19 days

I am finding it easier to ignore my asshat principal. I'm not hiding in my room anymore or keeping a low profile. If she wants to come after me, then by all means! I wish I could just tell her. Give me what you got. You'll come out on the wrong end of that tangle, I can promise you that. I've definitely come up against worse than a passive- agressive, cowardly superbitch. I've got math teaching to do, so get out of my way.
Speaking of math teaching, I am pushing my students so hard it's not even funny. It is one good way of keeping them from noticing there are only 18 days of school left. I'm treating the 8th graders like high school algebra students, and the 7th graders like 8th graders. The only thing I am not doing is piling on the homework. I keep giving them problems that are just above their current level of math, and then putting them in groups and making them struggle through it. I'm not helping them. They are exhausted by the time they leave. And sometimes pissed at me. That's ok... they are learning. Not just math, but learning how to problem solve and get by on their own. I only step in when I see a group getting ready to come to blows. They are doing great! I'm so proud of them.

Can I call it a harvest?

I got all these tomatoes from my plant today! It's almost enough for a salad!!

21 more days

That's all I have to do... just 21 more days. It is increasingly stressful at work. I called my principal on Sunday with a nasty cold, to let her know I wouldn't be in on Monday. She didn't get me a sub, so the rest of my team had to cover my classes. She had her secretary call me Monday morning to check and see if I was really sick. Then when I got mad, she said I misunderstood the phone call. Yesterday after one of my classes I was answering questions about the homework right after the dismissal bell, and I looked up to see her leaving my classroom. A few minutes later I got an email saying I needed to be at my door between classes. She saw me talking to the students... what am I supposed to do, ignore them so I can stand in the doorway?? The only thing that makes me feel better is to keep packing up my room, so that on the last day I can leave faster than a speeding bullet. I'm not going to the stupid pot-luck, either.
In the meantime I just keep repeating that saying about people being about as happy as they make up their minds to be, and make my mind up to be happy.

It's almost official.

I got a call yesterday from the people at the state, offering me the job at the correctional school. The salary is higher than I expected and they are very eager to get me on board. They wanted me to give two weeks notice. I'm certain those positions are so difficult to fill that when they get somebody who is qualified, they want to get right on it. I am going to the school on May 7th to shadow the math teacher so I can see what my days will look like. Now I just have to get through the corrections officer academy.... ugh. They had better not make me run.

6 more weeks.

I am counting down the days until I am finished at my school. On Friday, there was an announcement after lunch telling all students of a certain teacher to report to the library instead of class. His nameplate was removed from the door almost immediately. The door was locked. His classroom is right next door to mine, so I went through the adjoining workroom and asked him what was going on. He was utterly bewildered, packing everything in boxes in a complete daze. He said he didn't know what happened - they just told him there had been some parent complaints and they did not want him to finish out the school year. He was to pack everything and go, right then.
Common sense tells me he must have done something really bad, but wouldn't he know why he was being asked to leave, if that was the case? For my own peace of mind, I need to know that he did something to justify the way he was treated. But nobody will say anything. It's like he didn't exist.
The culture of fear at this district is simply intolerable. I hope I am not next... but then again, if they fire me I won't have to count down any more days!

Thank Goddess, Marianne....

They finally came up with a notebook suitable for us.
...each page will be triple-perforated and seven-hole-punched, which Mead representative Kurt Fleming said is "essential for the 21st-century graduate student." The notebook will also have more spirals. Asked to explain why this particular change was made, Fleming responded, "This notebook was designed with graduate students in mind."

OMG, AIMS

My students were laughing at me today because I was mocking their text language. I said something like, "OMG, NYD!" (oh my god, no you didn't) and they were shocked! Then they started laughing and asking if I knew what this meant and what that meant, and they wondered how I knew about all of this?
So, being the wet blanket I am, I brought the whole thing to a screeching halt by saying, "OMG, AIMS 2mro!! Let's get back to work."
BWAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!!

Oh, Yeah!!!

Another reason to love being single!

AIMS Stress

I am handling it better this year, because I knew it was coming. Still, I am stressed about the testing next week. I continue to be more stressed by the administration than the actual testing. We've had two meetings so far and have signed two documents saying we will follow instructions, we won't look at the test, won't help the kids, etc. One of the documents says that if I do any of these things, I will lose my teaching license. So yeah, I really hate this time of year. I will be glad when it's over.
On a happier note, the state called yesterday and said that I passed the impact test and we are moving along towards a job offer teaching math to the juvenile delinquents. I have to fill out this ten page background check, which is mostly blank. I looked at it last night when I was nearly finished filling it out, and thought, man! On paper, I am REALLY boring. Even the part where you say how often you drink alcohol, I realized it's maybe once a month nowadays. What the hell? I'm old and boring! And I am going to teach would-be criminals!