What else could I do?

There are some things you just don't do.
You don't bet with your heart.
You don't get involved in a land war in Asia.
And you don't ignore a request to post from Ms. Cornelius!

I've been waaaaaaaaaaaaaay busy of late, and haven't taken the time to read, let alone write, the blogs that are important to me. That's a choice on my part, not offered as an excuse, but my own personal reality. I'm working towards my administrative credential, coordinated my district's GATE program, and spent 8 days on the East Coast with 68 eighth-graders (that is a separate post altogether!), not to mention my two kids and beautiful, understanding wife. Blogging has taken a far-distant place in my priorities list.

But, Ms. Cornelius, my dear blog-friend, here you are. Thanks for keeping my in your thoughts!
And as an added bonus, here are a few pictures from my trip to the east...

A Post About Nothing

Um, Hi.
I'm feeling compelled to post, but don't really know what to post about. I could post about my kids, I suppose, or my wife, her job, my job, my admin credential program, even my dog (again).
I could post about current events, sports (though I'm not really a big sports fan), politics (can you say "Flame war?") or my favorite comic strip.
OK, I'll do a little of each! That'll work! First, obviously, is my favorite comic, Get Fuzzy. The charming cat is Bucky. Bucky is devious, mean, and bad tempered, like most cats. The guy in the tie is Rob. He's a rugby fan, is a vegetarian, and still overcoming a bad haircut. Not featured in this strip is Satchel, a less-than-intelligent dog who is often the target of Bucky's evil. Enjoy the comic!
Sports: I'm a Red Sox fan, mainly because of genetics (I was born in Massachusetts, moved to CA when I was 9), which can be frustrating. They're doing their usual hot/no-so-hot routine, so it's the typical Boston Rollercoaster.
The Jobs: My wife is applying for a principal's spot in our district, which I like to think she has a pretty good chance at getting. It's exciting for her, and I'm very proud! It's also kind of scary, because of the added responsibility and commitments beyond the school day.
I'm applying for an entry-level-type administrative job myself with our neighboring district. It's a high school spot, and I've been in junior high since I started, so that is also kind of exciting/scary. My resume looks good, I've got good letters of recommendation, but I don't know how often they go outside the district to fill this sort of vacancy. I just submitted my app yesterday, so we'll see.
The Kids: Awesome, as always. Both were sick last week (colds with fever) but are fine now.
The dog: no more bird incidents lately, at least that I know about, nor other small, dead creatures. She continues to delight us daily!

I'm hoping that I'll post more frequently over the next few days/weeks/months, but I can't make any promises. I haven't even read many blogs of late, so I have no clue what's going on out in the 'sphere. I'll do my best to catch up, but suffice it to say that I hope you all are doing well, and I continue to consider you my friends despite my apparent lack of interest. :-)

BK

Again, this is Daisy. She's not really too smart, but she's been a good dog... soft with our kids, hasn't peed on the carpet too much, generally OK to have around.

Unless you are a bird, that is.

Yesterday, we looked out into the back yard to see our little darling with something in her mouth. Something with wings.

Eww.

I was promptly dispatched outside to relieve the dog of her conquest... no easy task, as she was quite proud of herself and unwilling to surrender the spoils of war without arguement. After some persuasion, I was able to convince her to give up the feathered prize, and she spent a few hours outside, hopefully getting the taste out of her mouth.
I don't know if Daisy did the bird in herself or found it in the yard, but the end result is the same... a formerly alive flying creature, without a head, in her mouth.

By the way; when a dog bites down on a dead/dying bird, it makes a very disturbing crunching noise. Just thought you'd want to know.

Tired... so tired.

I'm worn out. Burned. Fried. Just call me crispy.

Get the idea?

This year hasn't necessarily been any harder than others. I'm not teaching any more students or more preps. I don't think the kids this year are any more challenging than the average 7th or 8th grader (which is plenty challenging as it is!).
Maybe I'm just ready for a change. I've been teaching for 9 years.; that's waaaay longer than I've ever had any job before. I still love the kids, but there's just so much crap that goes along with the job.

I'm probably just frustrated. Spring break is coming up soon... that should help.

Respond-o-Blog

Polski3 Said: "Why are you district GATE coordinator? Do you get paid extra for this? I am looking for tips in helping my high achieving students (who are usually in GATE L.A. and maybe a our one "higher-level-than-the usual-basic-math-class" apply themselves more and learn more in my social studies classes."

I'm GATE coordinator as part of the fieldwork experience component of my master's degree/admin credential program. My wife actually held the position in our district last year, and "encouraged" me, in only the way wives can, to volunteer this year. I'm not getting paid any extra, although I suppose I could get the hourly rate for O.T., but I'm doing it for the experience. This year, anyway.
I see the same issue in some of my honors classes, with GATE kids who don't apply themselves. I don't know if it's because they're not being challenged, they don't want to be challenged, they're used to being successful with trying too hard, or if they don't think it's cool to be smart anymore. Unfortunately, despite my lofty title of GATE Coordinator, I'm no expert in GATE students or getting them to perform to their potential. The instructor of the class I'm taking now, though, suggested GATE contracts; students and parents agree to a certain level of performance necessary to remain in honors classes. GATE parents tend, I think, to be more involved than the average... Threaten them with being kicked out of the honors class, they may pressure the kids to do what they need to do to be successful.

