A quiet day despite the busy-ness of the whole thing. We had students until 1:45, and parent-teacher conferences until 6:00 pm. We mostly spent time explaining test results and filing out forms with parents. We repaired to the house for a sumptious feast of sausage and sauerkraut (I like 'em), and that was kind of the day.
Our sub, Jim, found out that his full time replacement has been hired by the district. He will apparently be here next week, so we will get a look then. I am happy for Jim, as he will get to go to South America as he had planned, but I will miss having him on the staff. I thought that he was a good fit here.
More parent-teacher conferences tomorrow, then it will be on to the long weekend in a couple of days.
Tomorrow will be my parents' 60th wedding anniversary, and I get to use this space to thank them for always loving and supporting me, even when I didn't make it easy. If I turned out to be a decent human being (and I hope that I am in the near vicinity of being that), it is to their credit. Thanks, Mom and Dad-I love you guys. I will expect to talk to you tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Number 500...
What more can I say? I don't know that I would have predicted this last July. Of course, I don't think I had any idea what was going to happen last July. I know that we place big store in our kids' ability to predict when they read. I suppose that it shows that they are paying attention, but prediction strikes me as presumptious and arrogant on some levels. After all, who the hell knows what is going to happen, anyway? We spend so much of our time trying to game the future that we have entire fortunes devoted to it, and we can see just how far that has gotten us...
It is the evening at the end of a long and kind of contentious day. Mondays can be treacherous as the year goes on, and this one was certainly that. I am just glad that it is over, and we can move on to a better tomorrow. I never saw myself as much of an optimist. In order to try to do this job properly, I think that optimism, even grim optimism, is essential. I don't want to overanalyze it, so I will leave it at that. You need to be able to look forward to the hope that things will improve. That was nearly impossible for me for much of last year. I think that it has changed this year. I hope so, anyway.
The first day of parent-teacher conferences are tomorrow. We will discuss the results from last year's testing, mostly. They were pretty grim overall for the junior high. Here is where that hope for a better year comes in. Maybe this year we will do better...maybe.
It is the evening at the end of a long and kind of contentious day. Mondays can be treacherous as the year goes on, and this one was certainly that. I am just glad that it is over, and we can move on to a better tomorrow. I never saw myself as much of an optimist. In order to try to do this job properly, I think that optimism, even grim optimism, is essential. I don't want to overanalyze it, so I will leave it at that. You need to be able to look forward to the hope that things will improve. That was nearly impossible for me for much of last year. I think that it has changed this year. I hope so, anyway.
The first day of parent-teacher conferences are tomorrow. We will discuss the results from last year's testing, mostly. They were pretty grim overall for the junior high. Here is where that hope for a better year comes in. Maybe this year we will do better...maybe.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Powered Up...
I woke up at some point in the middle of the night and realized that the power was out. It didn't strike me as all that important at the time. It goes out here pretty frequently, and there has not been a real long term outage in the year or so that I have been here. When I woke up at 7:30, the power was still out. More annoying, because I wanted coffee, but not the end of the world.
I went back to sleep for a little while, and there was still no power when I woke up. Hmmm...it struck me that this was likely a more serious problem than whatever causes the ususal brief outages. I made some phone calls, and looked at the empty, non-dripping coffee pot, and decided that it wasn't worth the bother to stay up (and I had not slept well all weekend), and proceeded to catch up on some more sleep.
A check of my computer revealed at about 11:30 or so that the internet service was working, which meant that the generator at the school was working. I thought that I might as well work, too. I knew that there would probably be coffee over there as well, so off I went. I learned that the village generators had apparently run out of fuel. I was convinced at that point that we were going to have to learn to do without for a couple of days. Adequately caffienated at last, I turned to writing lesson plans with my teaching partner.
Sometime around one o'clock, I learned from another teacher that the power had been restored in the village. At least we were not going to have to worry about all of the meat in our freezer going bad. I spent the remainder of the afternoon contentedly puttering in my classroom, and getting ready for the return of my bride. I learned that my classroom is getting a smart board (yay!), and I got checked out on the school's four-wheeler, so that I could haul both totes and spouse from the airstrip at 5pm. Much nervousness on my part, as I had never operated one of the beasties before. Not to worry. I still know how to handle a motor-driven vehicle after all. Retireval was accomplished, and the machine in question was stored, and no one was killed or injured.
We topped the evening with a pizza get-together at the house of Jim, our long-term sub, featuring yummy pies and some delish cheesecake that my darling brought from Anchorage. A pleasant end to a day that started out in a not-so-promising fashion.
The week awaits us. Tuesday and Wednesday will feature parent-teacher conferences, and we have a district writing exercise with which to entertain our students on at least two days. I note that the prompts are the same ones that we saw at least twice last year. Then it is in to the Labor Day weekend, which we are all awaiting with anticipation. This week will also mark a milestone in the history of this blog, which I will likely talk about tomorrow...
I went back to sleep for a little while, and there was still no power when I woke up. Hmmm...it struck me that this was likely a more serious problem than whatever causes the ususal brief outages. I made some phone calls, and looked at the empty, non-dripping coffee pot, and decided that it wasn't worth the bother to stay up (and I had not slept well all weekend), and proceeded to catch up on some more sleep.
