Waiting...

We are at the school awaiting word on when the kids from Fairbanks will be taking off to come here. The flight is scheduled for 4 pm, and kids from our school that are going to give them a tour should be arriving here soon.

I just watched a piece from EPSN sportscenter about the time that KISS came to little Cadillac, Michigan in 1975. Pretty darn funny, and a few familiar faces to boot, including one of my former clients. Kinda makes me nostalgic for Cadillac, where I should be in about 13 weeks from now. There are some educational opportunities here in Bethel that I could take advantage of, but I am starting to feel a serious desire to get home for the summer, and I don't know that I want to cut it shorter. Guess I will figure it out eventually.

Just one more set of lessons to plan for the week, and that will be done for today. Visitors, Spirit Week, and Friday off!!! How much fun will that be???

Home Safely

Good news-the weather warmed up enough for all of the teams to travel back home to Napaskiak. There was a bachelorette party for Sara, one of our teachers, last night in Bethel. I was a little uneasy with the travel aspect there, but all went well. It is back down to -18 right now, with a windchill of -42. Impressive. It is mostly a matter of dressing properly, in my experience.

There are five high school kids coming to visit from Ben Eielson High in Fairbanks today. They will be here for the week as a part of an urban-rural exchange program that the GF has participated in for the past several years. This is also the week leading up to the district basketball tournament in Bethel. We will be having Spirit Week, which means that things should be hectic and exciting. It is a short week, as we have Friday off. No inservices or anything else, just off.

I am going to try my hand at a junior high social studies lesson for the week, which shold be interesting. My thought is that we will do an archaeology experiment with garbage from various classrooms so that the kids can understand how we analyze ancient sites that leave no written record. I hope that they will find it interesting.

The day should be busy, and I have already managed to overflow the coffee pot. A bad omen??

Wowee...

It is absolutely beautiful outside today: cloudless skies, bright sunshine, a picture-perfect summer's day. If it were summer. However, it remains well below zero, and the wind has picked up quite a bit from this morning. Venturing outside calls for a number of layers, a facemask, a warm hat, and goggles. Being so equipped, I found it to be a pretty comfortable walk to the post office and back a short time ago. The dogs are very brisk and businesslike about their bathroom breaks, and it is just generally much nicer to watch from inside than it is to watch it from outside.

We finished another long PD session today. For some reason, I believe that this will be the last such session here this year. We will still have Friday afternoon sessions, but no Friday-Saturday combinations if I have it correctly. As a first-year teacher in the district, I still have an obligation for one more Saturday, that to be at the end of March, up in Bethel. It will correspond with the annual Camai dance festival, and could prove to be pretty interesting.

Both the boys' high school team and the junior high basketball team are stranded for the moment at the sites to which they have traveled. The district forbids student travel if the windchill temperature is below -35. Seems sensible to me. The current conditions may persist through Monday afternoon. Windchill is one of those terms that gets kind of abused in the lower 48, in my opinion. However, when you get into the -35 range, skin can freeze in a minute, and chances of developing hypothermia increase markedly. It just gets truly dangerous.

Our PD sessions were actually personally inspiring. Yesterday morning, the junior high kids were all excited about getting off for their b-ball tournament. Despite that, they managed to control their excitement enough so that we could get some things done in the classroom. Some of the kids were actually pretty productive. It was a good morning oveall. In the afternoon, we had a very good presentation on positive behavior management. I had to do a lot of thinking about the way in which I approach some of the classroom situations. It was a good opportunity for self-evaluations.

I know that a lot of teachers swear that they will never teach junior high, but I actually find it to be a fascinating challenge. It's not easy, and some days it just sucks, but the kids are worth the strain, and the mental stretch is invigorating. It is a cool job with some intense ups and downs. Never boring.

Yikes!

We are having another PD marathon this weekend, so blogging may be a little more sparse than usual. In the meantime: it is currently -26. There is a windchill advisory until Monday at 4 p.m. Windchills of -35 to -45 are expected. The current windchill is -47.

By The Way...

My students finished yet another round of testing today. They have been remarkably cooperative through all of this. I wouldn't be...

Dear Anonymous:

I have recently received a complaint. I do not know to whom I should respond. The poster has styled him or herself "anonymous." I put my name on what I write. I am told that I am "constantly" referring to "feral brats" and "snotty students." "Constant" is defined as "continual, unceasing, persistent." I have looked at all of my posts since I got here. I have not found one reference to a "feral brat." I have referenced behaviors, not children. I do not believe that behavior tells me who the kid is...

On the other hand, I have been kicked at, swung at, called a "fag," a "fucking fag," and a few other choice appellations. My fiance was called a "whore" by a student today. I do consider such behavior to be snotty. I don't believe that it typifies the behavior of students in this school. It is behavior that happens. I have had a number of parents apologize to me for their children's behavior. I have had parents talk to me who are clearly embarrassed by the behavior of the 7th and 8th grades as a whole. It is a tough group in this school.

