Broken

It had been a pretty mellow Friday. I had special ed biology, and the kiddos were starting a project on genetic disorders. 

It was getting towards the end of the last period. I finished up my note to the teacher, and I sent it off. (I email my remarks nowadays.) I started to pack up my stuff. 

It wasn't quite time for the kiddos to pack up yet. I like to get ready early so than I can focus on making sure they clean up without worrying about my stuff. I had put away my computer, my pencil, and I was putting my water bottles back. I picked one up... 

...And crash... 

I heard something clatter all the way off the desk and onto the floor. 

My water bottle had hit a knickknack the teacher had on her desk. It was a big wooden S, part of her Ms. A tableau. 

A student came over and picked it up. It was in three pieces. 

He tried to make me feel better. He told me that one of her letters was already broken. But there was no way that letter stood up if it was already broken. 

Then it was time for the kiddos to get ready to leave, so I left the broken mess and tended to the finishing up of the period. The bell rang, and the kiddos left. 

I looked around for some glue. Found some Elmer's. It kind of stuck together? 

I left a note. I should probably find where these letters are sold and replace it. Stupid mistake. But it wasn't intentional. Sigh.

Zhuzhing Up the AI

Tuesday. Graphic arts. Fifth period. 

The day's assignment: using Canva's AI, create a poster picturing the student in a future career. And then include information about that career. 

(I'm not a fan of AI. And many students have expressed their dislike as well. The word on how the data centers steal resources has gotten out. But this is not my class, and my job is to execute the teacher's lesson plan. So, that's what I did.) 

Some of the students dove right in, finding the right site and application. Most did not like that they had to upload a picture of themselves (as the AI would insert them into the career image), but they did it. (Well, not everyone. A bunch of them did as little work as possible. I'm sure their grades already reflect their lack-of-work-ethic.) 

I walked around, making sure the students didn't have any questions. 

One boy was staring at his image. It had him as an electrician. He didn't like it, he said. 

I drilled down. What was the problem with the image? What could he tell the AI to do differently? 

Turned out, the background was pink, and that was his only problem with it. 

We found where one could "refine" the image by telling the AI what to change. He typed "get rid of the pink", and I pointed out he should be specific, so he added "make it white". 

The AI replaced the pink background with a white one, changing nothing else. And the student was satisfied. Okay, then. 

It was kind of eerie how the AI took their faces and put them into a real-looking work setting. This would be a great way to help students see a future that they might not be able to picture. But AI? Ugh. 

Have you made images using AI? Did you complete the A to Z Challenge? Do you plan to attempt it next year?

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Yikes, Kiddos

Monday. Middle school intro to culinary. Fourth period. 

(Yeah, it's called "culinary" not cooking and not home ec. Weird, I know.)

The assignment for the day was a worksheet where they had to convert measurements with a pirate theme. That is, there would be a question about storing fish in a barrel (so the pirates had food provisions) and asking how many fish (or how many barrels) and converting from pints to quarts. Or tablespoons to cups. Or gallons to pints. 

The questions made sense. And I thought it was a very clever busywork assignment for the kiddos for the day. 

But middle schoolers...

Yeah, they didn't like this assignment one bit. 

Since I have the science/math background, I understood what they needed to do. And I offered my help to those who asked for it. Some did ask for it.

And then I caught Irene writing on a paper that was not hers. 

Damian spent the period whining. The work was hard. Why did he have to do this? He didn't understand. 

But, did he ask for help? Even when I stood there offering? Of course not. 

Irene? Was writing the answers on Damian's paper. 

No, Irene. Damian must do his own work. But she didn't see my point. Nor did Damian. 

A student asked to use the restroom. I had another girl, Nina, out. When she got back... "But she doesn't come back when there's a sub..." She doesn't? 

Okay, then, time to call security. Nina returned, 25 minutes after she left. In passing I mentioned that I had already added Nina's excursion to my note to the teacher. Suddenly, Nina was apologetic. Could I please leave her name out of the note? Yeah, now she's sorry, now that she knows she'll be held accountable. 

Students taking forever to "go to the restroom" has become ridiculous this school year, so I've been keeping track of how long everyone goes and leaving that information for the teacher. Every day. And especially when I have to call security. 

Then I look up, and Damian is chasing Irene. And I can't get over to stop them as there are a bunch of kiddos standing between me and them. Standing? They had work. There was no reason for them to be out of their seats. 

Yikes. It was quite the class. 

The period after this? Totally mellow and on task. Sigh.

Did you take cooking in school? Do you like to cook? 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

X It Out

May 1st is Friday. And there's a May Day event:

You can find information about it here. And in anticipation of May Day, there's a cancel party (hence today's post title) for May Day Eve:

The idea behind this one is that by using the services that give the billionaires the profits that make them billionaires, we're supporting them in oppressing us. Of course, it's really easy to say, but a lot of these services are things that we use and like, so it's harder to do.

