Don't Worry, About A Thing...

Don't worry, about a little thing.
Everything will be, all right.

We must have heard that song five times every day. I should be sick of it, but I'm not. In Jamaica, everything really is all right. The weather is terrific, the beach is fantastic. Going to an all inclusive means you've spent a pile of money up front but anything you want is there for the taking.

Crazy person that I am, I made everyone get up extra early to make sure we got to the airport in plenty of time. Luckily, there was almost no snow and we had no trouble getting here. My son drove us to the airport, he is such a good kid. He even called when he got home when I admitted that I needed him to call because I am excessively neurotic. Playing hooky two days before vacation officially starts was much better than our usual Christmas day flight. The airport was not nearly as crowded as usual. We even had emergency row seats. I love that extra leg room. My Kosher breakfast even tasted good.

Our flight was supposed to board at 6:30. We ended up boarding the plane by 8:00 and we thought “Great. We will make it in time for lunch. Again, no such luck. The weather got sucky and we had to wait to de-ice. Finally, at 10:45 we took off.

Although we lost most of the first day, things were still all right. I was sick, but that was all right too. Our room was beautiful. We had a corner room that had a view of sunrise in the morning and sunset in the evening. (The room was a big upgrade from what we paid for.)

More details of the trip later this week. For now, a few pictures.

The beach--the hotel has a nature reserve on both sides of it.

From the pastry shop--my favorite eating place. The woman is making delicious crepes.

Just what the doctor recommends after a long school year.

Starfish under water. These guys were all over the beach.

Sunset seen on our first night.

The pool with the ever popular swim up bar.

A rare picture of the two of us.

The view as we ate lunch in one of the many restaurants.

Swans decorating chairs.

The beach.

Don't Expect Me To Air Your Gripes

Charlie, my neighbor, was a teacher, like you and I. Many years went by and he became an assistant principal. A few years later, he became the acting principal and then he found out he was going to be appointed principal.

Me: Charlie, you know that we can no longer be friends.

Charlie: What do you mean?

Me: I cannot be friends with a principal, sorry.

Charlie: I'm me. I'll always be me no matter what job I
have.

Me: We'll see.

Two months passed and I ran into Charlie again.

Charlie: You were right. I changed. The job forces you to
do things you wouldn't ordinarily do.

I have received e-mails and comments from people who want me to go back to my honest and open comments on the administration and teachers at Packemin HS.

Sorry, I can't do that. I am enjoying not being on the administration's hate list. It might not last because I get pissed off pretty easily but as long as nothing affects me directly, there will be nothing negative here. But, when there is something good, I will write that. I'm not sucking up. I'm just giving credit where credit is due. For those of you who don't like that, stop reading and write your own blog.

Pouring Out Useless Information

IEP teacher dots all his i's and crosses all his t's when he writes up one of these things. He uses all the appropriate catch phrases "Johnny will finish 50% of his assigned tasks on time." "Gloria will raise her math level by 5 points."

IEP teacher sits in the classroom and does a crossword puzzle or searches the Internet while Gloria and Johnny are left on their own to complete their homework or do whatever else they feel like doing.

Main Stream teacher does not read IEPs. Instead, Main Stream gives up many a prep and lunch period to sit with Gloria and Johnny in resource room to bring them up to level and help them compete. Main Stream teacher has made flash cards to help Gloria and Johnny better remember what has been taught. Main Stream teacher has spent time getting to know Gloria and Johnny on a real level and has figured out a way that might possibly help.

In an ideal world Main Stream teacher would have time to read IEPs and help students. In an ideal world the IEPs would have useful information on them. NYC schools are not Utopias. Being a part of the system means you cannot have it all.

Now we can check IEPs online. Too bad my school does not hae computers easily available for teacher use. Too bad the IEPs are filled with useless information. Parents of IEP students--you decide. If IEP teacher is right for you and your child is in my class, I will happy to oblige. I will be saving quite a bit of time by devoting myself to these useless documents.

Worksheets Are Not A Substitue For Teaching

Prentice Hall ruined our math students in more ways than one. The poor quality of the text book forced teachers to hand out worksheets every day. The students got in the habit of never opening a book. Prentice Hall encouraged individual work. The students got in the habit of doing sheet after sheet after sheet. They forgot how to listen to the teacher. They forgot how to think.