A check of my computer revealed at about 11:30 or so that the internet service was working, which meant that the generator at the school was working. I thought that I might as well work, too. I knew that there would probably be coffee over there as well, so off I went. I learned that the village generators had apparently run out of fuel. I was convinced at that point that we were going to have to learn to do without for a couple of days. Adequately caffienated at last, I turned to writing lesson plans with my teaching partner.
Sometime around one o'clock, I learned from another teacher that the power had been restored in the village. At least we were not going to have to worry about all of the meat in our freezer going bad. I spent the remainder of the afternoon contentedly puttering in my classroom, and getting ready for the return of my bride. I learned that my classroom is getting a smart board (yay!), and I got checked out on the school's four-wheeler, so that I could haul both totes and spouse from the airstrip at 5pm. Much nervousness on my part, as I had never operated one of the beasties before. Not to worry. I still know how to handle a motor-driven vehicle after all. Retireval was accomplished, and the machine in question was stored, and no one was killed or injured.
We topped the evening with a pizza get-together at the house of Jim, our long-term sub, featuring yummy pies and some delish cheesecake that my darling brought from Anchorage. A pleasant end to a day that started out in a not-so-promising fashion.
The week awaits us. Tuesday and Wednesday will feature parent-teacher conferences, and we have a district writing exercise with which to entertain our students on at least two days. I note that the prompts are the same ones that we saw at least twice last year. Then it is in to the Labor Day weekend, which we are all awaiting with anticipation. This week will also mark a milestone in the history of this blog, which I will likely talk about tomorrow...
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Catching Up...
I have been busy running around a lot lately. We had our big shindig on Wednesday to celebrate making AYP, which involved a lot of serving and carrying, two parts of my special skill set. On Friday, we began the first of our marathon professional development sessions of the year. These babies run on into Friday night, and then pick up again on Saturday morning. With the necessity for lesson planning and classroom organization, they effectively make for seven-day work weeks in the weeks in which they fall. Of course, the commute to work doesn't burn up all that much time, but it does kind of kill the private life effectively for that week. Keep in mind that it is not especially unusual for us to be involved in something or other at the school into the evening hours of any given day. Fortunately, I like most of the people with whom I work, and I enjoy what I am doing. The other nice thing is that we have front-loaded the school year with these activities, so that we are not stuck doing them late in the year, when burn-out is becoming epidemic.
Oddly enough, neither my bride nor I were actually around for the entire escapade. She had to go off to Anchorage for a meeting with the Rose Urban-Rural Exchange Program people. I may have mentioned this organization before. It sponsors exchange programs between the afore-mentioned categories of school, with the goal of promoting exposure and understanding. I believe that this will be the fourth year in which she has led our group in this program. Having the students from Ben Eielson AFB in Fairbanks was quite a bit of fun last year. Our students enjoy their trips there as well. Anyway, she will be there all weekend.
I, on the other hand, got to enjoy the somewhat more prosaic pleasures of an overnight trip to Bethel. As a second-year teacher with the district, I am required to spend three Saturdays in inservices in Bethel throughout the course of the year. We will be spending that time focusing on specific areas of study. I have chosen science, since I am the accidental science teacher for the junior high. I say accidental, because I found out about this kind of by accident. The teacher who was previously teaching that subject gave me her 8th-grade materials, saying, "you'll need these in the future." To say that I was not consulted was an understatement. It has turned out ok, because the district has a fine-looking new set of source materials from which I can work, but it would be nice to be asked. I found the sessions in our focus group enjoyable.
I got to Bethel by boat on Friday evening, which meant that I was strolling down the muddy expanse of Front Street (which runs along the Kuskokwim) in a pair of knee-high mud boots, a foul-weather jacket with a PFD over the top of that, carrying a knapsack. The simple pleasures of a teacher's life in the Bush. I like Bethel. It is variously called the "armpit" or even the "asshole" of Alaska, but I like it. I have to admit that my appreciation has little to do with its esthetic appeal. Ok, nothing to do with that. It is likely the weirdness of the place that works for me: the New York ratios of cabs to humans, the Korean-Chinese-sushi-Mexican fusion restaurants, the grocery stores that sell prom dresses, snow machines, and hamburger (in HUGE quantities). I like to go to Camai for the dancing and crafts. I like the multilingual bathroom signs at the airport. I remember coming back here the second time that I visited, and being drawn in by the Yup'ik-accented English (and Yup'ik) that I heard on the plane out here, and seeing that bare concrete floor in the baggage area and somehow feeling a warmth that I could not explain. When I see it now, I just know that I have come back home. Go figure...
I know that there are troubles galore out here-poverty, alcohol, suicide and assault. There are also many, many people who desperately want to preserve their traditional ways of life and also pass on a better life to their children, people who in that respect are no different than folks back in Cadillac, or anywhere else that I have been in the lower 48.
OK, enough preaching. Anyway, I hung out in Bethel last night after a fun boat ride up with Joe Bavilla. I went over to the Swanson's grocery store to get some cash from the money machine, and immediately ran into two families from Napaskiak, which made for a much more social occasion than the average trip to the bank. I saw a couple of the teachers with whom I came into the district last year there a little later, and we had a pleasant stroll back to the hotel where we were all staying.
