Why Blog?

Since the move, I discovered why I started blogging. I also discovered the reason behind my unplanned hiatus. I blog when I have something else to do that I REALLY don't want to do. For the last two years that has mostly been grading. :) What a great distraction, right??

But now that I don't have anything pressing that I want to put off, blogging is harder for me to do. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty to do. Its just that now I enjoy a greater portion of it. Wait, that sounded wrong too. Alright, here's the scoop. I love teaching. I love having my own classroom, I love working with teenagers, I love being a part of a school community. I do not love grading, commuting, stressing, homeworking, or having no time for myself.

So having decided to take the year off from teaching- partly by choice, partly by circumstance- I am enjoying a fairly stress free existence. I tutor at a local tutoring company about 25-30 hours a week, and I also tutor a few students privately. So I still get to teach, though in a much more controlled setting. I still get to work with teenagers, just not so many at once. And the best part is: I have the energy to plan and cook dinners, clean my house, and work on projects if I so choose.

For the past two years my wonderful husband has been taking care of the majority of the daily things for me... because I didn't have the energy. Now that he is busy and studying and all that comes with medical school, I have more time to take care of those responsibilities; and I love it.

I also love that I have to fill my car up once every two weeks instead of every four days. No joke. 

10 on Tuesday

Because I suck at posting regularly.

1. I had a birthday. My friends and family must love me alot, because they were very generous. I mean, my brother- well really his wife gave me twin nephews.

2. Grades were due for midterms on Monday. I watched 3 Disney movies and the entire second season of The Office to finish.

3. Hubby and I are in full gear planning our summer. Still no decisions on where we will be going FOR SURE for med school, but we do have options. We will probably move in July sometime.

4. We have some awesome travel plans for this summer. Lets just say we will be out of cell phone range.

5. My parents are coming next week- Its baby brother's spring break, and they are coming to visit their new grandkids. Their dog will be staying with us. I'm excited to see my parents, less excited to see their dog.

6. I've been sewing. Alot. I've made a dress and a skirt- on top of the pants and jeans/skirt that I re-fashioned- and I have a dress and another project in the works. I should really get some pictures going.

7. I've been been babysitting my nephew JM, because his brother JG is still in the hospital and mommy can't bring baby with her. JG was born 4lbs 11oz. He was so tiny! He eats pretty well, just not enough. So he has a feeding tube to help him finish. He has also had a hard time keeping his Oxygen stats up, so when he comes home he'll probably have an oxygen tank.

8. In babysitting little JM, I've begun to figure out why so many friends have babies/are pregnant. He's cute! He did pee all over himself and me yesterday while I was changing him...

9. Prepping for General Conference this week. It may be a marathon of talks, but I always find them so uplifting.  I will have to keep my hands busy in order to stay awake though. Here come some crafties...

10. Baby JG is home with his family now, which is fantastic. I'm so excited to see them again!

Today

Student (who happens to be adopted): "Well you see, when a Mommy and a Daddy make a special decision.... They fork out forty grand and adopt a baby."

This one had me rolling. Inside at least.

Classroom Quotables

Kids say the darndest things sometimes.

"Mrs. P, I know what Asexual reproduction is, but whats B sexual reproduction?"

errr...

"Mrs. P, I have a pins and needles feeling on my arms all the time. My doctor doesn't know what it is. Do you?"

I'm flattered, but no.

To be continued...

** Edit**

Me: " What are humming birds good at?" Looking for an answer similar to reproduction, making more hummingbirds, etc.

1st Student: "Flying backwards!"

Another student: "So when a mommy and a daddy hummingbird reeeaaaally like each other..."

Most students: "...they fly backwards!"

(Thanks Cassy!)

Same class as above story, we had some good times:

Me: "What are flowers used for?"

Student: "Sexual reproduction"

Boy student: "So I shouldn't give girls flowers?"

In context, we were talking about pistils and stamen and flower parts and plant reproduction, so the above exchange was out of context, and silly and absolutely hilarious.

This is part of the reason that I love teaching.

:)

This Time Last Year

I'm feeling the work-slump of the Holidays, you know how it goes. All you really want to do is lie around, eat, watch movies, spend time with family, and the LAST thing in the world you want is to have parents and students yelling at you. Right?

