Ick

I gave my students a math test. They all did miserably. It was sad and dissappointing, but what can you expect with the worst math text in the world. I actually met a supporter of the textbook one day. He said he loved it, it was great, but it was poorly written and you need at least 3 days for each lesson. How is this a good book? Poorly written and doesn't fit into the time frame we are using. Ah hem. Anyway, lucky for the students I have, they have me. I crammed in what they didn't learn in previous years or from using the book this year into just about one day. I expect the average on the test to go up by 30%. This is effing ridiculous. I am wondering if I should do what I did today for the rest of the year. I certainly could get everything done that way plus more. They would be well set up kids. I also appointed student math tutors for every section who got perfect on the test and knew what was going on and gave them answer keys. The students doing the work had to raise their hand after every question and get it marked before they moved on. If they didn't get it right, the student math tutor had to help them figure out what they did wrong and how they should fix it. Once they were finished the sheet, they became a math tutor and used their sheet as an answer sheet. I had to help a few students with some more abstract concepts, but I was able to because it all ran like clock work around me. It did get a little noisy, but the students are more confident in themselves. The math tutors are for sure, and the people who got their math corrected each time are too. This is a major part of the JUMP math program and why I am such a believer in it. Why make the same mistake over and over again? Get it corrected right away and get re-direction about how to do it right. The kids were fighting over who got to be a math tutor. I told them why I picked the original ones, and how to get to be one, they had to finish their work quickly. They flew through it for the chance to help other people and be considered smart. For me it is good because I can focus on the students that really need some conceptual help.
I had a few students say to me over the course of this year too that I am the best math teacher that they have ever had. That is very satisfying to me, that they acknowledge my greatness. Ha ha! Just kidding. It is satisfying because they are progressing and that is why they feel I am good, because they are getting it. I have also had that experience at the jail, where I have progressed kids by a couple grade levels in a few lessons. They are amazed and their confidence goes way up. They tell me it is me, but I tell them I couldn't do it unless they could. I also frequently say, in the jail only because all their previous teachers are still at the school, that everyone can do math and if you have problems with it, it is because you have had bad math teachers and it isn't your fault. It is my job to figure out how to help you and if I am doing my job, you will do well. I tell them they will be able to do math if they work with me, no matter what they say, and so far I have been right.
People are innately born with the ability to do math. Other people put blocks in the way of it.

My Dog Goes to Doggy Day Care

Yes. I am one of those people. But you should see this place. She has a pond for dogs to swim in. Of course, it is frozen over right now but that is okay. And she is a dog trainer. And she puts up with my dog. And my dogs gets to play with dogs its own size outside in a large enclosed area. Who could say no to this? I couldn't.

So I dress her in her velour pink sweat suit and send her off their on Mondays.

Okay, I don't really.

Troubling

I have a kid in my class who is troubled and troubling. He is hard to deal with, has lots of problems, and is a chronic liar. And he likes to hurt people. He has medical diagnosis and psychiatric evaluations. He is below level and yadda yadda. I have a teachers aide for him 2.5 hours a week. That is useful. Anyway.

He was away today. I knew he would be as he was suspended for beating a little kid up. Usually I am dragging my ass to school, always rushed when I get there, trying to get stuff done, but always finding something else that just needs to be done at home. Today I got there early. The day went well. I still had energy at the end of the day. I feel I got things done. The class got a lot accomplished. Go figure.

The thing is, I work with these kind of kids all the time at my other job, in fact, it is my speciality. But there, I have a maximum of 8 kids at a time, and usually I work with only 1 or 2. He is the kind of kid I revel in there. Here, I despise him and his existence. I think of him as a waste of earth's resources. Think about culling people for the greater good.

Time to change?

Little Dog

So I have a little dog. I got him a while back. He was an adult already and had picked up some annoying little dog habit, such as jumping up all the time. So the other day, yesterday to be exact, my mother was letting the dogs into my house. See, she's nice like that, as I work 10 to 12 hour days and they can't wait that long to pee. It is nice for both of us, so they don't have to try and I don't have to clean up pee. Anyway, she was letting the dogs in from letting them out, and my little dog comes hopping into the house on his back legs. Hop! Hop! Hop! Frantically waving his front paws in little circles. Me! Me! ME! I AM A DOG!! When all of a sudden, he falls over backwards. I have never seen this, but I heavily discourage any such two paw on the floor only tricks so that he isn't so much on two paws as he is for my pushover mom. Well, not only does he fall over backwards, he falls over backwards into their water dish, which is conveniently placed near the door for such circumstances. The water spills everywhere but then, THEN, he doesn't stop hopping. He gets right up and continues to hop and run all over the house with my mom trying to catch him to dry him off as well as stop him from going through the water that he just spilled.