Or, they may not. You may just get more parent phone calls and complaints to the principal. I don't promise success here.

More than 6...

My friend Ms. Cornelius has requested more than 6 words... this is more than six. :)

Anyway, it's been a long time. An excuse? Not really. I've wanted to blog, but haven't taken the step of actually opening up Blogger to write anything. I've even kept away from reading blogs, knowing that I probably wouldn't put out anything of my own. Silly, isn't it?

Regardless, here I am now. What have I been up to? I've resumed my classes for my admin credential, taken on the role of GATE program coordinator for my district, taught my classes as best I could, and did my job as husband and father. ('Course, that last job is the most important!)

So, what have y'all been up to? I've missed you, even though my absence was self-imposed.

Hey, did anyone read the LA Times series on high school dropouts? In yesterday's paper, they had a sampling of responses to the series, one of which said, in effect, that if a pediatrician had a 50% fatality rate amongst his patients, there would be a criminal investigation, so why isn't there one when schools fail to graduate 50% of their students? An interesting point, to be sure. But there is a significant difference: kids who go to the doctor want to get better, but they don't always want to be academically successful. It's easy to say, "Oh, the schools are failing our children!" It's a lot harder to say, "Oh, our children are failing in school because they don't friggin' care!"

HE'S ALIVE!

Back tomorrow. Promise.

Really.

I mean it this time!

I am a bad blogfriend

I am a bad blog-friend.

I confess this with no small amount of shame, as good blog-friendship is something to which I aspire, but, alas, I can’t claim such at this point. Allow me to elaborate:

It’s been several weeks since my last post of substance. In fact, it’s been a few weeks since my last post at all, and that was just to flaunt my upcoming Vegas trip (which, by the way, was a lot of fun but expensive).

Not only haven’t I been posting to my own blog, but I’ve be lax in reading those to which I subscribe. Thus, I am well out of the loop as to the goings-on in the Blogoshpere. Even the Carnival of Education has been unable to draw me out of my inactivity.

My good blog-friend over at A Shrewedness of Apes tagged me with a meme- my very first, even- and I have yet to respond, a grievous breach of blog-manners.

What is the cause of this? Some mysterious depression? Lack of internet access? Extreme writer’s block? I am afraid that I can’t say with any certainty. My own theory is that I just got lazy over winter break, and have yet to overcome my post-vacation inertia. I hope that this post is the catalyst for a renewal of my blogging efforts, or at least gets me back to reading the offerings of my friends in the ‘Sphere.

Until then, know that I’m thinking about you and wishing you all well.

neh neh nee neh neh!

I'm going to Vegas! I'm going to Vegas!
Gambling, adult beverages, cigars, and male bonding.

Life is good!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to everyone!
Click on Santa and print it out for some coloring fun!
Or, for you sicker individuals, have your own caption contest (then send me the winning one!)

I'll put up with just about anything...

for these two.

10 minutes...

Winter break starts in 10 minutes.

My joy knows no bounds!

Thanks, Mamacita, for the trip in the wayback machine!

A post over at Mamacita's place got me thinking about an experience I had:
While in college I waited tables in several resturants. One Fathers' Day I waited on a party of 6 or so, with a 3-4 year-old boy sitting in a highchair at the end of the booth (God forbid you sit at a table when a booth is open, but don't get me started on that particular nonsense!). This kid was too big for the highchair, and was fidgeting. As I delivered the drink order- I still remember it almost 15 years later: a couple of Heinekins, a bloody mary, shirley temple- this little darling grabbed the edge of the tray, causing the drinks to tip and spill all over him. I was able to keep the glasses and bottles from falling on his head, but he was drenched. Naturally, he started to cry, and the little cherub's mother asked me why I had attacked her son.
How could I respond to that?
Another server took over the table, management comped the meal for the party, and the kid's dad took him out to the car to change.
The server who finished the group told me the kid had wanted a grilled cheese or some other age-appropriate fare, but monster mother ordered him the steak and shrimp combo because it was free.
Nowadays, of course, these same folks and their ilk call and ask why I gave their child a failing grade, when all they did was earn a 22% for the quarter, or could I please accept the kid's work late because he had baseball practice and couldn't get to it.
Oh, well. The ability with which stupid people breed keeps me employed.

I love kids... it's just teaching them that makes me nuts!

As individuals, with some notable exceptions, I like every one of my 180-or-so students this year. But en masse, they make me freakin' crazy! They assume that any time there are not actual words coming from my mouth, they have permission to talk. I then spend 3 minutes getting everyone back on task, only to be interrupted by a request to sign something, a phone call, or a p.a. announcement. Actual time spent teaching is probably 3% of the class period.
I don't blame the kids, exactly. I know that there are several things I could do, classroom management and curriculum-wise, that would make things run better. It's a matter of time and energy needed to plan and implement changes, and both are in short supply. The result is frustration for me, time wasted in class, and kids who are being short-changed. Honestly, I love my job... there are kids I am reaching, who are getting something out of the time they spend with me, but I really feel ineffective overall.
What do you do? What works?

