Christmas Break is Here!!!!!!

Dear Dialog,

This holiday break could not gave come fast enough! I have enjoyed 12 wonderful days off so far.

I have 4 more days of no classes, sleeping in till 8:30am, lounging around on the couch with Sofie and watching horrible horrible horrible tv...

I am excited to go back to work but those days are about to me behind me... Too Sad... :(

A Day of Prayers and Hope

Dear Dialog,

I know that this blog is for education related postings, and I guess that this post is to some extent but I have to say that today, I question my faith in humanity and the goodness in people. Today, one of the most horrific incidents in recent American history occurred. Twenty elementary students, ages 5-10, were murdered by a 20-year old man at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. The identified gunman, named Adam Lanza went to the elementary school for reasons that have yet to be determined and now the country is trying to figure out all those questions that have yet to be answered.

Why did this happen?
How could it happen?
Why so many victims?
Why an elementary school?
Why did this happen to children so young?
Why did this happen to kids who had their whole lives to live?

These questions I do not know will ever be answered. Today these questions and this tragedy has brought so many feelings to the surface. Five and a half years ago, there was a shooting at Roseburg High School in Roseburg, OR. In 2008, there was a shooting at Virginia Tech University. In 1999, there was a shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado and in 1998, there was a shooting at Thurston High School in Springfield, OR.

 

Every few years, there seems to be these unimaginable tragedies that are continuously occurring. No one has been able to answer why these events happen or why they have transpired, but what we do know, is that there will always be fear. There will always be blame. There will always be changes in laws by State officials. There will always be tragedies.

Today, a friend on Facebook posted the following:
"A much wiser person than I gave me this exercise so you might try it. When you are feeling anything negative, especially as strongly negative as today's events would inspire, imagine it as dark smoke. I feel it as very thick, black, almost choking smoke. But use your chest, your heart, your lungs, your love, to change that black smoke into white. Breath in the dark smoke and using your own love change it to white and then breathe it out. Imagine it coming out of your mouth looking white, calm, compassionate, and peaceful. Breath in and breath out and each time you do, choose to breath out white smoke. Hold hands with someone as you do it. And give yourself permission to take a break from your day and spend a few moments in silence imagining your own body changing this hateful black to compassionate white and breath it out slowly. Feel it surround you and fill up the room. If others are you are breathing out black smoke, recognize that they are hurting and are responding as they know how and breath in their black smoke and use your own good will and compassion to change their black smoke into white. Choose to breathe theirs in and feel the black change to white through this choice you have made to put more white smoke into the room. Visualize it. I'm doing it now. Breathe in and breathe out. Breath together."

So today in closing, I hope that you chose to continue to breathe in and breathe out. To breathe together. To pray for the good in people. To hope that these events no longer occur. 

Memories

Dear Dialog,

Today has been a day of memories... Today I went Christmas Tree Hunting with my boyfriend and my dad who is in town for the weekend. He brought me a bunch of ornaments that were on our trees when I was growing up and it brought back all those memories of decorating the big tree in the middle of the living room, the smell of hot coco, the smell of cinnamon pine cones and the sounds of family...


I am going to be able to bring in these memories to my school tomorrow. A fellow co-worker asked if we could bring in an extra tree since she knew we were going hunting... We found a wonderful, tall tree that will work perfectly in our lobby. My homeroom students are responsible for decorating the tree and maintaining it while it still maintains it's residence at school. With almost 75% of my students being low SES, and many of them not only unable to have a Christmas Dinner but also a tree and presents, bringing that sense of holiday cheer to them is wonderful and makes this time of year even more special.

Well more tree pictures are to come and I hope that everyone has a wonderful and happy holidays... Only 12 more days until our Holiday Break!!!

Grading time!

Dear Dialog,

Well our first Trimester is coming to an end. It has been an interesting one at that. A trimester full of firsts, full of surprises and full of drama!

On November 30th, we have a teacher work day to complete our grading. I am in the progress of getting my students grades entered before hand as I do not want to wait till the last minute to get them entered in. We have to put in comments and they can get monotonous so I like to do one class at a time and separate them over the course of a couple of days.

With this grading period ending, that also means that classes are changing. I am quite happy about that. I am teaching one class of Economics, two classes of Pre-Algebra/Algebra I, one class of US History, one class of World History and one class of Girls PE.

