Sunday Morning, At a Crawl...

I wonder if Kristofferson could do something with that...it does scan with the original lines...no ambition today. Still in PJs at almost one o clock. The dishes are nearly done, and that's a subject that needed addressing. Now for personal hygiene, the last lesson plan, a poster, and Woody at the airport. Woody is the project manager for my certification program, and he will apparently be here through Wednesday. Then I get my mentor Thursday night. Everyone is coming here to make sure that I don't get lonely...

I might just as soon do without, but I guess that's not an option.

I am not sure that I want Woody in the junior high first thing in the morning. They are easily distractable, especially for a novel audience. We are implementing this new reading scheme that has been mandated, and I frankly expect a level of chaos. I hope that I am wrong, but I expect many headaches this week during first and second hours. Woody's presence, however well- meaning, may well serve to accelerate that process. They already go nuts when the principal comes in. I suspect that my wishes on the subject may go unheeded.

I was doing the instant messaging thing on Facebook with one of my pals from Michigan who is temporarily exiled to Texas. She suggested going into practice together, although she likes hanging out with her kids right now. The idea has some possible appeal, but it may take a while to get there. Think I'll stick to teaching school for now...

It's Late and I'm Tired...

I got home from school at 10:00, just as the curfew sirens were going off. It was kind of a long day, but I got a fair amount of stuff done, including most of my lesson planning. I need to put some final touches on Ak Studies, mostly because the lesson is kind of big and complex. I don't really quite know how to write up junior high, because it is so weird and crazy. We are implementing the new changes ordered from on high, which include me working with the two most difficult groups in the classroom, and somwhow getting two other groups to work independently. It sounds a little unrealistic to me, but I am a professional, and I did previously make a living cleaning up after other people's shitty ideas. This should be right up my alley...

Even though I am tired and have to keep correcting my typing errors, I don't really want to go to sleep just yet. Maybe some melatonin will do the trick.

Tomorrow is another day...

Damn, It's Getting Cold...

Just came back from working at school-the temperature has dropped significantly, and the wind has picked up. The clouds have cleared off, too, and the forecast for tonight suggests windchill readings of -20. Brrrrr...I had the dogs out for a while, and was wishing fervently for long underwear. I suspect that it will be a required item tomorrow. I will be returning to the school later on to get more work done.

There is loose talk about a snowmachine trip to Bethel tomorrow, or maybe next week. I am getting chilled just thinking about it. I do have the bundle-up stuff and the helmet as a windbreaker, so I guess it will be ok ultimately. Still, that is one cold ride-I have made it before...

The idea we have tonight is to get all school work done and have tomorrow to do other things. It may be a long evening...

What More Can I Say?

How much do I love Fridays? No telling, there's just no telling. No way to do it real justice. It really is the best night of the week. By Saturday, reality has set back in, and there is almost always work to be done. I have a long list that insures that I will be working most of the weekend. Saturday night is church time. Sunday, of course, is lesson planning time, because ya know that those masterpieces have to be submitted by Monday morning. I heard about the teachers who got called out for not having theirs in on time. One of them was the principal's wife. And much hilarity ensued...

Just got off the "phone" with folks back home. It's always nice to hear from them-I like it quite a bit. I also have to make sure that I give a call to mom and dad this weekend. It's due.

Rumor (well-placed) has it that the river is now open, which means that snowmachines will be coming out in earnest this weekend. The road to Napaskiak is now open...I even modeled my new helmet tonight for some excited Skype viewers.

Much wonderment...I got the new Kindle this evening, and I'm all excited. Fun reading for the flight back home at Christmas time, which is rapidly approaching...how cool is that? Suffice to say that I am VERY appreciative...muchas smoooches to all of my girlfriends-BTW, my self-styled "gangsta" student saw some of the old pictures on this blog and decided that I was a "playa" with the ladies...now THAT'S funny...

Coming Down The Stretch...

The Thursday of another quickly moving week...tomorrow is my favorite day. A half day w/the students, and then PD in the afternoon, followed by Friday night, the best night of the week...it is funny to see how my point of view has changed with the dynamics of this job. Even though I find PD sessions sort of overly earnest and silly sometimes, they do involve snacks, and I have mentioned several times how much I enjoy the company of my co-workers.

My challenge in any given day is to get through the first five periods of the day in some sort of neutral mood. Depending on the general mood in the junior high, that can be a significant hurdle. However, the boss seems to think that they are beginning to improve, based on his samplings, which may well be more objective than my perception, as I am perhaps too close to them on a minute-to-minute basis.

I suspect that I will spend a minute or two this weekend trying to figure out exactly what it is that we are doing with this "new look" reading project that is to start on Monday. It will feature groupings and different aspects of reading programs that are someone's pet idea. Maybe it will work. I have no idea.

My AKT2 guy is coming out Sunday afternoon, which means that my lesson planning time will get cut into. I get lots of visitors next week...

Well, I Guess It Ain't Hawaii, After All...

The balmy weather turned out to be short-lived. The temperature dropped sharply overnight, and everything froze. To make it more fun, the wind has been blowing hard all day, with gusts of over 40 mph. I hear that it's even worse down closer to the Bering Sea coast, which is not actually all that far away. Of course, this should freeze the river up nicely, which means that soon, it will be time to get the snowmachine out and go up the river to Bethel, for something like civilization. There is supposed to be an excellent Saturday market there on Thanksgiving weekend, which is approaching quickly. Probably time to do some xmas shopping. I would like some nice fur mittens myself. Because it gets FUCKING COLD up here-that's why. Enough of that.

I got my review today. It is the first formal one required by the district. I'm off the hook for a while now, although my SA is pretty much a stickler and wants things done a certain way. I guess it's up to him, at least to some extent. He feels that I have made a good deal of progress since the beginning of the year. Some areas still need improvement, but overall, it went well.

Tonight, I relax. Tomorrow, I go back to trying to get better at this stuff. We'll see how it goes.

Heat Wave Strikes Y-K Delta; Hell To Freeze Over...

It continues to be strangely warm here, after all of the cold temps of the past couple of weeks. It actually rained again today. Some of the local (!) fellas say this will actually be a good thing for river freeze-up, as it will help to melt the snow on top of the ice, thus removing the insulating layer at such time as it does get cold again. AND IT WILL GET COLD AGAIN.

Nothing else especially interesting to report. Jr high was their usual charming selves...had to get one girl's father to take her out of the classroom at the principal's request because she refused to do what he had requested. The weird thing about this girl is that she comes from one of the steadiest families here in the village. I find her to be consistently impossible. She is actually much harder to deal with than many of the kids that come from tougher circumstances.

Got my formal observation today. I'll get the post-mortem tomorrow. If I still have a job, I'll post. If I don't, I'll post. Whichever way it goes, I'll post...