In lieu of actual content, here are some cool dinosaur links.
They might rename the stegosaurus. This makes me sad. Why must we make the nomenclature match? There are so many other exceptions that I think they should make an exception for this one.
The horniest dinosaur ever. Am I a twelve year old boy that this makes me giggle? I blame it on my students. They probably won't mind.
And a cool evolution article here. One breed of lizard is moving to live birth instead of eggs. I love evolution in action.
All of my other words went to the twenty parent phone calls I made today.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Knitting! What a good plan!
Seriously, work really puts a cramp in my knitting time. That fairly minor complaint aside (as I like being employed and mostly like my job and love my kids), I have finished something.
So here it is: Argus Shawlette on ravelry.
I knitted it out of Tahki Yarns Fiji, which is a silk blend. The pattern was written for fingering weight, but this yarn is probably slightly bigger than worsted weight. I used a 10.5 needle (US) and only did 2 repeats of chart A rather than the 3 called for in the pattern. Otherwise, it was made according to the directions.
What I am not doing well is knitting for myself. This is for a friend who needs surgery, but can't get it because she and her husband lost their health insurance, and she's having trouble finding grants to cover it, etc. I will block it this weekend (the only place is my bed, and I don't have time to get it set before I leave for work, and the weekend should work) and get it in the mail early next week.
And maybe I'll even finish that pair of socks for me that I have been working on forever.
So here it is: Argus Shawlette on ravelry.
 |
| Hanging over the back of a chair, awaiting blocking. |
What I am not doing well is knitting for myself. This is for a friend who needs surgery, but can't get it because she and her husband lost their health insurance, and she's having trouble finding grants to cover it, etc. I will block it this weekend (the only place is my bed, and I don't have time to get it set before I leave for work, and the weekend should work) and get it in the mail early next week.
And maybe I'll even finish that pair of socks for me that I have been working on forever.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Conversations with teenagers
As full time employment with teenagers is slowing eating my brain, let me share with you a selection of the conversations I had with some of my students today.
Backdrop: Class -- Physical Science. Age -- mostly HS sophomores. The educational objective was to teach kids to write really good hypotheses in the If . . . then . . . because . . . format.
First period: We are reviewing an experiment we already did to determine if boys or girls had better reflexes, and rewriting the hypothesis for it in the new format. All of a sudden, a boy off to the side of the room sighs loudly and with great satisfaction and says, "Spiderman." The joy in his voice at that moment is hard to convey, but it was clear that Spiderman made him happy. We all stopped and stared. He then said, "I didn't mean to say that out loud. It's just what I think of when I think of reflexes." We stared a few more seconds and then returned to what we were doing.
Fifth period: In the hallway before class started, a girl came up with her hand in the air, "Whaz up?" I responded with the overly proper, "Hello" as I returned her high five. "Don't say hello. You're supposed to say 'what's up?' back! Cmon, say 'what's up?'" So I responded with, "What's up?" "The ceiling!" She ran into the classroom giggling.
Eighth period (the last of the day): We are talking about the reflex experiment again, which involved dropping and catching a ruler, and all of a sudden, "F*ck you, Ruler!" It is a good natured boy who is waving a ruler in the air, and said with great veahmence. I told him to use more appropriate language in class and he looked at me, "What are you talking about? I never said that." He continued to deny all knowledge, and did it convincingly enough that my teenage liar radar did not go off. I think he really had no idea he'd yelled that. He did stop waving the ruler.
So with those pieces of wisdom, I'm going to go find a ruler to wave at the ceiling and think about Spiderman. Or knit. One of the two.
Backdrop: Class -- Physical Science. Age -- mostly HS sophomores. The educational objective was to teach kids to write really good hypotheses in the If . . . then . . . because . . . format.
