Breakfast for the kiddies

Some teachers arrived early to make and serve pancakes and sausages for our kids before they finished the last part of the CAHSEE. It was actually fun. I usually don't deal with the other teachers, but today I got to see what we can be like when we band together for our kids. Some of us were there at 6 a.m. the first student to show up showed up at 6:20. As the kids trickled in they seemed to enjoy it. Most didn't show up until around 7:10, but I think they got the point of what we were willing to do for our kids.

Odd comment

Our school had threatened to go pick up absent 10th graders if they did not arrive to take the CAHSEE. We missed our goals last year because of the fact that we did not have the required amount of attendance. I thought no one is going to go pick up kids. WELL I was wrong. They did use our admin staff to go and pick up a few kids. Reminds me of that commercial where the delivery trucks are delivering the kids to school.

It's been a while

What have I been up to? I still teach, but now it's ESL that I teach. I still work in San Diego. What am I doing right now? I am watching a group of eight students attempt to take the English portion of the CAHSEE. A few students have already put their head down and did not attempt the essay. I'm looking at them and wondering why? One student I have know for the last two years. As much as I would like to think that all kids have a chance, this student is hopeless because he stopped caring. I have worked with him for two years trying to be his cheerleader and his warden. When he has good grades I acknowledge them and tell him how proud I am, when he blunders in other classes and his teachers notify me I sit and talk to him, so he knows that I am there for the good and the bad. However, the last few months have been draining with him. I no longer have him as a student and I am slightly relieved. He is hard to like, but I want so badly for him to succeed.

The second student I do not know. When I asked him about the essay, he gave me a blank stare. What am I to think? I don't have access to his student information. Hopefully he'll score highly on the multiple choice and the essay will be unnecessary.

What am I watching? I'm a couch potato. I know it and everyone else knows it. On Mondays I impatiently wait for How I Met Your Mother? Watching this show I am guaranteed to laugh. I also watch 24 which is addictively good. I began a new show at 10 on Mondays it is called Castle I must admit I started watching it because the star, Nathan Fillion, but I was surprised to find I like the writing. Writing on television shows is what makes me loyal. I have realized I don't like feature movies very much because the writing in them has gotten horrible. I have a long list of shows that I am watching Gossip Girl, Bones, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Dollhouse, Friday Night Lights, and Battlestar Galactica. Well maybe that isn't a lot of shows, but thinking of the list made me realize that I watch tv three nights a week. I want more scripted shows. On the nights that I don't have anything to watch I watch TV on DVD. Have plenty of DVDs and am a rewatcher.

I saw The Watchmen recently and did not understand the appeal. The story had no true plot, or maybe I just didn't understand it. For once it was too over my head. From what I understand those that have been fans of the comic find the movie appealing. Not me. I actually don't remember what was the last good movie that I saw. I don't rent anymore because it seems to be a waste of money. However, there are a few movies that I want to see Revolutionary Road and The Reader. I'm a Kate Winslet fan. I think she is wicked awesome. Plus I've read the book of one of those movies in my credential program.

Miscellaneous...My girl is five weeks from turning 16. I keep telling her we only have two years for me to be responsible for her and then she's on her own. What will I do without her? No clue, chances are she won't leave. Hopefully though she will continue with her education...Books!!!! How could I not have a section dedicated to books? I don't know. Maybe I am finally reaching the limit of what I will read. I have found that Young Adult novels are the books to read. But, a lot of them are just trying to fill a void that Harry Potter has left. I read the Twilight series and have to admit while I liked the first one, the rest of the series disappointed me. I mean the story is about two people who are totally obsessed with one another. Edward is a stalker in the first novel, and on first reading no one seems to notice this. For the rest of the series Bella is a pathetic excuse for a female. First, she can't live without Edward, then she has to have Jacob in her life no matter the pain that it causes all involved. As for the final book don't get me started. Meyer's chickened out. She had an opportunity to show that life is harsh, instead we get a happily ever after ending that isn't even worthy of Walt Disney. Letdown a lot. Meyer should have stopped at the first book. As for the Twilight fans, I'm sorry you want a true love story with a realistic ending read Shakespeare. My next guilty series is Vampire Academy by Richelle Meade. This series is only three novels in, and Meade has already ripped out my heart, stomped on, and ran a lawn mower over it. Meade is willing to annoy and upset her fans, which is something I appreciate. Happily ever afters are meant for Disney movies. In Vampire Academy I am seriously invested in the characters. I am impatiently counting down the days to the next novel, which I hope and believe is May. I already plan on taking the day off, so I can read the book in peace. But, between then and know is City of Glass for some reason I can not think of the author right now, but this book comes out next Tuesday, and I think I'm taking the day off. I have been rereading the first two books and utterly enjoying myself. The trilogy is about a shadow world that lives parallel to our world. This world has all mythical creatures that go bump in the night, but the idea of good-vs-evil is not as clear. The other thing I like about these books is the references to other classical literature like Dante's The Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost.