After our session was done today, I hit the AC (Alaska Commercial-you can look up its history on Wikipedia) store for five dozen eggs, some potatos and a bag of onions. I was off to the Yute Air terminal in record time, and I even managed a little lesson planning while waiting for my plane (free wi-fi, natch). We took a Cessna 172 for the flight across the river, and it felt like a much livelier plane than the Cessna 207s on which I usually seem to end up. It started to make me think about studying for my pilot's license, but that is an expense which I will forego for the time being.
And now I am in the comfort of my tiny home, thinking about a better night's sleep than last night. I do not care that much for being alone any more, but it is tolerable for the night. A life shared, especially an adventure, seems better to me these days, and we will be back to doing that tomorrow...
Oddly enough, neither my bride nor I were actually around for the entire escapade. She had to go off to Anchorage for a meeting with the Rose Urban-Rural Exchange Program people. I may have mentioned this organization before. It sponsors exchange programs between the afore-mentioned categories of school, with the goal of promoting exposure and understanding. I believe that this will be the fourth year in which she has led our group in this program. Having the students from Ben Eielson AFB in Fairbanks was quite a bit of fun last year. Our students enjoy their trips there as well. Anyway, she will be there all weekend.
I, on the other hand, got to enjoy the somewhat more prosaic pleasures of an overnight trip to Bethel. As a second-year teacher with the district, I am required to spend three Saturdays in inservices in Bethel throughout the course of the year. We will be spending that time focusing on specific areas of study. I have chosen science, since I am the accidental science teacher for the junior high. I say accidental, because I found out about this kind of by accident. The teacher who was previously teaching that subject gave me her 8th-grade materials, saying, "you'll need these in the future." To say that I was not consulted was an understatement. It has turned out ok, because the district has a fine-looking new set of source materials from which I can work, but it would be nice to be asked. I found the sessions in our focus group enjoyable.
I got to Bethel by boat on Friday evening, which meant that I was strolling down the muddy expanse of Front Street (which runs along the Kuskokwim) in a pair of knee-high mud boots, a foul-weather jacket with a PFD over the top of that, carrying a knapsack. The simple pleasures of a teacher's life in the Bush. I like Bethel. It is variously called the "armpit" or even the "asshole" of Alaska, but I like it. I have to admit that my appreciation has little to do with its esthetic appeal. Ok, nothing to do with that. It is likely the weirdness of the place that works for me: the New York ratios of cabs to humans, the Korean-Chinese-sushi-Mexican fusion restaurants, the grocery stores that sell prom dresses, snow machines, and hamburger (in HUGE quantities). I like to go to Camai for the dancing and crafts. I like the multilingual bathroom signs at the airport. I remember coming back here the second time that I visited, and being drawn in by the Yup'ik-accented English (and Yup'ik) that I heard on the plane out here, and seeing that bare concrete floor in the baggage area and somehow feeling a warmth that I could not explain. When I see it now, I just know that I have come back home. Go figure...
I know that there are troubles galore out here-poverty, alcohol, suicide and assault. There are also many, many people who desperately want to preserve their traditional ways of life and also pass on a better life to their children, people who in that respect are no different than folks back in Cadillac, or anywhere else that I have been in the lower 48.
OK, enough preaching. Anyway, I hung out in Bethel last night after a fun boat ride up with Joe Bavilla. I went over to the Swanson's grocery store to get some cash from the money machine, and immediately ran into two families from Napaskiak, which made for a much more social occasion than the average trip to the bank. I saw a couple of the teachers with whom I came into the district last year there a little later, and we had a pleasant stroll back to the hotel where we were all staying.
After our session was done today, I hit the AC (Alaska Commercial-you can look up its history on Wikipedia) store for five dozen eggs, some potatos and a bag of onions. I was off to the Yute Air terminal in record time, and I even managed a little lesson planning while waiting for my plane (free wi-fi, natch). We took a Cessna 172 for the flight across the river, and it felt like a much livelier plane than the Cessna 207s on which I usually seem to end up. It started to make me think about studying for my pilot's license, but that is an expense which I will forego for the time being.
And now I am in the comfort of my tiny home, thinking about a better night's sleep than last night. I do not care that much for being alone any more, but it is tolerable for the night. A life shared, especially an adventure, seems better to me these days, and we will be back to doing that tomorrow...
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Alaska Airlines, Kiss My A--!!!
We are already looking at airfares for Xmas time. Expensive. The biggest hook is on the Bethel-Anchorage leg, because there is a virtual monopoly. F*&^%$s....maybe it is the year to just stay in the village...not sure how well that would fly, but it might cut down on the break-in threat...
The big AYP dinner was tonight...kudos to my all-star wife for pulling it off...we couldn't run this joint without her.
Tomorrow is Thursday...only 4 more working days until Monday.
The cold is breaking up nicely, although I did end up sleeping on the couch last night because I was coughing for a while. I think that I will live...and now it's time for bed...
The big AYP dinner was tonight...kudos to my all-star wife for pulling it off...we couldn't run this joint without her.
Tomorrow is Thursday...only 4 more working days until Monday.
The cold is breaking up nicely, although I did end up sleeping on the couch last night because I was coughing for a while. I think that I will live...and now it's time for bed...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Up On The Wall...