I'm old fashioned. I really believe kids come to school to be taught. The teachers job is to model the problems and to explain along the way. A good teacher will be able to have the class develop the concepts along with her. Thinking is the most valuable skill these kids need to learn. Worksheets did not teach this. I've watched the wrong answers spread quicker than a forest fire. I've seen kids hand in perfect papers and not have a clue how to arrive at an answer.

A few days ago I gave my geometry class a worksheet, something I rarely do. It was as strange day and many of them were absent. I didn't feel comfortable teaching anything new. The kids loved working on it but I did not teach. I walked around and helped them. I made sure they stayed on target but I did not teach. I did not earn my salary that day.

How I Get Myself To My C-6 Assignment

Marissa was sitting at the tutoring table when I showed up for my C-6 assignment. She was so happy to see me that I almost forgot my resentment about having to be there. She told me she was having trouble with logic. She was going to take a test on Friday and she really wanted to do well.

When I saw what she was working on, I offered her some of the worksheets I had from my classes. I never saw a kid get so excited about extra math work. She happily accepted all I had to offer. We spent the period going over her homework and she finally got it! She promised to do all the sheets I gave her on her own and told me she would be back Thursday, my next tutoring day.

It's kids like Marissa that get me out of bed and into work every day. I'm fortunate to work in a school with lots of Marissas.

Older is Better

I took a walk a while agoand really looked at some of the old houses in my neighborhood. Some are truly beautiful. It is a shame that so many are being knocked down to put up these new monstrosities.


This one is my favorite. I love the color and all the windows.
i especially love the little windows on the side of the attic.
Another grand old house.
The colors of this little one always cheer me up.
This must be a nightmare to clean.
The new replacements have no character.




This is a good one. The people who bought it managed to do it over and keep all the old charm. They fixed without destryoing first.

These are quite ugly.
And so are these...
These have no lawns.

Settling For Being Just Okay

A zillion years ago, when I first began my teaching career, I wanted to be a great teacher. In fact, I wanted to be the best teacher ever. When my kids failed, I took it as a personal failure. Instead of blaming them, I blamed myself. I was depressed. I sat with my students. I asked them what I could have done differently to help them succeed. Mostly, I let them know that I really cared.

The majority of the students surprisingly never blamed me for their lack of success. I was always much harder on myself than they were on me.

As much as I wish I achieved my goal, I don't think I have. I'm an okay teacher, not terrible but there is nothing about me that makes me even near the best. In my old age, I've come to terms with that. I don't have the quietest classrooms in the school, I'm not as organized as I would like to be and I am definitely not nearly as smart as I am perceived to be.

I suppose it is okay to just be okay.

While I Am Away

Some people relax with television or books This computer, and especially this blog, is my relaxation. I have lots of posts written that have never been published, mainly because I don't want to bore people to death with my never ending ramblings.

Every day I become better and better at this blogging stuff and I recently learned how to schedule a posting for the future. I've been doing that for a while. I've scheduled a bunch of these old posts to pop up this week. Sandals, while all inclusive with most things, charges a fortune for Internet use so I will not be online for a week.

Hopefully, by the time you are bored to death reading them, I will be sitting on the beach with a nice, cold frozen alcoholic drink in my hand.

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Wonderful Kwanzaa to all who celebrate.

Happy New Year to all.

Christmas In Jamaica

.
This weather is making me nervous.

What if my plane can't get off tomorrow?

I need Jamaican people, Red Stripe and Jamaican Sun.

Gifts

I know you can't hear that pin drop in my classroom, but the kids are learning. A girl in one of my classes is moving to Long Island and she is upset about leaving me. She told me this is the first time in a long time that she is passing math.

It is hard to learn in a noisy environment but I would rather have a noisy environment where the kids are comfortable learning than be teaching in a morgue. I want my kids to be comfortable. I want them to ask questions. I want them to want to be in my classroom.

Mr. AP threatened my students with a teacher that was known for his iron hand. His classroom was dead silent but his passing rates were the lowest in the school. The kids feared him and did everything they could to get out of his class. Mr. AP says I am too nice. If nice means treating my students with respect, then I am too nice. If nice means treating each child the way I want my own child treated, I am too nice.

Mr. AP might not like my style of teaching but he has never complained about my results (which make him look good.) My students are learning, no matter what he thinks. Many will never be able to master the complexities of geometry but that has nothing to do with the noise in my room.