First period: We are reviewing an experiment we already did to determine if boys or girls had better reflexes, and rewriting the hypothesis for it in the new format. All of a sudden, a boy off to the side of the room sighs loudly and with great satisfaction and says, "Spiderman." The joy in his voice at that moment is hard to convey, but it was clear that Spiderman made him happy. We all stopped and stared. He then said, "I didn't mean to say that out loud. It's just what I think of when I think of reflexes." We stared a few more seconds and then returned to what we were doing.
Fifth period: In the hallway before class started, a girl came up with her hand in the air, "Whaz up?" I responded with the overly proper, "Hello" as I returned her high five. "Don't say hello. You're supposed to say 'what's up?' back! Cmon, say 'what's up?'" So I responded with, "What's up?" "The ceiling!" She ran into the classroom giggling.
Eighth period (the last of the day): We are talking about the reflex experiment again, which involved dropping and catching a ruler, and all of a sudden, "F*ck you, Ruler!" It is a good natured boy who is waving a ruler in the air, and said with great veahmence. I told him to use more appropriate language in class and he looked at me, "What are you talking about? I never said that." He continued to deny all knowledge, and did it convincingly enough that my teenage liar radar did not go off. I think he really had no idea he'd yelled that. He did stop waving the ruler.
So with those pieces of wisdom, I'm going to go find a ruler to wave at the ceiling and think about Spiderman. Or knit. One of the two.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
My least favorite part of teaching.
Paperwork. Really. I hate the stuff, and it breeds on my desk at night.
This morning, I got to school at 6:15 am to try to get caught up. I worked until the kids arrived at 7:40. I worked through my lunch period. I worked while the kids were in class (relatively independent work today) and I'm STILL not caught up. I am, however, less behind. And I have not been neglecting the paperwork terribly. It just exploded on my desk and inbox.
Here is a quick rundown on some of the paperwork I need to keep and manage.
1. Grading. This one is both necessary and my own fault. I need to see student work. How else can I see if the quiet girl really understands or is just busy daydreaming about the cute troublemaker in front of her? This is where I can interact with student's work, and really see what they've learned. And it had better be important, if I'm going to take the time to grade it.
1b. Grade program back-ups. See #2. This was the ultimate goal of today's early arrival -- to get current on grading and make a back-up.
2. Class lists. I teach in a district with a high rate of transiency. This means that even though this is the THIRD WEEK of school, in the last two days I have gotten 5 students who did not come before this week. I had 4 new kids last week. Today, a student was moved from my seventh period class to my first period class. The exciting thing about that is that our grades are online, but when a kid is transferred, the grade does not transfer with them, and in fact totally disappears off the computer. I will need to reenter this student's work into the program, and I did not make a recent back-up (see #1b). Good thing I haven't handed the work back yet, isn't it? Even more mysterious, there was a kid today who was somehow totally removed from the system. I discovered this when calling students up to show them their grades, and I missed the kid. When he told me, I realized he and his grade had vanished from the computer. Hopefully, guidance has him sorted out again by tomorrow. And his grade comes back.
3. Attendance book. Technically, I should be taking attendance every day in this fabulous computer program we have. And I do. However, the program is often behind reality. Also, when a kid moves between periods, their attendance data also vanishes. For this reason, I keep my own attendance record. From a legal standpoint, this is correct. I should have a paper copy of my attendance records written in my own handwriting. I don't do it that way. I keep mine on excel so I can cut and paste and color code as needed. I refuse to write out a paper copy and have to change it 17 times over the first month. Keeping up even in excel can be no small task.
4. Parent call log. As I teacher, I am expected to call parents frequently. I call when things are going well. I call when they're going badly. I call when the child has missed more than a few class days. In some districts, there is an attendance secretary to do this for teachers (especially in high school where I have 100+ kids per day), but our school cannot afford that luxury. And whenever I call a parent, I need to document it. What number did I call, who did I talk to, what did I say, and did they say? Because if that parent gets a report card and comes in and yells at the principal that they had no idea their child was failing (or skipping or whatever), I need to be able to prove that I did contact them. Or at the very least left 5 voicemails for them at a number the school told me was theirs.