That said, I do like most of my students. Even the ones who irritate me. That happens, and my job requires me to be a professional. But the fact of the matter is, I care about these kids. I want them to do well, and I want to contribute to that. I am sorry that you cannot see that in your reading, Anonymous. I would invite you to discuss the matter further. But please quote me accurately if you are going to do so. And please try to see the balance in what gets written here.

A Busy Birthday

Where to start? Testing, I suppose...yes, more testing. We get some sort of funding for arts and literacy projects, which apparently comes with testing strings of its own. I have already administered a reading section of one standardized test, and another multi-part test was given when I was in Anchorage. These dollars apparently feel that those are inadequate (and don't forget the SBA's), and demand another test that is more to their liking.

So, there we were. I volunteered to give the test, because I was gone for the last. I needed to get the 8th grade done, because their test booklets must be shared with the 9th grade (?). I got the morning done, and picked up the two stragglers in the afternoon. Now I have to see if the 6th grade teacher finished hers so that I can test the 7th grade today. Interesting split. Oh, yes, and the materials got here this week and must all be done by the end of this short week. Gotta love it.

The word that it was my birthday got out sometime during 1st hour, and resulted in the kids singing "Happy Birthday" to me in Yup'ik. Or, at least I believe that is what it was. It did have the familiar tune. It could have been "Die, You Evil Schmuck" for all that I am able to tell, for my Yup'ik vocabulary is extremely limited. (The kids don't seem to know much Yiddish, however...) It was nice, anyway.

We got some kids to pass some indicators (what I need to work on) in math, and they were ok in health. On the other hand, when I came back from testing in the afternoon, they were crazy and busy fighting with each other. I don't know when I have seen such a group prone to sniping at each other. Enough already. They did it again during science class. Time for a reteach, I think.

I had planned to leave at contracted quitting time (4:15) because it was my birthday, and because I am not committed to the afterschool program on Wednesdays, but one girl wanted to stay after unannounced, so stay I did. We got part of a test completed before she quit in frustration. Math thing. We will keep at it.

Then it was off to church, where we had been invited by Father Vasily and one of the teachers. We got there late, because the service did not start at the usual evening time. Not to worry. After the service, Father happened to mention that it was my birthday. This resulted in many congratulations from members of the congregation, some of whom I did not know. Very nice. We had been talking about Bethel and pizza for dinner, but we were invited to a memorial feast by a couple of relatives of the deceased, as they passed in a pickup truck. We tend to believe that community invitations are more important than pizza in Bethel, which is there every night. So off we went in search of a place, the location of which was not entirely clear. Fortunately, Napaskiak is a small place, and we found the house in question.

We got there in time for the blessing and prayers, which included another mention of my birthday, and more wishes from very nice people. The moose soup was delicious, and we returned home for some cleanup and cake with some friends and co-workers. School and village gossip was had by all, and the evening ended late. It is nearly 8:00 a.m. as I write this, and it is time to get it into gear again for another day.

I had a nice birthday, and I want to thank all the people that made it that way with their greetings and gracious invitations and hospitality.

It's A New Day...

So we will go with the tone of optimism. I was told last night that the district shrink gets a lot of phone calls in February. Maybe it's all of the extended inservices piling up at last. There is a rumor that we have no such site meeting in the month of March. Of course, I have the last new teacher inservice on the last Saturday of the month. I want my Saturdays back!

Glad THAT'S Over...

Weirdo kids today...maybe due in part to the long weekend, but they bordered on the feral today...some improvement in the afternoon, but damn, it was a long day...I certainly hope that tomorrow is a better day. There is always that possibility, after all. And it is my birthday, so if fate can spare me snotty kids tomorrow, I will gladly take that. If not, well, it is still my birthday, and I will celebrate every one that I have on this side of things. It is still a slight puzzlement to me how I made it to 56. I must not have been paying attention somewhere along the line.

I did manage to get things wrapped up at a decent hour today and get home before 8:30 or 9:00. I don't mind hanging around at the school, but it does get tiring sometimes. Tonight is going to be a low-keyed affair. There is a plan afoot tomorrow night for church followed by pizza in Bethel, so I think I may want to rest up tonight.

Ah well, life in the hinterlands has its pleasures-tomorrow I will see if my kids want to enter into a ship-naming contest!

Enough

Of today. Not much to say about it. The chores are done, and lesson plans have been submitted. We had lots of meetings, including one in which we needed to talk about next year's math arrangements. I guess maybe that means that I will be around for that. Laundry got done early, which is nice, because Monday tends to include more laundry and to take longer to complete. Of course, I went and screwed it up by washing my bike clothes after I sweated them up. No biggie.

Tomorrow-students!

Lent

The ceremony was very moving tonight. It included a procession of icons carried outside, around the church. I ended up standing very nearly in the midst of the choir, after they had come down from the choir loft. The power and beauty of their voices together was breathtaking. I am told on good authority that the Easter service, which lasts all night, and ends with the rising sun, is especially awe-inspiring. I suspect that there will be many sleepy heads in the village during the day. We were supposed to have Monday off, but the new administration apparently sees things differently. It remains to be seen whether the Yup'ik staff's potential resentment will keep Easter Monday as a holiday.

