Sunday, September 26, 2010

Oprah, Michelle Rhee, The Today Show, & Waiting for Superman



It would take me forever to describe what happened this week on Oprah.  It was absolutely life-changing. Check it out for yourself:



Things I Want You to Know:
  1. Go see the movie, Waiting for Superman, the movie.  It IS the most important movie of the year.
  2. Read Oprah's Lessons in Education page and watch the videos.
  3. Learn about The Shocking State of Our Schools and find out what Michelle Rhee is doing about it.



NBC's Today Show visited Josh's School last week!  Ann Curry came to visit and do a special taping of a school that is "Doing What Works".  It will be featured next week on the Today Show's Education Nation Week.  Here are some articles from Worcester County Public Schools and Delmarva Now, our local newspaper, highlighting Ann Curry's trip to the eastern shore!

Ann Curry with a few of Josh's students 




















Watch the Today Show on Wednesday to see Josh's School, Pocomoke Middle!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

my cold has upgraded...

...to a stomach virus.  I stayed at school all day.  I felt terrible sharp pains in my belly.  I will spare you the rest of the details.  This picture should explain how I feel:


On the VERY bright side, tonight is:  OFFICE.  OFFICE.  OFFICE!!!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Sick and Tired Already...

Yes, it's true.  I am already sick.  And I am so tired.  Compared to last year, this job is about 100X more demanding.  It's like the kids in this city have more energy than in WV!  I don't know why but it's already making me so tired!  It's amazing how much the home life situations take a toll on the behavior and personalities of the children.  I have 10 year olds with 3 year old behaviors.  Those same kids exhibit 20 year old maturity sometimes.  It's crazy.  At this time last year, I was diving head first into deep material with the kids and advanced and mature music!  Not this year.  We are starting from scratch. 

The children are actually very musical.  Their previous teacher had been here for a LONG time and had a great program.  The kids can REALLY read music!  But when it comes to maturity when moving around, or rules with the instruments, we really waste a lot of time. 

I am working on it.

Friday, September 17, 2010

tgif

Today is Friday.  I have my first sickness of the year.  Three weeks of school are finished.  So far I am loving my job... except for being sick.  I am washing my hands a lot--I promise!

We had Tuesday off this week because of Election Day.  I came back to school on Wednesday to hear a Sam's Club representative on the announcements give away $100 gift cards for Teacher Appreciation.  My name was drawn.  Awesome!  They came to give me my gift card and took my picture with my principal.  Coincidentally--before they drew my name from the hat--they asked my principal to nominate a teacher for Teacher of the Year to apply for more hundreds of dollars.  And my principal nominated me!!!  WOW.  He has only known me for a few weeks.  I have my own ideas as to why he chose me... like moving my room and me being a good sport... or something like that.

Also--just a few minutes after this... I get my very first paycheck of the YEAR!!!  And Josh does too!!!  YEAH!

Now it's the weekend.  We are going out to dinner with my aunt and uncle who are in town.  Then I am going to crash because I am tired and sick.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Yay! Gaga: 2010 Video Music Awards



She won every award she was nominated for!  Sometimes I feel crazy for liking her, but, dang is she talented!  Yes, that is a raw meat dress.  It looks so REAL!


What the Eff?

Josh's phone reached its end today.  It has been sputtering about for a few weeks now.  This time it just will not turn back on at all.  We went to at&t (he has a Blackberry) and as soon as we walk in the guy asks what he can do for us.  We say that the phone shut off and won't turn back on.

The guy's exact response: You need to upgrade.
Us: No, sorry, we are not interested in that.
Guy: Why? Huh? Why do you say that? (forcefully)
Us: We really can't afford to do that right now.  Also--the plan doesn't end until December anyway and we hadn't planned to renew it.
Guy: Well you can get one of the two new Blackberry's for either $230 or $300 with a $100 mail-in-rebate.
Us: Is there anyway you can look at the phone to see if there is a mechanical issue?  We would like to see if it can be repaired or if the battery is broken or something...
Guy: Well an average lifetime for a Blackberry is about 2 years, so it's right on track.
Us: Thanks for all your help.

So we left.  Josh currently does not have a working phone at all. We don't know what to do.  We really wanted to switch providers in December when the plan ends because we have had some bad luck with at&t.  But if we get a new phone now, we will need to renew another 2-yr contract.  Crap.  So we are going to sleep on it and go back in tomorrow to see if we can talk with someone who is more helpful.

On the bright side, thanks to Maryland's Election Day, I do not have to work!  And yet another funny quote from today in a kindergarten class:

Me (speaking in an obnoxiously high squeaky voice): Who can tell me if this is a high voice, a low voice, or a whisper voice?
 Little Kindergarten Girl: Necklace?

Sunday, September 12, 2010

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

We slept in, woke up to a rainy Sunday morning, watched on-demand TV, and had bacon, eggs, and coffee for breakfast. So far, a really good day.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Catching Up

Geez, it has been two weeks since I have blogged.  AND it has been two weeks since school started.  WOW.  Now is a good time because the Mountaineers are losing terribly and I would rather be in the computer room alone that sitting with stressed-out-Josh.

So far, I am really enjoying my school.  I have Pre-K for the first time ever and was VERY scared.  I have never taught 3 or 4 year olds in a classroom setting.  I got some advice, tried it, and so far it is working very well.  I REALLY like my schedule.  I usually teach around 9-10 classes per day, which seems like a lot, but... I will admit I kind of have it easy.  I get plenty of planning time, free coffee all day long, and NO DUTIES.  I am the ONLY teacher in my school who sees all 636 students every 4 days... so I get a bit of a break.

Oh yeah, until I found out on Thursday that my beautiful new, spacious, perfect classroom is being taken away from me.  We are inheriting a new Pre-K class and they need my room.  I AM being moved to another classroom, which is nice, but the move is a little stressful.  I need to do it all next week.  My new room is bigger.  It has a mounted LCD projector with a beautiful sound system.  But it is connected to the cafeteria by a collapsible wall... which means it will be very noisy during lunch hours.  Last year I had ZERO rooms and traveled on a cart.  This year I get to set up and decorate TWO rooms. Not bad.

A cute story to leave you with: Yesterday I got a new Kindergarten student.  He was Middle Eastern and after I introduced myself to him, I asked his name.  He told me a number of times and I could NOT understand him... poor kid.  Instead of embarrassing us both, I just asked him to spell his name for me so that I could write it down on my class list.  He replies:  A...  b.... c.... d.... e.... f...