Kontan.

After posting my admission of blog neglect I checked the 12 comments in my spam box. It’s always a treat.

Couldn’t find the info I was looking for, do you have a search box?

Why yes P!nk7ebr@ C@r$e@t spammer I do. It’s that little white box in the top right that says…
wait for it…
SEARCH

Why is “abbreviation” such a long word?

Well, yourbig.ru I don’t know. Might I suggest a web search on that?

I guess this is as good of a place as any to post and let you know. I tried to subscribe to your RSS feed, but when i clicked it I got an error that said “Parse error: syntax error

Revelations, Revelations, 21:8, 21:8…yeah, gotta love church camp songs

Do you have a contact page?

No GumStick, I have comments and a spam catcher. Thank you for asking.

Сайт отличный. Награду бы Вам за него или просто почетный орден. =)

Um…and a happy smilie back to you Ugos.

Can you cry underwater?

No clue Rosostrov, but I suspect that it is possible. I should also direct you to a websearch, or my husband tells me that Auburn University has a question hotline that may be able to help.

I am neglecting my blog, but if it makes you feel any better I am also neglecting sleep and housework. I do take time in between reading and resource searching to read your blogs…I just don’t always comment. Sorry. I’m there though…lurking in cyberspace.

I have more planning time this year than last, but there is still too much to do and too little time.

Tomorrow is another day.

There’s always one in each class. This is my second year to deal with this one. He is an arrogant know-it-all that fully embraces his genius. He is also not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. Intelligent, highly. Motivated, no way. He also is seriously lacking in the social skills department. It is like Frantic is socially uncomfortable to be around, he is simply rude and inconsiderate. What he has to say is more important than anything else and it needs to be said where everyone can hear. Frantic also holds the view that I am an idiot who is too lazy to instruct.

A few examples…

Last year he believed my chosen direction for the class was off base and Civics needed to ignore government and focus more on economics. That’s great and all, but econ made up less than 1/3 of the curriculum and the end of course test would be rather difficult if I discarded the other 2/3 of the required information.

This year the trend continues. Instead of having a 22 student discussion our summer reading I divided them into three groups for discussion that they would guide and I would observe, offering input periodically. Frantic commented that this was an “interesting teaching strategy” for me to employ. Keep in mind it is not always what you say, but how you say it. He hated the summer reading and made it obvious to everyone. Most of the students really got something out of it, even if they found the author arrogant and annoying. Oddly enough, it was Frantic’s group that had to have the most direction in discussion since his dominant personality kept the group frequently misguided.

The most recent obnoxious action was yesterday. We have one minute remaining and I have to inform students of a few things. They are standing, ready to walk out the door and I am rattling off. Students are attentive and making sure they get everything they need. Frantic raises his hand when I am in mid-sentence. I glance his way and keep talking. He waves. Still talking. He waves the other hand too. Trying to ignore him and finish my thought. Frantic begins to bounce up and down like a small child who is excited he knows the answer. Can’t ignore him anymore. “Buddy, I see you and I am trying to finish a thought. Wait a sec.” He’s shocked. Other students just shake their heads. They are used to his rude antics, yet still annoyed.

Understand, I really like this kid…when he isn’t being his freakin’ frantic arrogant self.

Lil Bit was out and about today and decided to stop in at a friends house to visit with her friend’s little sister and grandmother. She is our social committee. I don’t know where she gets the social seeking attitude, but it does make us meet neighbors. I would be happy to maintain my waving relationship. She adores this baby, and actually did ask if I would have another baby. I told her we have Tiki and that will have to do. She just grinned. She really would make an awesome big sister…until she decided it would be more fun to torment the young sibling than to entertain. The grandmother figure asked me if I worked.

Ha.

There are some days I fantasize about being able to stay home. No worries, reality kicks in and I fully accept the fact that this is not going to happen b/c I embrace the sanity and satisfaction that my job gives me. On the other hand, by 10 PM I feel like I am starting my third shift. Bedtimes are 9:00 and 9:30 with calm down time thirty minutes before. That’s great and everything, but I have little schemers who have managed to push that time to the absolute last moment. I HAVE to get this bedtime scheme play back in my court. It is next to impossible for me to start my work before they go to bed. We come home from school, start homework and evaluate the mass murder of a forest that has taken place at school that day, play chauffeur when necessary, dinner, and then a little entertainment for them while I attempt to accomplish something around the house, then bedtime prep. Somewhere in there the big kid has to practice her drumming techniques and the little kid is going to be reading to me. Hmmm….I wonder if my American History text would suffice for her 20 minutes of reading?

By the time these guys are in bed I am ready to turn in myself. Tonight I decided to blog instead of review the American Revolution. I have first period off…let’s just hope there isn’t a class to cover.

I just finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I started it weeks ago but life kept getting in the way of finishing it. Today, in my effort to procrastinate my final grading before progress reports have to be posted, I curled up and could not put it down. I read over half of it this afternoon. Amazing writing, but such a sad story all the way through.

We Americans live in our own little bubble. We know that there is suffering in this world and many seek to ease that suffering. Regardless of this realization, I don’t think we can truly comprehend the devastation that some face on a daily basis. Hosseini brings to life the glory and devastation of Afghanistan. Reading The Kite Runner propels the reader through the emotions of childhood love, friendship and jealousy, to betrayal, shame, change and frustration, to remorse, sacrifice, forgiveness and devotion. As one reads the heart aches for Amir who is so sensitive and seeks the approval of his father, then burns with shame at the betrayal of a selfish young man. The heart then yields sadness for the unwavering devotion of Hassan who accepts his friend, with all his faults, and sacrifices the life he knew for him. His father Ali doing the same.

The trials and tribulations Hosseini describes are heart wrenching. The resolution, warming.

I’m completely not in the mood to blog lately. When I get like this the best thing I know to do is stream of consciousness writing. So many things going through my head really. Lil Bit is feeling ookie. I think it is whatever the rest of us had last week. I’m ready for a nap each afternoon, but it isn’t going to happen. I did manage yesterday b/c Lil Bit stayed home from school. We curled up for an afternoon nap and at some point she abandoned me to my sleepiness and made a blanket fort in her room. School is going well, but I think I made a big decision today. I love teaching. I even like teaching high school. What I don’t like is all the other crap that goes along with it.

As I blog I am reminded of other frustrations…preteens are drama queens. Why EVERYTHING have to be a freakin issue!

It’s so great to have everyone home and to enjoy a good football game with Jem!

So much to do and there is even time to do it. Unfortunately, I lack the motivation to do anything school related. I know that it is perfectly acceptable to not do school work on the weekend, but I feel terribly guilty when I do not get papers graded and returned on Monday. At least I can enjoy a good read and feel like I am getting something accomplished. My AP students read A Midwife’s Tale: The Diary of Martha Ballard as part of their summer reading. Great book. I reviewed it here when I read it in grad school. We will be discussing it Wednesday. Some students liked it and others hated it. You can’t please them all. We also read Lies My Teacher Told Me and had great discussions about historical perspective. Perspective is our theme for the year. I think it is important for students to realize that there is bias in writing and it is necessary for them to view many sources when forming their opinions. They all have a textbook for the class that they are responsible for reading, but in class we use various textbooks for reference. It makes for interesting discussion.

I shall now return to my digital re-reading of Martha Ballard. FYI, even though I am not commenting much, I am keeping up with your blogs in my reader. Thanks for stopping by!

Feeling better, but still not 100%. A few weeks ago we enjoyed a little family time and explored Gold Hill village. This beautiful butterfly was kind enough to pose for a picture.