Boy is he glad I wasn't there for that. Heh.

Still There

It was 4 years ago now that my friend Carlo killed himself. A violent tragic death. A shocking death. A death.
I was sitting there this late morning eating breakfast with my other and all of a sudden said, "Do you want to listen to my friend's music?" and then it all came back to me. I hadn't listened to anything of his for about a year. Just couldn't. Then the time was right and I listened. And I remembered. And I am so happy that I have these CD's of his.

I highly recommend this, and the song he has linked. I have spent many a day listening to it with tears coming down my cheeks. I guess, somewhat, this is another one.

Before he died, soon after he had met me, he painted a picture. And it looked like me. Fearing I would think it was me, as I am sure it was, and seeing how he didn't want my then other to perceive it as me, he changed it a bit. He changed the hair to black. He said it was an attempt at exaggeration of modern ideals of beauty, that long neck, those high cheek bones. The picture was larger than me, that picture it took up the whole wall. He made a picture of me. He painted me. I want to know if that picture was damaged in the grease fire that caused him to move into my house after I had left. I want to know if it survived the turmoil after his death. I want to see that picture above all. I want to have that picture close to me if I can. I want to hold onto this piece of me and him. I don't even know where to begin.

1st Meme

Okay lawn. I have been busy! I am trying to look for a new career! I won customer service place of the year! Why are you punishing me?

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? I only saw one person last night. That was my bf (you know, because I am twelve, that is what I call him. I actually just call him my friend in introductions and if, for some reason I need to refer to him as something to him, I call him lover).

2. What were you doing at 0800? Laundry, brushing dogs, washing floors, I don't know, one of those anyway.

3. Where is number 3?


4. What happened to you in 2006? Left a job that ate me alive, bought a business, moved back to my home town, tried dating (that sucked), started teaching again, um, ... renovated completely the place I lived ... I don't know.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? My dogs are going out in 20 minutes.

6. How many beverages did you have today? 2 litres of water, 1 litre of ginger tea.

7. What color is your hairbrush? Wood colour.

8. What was the last thing you paid for? Groceries.

9.Where were you last night? At the house of my other, watching a movie, trying to annoy him. Man, that guy just doesn't get annoyed. What does it take? I am still trying to find out.

10. What color is your front door? Currently white with dirt pawprint highlighting.

11. Where do you keep your change? In my wallet.

12. What’s the weather like today? Beautiful. Clear. Crisp.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Mango. Or ginger. Or maple sugar (not walnut, blah).

14. What excites you? I have no energy left over to get excited about anything, although I was pretty happy when I realized I got all my marking done in 45 minutes and not the 3.5 hours I thought it was going to take me.

15. Do you want to cut your hair? Yes, yes, mother of god yes.

16. Are you over the age of 25? Um. Yes?

17. Do you talk a lot? Yes and no.

18. Do you watch the O.C.? Is it a TV show? I think so right? I have a TV in my house. I have free cable. Have I hooked it up in the past 1.5 years. NO.


19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yes. Several. Go figure.

20. Do you make up your own words? Apparently I do. I was unaware of it until Lawn pointed it out at dinner one day. My ex was there. He had realized it long ago and had just never pointed it out. I guess I just use the rules of grammer and say things that should be.

21. Are you a jealous person? Not currently. Only in my dreams I guess.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Angie

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. What the hell is this, the alphabet game? We are not on a road trip.

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? My love.

25. What does the last text message you received say? I'm lonely (and no, not from my love, wtf).

26. Do you chew on your straw? No. Never. I don't think I use them either.

27. Do you have curly hair? No, straightest hair you've ever seen. Won't hold a perm.

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? Probably Vancouver. If not, who knows. I never go anywhere. I own a business I have no time. I am a teacher. We can't take time off.

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? My brother.

30. What was the last thing you ate? Roast lamb.

31. Will you get married in the future? My love says yes I will, or well, he would if I asked him but it is a little soon for that, no?

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? In the last two weeks. HA! WTF. I have no time to sit there for two hours. Jesus.

33. Is there anyone you like right now? In a friend way? Ha ha. Yeah there is.

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? I don't know, a couple of hours ago I guess.

35. Are you currently depressed? No.

36. Did you cry today? Yeah, but it was just tears leaking out of my eyes. I don't know why. I wasn't emotionally involved in it. Maybe I had got dirt in my eye or something.

37. Why did you answer and post this? Lawn was right. I haven't written for a while.