The kids were pretty good today, except when they fell apart...it is tough to get them to work together in group projects because they have a tendency to bicker. Someone says something, someone else gets his/her nose out of joint, and we are off to the races...we tried a little experiment with building the perfect paper airplane today. It was hard enough finding a place to fly, because the building is pretty crowded. We started, and then got moved, and then that reallt went to the dogs. I finally pulled them back into the classroom, and tried to have a postmortem on what went wrong. I think that caused me to really lose my patience. The backbiting gets to be a little much sometimes. Oh, well, we will try again tomorrow. The math kids, on the other hand, did pretty well. So, I guess that we have that working for us.
We did seem to have fun with a writing exercise. I am working on the writing process itself. We took a stab at free writing and word association, with pairs of kids coming up to see what they could do in 60 seconds. I also showed them that they can keep a journal, so that perhaps they can pull information from it in the future for expanded writing projects. I showed them this blog as an example of how they can try to get better at writing by doing it consistently.
Tonight was girls' open gym, and I hepled out a little bit with the preparations for tomorrow night's dinner. I probably could have justified staying at home and sleeping, but it was too boring to contemplate. Maybe I will catch up over the Labor Day weekend.
Tomorrow is Hump Day already, and it promises to be a long one. If I remember correctly, I had a cold last year at about this time. I just hope that I am not doing this all over again...
We did seem to have fun with a writing exercise. I am working on the writing process itself. We took a stab at free writing and word association, with pairs of kids coming up to see what they could do in 60 seconds. I also showed them that they can keep a journal, so that perhaps they can pull information from it in the future for expanded writing projects. I showed them this blog as an example of how they can try to get better at writing by doing it consistently.
Tonight was girls' open gym, and I hepled out a little bit with the preparations for tomorrow night's dinner. I probably could have justified staying at home and sleeping, but it was too boring to contemplate. Maybe I will catch up over the Labor Day weekend.
Tomorrow is Hump Day already, and it promises to be a long one. If I remember correctly, I had a cold last year at about this time. I just hope that I am not doing this all over again...
Monday, August 23, 2010
Hoo-Rah! Monday's Over!
Another exciting week off to a start! And another Monday gone between me and next summer's vacation!!! Funny, ain't I?? Oh, please-you didn't expect some earnest discourse about the nature of education, did you? Please. Please. Please...I'm starting to feel like James Brown...
Let's see...dishes washed, laundry done and put away, spaghetti sauce put away at the school. Pasta for Wednesday's dinner not yet cooked, but the meat is defrosting in the kitchen at school. I have my lessons blocked out for the morning. Now it is nearly time for bed. BTW-the cold is still hanging around, but it didn't stop me from spinning this evening.
Tomorrow one of my students wants to start coming to stay after school so that he can work on his English phases and get out of 8th grade by the end of the year. He came to me with the idea, and I am happy about that.
Not much else to say about the day except that it is over, and no one got hurt. Not necessarily for want of trying. On to Tuesday!
Let's see...dishes washed, laundry done and put away, spaghetti sauce put away at the school. Pasta for Wednesday's dinner not yet cooked, but the meat is defrosting in the kitchen at school. I have my lessons blocked out for the morning. Now it is nearly time for bed. BTW-the cold is still hanging around, but it didn't stop me from spinning this evening.
Tomorrow one of my students wants to start coming to stay after school so that he can work on his English phases and get out of 8th grade by the end of the year. He came to me with the idea, and I am happy about that.
Not much else to say about the day except that it is over, and no one got hurt. Not necessarily for want of trying. On to Tuesday!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
UGH...
I didn't catch the cold, it caught me. We have been doing a flirting dance for almost a week now, and I think the courtship has been consumated. One of the new kids on the block came in with one from the beginning, and it has been sneaking up on unsuspecting employees here ever since then. Tomorrow is Monday, and I don't want to start the week with the crud, but there isn't much choice in the matter. Lots of fluid and early to bed-it's the only option.
I am fervently hoping that this does not portend the return of last year's pattern-I thought that I should be building up some immunity up to this kind of thing. Time to cross my fingers...
It was a beautiful day here-the sun actually came out from behind the clouds and stayed for the day. It is 61 degrees at nearly nine o'clock at night. Time for salmon dinner. Maybe the fish will revitalize me. We hauled a mother lode of plastic totes over to the old B.I.A. building for storage. Storage is something in short supply in a 630-square foot house. It's done and the place looks less crowded-we got eight totes in the mail on Friday. One has yet to arrive-it contains my peanut butter and other important supplies.
We may have a big wing-ding this week because we reached a benchmark under NCLB, which gives us a temporary stay of execution from the Feds. Just kidding. About the execution, not the accomplishment. There may or may not be a big dinner for the community. Then again, it might be next week. It remains to be seen. Actually, there will be a big dinner, but it remains to be seen when it will happen. We will have a lot of work to do when it does. One full week and a partial one until Labor Day weekend. Moving along already...
Sunday Afternoon at The Airport
The Napaskiak Striders hit the tarmac again on Sunday afternoon. This meeting was called by member J. Bennett...a quorum was quickly established and the meeting was called to order...no chair-person was named at this time, as the organization has a cheerfully anarchistic structure. It is sincerely hoped by all (in the belief of this writer)that the current arrangement will continue...
Sunday Morning...