Though I'm feeling that slump, I'm also feeling very grateful for how far I've come in the last year. Because this time last year was... unfun. Dearest and I were getting ready to move during Christmas break, I was putting together my very first final for my students, (not to mention grading it... Babe, Jake, Jiles... I think I still owe you all for your help) and what with it being my first year teaching, it was just a very stressful year all around, and there was nothing I could do about it.

So I have alot to be grateful for this year. I made it to my second year as a teacher- Annalise, you were right, it does get better. We did move and we really like our house, and we're NOT moving this break! Finals aren't until January, and I can just enjoy the time I have until break for now. And you know what? Life is good. Still difficult, still learning and growing, but oh so good.

Merry Christmas

Image

PS. If anyone want to get me this ornament for Christmas, I'd be much obliged... :)

Monday after Thanksgiving

It was a crazy weekend. Mostly the good kind of crazy. The drive back was not the good kind of crazy.

21 hours in the car

home at 2:30 am

driving to work at 6:45 am

2 hours of sleep


Its a good day to put in a movie. No students have protested so far.

A few things that have really been irritating me.

In a humorous way of course. I'm not really griping.

1. I have to use painter's tape to tape my cell phone charger to my phone to get it to keep charging.

2. I have to slam, hip bump, or kick my front door to get it to close. Same with the bathroom door. We have faulty hinges or something.

3. I have a gang of 4 boys in my last period class that I'm divided about. Mind you, this is the last period of "B days", so I have taught every lesson 7 times already, and I'm a bit bored. They are... disruptive to say the least. The problem is that its hilarious. I'm torn between kicking them out of class and just laughing my head off. That balance hangs on a knife blade. Its a little annoying.

4. My students don't know how to write a thesis statement.

5. My carpet is stinky and the landlord won't wash it.

There. I feel better now. And now to help make dinner...

Rant

Imagine a world where everyone writes in text-speak. Books, billboards, even legal documents are full of "ikd, bff, lol" and all of the other abbreviations that are rampant today. Nonsense you say? Well, I get tests and homework (which should represent a student's best work) with idk splashed all over them. Back in the day students at least had the courtesy to leave a question blank if they had no clue. Now those three letters are enough. What will a society based on 'idk' look like? I imagine people of all ages walking around attached to their cell phones, endlessly texting. People are so used to virtual relationships through email and text, that they can't hold a conversation with a real person. They can no longer even form a sentence that is longer than 3-5 abbreviated words. Let alone tolerating a slightly irritating habit that a friend may have.

Many people in this world have no idea that there is a difference between their, they're, and there. They have no idea about parallel structure, or subject-verb agreement, or when to use a comma. Simple things, but can a person accurately and effectively communicate without these things? If one's vocabulary is limited, can one select the most accurate word to describe a situation? I think not.

Technical writing. Does it have a place to today's modern, and casual world? I've heard many students and even a few colleagues of mine say, "meh, I guess if you want to be a scientist or something" but I say that every job, every life style has a place for technical writing somewhere.

I believe there is a strong place for technical writing in the modern world. As jobs today require more education and degrees, technical or not, the rising generation will be expected to be competent and communicative.


What do you think?

Lately

1. Found a black widow hanging on the front door. Killed it with a shovel.
2. Hubby turned 25. Happy Birthday! I love you Babe!
3. Hubby got the flu and had a fever. Not fun.
4. Decided I wanted to improve my handwriting.
5. Decided I would rather improve my typing accuracy since I spend more tie typing for work.
6. Decided I would waste less time on the computer by no watching Hulu without Hubby (our leisure time together is very short)
7. Started making a draft stop thing for my kithen door out of boredome because of #6.
8. Got first pair of converse all-stars. In grey-blue. Been wondering where they've been my whole life.
9. I get to announce that I'm going to be an Aunt for the first time. I am DELIGHTED.
10. Realied that everyone is having babies but me. I'm still ok with that.
11. Had my students listen to Danse Macabre by Camille Saint- Saens. No one could guess what it was. I'm distraught.

Wasting a Life

One of my students told me today that I was wasting my life teaching. She thought that I could be doing so much more. That I could have a bigger impact.

I asked her what she would do if she didn't have teachers.

"Probably nothing" was her reply.

Some days I feel like I'm wasting my life. Some days I feel like there is nothing that I can do to affect change or help people become better.

I hope I'm not wasting my time and energy.
I hope that those I teach can make a difference.
I hope that these young people will be there to care for others when they are old and unable.
I hope tey become the doctors, lawyers, and activists that will do good.
I hope they learn to think.
I hope they learn to serve and relieve the sufferings of others.
I hope they are inspired.

