Category Archives: Random Thoughts

>Hermithood

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>I would make a good hermit, I like to think.
We had a half day of school, and I was invited out to lunch twice by difference coworkers. I begged off and came home instead, using La Petite as an excuse. “She’s home for spring break, and I want to spend time with her.” Did they know La Petite didn’t stand a chance of being awake when I got home?
Instead of a fish fry lunch at a nearby restaurant, I made leftover mac & cheese with a can of Diet Coke with lime. It was perfect.
Next I loaded the crockpot with thin-sliced potatoes, turned it to high, and added a few spices. It’ll be scalloped potatoes or a facsimile tonight.
After that, I gathered all the towels and cloth napkins in the house and started a load of laundry.
Then? I settled down on the couch with La Petite (she was awake by that time) and watched Wednesday’s American Idol, which we’d recorded for Amigo.

In the 80s, we called it Cocooning. Stay home, curl up in a blanket, read a book, not go out. Lately we’ve heard about Staycations, but that’s not the same thing. Cocooning is being cozy at home, not leaving the house. It’s kind of a twenty-first century hermithood. Is that a word?

It is now.

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>Family dinner conversation

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or…Siblings say the darnedest things when they’re old enough

La Petite: I was watching an episode of Bones. It’s all about these great nerdy anthropologists.
Me: I should have been a nerdy anthropologist. That would have been a great career for me.
Amigo: You already have the nerdy part down.
Me: Yes, and I do the nerdy part well, thank you very much.
La Petite: (laughter) Well, they used the word onomatopoeia. I was so happy: a television show that used the word onomatopoeia!
Amigo: I had a weird, nonsensical dream the other night.
La Petite: Nonsensical? Did you just use the word nonsensical in conversation?
Amigo: Yes.
Me: Back to the dream.
Amigo: Petite, I think you’ll like it. Mom might think it’s funny.
Me: Should I leave the room so you two can talk?
Amigo: No, it’s okay. I dreamed that our whole family was in jail, and I don’t know what for, but we were all in jail. And to get out of jail, one of us had to wrestle a giant wild mountain lion and throw it in the toilet and flush it down.
(La Petite mimics muscles, wrestling moves, then nearly collapses with hysterics at the mention of the toilet)
Amigo: So I volunteered to wrestle the mountain lion, and I threw it in the toilet and flushed it, and then we all got out of jail.
(La Petite has to look away and cover her mouth for fear of expelling food due to uncontrollable laughter)
(I try unsuccessfully several times to sip my diet coke, still fearful of squirting refreshing beverage out my nose)
La Petite (eventually, with less snorting): I guess if there’s family court, there can be family jail.
Me: Yes, kiddo, that was nonsensical all right!

Husband doesn’t know what he’s missing when he’s at his train club meetings and doesn’t get to eat supper with us. Wait – maybe he does.

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>Wardrobe Function, Laundry, and Life

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>I complained heartily when La Petite brought her laundry home at Christmas. Next time, I swore, she would do her own. Then she got sick. Mono, the scourge of college students everywhere, chose her as its next target.
She kept insisting she was doing alright, didn’t need us to visit, she was getting enough rest, her professors were letting her catch up at her own pace, and the works. Then she relented. “I’m feeling exceedingly mono-y now. Can I come home to rest for a few days?” Of course, we said yes.
We wanted her to sleep, rest, and sleep some more, the only real cure for infectious mononucleosis. If she came home, we could handle all the cooking, the house would be quieter than her apartment, and I could (gulp) wash her growing heap of dirty clothes. I’m not a Laundry SuperHero Mom, but I have learned to be efficient and even eco-conscious with large loads of the family clothes.

Not all families are so lucky. I remember when we were young newlyweds and used the laundromat down the road. When La Petite was born, we owned a washer (after saving our pennies and quarters!), but we had no dryer. I hung everything on racks and lines in the basement of our apartment. There are families, though, who don’t even have those options.

That’s where Tide’s Loads of Hope program steps in. The program was born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to assist families displaced by the storm. Tide Loads of Hope helps in the aftermath of a natural disaster by providing clean clothes and a sense of comfort to families in need. Tide Loads of Hope truck or vans, a free mobile laundry service, travel to disaster affected neighborhoods. Hurricanes, floods, you name it, people need to wash their underwear. Taking on one piece of the recovery puzzle helps lighten the load, er, the weight on the shoulders of disaster victims.

In the current disaster, the failing economy, donating to charities is down. But if you can spare a dime, Tide Loads of Hope t-shirts support this worthwhile program. Think about it; the more t-shirts in the dresser, the less often you’ll have to wash!

