And to all a good night...

Halloween night, that is.

I got my first trick or treater! I was so excited and she was so cute! Only one, but still better than the zero trick or treaters the year before.

A miso mistake

A while back I purchased miso and mustard salad dressing from the local Japanese market. I finally got a chance to use it, and I must say that I am disappointed. I somehow expected it to be, well, mustard-y.

A trouser tragedy

So, in my section for the tutoring class they recently brought up appropriate dress. Apparently, there have been some complaints, but luckily not about our section, which is entirely science people. The problem is probably one of those English hoochies. Anyway, following this discussion I actually make an effort to dress nicely the next day. I put on my one pair of trousers (my "grown up" pants, also known as the pants of authority), and, what do you know, they no longer fit. Apparently my new exercise regime has done some good, as the pants have a ferocious gap in the back. As nice as that news is, it also means that, unfortunately, I need new pants. Considering how hard it was to find these pants in the first place, I think I'm totally screwed. I'm so envious of the other people in the program that spent years in the real world before deciding to become teachers. They already have nice wardrobes, whereas I'm essentially starting from scratch.

A relevant rant

This basically sums up my feelings about a whole lot that we've been learning about lately. Everything has to be relevant, kids not learning is all the teacher's fault, we need to be more culturally sensitive, the education system is biased towards middle-class values, yadda yadda yadda. Couple that with every single person I talk to having an opinion on how to fix the system (or what is wrong with the students and the culture they come from), and teaching college is really looking like a nice prospect. People respect professors. Higher education isn't in need of fixing, and not everyone has gone there so they don't all have a fucking opinion about it.
Gah! So frustrating!

Academia at its best

I think I hit the jackpot with the class I'm assigned to tutor. Not that they're nice or easy to be with, far from it. They scare the crap out of me and have me thinking about getting a PhD so that I will never ever have to teach middle school children. No, I've hit the jackpot because they've been going on so many field trips, which makes the time I'm required to spend with them much easier (or at least more interesting). So far, I've been to the Museum of Photographic Arts and the community lab at Biogen Idec, where the students got to go a BCA assay, which measures protein concentration (something I didn't get to do until college). Friday, we're going to the opera to see Beauty and the Beast, and next Friday we're going back to Biogen Idec to do a gel electrophoresis on some DNA. Joy!

Amazing moments in Teacher Anonymous history

I finally had a Frisbee golf game where I didn't score an 8 on any of the holes. *does a little dance*

Of course, most of the wholes are par 3, but still, progress is being made.

A strange wish

You know what I really want right now? An egg mold. I'm such a freak. Way too obsessed with cute lunches.

A program update

Man, this program is exhausting. It isn't so much that the work is hard, per se, just that there is a lot of it. Mountains of reading. Journals, response papers, community profiles. Observations at other schools. I haven't even had time to read the news in weeks, and can only check my e-mail every couple of days. Madness. On the up side, next week is 5th week, so I'm almost halfway through the quarter. I'm so looking forward to winter break. Freedom! Snowboarding! Montana!

A Teacher Anonymous public service announcement

Frosting in a can starts to crystallize after the use by date. After six months, it's decidedly crunchy. Still tastes good, though.

A question from a student

"Did your mom drive you to school today?"

Apparently the kids can't quite grasp how old I am, because they ask questions like this and seem to find the fact that I am engaged amazing. We took a field trip today, and since the four parents who volunteered to chaperone didn't show up I got to have my own group of 7th grade hooligans. Very cute, but very much like herding cats. Obviously haven't developed any sense yet, as they were constantly getting into things after being told not to and one of them even spit on another one of the students. On the up side, I'm feeling a lot more confident around the kids. I'm an authority figure now, damnit!

A is for automobile

I can tell I've been driving too much lately, as when I was going to lock the front door yesterday morning I grabbed the car remote instead, fully intending to use it. What? Doesn't your house lock at the push of a button?

A high person HAD to be involved at some point

Seriously. What kind of sober person uses pictures like that? Mormons maybe?

A word of apology to my intestines

Hey guys!
Thanks for getting back to normal. I was getting worried about you for a bit there, after the weeks of pain and... Other symptoms. I figured I'd wait until the school year was going a bit more smoothly, since I know stress has always made you crazy. I'm sorry going back to school this year has been so hard on you; it's been hard on me too, you know. Being nervous about whether or not I want to go into teaching (and professional kid wrangling), the initial shock upon encountering the really rambunctious class I've been assigned to tutor, the quiet glee emanating from the lady up North every time I have a negative experience in this program (aren't parents supposed to be supportive?)... It's just been a bit much. I'm sorry, and I'm glad we're friends again. Life is so much better when you're doing your job.

Sincerely,
A

A sunny disappointment

Oh man, if I lived in a place where it rained I would be so all over this. Damn you, San Diego weather!

A brief excerpt from a Saturday night conversation on classroom discipline and motivation

"We've got an ineffective stick and a carrot for many a kid who doesn't like vegetables."