Ronnie turns 17, Indoor Flooding and Mardi Gras Madness
Part 1: School
School has been crazy since winter break. Per usual, it has zipped by and dragged by at the same time. My students have been dealing with a lot lately- in the small town of Edgard, where about 8 of my kids live, there were 3 deaths in January (a car accident, a suicide and an unknown). Two of them were my students' fathers, and Nicole and I attended Karly's fathers wake. Karly is my most spirited, genuinely friendly student and to see her suffering has been heartbreaking. Nicole and I gave her a little book to record all her memories of her dad, and the kids wrote her cards, which she really loved.
Ronnie Jones turned 17 in January (in 5th grade), and so far has stayed in our class, even though he can technically drop out of school now. He has been doing his homework lately, and is more motivated than ever! For now, my dropout fears have subsided. Unfortunately, he is still at a 3rd grade level in most things and is not high enough to enter a GED program, or even a pre-GED program. So we do what we can for him. I would consider tutoring him over the summer for the GED, but that would be an intense commitment, so we'll see. Oh it makes me so ill every time I think about all the people who have failed this boy.
On a happier note, my kids have been pretty motivated about the state tests coming up. Early on, I tapped into their uber-competitive spirits and started some intense competitions with who can master the most objectives, score the highest on tests, etc. SUPER nerdy if you think about it, but they don't view it that way. Which works well for me. I often catch kids staring at the competition charts or asking the kids in the lead for "tips." The best kind of teacher moments to catch. I am successfully turning at least some of these kids into big nerds like me and it is AWESOME! We also enjoyed a school visit from two star LSU football players. The kids went crazy, and I got some autographs. I thought they were saints players at first and almost lost my mind.
I had a super angry parent threaten my job and say she'd "have my license revoked" for disciplining her behavior problem kid unfairly, according to her. Jokes on her, I don't have my teacher license yet. Ha. (I will by May). Ryan is the most vindictive, disrespectful student I have ever taught, and his mom feeds the only child with fodder, telling him to run off to the principal every time we say anything to him, etc. But the principal completely backs us, thank God and he is a step away from expulsion. Did not need the added drama, but I just try to focus on the other 29 kids.
My room has been flooding, as it is an old building with a bad design. So when it rains, I have a flood spreading half way through my room, initiating from the ceiling. I've mastered the art of deconstructing my room to avoid water damage, then putting it back together so the kids don't freak out. I am pretty sure at this point that I am staying at the same school next year. I mean, how can I leave Mr. Alexis' sweet anti-drug presentations about being "Cool as Ice" and Mrs. Adams' shimmying to the ground till she falls over at staff parties?
Part 2: Not School
So, I had an inflammed lung in January. A sharp, stabbing pain in my back and a huge medical bill. Not fun, but everything else is pretty good. The Saints extravaganza was awesome, and I got to celebrate it with Eli and Jody when they visited for the final Super Bowl playoff game. I have been obsessed with Guitar Hero and Singstar, two Play Station games that involve a fake guitar and a microphone. Nuff said. Just wish there was more Journey and Michael Jackson.
We are in the midst of Mardi Gras, and I am paraded- out already. Enjoying a chill day after 3 days straight of moderate to severe intoxication, overeating, bead catching and NOT revealing inappropriate body parts (that is a myth- very few girls do it, except the trashy ones on bourbon street; parades are very much a family event). For some reason, catching "throws" from the floats is absolutely exhilirating. It's like a regression back to childhood, as I find myself equally excited to receive something cool as the 5-6 year olds next to me. Sad, but true. Best throw so far = beads with cafe au lait and beignets, beads with crayons (had to trade a beer for them with a security guard), a mini-toilet and a purple boa. One of my friends got a floral-decorated high heel, a very rare catch. The floats are funny- the Krewe of Thoth parade yesterday had a history theme, taking us from the founding of the US to the Gulf Wars. We found it amusing that the Industrial Revolution and the Reconstruction Era were combined in one float, while Baseball got its own float. Needless to say, the production was pretty historically accurate and proportional.
Today is Lundi Gras, and tomorrow is Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras day). Luckily, we get Wednesday off from school to recover. I love Mardi Gras because everyone is so joyful. There is an overwhelming sense of unity in the city, and it's almost as if people forget their (many) woes completely. Back to reality Wednesday, but I"m enjoying the escape until then!
Laissez les bon temps roulez!
