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I was walking into the store today. Outside there were two middle-aged men doing the "bring it on" dance. My first instinct was to break it up. Fortunately, I was far enough away to realize that I wasn't at school and those were grown men...not junior high students.

Teacher instinct fail.

All I ever talk about now...

It seems all I ever talk about now is my job. Yes, I have become that person. I don't really socialize much these days, so I don't have friend drama to discuss (thank heavens!), my family is my family... I guess if you don't want to hear about the crazy things my students do, stop reading now.

January was a difficult month and I was not sorry to see it go. I was sick for about a week, we had several really nasty snow storms, and my students simply did not want to work. Somehow, we all made it through the month. Not only have we managed to make it through the month, we have reached and passed the halfway point of the year. It's kind of crazy! With the semester change, student schedules changed a bit. The majority of my classes are the same, but there was a little bit of shuffling. 

I got a student from honors...we'll call him Sammy. Sammy is very smart but has a horrible attitude. He talks back, distracts his peers, frequently swears, complains, whines, and is just generally obnoxious. I have another student we'll call Steven. I've had Steven all year. At the beginning of the year he had major behavior problems. He still does. He gets suspended for fighting frequently and has gang ties. Yet, where at the start of the year he was initiating it all, now he is defending his friends and people he cares for. I'm not saying his behavior is appropriate, but I think he's definitely improving. In the past month or so, Steven has made huge improvements. He's passing all his classes for the first time this year. I've been working really closely with him and the 8th grade counselor to work on his behavior. I have so proud of all the work Steven has done, especially considering where he was at the beginning of the year and how difficult it was to work with him.

Anyway, the reason I'm giving all this history is because these two had a little run-in on Friday afternoon. There was an assembly and any students with tardies that week couldn't go to the assembly. Included in this group was Sammy. He wasn't happy and started swearing at me and being a general delight. As Sammy was being escorted out of the room, Steven got up out of his chair and started walking towards Sammy. He said "You don't talk to my teacher that way!" and "Don't you talk to her like that!" 

I talked to Steven after the assembly to let him know he couldn't threaten students. His response was, "I'm not going to just sit there and let him talk to you like that. He needs to show you respect." I swear, that boy almost brought tears to my eyes. I was surprised that he felt that way. I told the 8th grade counselor and she told me that Steven now includes me in his circle of protection. Honestly, I'm not sure how to feel about this. He has been working so hard and has come so far. He's still got quite the road ahead of him, but if he keeps on in the direction he is, I think he'll make it. 

Lesson Learned...

I have been sick since Saturday night with a nasty bout of flu. My parents are shocked and dismayed I didn't get a flu shot this year. I have never gotten one in the past and was just fine. However, now I work with a bunch of germ incubators in the form of junior high students. I have learned my lesson...I will definitely be getting a flu shot next year.

Snow Day!

Winter Storm Gandolf. Can we all just take a minute and talk about that ridiculous name? There were all kinds of Lord of the Rings geeky (and somewhat witty) comments there were all over Facebook about it last night? "It must be Gandolf the White" or "YOU SHALL NOT PASS"...were just a few gems.

Anyhoo...I woke up this morning hoping for a snow day but prepared to make the trek into work. I dutifully checked and sad times...no snow day for my school district. Now, the school district in which I live (which is not the district in which I teach), the charter schools, university and other government agencies in the city in which I teach called for snow days. But my district, no such luck.

So, I hurried through my morning routine to make sure I had plenty of time and bundled up. I made the trek through a foot of snow to my car and scraped the ice and snow off my car. I slid around a bit on the surface street in an attempt to get to the freeway. I thought the freeway would probably be more clear...uh not so much. I was on the freeway long enough to get off at the next exit. It took me about 20 minutes to make a 5 minute loop in my neighborhood to get back home.

So, I called in. I am now comfortably bundled up in a blanket, with a book and some hot chocolate. I've got a stack of grading that I'll work on. And just maybe, I'll take a nap later this afternoon.

Down for the count...

Life is hard...really hard sometimes. I had an incredibly difficult day at work today. Somehow when I was in my program and listening to my professors describe all their crazy stories, I didn't ever think that my crazy stories would be quite that crazy. As it is, I have already started a collection (granted, it is a mental collection) of some pretty humorous stories. Yet, today crossed the line from humorous into straight...seriously??? territory.

I love the teachers and staff I work with. I love the fact that our administration is pushing us to be better. I love being a part of something exciting and important, because what we do every day is important.

And yet. . .

And I'm not leaving that thought unfinished to be intentionally vague, ambiguous and irritating. I honestly don't know what comes after the "and yet..."

And yet. . . there it is.

Note to self...

Must find friends that can sing and would be crazy enough to do something like this...oh, and a groom that would go for it too!

Die Happy

Thanks to very kind and generous friends and family, I got to see this performed live...twice! He is so amazing. I have seen both him and John Owen-Jones sing this amazing song live.