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28 abril out with the oldI'm in middle of major spring cleaning. I just took everything off my previously jam-packed bookshelves and dumped whatever I don't want on the floor. Then I carefully dusted and arranged what was left on the shelf. Now the hard part. What the heck do I do with all this junk on the floor? I already filled up one giant paper recycling bag. The rest of the stuff is odds and ends I want to get out of my life. Here's my strategy: I'm going to stare at the pile for a little while until I get so annoyed by the mess that I haul it out to the trash. Leave it to me to pick one of the nicest days of the spring so far to get absorbed in an indoor project! At least the back door is open and a nice breeze is blowing through the apartment.
Enough procrastinating. Back to work I go.
25 abril Report card gratitudeIt turns out that giving report card grades is not all bad. Below is the short, but sweet, message from a 6th grade girl. I received it via email today.
Thank you for my good grade. You are the best teacher ever.
 -Eva 22 abril warmthI had a wonderful weekend, which included lots of time in the sweet sunshine. One good thing about being deprived of warm weather for so long is that you really appreciate the summer when it finally arrives.
Did you folks have a good weekend? 20 abril paper junk mail- who wants it?Earth Day is coming up, I'm going to do my part. According to www.greendimes.com, we chop down 100,000,000 trees and waste 28 billion gallons of water EVERY YEAR producing paper junk mail.
A few years ago I decided to put an end to all that junk that piles up in the mailbox, then goes directly to the trash. I felt guilty for all the garbage I was involuntarily creating. I found out that you can, quite easily, make it STOP. With a few simple steps you, too, can be paper junk mail free. Now when I open my box and find mostly legitimate mail. Imagine that. The guilt is lifted and my life is simplified. No more giant piles of mail cluttering up my living space.
Follow the steps below to become free of paper junk mail. Mother Earth will thank you for it.
17 abril Good books, anyone?I've noticed a troubling trend in my reading. Here is a list of my most recent reads:
Don't be alarmed. The pattern purely coincidental. Nevertheless, I need to find some more uplifting reading materia as soon as possible. Please send me your recommendations. I like historical fiction the best. sad newsI had planned to write a blog today on a light-hearted, superficial topic. But I changed my mind when heard about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. My heart goes out to the victims, their family and friends. 12 abril not that time againI love teaching. I really do. I love making kids smile. I love being able to express my creativity every day. I love the rewarding 'a-ha' moments and receiving "fan mail" from my adoring little fans.
But I hate giving report card grades. I really do. Most of the work I give my students is in the form of projects. How do I assign a grade for weeks of creative effort? How can I fairly grade hundreds of projects per quarter? (I have over 600 students per week.) What's the difference between an A and a B anyway?
Today one of my sixth grade students, Diana, came to see me to ask if she could do some make-up work to improve her grade. She is a straight A student in every other class. I gave her a C, because that's what she deserved. Her effort had significantly declined this quarter. As I started explaining the reasons for her grade, a big, fat teardrop rolled down her cheek. Then another ...and next thing- she's sobbing. Oh man- I made a 12 year old cry!
Of course I changed her grade. I had to. I couldn't live with the guilt of knowing I knocked her off the Principal's List and the Honor Roll. She cried for heaven's sake. I've known her a long time and she is a good kid. She cares about her grades. She screwed up and I'm giving her another chance. I changed her grade, but made it clear that I expected she would not make the mistake of doing less-than-her-best in my class again.
I changed a few more grades today. Out of 6 requests I granted two. Next week the parents pick-up the report cards. Oh, that's the second part of my job I strongly dislike. Talking to the parents is not easy. No matter how much the kids deserved a bad grade it's always heartbreaking to watch the disappointment on the parent's face when he or she opens the report card.
I have more grading to do. See you all later.
09 abril What's on tonight?I recently got a a DVR - which is truly a life-changing technology. Having a DVR allows me to watch what I want on my schedule. Fulfilling the stereotype of a teacher, much of what I record is educational. Most of the shows I watch are on the Travel Channel or Discovery- except 24. (ok..and Oprah ).
My current fave show is Planet Earth. If you haven't, you're truly missing something amazing. I saw this episode today that featured birds of paradise. I've never seen anything so bizarre. Watch the clip here. |
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