Procrastinating and Ranting.

As usual I am procrastinating. I should be doing BTSA, homework, planning, grading, or working on my action research, but I'm not doing any of those things. Well I kink of am planning. I'm reviewing what we are going to do this week. My kids are going to start reading Anne Frank. This is a bit ambitious seeing how my kids are ESL. However, I know my kids can do it with a lot of scaffolding and structure.

As usual i'm watching television on my computer. I'm checking out Roswell. I just finished watching the first season of Jericho, which is a really good show. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Friday Night Lights will get picked up for a third season. Obviously i'm a little obsessed with television at the moment. I have just gotten to the point that I'm not interested in doing very much. I don't feel like reading even though I am reading. Movies are too predictable and that bores me, so i've become obsessed with television.

I have learned something about myself this last year. I love good stories. That is why I have read regularly since I was a child. That is why I love movies. That is why I loooove television. I also realize that I like that in people. Good storytellers are hard to come by. I don't think i'm a good storyteller, but I am a good listener. What is the point of saying this? To justify my love of television.

Anyways, my district is currently in the midst of budget cuts, meaning that I may be layed off next school year. I'm not worried for myself, but for my students who already do not receive the services that they are entitled to. Our district does not have a strong ESL department. There seems to be inadequate resources to address a population of students that can place a school in program improvement. Before anyone says "Well it shouldn't be that hard to learn a new language." Think about the fact that they have to learn a new language, adjust to a new culture, be ridiculed because of their native language and learn the necessary curriculum for them to be assessed and gain the credits for graduation. I think i'm annoyed with other countries that do not make compulsory education a priority. Basic reading and writing should be mandatory. Literacy in the native language guarantees the necessary skills to become literate in a foreign language. I'm also annoyed with a government that has difficulty comming to an agreement with a program that will benefit this population. I have read the research that shows the "sink or swim" method works. I have also read about how bilingual education is a better method. We are currently somewhere in between those two methods. And for whatever reason we assume that these students should be able to go into mainstream classes after one year of ESL instruction. If they can't then it is my faulty. I acknowledge that i'm a teacher who is learing how to teach in an ESL format, but I also work hard to make contenct accessible to my students. I work hard to use materials that students can use in other classes. I know that in my room my students feel comfortable practicing their English skills without the fear of ridicule. I make sure that they understand that how wonderful their native language is it is a necessity for them to learn English. Lawmakers are not truly concerned with ensuring education equality for all students, they are only concerned with pointing out the faults of all the work that teachers do.

Yes I procrastinate, but my mind is constantly on what i'm going to be doing with my students.

Updating

Okay, since last post in February the school I was at closed because of a brand new school being opened down the street. My school district mixed my paperwork with someone else's making it impossible for me to get a contract this year, but I did pick up a long-term sub job only to be offered a contract at that spankin' new school. I took the contract with great guilt over the students who I had promised I would be there for the entire year.

I teach ESL this year and feel overwhelmed by a group of beginners who lack the motivation to try and learn English. I am used to thinking about the impact of the CAHSEE on students and am wondering how are these students going to be able to pass it.

On the upside I am going to have technology to rival that of any school in CA. The only thing i'm currently missing is my class set of laptops, but i've been told i'll have them by second semester. I have only been at my new assignment for three weeks and have already had to go to professional development. Two days were for QTEL which is encouraging. The other day was for a text reader product by Kurzweil.

