Sunday, January 31, 2010
Puking Barefoot In The Snow...
Now, that should get your attention...more to follow in the morning, but it's late and I need to get some sacktime.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Kimchee in Bethel...
Well, let's catch up on the week. I have been posting on the fly, but haven't really had the time to present anything in any detail.
I have made numerous refrences to my cold. It is slowly sinking into the west like the sunset after spending about a week with me. Visitors are nice out here, but not so much with this one. Not awful, mind you, but it sucked up an awful lot of my spare energy during the week. Anything much beyond work, dishes, and laundry was just not happening. I will not miss it.
The new spin bike is here, and my bike gear got here today. I can now get after it, because I am feeling better. I am only waiting for the sport package stuff that I ordered to get here, because it did not get here with the bike. I will probably call on Monday morning during my prep period to make sure that the order is not glitched up. The option in question provides us with a bunch of workout dvd's, a padded seat cover (hmmm), and SPD-compatible pedals. The riders out there know what I am talking about. I would like to be able to clip in. I am still pretty happy, because this allows us to start preparing for the summer biking season.
We had two days of parent-teacher conferences this week and a funeral, so there was only one full day of school with the students. Mine were flakier as the week went on, and one got herself suspended for taking a swing at me when I had the temerity to ask her to remove herself from the table on which she insisted on lying. Oh, well, we will see her sometime late next week. The rest of the week was comparatively quiet.
I got some exciting news this morning from one of my colleagues in AKT2 that had seriously been contemplating quitting. A week ago, he seemed pretty resolute in his decision. He Skyped me today with the news that he believes that he has changed his mind. I am excited for him, if this is what he wants. I think that he has great potential, and can do some very good things wherever he decides to be.
This was yet another of our long weeks. We did the long day's journey into PD last night and this morning. It was ok. We have some more left to go before the end of the school year. It will be fine. We might even learn something. Some of these sessions are more informative than others. I actually thought there was some merit to the stuff we did this weekend.
Basketball was fun all around. I mostly stood around while little kids who will (I hope) eventually be my students asked me all kinds of questions. The games that I saw were pretty exciting, and our kids won them all. We had three schools here, and I saw the boys' and girls' teams play twice. Most of the kids have already been students of mine when I was still over in high school, so it was much fun to root for them to do well.
Finally, there appears to have been an apprehension of suspects in the recent break-ins. The former student who was expelled for attacking one of our teachers and his younger brother were apparently found to be in possession of stolen goods from various places. They apparently also had a fairly substantial amount of cash with them. The VPSO (Village Police and Safety Officer) who arrested them runs sled dogs. His best dog was shot to death last night. Whether the two events are connected is not clear. Things may get interesting around here. I will continue to post on this story as it continues to develop. There is an element around here who like to style themselves as "gangsta" types. They are becoming less amusing with the passage of time.
I have made numerous refrences to my cold. It is slowly sinking into the west like the sunset after spending about a week with me. Visitors are nice out here, but not so much with this one. Not awful, mind you, but it sucked up an awful lot of my spare energy during the week. Anything much beyond work, dishes, and laundry was just not happening. I will not miss it.
The new spin bike is here, and my bike gear got here today. I can now get after it, because I am feeling better. I am only waiting for the sport package stuff that I ordered to get here, because it did not get here with the bike. I will probably call on Monday morning during my prep period to make sure that the order is not glitched up. The option in question provides us with a bunch of workout dvd's, a padded seat cover (hmmm), and SPD-compatible pedals. The riders out there know what I am talking about. I would like to be able to clip in. I am still pretty happy, because this allows us to start preparing for the summer biking season.
We had two days of parent-teacher conferences this week and a funeral, so there was only one full day of school with the students. Mine were flakier as the week went on, and one got herself suspended for taking a swing at me when I had the temerity to ask her to remove herself from the table on which she insisted on lying. Oh, well, we will see her sometime late next week. The rest of the week was comparatively quiet.
I got some exciting news this morning from one of my colleagues in AKT2 that had seriously been contemplating quitting. A week ago, he seemed pretty resolute in his decision. He Skyped me today with the news that he believes that he has changed his mind. I am excited for him, if this is what he wants. I think that he has great potential, and can do some very good things wherever he decides to be.
This was yet another of our long weeks. We did the long day's journey into PD last night and this morning. It was ok. We have some more left to go before the end of the school year. It will be fine. We might even learn something. Some of these sessions are more informative than others. I actually thought there was some merit to the stuff we did this weekend.
Basketball was fun all around. I mostly stood around while little kids who will (I hope) eventually be my students asked me all kinds of questions. The games that I saw were pretty exciting, and our kids won them all. We had three schools here, and I saw the boys' and girls' teams play twice. Most of the kids have already been students of mine when I was still over in high school, so it was much fun to root for them to do well.
Finally, there appears to have been an apprehension of suspects in the recent break-ins. The former student who was expelled for attacking one of our teachers and his younger brother were apparently found to be in possession of stolen goods from various places. They apparently also had a fairly substantial amount of cash with them. The VPSO (Village Police and Safety Officer) who arrested them runs sled dogs. His best dog was shot to death last night. Whether the two events are connected is not clear. Things may get interesting around here. I will continue to post on this story as it continues to develop. There is an element around here who like to style themselves as "gangsta" types. They are becoming less amusing with the passage of time.
More B-Ball, More PD...
