trainings? Field trips? Anything? That answer would be a resounding no!

When I first started and I believed her when she said that I could come to her anytime, I asked for help many times, only to be yelled at. Who wants to get yelled at? So imagine my surprise when she’s offering help. I knew it wasn’t a sincere offer but I was in a desperate spot, so I took it. It’s not that I am not grateful for her help. It’s that she only offered help because her neck was on the line. If her neck was not on the line, she would not have offered.

Even with all that, things went well, with all but one class. I don’t consider it my fault though. No, I’m not in denial. This class has major problems. The teacher has many problems with this class. There are a lot of discipline problems. Last time I didn’t have problems with them. However, this time I just didn’t have it in me.

Okay, on to what I’m talking about. I know that as a new teacher, I have a lot to learn about the profession, but believe when I say that I learn more and more everyday. I have to keep learning so I don’t get eaten by the sharks know as administration.

Here are some of the things I’m learning.

• I’m learning not to take people at face value.
• I’m learning not to believe the promises of a future employer who are desperate to fill a vacancy.
• I’m learning to shut my big fat mouth.
• (Even though I already knew this, I have learned it anew this year) Just because someone seems trustworthy it doesn’t mean that they are.

Yes, all of this related to the Unit Opener. From my experience today, I learned that I do have “it” in me. I am more resilient than I think I am. I will not be one of the statistics that quit the profession within five years.

What happened today took me back to a time when I was 29 years old and I made supervisor. One of the other supervisors who was much older didn’t like a 29 year old being supervisor, so she decided to make my life hell. Finally, a meeting was called in which the Office Manager wanted us to iron out our differences. In the meeting she brought up that she was old enough to be my mother.

“But you are not my mother”, I told her. It doesn’t matter how old you are. We both have a job to do. I told her that I didn’t care how much misery she tried to cause me, I was going to live my life outside of that office.

“This office is not my life”, I said. I have my sons and my husband (I didn’t have my daughter at the time), and when all is said and done, that’s all that matters to me.

That’s my train of thought right now. It doesn’t matter what they try. I am going to live my life outside of that school. Even though I love those children and invest a lot of my time and energy into them, the bottom line is that I still have my husband and my children to come home to. Nothing else is as important as them. I will still thrive and survive!

Ok, I started rambling and this got long, so I’ll end it here. Until next time people!

Lito & Meanie!

I feel so bad for me and one of my students, Lito. He mainstreams to another class for 1/2 the day. He loves it. The only problem is that one of the students in the classroom, lets call him Meanie, keeps calling him stupid. Meanie tells Lito that he’s special ed and he doesn’t belong in their class.

I feel bad for me because Lito then returns to class and acts out because he hates being in special ed. I talk to him. I give him treats for doing his work. I praise him. No matter what I do, I can’t placate him. He is mad about what I represent. I represent the situation that he doesn’t want to be in. I represent everything that he sees wrong with himself.

My assistant gave me an idea. She told me about a teacher who she’d worked with before who was experiencing the same thing. She brought the offending children down to the special ed class and left them there for a couple of days. The offenders straightened up after that. That is an elementary school kid’s worst nightmare- to be identified as special ed. So, I think that I’ll talk to the general ed. teacher and see if Meanie could spend the day in my class.

I’ll let you know how that works out. I hope it’s successful! Only time will tell!

Happy Friday!

I haven’t said that in a long time. I am happy to see Friday. Even though this was only a four day week, it seemed long. I am happy that it’s over and I am home for the weekend. I look forward to the weekend so I can do some much needed planning. Twice a month or more if needed, I speak with my assistants about how they feel the class is going. I ask for suggestions, and we just generally chew the fat.

I am getting it together slowly but surely. Until nest time people!

I Am Officially A Teacher

I feel like an official teacher. I just made an inbox out of a cardboard box. All the teaching methods that I learned and all the schooling was for naught. None of that silly stuff makes you a real teacher. Being able to make something out of nothing is what it’s really about.

You haven’t lived until you’ve made a macaroni necklace . Here’s to more macaroni necklaces and cardboard inboxes. Until next time people.

Oooh! I’m Telling!

