First of all, welcome to anyone who is here from ICLW - hope I'll be seeing more of you.
I woke up this morning with an instant headache! It hurt so much!! Just a generalized headache everywhere. Started out with a muscle relaxant thinking it might help. Two hours later popped some Tylenol. It managed to dull the headache for a while. That is until my 1:00 class decided that today was the day to violate all of my classroom rules and act like a bunch of orangutans. Seriously, they are usually so well behaved, but today it was insane. They even managed to convince me that I was short two handouts - which I believed - and I spent the next 7 minutes making two more handouts for them, only to get back to the room and discover that everyone had one. I snapped. Usually if I tell a class that I'm not feeling well, etc, they start acting better, but not today!
I wonder if the headaches are related to the Clomid still. Both cycles I have had headaches everyday while taking the pills. But I'm 5 days past the last pill. One would think it wouldn't be that. What about ovulation? Anyone else get headaches around the time of ovuation? I'm at a loss.
On the upside, our drama production for competition is coming along wonderfully. Some of the acting is phenomenal! We have one young woman who wanted to be part of it, and I gave her a rather large part thinking she would be OK at it. She is the best actor on the stage by far! She's amazing... body language, facial expressions, tone of voice... next to no coaching and she's got it! She's amazing. I told her that after practice and she started tearing up. She told me that I made her day... and you know what? That made my day.
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
So tired and sore
Today's photo challenge will have to wait for tomorrow. I had this amazing idea and since we had such a busy day at school today, I forgot to bring home what I needed. The photo involves my cats (yes, again, but I promise after this to not put them in too many more times) but it should be awesome!! I hope.
So, we took the kids skiing today. The whole school - with the exception of a few who didn't have permission - piled onto busses and headed to the local ski hill. I spent the day sitting on a hard bench talking with kids and supervising... I don't ski! It's dangerous for me and everyone around me (probably more dangerous for them than me). I don't have a good relationship with gravity or with slippery surfaces, so I avoid the hills.
It was a mostly good day - long, and my back is sore from the benches.
Oh, and I was accused of not having good work ethic by another teacher because I was choosing to chat with students and interact with them instead of having my nose stuck in my marking. It was noisy in there and I can't concentrate with lots of noise anyway! So, I figured that talking with the kids was the best option. Apparently by doing this I was unprofessional and not showing a good work ethic! I was really upset initially but now... well... Yeah, well fuck off! I was forming relationships with the students and building trust. I'll get my marking done, I've always had my marks in when they needed to be. The kids are all comfortable talking to me and even crying on my shoulder when they need it. I have boys in highschool who regularly come and spill their guts. I have highschool students who are in hard shells who come for advice and "just to talk". I have middle-years girls who hate on every teacher who smile when they come into my class. To me that screams success and if I choose to take time away from school to interact and continue to build those relationships, well, that's my choice. Don't tell me that I don't have a good work ethic. Work isn't just about marking. And just to add this... I have more years of university education behind me than this particular teacher has been out of highschool. I have several university degrees and am planning on going back for my Masters next year... I took a 36 credit units (that's more than most students take in a whole year in university) in only five months, while I worked 40+ hours a week - and I got 90s in every class.
That's work ethic... not ignoring everyone around you while you get your fucking marking done!
So, we took the kids skiing today. The whole school - with the exception of a few who didn't have permission - piled onto busses and headed to the local ski hill. I spent the day sitting on a hard bench talking with kids and supervising... I don't ski! It's dangerous for me and everyone around me (probably more dangerous for them than me). I don't have a good relationship with gravity or with slippery surfaces, so I avoid the hills.
It was a mostly good day - long, and my back is sore from the benches.
Oh, and I was accused of not having good work ethic by another teacher because I was choosing to chat with students and interact with them instead of having my nose stuck in my marking. It was noisy in there and I can't concentrate with lots of noise anyway! So, I figured that talking with the kids was the best option. Apparently by doing this I was unprofessional and not showing a good work ethic! I was really upset initially but now... well... Yeah, well fuck off! I was forming relationships with the students and building trust. I'll get my marking done, I've always had my marks in when they needed to be. The kids are all comfortable talking to me and even crying on my shoulder when they need it. I have boys in highschool who regularly come and spill their guts. I have highschool students who are in hard shells who come for advice and "just to talk". I have middle-years girls who hate on every teacher who smile when they come into my class. To me that screams success and if I choose to take time away from school to interact and continue to build those relationships, well, that's my choice. Don't tell me that I don't have a good work ethic. Work isn't just about marking. And just to add this... I have more years of university education behind me than this particular teacher has been out of highschool. I have several university degrees and am planning on going back for my Masters next year... I took a 36 credit units (that's more than most students take in a whole year in university) in only five months, while I worked 40+ hours a week - and I got 90s in every class.