But some will do great things.

That isn't up to me.

All I know is that I love what I do, that I learn and I grow each day. I'm not wasting my time.

Today

We were talking about energy, and how ultimately all of our energy (at least the edible kind) comes from the sun. We were talking about where our food gets its energy. We had a conversation like this:

"Ok french fries, what are those"

class:"Potatoes"

"alright, where do potatoes get their energy?"

class: "..."

"Well, do they make their energy or eat it?"

Class:"..."

"*heave sigh* Are they plants or animals?"

"a-ni-mals?"

"What?? You don't know if a potato is a plant or an animal???"

Kids, its time to get back to nature. You will not need to spear hunt potatoes. Get a shovel.


Yeesh.

The other day...

Someone threw up in my class. Without warning. All over himself, the table, the floor...

And here I thought I taught in a high school.

I felt really bad for the kid. He must have felt miserable.

But then I reminded everyone that in that case it is OK to run out of the room without explanation.

Really. Its ok.

Let me Tell You...

A little bit about how I got my job. If I was feeling poetic it would be like the Fresh Prince rap... but no such luck.

I lost my job last May. It was a non-renewal of contract, so not as serious as getting fired, but I still don't know why it happened. Well, I do on my end... Anyway, after I got the news I frantically started pulling together my resume, updated work info, and my letters of recommendation because I was going to get the best job out there immidiately. I felt like this for a couple of days, then suddenly I didn't feel like it was the right thing to do. So I stopped. I didn't apply for that good part time position down the road. Now I generally like to follow this gut feeling when I have it because I am a firm believer in divine inspiration. And I believe it told me to stop looking. So I did that.

Fast forward to summer time: My old job at the nursery wasn't available because I finished the school year late, so I had alot of time on my hands. It could have been alot of time to work on my resume and chase jobs, but I still didn't feel like it was the right time. So I read, and biked, and ran, and gardened, and fixed furniature, but I didn't touch anything to do with work. I remember trying to explain this to hubby. I'm sure he was frustrated with me, but he was very understanding and knew I needed to follow this feeling. So I waited.

Until about mid July. Then this sense of urgency hit me. My gut kicked in, and I believe it was more divine inspiration. Within 2 days I polished my resume, got my letters together, updated info and posted it all on a 'for teacher and schools' website. I sent everything out to all the public schools in the area with listings, and searched within a 40 mile radius. Minus one. I didn't apply to this little charter school because my past experience made me wary. So they emailed me. With a few questions they'd like me to answer.

I called a good friend who knew something about every school in the area. He said he'd heard good things about it, so I figured why not. So I responded to the questions. They called me for an interview. I have never felt so comfortable in an interview before. I was nervous at first for sure, but these people put me at ease. We were laughing and talking and it was a good interview. At the end they said there were two more people who needed to meet with me.

So I waited for the call. I was nervous because it was just a week before we headed to NY for the wedding. But they called. I went to the second interview which went just as well as the first. They told me I was their top canidate (which flattered me because they said they had searched all summer long). At the end of the interview they asked me if I had other prospects. Normally I would have been a little evasive, but I was totally honest and said no. I didn't have any other prospects and if they offered me a job, I would take it. So they asked for 5 mintues to confer, then offered me a salary. It was glorious. One of them (the director) even went to say "I'm so glad [that school] canned you"! Well, me too.

I am so much happier at this job. Yeah its a long commute (40 min in the morning, 50+ in the afternoon) but I get to listen to NPR and feel sophistocated. And I'm busy, and I have alot to do, but I feel like my task is doable. I don't just feel like I'm treading water, I'm actually swimming and getting somewhere good. Yes its still a difficult job, but thats because it is a difficult job by nature, not compounded by difficult circumstances.

The day I got the job I told another good friend of mine about my position, and it just so happened that they had an opening in math which is her subject. So she was curious, she applied and got the job. It has been so fun to have a good friend here. It would have been good without her too because I've already made some other friends, but it has been that much better having her here with me. I can tell she's feeling much better too.

Needless to say, I'm glad I got 'canned' (though it was really just a non-renew), and I'm very happy to be at my new school.

First Week of School

Well, I have successfully negotiated the first week of school so far. They have an AB block schedule, which has been nice. I thought it might get boring since I'm only teaching biology, but each class is so different that it never quite turns out the same. I like that.