This Saturday morning as I’m alternating schoolwork with my strategic attack on the family mountain of dirty clothes, I resolve to feel grateful that I have a washer and dryer in the basement and I can deal with this major chore in the comfort of my own home. That in itself takes a load off my mind.

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>March Madness in a Teacher’s Life

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>It might be March if I spend more time answering parent emails than I do correcting and recording papers.

It must be March if the kids are so over-energetic and unfocused that we jump at any opportunity for a field trip, no matter where and what it is.

It must be March if teachers are drinking coffee and tea at staff meetings after school — with full caffeine!

It must be March if there’s an argument between teachers, principals, and playground staff over who needs to hold kids in for recess — because the kids behaved badly for all!

It must be March when a few low-seniority teachers actually feel lucky to be headed for lay-off.

It must be March when the secretary makes an extra pot of coffee in the office and it’s gone by first morning recess.

It must be March when teachers actually want to take a sick day.

It must be March when you hear muttering in the lounge about inventing a Ritalin salt-lick.

It might be March when people on the calendar committee deny they had anything to do with scheduling the later-than-usual Spring Break.

It must be March when classroom teachers start looking at crisis intervention training as a necessity, not an option.

It must be March when the specialists close their doors and say, “I’m glad I’m not a regular classroom teacher!”

And finally, it must be March when teachers start to plan how to get even on April Fools Day!

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>Ah, Friday. Friday!!

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What a week! I found myself honestly including clip art in almost all of my emails. When I realized which search terms I’d used, I had to laugh. It was semi-hysterical laughter, of course, with the underlying, “How long is it until spring break??”
To reschedule a parent-teacher conference involving four staff members: circus. It’s true: step right up! Take a look at the drama in the center ring as we try to meld four conference schedules and find one common time that fits the parent’s (narrow) request!
I responded to an email from a co-teacher on the subject of another parent who is so in denial that she has one foot in Egypt: scream.

After we finally got across the tightrope of scheduling by working out a time with three out of four teachers, followed by a time slot when two out of four can continue if needed: relief. This search term got me a batch of buildings and maps, though, thinking of “relief” as texture or architecture, so I tried relax. That did the trick.

In response to a coworker having a rough week: “Could be worse; we could be out of coffee!” Of course, the keyword was coffee.
I wonder what will turn up in the email today? Hm, maybe I really don’t want to know.

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>Not exactly Dooced, but close.

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>An article in our association newsletter titled “Blogging and MySpace” discussed teachers in the blogging world.
“In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled that neither teachers nor students “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate…. School employees, however, do not have an absolute right to First Amendment protection.”
The writer went on to give examples of cases balancing the public’s right to know with workplace safety and privacy laws. Then it went on:
“Most importantly, teachers must understand that they are held to a higher moral standard than most other workers and should not engage in public speech which might jeopardize their status as role models. Teachers are held to a higher standard as role models. If you behave inappropriately away from school in a way that can affect your role model status at school, you may be subject to potential disciplinary review.”

This part got me thinking. I do not discuss my politics at school, but I do volunteer and contribute to campaigns. If current administration considered my political involvement inappropriate and a negative effect on my “role model status,” could that mean an end to my career? Could my letter to the editor in support of a candidate rub an administrator the wrong way?

When I’m most stressed about work, I might blog about it. I won’t share details, however, because it would violate an important part of my work: privacy and confidentiality. You’re more likely to read about my reaction to an event and my resulting stress level than the event itself.

We teachers know we’re role models, and we know our conduct is important. But could actions out of school really affect our jobs now, in the twenty-first century?

I’m not talking about criminal actions. To keep our children safe, certain people should not work in schools. I’m talking about human nature, balancing role model status with personal life.

We’re no longer in the days when a woman could not continue teaching while pregnant, when a teacher who dared to go to a bar would risk formal reprimand.

My blog is written under a pseudonym. Friends and family (including several coworkers) know who I am. Blogging intimate details about work, though? Constitutionally or otherwise, it would playing with fire.

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>Lemon Snaps

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>From the We Energies Cookie Book, 80th Anniversary edition

2/3 cup butter, softened (works best for me with 1/3 cup margarine and 1/3 cup butter)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon rind
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
(cold water)

Cream butter; add sugar gradually. Blend well. Add egg and egg yolk, lemon juice and rind; beat until light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to creamed misture and mix thoroughly. Place dough in refrigerator to chill for several hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Working with a small portion of dough at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface and cut with a round cutter. Place onto greased cookie sheets. To make crackled surface, brush each cookie with cold water before baking. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Makes 5-7 dozen.

