I'm Getting Behind Again!

Sorry folks (all 3 of my readers). I've been getting behind in my posting again. I keep thinking of things to write about, but not when I'm around my computer.

Let me just talk about how I'm having to treat one of my classes like a bunch of little kids. Our school is a consolidated school and isn't in the middle of either town. Because of that, the drivers are not released at 3:00. Instead, they are held in classes until all the buses have gotten well away from the high school. This is probably due to the fact that teenagers are terrible drivers, especially when getting away from the place they dislike the most!

I have always felt that this 12 minutes or so was the kids' time and I just let them talk among themselves as long as it didn't get out of hand. Not this year! This year my 7th hour class has about 5 boys in it that are good friends. Their idea of being a good friend is to constantly harass, bully, put-down and make fun of each other. Which would be fine...if they weren't doing it in my class. It is hard enough to keep them from doing it during class time, but it was impossible once the bus riders had left the room.

I'm not sure why boys (and these are worse than any I've seen before) feel it is necessary to put each other down and make fun of each other all the time. There's a lot of "mama" jokes and calling each other names...all in the sake of fun. Add into the mix that these boys HATE English.They are country boys through and through and do not see any need for English class. "I speak good English, what do I need that class fer?"

Anyway...they were behaving terribly during this down time. After some consultations with the principal and vice principal, we decided the class should be kept busy, even though class was over.

I have chosen SSR (Sustained Silent Reading). During SSR time, there is absolutely NO TALKING! And no grade, so it's not like they are doing an extra assignment that the other students who ride a bus don't have to do. Boy do they HATE this. None of these kids are readers to begin with. I am even reading with them.

I gave them a week to get used to the idea with me shushing them and reminding them not to talk before I finally wrote two boys up (discipline referral) on Friday for talking (one was trying to ask me a question). SSR = NO TALKING! They are even more fired up about it now. But they were good today. They grumbled, but once I told them that we were starting and the anyone who talked would be written up, they all started reading (or at least pretending to read).

I've told them if they can go a reasonable length of time (I'm thinking 2 weeks), without causing troubles in class, I will consider doing something besides SSR at the end of the day. They have yet to be able to go a full day without someone talking smack to someone else.

Teachers just aren't paid enough. As it is I spend countless hours preparing lessons and grading papers, but it's discipline and classroom management issues like these that really show we're not paid enough. Just because your "little angel" is fine at home, doesn't mean that they act the same way when in a room with multiple hormone producing kids their age!

Technology In A Classroom Without Computers?

I love technology. I may not be super experienced with new technology, I manage to get by. I am currently working on creating a wiki page for my English classes as well as a Twitter site. I wish my kids were as excited about technology as I am. It is hard to get them excited about it when they have limited access to computers at school.

I have two student computers, neither of which are even hooked up. I may go ahead and hook them up, but it's such a waste of space considering how slow they are. There are a few computers (6 if they all work) in the library. The kids can go in there before school, but they don't like that because they have to be quiet. We have a computer lab, but the students aren't allowed in there without a teacher (although they often do anyway).

Many of my students are able to access a computer at some point in time during the day, but some do have to make the extra effort to do so. I'd guess that about 60% of my kids have internet access at home, with a few more having computers without internet access.

None of the tech issues stop me from trying to bring technology into the classroom. I have a teacher web site that I pay $30 a year for even though the kids never use it. I'm going to make my honors students use the wiki page though. I have to finish it, then test to make sure it won't be blocked on the school computers. I'm going to post a new question each week that the students will have to comment on. They will have a week to log on, so they should be able to find time and a computer at some point in the week.

I have also started a Twitter account for just my English classes. I'm going to post updates about upcoming assignments and due dates. I'm pretty sure Twitter is blocked on the student computers, but they can access it at home if they want to use it. I think it would be a really cool way for kids to get reminders on when assignments are due.

We'll see how all of this goes. I've had technology ideas like this before that go to the wayside because it's too hard for the kids to participate.

Are We Really This Old?

I went to my 15 year reunion last night. It was fun. I liked that it was low-key because we were just meeting up and hanging out at the homecoming game. I got to see friends that I haven't seen in years! There were a few key people missing that I wish could have (would have) made it. There were also a few surprises... Especially one of the guys from our class who showed up in chains and face paint (white face with black markings)...creepy!

For the most part everyone seemed the same, just a little older. It was funny because those that were there were still forming the old cliques. In high school there was a large group of us that hung out together, but within that group, there were smaller groups of "besties". It all felt familiar and surreal at the same time.

Can't wait for the 20th!

Here We Go Again!!!

Well, I have satellite problems again. Big surprise.

I have two DirecTv satellites: one for local channels and one for all the other channels. My local channels satellite has been going out for quite awhile now. It just loses its signal for no reason. All I have to do is reset the receiver and the satellite works again. It's been doing this about every 3 months for the last 3 years. Until last night.

Now it is doing it all the time! I reset it and the signal is lost in about 5 - 10 minutes. AARRRGGG!!! It's almost time for all the network shows to start back up again. And I'm Going To Miss Them!

To give you a little background: I have an OLD Tivo Receiver. DirecTv hasn't been in business with Tivo for YEARS! I have refused to upgrade because that would mean giving up my Tivo for just regular DVR. Which, by the way, is NOT the same thing. I've been trying to hold out until the new (long awaited) DirecTv HD Tivo receiver comes out. Originally it was rumored to be coming out late this year, but has now been pushed back to sometime next year. And I'm pretty sure my time has run out.

I was on the phone with the DirecTv guy and after explaining the whole situation, we got cut off. Which of course meant that I had to explain ALL OVER AGAIN!