Tomorrow marks yet another inservice day. It will be followed by another Friday night-Saturday marathon this weekend. I am beginning to feel PD'ed out...the district is certainly getting its share of Saturdays out of us this year.

Sunshine!

And I'm drowsy...it has been a beautiful day here. Bright sunshine and 38 degrees. We took the dogs for a walk and then took a snowmachine ride down the river to Napakiak. The Kusko really opens up downstream from here and becomes very wide. It was one of those "we are just looking for a cheap excuse to frolic about instead of writing lesson plans" kind of things. Besides, we do not have kids tomorrow, and things get real busy from here on out for several weeks. The kids from Fairbanks are coming out next Sunday, and then there is the District tournament the following weekend. It will be frantic for a couple of weeks. So, today was a good day to take care of goofing off.

There is some sort of processional ceremony involving Lent tonight at the church, weather permitting, and it would appear to be permitting. In order to properly participate, I need a nap. The next order of business...

We're Back!

What a beautiful night for a run up and down the river. The clouds that had been around all day began to thin out, and we finally had a clear night for the trip back to Napas. We joined friends from Ocsarville (across the river about a mile) and Bethel at one of our favorite Korean/sushi restaurants for dinner and conversation. Traffic (!) was heavy on the river on the way up, with lines of headlights visible along the river highway in both directions.

Dinner was delightful and yummy. I had jap chae, and we split a specialty sushi dish. Much teacher/district gossip was exchanged, and I was approached about taking on the regional rep position for the union. I have tentatively decided to accept the invitation. Maybe a smart idea, or maybe not. I'm doing it anyway. I just sent the email agreeing to do it.

The trip back down was wonderful. Riding in the open air on a dark, starry night down the river is a sublime experience. I would love to figure out some way to show people, but I'm not sure how many I would be able to convince to come out here. Maybe next year. I want to see if someone else could see it the way I do.

A side note from church. There is a fellow that I see every time that I am there. He seems to take care of things around the church, although I do not exactly understand his position. We have not been since we got back, although someone made a New Year's resolution about this. He pattted me on the shoulder after the service and welcomed me back. He then smiled and invited me to come back again. Blows me away every time. White people have kind of come and gone with great haste aound here. I could understand skepticism. The openness, acceptance and invitation that I receive humbles me at every turn. Maybe I am a lifer...

Betheling!

Ok, church is over, and it's time to get on the snogo and hasten off to Bethel for evening's repast at VIP...yay!

Bummer

The girls lost in the third-place game that would have taken them to Bethel for districts. Many sad faces. Joe is talking about how much longer he is going to do this. I hope that he keeps it up for a while. Many changes may be in store. The boys won in their tournament, which means a trip to Bethel in a couple of weeks for all of us.

The rest of the agenda for today is church and a steam, or possibly dinner in Bethel. We shall see.

Gotta Run!

Oof da...it's 9:20, and I've been up less than half an hour. Napaskiak girls play for third place at 10:00, to see if they can sneak into the district tournament. I have a cup of coffee, but I need to get my very sleepy butt into gear...

Basketball!

Not a bad evening, overall...we started out the afternoon with a brief session, some meetings, and exhortation to do home visits that we had already done the previous evening. Even though we had our tasks accomplished, and were only going to begin the work of our second work day, we were sternly warned against being in the gym to do that work until our contract day was terminated. Perhaps it was an attempt to avoid the spectre of professionals contaminating the purely amateur/voluntary nature of working at the basketball tournament. Or, maybe control freak behavior. Hard to tell.

However, all went off pretty smoothly. The PKA girls lost their first game, and won the nightcap in a squeaker. (PKA is our FAA airport designation code.) I toted things around and helped out where I could lend a hand. One of the girls from another school got hurt and was in a fair amount of pain. I was part of the crew that got her onto a sled and over to the clinic. I think that she may have torn a muscle or perhaps her hamstring.

We got everything buttoned up and were home by 10:00 p.m. Pretty much minute-perfect to my fourteen hour day prediction. All the same, it was a labor of pleasure. It appears that it is still possible for our girls to play themselves into the district tournament tomorrow. I will keep my fingers crossed. And cheer.

By the way, I understand that congratulations are in order for the Cadillac Vikings hockey team, which has clinched at least a tie for the conference championship for the first time. I will specifically mention P.J. O'Hagan and Anthony Urse, two players of my immediate acquaintance. Again, nice job, guys, for the whole team. Hope that you do well in the upcoming tournaments...

And now, it's 1:21 a.m. and the melatonin is kicking in. The morning starts early. Time to go to bed.

Lunch!

The morning was crazy and fun. I have seven minutes before I run back to the school for our afternoon conferences. The visiting basketball players are already arriving. I don't know how much of the afternoon will be PD and how much will be tournament activity. Basketball is king at this school. There is no doubt about that.

Good Morning!

