Word on the street is that this is one of the nicest weekends we have had in Houston for a long time... It is currently 74 degrees and no humidity, but it could just as well be raining to me.
I left school last night, Friday at 8:00 pm. I was busy cleaning up my room, grading papers, replying to work emails, and filling out paper work for one of my students who got suspended and will now be going to an alternative school for the next 30 days. The student has had numerous warnings and trips to the principals office for behavior this school year, but on Thursday he took it to another level by slapping a girl in the face.
I heard the large "SLAP" when I was working with another group of students (the students were working in groups in stations so they were all in different parts of the room). By the time I turned around the damage had been done. The girl had her hands on her face with tears running down her chin and neck. The boy was in the middle of telling the student that he would he hit again too... when I ran across the room to grab him. I did not know what fully happened, but did know that I had 16 other students in my room that I needed to teach so I had my classroom "neighbor" watch my room while I escorted the students to the office. I dropped them off at the office for the principal to figure things out and went back to teaching.
Usually I am not one to pass things off for others to take care of them, but in this case (physical violence) I felt more comfortable having the principal take care of it. Also, I knew it would take too long to talk with these students in the hall and figure out what just happened and I couldn't leave my classroom unattended for that long.
I arrived home Friday night, ate, supper, and fell asleep. I was planning on finishing grading some of the approximately 80 math and science journals I needed to grade this weekend, but instead, accidentally fell asleep on the couch around 9:30pm due to exhaustion.
I was up at 6:00am this morning to get ready for a training that I needed to be at by 8. I got ready and drove to the location it was supposed to be at, but I could not find the school. I think the email had the wrong address as the GPS in my car and on my found had me arriving at a large house where the school was "supposed to be." I decided the "highly recommended" training was not meant for me and headed home in frustration after not finding the school.
I treated myself to a Starbuck's on the way home and began grading journals. It is about 3:15pm and I have just finished grading the last journal (along with a stack of assignments). My math and science grades are all up to day. It is a good feeling to be caught up with everything... well until next week comes.
Tomorrow I will be up early to lesson plan and ensure everything is ready for the week to come.
Weekend... What weekend?! For me all the two days formally known as my weekend are are two catch-up and planning days... not the time outdoors and football watching they once were...
I hope your weekend is going well. Do something fun for me!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Home Sick?!
Despite news of the first snowfall in Minnesota, I can't help but miss my home state as the calender turns to October and colder air begins to move in.
This past weekend was homecoming at the University of Minnesota, which was always one of my favorite times of year on campus. This year is the first year in a very long time that Minnesota will be having a "real" homecoming, as the new on-campus stadium is complete and students will get to experience a homecoming "home game" for once. I was, and still am, really excited about the Gopher's new stadium and the impact it will have on the University in the years to come. Throughout my time at the "U" I felt that school spirit and pride were not as prevalent as it is at many other schools throughout the country. The new stadium's location on campus and the festivities that will surround it will surely help in bringing out more Minnesota pride. I bet homecoming was a blast this year and I feel like I missed out a little by not being there.
My car is fix and out of the shop. I was able to take care of the entire situation on my own, which I suppose can be looked at as a "mini-milestone" in my adult life. It was a difficult being in a new city and trying to find a repair shop and take care of the whole process without the help of my dad (and his brother who runs an auto body repair shop). I had to go out on my own to get quotes, find repair people, and finally decide who I could trust to do the work. Everything worked out though, and I am back to driving my '01 Pontiac, which now looks pretty close to new.
Another thing I miss about being back home during the Fall is the start of hunting seasons in Minnesota. Although I haven't been able to participate as much as I would have liked to in the past few years due to school commitments, I always like to go hunting with my brothers, dad, and other family members. Even when I wasn't able to go with, it was always fun to listen to the hunting stories and see the game they were able to take in over the weekends. Sharing stories over hunting was a conversation that quickly linked my brothers and I together more, as they both have a strong passion for the outdoors that they were happy to share with anyone that would listen.
