One Love, One Heart

The smile on every tourists face. Happy feet
Fountain at night--in front of my favorite restaurant.
Driftwood--I have 100's of pictures of the wood and dead trees on the beach.
Santa arriving by ATV
Crane enjoying a breakfast of sausage and eggs
Apple martini from the martini bar

Creamy chocolate martini--yummy!

The blue water

No trip to Jamaica is complete without the fire dancer

Jogger footprints

Red stripe bottle--no garbage cans in the nature reserve

Empty sun tan lotion container--a must to refill in this climate

Sandman

The pastry chef--he made all kinds of yummy desserts and a special chocolate bread for us to bring home.

Bird on the beach

Ocean hitting the shore

Leaf on the beach

This guy weeded his little area all day. I wanted to bring him a drink but he told me he is not allowed to drink on the job--one of the things I hated about the place and plan on writing to them about.

Parade on Christmas day. Christmas was the only day of the year the slaves did not have to work. They wore masks to cover their identities and prevent any retaliation from owners.

Chocolate Fondue from the chocolate buffet.

Sunset

Hermit crab in a conch shell

Lovers dessert for two
Lights reflecting in pool

Salad--so pretty it needed a picture before eating

Bird--waiting for pizza leftovers

Peacock, also waiting for leftovers.

Boat used by a local to hawk conch shells. He didn't sell many. Tourists in Jamaica don't carry cash.

Vine along beach

Lost sandal

Swamp with a crocodile that I did not get to see.

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.