"I'm in a bad mood, come back later"

If only I could hang a sign to that effect on my door this morning. I am in a terrible mood. Work is way overwhelming at the moment, not necessarily in a bad way, but still. Yesterday I was at school for 13 hours and at no time was I putzing around on the Internet, a typical reason for me to be at work longer than needed. Then I got home and worked on Econ lessons for almost 90 minutes. And they are good lessons and this project I'm doing for all of the Civics classes is awesome, but it is all just an awful lot of work.

So, I was mildly cranky last night, but I woke up this morning in a funk. I slept poorly last night b/c it is about 100 degrees in my little cave every night (my bedroom is tiny and my heater is almost directly next to my bed, plus the building's hot water pipe runs through my room) and had a series of rather terrible dreams. Of course, I overslept by about 30 minutes, remembered that I was out of cereal, needed to make 112 4-page copies and ran out the door in a rush at about 6:40am (dressed and mostly clean, obviously). I ran back in the door at 6:42am because I had forgotten my school keys. And back out. It was foggy this morning so I couldn't see out my car windows and had to drive with the windows down. By the time I got to C and 10th and my box of Econ materials tipped over, spilling about 15 books across the floor I was at the edge. And that pushed me over the top. I found myself near tears, which is never good. Got to work, ran my copies (causing the copier to jam FOUR times) and am now just taking a minute to breathe.

On the plus side, there were waffles for breakfast. May not help me feel better about not going to the gym for the last three weeks because work has been so crazy, but they taste good. I guess that's a silver lining to this morning from hell. And now I hear my students in the stairwell so it must be time to box all this up and get ready to greet the day! ... Right...

A thought

If I believed in past lives, I'd have to assume that I did some not so very nice things in my last one. I sure seem to have accumulated a lot of bad karma. Good thing I don't believe in that stuff then.

No comment

Scene: my classroom, after school, as I am folding paper for one of my seventh graders so he can accurately complete his Electoral College brochure for homework

M: Ms. Miller, when we are in the twelfth grade...you should be married by then.

Uhm. Yeah. I don't really have much to add to that one. Happy day after Valentine's Day, all!

100th POST! (Cue the balloons!)

I tried to post yesterday, but was thrwarted by a unstable Internet connection (when you're "borrowing" unsercured wireless, you can't be too picky). I was annoyed, but now think it was fate b/c I have the BEST story to share with y'all in honor of my one hundredth post!

No vaginas please, we're Floridians. You think I'm kidding, but I am SO not! I was out this afternoon and my friend mentioned that he'd heard of a town trying to rename The Vagina Monologues so as not to offend the delicate sensibilities of their residents. Then I signed onto one of the many networking sites I belong to and someone had blogged about this very thing! Check it out and see if you are as disgusted and amazed as I am. I especially love the very last line. No wonder the rest of the world views Americans and incredibly prudish.

In other news, I am pretty overwhelmed at work. In fact, as I type this I have two Economics books and a variety of papers spread over the kitchen table. Ostensibly, I am working on my curriculum map. A curriculum map outlines the sequence of your course, in this case, spring semester. I have the units down, as well as their general length and the standards that they cover, but I need to hash out assessments for each, as well as the essential questions each will answer. I've never been happy with my Econ course and I'm hoping I can make it better this year, using some of the material I learned in that grad school course I took last spring. We'll see. In addition to that, I'm also in the midst of preparing a 3 week research project for all seventh grade students that is slated to begin after Presidents' Day. And I'm still working as a behavior management coach and teaching AP and leading a small advisory group of seventh grade boys. It's a good thing I like what I do, right? :)

Some gems from my students as of late:

1. One of my students got in-school suspension for forgery. I caught him b/c I am SO clever. When he showed me his daily point card at the end of the day, I said, "D, the card I signed first period was purple. This is yellow. And that is not my signature." To which he replied, "......?" The future of tomorrow, I tell ya.
2. In AP class the other day I asked the students to respond to this prompt: "Does the prevalence of a particular demographic group endanger the quality of representation provided by Congress?" The students wrote furiously and when one student finished, with a look of triumph on his face, he turned to me and asked, "Ms. Miller, can you explain the question to me? I'm not sure I understand it." Uhm...okay. Isn't that a question better asked BEFORE you write your answer?
3. In the middle of a conversation about the presidential candidate nominating process, A raised his hand and asked, "Ms. Miller, what would you do if someone shaved your head?" Seriously? Glad to see you're paying so much attention. (For the record, I said I'd be sad and I'd probably look kind of funny.)