I have had my first official complaint. One parent, upset about her son’s diagnosis, decided to lash out at me. The problem as she saw it was that he wasn’t receiving any homework. She was right. He hasn’t received any homework for about a week. I did have homework prepared but the children didn’t “get” the concept that I was trying to teach. There was no way that I could send home what I had prepared when they just didn’t “get” it.

Said parent, I’ll call her Ms. N. Denial, came to the classroom demanding to know why her son was not receiving homework. I told her, as gently as I could, that homework is to reinforce what is learned in class. If the child didn’t understand what I taught in class, how was he going to understand it at home. I, ever so gently of course, intimated that a lot of parents do their children’s homework.

“That does not help the child at all”, I told her.

I am sure that some of the problems that I am experiencing are rookie mistakes. I try to plan for the whole week, but that is impossible when I have to reteach the same concept day after day.

Maybe it’s something I’m not doing right. Maybe it’s something they just don’t get yet. I don’t know. What I do know is that I have to allow extra time for them with everything. Everything is taking two times longer than I expect.

I did have some succes with the concept of repeated addition today. It was the second day in a row that I taught the exact same concept but they got it today. I realized that what I was doing yesterday was not enough, so I directly taught everyone the concept before we started. I explained everything.

One thing that I realize with teaching is that nothing can be taken for granted. I cannot assume that they know anything. No matter how simple it is, I have to explain it.

Many of my students do not have a lot of the foundational background necessary to do simple math problems, english problems, etc. I’m sure that this problem is not unique to special ed. It just makes it a little harder when there’s a learning disability involved.

N-e way, back to Ms. N. Denial. She asked me what she needed to do to get him out of my class and into a general education class.

“Why do you think he should be out of special ed.?” I asked her.

“I know what he’s capable of “, she said. When we’re at home, he does amazing things. He can even make his ears turn flips. He’s the most brilliant kid ever to walk the face of the earth.

Of course I’m being facetious, but she is so in denial. She told me that she had her mind made up and that nothing could change it. I directed her to the A.P. to see what the A.P.’s response would be. Thankfully the A.P. had my back because she knows that I go out of my way to do things for the class and that I give my all.

The funny part is that Ms. N. Denial seemed to think that she was telling on me. I wasn’t scared because I knew that I’d done nothing wrong. I give my best to all the children in the classroom. I don’t just pick out the ones that I think can learn. I work with every child. That is why I was not scared. Maybe if I felt that I had something to fear, I would have been afraid. That’s the beauty of knowing that all your ducks are in a row.

This got long real quick, so I think I’ll end it there. I will report on how things go, so until next time people!

Missed It By That Much!

I am mad at myself. I missed the eclipse. A couple of weeks ago, one of my students, who I’ll call Man-Man, was interested in learning about eclipses, so during IWT when the other students were busy doing other things, I took some time with him to look it up. He was so excited. That is why I made sure to tell him about the eclipse at 5:45 p.m. P.S.T.

I told him to think good thoughts about it not raining, because if it rained, there would be no way of seeing the eclipse. Well, the weather held up and the eclipse was viewable (is that a word?). The only thing is that I slept through the whole thing. I spent two hours after work rearranging my class and was absolutely exhausted, so I went home and took a nap.

Oh well. I only have three years until it happens again. C’est la vie. There’s nothing I can do about it now. Until next time people!

On My Way Back!

I am on my way back from my slump that I was in. I had lost my passion, after only 4 months. It was only for about 2-3 weeks, but it seemed like a long time because this is what I have wanted to do for the last 10 years.

I have been working on getting my degree, of and on, for 10 years. To start doing it and lose my passion within four months was very disheartening to say the least.

I am on my way back though. I am happy to report that I am not discouraged anymore. I had to encourage myself. I realized that help was not going to come from anywhere but deep down inside me; that only through prayer and seeking would I receive what I needed.

So, I say hello again to my reawakened passion. Hello to my desire to do the best that I can. Hello, me!

Until next time people!

Self-Deprecating, Self-Sacrificing, Self-Defeating Sabotage!

Long title. Good reason. That’s me. I am the most self-deprecating, self-sacrificing, self-defeating, sabotaginest person I know. Just when I think that I have things under control and I’m not going to sabotage myself anymore, Wham! I do something so stupid, then I wonder why I did it.

