Poor Form.

I procrastinated. I avoided. I meant to. I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted. I thought it was maybe late October. I knew it was bad when I couldn't remember what my log in password was to Blogger.

Poor form.

Let's see:

-The test. Remember when I said I would be embarrassed if I didn't pass the test because it was all social studies content and I TEACH social studies and I should pass with flying colors and I don't need to study, it's social studies content for Cripes Sake? (Should it be troubling that I just read "sake" as Sah-Kay".....as in the Japanese alcohol and it is not even 8 am? Hmmmm.) Back to the test. Yep. Didn't pass. I thought I did just fine, the writing could have gone better (But I thought that about the GREs last spring and that was my best score, so I didn't get too wrapped up in beating myself up)...but the social studies content stuff I did fine. I think. I have also been meaning to send the fax requesting the test results to see just where I bombed it. There was other stuff on the test that I could have been more prepared for. Eh. I can take it again next year....and I don't know, maybe study for this next time? It will always be there.

-We put up a fence. You don't even know---well, some of you do---how gleeful this makes me. A bit of privacy from the many, many, many children that live in the cul-de-sac we share with 8 townhomes. Don't get me wrong....I like kids (teacher---remember?) but not 25+ screaming and crying and whining and yelling and crashing bikes and trying to destroy anything and everything with a plastic baseball bat.......all 20 feet from our house. Personal fave: Playing Frisbee with a metal garbage can lid. I kid you not. If I wanted that, I would have moved into a house next to an elementary school. Or a penitentiary. So, a privacy fence to block sight and much of the sound-----the true test will be this spring when it warms up-----does a world of wonders.

-Lionel is huge. He is almost 8 months and we estimate just under 100 lbs. Leviathan. He still tries to walk under the dining room table even though he clearly can walk up to it and his chin is above the table top. There is zero struggle to rest his chin on the table or take something from our plates, should he so choose to do. We are thinking he will stop gaining height soon and just start filling out. He is lanky. He also celebrated Thanksgiving the traditional way by getting neutered. You're welcome?

-School seems to not be kickin' my ass so much anymore. We may or may not have had a conversation about "not having to hit a homerun everyday" with school. MY response was "Oh, believe me, I am not trying to do that. I am just trying to keep my head above water and not give worksheets and show movies everyday." I think something sunk in, or I got into a groove, and it doesn't seem to be taking all my time. Many changes this year:

1. A new schedule going from 3 class periods to teach to five class periods (60+ more students' work to grade)

2. 2 brand new classes to teach that I have never taught before, and 1 class I have taught before, but not on this schedule (Also switching the pacing from semester to full year classes) and not with the new textbook. This is the largest part of the the time commitment. Planning is fun, but not all the time. I mean ALL the time.

3. Teaming where four teachers share the same 150-ish kids. So, we have lots of meetings about our kids that are struggling, misbehaving, going through traumatic experiences, meeting with parents, meeting with the counselor, meeting with the administration.

There are lots of meetings.

4. Freshmen. New to our school, previously we were 10-12, now we are 9-12. Three classes of them. On a good day, in a good mood, I love their energy and enthusiasm. I love their puppy-ness. Lanky, awkward, goofy, sweet, insightful, still "get into" school, naive, fresh. On a not so good day, when I am in a not so good frame of mind, they bug. That lanky and awkward turns into clumsy and accident prone, goody become irritating, sweet becomes not so, and so on. They become less fresh and become more of energy vampires. I have said a lot of things I never pictured myself saying while teaching high school. For example:

-"Were you unaware that he was coloring your arm yellow with a marker?" (Literally, the entire arm was colored yellow from a sharpie. Fingertip to ELBOW. The response to my query: "I wasn't really paying attention." SERIOUSLY?!?!?! You have no space to complain about it unless you are numb from the shoulder down. In which case, a yellow arm is the least of my concerns. Go to the nurse.)

-"At what point did you all agree that it would be a good idea to play "Ninja" in my classroom?"

-"There is NO air shanking in World History class! Period."

-"No, you actually are not allowed to cut her ponytail off."

-"Seriously. Even if she says it is okay. No. End of discussion. This is a World History class room, not a hair salon."

-"SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?" There are lots of these. Not that I would ever picture myself not saying this......it is the frequency with which I say it and the tone of actual (not fake, just for effect) disbelief that is adopted upon utterance of said phrase.

-"Alright. Who is carpet bombing my room with flatulence?" Lies; I didn't ACTUALLY say this. But, believe me, there has been a stretch of two weeks here where some has had some serious gastrointestinal issues. I know who it is, but how do you have that conversation??? I know, because they have been audible---during the time I am lecturing and they are all blessedly quiet----so I know who it is by the studied, rapt attention of the perp as well as the tittering going on in the immediate vicinity. (You want to make an entire room of 14 year old boys giggle? Have someone fart. Done and done.) My response: "Alright, enough. I am aware of it. Let's move on." Everyone else who is unaware of what is happening (very few of the students): "What? What happened? What are you talking about?" And then all looking around like prairie dogs popping out of their holes.

Pray for me. Just.....pray for me.