The little technogeek in me got excited with the Kurzweil product, Bernie if you still read this you should check it out if you haven't. It's cool because you can scan text in and the program reads it to students. It highlights the sentences and lowlights the actual word being read. If you don't know what a word means you can highlight and click on the dictionary icon for a definition. It also has the ability to allow the teacher to go in and add things to the reading. If you want your students to pause at a certain point to answer a question or any other thing you insert a sticky or have the ability to insert a question that has to be answere before the text will continue to read. The teacher can also highlight what you think is important. The students is also able to do all of these things. The great thing is that you can block some of the things that a student does while reading the text. The other cool thing is the text extractor. If you want students to high light main ideas they can and then all the highlighted points can be extracted and submitted. Or the text can be extracted and used as a study guide. Teaching made easy.

Another great thing about this program is the text writer. As students type they can hear what they are typing and hopefully it will help them to notice misspellings or any other errors.

The voices are not monotone robotic. There are two voices that sound more human than normal. I sound like a salesperson for this program, but I have to admit I can see it helping some of my most beginning students.

Tired and Overwhelmed

Okay for the last few weeks I have been doing the Master's program at a local university. Everything has been fine. Nothing has conflicted with my teaching life, until this past week. Teaching AVID sometimes requires me to go to training. This week I began tutor training and I was under the impression I had to only go to one session. I have to go to all three sessions which are on Tuesdays, the day I have class. I make it to class about 15 minutes late. The professor says it's okay. The kicker is I have homework from training and school tacked on with some BTSA work. Can we say give me a day off? Sure it's a three day weekend. But I started it by going to a different training on a new book that we will be using in the CAHSEE class, in which i'm the only teacher who teachers it. I have to update my resume. Begin posting for next school year and summer school. Get some grading done. Spend quality time with my daughter. Can we say overwhelmed. I'm already looking forward to the next three day weekend. I also have to plan for this school week.
On the plus side the AVID training will look good on my resume as will the masters degree. Hopefully this new text will be better than our current one. So long as I survive this week, i'll be fine. I think i'll just have to break up the next two days into chunks so i'll feel like i'm managing.

Keeping up

Right now I'm feeling overwhelmed. With no classroom in site it is becoming harder to keep up with what I need to do and easier to procrastinate. One problem with no classroom is feeling like an intruder. I often feel like I am invading someone's space. While I feel bad for myself, I also feel bad for the other teachers who do not get their classroom to themselves. Nearly all the teachers have been supportive, but I can't shake the feeling that i'm a guest. There is a saying that my mom has told me in spanish, but here it is in English "Guests like the dead begin to smell after a few days." I like the saying that is how i'm beginning to feel.
I start the masters program soon, and while i'm excited i'm also wondering what in the world i'm doing. I let my friend/colleague talk me into doing the program. The program is supposed to work in conjunction with BTSA, but as i'm already behind in BTSA i'm wondering what i'm doing.
Kids they're great. Most of my kids are wonderful. I laughingly call them heathens, but realisticly it is a heather world that they live in. They are great. Many of them offer to help me when they see me trucking along with my cart. Some don't even ask. Instead they grab my cart and ask where i'm going. I do have the exception of having a few kids that I just shake my head at and think I won't have them next year. But the other kids make the day enjoyable. I have realized I have a good day if someone makes me laugh. So long as I can laugh I don't get discouraged of all the issues surrounding this education business.
I keep telling me self to hang in there for the long haul and I know I will but traveling is difficul.

Finally!

I finally have a job. Not in the city I had hoped to go home to, but right here close to home. I am teaching AVID and CAHSEE prep. Not interesting but wholly scripted, at least until I can figure a few things out. Even though I am not completely prepared to teach these courses, I look at them as experience for my resume. I have to admit I am extremely excited to be a teacher. There is only one problem; I am a traveling teacher until November. I run from one class to another. I am going to spend this weekend trying to get organized, so I can transition from class to class.

More Interviews

Okay didn't get the job I interviewed for on Thursday, but I have two other interviews this week. I also have the possibility of another interview. At this point I just want a job. I originally wanted to move back to where I grew up but they seem leary of my lack of experience. I can't get experience without a job.