The coffee is flowing, and that means that there is reason to hope. The long day spreads out before us, full of labor and promise. My head is full of ideas. I don't have them all figured out yet, but they are there, and that is better than being in a state of reactive panic. That was the case for too much of the year. I know that this is the natural state of new teachers, but I didn't like it very much. Now I have projects to dream about, and that is an exciting thing.

I Have Visits To Report...

A VERY long and EXTREMELY busy day today. It started out in the usual fashion, nothing terribly unusual, except perhaps that I felt really tired when I got up and forgot to take my glasses to school with me. My first hour prep period was partially taken up with a cognitive coaching meeting, in which another teacher and I discussed the observations that we were going to make in each other's classes. The kids were only semi-squirrelly today, except for one of my followers who I have not seen around much this semester. It appears that she and her former friend may have had a falling out that I was not aware of, and that the former friend has been treating her in a mean fashion. She did not come back from lunch after I talked to her at the end of the morning. I felt badly. I would like to see her in school more often.

After school, there was laundry, and kids, and conversations about SIOP observations. By 5:30, I was so tired that all I wanted was a nap. Somewhere about 6:00 or 6:30, the little lady showed up, report cards in hand, and told me that it was time to do home visits. This involved making in-person calls on the houses of parents that did not show up for parent-teacher conferences. Several involved students of mine. One guardian was kind enough to share a few minutes to talk with us about my student and her older sister when he dropped by the school. However, there were still others that had to be visited at home. We walked all over the village getting that done. I thought that we actually had some good conversations, and that it was extremely useful to meet more parents and invite them and their kids to the school. I was glad that we did it.

After the home visits, there were a few more "community outreach" visits that were made, involving a second circuit of the village. We finally returned at 8:45, foot-sore and weary, twelve and a half hours after our work day began. Tomorrow we will teach, spend the afternoon in training, and then do volunteer work for the girls' basketball tournament, which means a fourteen hour day, in all likelihood. The tournament continues on Saturday. The boys' team is playing in the tournament upriver in Kwethluk, which means that our volunteer pool is depleted. The principal and his wife will both be gone, which cuts the numbers back even further. Those of us who are here to volunteer will be working our little heinies off. Sunday is the day that we take to do lesson planning and work in our classrooms, as necessary. Monday is an off day for the students. We will be in school all day for more training. Next Friday and Saturday we will spend either most or all of the day in inservices.

I know, I know...we get our summers off. Not me. I'm going to be taking classes. Gotta do it to keep my license. It is concievable that I spend much more time learning than my students do. On the other hand, I do get to live in a village 400 miles away from the nearest movie theater, without a car, without a 7-11 or a Wal-Mart. Why do I do it?

Because I love it. I would not trade this life for anything, although I don't know whether I can explain it well. Last week, I was in Anchorage for the week. It is a city in a beautiful setting. It has conveniences. I found it to be a pain in the ass. Too much traffic, too many cars, too much complexity. I actually wanted to be back in the village. During our "outreach" visit, I had a chance to visit with one of the fellas that I steam with. I explained my thinking on the subject. He has been outside in the world. He understood my point of view perfectly.

I don't think that I want to come back to the 48 any more...

Ooh, This Is Nice

The dishes are done, and it's not even nine o'clock...it't the earliest that I have been able to say that in several nights. I don't really mind the hang out at school til all hours thing all that much, and the company tends to be pleasant, but it tends to make for some long evenings. I had intended to walk on the treadmill tonight (I will be alternating with the spinning bike), but as I was doing some final cleanup, I was overcome with weariness. I even came home and napped for a short bit. A shorter day feels nice for a change, and it is good to have my little hovel put into some sort of order for the evening.

Tomorrow is Thursday! I know that I have to make sure that I get a few more of my kids into after school sessions, so that I can work with them in the relative peace that we get there. The writing session required by the district has basically been spat upon by the students, who are recognizing the same prompts that they were given in August, when we did this the first time. We also have another testing "opportunity" next week. I need to start getting kids ready for the SBA tests, but they also need to get caught up on their work in the reading and writing phases that we use. Much to do, and not always the most cooperative audience. Oh well, that's why I am a professional. After all, life without challenges is kinda boring.

Much Better

The little folks got it together today. Some of the worse elements were not there, but a few were, and they seemed able to keep it more or less together for the day. This is not to say perfection was achieved, but things were better. A couple of kids stayed after school to get aheadon their reading tests. A couple more passed during the day. One girl passed a math test. From these small, fleeting victories, I find sustainance. It is really great being out here, so the tough days with the kids tend to be the only really hard part of the picture. The rest is pretty darn good.

I have been getting lots of compliments on my new haircut today, at least from the adults. The kids have pretty much been giving me crap. Isn't that the way it always goes? One of the teachers actually thought that I was a visitor, from a distance. Funny stuff.

We are coming to the end of junior high basketball season, and the kids are really focused on eligibility. I suspect that my influence on them may decline markedly after the season concludes.

Oh, By The Way...