That's work ethic... not ignoring everyone around you while you get your fucking marking done!
Monday, 12 March 2012
Craziness and Insanity
I'm in a horrible mood today. I found the last time that the Clomid gave me sore breasts and anger. We're talking suddenly snapping anger. Today it wasn't horrible - it was sitting on the edge, just teetering into the abyss of pure anger. So today was tough. I was trying all day to stay calm enough not to snap.
Then the fit hit the shan! I won't get into specifics, because, well, I"m not supposed to, but there was a threat. A student left a serious threat in the school. It was pretty serious.
So all hell broke loose. The kids were freaked out, teachers were freaked out, admin was surprisingly calm.
We're pretty sure at this point that it was a sick joke or a reaction to a punishment, but nobody wants to play it down too much for fear that it might be true. So everyone's a bit on edge.
I had a group of high school kids staying after school for an extra-curricular, and instead of doing what we were supposed to, we had a long heart-to-heart about what was going on and how they felt. They all said they felt better having talked about it. One of their big concerns was what would happen if someone went on a rampage at the school - one girl said "in my last school we had to do two lock-downs, and when I heard about all of this I thought, wow, they don't even know how to do a lock-down here". I assured her that we do have procedures and that the teachers are trained. It made her feel better.
I wish I could say more about it, but confidentiality means that I can't.
Suffice to say, I'm a bit shaken tonight and hoping that it really was just a sick joke.
Then the fit hit the shan! I won't get into specifics, because, well, I"m not supposed to, but there was a threat. A student left a serious threat in the school. It was pretty serious.
So all hell broke loose. The kids were freaked out, teachers were freaked out, admin was surprisingly calm.
We're pretty sure at this point that it was a sick joke or a reaction to a punishment, but nobody wants to play it down too much for fear that it might be true. So everyone's a bit on edge.
I had a group of high school kids staying after school for an extra-curricular, and instead of doing what we were supposed to, we had a long heart-to-heart about what was going on and how they felt. They all said they felt better having talked about it. One of their big concerns was what would happen if someone went on a rampage at the school - one girl said "in my last school we had to do two lock-downs, and when I heard about all of this I thought, wow, they don't even know how to do a lock-down here". I assured her that we do have procedures and that the teachers are trained. It made her feel better.
I wish I could say more about it, but confidentiality means that I can't.
Suffice to say, I'm a bit shaken tonight and hoping that it really was just a sick joke.
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
The Olympians
So, today I started my grade 8 English class by giving them an overview of the Greek gods. You should have heard the giggles when I told them that Hephaestus was hit by the ugly stick but that he was married to the hottest woman in the world Aphrodite. I finished up that little story by telling them that it gives some of you hope, doesn't it. When I mentioned that despite this marriage, Aphrodite was stepping out on him with her uncle Ares, they really started laughing.
I walked into the class and was initially met with "are we learning about the gods again?" and "can we do more greek stuff today". Apparently they all were all discussing it and decided that they really liked this whole mythology stuff. One boy even said "you know, this is so much cooler than I thought it would be when you told us we were going to learn this stuff". That was pretty cool.
So after we discussed each of the gods, I asked them which one they wanted to report on. Lots of people wanting Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Dionysus. So then the question came up... "what's going to happen when two of us want the same god?" My response "well, I'm glad that you asked that my fine fellow [yes, I actually said fine fellow], we are going to have THE OLYMPIC GAMES"
They all cheered and then I told them that it was going to be Mrs. L's Wild and Wacky Olympic Games! They weren't so sure anymore, but all game.
Today's events were
1. Balancing Act - because all myths have balance (monsters/heros, night/day, etc), the competitors needed to have balance. The goal was to be the last person with their eyes closed standing on one foot.
2. Weight of the World - just as Atlas had to carry the world on his back, they had to stand, arms extended over their heads and hold a basketball for as long as they could.
This was all hilarious to watch. Four of the kids lasted 13 minutes with the basketball, and then the bell rang so now we need a tie breaker tomorrow.
Some of the other events include discus using paper plates, javelin using straws, thumb wrestling, paperclip archery, and the list goes on. I expect that this will take at least a whole other hour, if not two, but the kids are into it and it relates to what we're doing in class, so it's a way to draw them in.
I'm really excited for this unit. The kids are getting really excited to read the Lightning Theif. I had my grade 6s starting Harry Potter 1 today, which they are really excited for.