The second guy set me up with a technician to come out on Saturday (sometime between the hours of noon and 4pm!) to check my receiver and satellite set up. That way I know if I have to upgrade or not. I'm afraid if I upgrade now, I'll have to pay to upgrade to the Tivo receiver when it comes out instead of getting it as a free upgrade later. But if it is because I have an old satellite that needs to be replaced, then I won't be able to get local channels (and they won't let you get networks any other way...I tried that once). Also, I was told (by guy #1) it could be because my satellite can't get updates because it's not hooked to a phone line. I asked a DirecTv person about that before getting rid of my phone line and they said it would be okay, but this guy said the old Tivo receivers updated through the phone line, not the satellite signal.

Right now I'm actually getting to watch The Office. I'm not sure why, but it has been holding a signal for the whole show. I haven't switched channels or anything because I'm afraid it'll mess something up.
So there you have it.

We'll see what happens after the technician comes on Saturday.

Check This Out!

http://www.animalswithlightsabers.com/

Animals with lightsabers...I needn't say anymore.

Still Here...I Promise

I've been so busy at school this week that I haven't made time to blog when I get home. The last two days I didn't get home until around 7pm. And of course today I'm only home for about as hour before leaving for church.

I'm really enjoying my "new" church. I'm learning so much about the Bible and God's plan for us. I've quickly become part of the family again and am making new friends as well as catching up with old friends.

This weekend is my 15th high school reunion. I have mixed feeling about it. I'm not married with kids, and while I'M okay with that, others might pity me. Also there's the weight gain (but that's not unusual). At least it's pretty informal. We're just meeting at the homecoming game for some tailgating.

That brings up a whole other can of worms. I work for a rival school that is doing WAY BETTER than my old high school. Which I'm torn about because my cousin is their football coach! Ouch! The school I work for are district champs and looking real good this year as well...my hometown team is finding it hard to win any games.

So lots of stuff going on, just not a lot of time to blog about it. I'll try to do better!

Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

No LABORing ToDAY

Happy Labor Day! Does anyone else think it is ironic that most people get Labor Day off? Shouldn't we be laboring? I'm just glad it is one holiday that we still get out of school for. Of course, many schools haven't even started yet, but here in the good ol' Ozarks, we are starting week four!

I had a great weekend. My best friend come home from North Carolina. I hadn't been able to see her in since January. I'm glad that she was about to come home over the long weekend because that meant that I could spend both Saturday and Monday with her. It's nice to have someone that you can just hang out with. No entertaining, no having to make big plans. We just do what we normally would do...but together. I miss having that. Stupid new husband taking her away because he works for the Air Force... GRRRR!

Here's hoping you had a great weekend too!

Summer in Review

I’m Back! I took the summer off from blogging. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the time, just that I found that I had other things I wanted to do; plus it is hard for me to do something like blogging when I’m out of my every day routine.

I had a really eventful summer…not. It was just a nice, relaxing summer vacation (once I finished with summer school) with nothing too pressing to do. I did, however, have quite a few summer adventures.

• My back started bugging me again this summer and I decided that my 40 plus-year-old mattress wasn’t helping anything, so I decided to buy a new mattress. After finding a super comfortable mattress, and spending $640 dollars on it, I found out that it was way too soft for my back. Plus, it also made my neck hurt! I sleep on my stomach and my new pillow-top, soft, foam mattress was making my back and neck arch too much. They won’t take back the mattress, so now I am going to have to sell it on Craig’s List. One of my projects for tomorrow is setting up an account and getting the add put in. I spent today switching mattresses with an old one Mom had. She’s going to show my new mattress to perspective buyers for me. I don’t trust having strangers come to my house because I live alone. Hope it sells soon so I can buy a new mattress…again.

• I went on a trip with the youth group to CIY (Christ in Youth) as a sponsor. This was my third (and final) year going. I think I get just as much out of it as the kids do. I’ve always loved going. I do, however, hate having to sleep in dorm rooms for a week. I’m not used to having to share a room or a bathroom

• One of my big adventures of the summer was to switch churches. I have placed my membership back in the Baptist church that I grew up in and in which my brother is now a preacher. I had been going to both my old church and FBC (First Baptist Church) for about a year. My old church had services before Sunday School, so I would leave after services to drive to FBC and go to their services. I really love how my brother preaches. He really feeds off the reaction of the congregation, switching what he says based on whether or not he thinks people are understanding. Also, he really teaches the Bible. He digs deep, then explains how the chosen passage is still relevant today. It’s awesome! I decided to stay at my old church through the summer so I could finish out the year with the youth. I had been working as a youth sponsor for two years, and I didn’t want to leave them in the middle of the year. However, I didn’t feel like I was really a member of either church the way I was bouncing around, not going to Sunday School in either church. I felt as if God was telling me it was a time for a change. FBC is growing and I can be of use there. Already, I have been put in charge of the audio-visual aspect of services. My official title is Audio Visual Coordinator! I’m really loving it and totally feel like I made the right decision, even though it was a difficult one to make. I’m really going to miss my friends at my old church.

I’m hoping that I can get back into the groove of blogging. I keep thinking of things I want to blog about, but since I haven’t done my “summer in review”, I didn’t feel like I could blog. This is by no means all that has happened over the summer, but just the big things.

Hope you come back!

Back With A New Look

I took an unannounced hiatus from blogging over the summer. It had nothing to do with not having time; I just didn't feel like spending my vacation blogging.

Well, now I'm back, and I've brought a new look with me. Actually, I think I tried this out for a few days when I created the background, but didn't stick with it for long.

I will be posting a "What I did during my summer vacation" post in the next few days, so check back soon!