There are some actual funny stories to tell as well. When I get the time, I will post a couple of video clips that show some of the things that we do to amuse ourselves around here on a Tuesday evening. Hint: they involve videotaping amateur haircuts, and giggling a lot. We are hosting the girls' regional tournament on Friday and Saturday, which will mean a lot of work, but a lot of fun as well. And I have to take my new barber out to dinner in Bethel. A deal is a deal...

Haven't Been Here In A While...

Wide awake at 3:00 a.m., that is...Another day of weirdness and hostility from adolescents. Not that that is all that unique to my situation, just that it is occasionally wearing. We have two students on in-school suspension, one more that is returning from a multi-day suspension of his own, presumably having learned nothing from the event, and two others who are in some sort of nether world that puts them close to suspension. Someone apparently felt the need to burn one in the girls' bathroom, and someone got kicked off of the girls' basketball team. We will be in the third testing event in the third week in a row in a few hours, and we got an e-mail informing us that next week, there will be yet another test to which we must subject our not-too-willing subjects. All that, and it is only Wednesday. My never-that-sunny nature has been darkening in the last couple of days. I kept hearing that kids were asking where I was last week, as if they missed me. I wonder if some of them simply missed their favorite punching bag.

Of course, I know that this is unduly pessimistic. It has been an off week in some precincts of the high school as well, and there are positive stories to tell in the junior high. I have a couple of kids who I believe that I may be able to get through into high school reading in the next couple of weeks, and the kids that have liked me in the past still do. I just am having a hard time dealing with the snotty attitudes, the books pushed onto the floor, and the deliberate defiance. I know that water is stronger than rock, but I do not know whether I have the patience of water. I think that I am going to have to find it from somewhere. I know that I will have to. Maybe it is under a rock.

Fun, Fun, Fun...

A fine, sunny morning. I started by bowling with some of the high schoolers as a substitute of sorts. A quick segue into "I don't wanna" reading class. That was followed by "I don't wanna" writing class, followed by the "I don't wanna" math class. There were no recorded objectors to lunch, as far as I am aware. We will see what the afternoon brings...

Beat...

That was a long day...not the longest, and definitely not the hardest, but it was a slog...and it is nearly over, which means there is another one tomorrow to get over. It's not that they were screaming crazy today, just damn close. We even had an assault with a basketball, for God's sake. I suppose it's better than one with a gun.

Got my last evaluation of the year today. It was pretty good-better than the other ones were. I must admit to a sense of satisfaction over that one. Next question is the contract for next year. I imagine that will be answered soon. I hope to my satisfaction. It is nice to think that I have progressed. It will be nice to make more progress...

Sunday

Not much to report. Slept in (kind of), got lesson plans as ready as I could without knowing what went on last week (I still don't). Put the clipless pedals on our spinning bike, and generally killed four or five hours at school while getting a few things done. I finished almost everything that I wanted to do, and now it is time to get some rest. A good end to the weekend. Tomorrow-back to school! It will be the last full week of this month with students. Next week is shortened on both ends. And then it will be March...

It's Very Late Again...

We have been being naughty and staying up late for two nights in a row-what a scandal! We should be industriously sleeping so that we can get up and industriously toil away in the fields of education. I was looking again at my submission requirements for AKT2. Clearly the work of a bureaucratic committee of pinheads somewhere. I wonder exactly how I am supposed to submit my evidence for the journalling requirement? I will singlehandedly destroy the shitty website that they have so graciously bestowed upon us with this mighty blog!!

Fantasies are fun...especially when it comes to AKT2. I think that they have been not terribly helpful for any of us. I look at the online forums that they demand that we post to. Questions that are on the site never really get answered. What we get are lectures or patronizing "we've all been there" statements. I will certainly enjoy reflecting on this in my exit interview.

On to cheerier notes...I have actually been making the submissions that my masters in Juneau want, and figure to take the Alaska Studies course requirement here in the not too distant future. I hope that the fact that I taught the course this fall will be of some help in that regard.

I enjoy teaching, but there is a wealth of stupid bullshit associated with it.

Sorry, No Mittens...

...at least any that I liked. Steve King has a way of insisting that he put in an order for gloves...I did see some nice beaded ladies's gloves on the table. Suppose he could have gotten those in his stocking for Xmas...unfortunately, Sara's mom was doing an art retreat and wasn't showing anything at the market. There are a few more Saturday market events before the end of the school year, so there are a few more opportunities for mitten shopping. Just remember Steve, boys wear mittens!

I was asked at dinner last night if I was one of those "lifers." This apparently refers to someone who stays out here until retirement. I like it here quite a bit, and I am starting to form relationships with some of the kids in the elementary levels, which I hope will translate into something good when they come into junior high, assuming that I am still here, or there, or both, as the case may be. I mean that I would like to stay. I guess that makes me a lifer "wannabe." The question now is whether I get offered a contract to come back, and if that offer puts me here. Potentially a trickier question. The contract season will be in full swing in the very near future, probably in the next week or two. If I pretend that I'm not thinking about it, I'm lying.