Information about the cancel party can be found here. 

It's a virtual event. In case you're interested. 

As I do every Tuesday, the comments are open for venting. (I may not respond, but I am reading all of your comments.) 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Weekend Knitting

Saturday, and I was back working on the beanie. I wrote about it last on K-day. And I haven't gotten much further on it than the last time you saw it: 

Very observant readers might notice that the colors have changed position. (No, not really. I doubt experienced knitters would notice without my pointing it out.) In the previous round, I did the cable crossing where the purple passes over the yellow, creating those little windows. 

(I think I did three whole rounds on this since you last saw it.) 

I did have Dad try it on. It's big enough to be a tight beanie skullcap type if I were to start the decreases now. But he said it wanted it longer (although, he doesn't really have any knitted caps, so he's not sure what he wants). 

He did not request this beanie. I offered to knit one for him (after he modeled middle nephew's), and he didn't sound interested. Basically, I'm forcing this onto him, and he'll probably never wear it. But that's cool as I did want to knit another, I had the yarn, and I was curious as to how this would look with the colors reversed. I'm knitting it for my fun, and I've just decided that he gets to store it after it's finished. 

Kinda selfish, no? 

I had planned a few projects that got set aside when I started my Christmas knitting last year. And I still have sister-in-law's sweater to do (which I whined about last week). It's time to get on the starting of things. Or, the getting back to things. 

We've made it to the last week of the challenge. What's something you've learned via the challenge (through your own writing or that of someone you've followed)? Are you planning on taking time off from blogging in May? 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Valotte

Normally my Saturday posts are just some picture that I can fit to the letter of the day. But V? 

I'm sure something obvious will occur to me after I hit post, but at the moment, I'm blank. And I have been pondering this for days. But with my pondering, I thought, why not video? Why don't I post a music video? There's bound to be a good song that starts with V. 

But, off the top of my head, nothing was coming. So, I consulted the Google, and found this website with a list of a bunch of songs that start with V. I didn't have to scroll long before I stumbled on "Valotte" by Julian Lennon. And I knew that was the one. 

I loved this song back in the day. And until running across it for today, I hadn't heard it in years. 

Oh, and by the way, apparently there's an MTV Rewind website with hours of music videos from various eras. In case you're interested. 

What do you think of the song? Had you heard it before? What's a song from your junior high years (ages 12-13) that you just adored? 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Ultimately Useless

When I arrived at school on Friday, I noticed that there weren't very many students waiting to be let in. And I knew. 

I had not been on this campus all week, but the other schools were doing state testing. So, what followed wasn't a surprise. 

I checked in at the office. Yup, state testing. Yup, the first two hours of the school day were the testing block. And I'd just replace the teacher I was covering. What was Mr. D covering? He was "supervising" a wing of the school, making sure kiddos didn't roam the halls. 

Basically what I did on Tuesday (see Wednesday's post), just in a different location. Okay, then... 

As you can see from the above photo, I didn't have a lot to do. I had time to take photos of what I was watching. 

The first photo was looking to my right. The above photo was looking to my left. 

I headed to the location to get the lay of the land. And, as I did on Tuesday, I kept my stuff with me, so I had a computer to keep me entertained. Because I knew. 

As I have subbed for most of the teachers in this wing, several of them asked if I needed anything while I was hovering. I explained what I was told, and some nodded in recognition. They had seen Mr. D around. (A couple flat out asked if I was Mr. D's sub.) 

Ms. B, whose door is the second door past the trash can, offered me a chair and table. Which I happily took. 

That was the view ahead of me. And the window to the classroom where Ms. B, math teacher, was. (The Ms. B who gave me the chair is an English teacher.) We talked for a bit. She was bored, as her class only had three students. This Friday was the makeup day for the students who missed the rest of the week. So, not only were we just down to the students that were testing (not all the grades), we were down to the students who hadn't been in at some point during the week. 

The above corridor leads to the bathrooms. A student here, a student there, would walk along occasionally. But they did not need a hall monitor. Not on this day. 

Notice that the shadow is kind of faint. The sun did come out, and I was right in it, so about halfway through the testing block, I moved. To that corner of the building. And then my view became... 

Now you can see the corner of the building where I was. 

People did stroll through. Teachers. Security came by on their golf carts several times. Students to and from the bathroom. Late students. The assistant principal even passed through at one point. But my presence really wasn't needed. 

If I commented on your blog last Friday (O-day) between 8:30 and 10:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time, this is where I was. 

Some days are like that. But hey, I got paid for it. 

Now, how am I going to make this fit U? You already know, but I don't. Yet. Hmm...

Does this sound like your dream job or your worst nightmare? Did I comment on your blog while I was out there?

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...