Just Ticking Away

Sorry folks, I've been away from the blog for a bit to deal with Daddy Bird and his ticker.  Regular readers may remember that he had a TIA (mini-stroke) last fall.  Well, to make a long story short, he was having blood pressure issues (too high) he blacked out while driving for just a second or two, ended up in a ditch, and instead of going to the doctor for a look at the blood pressure, ended back up in the regional stroke center (about 3 hours from me).  Turns out the heart was ticking along at 40 beats per minute when it should be at 70.  (Hence the blacking out while driving).  They put in a pacemaker and the difference has been amazing.  He's less winded, has more energy, and feels a lot better.

So, I missed three days of school.

Which meant my kids had a sub for three days (I managed to get one that knew the kids although they can't stand her).

The kids were rotten.  Completely rude and rotten.

While I was gone, the Team members were good at emailing and filling me in the nutty things that were going on while I was gone.

Like three of our girls were texting in class and ended up in in school suspension.

Three of our boys - all BIG boys - got in a scuffle in Mr. Math's room by calling each other "fat".  These are the fattest kids on the team and the fact that they're calling each other fat is, well, just beyond ridiculous.

Another boy apparently, at lunch, stuck his hands down his pants, played a bit with the family jewels, and then proceeded to rub his hands on two other (much smaller) students. Mrs. Social Studies was grossed out by this when it was reported to her that she wasn't even sure she know how to write up the referral.  Fortunately The Principal was nearby and informed her that it fell under "lewd and lascivious" behavior and that "unfortunately it's been happening quite a lot lately."

Disgusting.

My Seventh Period Class From the Very Depths of Hell Itself had an issue when our Drama Girl (this one is something else - she invents drama like nobody's business) apparently reacted when one of the boys made a comment (who knows what) and had a complete and total meltdown in class.  Crying, screaming, sobbing, so forth and so on.  My poor sub managed to get her to the hallway where Mrs. Social Studies saw her, called guidance and they took her away.

So, in short, life is normal.

Seventh graders, however, are not.

A Teacher's Best Investment

I am not a big fan of shopping. At all. My mother will be the first to tell you that taking me shopping is not a really pleasant experience. I tend to get bored and cranky very quickly. I hate trying on clothes. Hanging out at a mall is not something I do. In fact, about the only place I enjoy shopping are bookstores and places like Home Depot or Lowes and hardware stores.

I guess I inherited my grandmother's practical side. She raised three kids during the Great Depression and the Dustbowl in Kansas and that woman brought frugality to an art. She also taught me to knit, but that's another story for another day.

In any case, one thing I have learned is that although I may buy my clothes at Good Will I will spend big money on shoes. (Good Will is the place to shop if you're in the weight loss mode and need clothes but aren't where you want to be size-wise yet. Why spend money when they hopefully won't fit in a few more pounds?)

One of the biggest revelations I had when I started teaching was that you are on your feet nearly all day long. I had moved from the corporate world where I sat all day long at a keyboard or in meetings, and all of a sudden I was on my feet constantly. From the looks of the footwear I've seen on the various education majors that have observed in my room, no one has told these kids about the standing on your feet all day thing either. It rapidly occurred on me that if I was going to be standing all day long, I was going to have to spend money on really good shoes.

Because when it comes to shoes, you get what you pay for. You buy cheap shoes and your feet will hurt all day long. If your feet hurt all day you will have a very bad day and the kids will seem even worse than they are. Your back hurts, you're cranky, and your spouse starts walking on eggshells. Spend some money and not only will your shoes be more comfortable, but they'll last longer and people will fear you less. Although I spend a lot of money on shoes, I don't do it very often. I take care of the ones I have and I don't have a lot of variety in styles. Truth be told, when it comes to school I have three pairs of Birkies (brown, black and blue), plus a pair of Noat sandals (brown).

For those of you who have never heard of Noat shoes, they are heaven. They are made in Israel and are some of the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn in my life. Fortunately I live where you can wear sandals nearly eight months out of the year and I wear these things a lot.

But I really needed a black sandal.

So, since I needed to go to the Big City Mall to pick up my replacement iPod, (another long story) I asked Mrs. Eagle if she'd like to go with me and we'd check out some shoes and do lunch. Like me, Mrs. Eagle knows the value of good shoes, and unlike me, she has to wear inserts (due to her 20 years in Army boots she says). Good shoes are really, really important to her.

We ended up at this store I discovered, The Walking Company, and had a great time. I love a nice, knowledgable sales rep who isn't pushy but who really works to find you the most comfortable shoe for your particular feet. Mrs. Eagle and I both ended up buying the same pair of shoes, some black Dansko sandals, and Mrs. Eagle even added in a pair of inserts which she said were more comfortable than the ones her doctor prescribed for her. We spent some money but we got a wonderful, quality product. (I have heard great things about Danskos from some friends who wear nothing else - I can see why.)

The fact that we bought the same shoes will surprise no one at The School. They already call us The Twins.

We are now ready to stand for hours on tile floors with our feet comfy and our smiles intact.

My most important advice for a new teacher? Buy really, really, really good shoes.

Eat Your Vegetables

A few months ago my knitting friend Mrs. Budgie (who really has a budgie at home named Franklin) and I got to talking about vegetables. The big article in the big city paper that Sunday was about CSA's - Community Supported Agriculture. In other words, a lot of local farmers are growing vegetables for the local community. You pay for a share, and receive a box of veggies, fruit, and good things every week. She knew someone who had done it the year before and raved about it. I was interested, but face it, there's no way on earth I'd be able to utilize a single box on my own, since Mr. Bluebird is a tad - shall we say it? - fussy, when it comes to vegetables.