It was a beautiful day out here today. The temperature actually got up into the upper 30's, and there was abundant sunshine. We scooted up and down the river, and took the dogs for a walk out at the airport, and took a nice nap. Tomorrow we get ready for the school week. After two consecutive test weeks for my 7th grade, we get the last district writing exercise. I'm sure that they will be overjoyed beyond belief.

It's good to be home...

Home At Last!

I am so happy to be back in Napaskiak! We finished our session a little early today, and I hung around the hotel lobby with a couple of new friends, just killing time before I had to leave for the airport. I gave Kristen a lift there, and she was nice enough to return the favor by buying me a sandwich from the Quizno's in the airport. Although our flight was delayed, we finally got off of the ground, and within a short time, the lights of Bethel were visible out of the starboard window. I saw Joe's daughter, Jolene, who was headed down to Anchorage for a trip, and then just stood around smiling at people and waiting for my luggage.

After a meandering cab ride, I ended up at the always delightful Shogun restaurant, where there was a birthday party going on for Anna, our SIOP coach. We had some nice conversation with more friends, and then it was time to jump on the sno-go for the rocking ride back down the river to PKA. It was great to see my little hovel, and my puppy dog, and my sweetie. I had a great time, got to spend some time with old friends and new, and learned a lot (I hope), but it was really great to get back here.

Rumor has it that tomorrow will feature a trip to the Saturday market in Bethel. Maybe mittens to go with my hat???

The Last Day...

It is lunch time, and we are going to be going back into our meetings to present our graphic organizers, although I am a little unclear as to what we are supposed to do and how we are to do it. There is hazy sunshine in Anchorage, and the supplies are pretty much all in the rental car already. I just had a tasty bagel sandwich, thanks to Kristen from Kwethluk (thanks!). It goes to show that even rivals can be friendly, except when it comes to basketball.

I think that we may finish a little early today, as it is getaway day for many of the folks attending this little conference. I'm on the 6:40 to Bethel, so my hurry is definitely not so great. The airport is only about three miles from here. I will have plenty of time to hit the Home Depot for one last shopping splurge before I leave.

I am watching one of the other participants check out. She is pretty stylish, and has cool luggage. Even her plastic tote is a tasteful shade of purple. Can you coordinate your tote with your luggage?? I guess that the answer is a resounding "yes!" I never thought of a plastic tote as a fashion accessory. My thinking may have been seriously deficient...

It's Late and I'm Not Sleepy...

Another exciting of reading training today. Vocabulary. Good ideas about teaching vocabulary. Some that I liked quite a bit. I think the ideas have been good ones all week, and lots of them have been flowing around. Now if I can just organize them enough to incorporate them into my classroom, I will be in good shape. More importantly, my students will be in good shape. They are the ones that all of this is about. They deserve my best, and I must try to deliver that to them.

It will be nice to get back to Napaskiak. I know that some of my students miss me and I miss them. This has been a good experience, but it is time to go home. Tomorrow night.

Heat Wave In Anchorage...

Mid thirties here at 10:00 PM-pretty much the same out in Bethel...it's actually pleasant, but thte river ice is so solid now that it shouldn't be a problem for me getting home Friday night. It sounds as if the mild spell will last for the next several days. The hours of sunlight are becoming noticeably longer. We are getting over five and a half minutes of additional sunlight every day. Nice. It will continue in that vein until we have sunlight well into the nightime hours by the end of the school year.

More reading instruction in the morning...

Out On The Town Tonight

Done for the day-even my homework. Don't ask what it was-too embarrassing-but I did it. I have been picking up what I hope will be some helpful ideas out here for my class. We can all use improvement in our reading-even me.

The next item on the agenda is either a quick nap and laundry retrieval or a trip to the sporting goods store. I still need additional information about the errand that I am supposed to perform at that store, so it looks as if the former will be the path that I take. I am going to dinner with friends tonight, but they have a young-un, so early will be the byword there. I can always go to the store later.

It's nice to look out the window and see the Chugach mountains. For some reason, they are always the first thing that I associate with Anchorage. I can see them directly from my room. In fact, I like looking at them so much I decided to share a nice picture with all of my loyal readers, so you can see what they look like. (They don't look like that today-it's cloudy out) Neat, huh??

OK-laundry is done now and it's time to think about dinner...

A Staying In And Working Night

We spent many hours today talking about the proper way to instruct students in the ways of phonics. Necessary, apparently, but hardly wildly exciting stuff. Three more days remain. I attempted to bombard AKT2 with submissions tonight, although the actual number pales in comparison to the total number that they actually demand. Little support and lots of demands.

Nothing else is all that memorable today. I spent most of it cooped up in my hotel room, working on stuff. Tomorrow must be different. I think that I will do a little shopping for some necessities as soon as we get done. I am also going to meet friends here for dinner. It will be good to have a little variety tomorrow. For tomorrow, we discuss vocabulary...

This Bed Is Nice, But It Ain't Home...

The melatonin is apparently not quite doing its job tonight. Of course, as soon as I began to post this, the yawns came on in earnest.