If only I could draw my 9s into Romeo and Juliet in the same way... time will tell... I have a very cool CSI thing planned to start that unit.
Overall, it was a pretty good day.
On other fronts, I've decided to try to do the photo challenge that Belle at Scrambled Eggs is doing. It looks like it might be a good distraction for me - we'll see if I can stick with it, but you should check it out if you haven't already - it looks kinda fun.
I walked into the class and was initially met with "are we learning about the gods again?" and "can we do more greek stuff today". Apparently they all were all discussing it and decided that they really liked this whole mythology stuff. One boy even said "you know, this is so much cooler than I thought it would be when you told us we were going to learn this stuff". That was pretty cool.
So after we discussed each of the gods, I asked them which one they wanted to report on. Lots of people wanting Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Dionysus. So then the question came up... "what's going to happen when two of us want the same god?" My response "well, I'm glad that you asked that my fine fellow [yes, I actually said fine fellow], we are going to have THE OLYMPIC GAMES"
They all cheered and then I told them that it was going to be Mrs. L's Wild and Wacky Olympic Games! They weren't so sure anymore, but all game.
Today's events were
1. Balancing Act - because all myths have balance (monsters/heros, night/day, etc), the competitors needed to have balance. The goal was to be the last person with their eyes closed standing on one foot.
2. Weight of the World - just as Atlas had to carry the world on his back, they had to stand, arms extended over their heads and hold a basketball for as long as they could.
This was all hilarious to watch. Four of the kids lasted 13 minutes with the basketball, and then the bell rang so now we need a tie breaker tomorrow.
Some of the other events include discus using paper plates, javelin using straws, thumb wrestling, paperclip archery, and the list goes on. I expect that this will take at least a whole other hour, if not two, but the kids are into it and it relates to what we're doing in class, so it's a way to draw them in.
I'm really excited for this unit. The kids are getting really excited to read the Lightning Theif. I had my grade 6s starting Harry Potter 1 today, which they are really excited for.
If only I could draw my 9s into Romeo and Juliet in the same way... time will tell... I have a very cool CSI thing planned to start that unit.
Overall, it was a pretty good day.
On other fronts, I've decided to try to do the photo challenge that Belle at Scrambled Eggs is doing. It looks like it might be a good distraction for me - we'll see if I can stick with it, but you should check it out if you haven't already - it looks kinda fun.
Monday, 27 February 2012
Excerpts from the Classroom
So I just had to share this bit of humour from my class today. It involves nothing about babies, nothing about infertility, nothing about any of that... but it had me laughing so hard I nearly peed myself.
Background: I am currently teaching a unit on Greek Mythology to my grade 8 English class. I told them today that we were going to be talking about Greek creation stories tomorrow. I also warned them that we would be discussing a god by the name of Uranus. This naturally resulted in giggles. So I said the name again and again until the giggles were no longer so noisy or instant. Good, they got it out of their systems a bit. Anyway, this one boy, we'll call him Andy, was in the washroom when I was talking about this, so when he came back into the class, this is how the conversation went.
Me to whole class: Ok, so once again, tomorrow we will be talking about the creation story and we will be discussing Uranus.
Andy with a look of sheer shock on his face: What? My anus? Why my anus? I don't know if I'm comfortable with that! You should discuss Kenny's anus instead!!
He said this without any bit of a smile, and knowing Andy as I do, this was not a joke - he was dead serious!!
My response was to start laughing - I was laughing so hard I was crying. Then the bell rang and I dismissed them through the laughter.
Sometimes I absolutely love love love middle years! So honest and so real!
Background: I am currently teaching a unit on Greek Mythology to my grade 8 English class. I told them today that we were going to be talking about Greek creation stories tomorrow. I also warned them that we would be discussing a god by the name of Uranus. This naturally resulted in giggles. So I said the name again and again until the giggles were no longer so noisy or instant. Good, they got it out of their systems a bit. Anyway, this one boy, we'll call him Andy, was in the washroom when I was talking about this, so when he came back into the class, this is how the conversation went.
Me to whole class: Ok, so once again, tomorrow we will be talking about the creation story and we will be discussing Uranus.
Andy with a look of sheer shock on his face: What? My anus? Why my anus? I don't know if I'm comfortable with that! You should discuss Kenny's anus instead!!
He said this without any bit of a smile, and knowing Andy as I do, this was not a joke - he was dead serious!!
My response was to start laughing - I was laughing so hard I was crying. Then the bell rang and I dismissed them through the laughter.
Sometimes I absolutely love love love middle years! So honest and so real!
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