Two of my classes knew that I will not be in next week. Above are a few of the gifts they brought me. I told my geometry kids I would be out next week. They all wished me a happy Chanukah and a great vacation. I am making a difference with these kids, no matter what Mr. AP thinks.

I don't let him get to me too often. I've got to make sure he does not ever get to me again.

Nes Gadol Haya Sham

In case you are wondering, I am not playing dreydel or referring to the miracle of the oil lasting eight nights on Chanukah. I'm talking about a modern day miracle, a miracle so beyond my realm of belief that I am still wondering if it is real.

The miracle I am referring to is the miracle of working for a principal that gets it without playing gotcha. Never, in my wildest dreams would I have believed a person like this could exist.

Earlier this week I had a nasty encounter with Mr. AP. The encounter left me so angry that I spent quite a bit of time venting to Ms. APO (who I really like) and then blogging about it here, even though I knew it would be read by people in my school.

The exec board of union met with the principal yesterday and Mr. AP was discussed. I am not the only one having issues with his tone.

Today, in the beginning of my eighth period class, the principal decided to visit. He looked around said "I can't here a pin drop" and smiled. He said he heard about what happened and he wanted to talk to me. TALK, NOT CATCH ME NOT DOING MY JOB!!!! NOT TRY TO FIND SOMETHING NEGATIVE TO WRITE OR SAY!!!!! He apologized for not talking to me sooner. He knows I will be out next week so he said he will talk to me after the vacation. For the first time in my career I am not dreading talking to an administrator.

Yes, A great miracle has happened here.

Good Bye Pre Calc Class

As I write this post I am proctoring my college final. They are all busy working away on a test that consists of 34 short answer questions and 9 long questions out of which they choose 6. I think it is fair. I tried to take a few questions from each section and not put emphasis on any one topic. The course covered a lot of material. Although I think I kept to a pretty good pace, I didn't even come close to finishing the curriculum. The good thing is that unlike the high school, I don't have to finish. I am trusted. The chapter chair respects my teaching ability. In fact, she is waiting for me to retire from my day job so I can teach extra hours here. (As an adjunct I can only teach 9 hours a week.)

I just saw my observation report from this semester. It was glowing. It always amazes me that a teacher that does no right in the high school administrator's eyes does no wrong in the eyes of the college observer. I often wish they would both would observe the exact same lesson at the exact same time. The reports would be exact opposites.

My students are starting to leave. Even the ones that did not make it are stopping to say goodbye. I looked down and found a package with a bottle of wine and a beautiful card. The woman who left it hugged me goodbye and put it down on the sly so I could not even say thanks. I will have to look up her address so I can thank her properly. One girl who did not pass was upset because I am teaching a different course next semester and she will have to take this one over with someone else.

It is with happiness and sorrow that I say goodbye to this group. I know they are well prepared to take calculus next term, if they so choose. I will miss them. I will not miss running here two nights a week. Tomorrow, it is beer and veggie burger special at my favorite bar to celebrate a month of freedom.

Hard To Believe This Is Going On In The 21st Century

ATLANTA (Dec. 17) - A Muslim woman arrested for refusing to take off her head scarf at a courthouse security checkpoint said Wednesday that she felt her human and civil rights were violated.

A judge ordered Lisa Valentine, 40, to serve 10 days in jail for contempt of court, said police in Douglasville, a city of about 20,000 people on Atlanta's west suburban outskirts.

Valentine violated a court policy that prohibits people from wearing any headgear in court, police said after they arrested her Tuesday.

Kelley Jackson, a spokeswoman for Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, said state law doesn't permit or prohibit head scarfs.

"It's at the discretion of the judge and the sheriffs and is up to the security officers in the court house to enforce their decision," she said.

Valentine, who recently moved to Georgia from New Haven, Conn., said the incident reminded her of stories she'd heard of the civil rights-era South.

"I just felt stripped of my civil, my human rights," she said Wednesday from her home. She said she was unexpectedly released after the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations urged federal authorities to investigate the incident as well as others in Georgia.
The group cited a report that the same judge removed a woman and her 14-year-old daughter from the courtroom last week because they were wearing Muslim head scarves.

Jail officials declined to say why she was freed and municipal Court Judge Keith Rollins said that "it would not be appropriate" for him to comment on the case.

Last year, a judge in Valdosta in southern Georgia barred a Muslim woman from entering a courtroom because she would not remove her head scarf. There have been similar cases in other states, including Michigan, where a Muslim woman in Detroit filed a federal lawsuit in February 2007 after a judge dismissed her small-claims court case when she refused to remove a head and face veil.