Back in January, I did a polar plunge with my high school friend Kara, her husband Chris and a few of their Coast Guard friends. It was to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland and we had a great time. I recently added a number of photos from the day to my Facebook account. Regardless of whether or not you have your own account, you can view the pictures in this album. The pictures are at the end of the album - enjoy!

HOW COULD I FORGET?!

A belated, but no less sincere CONGRATULATIONS!!! to my friend Beth, who got engaged two weeks ago today.

Congratulations, Beth! I'm sending as many positive thoughts your way as possible! And I am ridiculously happy/excited for you! (Still!)

Break time

Exam week is winding down and, with it, my extensive amounts of work time. On Wednesday morning, I drafted my to-do list for the remainder of the week. All totaled, it included 15 tasks and three meetings. I have completed nine of the items and all of the meetings, but the six tasks that remain are all equally daunting, so I thought I'd take a break before diving back in.

For those who are curious, by 3pm today I would like to:

• Draft my Black History Month research project guidelines/performace assessment
• Draft my Economics performance assessment (on supply and demand...I think)
• Write my Economics curriculum map
• Create lessons for the Elections unit I'll be starting with my seventh graders on Tuesday
• Create the keys for my seniors' exams (AP: 60 MC questions and three short essays (x4) + Govt: Vocab, MC, short answer, political cartoon analysis and one essay (x8) = "fun" times)
• Put up the staff birthdays bulletin board in the faculty lounge

This weekend I will need to grade the exams so that on Monday, another work day, I can enter those grades, type comments for the seniors and post all of my grades EARLY! My goal was to get all of my grades posted before the deadline b/c last time we posted grades, I forgot to enter comments for an entire class and set the whole process back (I wasn't the only teacher holding up the process, but still) - this is my penance. I'll also spend Monday making copies for the week and sub plans for Tuesday (I'll be out all day at a literacy conference in VA). It truly never ends, but I suppose that is true with all jobs.

Last weekend I did a polar plunge with Kara, Chris and a group of their Coast Guard friends. It was a lot more fun than I anticipated and we were lucky to do "it" (it = run into the Chesapeake Bay) on a bright and sunny day. The water was just above freezing so it was definitely cold, but, again, a lot of fun. I was also able to raise $500 for Special Olympics Maryland; a sincere thank you to everyone who helped me reach that goal. (Plus, I got a cool fleece for raising so much money!)

Before I head back to work (tackling the curriculum map first, I think), I wanted to share two things. One is a quote I read on my Starbucks cup this morning (I really do enjoy those quotes). We have been talking a lot about literacy at my school, mainly because so many of our students read so far below grade level and this quote struck me not only for it's relevancy to my daily life, but for it's fantastic imagery.

A child’s mind isn’t a blank slate; it’s more of a jungle. Each time a parent
helps a toddler read, the child is walked through this jungle from one side to
the other. Trip after trip, a seemingly impossible passage becomes a well-worn
path. Children sent to kindergarten skipping merrily along this path to literacy
fare far better than those sent to school with machetes. - Keith Mastrion, 1998
National Teacher of the Year

And the second thing is this very silly questionnaire that Katie sent along to me. It was a good way to give my mind a rest earlier this morning and I thought I'd share it with you. I can't figure out how to put cuts into this format yet, so excuse the length.

