...until spring break.  And this is how I start my morning.  Conversation between another teacher, a student, and me:

Me: (looking at the crayfish that have just been delivered to the 3rd grade Math/Science room) eeewwwwwwwwwwwww, they're so... ewwww
Mr. T: J, tell Mrs. ShepDC that she needs to grow up!
J: Nah.  I like her the way how she is.

How could I not love these kids?

Tags: comedy, cute, school
Current Mood: amused

this morning, i woke up at 4:30.  i didn't need to, i just did.  it was obviously too early - an hour an a half too early to be precise - so i went back to sleep.  i treasured the 90 additional minutes of sleep.

and the 90 that came after that.  because my alarm, which was set for 6:05 AM, was not turned on.

i had somewhere to be - somewhere important to be - at 8 AM.  and i didn't just have to be there - i had to be there prepared, professionally dressed, and ready to spend 8 hours evaluating other people.  hmmmm...

so when i blinked awake at 7:37, i cursed.  and i mean, i cursed.  much cursing.  loud cursing.  jumping-out-of-bed, scaring-the-snot-out-of-bill cursing.  and the dog: the poor dog was really freaked.

in under ten minutes, i threw on an almost-suit, splashed water and makeup on my face, grabbed jewelry, switched glasses, grabbed my lunch and the materials i was supposed to have read before arriving this morning (oops), and hopped in the car.  bill drove me 4 miles down the road.

i was inside the school, seated in the library on the second floor, by 8:10.

now, let's review: that's 33 minutes to get up, get dressed, get in the car, travel four miles (and we're talking city streets here, people: stop signs and traffic lights aplenty), get dropped off on the wrong side of the school, walk around the block (in heels!), up to the second floor, and into the library.  i am impressed with myself, to say the least.

and i'm impressed with my husband, who tolerated the cursing, drove me downtown, dropped me off, and came back with coffee and water.  i love that man.

oh, and i need a shower.

Tags: alarm, overslept, school

My mom says I have to blog more. Actually, no. She says she WANTS me to log more. But moms so rarely get exactly what they want when it comes to their children, so I guess I'll oblige.

So, one of the necessary evils of being the grade-hopping special ed teacher in a co-teaching situation is this: while I usually spend my time tending to the needs of 2-3 students at a time, I'm sometimes called upon to lead the class. And since it's something I don't do all that often, especially in 5th grade, it always comes with mixed reactions from the kids. For some, it's a welcome change of pace. For others, it's an opportunity to play around, because somewhere in their lives they've learned that when that cat is away, the mice will play. Damnit.

Such was the case when my 5th grade co-teacher had to take afternoons off this week, and I found myself leading the whole class all week. And when they were finishing the mid-term assessment, I wrote their assignment on the board:

So, when I looked over and found Sassy Fifth Grader (SFG) doing something that was distinctly NOT on that list, I walked over to her.

Me: SFG, your assignment right now is to read independently. Put that away, and take out your book.
SFG: I don't have to do that.
Me: Yes, you do. It's exactly what you're supposed to do right now.
SFG (slightly, but not entirely under her breath): You don't get to tell me what to do.

Let's pause here for a second. Um, yes I do. In fact, it's precisely in my job description to tell this child what to do. Sassy, I tell ya.

So, I send her to another classroom with a "fix it form." She comes back with the form completed. There was some... ahem... guidance needed in getting an honest reflection of what she had been doing to get said fix-it form. But in the end, she filled it out and took it home for mom to sign.

She didn't bring it back the next day. She said her mom was going to bring it up to the school.

Crap.

You just never know what that means. Most often, it means that said parent wants to argue that their more than perfect child NEVER would have talked back to a teacher.

She didn't bring it back the next day, either. But I get an apology letter on my desk. This is promising, but I'm guessing she's lying about her mom wanting to talk to me. She hasn't given her the form at all, and now she's hoping I'll accept an apology letter instead of calling home. No chance, kid.  There will be a call home if that fix-it form doesn't come back tomorrow.

But on Friday, in the middle of morning meeting, I get a call. SFG's mom is downstairs. She wants to see me.