My first day of phomemes, phonics, genomes (wait, that doesn't fit here), and it seems to be ok. No word of rioting in the Z.J. Williams middle school/jr high/whatever it is. My darling is loudly bemoaning the domestic workload when she has to do it by herself. Makes me feel useful in a way that teaching only does occassionally, given my newcomer status. She is always grateful, but my absence makes the gratitude note come into sharper focus.

I am learnig interesting things here, and hope that I can translate them into something that will help my students get to be better readers. They deserve that from me, and the fact that I don't have as much to give as I would like is frustrating. I can only hope to get better. Well, I can actually work and hope, and see if the combination is fruitful.

Back to sleep for now. Day two of five starts in four hours...

In The Emerald City

Here I am in Anchorage, ready for my longest stay since last June. Not so emerald-like outside really-it has been snowing steadily since I got here this afternoon. When I drive in traffic in this stuff, I realize that I only mind winter when I have to drive in it. My rental car has front wheel drive, which makes it kind of prone to snowplowing and sliding. Yuk. Out in the sticks, we run around on sno-gos, which are at least meant to operate in this stuff. Weird how one's point of view changes.

It was a lovely run up to Bethel this afternoon. The sun was out, and the weather was relatively mild. I am recognizing my landmarks and orienting better on the river-I suppose that I will have to give up and actually take turns driving when I get back, or I will never hear the end of it from the kids at school. Of course, it is kind of nice to get chauffered around, and I still get a little confused with some of the back ways and shortcuts around Bethel.

I got to town in fine fashion, cashed my expense checks at Swanson's without a hitch, and got myself out to the airport. Only sticky point was when they made me take off my bibs in the TSA line. I had pants on underneath, but it was one more item of discarded clothing that had to be retrieved on the other side of the magic x-ray machine. The flight was short and sweet (57 minutes), and I found myself in Anchorage. I have just been moping around the hotel since-I managed to see the second half of the Super Bowl, got some dinner, and did some teaching kind of work-and here I am at 9:37 AKST, looking at the room around me.

Five days of reading training await me, starting in the morning. I wonder what I will learn. I hope that it will be interesting and helpful. I would like some more ideas about how to do my job better. I want to get good at this stuff. I realize that it takes time, but I feel like time is not something that I have in huge quantities at this point in my life. Perhaps I get frustrated and impatient too easily, but I feel pressure to be perfect. Maybe it is self-generated.

I am going to take the optimistic approach. It has not been my favored choice in the past, but it does seem to serve me better as I have tried to go that way more often now. After all, I am teaching in Bush Alaska-who would have guessed that would happen a couple of years ago!

Good Maqiq...

A nice one tonight, and no embarrassing Exorcist moments all over the snow, like Sunday night. A good thing, too, as it is currently -3 in Bethel. Man, I just feel excellent after a good steam. I may get talked into having one built back in Cadillac eventually. Probably the back yard fence would come first. That way the dogs can run around free in the summer time.

I need to get after it in the morning-some things have to get fixed up before I leave for the big conference.

We had a lovely post basketball meal at V.I.P restaurant in Bethel, and both the boys and girls won.

I also want to send a congratulations out to the Cadillac hockey team, who took over first place in their conference tonight. Mention also needs to be made of Mr. Anthony Urse, who scored his first career goal as a member of the varsity team last night. Hooray Anthony! I'll bet your mom was excited!

That's it-a quick evening more or less together before I leave tomorrow. I would write more, but I have other priorities...

I've Been Negligent

It has been way too long since I scrawled any of my off-base musings in this space...at least since Thursday. It is another basketball weekend, which makes me a basketball widower again. I was last night, anyway. I thought it would be quiet and fun. It was more like quiet and a little lonely. I was content to live single for a long time. Something has changed.

This morning, I got a call asking if I wanted to come up to Bethel for the games today. So I hurried up and got some of my work for next week done.

Now the games are done. It looks as if we are going to move the kids by snowmachine. Two trips. I am staying behind. Basketball widower again.

Glorioski, It's the 300th Post!!!

This is where I need some of those goofy emoticons like they have over on Skype. Then we could have us a little internet party right here at N.R.L.T.N. That would be really keen! Then we could have a big sleep-over, and make popcorn, and stay up all night...

I actually am staying up pretty late tonight, even though it has been a really busy day. I am all pumped up, because I actually finished my to-do list for the day, got some classwork recorded, had a kid pass a test (gets me all excited), finished standardized testing with the 7th graders, AND got in a workout at last on our spiffy spinning bike. Nothing like energy to get you through the day. I find that I kind of have a little work set-up at my new desk. I actually use a student desk, which affords me a view of the door, and allows me to converse freely with any of the staff or students that happen to be passing, and that is a generally pleasant thing to do after the formal end of the school day. Of course, at our place, the concept of an end to the school day is kind of a fluid one. As I was leaving at 8:30, basketball practice was still ongoing for the boys, and one of our students was doing some catch-up work with her math teacher. It is possible that they are all crazy, and it is possible that I am slowly, over time, beginning to join them. (Actually, I think that it is beginning to happen pretty quickly now.)