We worked late last night-well, not late like midnight, but late like 7:30...I still have a couple of little things to take care of before tomorrow, like counting counters and planning Second Step lessons...still the day belongs mostly to us, and we are going to do a little necessary house cleaning, and I might catch up on the Netflix movies that have been sitting around here for the last week...the seemingly ceaseless rain has ceased for the moment and there is even a little peek of sunshine out there-maybe a walk later on would be in order. Whatever else is true, I should probably get off my butt as noon approaches...more later...
Friday, August 20, 2010
Gnats...
Gnats...in a house...kind of like snakes on a plane...Lots of them. Oboy, it's gnat season again. The time up here that makes even a wimp like me start to long for cold weather. It will be time to make a gnat trap after I finish this post...damn, but I hate gnats. Their purpose on the planet is a mystery to me.
Less than 24 hrs after the last post, all of the totes showed up. Christmas in August! Now there are a big bunch of totes cluttering up the living room. Rumor has it that we are carting them over to the old B.I.A. building tomorrow. It will be nice to have the entryway back. The old table from the living room is going, too.
First week of school is over and we all appear to have survived. Only 17 weeks to go until Xmas vacation!
Not much to say about the weekend...Joe B is having a birthday tomorrow, so happy b-day to him, and I suspect a cake will be involved. Cake opportunities are always good. I believe that as a primary rule of human existence. Unfortunately, lesson plans are probably indicated as well. I think that we are going to a Saturday work plan this year, so that we can keep Sundays as personal time. Now that I think of it, I think that some of my plans for the past week were a little over-ambitious, so a lot of my plans for last week may be recyclable for this week. We shall see. Of course, I might like to expand on a few of the ones that I came up with...
Friday was pleasant, and my kiddies are coming along, although maybe a little slower than I had hoped. Still, this is a much different group than last year, and I probably should relax with them, even if I don't let them in on it. They are just kids, after all...
Less than 24 hrs after the last post, all of the totes showed up. Christmas in August! Now there are a big bunch of totes cluttering up the living room. Rumor has it that we are carting them over to the old B.I.A. building tomorrow. It will be nice to have the entryway back. The old table from the living room is going, too.
First week of school is over and we all appear to have survived. Only 17 weeks to go until Xmas vacation!
Not much to say about the weekend...Joe B is having a birthday tomorrow, so happy b-day to him, and I suspect a cake will be involved. Cake opportunities are always good. I believe that as a primary rule of human existence. Unfortunately, lesson plans are probably indicated as well. I think that we are going to a Saturday work plan this year, so that we can keep Sundays as personal time. Now that I think of it, I think that some of my plans for the past week were a little over-ambitious, so a lot of my plans for last week may be recyclable for this week. We shall see. Of course, I might like to expand on a few of the ones that I came up with...
Friday was pleasant, and my kiddies are coming along, although maybe a little slower than I had hoped. Still, this is a much different group than last year, and I probably should relax with them, even if I don't let them in on it. They are just kids, after all...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
This Is The 490th Post on This Blog...
It is 11:01, and my wife doesn't know where our packages are...reminds me of those damn busybodies who used to say "It's 11:00 pm. Do you know where your children are?" Scolds on TV...now who would ever have thought THAT would catch on.
I am watching this right-wing xenophobia explode by the week in a country that I am not sure that I want to know anymore. Every moron with a microphone or a twitter account can start screaming about the evil Mexicans or Muslims or whatever little brown demons that they are afraid of and the papers must dutifully report it as "news." Enough to make ya puke...
Off the soapbox. It's gnat season in these here parts and they are everywhere. Biting gnats. Fun...and the skeeters were also out in force tonight. The sun came out and a bunch of us decided to take a walk in what is becoming a every-other night ritual. We have a couple of new people here who like to join us. Jan is our new dean of students, and Jim is subbing in the 5th and 6th grade. He seems pretty nice and enjoys the kids. He is a retired teacher, and it would be nice if he decided to stay around for a while, but I don't think that he finds the administration around here all that compatible. Too bad. I think that he would make a nice fit for the job. Jan seems nice, but I can't tell if she will hold out past this year's contract. It's not a knock or anything, but it is tough out here on a single person. I hope that we can hold on to our little strolling society for a while. Many of the kids in the village seem to like it when we go out walking, especially on these lovely, buggy August nights...they follow us, peppering us with questions about everything. It's sort of a rolling village press conference...a nice way to spend an evening in Napaskiak...
I am watching this right-wing xenophobia explode by the week in a country that I am not sure that I want to know anymore. Every moron with a microphone or a twitter account can start screaming about the evil Mexicans or Muslims or whatever little brown demons that they are afraid of and the papers must dutifully report it as "news." Enough to make ya puke...
Off the soapbox. It's gnat season in these here parts and they are everywhere. Biting gnats. Fun...and the skeeters were also out in force tonight. The sun came out and a bunch of us decided to take a walk in what is becoming a every-other night ritual. We have a couple of new people here who like to join us. Jan is our new dean of students, and Jim is subbing in the 5th and 6th grade. He seems pretty nice and enjoys the kids. He is a retired teacher, and it would be nice if he decided to stay around for a while, but I don't think that he finds the administration around here all that compatible. Too bad. I think that he would make a nice fit for the job. Jan seems nice, but I can't tell if she will hold out past this year's contract. It's not a knock or anything, but it is tough out here on a single person. I hope that we can hold on to our little strolling society for a while. Many of the kids in the village seem to like it when we go out walking, especially on these lovely, buggy August nights...they follow us, peppering us with questions about everything. It's sort of a rolling village press conference...a nice way to spend an evening in Napaskiak...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Over The Hump (First Week Version)
Yay, Thursday! Only a couple of hours away. A tough day in some ways, but very rewarding. I am starting to finally feel a greater degree of confidence in my teaching abilities. Of course, I have huge amounts to learn, but I feel much more comfortable and much less defensive, and that strikes me as a necessary precedent to learning.