Another Interview

Not really as nervous as the first time. This is in a middle school, which is not a setting I'm comfortable with, but I'll take what I can get right now.

What in the world?

Got a call and was asked how far in the process was I in getting a teaching position. Was not offered an interview, just asked the question. Now am sitting here waiting to see if they call back for an interview.

Nothing Special

Okay, I had one interview and no news as to whether or not I got the job. Am assuming I didn't because school has started and the interview was over a month ago. Continue to send out resumes. I think I'm going to have to re-evaluate my resume. Maybe there is something wrong in it. I changed my cover letter and I think it is slightly better. I have to figure out a way to sell myself. The only problem is that I'm not good at personal writing. I do not have the imagination to come up with a colorful description to describe myself.

I guess I'll be subbing this year. Am pretty disappointed. But what's a girl to do?

First Interview Down

Well I had my first job interview yesterday and surprisingly I wasn't very nervous and it went well. I wasn't nervous because I was annoyed that my interview started later than the appointed time. I had to wait a half hour. The room that I was waiting in didn't have air conditioning and in the San Fernando Valley it was over a hundred. I wanted to just scream "if I had been late I'd have been written off." But I need the job more than I need to tell people off for making me wait in the heat. Of course it really wasn't their fault. I don't think they had been notified that I was there. And the department chair thought I was a student. I have to go back for a second interview in which they are going to watch me teach an hour long lesson that is supposed to be engaging. I'm a little scared. I think it's hard to be engaging with students you don't know. It's like the first day. I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. Help!

First Job Interview

Okay I am going on my first job interview this Tuesday in Los Angeles. I'm really excited and nervous and worried about how I will come off. The school is a distingueshed school and the only comprehensive high school in LAUSD to be named so. I worry that it will be difficult as a new hire to have anything worth while to bring to the school. I also worry about not interviewing well. I have been trying to think of a decent lesson plan shich showcases my sensitivity to multi-cultural population but i'm blanking. I'm blanking on everything. My grandparents are excited though. My grandfather has already driven by the school to go check it out. Isn't he cute? Well wish me luck! Any i'll post later how it went, and if I got it.

It's been a while

Well it's been a while and there have been times were I have felt like logging in and updating my blog, but I have been too tired. Simply put, I finished the credential program last month. I have not been actively searching for a job because I'm exhausted. My second and final semester of the credential program was draining. I also worked two jobs during that time. So, I decided to give myself a rest. Plus I just wanted to be lazy for a bit and spend time with my daughter. I have done a couple of interviews. One with LAUSD because I feel like going home. The other with San Diego City Schools. I keep telling myself I don't feel motivated, but I wonder how motivated I'll feel when student loans become due.

Draining Week or Two

This has been a draining week or last week somehow drained in to this week. Grades are coming out and it is not pretty. How does this reflect on me? Am I a bad teacher or are my students lazy? Considering the fact that most of the grades are reading logs for some strange reason or art work worked on in class, I would blame the students. Are reading logs are simple, you read in-class for ten minutes then fill out the log. A one sentence summary a day, with a five sentence summary at the end of the week. Pretty simple, blasted children can't do anything right! But, I still like them!

Then there is the student who was standing next to his friend who was shot in the head and died. How do you deal with that? He realizes that he is a lucky person, but is beginning to slip into depression. He can't sleep is having a hard time focusing and all the other things that go with an experience like that.

The next student actually had a drive-by shooting at her house, in which her brother was shot and she was grazed on the arm. Her family has decided to leave for a few weeks with the hope of an arrest, so that they don't live in fear. I'm assuming that the brother is okay because they were gone three days after the shooting.

The worst part is that some of these things I experienced myself as a teenager and I do know that it gets easier with time, but how do you explain that to traumatized teenagers. I don't know how to relate my similar experiences, so that they learn that you sort of loose feeling. I sometimes think that my heart has hardened to things like this because they no longer shock me the way they used to. I've become desensitized in a sense. But these two experiences have brought back memories that I thought were in my past.

What a student teaching experience?

Interesting Day, Month, Semester

So far I have to say that my experience is so different from last semester. I actually am made to feel like an equal and not an intrusive entity. I love my placement, master teacher, other teachers, department chair, duplicating clerk, principal secretary, and most of all my students. Do you think I'm enjoying this experience? OH YEAH!