Much love,
Sarah
School has been crazy since winter break. Per usual, it has zipped by and dragged by at the same time. My students have been dealing with a lot lately- in the small town of Edgard, where about 8 of my kids live, there were 3 deaths in January (a car accident, a suicide and an unknown). Two of them were my students' fathers, and Nicole and I attended Karly's fathers wake. Karly is my most spirited, genuinely friendly student and to see her suffering has been heartbreaking. Nicole and I gave her a little book to record all her memories of her dad, and the kids wrote her cards, which she really loved.
Ronnie Jones turned 17 in January (in 5th grade), and so far has stayed in our class, even though he can technically drop out of school now. He has been doing his homework lately, and is more motivated than ever! For now, my dropout fears have subsided. Unfortunately, he is still at a 3rd grade level in most things and is not high enough to enter a GED program, or even a pre-GED program. So we do what we can for him. I would consider tutoring him over the summer for the GED, but that would be an intense commitment, so we'll see. Oh it makes me so ill every time I think about all the people who have failed this boy.
On a happier note, my kids have been pretty motivated about the state tests coming up. Early on, I tapped into their uber-competitive spirits and started some intense competitions with who can master the most objectives, score the highest on tests, etc. SUPER nerdy if you think about it, but they don't view it that way. Which works well for me. I often catch kids staring at the competition charts or asking the kids in the lead for "tips." The best kind of teacher moments to catch. I am successfully turning at least some of these kids into big nerds like me and it is AWESOME! We also enjoyed a school visit from two star LSU football players. The kids went crazy, and I got some autographs. I thought they were saints players at first and almost lost my mind.
I had a super angry parent threaten my job and say she'd "have my license revoked" for disciplining her behavior problem kid unfairly, according to her. Jokes on her, I don't have my teacher license yet. Ha. (I will by May). Ryan is the most vindictive, disrespectful student I have ever taught, and his mom feeds the only child with fodder, telling him to run off to the principal every time we say anything to him, etc. But the principal completely backs us, thank God and he is a step away from expulsion. Did not need the added drama, but I just try to focus on the other 29 kids.
My room has been flooding, as it is an old building with a bad design. So when it rains, I have a flood spreading half way through my room, initiating from the ceiling. I've mastered the art of deconstructing my room to avoid water damage, then putting it back together so the kids don't freak out. I am pretty sure at this point that I am staying at the same school next year. I mean, how can I leave Mr. Alexis' sweet anti-drug presentations about being "Cool as Ice" and Mrs. Adams' shimmying to the ground till she falls over at staff parties?
Part 2: Not School
So, I had an inflammed lung in January. A sharp, stabbing pain in my back and a huge medical bill. Not fun, but everything else is pretty good. The Saints extravaganza was awesome, and I got to celebrate it with Eli and Jody when they visited for the final Super Bowl playoff game. I have been obsessed with Guitar Hero and Singstar, two Play Station games that involve a fake guitar and a microphone. Nuff said. Just wish there was more Journey and Michael Jackson.
We are in the midst of Mardi Gras, and I am paraded- out already. Enjoying a chill day after 3 days straight of moderate to severe intoxication, overeating, bead catching and NOT revealing inappropriate body parts (that is a myth- very few girls do it, except the trashy ones on bourbon street; parades are very much a family event). For some reason, catching "throws" from the floats is absolutely exhilirating. It's like a regression back to childhood, as I find myself equally excited to receive something cool as the 5-6 year olds next to me. Sad, but true. Best throw so far = beads with cafe au lait and beignets, beads with crayons (had to trade a beer for them with a security guard), a mini-toilet and a purple boa. One of my friends got a floral-decorated high heel, a very rare catch. The floats are funny- the Krewe of Thoth parade yesterday had a history theme, taking us from the founding of the US to the Gulf Wars. We found it amusing that the Industrial Revolution and the Reconstruction Era were combined in one float, while Baseball got its own float. Needless to say, the production was pretty historically accurate and proportional.
Today is Lundi Gras, and tomorrow is Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras day). Luckily, we get Wednesday off from school to recover. I love Mardi Gras because everyone is so joyful. There is an overwhelming sense of unity in the city, and it's almost as if people forget their (many) woes completely. Back to reality Wednesday, but I"m enjoying the escape until then!
Laissez les bon temps roulez!
Much love,
Sarah
posted by MissBliss at 12:20 PM
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