We have been trying (and succeeding) to be religious about our workout schedule, and I got an especially fine-feeling spinning exercise in tonight. Music and iPods-the workout fan's best friend!
Once we get to catch a breath this weekend, I want to get into my classroom and straighten out a few things. My co-teacher and I opened up a pretty good amount of room in there as compared to last year. Things have gotten a little messy with the week's comings and goings, and I want to keep it nice and un-cluttered. I also need to get some of those damnable submissions out to AKT2, so's I can keep my license when it comes up for renewal in December. Next weekend is second-year teacher in-service in Bethel, so I am going to be busy then, and the end of the month is fast approaching. I need to make twelve submissions a month to keep current with those folks.
Not so bad, really, and it's nearly time for bed. I think that sleep is going to feel especially sweet tonight.
We have been trying (and succeeding) to be religious about our workout schedule, and I got an especially fine-feeling spinning exercise in tonight. Music and iPods-the workout fan's best friend!
Once we get to catch a breath this weekend, I want to get into my classroom and straighten out a few things. My co-teacher and I opened up a pretty good amount of room in there as compared to last year. Things have gotten a little messy with the week's comings and goings, and I want to keep it nice and un-cluttered. I also need to get some of those damnable submissions out to AKT2, so's I can keep my license when it comes up for renewal in December. Next weekend is second-year teacher in-service in Bethel, so I am going to be busy then, and the end of the month is fast approaching. I need to make twelve submissions a month to keep current with those folks.
Not so bad, really, and it's nearly time for bed. I think that sleep is going to feel especially sweet tonight.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Anniversary Cake
It has been a month. And they said it wouldn't last...it has been very nice, so far. It doesn't seem possible that only a month ago we were getting married. Cool...
Day 2...
Much better. Yesterday wasn't bad, but it felt as if we just got through it. Today, I felt as if we were starting to make some progress. I'll hope that the pattern continues...
I was reading an article about Ted Stevens in one of the local newspapers. Regardless of his reputation in the Lower 48, he was certainly respected out here in the Delta, from what I can see. He had a huge impact on th equality of life for people in rural Alaska, and it appears that he will be missed. And we all fly around in little planes under occasionally sketchy weather conditions out here from time to time. That stuff comes a little too close to home out here.
I was reading an article about Ted Stevens in one of the local newspapers. Regardless of his reputation in the Lower 48, he was certainly respected out here in the Delta, from what I can see. He had a huge impact on th equality of life for people in rural Alaska, and it appears that he will be missed. And we all fly around in little planes under occasionally sketchy weather conditions out here from time to time. That stuff comes a little too close to home out here.
Hello Darkness, My Old Friend...
Ah, the delights of 3:45 am...I have only just started the melatonin routine in the past couple of days, and it has apparently abandoned me on this night. So that leaves me, in turn, with the 3:30 ruminations...how am I doing it wrong, how will I fail, etc...
I did the exercise thing yesterday, and I have been careful to stay on that program since I have been back, so as to keep my mind healthy, but there are so many little kids in there and so much to keep track of and I am feeling a little overwhelmed, too, in ways that my waking mind won't let me feel. Oh, yes, and I think I am getting a cold-there is already one in the building.
But enough whining from me. It is early yet, and there are all kinds of hope for the future. The bunch that I have shows promise, and that should be enough, even for a cynical old man. I need to remember the promise of tomorrow, not just the fears...and besides, I never really liked that song...
I did the exercise thing yesterday, and I have been careful to stay on that program since I have been back, so as to keep my mind healthy, but there are so many little kids in there and so much to keep track of and I am feeling a little overwhelmed, too, in ways that my waking mind won't let me feel. Oh, yes, and I think I am getting a cold-there is already one in the building.
But enough whining from me. It is early yet, and there are all kinds of hope for the future. The bunch that I have shows promise, and that should be enough, even for a cynical old man. I need to remember the promise of tomorrow, not just the fears...and besides, I never really liked that song...
Monday, August 16, 2010
Woo-Hoo!!! It's The First Day Of School!!!
Another one down...we seemed to have come through it unscathed. I have a partially new cast of characters, and a few from before. It was fine, and I think that we will all likely survive.
There was the usual confusion that attends a first day of school, but I didn't think that it was too bad. Some of the staff seem a little overwhelmed with the plethora of new initiatives that are in place, and some of the kids with behavior problems in the past had them again, but some of them seemed different, too. Maybe a little more mature, maybe a little wiser. Isn't that what we hope for from kids, after all? And there were a couple of kids that I was really glad to see back, regardless of how they acted. Because there was a time when I was afraid that I might not see them again at all. Now that is a good story for the first day of school...
