Friday the 13th

Seems like my life is a long friday the 13th movie.

You may or may not have noticed....

that I've been silent for a few weeks.

Personal issues.
Christmas rush.
Busy with work.

That is it in 7 words or less.

Had nothing to say.
There, that is three words less.

I'm considering starting a new blog for the new year. This one tends, for some inexplicable reason to remind me of things I would rather not think about. Sounds mysterious doesn't it?

If I do I will pass on an invite to "a chosen few" (Jaggy, Val and the poolchicklet) whose blogs I am heading off now to read and catch up on.

Hope all who pass this way have a blessed and happy New Year.

Got a wake up call at 6 am to teach in a nearby burb.
English 9

Nice school. Several not so nice kids.
According to their teacher both blocks were full of "low achievers-low motivations".

I dislike labels.
This onel appeared correct.

One child painted her hand and lower arm with white liquid paper.
When asked why she responded that she thought it might feel like a cast.

WTH?

Keeping them on task as they completed grammer and poetry assignments was almost as painful as a trip to the dentist. And trust me, class management and patience with students is a skill I am noted for but I left that school thinking "I never want to see that class again!" Very unlike me.

One of my duties for the day was to hand out "interim progress reports" a sort of heads up to the report cards that will be going home later this week.
Most students were failing. Most failing students were happy with that.
There are students who would rather sit staring blankly at a wall for 2 hours, than to pick up a pen and TRY.

As an individual who loves to learn, its an attitude I just can't understand.
As an individual who works 3 jobs because her work ethic is on supercharge, its an attitude I find irresponsible.


Just when did it become ok to fail?
Let me rephrase that.
Just when did the masses believe that failure was an acceptible option?

Failure, at times, is inevitable. We all do it. But just when the heck did it become a lifestyle choice? THAT is what I am seeing in too many classrooms. And for some reason it is particularly noticeable in 9th graders.
Maybe some of them get it together and step up to the challenge. But for far too many it will be too late to change their ways. Their educational ship will have sailed!

Its sad. Its disheartening. It should be unacceptable!

In Remembrance

Each November, red felt poppies blossom on the lapels and collars of hundreds of thousands of Canadians. The Poppy, long been a symbol of Remembrance, has become our visual pledge to never forget all those Canadians who have fallen in war and various military/peace keeping operations.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae is probably the person most responsible for the adoption of the Poppy as a symbol of Remembrance. McCrae, a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War, wrote his famous poem In Flanders Field to express his anguish over the horrors of war following the death of a friend and fellow soldier.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.

Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.
John McCrae

In the decades since it was written, millions of Canadian school children have committed McCrae's words to memory, these verses read throughout the country at services on November 11 honoring those lost in battlefields far from home.

Tomorrow is the day people should put aside their personal convictions about the "political correctness" of involvement in war, whether Canadian men and women belong in peace keeping missions in far flung places, whether it is our Nation's "place" to become involved in the political disputes of others. Instead it is the day that one should be ever mindful that thousands of young men and women paid, and continue to pay, the ultimate sacrifice. Let us not forget.

Not really a Random Question but

its one I am throwing out there.

I had a discussion with someone the other day that left me pondering the whole issue of love.

and it left me wondering IF "soulmates" exist....

When do you get over or give up on the love of your life?

I reached my own conclusions.........
but I'd like to hear yours.

Groundhog day....or not.

Remember that Bill Murray movie where he keeps reliving Groundhog day?
Well, that is what my life kind of feels like these days.

In my new role as "Teacher on Call" or TOC (the new politically correct term for substitute teacher) every day feels like the first day on a new job!

In the past week I have spent 3 days back in the classroom. On Halloween, I spent the day with 8th graders hopped up on candy, last Friday I taught Socials 10 at one of the highschools, and yesterday I made my first foray into a classroom full of 7th graders. Interesting groups.

The level of maturity between those groups is enormous. The 7th graders seem sooooooo little, still giggling over words that sound remotely dirty, the 8th graders, one small step up the maturity ladder seem to be precariously straddling childhood and mini adulthood. They desire to ooze cool, but mostly they just perspire...and hoperfully they have been introduced to the joys of daily use of an antiperspirant! I found the sophmores particularly interesting, because while they participated in more intellectual discussions, they did so while sneaking starburst candies and mini chocolate bars into their mouths when they thought I wasn't looking.
It reminded me of the bit Seinfeld does on the motivational factor of candy!

So while there is a repetative element to my days, the stress of not knowing where I will teach and what I will teach and who I will teach is rather difficult at times.
I am an organizer. I like to be prepared. The preparation one can do as a substitute is limited. I don't like that loss of control, but I am telling myself to go with the flow and embrace spontenatity.

I have become one of those people who is never without their cell phone. The kind of person I used to mock! I justify it as a work necessity, the School District's automated system phones nightly between 7-10 and in the am from 6-noon if there is a job available. Thus far I have taken a few, and passed up on a few as I have yet to be hit with the burning desire to teach PE, a subject that seems to be inextricably tied to Social Studies in this district.

"Oh you teach Socials...guess what...we have a block or two or three of PE for you too!"

But I suppose if I am truly embracing spontenaity, I will be willing to run around with a whistle in my mouth like a crazy woman. Yikes....that brought back visions of my own highschool experience.

All in all.......I am VERY happy to be back in the classroom again!

The Revival of Random Questions

It's been awhile. It's time. Here we go.

1.) If you could have heard the deathbed confession of one person from history, who would it be and why?

2.)If you were to pick a city which best represents your own personality, which would it be?

3.)If you were to describe your first kiss in one sentence, what would you say?

I would like to hear from Lee Harvey Oswald, lone gunman or patsy.

I think Victoria, B.C. best represents my personality. It has character, its seen the passage of time, understands the importance of history, has British roots, embraces the beauty of its geographical environment, has hidden secrets, is random and quirky, is interested but sceptical about politics and can be slightly tempermental.

My first kiss~It was over too soon!