5. Sports grade updates. Eligibility for high school sports is dependent on grades. Here in IL, you need to be passing 4 classes to be able to play sports. (Yes, that standard is as ludicrous as you think it is. Talk about setting the bar low). This means that at random intervals (almost never on a consistent day), all of my athletes come running up to me with little cards that I need to write their current grade on at a moment's notice. Now, I'm all for being pretty up to date on grading, but if we've just taken a quiz or turned in a major project, it may be a few days before I can tell you for sure what your grade looks like. Plus, having to take class time to look up and fill out grades for 5 students cuts into my teaching time. It is important, but irritating.
There's other stuff too, but this is what I was doing today. All of it has a purpose, but it can get pretty overwhelming. I think I need to go sit in bed and knit. And try again tomorrow. Maybe I'll even make it to e-mail tomorrow . . . Hope springs eternal.
This morning, I got to school at 6:15 am to try to get caught up. I worked until the kids arrived at 7:40. I worked through my lunch period. I worked while the kids were in class (relatively independent work today) and I'm STILL not caught up. I am, however, less behind. And I have not been neglecting the paperwork terribly. It just exploded on my desk and inbox.
Here is a quick rundown on some of the paperwork I need to keep and manage.
1. Grading. This one is both necessary and my own fault. I need to see student work. How else can I see if the quiet girl really understands or is just busy daydreaming about the cute troublemaker in front of her? This is where I can interact with student's work, and really see what they've learned. And it had better be important, if I'm going to take the time to grade it.
1b. Grade program back-ups. See #2. This was the ultimate goal of today's early arrival -- to get current on grading and make a back-up.
2. Class lists. I teach in a district with a high rate of transiency. This means that even though this is the THIRD WEEK of school, in the last two days I have gotten 5 students who did not come before this week. I had 4 new kids last week. Today, a student was moved from my seventh period class to my first period class. The exciting thing about that is that our grades are online, but when a kid is transferred, the grade does not transfer with them, and in fact totally disappears off the computer. I will need to reenter this student's work into the program, and I did not make a recent back-up (see #1b). Good thing I haven't handed the work back yet, isn't it? Even more mysterious, there was a kid today who was somehow totally removed from the system. I discovered this when calling students up to show them their grades, and I missed the kid. When he told me, I realized he and his grade had vanished from the computer. Hopefully, guidance has him sorted out again by tomorrow. And his grade comes back.
3. Attendance book. Technically, I should be taking attendance every day in this fabulous computer program we have. And I do. However, the program is often behind reality. Also, when a kid moves between periods, their attendance data also vanishes. For this reason, I keep my own attendance record. From a legal standpoint, this is correct. I should have a paper copy of my attendance records written in my own handwriting. I don't do it that way. I keep mine on excel so I can cut and paste and color code as needed. I refuse to write out a paper copy and have to change it 17 times over the first month. Keeping up even in excel can be no small task.
4. Parent call log. As I teacher, I am expected to call parents frequently. I call when things are going well. I call when they're going badly. I call when the child has missed more than a few class days. In some districts, there is an attendance secretary to do this for teachers (especially in high school where I have 100+ kids per day), but our school cannot afford that luxury. And whenever I call a parent, I need to document it. What number did I call, who did I talk to, what did I say, and did they say? Because if that parent gets a report card and comes in and yells at the principal that they had no idea their child was failing (or skipping or whatever), I need to be able to prove that I did contact them. Or at the very least left 5 voicemails for them at a number the school told me was theirs.