1. Is your second toe longer than your first? No, I guess I'm not as smart as I thought.
2. Do you have a favorite type of pen? I favor Black Uniball pens, but I grade with a purple or orange Papermate.
3. Look at your planner for March 14, what are you doing? Working
4. What color are your toenails usually? Some variation of red
5. What was the last thing you highlighted? Letter of recommendation requirements for my boss (for a Constitutional Theory seminar I hope to take this summer)
6. What color are your bedroom curtains? Cream
7. What color are the seats in your car? Light gray
8. Have you ever had a black and white cat? No, but when I was young, we had a black cat AND a white cat. Does that count?
9. What is the last thing you put a stamp on? A letter to my former pastor’s wife
10. Do you know anyone who lives in Wyoming? Nope
11. Why did you withdraw cash from the ATM the last time? I just got paid and needed cash for…things.
12. Who is the last baby that you held? Alex, whose mom and dad both work at my school.
13. Do you know of any twins with rhyming names? Sure do. Multiple sets, in fact.
14. Do you like Cinnamon toothpaste? No.
15. What kind of car were you driving 2 years ago? 2004 Dodge Stratus (I think)
16. Pick one: Miami Hurricanes or Florida Gators No preference AT ALL
17. Last time you went to Six Flags? October 2005 – I oversaw the incentive trip for about 100 kids from my school
18. Do you have any wallpaper in your house? No
19. Closest thing to you that is yellow: Post it note stuck to my laptop; it says, “Civ wrk, Joey: 6 wks at 2nd wk, 2nd sem”
20. Last person to give you a business card? My friend Jon, I think. And it was some time ago. I’m a teacher, no one gives me business cards.
21. Who is the last person you wrote a check to? My apartment’s management company.
22. Closest framed picture to you? None, I’m in my classroom.
23. Last time you had someone cook for you? I went out to dinner last night so someone I don’t know cooked me very tasty Indian food. That was nice.
24. Have you ever applied for welfare? No
25. How many emails do you have? At work, I have about 4k and in personal, maybe 70.
26. Last time you received flowers? Oh man…I really have no idea. Maybe last May, from Marcia. I think.
27. Do you think the sanctity of marriage is meant for only a man & woman? Not even a little.
28. Do you play air guitar? I am certain that I am not coordinated for this.
29. Do you take anything in your coffee? Always sugar (substitute), sometimes cream.
30. Do you have any Willow Tree figurines? I don’t even know what those are, let alone if I have any of them.
31. What is your high school's rival mascot? To answer this, I would have to know who our rival was. Anyone?
32. Last person you spoke to from high school? Wendy, via Gchat and Kara in person
33. Last time you used hand sanitizer? Last weekend
34. Would you like to learn to play the drums? No, I don’t really like loud noises.
35. What color are the blinds in your living room? There is a blue shade on the one window in my living room.
36. What is in your inbox at work? My email inbox? About 200 different things.
37. Last thing you read in the newspaper? An article about the Congressional confirmation hearings yesterday
38. What was the last pageant you attended? A better question might be, “Have you ever attended a pageant?” And I would answer, “Hell no.”
39. What is the last place you bought pizza from? Pizza Boli’s after the Polar Plunge last Saturday
40. Have you ever ridden in limo? Indeed. Oprah paid for one of the times.
41. What is the last thing you stapled? My seniors’ exams.
42. Did you ever drink Clear Pepsi? Probably.
43. Are you ticklish? Very much so. … I mean, no, not at all.
44. Last time you saw fireworks? 4th of July
45. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut? I don’t know, but a student gave me a coupon for a free one, so maybe I can have one soon.
46. Who is the last person that left you a message & you actually returned their call? My dad
47. Last time you parked under a carport? College
48. Do you have a black dog? No, no dog of any color
49. Do you have any pickles in your fridge? I hardly have any food in my fridge at all, let alone pickles.
50. Are you an aunt or uncle? Nope.
51. Who has the prettiest eyes that you know of? I have to pick just one set of eyes? Uhm…no idea, sorry.
52. Last time you saw a semi truck? This morning on my way to work
53. Do you remember Ugly Kid Joe? I don’t think so…maybe
54. Do you have a little black dress? I have three LBDs – you just never know…

Have a great weekend!

::sigh::

I am so tired of my middle school students that I don't even know what to do. It's a damn good thing that they are going home this afternoon, that's for sure.