What to do? My best guess is to enjoy it and live life. I have spent too many months resisting the insanity. Maybe a better idea would be to jump on the wave and ride it for as long as I can. After all, my 56th birthday is coming is less than three weeks. Who knows how many more I get?

The Week Flies By

It seems so recently that I was having my little moment of gastric-induced Zen in the snow outside Joe's steam house, yet it is already Thursday. Many things to get done today in preparation for travel, and one last night to share with Chelsea before she goes off to chaperone with the girls' team to Bethel. She will be back for Saturday night, and then I am off for five days to Anchorage. It will be kind of lonely. We were laughing last night about how contented we can be just to be in each other's oddball company. It's one of those really inside jokes that no one else on the outside really gets. Not exclusionary, just hard to explain.

I find that I often wake up in the early morning trying to figure out some classroom problem or how to reach a particular student on that day. If I cannot figure it out myself, I will usually ask Chelsea what she thinks about it. She always has an interesting suggestion. I would be even farther in over my head if I were out here alone.

There is much on my to do list for today-laundry, lesson planning for next week, things to get together for this conference. I must also make sure to make time for the two of us.

Hey, It's Wednesday!!

I have no idea-the title just came into my head and it is technically true, although I guess for most of you folks reading this back home, it is not.

Got through it-cold is simmering along. It needs to be gone by Sunday. I have to fly, and that is not something that I want to do with a bad cold. Ever. I have done it, and already one time during this school year. But I don't want to, and that is the main point. I have been working diligently on sleep, and vitamin C, but it just seems to be hanging on like those party guests that won't leave. Tomorrow night will be busy with preparation for my trip, and Friday night is basketball, which will keep me busy late (sort of). Saturday means regular and sub lesson plans, and Sunday I am gone. But it just keeps hanging around. I am beginning to fear that the damn thing will come home with me in May. That is probably a little paranoid. A little. Could it be like the tropical explorer who gets that case of malaria that haunts him the rest of his life???

Nothing like the melodramatic for me!

Oh Crap...

The cold now appears to have become a sinus infection, so at least we've got that going for us...oh well, at least I can eat solid foods again. I thought I was close to a breakthrough with one of my more difficult students today, but the moment was gone in a flash. Oh well, persistence-perhaps it will pay off in the long run. After all, what other choice do I have?

The remaining two totes came here in the mail, which is a good thing, although it does mean that I have to carry the man-killers across from the school. We pack a lot of stuff into those little buggers, and some of it has a very high density...

I get my last observation tomorrow, in preparation for my last review of the year. We are already into the third week of the semester, and I will be gone for all of the fourth one. Time is beginning to move quickly.

Finally, I will again grapple with the weird forms that AKT2 has given us for documentation. I tried to make some changes to one, and lost the whole damn thing. Oh, crap!

Testing, Day I...

Yawn...my students were actually pretty tolerant of the whole thing, which is gratifying, if mystifying. I hate to do the "when I was your age" thing, but we actually had it better in that respect when I was a kid. I recall a standardized test being given every couple of years or so to see where the student had advanced. These kids are now on a schedule of at least one, perhaps two, and maybe even three different tests in the course of a semester. The efficacy of this approach is clear as regards the profit margins of the companies that prepare the tests. Given the level of moaning about academic achievement in this country, the benefit conveyed upon the students is more difficult to discern.

As for me, I was bored out of my mind. I wonder if tolerance for that is a necessary prerequisite for this line of work.

Where Have I Been?

Sick. Again. Enough already.

It began on Sunday night. I got an invitation to steam at Joe's place. No-brainer, right? Before I went, I had a bowl of salad at home. Again, no big deal...or so I thought. Early on, I realize that I feel really full and uncomfortable. My intestines are beginning to make not-so-funny gurgling noises...I feel kind of dizzy. I decide that I probably should stay out of the hot room for a round. Joe and I are sitting in the outside room and I move over by the door to get a breath of cold air, because the room is way too stifling. As I am leaning out of the door, I think that I need to belch.

You can take it from there. Suffice to say that I found myself standing outside in the snow, naked, vomiting vigorously. Everyone in the steam got a nice audio show. I managed to get cleaned up and get home, but the stomach symptoms continued through the night. I spent the majority of the day yesterday in bed, trying to sleep this thing to death. On top of that, it feels like my cold has relapsed. Monday was a pretty crappy day. Literally.

On top of all that, we had a meeting of our AKT2 group about the myriad of submissions that we have to make over the next year or so. It is worse than I thought. My feeling is that we get relatively little support and an immense amount of demands. I get enough of that as it is in this line of work. There. I got that out of my system.

Anyway, today is a new day, and I am going to work on optimism and upward striving. I figure that if I spend an hour a day on the AKT2 stuff, I can get it done without too much trouble. We have standardized testing today that I need to proctor, so I want to get off to school a little early to coordinate that stuff. Time to get back into it.