I feel like crap.

Today stinks.
I have a cold and a sore throat, it hurts to swallow and to talk. Both of my kids were sick for most of last week, and I think they decided to share with me. On top of that, we had parent/teacher confrences on Friday of last week, and talking to 75 parents didn't really help me much. I can't even plan on being out tomorrow or Wednesday, because I had to miss Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of last week for various meetings and a field trip with my kindergarten son (as a junior high teacher, this was a real eye-opener, by the way. I may post on this later.)

I just hope I feel better by Thursday, when I have to cook for 15 people.

Nothing to do with teaching

Blogosphere, meet Daisy. Daisy, meet the Blogosphere.
She's not very smart, but she's a good dog. I rescued her from my campus about 7 years ago, and she's been our companion ever since. She loves our kids- after all, their spills have fed her well over the last few years- and they like having her around. All she asks of us is regular meals and occasional attention, and in exchange she gives us unconditional love.
What more could we ask for?

follow-up

First of all: I LOVE the freakin' blogosphere! Teacher/Bloggers are the greatest human beings ever created/evolved/sprung from alien pods!
The other day I posted my frustration with the amount of management my classes needed. To recap, I mentioned it was more like I was a firefighter than a teacher, putting out flare-ups all period instead of teaching. It was especially frustrating becuse I started that day full of energy, ready to teach.
Today's post is mainly to thank the kind commentors, Fred, Polski3, and Lady Strathconn, for their support and kind words.
I have two sections of honors world history (7th grade), and they are just as noisy-if not more!- as the regular ed classes; the difference is they actually do their work in spite of the noise. I don't really mind the noise, so much, as long as they can be quiet when I need them to be. I like a lively classroom, when kids are engaged and active. I love answering their questions, even if they aren't necessairly on-topic; that's what teaching is to me.
The day I posted about was a particulary frustrating one, but the next few were ok. I'm not so depressed any more, thanks to the support of my friends and colleagues in cyberspace. This week will present its own challenges, and I apprecitate knowing that if I post about it, I'll have your support again.
Thanks to everyone!
J

eewwww

They sucked it out of me today.

I started the day full of energy and excitement. I was going to TEACH today!

I could have, too, if it wasn't for all the blankety-blank classroom management I had to do. I'm a friggin' fire fighter, not a teacher for cryin' out loud.

Man, I'm depressed.

How could you go wrong?

It's the Carnival!

It's of!

It's Education!

What more could you possibly ask?

Vote No on Everything!

Ms. Cornelius over at "A Shrewdness of Apes" has commented on California's Prop 74. In a nutshell, this proposed law would increase the amount of time needed for a California public school teacher to get "permanent" status from 2 to 5 years, and would make it easier to terminate a teacher's employment.
As I commented there, I'm for teacher quality; I don't like it when other people make my chosen profession look bad through their incompetence. Teachers, like doctors, lawyers, police officers, hell, even gardners and pizza cooks, need to be accountable and held to a certain standard of performance and professionalism. That said, Prop 74, if it should pass, isn't going to help. Principals will be no more willing to let people go if they have 5 years in which to do it than if they have 2. Firing people isn't fun (I know, I've had to do it), and it's too easy to let the classroom door close and forget there's a problem. Or you give them the benefit of the doubt, or dump them on someone else who's going to be just as reluctant to fire them.
I also commented, in response to a comment by Polski3, about my general distrust of this particular election. Governor Schwarzeneggar has found himself unable to work with the state legislature through traditional methods (ie: Compromise), and is thus trying to get the public to do his legislating for him. He's using his celebrity to push through his pet agenda, at voter expense... remember: this is a SPECIAL election, not one that is normally scheduled, and is therefore an extra expense.
So, here's my advice, and I'm going to thank the Orange County, California Republican party for this (it's the exact opposite of the way they're asking me to vote in a "voter guide" I received today): Vote NO on Props 73, 74, 75, 75, 77, 78 and vote YES on 79 and 80. I'm calling it my "Screw Arnold!" ticket.

An aside: Funny story- I'm (no surprise here) a registered Democrat. Have been for many years. So imagine my surprise last year when I received a letter from the chairman of the Republican National Committee asking for a) my help in getting W re-elected, and b) money. I was tempted to fill out the survey they'd enclosed, and maybe effect some change, but then I realized that wouldn't work, so I just threw the letter away and celebrated the fact they'd wasted a few cents on postage that couldn't be used in the campaign. A month or so later, I got another letter. This one I had to respond to! I thanked Ed (I think that was the Chairman's name) for his interest in my opinions, but told him (kindly) that he was wasting his Limbaugh-loving time. Politics. Ain't it funny?