5. Sports grade updates. Eligibility for high school sports is dependent on grades. Here in IL, you need to be passing 4 classes to be able to play sports. (Yes, that standard is as ludicrous as you think it is. Talk about setting the bar low). This means that at random intervals (almost never on a consistent day), all of my athletes come running up to me with little cards that I need to write their current grade on at a moment's notice. Now, I'm all for being pretty up to date on grading, but if we've just taken a quiz or turned in a major project, it may be a few days before I can tell you for sure what your grade looks like. Plus, having to take class time to look up and fill out grades for 5 students cuts into my teaching time. It is important, but irritating.
There's other stuff too, but this is what I was doing today. All of it has a purpose, but it can get pretty overwhelming. I think I need to go sit in bed and knit. And try again tomorrow. Maybe I'll even make it to e-mail tomorrow . . . Hope springs eternal.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
This whole day job thing really interferes with blogging.
School is back in session. We are well into week 2. The 90F heat in our un-air-conditioned building has been lots of fun. When I get home, I want to do nothing but nap with an ice pack and drink lots of ice water.
I shouldn't whine, though, because I have things going pretty well. About 90% of my students are starting the year off well, and seem to be engaged in the class. They like the meditation exercises we're doing, except the one kid who refuses to do them because he "likes being mad all the time". There has been minimal whining by students, even when I've been making them learn how to take notes. So far, so good. Two of my five classes have earned seating charts (as opposed to picking their own seats), but that's par for the course. The parent I talked to today seemed as upset as I was that his child had missed half of the 8 school days so far. Overall, the year is looking pretty good.
I have not been knitting much, and need to figure out where it fits. I did start another shawl for a friend who is having some BAD STUFF in her life just now. So much for knitting for me, but at least it's not Christmas knitting. For the record, shawls go a lot faster on size 11 needles than size 4 needles.
The cucumber plant is still fighting the squash for garden domination. The major casualty so far is the basil plant. Completely covered with cucumber vine, it's giving up the fight, but still making the garden smell good. A woman who owns a garden center told me that she had heard that squash and cucumbers interfere with each other's pollination, and I might not get a lot of fruit. Obviously, that was some other species of squash and cucumber because today I took 3 more giant squash and 14! lemon cucumbers out of the garden. Do you live in IL and want cucumbers that look like yellow softballs? Because if so, have I got a deal for you! I'm taking 6 to work tomorrow to foist off onto my coworkers. And it's still a good thing I like veggies.
And now, my bed is calling me. Teenagers require a lot of energy and 4:30am comes fast. Good night, and sweet dreams of too many vegetables :-)
I shouldn't whine, though, because I have things going pretty well. About 90% of my students are starting the year off well, and seem to be engaged in the class. They like the meditation exercises we're doing, except the one kid who refuses to do them because he "likes being mad all the time". There has been minimal whining by students, even when I've been making them learn how to take notes. So far, so good. Two of my five classes have earned seating charts (as opposed to picking their own seats), but that's par for the course. The parent I talked to today seemed as upset as I was that his child had missed half of the 8 school days so far. Overall, the year is looking pretty good.
I have not been knitting much, and need to figure out where it fits. I did start another shawl for a friend who is having some BAD STUFF in her life just now. So much for knitting for me, but at least it's not Christmas knitting. For the record, shawls go a lot faster on size 11 needles than size 4 needles.
The cucumber plant is still fighting the squash for garden domination. The major casualty so far is the basil plant. Completely covered with cucumber vine, it's giving up the fight, but still making the garden smell good. A woman who owns a garden center told me that she had heard that squash and cucumbers interfere with each other's pollination, and I might not get a lot of fruit. Obviously, that was some other species of squash and cucumber because today I took 3 more giant squash and 14! lemon cucumbers out of the garden. Do you live in IL and want cucumbers that look like yellow softballs? Because if so, have I got a deal for you! I'm taking 6 to work tomorrow to foist off onto my coworkers. And it's still a good thing I like veggies.
And now, my bed is calling me. Teenagers require a lot of energy and 4:30am comes fast. Good night, and sweet dreams of too many vegetables :-)
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