I have taught each of the classes before with the exception of World History. We are going to be focusing on Modern World History. We are going to be studying the connections between various countries and how they impacted one another.

I am ready for these new set of classes and excited for the new term! I cant wait to see what surprises are coming!

A Day of Thanks

Dear Dialog,

Today is Thanksgiving. A day when growing up you learn that the Pilgrims were friends with the Wamponoag Indians and celebrated with each other the seasons harvest in a big feast. While this may be somewhat true, we also know of the atrocities committed against the natives. Instead of dwelling on that, we have made today a day where we say thanks. A day when we take in family and friends and celebrate life's treasures with one another.

This year, I celebrated Thanksgiving with my boyfriend David and his parents. It was only four people but people who were thankful for what they have received and been given.

So today, I am thankful for:
-My family and friends
-My students who, without them, would not make me push so hard to love what I do and push them to be better
-My special hot coco, that takes all my worries away
-My life, while it has been stressful lately, I am still appreciative of being here

And finally

-Love... for if there was not love, there would be no life nor happiness to be thankful of.

So have a Happy Thanksgiving all and remember to be thankful for what you have.

Sick... and Glasses!!!

Dear Dialog,

This year, I have been sick countless times... I don't know if there is some super viral bug going around or if my immune system just isn't keeping up, but I have been sick three times already since August. This last round, has me on Day 4 and still kicking my butt. I have tried countless medications, herbal remedies, tea with lime, peppermint tea and so on and so on...

Unfortunately, this bug has spread to other schools in the area, causing the early closure of an Elementary school in town because half of the students and staff were out sick with a type of intestinal virus. This intestinal virus causes a high fever, vomiting and diarrhea. I have a combination of this virus and a head cold that has made my life hell... I am afraid my boyfriend is now catching this horrible bug. Although, his might be caused by the questionable Mexican food he had yesterday too... Too soon to tell. :(

On a separate note, I know that with the holidays coming around, money is tight. I myself, are trying to figure out how to be cost conscious this holiday season while getting something special for my family and friends. Recently, I thought I lost my glasses. My eyes and contact do not get along well so a friend referred me to www.FirmOO.com. It is an online Rx glasses company which has extremely affordable glasses for as low as $8.00 a pair! If you are a new customer, you get your first pair for FREE!!! All you have to do is pay shipping and any extra upgrades that you want. I just purchased two pairs of glasses with free shipping for $25.12!!!!!!!!

I just got these glasses http://www.firmoo.com/eyeglasses-p-1754.html  and these in black http://www.firmoo.com/eyeglasses-p-1017.html.

These glasses are very durable so check them out and click on the link or picture below!

http://www.firmoo.com/?invite_code=0062072240

Privileges versus Entitlements

Dear Dialog,

Recently it has come to my attention that many of my students are taking advantage of privileges in my classroom. Some of these students seem to believe that these privileges are now entitlements. 

Dictionary.com defines Privilege as " a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most". 

Dictionary.com also defines the word Entitle as " to give (a person or thing) a title, right, or claim to something".

Currently, it is a privilege in my classroom to use a cellphone for music and the occasional text or phone call with permission. Seeing as though many students now believe that they can answer calls from anyone in class without permission, communicate with others to "meet up" during class and overall, be rude and inconsiderate, I have implemented a cell phone ban during my 5th and 6th period classes. My 1st, 2nd and 3rd period classes are on the cusp of this happening to them too. The moment students enter my room, they are required to surrender their cell phone (turned off) and placed it into the cell phone box on my desk. They are able to text or make calls during our three minute passing periods if they have me for both class periods. Many students were not happy with this ban and I gave my principal a heads up that a few may come and complain about my new rules. 

A few students also seem to believe that they are entitled to leave my class at any point without notifying me to get food from a fellow teacher, go to the restroom, or just wander and take their leisurely time returning. Because of their actions, I have also instituted a hall pass. This is a first for me and I hope that I never have to use it again. When a student leaves, and I mean only one student at a time may leave, they are required to take the new hall pass with them and return back in a reasonable amount of time so that others, who are now waiting for them to return, may leave. This new hall pass is a very very very big jug with a National Guard lanyard attached to it so it is quite visible to anyone who sees them or walks by.

I am just waiting to see how quickly it will take for students to earn back their privilege to use their cell phones in class. Students may use an I-pod or Pandora on the computers to listen to music, but cell phones are now off limits until further notice.

Let the groaning commence!!!!!!!