There was the usual confusion that attends a first day of school, but I didn't think that it was too bad. Some of the staff seem a little overwhelmed with the plethora of new initiatives that are in place, and some of the kids with behavior problems in the past had them again, but some of them seemed different, too. Maybe a little more mature, maybe a little wiser. Isn't that what we hope for from kids, after all? And there were a couple of kids that I was really glad to see back, regardless of how they acted. Because there was a time when I was afraid that I might not see them again at all. Now that is a good story for the first day of school...
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
For Those Who Want To Be In The Know...
I have checked the source of all important human knowlwdge, kusko.net, and the length of day today will be 15 hours, 50 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes, 26 seconds shorter. Just so ya know. Sunset is still nearly 10:45...
Grumpy...
We have a new filter system in place to protect us from the ravages of the internet (porn, social networking sites). It blocks Facebook from 8am until 4pm during the week. I just found out that it does the same thing on the weekend. Damn. Not the end of the world, but it is how I keep up with friends and family from afar. I guess at least I have the access after 4. Hardly the end of the world, but I wonder why it can't tell the day of the week if it is capable of telling time??
Friday, August 13, 2010
Out On The Boardwalk...
Taking the fresh air, milady and I..we went out strolling tonight. The first trip was down to the airport so that the big dogs could run. We invited Jim, our temporary sub, and Jan, our new dean of students, to go along. It was the first truly dry day in many, and the fresh air after a day cooped up inside was reviving. We are getting acquainted with the new folks, although I did meet Jim out in Goodnews Bay earlier this year. He is a retired teacher who lives down in Southeast Alaska and does the occasional long-term substitute thing for a change of pace. How long he is here will depend upon the district's success in finding a permanent replacement for our buddy Adam Bode. The Bodester took a deal that he could not refuse from a school district near to his home and family in Ohio. He left all kinds of supplies that he had shipped in here for all of us. We found out this morning that he had also left six bags of salmon that he and Joe caught on Monday when they went out fishing. We all miss him here.
Later on, we went in the other direction, down to Teddy and Julia's house, in order to meet the new baby there. There was some pleasant conversation, and some serious baby dandling. I do like the feel of one of those little guys in my arms. We have another visit to make yet this weekend to the house of another new arrival.
Coming and going in all of our travels were what is beginning to be what I think of as my entourage, mostly little kids who follow us around and ask a million questions. It's fun and I actually enjoy it quite a bit. I managed to get included in many of the 'welcome home" hugs that my bride got along our travels. I think that I am feelin' a little of the love...another very pleasant feeling.
Friday night is, of course, my favorite of the week when I am working, and it's nice to spend this first one of the school year at our home in Napaskiak...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
More, By The Way...
We are finding ourself facing some of the housing issues that are common around here, namely a slightly psycho water pump. Ours is coming on at odd times and is providing inconsistent water pressure. Or course, there are other folks around here with pumps that are leaking like a sieve, and some people have no running water whatsoever. That makes us relatively lucky.
Some teachers out at another site have gotten caught in a dispute between the district and a contractor who built some new housing there. The district says that the houses are not finished and won't pay for them until they are. Meanwhile, the old housing was partially dismantled, so teachers may have a house without a stove, for instance. Some of them apparently moved some belongings into the school, which was broken into while they were in Bethel for inservice. Jeez...
The final by the way...we got out the tape measure the other day to settle a long-running dispute about the size of this house. The final result-about 630 square feet. Ah, vindication...
Work Day...
The inservice ended with boxes of pizza and dinner shared with Mr and Mrs Jung, from across the boardwalk. Today was a teacher work day, which consisted of a lot of hauling and carrying. Our classroom is starting to come together, but I suspect we will be in there this weekend to put the final touches on the thing.
There is apparently a nifty new science text coming my way this year, but it is unclear when that will happen, because the order has gotten stalled up at the district office or something like that. The first few weeks of science class can probably get accomplished with some gathering/observing/recording activities outside and around the village. It will probably be easier to figure out than reading, which still has a kind of confused district curriculum for junior high.
Dishes are clean and laundry is done, and tomorrow will be another inservice day. We have quite a few of them. We have no special plans for the weekend, but a promenade around the village would probably be a good idea, because the weather forecast is for more rain on the weekend. There has been an enormous amount of rain this summer, according to local folks.
It is still good to be back. We will see how I look at that question next week.
There is apparently a nifty new science text coming my way this year, but it is unclear when that will happen, because the order has gotten stalled up at the district office or something like that. The first few weeks of science class can probably get accomplished with some gathering/observing/recording activities outside and around the village. It will probably be easier to figure out than reading, which still has a kind of confused district curriculum for junior high.
Dishes are clean and laundry is done, and tomorrow will be another inservice day. We have quite a few of them. We have no special plans for the weekend, but a promenade around the village would probably be a good idea, because the weather forecast is for more rain on the weekend. There has been an enormous amount of rain this summer, according to local folks.
It is still good to be back. We will see how I look at that question next week.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
By The Way...
At the risk of sounding gushy, I just have to say again how great it is to be back and see friends and students and colleagues. What a blast I have had at the inservice, and the birthday party for Erin, and hanging out with Cristian at Renfro's this afternoon. Not to mention getting to fly in my first tail-wheeler. It's just so damned odd out here, that ya can't help but like it. (That means odd in a good way.)
