Citi Field

I don't like baseball, it is way to mellow for me. I just can't sit still for hours watching a bunch of guys hitting and running after a ball. (Truth be told, I can't even sit in one place and watch a tv show for more than 15 minutes.) But, my husband and son like the game. They went to the Met's new stadium this week and I stole some of their pictures. Enjoy!

Heaven

Unfortunately, the sale ends today. But, I did manage to buy 4!

Interesting

Not really, but its here.

Stress

Now comes the stressful part of the year.

Right now I am stressing over next week's AP exam. The kids tell me to relax. They say I am the only AP teacher that is crazed. I suppose the other AP teachers have more confidence in their ability to teach and get the material across. I am so afraid that there will be things on the exam that I didn't cover or didn't explain well enough. I know that in the scheme of things these grades have no affect on my life but knowing I didn't do a good enough job or that I could have done something better is not something I want to live with.

I haven't taught a regents class so I am used to being stress free once the AP exam is over. This term I have two geometry classes. If you have been reading any of these posts, you will know I don't have great expectations for a high passing rate. Again, they are weak students and I know I shouldn't care, but I do. My ego will not withstand low passing percentages. I can't bear the tears of the kids that work and don't succeed. I know Mr. AP will blame me.

There is one positive aspect of all this stress. I can't eat when I am upset and the extra weight I gained while on vacation is flying off. At this rate, I will be able to fit into my old size 3 jeans by the end of June.

My Hissy Fit

One of my geometry classes refuses to shut up, no matter what I say or do.

Today I lost it. I barely stopped myself from uttering a four letter expletive (I never use those words in school and rarely use them outside of school either) and stormed out of the room.

The guy on hall patrol got scared and sent for a dean. [By the time she came, I was back in the room.]

The kids got scared and came running out after me. I told them I had it. I told them I didn't need their crap, that I can make more money sitting home and I was going to hand in my retirement papers.

They got upset. The worst offenders were the ones who came after me. One shoved a piece of chalk in my hand, put an arm around me and gently pushed me into the room.

While I was out, someone wrote on the board "Behave, Ms. POd is really pissed."

I managed to teach the rest of the period. My next class heard about my hissy fit and they were on good behavior too.

They said they needed me to get them through the regents. I don't understand why. They would probably be better off with someone else. I am really starting to rethink my retirement options.

I work tonight so I can't have that drink I so badly need. One drink and I can't get behind the wheel of a car and G-d only knows what I will say or do in the classroom. I guess I'll just settle for some ice cream.

It Describes Me Almost Perfectly

CAPRICORN - The Go-Getter (Dec 22 - Jan 19) Patient and wise. Practical and rigid.. Ambitious. Tends to be Good-looking. Humorous and funny. Can be a bit shy and reserved. Often pessimistic. Capricorns tend to act before they think and can be Unfriendly at times. Hold grudges.... Like competition. Get what they want.

A friend just sent me this horoscope. I usually just delete this stuff but not wanting to look at the test papers I brought home, I figured I could waste some time by reading it.

I couldn't believe how this describes me, except for the good looking and patient part.

Most people don't believe that I am really very shy, but I am. I don't do well in crowds where I don't know other people and I don't like big group activities. I always feel like don't belong. I am the Queen of Pessimism and I do act before I think. There is no filter between my brain and my mouth. Unfriendliness could be my middle name and if you piss me off, I never forget or forgive. I hate to lose and if I don't get what I want, I am not easy to live with.

Maybe there is some truth to this stuff after all.

I am supposed to forward this, or risk bad luck for years ,if I don't. Of course I am not forwarding it to anyone. I'll see if my day tomorrow is worse than usual and will get worse every day from now on.

The Tree Of Hope

There was a tree in Harlem that entertainers used to stand under while trying to get work. Many sang and played instruments there and people stopped and gave them money. The tree was their good luck omen.


In the name of progress, the tree was cut down. People gathered parts of the tree to try to hold on to their luck. Some collected bark and twigs. Others collected leaves. The piece of the trunk pictured above was placed on the stage of the Apollo Theater. This is the Tree of Hope and performers rubbed the tree before going on stage. The Apollo audience was one of the toughest audiences around and performing there was scary. Many believed the tree helped them to succeed.