Valentine's husband, Omar Hall, said his wife was accompanying her nephew to a traffic citation hearing when officials stopped her at the metal detector and told her she would not be allowed in the courtroom with the head scarf, known as a hijab.

Hall said Valentine, an insurance underwriter, told the bailiff that she had been in courtrooms before with the scarf on and that removing it would be a religious violation. When she turned to leave and uttered an expletive, Hall said a bailiff handcuffed her and took her before the judge.

Moral Of The Story

Daisy was in my class a few years ago. She tried to cheat her way through, got caught, got embarrassed and started failing. I started mailing her test papers home. Daisy started studying and managed to pass.

Fast forward two years. Daisy is now in Math B and really trying to get that advanced regents diploma. Daisy comes into the room where I teach my AP Calculus class. Daisy says "Wow, AP calculus, I can never do that." My reply is "You can't do it now. When you were young, you were immature and did not take school seriously. You've grown up and matured. You can do anything you want. It might take you a little longer but so what? You'll get there in the end. The only limitations on you are the ones you put on yourself."

Daisy got an 83 on her last Math B test. She came to me, half proud and half ashamed, (ashamed she did not do better), to tell me her grade. I shrieked and hugged her. Here was a girl who stuck pins in a Ms. POd voodoo doll every evening hugging me!

Moral of the story: Never judge your students too harshly. Many grow up to be a lot smarter than we will ever be.

I Forgot My Golden Rule

17 is so right. I forgot my golden rule when I spoke to Mr. AP today.
NEVER TRUST AN ADMINISTRATOR!

I feel stupid.

(Although our APO has been very supportive)

Your Problem Is You Can't Hear A Pin Drop

Normally I would not post stuff like this here anymore but I already spent 20 minutes in the APO's office bitching about what I am about to write, I figured I could share it here.

Basically, Mr. AP told us yesterday that the kids in our classes should be passing. While he doesn't want them to pass for nothing, he expects us to reach the majority of them. If kids are not coming to class, we should do something about it. If kids are not doing homework, we should also do something. We should teach slow enough to reach them all.

I've been working my butt off to get my geometry kids to pass. I make flash cards for every topic. I go over the same topics again and again. I let them use notes on exams. I've given up on the proofs that they hate. They still don't get it. They still add up line segments and set them equal to 180. I don't know what to do with them anymore.

I made the error of trying to talk to Mr. AP about this problem today. After all, he is the chairperson, the master teacher, I thought he could help.

Mr. AP: Can you hear a pin drop in your classroom?

Me: No, those classes are quite difficult.

Mr. AP: Well, that is your problem. In fact, it is only you senior teachers that have this problem. If one kid is noisy, send him out and don't let him back in until his parent shows up. That will set the other kids straight.

Me: It won't work. Too many are noisy. Besides, a kid that can't divide 12 by 2 without a calculator cannot learn geometry, no matter how quiet the room is.

Mr. AP: It will. It is your fault the kids can't learn. Big deal about what you do. You are only teaching four or five kids at most.

At that point I walked out. There was no point in arguing with this madman. But, the steam was still pouring out of my ears and I decided to vent to the APO. She invited me to sit down and air my complaints. She listened sympathetically and promised to talk to him tomorrow.

Mr. AP has no answers to the problems we face so he is choosing the easy way out--BLAME THE TEACHER. The APO's conversation with him will do no good but it did help me to vent to her and knowing that she is on my side helps as well.

Mr. AP's comments mean nothing to me in the long run. There is nothing he can do to hurt me but I will not sit back and be his whipping post.

At yesterday's departmental conference he also made quite a few uncalled for comments and told us he expected us to do things that cannot possibly fit into our school day. I managed to keep my mouth shut for most of the meeting. Not one teacher opened up a mouth in protest to anything he said. If they choose to be beaten, so be it. NOT ME. NOT NOW. NOT EVER. And, if it really bothers him, I will stay on for another few years. I WILL NOT LET HIM WIN!

I Put My Boxing Gloves On Again

The union lackeys were back with not much to say this time.

I did ask them about perceived harassment of teachers.

Lackey: First, I want to know when the teacher can retire.

Me: What has that got to do with anything?

Lackey: The teacher might be better off financially not working.