I have to smile when folks here keep saying "welcome home." How nice it is to know that they feel that way. I think that I will sleep very well tonight...
I have to smile when folks here keep saying "welcome home." How nice it is to know that they feel that way. I think that I will sleep very well tonight...
Sitting Here At BRHS...
I'm watching my pal Erin K leading a class at our inservice about blogs and wikis. We have been back for a few days, as an attentive reader might have observed. We flew over to Bethel from the village a couple of days ago for the annual get-together, as well as the delight of seeing familiar faces. Today sees the end of the road for this session. Tomorrow will see us working in our classroom, and Friday we will have another inservice on site. The momentum continues...
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Back Home In PKA...
I have had many "welcome home" greetings in the past 24 hours. We are back in the village again, and it feels good. Really good. It is wonderful to be greeted with smiles and warm wishes by so many people. My students are a little more wise-assed, but they seem glad to see me, if for no other reason to give me a little teasing. It is good, and I am feeling positive about getting back into the fray in a week.
Joe hosted the first steam of the season at his house, and we had a lively time of it, with many pours and exclamations of wonderment and pain. I actually did pretty well for my first time back at it, especially considering that I really didn't get in any practice in all summer.
We have a few new members of the group this year, as some of the staff have left and gone on to other jobs elsewhere. They seem nice, and I hope that they will be a good addition to the team. There have been a few major changes, and we will see how they work out. The big district-wide inservice will start Tuesday in Bethel, and we will get to see some familiar faces and catch up on new happenings in their lives.
A whole new school year is upon us, and we will see where it leads...
Joe hosted the first steam of the season at his house, and we had a lively time of it, with many pours and exclamations of wonderment and pain. I actually did pretty well for my first time back at it, especially considering that I really didn't get in any practice in all summer.
We have a few new members of the group this year, as some of the staff have left and gone on to other jobs elsewhere. They seem nice, and I hope that they will be a good addition to the team. There have been a few major changes, and we will see how they work out. The big district-wide inservice will start Tuesday in Bethel, and we will get to see some familiar faces and catch up on new happenings in their lives.
A whole new school year is upon us, and we will see where it leads...
Friday, August 6, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Last Day Here...
Taking care of odds and ends...packing the airplane tote...cleaning out the fridge...a visit with friends tonight. We saw the kids and Chelsea's dad last night. We will do a little light mailing and some rental car cleaning today as well.
It has been both busy and memorable this summer. Both of us have voiced the hope that next summer will be a little less scheduled. But I really can't complain about all of the things that we have gotten done this year. I am not sure that we could have expected it to all go as smoothly as it did.
It has been both busy and memorable this summer. Both of us have voiced the hope that next summer will be a little less scheduled. But I really can't complain about all of the things that we have gotten done this year. I am not sure that we could have expected it to all go as smoothly as it did.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Progress...
Eight totes have been marked "parcel post" at the local post office. The bathrooms are sparkling and clean. The books have been shipped to Napaskiak, and a change of address has been filed. Even my Netflix account has been updated. The great semi-annual shift is on...
There are many ways to minimize the potential disruption of moving around so far so often. Much of my life is lived online. Banking and bill notification all take place on the internet. The simple existence of this blog speaks loudly to the change in the life that is possible even in what were once thought of as locations isolated from the stream of American life. I doubt that that statement was ever really true. It is certainly not now.
I spent several minutes yesterday exchanging instant messages on Facebook with Joe B. about our return and what has been going on out in PKA. He can send text messages to us and we can respond. Things are a whole lot easier as regards communications than they must have been before.
Now it is time to begin dreaming of lesson plans and how they can carry that message to our students. How they can learn to convey their thoughts and dreams and hopes. How they can understand that there are many ways to consider and solve a problem. How they can be a part of the world and unique in it at the same time. No small order.
The adventure is only a few days, a few hours away...
There are many ways to minimize the potential disruption of moving around so far so often. Much of my life is lived online. Banking and bill notification all take place on the internet. The simple existence of this blog speaks loudly to the change in the life that is possible even in what were once thought of as locations isolated from the stream of American life. I doubt that that statement was ever really true. It is certainly not now.
I spent several minutes yesterday exchanging instant messages on Facebook with Joe B. about our return and what has been going on out in PKA. He can send text messages to us and we can respond. Things are a whole lot easier as regards communications than they must have been before.
Now it is time to begin dreaming of lesson plans and how they can carry that message to our students. How they can learn to convey their thoughts and dreams and hopes. How they can understand that there are many ways to consider and solve a problem. How they can be a part of the world and unique in it at the same time. No small order.
The adventure is only a few days, a few hours away...
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Packing Begins
It is time to take up the task of preparation for our return to Alaska. Two packed and prepared totes are in the back of the Explorer. We will take some more with us for a trip to Meijer's for some additional shopping. It is time to send books back by flat-rate box, and file the necessary change of address forms.
This transformation takes a lot of work. Not as much as moving an army to be sure, but there is much to get done and keep track of so that the transition goes as stress-free as possible.
On Friday, we will drive to O'Hare airport and fly back to Anchorage.
This transformation takes a lot of work. Not as much as moving an army to be sure, but there is much to get done and keep track of so that the transition goes as stress-free as possible.
On Friday, we will drive to O'Hare airport and fly back to Anchorage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)