For instance, take this teaching position that I have. When I first started, in November, I was so gung ho. I had a plan. In fact, I had a couple of plans. For those students with me for 3 years, the third graders, I had a plan for them, a plan for the 4th graders, and an intensive one for the 5th graders. Unfortunately, things haven’t worked out like that. I can’t just give all the attention to the 5th graders and barely any to the 3rd graders. I have to give attention to everyone.The problem is that I didn’t think things through.

Anyway, whenever I try to put something into action, I find out that maybe I didn’t think things through or it was stupid to begin with.

Oh, the problem of being a self-deprecating, self-sacrificing, self-defeating, sabotaging person like myself. I am getting it together though. Things are slowly, but surely working out. Maybe, I won’t need to be like this after awhile. Maybe I’ll get it together one day.

Here’s hoping! Until next time people!

My Dwindling Readership!

If my self-esteem were wrapped up in this blog, I would be in bad shape. I am talking about my readership through Feedburner. I have seen it dwindle from 9 at the beginning of this month to 1 (Take a look for yourself).

Although this is a bit of a wake-up call to freshen things up, it’s also a challenge to see if I can get those readers back and then some. It’s a challenge to put back into this blog the passion that I used to have for it.

So thank you, fair weather readers. Thank you for leaving and inspiring me to get my mojo back.

It’s definitely a wake-up call to do something about my attitude towards teaching. When I started a mere couple of months ago, I was so gung-ho. I was hoping to be out of the survival stage of teaching within the first month. That, however, was so unrealistic. That’s my fault. I stopped giving my all to teaching and this blog.

So thanks again fair weather readers. Thanks for sending me a wake-up call to get it together with my teaching and this blog. Until next time people.

Really Hallel!

In regard to my post, Thank you Mr. B., about my student Hallel. I spoke with him today and presented the idea to him of him helping to make his own classwork (within reason, of course), and he liked the idea, but just couldn’t come up with anything. At least we’re getting somewhere.

I asked him today, while he was he was in a talkative mood, why didn’t he do any work. I didn’t think he would answer it. He never has before. However, for some reason, he answered today. This is how it went:

Me: Tell me why don’t you do any work.

Him: Well, I-uhh.

Me: Why don’t you do your work that I already have for you. You know how. Why don’t you do it?

Him: Well, I thought you were going to send me to the office.

Me: Then what?

Him: I would get to go home? I thought that maybe I could go home.

Me: (Nothing. Look of shock on my face). Well, you already know that’s not an option. That has never been an option. Ever since the first day I have told you that I am here to work and so are you. Everyone in this room took that to heart, but you. That is unacceptable and it is not going to work.

Him: Hmmm (thinking).

Me: So, go home and think about what you want to do. Mr. B. even has a computer that he said you could take apart and put back together.

I will let you know how it goes. We’re making progress though. Let’s hope it continues.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Hello everyone! Good morning! Good morning! Good morning. You know what today is. The day for lovers. It is also my 10th Wedding Anniversary. So Happy Anniversary to me!

I usually have this big shindig where I move the table chairs out of my dining and go out all. I rent 3 round tables and 12 chairs. I decorate the living room and dining room with, what else, hearts. I buy lingerie for the men (wink, wink), and chocolate for the ladies. I make a keepsake scrapbook of last year’s festivities and give those out also.

For dinner, it’s whatever my heart fancies. Last year, we had homemade mashed potatoes or rice pilaf, freshly snapped peas, and salmon in citrus sauce. For dessert, we had cream puffs, caramel apple pie w/vanilla bean ice cream, and chocolate cake w/hot fudge filling that just oozed out once sliced into.

The caterer? Moi. Yes, I cooked the bulk of the food (I had a little help from Costco w/the dessert), shopped for the gifts, and completed the keepsake books.

Sadly, I will not be doing it this year. I simply have too much on my plate. I will be saving it for the summer when I am on vacation. How ’bout that? A summer Valentine’s party.

Well, until next time people! Here are some pictures from last year’s shindig. Enjoy!

Famous Quotes

“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions”–Benjamin Franklin

Thank You Mr. B!

I had a talk with David’s teacher about one of my students, Hallel. This boy is on genius level, can read 186 w.p.m., and can read anything I put in front of him. The problem is that he won’t do any work unless I prod and prod and prod and prod him.