The admin team at this school is excellent too. They are just good people with good ideas. Basically, if you have teenagers in my area, I would recommend this school. If you teach high school, I would recommend working here. I can't say the same for other places I've taught. So far so good. :)

Hubby goes back to school this week too. I fear I won't see much of him. He'll be a TA, EMS shift supervisor, research assistant, and he's got to get all of his secondary applications done while still getting good grades. Oh. And he just added a business minor. Can you say glutton for punishment? That's my sweetheart.

Welcome Back

Dear School Year,

I'm not ready for you. I need another couple days to play, and another couple days to prepare. Be a dear and do what you can for me.

No luck? Alright fine. See you tomorrow.

Love,

Me.

P- Summer, I'll miss you. Here are some pictures to remember me by.

A Few Firsts

A list of some firsts for me (some for hubby too) from our trip this weekend. Some of these firsts were much more relaxing than others. Take a guess which...

1. First overnight trip with 14 high school kidlets


2. First time driving through Moab (gorgeous, can't wait to do more here than drive through!)


3. First time in New Mexico (boring mixed with gorgeous, take the good with the bad, right?)



4. First time fly-fishing (A-mazing. This was the relaxing part. All this kids had their own guides, so it was just me and my man in a boat with our guide TJ who was hilarious. We caught fish. Excellent)



5. Fist time star gazing with kids (they were a little awe-struck that you could actually see the milky way there...)

6. First time in the state of Arizona


7. First time to the Four Corners Monument (though not the real four corners, oh well)

Anyway, the trip this weekend was a huge success, and I loved it. I'd love to go back and do it again. Actually this summer I may have to ask Grandpa to take me fly fishing... it was just that fun. Anyway, if you're ever in the market for an awesome trip and want to be set up with a great guide, talk to Larry and the Soaring Eagle Lodge and have him set you up with TJ the guide. Totally worth it.

Us at Four Corners

Pretty San Juan River
My first fish of the day

Alex's big ol' Rainbow Trout

Monday Monsters

This is what I call my kids when they are being unruly on mondays. They seem to think its ok to be obnoxious, because they all need to catch up after the weekend.

I don't buy it. They just like to torture me.

So when I have a bunch of unruly monday monsters in my class, I tend to become a Mrs. Monday Monster in response.

At least for a few minutes. Then its over.

I'm glad my school monday is over now. :)

Teaching Moments

Teaching brings me some great moments, and some not-so-great moments. I thought I'd share one of each for today.

The great moment. Even though this happened to a good friend of mine, I promised her I'd post it, and it was sure a great moment for me.

It is her second year of teaching math, and since the quarter just ended and she handed out a bunch of grades, she thought she should get graded too. So she had her kids write an anonymus grade for her, and tell her what they liked/didn't like about class and what she could do to improve etc as long as it was contructive and realistic. (things like less homework and more playtime didn't make the cut as realistic. Shocker.)
So as she is paging through her grades she see's lots of A's and "you're a great teacher!" etc, as she should (you know you deserve it and don't even try to be bashful about it!). But she gets to one page where she is given a solid B and this explanation: "you are a good teacher, but nothing exceptional."
She shared this with me and another seasoned collegue, and we thought it was just hilarious. :) So now we're keeping track of our non-exceptional moments and laughing whenever we get a chance. We like to take advantage of the ridiculous to keep ourselves sane.

a not-so-great moment. I have one student who no matter what I do gives me a rather unpleasant attitude, and it can become quite a disruption to the other students. Today she wanted to leave to go to the bathroom, so I let her, then she came back and insisted she be allowed to leave again to get notes from her locker. This would have wasted a significant amount of time for her, so I said no, live with it for today. She should have been more prepared for class.

She decided to argue, and eventually I chewed her out for the attitude, told her to get her stuff and she couldd come in at luch for a detention.

She came in and I gave her two options, study for tomorrows quiz (I don't need to I know it all, waste of time) or clean my white-boards (they're just going to get dirty again, I don't see why I have to do this). I calmly explained to her that I wasn't here to argue with her, but she knew her options. She was so stubborn. I just wish she would learn to help herself. She eventually cleaned the whiteboards, but I expect I may have to see her a few more times at lunch before things improve. It makes me very sad for her, becasue the only one that suffers from her silly teenage pride is her. I jut wish there was a way to tell her that....


Don't worry everyone, the good moments outweigh the not-so-good, and I still love my job. Even if we're all just good teachers, nothing exceptional. :)