So, Mrs. Budgie and I decided to go in on a half share and split that. She's home by herself right now (hub is in the 'Stan) so that would work out pretty well. I actually did an analysis of the cost as well and it's going to cost me $120 for the season, which runs May through November. That's pretty good. And the local farm that does it is certified organic so that's another plus.

We got our first box last week and it was an eye opener...for one, there were vegetables in there that not only had I never had, I'd never heard of. Like perilla. Perilla is apparently a Korean veggie, and has a bit of a minty zing to it. We also had Swiss chard, lettuce, greens, green onions, kale, and basil. Fortunately, the organic farm is really good about sending out a list of box ingredients as well as recipes, because Mrs. Budgie and I were both going, "what on earth?" when we saw our goodies.

So, we split our goodies up and I had a frig full of leafy green stuff. Now the creative part. What to do with all this?

Well...I stir fried the perilla with soy sauce and onion. Awesome. I made a homemade Italian soup with the kale. Incredible. Hubby actually loves vegetable soup so I got bonus points for that. The basil went into a garlic basil mayo spread. The lettuce I used up in salads. The Swiss chard and the greens both got steamed and topped with a vinegar dressing. Yummy.

I've probably eaten more vegetables this week than I ever have.

My own garden is progressing. The tomato plants are looking healthy and have a lot of blossoms on them. The red pepper has two little peppers on it. The sage, basil, tarragon, dill and rosemary are doing great. I'm looking forward to doing some canning of marinara sauce and tomatoes this summer. I've already done one harvest of oregano and it's drying.

And then I found the Amish farmer! We've been buying produce from an Amish farmer who had a little stand nearby. Except now there's construction at that intersection and he wasn't there...but I found him a bit further down the road near a church. Yeah! He has some of the best veggies around and Mr. Bluebird loves the homemade cookies he sells as well.

So, I'm eating a lot of veggies...and still thinking about school. (Do we ever stop?) For example, how can I encourage my students to eat more of these things, and less of the crap they eat every day? I may take some of my organic stuff in to show them when school starts back in August. Mrs. Eagle and I did our plans for our new health unit and we are including a few "healthy cooking days"...hummmmm...

Aloha to Mrs. Math

After 30 years of 7th grade, Mrs. Math is retiring.

She has spent her entire career here at The School, all of it in 7th grade, which is nearly unheard of. As The Principal says, not many people can stand middle schoolers for an entire career, but Mrs. Math did it. Fortunately, she's young enough, and in great health (she runs and does aerobics and can keep up and surpass most of her students on a walking track) that she and her husband can both enjoy their retirement. She grew up in Hawaii, and goes there every summer to visit her brother, so she'll get to spend more time there now. And play more tennis and golf, garden, and learn to knit.

However, I'm going to miss her something awful.

She was one of the first people I met at The School and as our team leader, she's been fabulous. She's funny, has a dry sense of humor, and the past five years of working with her have been a joy. We've been through a lot together.

Her leaving means we have some big changes on The Team. First off, as the teacher on The Team with the most seniority, I am, by default, the new team leader for next year. The good thing is that this means that Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Bunny and I are the 7th grade team leaders. The three of us have always been good friends, and now that we're pretty much running the 7th grade, we'll be able to put some of our crazy ideas into place.

The bad thing is that I will only have one returning teacher on The Team next year. Miss Reading, who was new to us this year, will be back. Mrs. Language is moving up to the 8th grade to teach her true love, reading. To replace her, we're getting a teacher who student taught with Mrs. Eagle last year, and who has subbed this past year to get more classroom management. She's a fantastic substitute and I think she'll be great, although it will be her first year as a teacher with her own classroom. To replace Mrs. Math, we are getting a transfer from another middle school in the District, Mr. Math, who will also be one of our basketball coaches. Since his arrival means that we double the number of male teachers in the 7th grade to a whopping two, I knew it meant that I'd lose Mr. Social Studies to another team. Face it, there was no way they'd let me have both of the male teachers. So, Mr. Math moves to Mrs. Bunny's team, and her social studies teacher moves to Mrs. Eagle's team and I get Mrs. Eagles, teacher, Mrs. Social Studies, who taught 5th grade for 10 years before coming to us last year.

So....lots of changes. The good news is I don't have to change classrooms. After having four rooms in three years, I still enjoy not having to move.

And I'm teaching a new subject next year. The Principal had put out the word that she would like to offer our kids more related arts classes and it would be great if one teacher per team volunteered to teach one of these courses. She hinted that she'd like to move the health curriculum out of the physical education department (where they try to cram it in along with physical education and still try to get the kids the requirement amount of physical activity per week), and wouldn't it be great if the science teachers took it over? Well, actually, Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Robin and I agreed and volunteered. So, Mrs. Eagle and I will do 8th grade health (nutrition and fitness) and Mrs. Robin will do 6th grade health (hygiene, social relationships, etc).

Mrs. Eagle and I are looking forward to this for a few reasons. One, it's a change. After five years of nothing but science, it will be nice to have something different to spice things up. Secondly, we both really believe in the importance of nutrition and fitness, especially after looking out at all these pudgy unhealthy kids all the time. And third, it's going to be fun to teach a course that isn't tested so we can have a lot more fun with it - no pacing guide, no one breathing over our shoulders, none of that.

I think next year will be a lot of fun, and a lot of challenges. And I know I'm going to miss Mrs. Math.

I just hope she thinks of us once in a while when she's curling her toes into the sand and reading a trashy novel!