ATR Problem Revisited

Under Assault was an ATR until she won her grievance and had to be reinstated to. Her year and a half as an ATR has been wiped out and her record shows continuous service.

If the principals involved and the DOE had their way, she would be one of the teachers Klein is talking about getting rid of, one of the ones Chaz recently wrote about.

I met one of Under Assault's students on my cruise. We shared a dinner table and after a few minutes I found out that this young lady lived in a development I knew well and attended the local high school. I decided to do a little investigating and asked this high school girl if she knew Ms. Under Assault. Here is her response. I wish I had my camera going so I could publish her exact words.

Ms. Under Assault is the most amazing teacher I have ever had. She was so passionate about her subject. She taught with enthusiasm. She really knew her material. I am going to miss her so much. (This girl just graduated.)

Under Assault, like many ATRs had not been getting interviews and job offers. If she had not been reinstated, she would be facing another year as a teacher without a classroom. Her "homelessness" would have had nothing to do with her ability as a teacher or her search for a job.

There are too many ATRs like Under Assault out there. One of the ATRs I know well has gone on a ton of interviews with no success (and she has a wonderful resume and wonderful recommendations. All her ratings are S.) Something must be done to get these teachers back in the classroom where they belong.

How Cruise Lines Can Make More Money

They can weigh you before.... and then weigh you after. The reasons are pictured above. The surprising thing is that I don't even like sweets and almost never eat cakes. (I didn't even take pictures of the 24 hour ice cream station. That was just too hard to do with an ice cream cone in each hand.)

Chocolate buffet

Chocolate sushi Tea time

Dinner Desserts--after 4 or 5 courses, who could resist desserts. This was my all time favorite. Warm chocolate melting cake with a double portion of vanilla ice cream, complete with a cappuccino ice cream pie as a chaser.

And another warm chocolate melting cake.

Cruisin' Down The Hudson

We never made Canada on the cruise. Bill screwed that up. I really didn't mind that much as St. John is a pretty lame port. (I did feel trapped and drove my friends slightly nuts with my hyperactivity.) I've been there before and its not a place I care if I ever see again.

My favorite part of the cruise (aside from the food and the reggae band) is the NYC skyline. If Bill screwed that up, I would have been pissed. Here are a few views from the ship, a different view than I normally get to see.

This slide and city view--I'm too chicken to use it.
Intrepid Museum

A good way to get around. I've been wanting to do this since the first time I saw a Duck in Baltimore. I haven't gotten to it yet.

View from the ship

Our neighbor ship and the city.

Sightseers

The plane-helicopter crash over the Hudson happened not to far from here.

Most people don't associate jet skis and NYC.

The skyline I love from a different view than I normally see--I think this is Robert Wagner Park, near the financial center.

Lots of sailboats

Enjoying an afternoon sail.

The sun behind the clouds. Luckily for us, it did not rain.

Of course, the Statue of Liberty

The mighty little tugboats, guiding cruise ships and barges.

The top of the ship looks like it will smack right into the Verrazano Bridge. The whole deck burst into applause as we sail under and then out to see.

My Peeps

Anyone who knows me knows that if there is a Jamaican around, I will sniff him out.

I fell in love with this reggae band that played every day under the track. and I hung out nearby all day (except when I was eating.) The guy on the keyboard is great, but I was in love with the DJ (the one in the middle) and the guitarist. Oh, to be young and single again.

(My husband knows about this obsession and knows I am all talk--no action, so he has no worries.)

A few pictures of the group.

My Addiction

I can't believe how much I missed blogging. My husband has pointed out my addiction, but I was always in denial. Now, I can no longer pretend it does not exist. But, unlike other addicts, I will embrace my addiction and go forth with it.

We got in about 8:00 this morning and I insisted that we hold on to our luggage so we could be the first ones off the ship. I forgot how slow T is and how incompetent she can be when it comes to packing (I love her and would travel with her again in a minute) and it took us quite a while to get off.

I'm home now, T is with her family before she flies back to Texas and R went home hoping to find her house and her son in one piece. I am back to blogging.

The poor waiters on the ship work like dogs and to top it off, they are forced to entertain the passengers in the dining room. Posted is the video of one of their events. (Not a video I am proud of but it does show how these poor workers suffer.)

Cruise Advice

Two words--Elastic Waists