Me: I know I would be better off financially if I retired, but I want to keep teaching. I'll keep teaching until I am ready to stop and not before. Money does not rule my life.

Lackey: I have more disposable income now that I am retired.

Me: You still did not answer the question.

At that point, he gave me some mumbo jumbo about our CC and district rep. I went back to marking some papers. These union guys are as bad as the city.

Departmental Conference

Economic crisis? What are you going to do about it? (Not really our topic of discussion, but it might have been.)

Try looking at ARIS.

A New Graphing Calculator

I can use any of the Texas Instruments graphing calculators expertly. I went to tons of training and then was able to pick up extra stuff on my own.

I've been looking at this Casio for an hour. Even when I figure something out, I have a hard time remembering how I did it.

I have a headache!

Winter Wonderland In NYC--Replacing Department Conference News

There is nothing like walking around the city this time of year to help an old sour puss like me. I love all the store windows and the tree in Rockefeller Center. No matter how many times I see it, I always feel the magic. The tree at Bryant Park.

Skating at Bryant Park. There is no charge to skate but the line is ridiculously long.
The angels at Rockefeller Center.

The tree at Rockefeller Center.

Sak's window. I wasn't going to go over because the crowds were so big, but I'm glad I did. These were the best windows around. They told the story of Mike, the snowflake that dared to be different. The first window began with a story from olden days consisting of pictures of hippies and dinosaurs.
Cartier's had little red jewelry boxes that kept moving and opening up to tell a different story.
Big red bow around Cartier building.
St Regis Hotel
A well kept secret--the bathrooms in Bendel's. They are right down the steps, by the main entrance. Each stall is a little room is equipped with its own sink

Bergdorf's windows were unbelievable. This mannequin looked like she was standing on ice, with a whole underwater city underneath.

The lights and colors here were fantastic.

More Bergdorf's

Pedal vehicle in the form of a train at FAO Schwartz, one of my favorite stops. I guess I am just a big kid at heart. I got there early so I didn't have to wait on a long line to get in.

Victoria Secrets

Hammacher Schlemmers

Bloomingdale's windows were great. The theme was the new album just put out by Tony Bennett. His music was being pumped onto the street making the exhibits especially exciting.

Bathroom in Citicorps Building. (I know, I am obsessed with bathrooms but finding a decent one in the city takes know how.)

Trains in Citicorps Building . Unfortunately the exhibit doesn't open until noon so I missed seeing my trains go around. Still, it was nice to see.

The rest of the pictures are here.

Get Away Parking

Parking at work is important. I know. I used to work in Manhattan and got to work two hours early to make sure I got a spot on the one block available for teacher's cars.

I'm spoiled now. Parking in the area I work in is a breeze. The area is all residential, with mostly private houses. Now, I seek the coveted "get away spot." This is the spot that gets me away from the school the quickest. It has to be close to the exit I leave from and my car has to face in the right direction so I don't waste any time making a U-turn.

When I go in for period one, I always get the perfect spot. Now that my college now class is over, that type of spot is not as easy to come by.

I'm not complaining, but I miss my perfect parking spot.

Waiting For The Storm

We had a senior assembly today during period 3. I was my normal POd self and pissed that I had to go. All senior English and history teachers were invited. Math teachers with seniors did not get personal invitations. We are the step children of the school. I was also pissed that I knew nothing about the assembly until the day before it was scheduled to occur.

I would like to apologize to all the administrators involved who I cursed under my breath. If I paid attention at the faculty conference I would have known about the assembly. (Too many of those conferences with Suit makes me turn deaf when any administrator is talking.) If I read the weekly bulletins (which is not going to happen until I get access to a computer at school) I also might have known about the assembly.

Lightning might strike me for writing this, but the assembly was great. No one made stupid jokes or comments. No one was insulted. Hula got the kids excited about being there. The kids were well behaved. They listened to everyone who spoke. All the admins, the college counselors and the senior advisers made their points and stopped talking. The meeting ended on time.

Things are far from perfect at Packemin HS. The drive-by observations still have everyone on edge. Suit left a big mess that has to be cleaned up. Just like the dog that has been abused, teachers like me will not trust a new administrator too quickly. But, for the moment things are good. I'll keep my umbrella ready for the clouds to burst but for now I am enjoying the sunny weather.

Snapshots

My sister in law was the most beautiful bride ever.

Yet, every snapshot taken of her made her look like this:

Snapshots observations do the same thing to teachers.