Teacher Fail

Friday. First period. Learning center. 

I got a call from the other learning center. Would it be okay if they sent someone over for me to assist? Um, sure... 

The student had homework to complete. Integrated math three (read: algebra 2/junior math). The problems: logarithms. 

Uh oh... 

Okay, so I've had all the math. I took three semesters of calculus in college. I even took senior level math classes in applied analysis. You can throw most math topics at me, and I have at least a basic working knowledge of it.

But not logarithms. 

They didn't bother with logs in my high school. (I think that's pretty much what all the schools did at the time.) We did natural logs and the e function, but that's as far as it went. 

But, pretty decent working knowledge of math, so I can fake it pretty well. Where were the student's notes? Uh, yeah, no notes. 

Deep sigh. 

Third period, IM3. Ms. B went over their homework, the homework I couldn't help the kiddo with. And, after her brief explanation... 

Yeah, if only I had had third period before first period. Because after seeing the example, yeah, I totally could have done those problems. 

Because if the kiddo had had the notes so I could transform the problems, I knew how to solve once the logarithm was handled. 

The one topic I couldn't help with. Naturally. Sigh. 

Out-of-Date Seating Chart

Tuesday. Fourth period integrated math two (read: geometry/sophomore math). 

I was in for Ms. L all week, and I was expecting to find Mr. J. Instead, I found Mr. H. Oh, a two sub day... 

Mr. H has been a sub about as long as I have. (We even went to college together, although we didn't know each other then. Big school.) So, we greeted each other, and I found Ms. L's desk and sat down. 

As Mr. H was covering the general ed teacher, he went about taking roll. Mr. J had left his seating chart, and Mr. H was going about verifying who was there and who wasn't. Only, the kiddos weren't precisely in their assigned seats. 

When I covered for Mr. J when he was out on paternity leave two years ago, I learned that his seating chart was more of a suggestion. The kiddos could sit where they liked as long as they were on task, and some of them drifted to other parts of the room. Mr. J tried to keep his seating chart up-to-date, but it wasn't a priority. (This is true for many teachers.) 

Mr. H asked the kiddos who were out of their "assigned" seats to return to them. The kiddos were not pleased. 

One kiddo loudly complained to me. Others in the class came to his defense. I asked him to sit there just for the day. 

"You think I'm lying about my seat," he complained. 

I assured him that I did not. I knew how things worked in that class. But, I also knew that undermining the other sub in the room never helped things, and it was just for one day. 

Reluctantly, the kiddo remained in the seat, but I could see him stewing. 

The next day I ran into Mr. J. He apologized for also being out. (These things happen. I wasn't concerned.) I told him about the seating issue. 

And... Mr. J had warned the kiddos early on that if they drifted, they might be asked to return to their old seats by any subs who covered the class. It was the risk they took. 

Kiddos can be creatures of habit. They don't like being moved. 

(I did tell Mr. H about the seating chart's inaccuracies between classes so he wouldn't run into that issue again the next class. Or he would know if he chose to enforce the seating chart. 

Kiddos will lie about their assigned seats, and they'll sit someplace they shouldn't--like next to someone who will distract them. Or, they'll sit someplace where they can pester someone they shouldn't. So we subs generally make them sit where the seating chart says, because it will save us from other issues later on. It's one of those things that sometimes need to be enforced and sometimes don't.)

Missed Lesson Plans

Last week I caught a four-day assignment for Ms. L, who I worked with two years ago when Mr. J was on his paternity leave. I knew who she co-taught with, and I had a vague idea of her schedule. So, when I arrived at school on Tuesday, I headed directly for the learning center. 

The class was "study skills" which is code for study hall. As it was the first day back after a four-day weekend, I was not surprised when the kiddos didn't have anything to work on. 

I hovered a little, but I pretty much left them to it. It wasn't like they kept track of what they did or anything... 

Um, well... 

Every teacher has a "home base". For most teachers, that's their classroom. They keep all their stuff in there. For the special ed co-teachers there are desks that are in the two learning centers. Ms. L's desk is in the other learning center. (I thought it odd she taught classes in the learning center where her desk wasn't, but scheduling issues.) 

Ms. L's desk is in the learning center next door to Mr. J's classroom. So, on my way to that period, I breezed by, just to make sure she had left no lesson plans on her desk (as she hadn't the last time I covered her classes). Alas... 

Yeah, Ms. L had left lesson plans. And I had been supposed to give the first class a paper to note what they got accomplished in class. 

