A status update

An update on my life.

-I blogged a while back about looking for a new house. We have found one. It is perfect! It has lots of bedrooms and a dedicated office for Christ. AND it has hardwood floors! We are closing in the middle of December and we are hoping to sell our current house before then. Two mortgage payments seems stressful.

-I also blogged a while back about some of my frustrations as a teacher. I feel like I have more students this semester who choose to not care or not put forth effort. Especially in my second block. I also have a student in there who has decided I don't like her (which is not true). This is her second time in Spanish which means that she has seen it all before, and so she thinks she knows it all (which is also not true). She stirs it up and others follow her. Despite talking to her, her coaches, and her mom, she hasn't really let up. She was absent on Friday. It was a nice break. I hope that Chris and I teach Jim that education is important. I also hope we teach him to behave and be obedient. I have many students that do neither.

-Cheerleading. I cheered in middle school, high school, and in college. It was a huge part of my life. I coach basketball cheerleading at the school where I teach. When I was hired, things were not good: girls had quit, cursed at each other and the previous coach. My job was to keep things under control. I did that and have worked hard to try to establish a good reputation within the school. The basketball cheerleaders are totally separate from the competition/football squad. Their coach is a bully and intimidating. When I was first hired, I was told I was not subordinate to her, but despite her knowing that, she treated me as such. And after some tears and a conversation with the athletic director (AD) things got a little better. (Although the same conversation had to be repeated the next season.) Since I've been coaching, I've learned more and more. I learned that my squad was not on the uniform rotation, meaning we were never set to get new uniforms (we got hand-me-downs from the competitive squad). When I approached the AD about it, I was essentially brushed off. I talked to the principal and we got new uniforms. I'm also planning to step it up this year. I am sick of being seen as the red-headed step-child of sports at my school. And this other coach makes it worse. She makes comments to her squads about mine and intimidates her girls to not try-out for me. But no one will come out and tell me because they are afraid of her and the consequences of crossing her. It's frustrating. Sometimes I feel like the only sane one; I just hope all this will come out and people will see her for who/what she is. I also hope the administration, including the AD, will recognize that my girls are excited about cheering and have school spirit, unlike the competitive squad. (Sorry for the rant, but this whole thing is a source of great frustration and annoyance.)

-My son is totally adorable. He is incredibly smart. I love watching him engage with the world around him. His personality is also becoming more visible. Although he's laid back like my husband, he also has a sense of order, like me. He knows that everything has a place and wants to put everything somewhere. My husband took the trash out yesterday and left the trash can lid on the floor. Jim walked over to it and put it back on the can. He also loves to read. I appreciate his love for books and I hope it never diminishes.

-TV shows I'm enjoying: Community, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, Hawaii Five-O, Amazing Race, Project Runway.

I think that's about it. I hope to come back sooner than I did last time.

Loose Ends

I hate loose ends. They drive me bananas. It's for this reason that I hate season finales of TV shows. And, depending on my mood, they can ruin a book or a movie.

This book was excellent. I had a hard time putting it down (I started it on Saturday and finished it earlier tonight) despite its 400+ pages.

It's a story about trust, taking a risk for something you believe in, and that we are really no different from each other.

It's an amazing book, but I'd like an epilogue. What happened to Skeeter in New York? Did Minny leave her husband? What about Celia and everything related to her? And what about Hilly?

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the book AND I just wish there weren't so many loose ends.

(I wish I could fix things)

Lost

I don't even know where to begin. I have a student who made a mistake and now her mom wants her to get an abortion. She doesn't want to. I told her it was her choice and that she'd have to live with the consequences of either choice. She is 5 months along. And showing. I can't even handle that fact. My conversation with this girl has really affected me. I don't want her to get an abortion. I wanted to yell at her and shake her. But I knew better. 

There is a couple that I know pretty well that is separating. I didn't realize they were having any problems until the wife announced he was moving out. She is hurt. He doesn't know what he wants to do. I believe that marriage is a commitment. One that is supposed to last forever. He isn't ready to reconcile and I'm having a hard time not being angry at him. Doesn't he see he's hurting her? And what about their son? 

In both of these situations I feel lost. I don't know where to begin or what to do.  My heart hurts.

Sigh

Education has been in the headlines fairly consistently for a long time. People talk about No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and its ties with standardized testing. People also talk about poorly performing schools and bad teachers. People are outraged that bad teachers have tenure (good ones have it too). Most of the blame regarding the poor state of education in our country is blamed on teachers. And honestly, our hands are tied. We must administer these tests, and therefore must do what we can to make sure our students are prepared for them. However, some students cannot speak or read english, or have a mental disability preventing them from doing as well as other students. And although teachers have been saying these things for a long time, no one listens. And people started listening today because Matt Damon started talking. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he's on our side, but he's saying exactly what teachers have been. Yet, the public listens to him because he's famous. Sigh. Maybe his words will spur change, because ours haven't.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/matt-damons-clear-headed-speech-to-teachers-rally/2011/07/30/gIQAG9Q6jI_blog.html

Soap-box side-note: Part of what is so frustrating about all of this is that everyone has had teachers invest in them and encourage them and challenge them. So why can't people listen to them?

Blog Entry

I read this and liked it a lot. Especially the part about teachers.

http://www.lauraziesel.com/2011/07/barbs-hidden-in-honorifics.html

Blessed

I am blessed.

I have an incredible husband and son.

I have a fabulous job.

I have a safe place to live.

I have a church family that is part of my community.

I have some incredible friends that are also part of my community.