And she wants to see me, because she's horrified. Horrified that her daughter has spoken to an adult this way. She wanted to apologize to me personally. And then she pulled SFG into the hallway to lecture her, and personally witness her apology. And here's her phone number and her email address and if I EVER have a problem with Sassy, call right away.

Sometimes, I love parents. Sometimes.

Tags: sassy, school, students

So, yeah... I don't blog anymore. It's been, what, 8 months? But I find it funny that when I click back to visit my old blog, the second entry (now the third) is all about how I want to go back into education, and it says:


Heh. The best laid plans of mice and special education teachers....

I'm teaching again. I'm managing behavior. I'm planning into the wee hours (am I ever). I'm acting as a social worker (but less often! we've got two on staff!). But hey: I'm only teaching two subjects. That's worth something, isn't it?

And I love it :).

****

Quote of the Week: (At a time when the whole class seems to have lost their minds, I've got a cold, and am - apparently - looking rather stressed) "Mrs. H, you look like you need a pat on the back. My mom takes these pills to help her relax... she calls them happy pills."

Tags: life, oops, school, teaching
Current Mood: amused

yeah. watch this. seriously.

you go, girl.

Tags: freakin' amazing
Current Mood: giddy

so, it's been crazy.

the good news: we have our computer back. well, this is sort of good news. really, it's kinda nice not having a computer to dominate life in the home hours. no more surfing the web until an hour past bedtime. life is better with less facebook or flickr... don't shoot the messenger.

not having a computer when you need it for your new part time job? well, that's a pain in the butt.

so, for those of you who don't know - i've been working two jobs for the past two months. two half-time jobs. funny how 20 + 20 simply doesn't equal 40. if only it did.

for the past two months, my second job has been working for these folks. if that sounds familiar, it should. this is the program through which i became a teacher. this year, they decided to bring in a handful of mid-year fellows. they were recruited in december. they were trained in january. they started teaching in their own classrooms today. say a little prayer for them, if you have a moment.

for the past month, i've been back in a school setting. i've been observing these fellows during their practice teaching. i've sat back and observed - for the good, the bad, and the ugly. i've told them what i saw that they did well. what i saw that needed improvement. shared ideas. strategized.

it's been good. hell, it's been busy. but it's been good.

this year. it's about discernment. at least, that was the idea. this is the year where i have only a part-time job to worry about. but now i have two. this is the year where i figure out what i want to be when i grow up. well, i still have some work to do there.

but these past two months have given me some clarity. being back in a school, being back around children: it feels right. this is in my blood. that is a good feeling, but it is also a terrifying feeling. and now i get to set about interpreting it. thinking about what the opportunities are.

oh, and renewing my teacher's license, which expires in august. i've got some work to do. oye.

but if you're wondering if this means i'll start teaching again, i'm fairly certain the answer is no. i'm fairly certain i do not want to teach eight subjects, manage behavior, act as a social worker, and plan into the wee hours again. i've been there. but i do want to be in a school. i do want to be involved in education.

at least, that's what i think.

deep breath. inhale. exhale. don't freak out.

Tags: look at me i'm really blogging!, school, teaching, what i want to be when i grow up
Current Mood: sleepy

so we're going on two weeks without a computer soon. yarg.

got it back last sunday. it lasted ten minutes before it crapped out again. so, if i'm incommunicado, know that this is why. it's off at the shop again, and will be back within a week.

way. too. dependent. on. internet.

our hard drive is dying. so we've had to give up the computer while the Mac Geniuses (how do you pluralize genius?) do their work. it will be a week. likely. *tear*

i am now limited to internet activity while i'm at work. which, because i am a reasonably moral person, will be very little. *double tear*

see you in a week or so...

Tags: computers, mac, what am i amish?

so i'm seeing a few themes emerging already:

1) blur!
2) it's not shaping up to be what i imagined it would.
3) and that's fine with me.



click on the picture, and it will take you to my flickr account... which will show you five whole pictures 2009 :).

Tags: project 2009

okay. i'm not even going to pretend that posting my daily pic is something i'll get around to every day... but i'll try a few times a week. if i have no rules, i can't break any :).

Tags: project 2009