I got up with the alarm clock this morning. I never get up with the alarm clock. I am always up before the alarm clock. Not today. I actually thought that I was dreaming that it went off. Yesterday was a long and tiring day, not the least because I spent the last five hours of it standing and watching basketball games.
We ran professional development until 6:30, then I went over to the games. I managed to catch the girls' and then the boys' games, both of which were exciting and went down to the wire. There were lots of folks there and they were lined up along the walls of the gymnasium. A festive atmosphere prevailed, except when the refs called a couple of technical fouls on the home team because children were running loose on the court. No lasting damage was done, and the Hawks teams emerged triumphant. After some after-game adjustments, we were off home, and kind of stared at the walls in that tired way until we went to bed.
Today we have another half day of various professional development activities and reading. There will be basketball, too, and I think we will try for church to round out the day. Tomorrow will be lesson prep day, and I will try to figure out how to plan around standardized testing.
It's getting to be a lot of fun, in ways that I can't adequately explain, and the high seems to be giving me enough energy to keep working through this cold.
Later: one of my friends may change his mind, and a possible break-through in the break-in investigation...
We ran professional development until 6:30, then I went over to the games. I managed to catch the girls' and then the boys' games, both of which were exciting and went down to the wire. There were lots of folks there and they were lined up along the walls of the gymnasium. A festive atmosphere prevailed, except when the refs called a couple of technical fouls on the home team because children were running loose on the court. No lasting damage was done, and the Hawks teams emerged triumphant. After some after-game adjustments, we were off home, and kind of stared at the walls in that tired way until we went to bed.
Today we have another half day of various professional development activities and reading. There will be basketball, too, and I think we will try for church to round out the day. Tomorrow will be lesson prep day, and I will try to figure out how to plan around standardized testing.
It's getting to be a lot of fun, in ways that I can't adequately explain, and the high seems to be giving me enough energy to keep working through this cold.
Later: one of my friends may change his mind, and a possible break-through in the break-in investigation...
Friday, January 29, 2010
It's Friday Already?
My cold is better, and the week has run away from me. I forgot to blog last night, at least in part because I find that I am really tired at the end of every day. Then I get what should be a good nights sleep, and wake up more tired than I felt when I went to sleep the previous night. It has been kind of a time warp week, what with various events that have happened. So I am sitting in a professional development session during a break and typing this. I promise that I will get back to the events of the week sometime this weekend when I get the chance. We have another hour and a half tonight, and half a day tomorrow, with a bunch of basketball games thrown in for good measure. Anyway, I promise to sit down and recount the week's event when I get the chance, because there are some good stories to tell. It's just a matter of finding the time. I'll do it-I just can't say when. It will be this weekend.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
It's Here!
The spankin' new spinning bike has arrived, and has been successfully assembled (not much to it at all), and I will be ready to ride as soon as my bike stuff and shoes arrive. OK, and I get over this cold. It sucks, which is why I think that I will be ready to go to bed pretty soon. We have another shortened day tomorrow, because of a funeral, but we will be working a long weekend, because the district says so. I need my rest, in short.
My beloved charges seemed intent on destroying the successes that they have had for the past week or so. In short, they behaved as they too often have in the past. Perhaps some of the behavior teaching has worn off. It is time to reteach. That, at least, is the theory behind positive behavioral supports. Of course, the crack their heads against the wall approach has its appeal, too. I hope that they get it together tomorrow. This weekend is the first team travel opportunity for many of them. Perhaps a gentle reminder that their trip can be taken away is in order in the morning.
We will see how it goes, as always, and hope that today was simply a temporary step backwards. Unfortunately for me, I kinda like the little goobers, even when they try my patience. Heaven only knows why.
My beloved charges seemed intent on destroying the successes that they have had for the past week or so. In short, they behaved as they too often have in the past. Perhaps some of the behavior teaching has worn off. It is time to reteach. That, at least, is the theory behind positive behavioral supports. Of course, the crack their heads against the wall approach has its appeal, too. I hope that they get it together tomorrow. This weekend is the first team travel opportunity for many of them. Perhaps a gentle reminder that their trip can be taken away is in order in the morning.
We will see how it goes, as always, and hope that today was simply a temporary step backwards. Unfortunately for me, I kinda like the little goobers, even when they try my patience. Heaven only knows why.
Ugh
Well, it got worse. Now I am trying to make the mental calculations about whether this will be the worst day of the thing,and whether I should call in sick today, or save it for a later day if I get even worse. Much to consider.
Meanwhile, the moon looks very lovely outside my front window. It is not quite full-that will be in another two days. I am struck by the number of clear days that we have here. Even though it has been consistently cold since my return, it is often sunny. Living in Michigan as I have in the past, I have come to associate winter with gray, overcast skies. We are not that far from the Bering Sea, but we do not seem to get anything similar to what we call lake effect back in Cadillac, where snowfall is enhanced by the waters of Lake Michigan. We really do not seem to get that much snow here. There was more of it on the ground back in Cadillac over the holidays than there is here even now.
Time to figure out the day...
Meanwhile, the moon looks very lovely outside my front window. It is not quite full-that will be in another two days. I am struck by the number of clear days that we have here. Even though it has been consistently cold since my return, it is often sunny. Living in Michigan as I have in the past, I have come to associate winter with gray, overcast skies. We are not that far from the Bering Sea, but we do not seem to get anything similar to what we call lake effect back in Cadillac, where snowfall is enhanced by the waters of Lake Michigan. We really do not seem to get that much snow here. There was more of it on the ground back in Cadillac over the holidays than there is here even now.
Time to figure out the day...
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