I am not excited to miss deer hunting this year, as it was a weekend I looked forward to spending with my dad and brothers every year. The weekend was spent hunting during the morning, resting in the middle of the day, and hunting again till dark. In the evening it was a time to share as the men of the family, playing cards, watching TV, and discussing strategy about the following days hunts. I usually didn't have the most information to contribute as far as strategy was concerned, but it was a fun time to all be together in one place. I hope to get back to deer hunting with the family in the future, and just maybe, be lucky enough to have a big buck wonder in front of my stand t0 "out hunt" my brothers for a season.
As many of you know, October is my birthday month, along with my mom, grandpa (and a few aunts and uncles). I will be turning 23 on the 23rd. This will be my first birthday away from home (well Minnesota). I will miss my special birthday meal provided by my mom, and even though I will be 23, I will still miss having a home-cooked birthday cake.
To end on a more positive note, I will be coming back to Minnesota on November 21st and staying until the 28th. This will be a nice "vacation" as I am able to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday with the people I am most thankful for: my family and friends. I am looking forward to seeing many of you during this trip back to Minnesota. Hopefully there won't be too much snow... as I am finally getting used to the warmer weather.
This past weekend was homecoming at the University of Minnesota, which was always one of my favorite times of year on campus. This year is the first year in a very long time that Minnesota will be having a "real" homecoming, as the new on-campus stadium is complete and students will get to experience a homecoming "home game" for once. I was, and still am, really excited about the Gopher's new stadium and the impact it will have on the University in the years to come. Throughout my time at the "U" I felt that school spirit and pride were not as prevalent as it is at many other schools throughout the country. The new stadium's location on campus and the festivities that will surround it will surely help in bringing out more Minnesota pride. I bet homecoming was a blast this year and I feel like I missed out a little by not being there.
My car is fix and out of the shop. I was able to take care of the entire situation on my own, which I suppose can be looked at as a "mini-milestone" in my adult life. It was a difficult being in a new city and trying to find a repair shop and take care of the whole process without the help of my dad (and his brother who runs an auto body repair shop). I had to go out on my own to get quotes, find repair people, and finally decide who I could trust to do the work. Everything worked out though, and I am back to driving my '01 Pontiac, which now looks pretty close to new.
Another thing I miss about being back home during the Fall is the start of hunting seasons in Minnesota. Although I haven't been able to participate as much as I would have liked to in the past few years due to school commitments, I always like to go hunting with my brothers, dad, and other family members. Even when I wasn't able to go with, it was always fun to listen to the hunting stories and see the game they were able to take in over the weekends. Sharing stories over hunting was a conversation that quickly linked my brothers and I together more, as they both have a strong passion for the outdoors that they were happy to share with anyone that would listen.
I am not excited to miss deer hunting this year, as it was a weekend I looked forward to spending with my dad and brothers every year. The weekend was spent hunting during the morning, resting in the middle of the day, and hunting again till dark. In the evening it was a time to share as the men of the family, playing cards, watching TV, and discussing strategy about the following days hunts. I usually didn't have the most information to contribute as far as strategy was concerned, but it was a fun time to all be together in one place. I hope to get back to deer hunting with the family in the future, and just maybe, be lucky enough to have a big buck wonder in front of my stand t0 "out hunt" my brothers for a season.
As many of you know, October is my birthday month, along with my mom, grandpa (and a few aunts and uncles). I will be turning 23 on the 23rd. This will be my first birthday away from home (well Minnesota). I will miss my special birthday meal provided by my mom, and even though I will be 23, I will still miss having a home-cooked birthday cake.
To end on a more positive note, I will be coming back to Minnesota on November 21st and staying until the 28th. This will be a nice "vacation" as I am able to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday with the people I am most thankful for: my family and friends. I am looking forward to seeing many of you during this trip back to Minnesota. Hopefully there won't be too much snow... as I am finally getting used to the warmer weather.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Prepared?!
This past weekend was my first true three-day weekend as a teacher. Houston Independent School District (HISD) observed a "Fall Holiday" on Monday which gave all teachers and students the day off.