N-e way, I spoke to David’s teacher, Mr. B., and he gave me some great ideas to challenge him. He said to ask him what it is that he would like to do if he could do anything at all. I’m not sure if this is going to work because he thoroughly enjoys doing nothing at all. Mr. B wanted to know how things went after trying this. He even offered a computer for Hallel to deconstruct. The only thing is that for him to be able to do what he wants, he has to get his brain working and do some work.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!

Still Not At 100%!

I really had to make a big decision yesterday. I had to decide whether or not to miss work. It shouldn’t be a big deal but my children at work get so mad at me when I missed last time for legitimate reason. Even though I have legitimate reason this time too, I still had to think about it. In the end, my body made the decision for me. Once I couldn’t stand up to pour myself a cup of juice, I knew that I couldn’t go to work.

It was a difficult decision, but I have to take care of myself. I will be no good to my children at home or at work, or myself if I don’t. So I am happy to report that I have taken today and tomorrow off for some well deserved rest.

Until next time people!

What I Want Doesn’t Exist!

I have discovered, much to my chagrin, that what I want either does not exist or I just haven’t found it yet. I am talking about my perfect, ideal job. My perfect, ideal job would be one that would:

• allow me the freedom that I desire, which means not having to be at work every single day.
• Random days would be nice.
• I would like to start later than 9:00 a.m.
• I would like to get paid twice what I get paid now.
• It would provide great health benefits.
• I would still get long, paid vacations.

Now, do you see why I say that it doesn’t exist.

Until next time!

Getting Better

I have been so sick. I wish that I had another job where I was free to miss work and not be penalized (by the children). I’m not sure if I wrote about when I passsed out at work because of my vertigo. If I didn’t here it is. I left work on a Thursday because I was dizzy. I went to the doctor and got that next day off. I came back on Tuesday, passed out and stayed out until Thursday.

When I returned, the children were so concerned about me. They were also mad at me. They asked me why I missed so many days.

“Guys, I was sick”, I said defending myself.

They didn’t really understand. They started acting out again. I had to stop the class and tell them that I understand that they were upset because they thought that I abandoned them, but that that wasn’t the case. I told them that I was sick and couldn’t be any good to them the way I was; that I had to take care of myself.

It still took about a week to get them back in line, but I did. Anyway, I had to say all that to say that I wish I could miss work tomorrow, but I know that I can’t because the kids will take it personally.

I am at like 80%. I can’t wait until I’m back at 100%. Until next time people!

7 Random & Weird Things About Me

I’ve been tagged by Chris @ soupornuts.com to tell 7 random and/or weird things about me. There are so many weird things about me that I don’t even know where to begin.

1. I never fit in anywhere. I am such an oddball. No matter where I’m at, I stick out like a sore thumb. I hated it when I was younger. Now that I’m older, it still bothers me, but I’ve gotten used to it.
2. I have the oddest offbeat sense of humor of anyone I know. One time, a friend of mine was trying to explain a type of Mexican food she’d eaten and she didn’t know what it was called. I asked her was it like a taco or a burrito. “It was definitely burritoish”, she said. I think we had a good 10 minute laugh over that. Nobody else understood it. My husband & children thought we were crazy, but it didn’t matter, we had a great laugh.
3. I’ve been with my husband for 19 years, but have only been married for 10 of those years.
4. I sometimes worry that I’m not the best teacher I could be because of #’s 5-7.
5. I think that I have the equivalent of adult ADD. I say this because even though I love what I’m doing now, I know that I will not be doing this forever. I want to be a studio teacher or something so I can move around. I hate being in one place for too long. I feel like I’m suffocating.
6. Piggybacking off of #5: Before becoming a teacher, I subbed for L.A.U.S.D. for 6 1/2 years so I could quit at any time. I did not want to be tied down. I liked the freedom of being able to leave a job at anytime.
7. I feel trapped in my current job. It’s nice, but I feel trapped since I have to be there everyday, all day. It’s so much pressure. If I could quit without penalty, I would.

The Perils of Special Education

I have an I.E.P. today. I only wish I knew what time it was. That would be really nice. (Read with a bit of sarcasm). I am not given most of the information that I need for my students. I am not lying when I say that Special Education is the red headed stepchild. I get left out of field trips and everything.

Oh, the perils of Special Education!

Eureka!