These were good: simple, tasty, good with coffee. I wonder if they might be better with frosting? Maybe a light powdered sugar frosting with a hint of lemon and a drop of yellow food coloring would do the trick. Anything too heavy or too rich would take away from the subtle lemon flavor.
I think I might try my rabbit-shaped cookie cutters next time, just for fun. I have at least three different sizes in bunny shapes. Who says cookies have to be round?

In other news, EcoWomen are holding an anniversary party to celebrate one year of their blogginess. Check it out here!

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>Not exactly a slow news day

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>Several years ago I had a bad sinus and ear infection. I remember watching the fall of Baghdad on CNN. I couldn’t hear a thing, thanks to my fluid-filled head, but I saw the huge statue of Saddam come down and its head get dragged through the streets. Nothing that dramatic is happening today — or so I hope.

Morning news highlights:
Local street to be reconstructed with six, count ’em, 6 roundabouts. Excessive? Merchants on the street think so.
National news is more sobering. Chairman of the FDIC talks about how ‘nationalizing’ banks doesn’t necessarily mean the gov’t will take over and run them.
Reviews of the Miracle on the Hudson continue to repeat how lucky everyone was, how professionally the crew reacted, and how the people on the plane and on the ground and in the river did everything they could – and it worked.
North Korea is launching a rocket. They won’t say what’s on it, and that’s more cause for concern.
Mardi Gras goes on, and that’s a positive. People in the USA need opportunities to celebrate.

Watching this kind of thing doesn’t help me get healthier, even when I balance bad news with good. I’m glad the extent of our local news is the decisions on roundabouts and traffic lights. Stress and anxiety certainly must lower the power of my immune system.
I think I’ll flip the channel to the Food Network. Rachael Ray’s making chili and hash browns with grated cheddar cheese! Yum!

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>Leftover Salad

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>I found this on the Internet, probably on someone’s blog. It’s attached to the document for carrot cake, so it must have been intended as another use for grated carrots. But look at it closely:

Leftover Carrot Salad
Grated Carrots
Orange chunks (cut orange in half and scoopr sections out with a knife, like grapefruit)
Juice from scooped oranges
Raisins
Combine above. Refrigerate for an hour or a day, and serve as side dish or dessert.

I think this is the revenge I get for posting without amounts last week. Well, here’s what I did with it.

Leftover carrot/orange salad
3 cups grated carrots (we always have carrots; we have rabbits)
2 cups orange chunks (i wish I hadn’t added the juice; they were very juicy oranges)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup craisins or dried cranberries
1 teaspoon sugar (the oranges were a little bland, getting old)

Combine all ingredients. Let sit in refrigerator overnight. Serve as a side salad. Mmm. Delicious and fresh tasting — Just right for a winter day.

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>Random blatherings in the trenches of teaching

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  • When more weeks are “the rough ones” and “weeks from hell” than good weeks, maybe it’s time to look at the big picture.
  • When the paperwork piles up and makes the everyday work too heavy, maybe it’s time to rethink the way of things.
  • When the headache starts on the way in to work Monday and diminishes after 5:00 on Fridays, it’s a sign that something is amiss.

Part of the stress was waiting for the local referendum, designed to help maintain the status quo. It didn’t pass. Now it’s time to cut, and there’s nothing “Extra” left to cut. My job is secure, but my workload will again increase.Astronomically, I might add. Or multiply, to be more accurate.

This year has been one of an unprecedented and unequaled workload. Class size was acceptable for my grade level at the mid-twenties, but students coming from SAGE classrooms (class size reduction) are used to sharing their teacher with fifteen students maximum. Teaching them the independent coping skills they need to survive in a regular-sized class is a challenge, and their parents rarely “get it” unless they have older children who went through the same transition already. Last year I felt like the kids started to get the hang of being fourth graders in January. This year? They’re still struggling.

My math class numbers close to 30. It would matter less if the kiddos were accustomed to standard class sizes, but they’re not (See SAGE class size, above). They’ve never had to wait long for attention from the teacher because their classes were half the size of this one. This year, kids with poor self-control are taking hours upon hours of my time, time I’d rather spend helping students who struggle academically.

That’s the story of the year. Self control, or the lack thereof, has driven my days. Kiddos who find misbehavior funny and encourage others to get in trouble. Parent who dress their children in t-shirts that announce “Funny how you think I’m listening” and other negative sentiments.

This economy is not one for switching careers or even jobs. But seriously, people, if the stress level continues, children will not get the education they need. And teachers, good ones, are just doing their best and finding it wanting.

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