The BAD KIDS!!!

I have a lot of what you call “bad kids”. It’s no accident either. I spoke with my Program Specialist who basically told me that they were being sent to me because they knew I could handle it.

Okay, so you’re just going to burn me out, huh!

I know that I have excellent classroom management skills, but come on! This is what happens to a lot of teachers during the first 5 years who end up quitting. I know that I’m not going to be one of those ones. I have my mind made up. I know I want to teach. I’ve known for more than 12 years. But, why does the system work like this? Why are new teachers burnt out and not offered much support? I’d really like to know!

The Countdown Begins!

Yes, people, the countdown begins! There are only 19 school days left in the school year. Believe me when I say that I’m counting down. I am really tired. I thought that after my leave that I would breeze through the last couple of weeks. Not so! I am so looking forward to summer. To sleeping in and doing nothing for days at a time. To cleaning my house and having the time to maintain it.

Here’s to summer break!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

I would like to say Happy Memorial Day to everyone, especially the Veterans!

Summer School-y Me!

I am in summer school. I would have been finished if I’d taken these classes last year but just didn’t have it in me then. So, I have to do it now. Oh well, I gotta’ do what I need to do.

Correction! There Will Be No U.T.L.A. Strike

Well, last night, am emergency temporary restraining order (tro) was issued against U.T.L.A. So, it looks like there will be no strike after all. I don’t understand how this coud be. How can a judge stop us from striking? Isn’t that taking away our rights? What is the union for if not to unite and protest?

U.T.L.A. Strike On Friday!

Yes, people. U.T.L.A. has decided to strike on Friday, May 15, 2009. We are to report to our worksite and picket from 8:00-9:00 a.m. and then go to the Beaudry building and picket there.

The last time we picketed for an hour, we had much parental support. Hopefully, this will happen this time also. If you’re reading this and you can support your child’s teacher on Friday, do just that. However, having said that,

(this is just my humble opinion), I don’t think this is going to work. The school district has already shown that they do not care. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy they didn’t lay teachers off in the middle of the year, but laying them off period is not any better. However, only time will tell!

Education Is Money!

I’m only one person. That’s what I told my students today.

“Why did you stop trying just because I left?” I asked.

I left because I didn’t feel safe here (at school). My leaving had nothing to do with you. I didn’t leave because I don’t care about you. I didn’t leave because I don’t care about your success. I left because I had to take care of me. If I didn’t take care of me, no one else would have.

“That’s what you have to do now,” I told them. You have to take care of yourselves. You take care of yourself by getting your education. How is the information going to get in your head if you don’t put it in there? Think of education as something very valuable. It’s like money. As long as it’s good money (education), it almost doesn’t matter who gives it to you. So, get into your heads that education is money.

Don’t let you getting your education be dependent on me. Take care of yourself and get your money (education)!

Happy 2-Year Anniversary To Me!

Wow, it’s my 2-year anniversar of blogging. Today I’ve been blogging for 2 years. Can you believe that I, the original blog-a-holic almost forgot. Yeah, I know! This blog has become so much more than I thought it would. It became my outlet for expressing myself, working things out, and meeting and networking. I’ve met wonderful people  doing this. And I hope to meet many more. Here’s to year 3 and many more to come!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

You Can’t Catch That By…

• sitting next to someone who has it
• being friends with someone who has it
• playing with someone who has it
• being in class with someone who has it

This is what I wanted to tell a very ignorant and uninformed parent today. This post is a follow-up from an earlier post. The post earlier was a little short. I just wanted to get it out. I was so angry. How could someone in this day and age think like this?

The parent in question was afraid of her “normal” daughter sitting next to my student with Mental Retardation (MR). She said she didn’t want Pink Socks sitting next to Julia. Initially I did not understand what she was saying, but my assistant did. Once I caught on, I asked her if she wanted Pink Socks moved because Julia has MR. I then asked her how she would feel if someone said the same thing about Pink Socks when she mainstreamed to a general education class. She skillfully avoided the question by responding that she didn’t want Pink Socks sitting next to Julia because Julia hits Pink Socks.

Are you kidding me? Julia is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest person you ever want to meet. Not to mention that she’s non-verbal. The next thing the mom said is that there were sick children in the class.
“Well, come in and take a look,” my assistant and I said.

“No, that’s okay,” she said.

After I spent about 10 minutes talking to her, I realized that I was wasting my time. That’s when I told her if she wanted to talk she could do so when the classroom is empty.

“No, thank you,” she said. I’ll work with Pink Socks to get her out of “this” room.

I was absolutely floored that someone thinks like that. I was even more floored, nay horrified, when I heard how she talked to her own child- calling her ugly & stupid like it was the thing to do. What is this world coming to???

How Can Someone Do That?

I love my students. For some of them, I am the only love they know. I feel so bad for one of my students who I call Pink Socks. I didn’t see her this morning until after nine. The trouble started when her mom came up to the school because she called her crying. I was going to go down to the office to talk to her, but she (the mom) came up to the classroom. I had a sub helping out for the day so I was able to spare the time. I’m kinda’ mad that I did. She had nothing nice to say. About her own child.

I found out my student was crying because her mom called her stupid and kept comparing her to another child who was getting straight “A’s”. I tried to tell her that she can’t compare children. Ever!!! She wasn’t listening. She just kept telling me that she didn’t want her daughter in my class because there were sick children in my class.

“Well, what do you mean by sick,” I asked.

She wouldn’t say. (The coward).

“Oh, the children don’t look like my daughter,” she said.

Again I asked her what she meant. Again, she cowardly would not say. Unfortunately I knew what she meant. She meant my student who has MR, and the other black students. I was so proud of myself that I was able to keep my cool. I don’t know how, but I was able to.

I am so sad that my student has to grow up like this. This is the reason she has no self-esteem. She is so talented, but she refuses to believe compliments. Anytime I tell her that she can sing, or dance, or draw, she says that she can’t and that she’s ugly.

I am so mad at her mom. How could you do that to your own child? That’s why her daughter has been acting up. She already didn’t want to be in special ed. Now, with the input from her mother, this situation is next to impossible. How are children expected to thrive in situations like that?

What am I going to do?

I Can See Myself!

That’s right. I can see myself in my “Big Ole’ Shiny Balls”. That’s what I like to call them. My balls, of late, had been a little dull. They hadn’t been shined up in a while. I’d lost my heart. I was being a doormat and not standing up for myself. I was a shadow of my former self. Well, that is not the case anymore. I am returning to ME. You know what did it? Going out on stress leave. During my time off, I had a chance to stop, think, re-evaluate, listen, get back to loving me, get to know me again, and reassess my priorities. One of my priorities I decided that needed to be the top priority was ME. I knew if I didn’t take care of me, no one else would. This is not to say that my husband and family was not there for me. It’s to say that I came to a realization- I matter. I matter to me. I matter to my children. I matter to my husband. Most importantly, I matter to me. I put myself on the backburner for too long. No more. I have to live. Life is too short. I refuse to let something (like what happened) get me down. It could possibly have been a really bad thing, but I didn’t let it. I fought back and regained ME.

So, here’s one of my favorite videos. It’s called ME by Tamia. Enjoy!

What To Do?

What do you do when you realize that a good friendship is coming to an end? You realize there’s some kind of animosity there but don’t know what it is or how to ask about it. What would you do????????????

My Presentation…

I have to present my literature review tonight @ 5:00 p.m. I’m really not that nervous. I don’t know why. I’m really not prepared, but still am not that nervous. Well, wish me luck. I should be finished at 6:30 or 7:00 tonight. We’ll see how it goes!