I have something very good to report. One of my students who I’ll call Man-Man, has started reading. I am so, so, so proud of him. When I assumed leadership of the class, I asked him if he wanted to learn. He said that he did.

“Good, I said, that’s the first step. The second and most important step is working hard”. Not once did I tell him that it was not going to be a lot of work. I told him that it would be a lot of work, but it would be well worth it.

He took that challenge to heart. We worked on letter recognition and sounds, and a couple of other things, and Eureka!, Aha! He’s got it! He’s reading. Not only that, he’s now helping others with their work. He’s shouting out answers. I can’t stop him. I wouldn’t even dare to.

I am so proud of him. More importantly, he’s proud of himself. He’s on a roll now. He’s even going to start mainstreaming to another class for Open Court. He is so excited and so am I!

Until next time people!

I’m Sick… Again!

Yes, I am sick once again. A couple of teachers were out last week because of this. Now, it has caught up with me. The only good thing about this is that I don’t have an appetite, so maybe I’ll lose a couple of pounds like I always do when I’m sick.

Positive Thinking!

Here is some food for thought. It is a great article that was e-mailed to me about gossip and positive thinking. If you would like to read it, here is the link: http://www.healthywealthynwise.com

I Got The Writing Bug Again!

I have been up for a couple of hours. I fell asleep while trying to finish the reading for my methods class. I knew that I had to finish the reading and write a reflection paper on the chapter that I read, so I woke up. I just finished. I am so happy about that. I’m also very excited. I love writing. I think this is what re-energized me for school.

I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed as I thought about all the assignments that were due. I didn’t turn in an assignment for last week. I did not remember that it was due. I did, however, do an extra assignment. I know, smart wasn’t it? I wonder if I get extra credit for that! Probably not. Oh well. At any rate, I got a little extra practice writing. C’est la vie! There’s nothing I can do about it now.

Now, getting back to the lecture at hand. I am excited about writing again. I have definitely been bitten by the writing bug again. If I have the time    can make the time When I make the time (Of course I don’t have the time. What? Are you kidding me), I will go back to posting multiple times a day. Oh, that would make me so happy when I first started blogging. If something came to me, I wrote it down.

It looks like I will be going to another Post-a-holic meeting. So, until next time people. Hasta la bye-bye!

Happy Black History Month!

Happy Black History month to everyone. This is also a “shout out” to Carter Woodson who started everything.

Enough Already…

Yeah! Yeah! I know. I was just whining & complaining, but I am learning to just shut my big fat mouth. As I was sitting in the back of the classroom feeling sorry for myself, as I was having a strategy moment with one of my students, I realized that all these hard times are making me stronger & more competent.

I was just whining this morning to one of my friends about how I know that what I’m going through is designed to make me stronger but I’m just tired of going through it.

It is such a good thing that God doesn’t listen to all of our whining & complaining. If He did, we wouldn’t learn half the things that we’re supposed to.

When I was talking to my friend this morning, she said that I should look at the positive side of things. At the time, what with the crying and the feeling sorry for myself, I just couldn’t. Between tears and feeling sorry for myself, I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

Now that I am home for the weekend, I am relaxed and can think more clearly. Even though, I wish that I could fast forward myself to the future when this “thing” is over and I have the knowledge that I need, I know that I can’t do that. I will just have to endure, shut my big mouth, and grow up!

God has brought me through so many things, so I have total confidence that he will bring me through this with grace, finesse, and much stronger for it.

So, until next time people! I will endure gracefully and not big mouthfully??? (Okay I know that sounds crazy, but you get what I’m saying, don’t you?)

Feast or Famine!

This thing called life is so weird. One minute you’re up. The next thing you know, you’re down. I say this because that’s how my life is. There is usually no in between. It’s either feast or famine. Right now it’s famine. It seems that no matter what I do, I can’t get ahead. It’s like I take 1 step forward and two steps back; especially in regard to my classroom. The children seem to be going backwards. Is it like this for everyone? I feel like an idiot. Not a complete idiot like last week; just an idiot. So, I guess that’s better than nothing.

I was talking to one of my friends this morning. She gave me lots of encouragement. However, this morning it just wasn’t sinking in. Although, I am just starting to feel some of what she’s saying, it’s still not real to me. I just wish I could fast forward through this next year to when things are better. When will that be? I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to it.

So, until next time people, stay sharp and stay prayed up!