At times my class can be trying, but I'm slowly bringing them to the understanding that I have no life and am not afraid to stay in at lunch to talk to them, or keep the whole class. I wrote my first detention yesterday and enjoyed it. That worked to quiet down my two most rambuctious students. The other students are not as bad and take the lead of the wild ones. With them calmed class was pretty calm today.

The most interesting think about today is that we were supposed to have a sub and for one reason or another he or she did not show up. I don't know the whole story, but I became a sub for today. I have to say I enjoyed having my class to myself. Luckily today was a minimum day otherwise the five straight classes I taught would have been draining. In those classes there is only a small break of ten minutes. Full teachers I don't know how you do it, but I got a taste of it today. I'm lucky though most of my master teacher's students know me and respect me more than a sub. However, I had to raise my voice in one class that is used to seeing me but don't deal with me as a teacher. They think I'm cool. I had to remind them that today I was in charge. Overall they behaved well. The cool thing is that I'm getting paid as a sub for the day. OH YEAH!

The Rant: I'm annoyed that I have to create a portfolio. I understand the concept of a portfolio, but with full time student teaching, meetings, classes, two jobs, and a child of my own I don't want to do it! I just want to whine about it. I've done a pretty good job of keeping with all the necessary items for my portfolio, but I'm tired!

Just a new rant

I have finally figured out what will be the one aspect of teaching that I may have a hard time coping with. I have a student who wears the same clothes every day and these clothes are not in the best condition. He sometimes smells, but not too much. I don't know what to do or if there is anything that I can do. I don't want to ask him anything because i'm afraid it might hurt his feelings. I don't know what his home life is like or any thing about his situation. I think he is admirable because he comes to school everyday. I have to admit that he has managed to touch my heart in a way that few others have been able to in awhile. I have brought this to the attention of my new master teacher in the hope that she might be able to do something, but I don't know if she has or can. I guess the point of this is to simply complain about life. I'm not sure. I just think it is so sad.

A New Semester

Well I am getting ready for my second and last semester of the credential program. This semester i'm super excited because I already have my placement, have met with my master teacher and feel encouraged that this semester will be an improvement over last semester. Last semester's placement was not the greatest. Without going into too many details I simply felt out of place. This year's placement and master teacher have gone out of their way to make me feel comfortable and confident. School starts for us this Monday and I am already excited about the idea that I will have ninth graders. We have tried planning for our first two days, but unfortunately the copy machine is down and it looks like we won't have the materials we want on Monday, but we have a contingency plan. I hope that my enthusiasm lasts for what is going to be a long semester. I'm also excited that my master teacher is willing to let me experiment with using computers in the classroom. She admits to not being as computer literate as she would like to be, but hopes that my knowledge will help her.

Doing nothing

I have to say I thought that I would keep up with my posting for no other reason than I like to complain to no one who really cares. I just like the feeling of having a space to complain. Yesterday was the last day of student teaching and it was upsetting. Having only one class made it easier to attach myself to my kids. Plus they had begun to behave themselves much better than they had before. I like the little buggers. They were fun.

Graduation was fun. Other than my mom, daughter and best friend, my cousin managed to come for my graduation which just made my day. I thought he had forgotten when I told him last December, but he remembered and made sure that he was here. My grandparents couldn't come because my grandmother has been sick and my grandfather was worried about taking her out for a long period of time. He is a bit overprotective when it comes to her, but I think it's sweet.

Star Wars in my biased opinion was great. I'm one of those that you could have just played the music and had someone tell me what the movie was about and I would have thought it was great. I thought it bridged the gap in all the movies, and I was satisfied. I just saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith and I found it entertaining. It dragged at some points but overall it was funny. I'm one of those strange people who laugh at the most inappropriate times in movies. I thought this movie was funny. I also like watching Brad Pitt get slapped around by a strong woman ;-p.

I just got an iPod and now i'm trying to figure out how to use it. So far i'm having fun with it. It's fun. I have to figure out how to make playlists so I can have one for each of my moods. I also have to decide what songs i'm willing to put on my mini machine.