Convictions II

The battle of convictions continues as the fear of events I saw happening have indeed happened. A person whom I believed had strong convictions gave way, and now I fear the eventual toll that will have.

Now, things have gotten stranger. While I have seen these convictions fall for some, I am now also witnessing the possibility of the dreadful outcome of having not had them in the first place. The subplot in both cases is the same, one at the beginning and one at a possible ending.

I realize this is a little cryptic and without much information, but there are a number of other people whose lives are affected by these things. Their stories for now shall remain a secret.

three fourths

Wow.

The third quarter is over. Just one quarter left to teach these kids as much as possible. That's really only about 8 weeks. I really do not even know how to describe the ridiculousness of that. In just 8 weeks I will have survived the first year. Amazing.

Unfortunately it also means a ton of work to do in the next two weeks for ACE. Not so much fun. A major unit plan and another ed psych paper. Ah well, back to work.

Conflicted Conviction

Why is it that conviction always seems to make life more difficult for those with conviction and have no affect on anyone else? I am starting to get sick and tired of my convictions. It seems more and more like they are foolish and that I am the only one that still believes in some of the most old fashioned things. Not only that, but it is beginning to seem like having said convictions is a lot like trying to board a train from the front while it is traveling at you at nearly 100mph. Don't believe me? Try it sometime. But be careful. Convictions are nearly impossible to change and usually have a heavy psychological weight to them.

Of course the irony of all this is that so many people seem to be able to just drop them whenever it makes life easier...or more 'fun'

Aaaaarrrrgggghhh!!

TGIF

I am not sure where the saying TGIF came from, all I know is that I am living for it right now. I cannot help but remember Friday night being a night in front of the TV...till 10, which was bed time, watching Full House, Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, Step by Step. Ahh those were the days.

A Light in Dark Places

Rolling...

Well, it appears that spring has most definitely sprung in the southern states...at least for a little while. Sorry all of you up north buried under snow and winter.

All in all, life has been just a bit crazier than normal. On top of the teaching schedule, we ACErs have started an educational psychology class, which equates to lots of reading (120ish pages of psych articles & studies) and then synthesize, expound on, and reflect on in less that 6 pages. Teachers are insane...I can say that with great amount of certainty.

In truth, I have been getting a little burned out. Motivation has been at an all time low, though on the bright side of things, we have started working on the spring plays. Two drastically one act shows that should make for a very interesting night of theatre. We will go from a slightly too realistic comedy about some out of control kids in class, to a hard hitting drama about being a prodigal daughter. It will be a little strange being behind the scenes, but no doubt quite eye opening.

Tuesday Tidbits

[Stage Notes:: Slight Chill in the House, Starting a Movie]
[TV:: Rent | Rent]

A few random stories about today. Oh hush up, yes this is another blog already. Deal with it :oP

[1] The backstory:: On my way to lunch I came across a collection of first graders in the hallway waiting on classmates to finish their bathroom breaks. I very politely asked Ms. G if that was her kids making all of the noise because they all know that they should be quiet. After a brief conversation with the kids I continued on my way.

Fast Forward:: An hour before the end of the school day. I am again walking down the hallway to see a crew of first graders in the hallway once again being a little noisier than they should be so I decided to have a little fun. I walked closer with my my hand to my ear making it very apparent that I was listening to all of the noise they were making. Ms. G. then asked my to go into the room to see the 'stoplight'. For those that are not familiar with primary education, the 'stoplight' is a chart for behavior where students start on green and each time they get in trouble the move from green to yellow and then on to red and blue if necessary. If you get to blue, it was a very bad day...

Anywho, Ms. G. tells me to go in and see how many reds and blues there were so I did. As I walked out of the classroom, I put on my best 'I am very sad and disappointed face' and told the entire first grade that I was very unhappy. Then I proceeded to ask the students why they were having so much trouble today...Silence...the kind of silence that Teachers dream of having in a classroom. After some prodding from Ms. G. I finally got a response to my question, and was rather taken aback at the honesty of the response. One first grader informed me that they were excited and had a lot of energy today and that they were not listening. After a very short discussion about when excitement is good and when it needs to be stifled, I turned and walked away.

It is fun dealing with other teachers students :D Your own students...well not so much.

[2] School is over and the kindergarten and first graders are taking a bathroom break before the start of after care:: There are a few kindergarten boys that are absolutely fascinated by me. They are a lot of fun to get a little riled up and leave (no one ever said that teachers are always nice to each other ;) ) In fact one of these same boys was laying on the floor and tried to use my leg as a pillow...getting back on track...so I am giving the kids high fives and listening to them when suddenly my arms were latched onto by two boys and they began very thorough examinations of my arms. The first boy asked, "What are the brown spots on your arms?" After a moment of mild shock, I announced to the curious boys that they were in fact freckles. It never occurred to me that they would not know what they are. My new internal debate is if this is a result of them being all of maybe five years old or if it is because they are African American. They're second question was similar but not quite as thought provoking, "Why are some the hairs on your arms blond and some black?"

That's all for now