This break was much needed after the recent classroom changes. I was able to spend most of the weekend catching up in my Alternative Certification Course (ACP) and University of St. Thomas (UST) graduate course that I am taking. I had been putting these classes on the "back burner" as my focus needed to be entirely on getting my new classroom and students to a point where we could work effectively and with a plan to get back on track with learning. After working everyday over the long weekend on school work (either for my students or my personal school work) I felt as if I was actually prepared for the week ahead.
I was very excited. This was the first time that I had felt completely prepared for the week before it had even started. I had all of my personal coursework completed. My lesson plans were finished for the entire week with all of my materials gathered and printed out. I was really proud of myself.
But that's the thing about about my life (and I think life in general)... just when things seem to all be going your way... something has to happen to through you off of your game.
Like I said earlier, I had Monday off so that afternoon I was running errands. I was going here and there, getting stuff for school, a new charger for my phone, things for my house, all of the items I was able to live without when I was too busy to make time to get them. Everything was going well. It was going to be a great week, or so I thought...
I was stopped at a red light. The light turned green so I accelerated. About five seconds later the car in front of me slammed on their breaks, stopping in the middle of the intersection. I tried to stop, but ended up running into the back of his car, completely ruining the front end of my car. I will need to get a new front bumper, hood, both headlights, and possibly some work down to both of my front side panels. Evidently my car was a lot less stronger than his because his bumper left the scene with two scratches. I couldn't believe it. The weekend I thought I was so prepared for now was going to be packed with phone calls to my insurance company, auto body shops, and car dealerships. I was going to spend the little bit of free time that I was able to save myself by working all weekend, calling and researching about my car. This was not part of my plan...
Anyway, the driver said that he was cut-off by another driver that was trying to take a right turn onto the road we were on before our light turned green. The car I hit, almost hit the car in front of him, but avoided it, causing me to hit him... hopefully that makes sense.
I guess in the end I should be happy that no one was hurt... other than my hopes of having a completely stress-free and prepared week.
This break was much needed after the recent classroom changes. I was able to spend most of the weekend catching up in my Alternative Certification Course (ACP) and University of St. Thomas (UST) graduate course that I am taking. I had been putting these classes on the "back burner" as my focus needed to be entirely on getting my new classroom and students to a point where we could work effectively and with a plan to get back on track with learning. After working everyday over the long weekend on school work (either for my students or my personal school work) I felt as if I was actually prepared for the week ahead.
I was very excited. This was the first time that I had felt completely prepared for the week before it had even started. I had all of my personal coursework completed. My lesson plans were finished for the entire week with all of my materials gathered and printed out. I was really proud of myself.
But that's the thing about about my life (and I think life in general)... just when things seem to all be going your way... something has to happen to through you off of your game.
Like I said earlier, I had Monday off so that afternoon I was running errands. I was going here and there, getting stuff for school, a new charger for my phone, things for my house, all of the items I was able to live without when I was too busy to make time to get them. Everything was going well. It was going to be a great week, or so I thought...
I was stopped at a red light. The light turned green so I accelerated. About five seconds later the car in front of me slammed on their breaks, stopping in the middle of the intersection. I tried to stop, but ended up running into the back of his car, completely ruining the front end of my car. I will need to get a new front bumper, hood, both headlights, and possibly some work down to both of my front side panels. Evidently my car was a lot less stronger than his because his bumper left the scene with two scratches. I couldn't believe it. The weekend I thought I was so prepared for now was going to be packed with phone calls to my insurance company, auto body shops, and car dealerships. I was going to spend the little bit of free time that I was able to save myself by working all weekend, calling and researching about my car. This was not part of my plan...
Anyway, the driver said that he was cut-off by another driver that was trying to take a right turn onto the road we were on before our light turned green. The car I hit, almost hit the car in front of him, but avoided it, causing me to hit him... hopefully that makes sense.
I guess in the end I should be happy that no one was hurt... other than my hopes of having a completely stress-free and prepared week.
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