Education today needs its own Tree of Hope. Children are graduating high school unprepared for college and unprepared for employment. People like Bloomberg and Klein are touting their statistics, bragging about improvements but our students are in worse shape than they have ever been in.


We need a Tree of Hope but a Tree of Hope is not enough. We need a revamped system of education that will actually educate the children of today and prepare them for the careers they will follow tomorrow.

The Original Super Hero

When we do derivatives and integrals of "e" to the x, I always call "e" the original super hero because whether you integrate it, or differentiate it, you always come back to the same function. It's corny, but it helps the kids remember.

Last week, we were doing a problem in which involved an "e" and I mentioned the super hero story again, when a girl had trouble picking the part of the integral to use for the "u" in her substitution. Calc Boy then yelled out "Ln is e's Kryptonite." Everyone laughed, but I laughed so hard I had tears running down my face. For those of you who don't know the math and are still bothering to read this post, e to the lnx, is x, thus the e is destroyed.

I couldn't believe this boy made the connection. I can't believe the crazy affect I am having on them. This is a kid I will miss.

My Conclusions About Title 1

Seems like something that can only help our school.

Some teachers are thinking with the wrong parts of their bodies.

My Tree

My husband loves this tree. Even I have to admit that it is beautiful, but just for a few days every year. The flowers last a week if we are lucky and have no rain.



And then my sidewalk is covered with these slippery, pink petals. They stick to your shoes and end up in the house. It is easy to fall on them. This is a picture of my walk taken just a few days after the tree has started to blossom. I am dreading what it will looking a few days.

I wish someone would come around and cut it down in the middle of the night. That way he can't blame me.

Boy, Do I Procrastinate

I'd rather post my pics from yesterday, than do the school work that needs to get done. I do cover a lot of territory in one day. We started at South Ferry, hit Staten Island, roamed Battery City Park and ended up in Little Italy.


Subway gates with mural in background at South Ferry.




There were a few guys walking around with these huge snakes around their necks in Wagner Park--on the West Side, not far Castle Clinton, where you can catch the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty Part of a sculpture.

This lookout reminds me of the crown on the Statue of Liberty. I have passed it many times before but never looked at it from this angle.

Yacht basin. In the summer, it is filled with the boats of the rich and richer.

The Tribeca drive in. We had beers and chips at a great place here. The cheap part of our day officially came to an end.

Manhattan Financial Center--palm trees in the atrium. The whole where the World Trade Center once stood.

I found this statue on the side of an old building. Lower Manhattan has the best architecture in the city.

Great colors and great design.

This building was once a fire house. (I don't think it still is one--On Lafayette, just south of Canal St.)

Fish on Canal St. The smells are awful.

The produce on Canal is another story.

Little Italy--the window across the street from where we had dinner on Mulberry St.

Little Italy, looking north. The Empire State Building is in the background.

This guy must be working at the place we ate. He roamed the streets. His outfit kept me interested.

Too Nice A Day To Do Any School Work

Too nice a day to stay indoors, even though there are plenty of papers to mark, lessons to write and tests to create.

And now, I'm home, and instead of working I am playing with my pictures and blogging.

I Want To Die In Motion

I have this need to be moving all the time. I am afraid that if I stop, I will fall off the face of the earth. So, yesterday, we took the ferry to Staten Island. I haven't done that since I was a little kid. It was really fun. More city pictures later, but this is all for now.

The ferry The crowds. Seems we weren't the only ones looking for a fun (and cheap) way to spend a nice Saturday.

This sign bothered me. The "pm" should be in upper case letters. Someone messed up!

Another boatload of visitors to city.

The view on the NJ side

No explanation needed here

Staten Island dock

Outside Staten Island terminal

Husband taking pictures

Staten Island Side fish tank--The fish are really beautiful. We almost missed the return ferry because I was taking too many pictures.

View from the ferry

This guy looked like he was having fun--way too adventurous for me.--Brooklyn Side

Brooklyn side

Brooklyn