Oops. 

Well, I wasn't going to make that mistake again, and I did have three more days of the class. 

In my defense, the special ed co-teachers don't usually leave lesson plans. We're just assisting the general ed teachers in the classes we go to. And her desk was on the other side of campus. 

(I'm exaggerating. A bit. It was out of the way, but it wasn't a terrible distance.) 

At least I took roll. 

Racism Not Implied

You may not believe immigration restrictions are racist, but racists believe immigration restrictions are racist. And a lot of what's going on is just pure, unadulterated racism. And unless proven otherwise, I assume all MAGA are racist. Anyone who is agreeing with the regime, or supporting whatever talking points, is doing so to support the inherent racism. 

I mean, why else would stories of a 2-month-old just getting out of the hospital and then being abandoned across the border not raise more outrage? Why aren't people more concerned about ICE watchdogs being dismantled? 

And, of course, the concentration camps. They're buying up unused warehouses for concentration camps. We're in the concentration camp part of this nightmare. 

And if you are still in denial about this, you shouldn't be. (Link to video if the embed doesn't work.) 

Feel free to rant in the comments. 

Some Assembly Required

Sleeve two is finished!

While the pattern told me the piece needed to be twenty inches long, I had already knit one sleeve, and I noted how many rows of that I knit to get to the twenty inches. 

I almost finished it Wednesday night, but it got late, and I was tired. So, Thursday night I knew I needed to knit two rows and then bind off. And done!

Well, not quite... 

Then Saturday I knit the ribbings onto the bottom of both sleeves. 

And so, now, officially, the knitting of the piece is (almost) done. All that's left is to sew it all together. 

Which is going to take some time. Yeah, just when you thought I was done... 

First shoulder seams. Then the sleeves. Then all the way up from the bottom seam to the end of the sleeve. Using mattress stitch. It's not hard. I will want to take my time to make sure it all stitches up nicely. No use doing all this knitting to have a mess in the end because I rushed the seaming. 

Then, once that is done, I have one last bit of knitting to do. The collar. 

But that's only after I'm finished seaming. 

I'm close. I'm very close. 

The sweater's previous posts:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back
• Missed Deadline
• Distractions from Knitting
• A Month Late
• Inching Along
• Tracking the Growth
• Weekly Sweater Update
• Moving Right Along
• Good Progress
• Almost to the Interesting Part
• Plot Twist
• Not Worth the Effort
• Sleeve Progress
• Continuing Sleeve One
• Sleeve Two!
• Continuing Sleeve Two
• Setting a Deadline
• Almost There
• How I Keep Track

Angry Birds IRL

Thursday. Ninth grade English, special ed. Eighth period.

It's district writing assessment time (as I've mentioned in previous posts). While the other classes I've been in have been in the midst of writing these or finishing them up, this class was just getting started. 

Their essay was to be an argumentative one. They had studied the structure of the thing. This day was for the introduction of the topic. It had to do with climbing Mt. Everest and whether or not they should block people from doing so. (The kiddos get to pick a side and argue it.) 

I showed them a quick video that the teacher had assigned. Then they read the first two of the three articles that were to be their sources. We read the articles together, looking at statements for allowing climbers in and statements against. 

In the second article, one of the arguments against described how people did this thing in Moab, Utah with ropes and slingshots and... The description sounded horrifying. 

"That sounds like Angry Birds in real life." 

Absolutely brilliant statement, and totally funny. The whole class erupted in laughter.

Oh, I should probably mention that there were a total of four students in the class. But yeah, all four of them busted up laughing. 

Me too, really. 

Because yeah, that sounded suspiciously like Angry Birds. 

I was now curious, so I went looking. Yeah, there's video... 

Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Not tempted in the slightest. Nor did the class seem tempted either. 

Once they were done laughing, we finished up the article. They'll spend more time reading a third article and figuring out what they're going to write, but I won't be there for it. 

These essays are interesting as the teachers really go into the nitty-gritty of how to write. And part of it is how to think for oneself. Important lessons, truly. 

Spinning Wheel of Doom

Tuesday. Film Studies. Seventh period. 

When I walked in the classroom first thing in the morning, there was a note projected on the screen. It said to leave the big screen down all day, and that the movie the class was watching would automatically start shortly after class started. Okay, then.

First period, things worked perfectly. The class watched Sisu. 

It was a pretty violent movie. The teacher said it was in the same vein as John Wick. If you like that sort of thing, I do recommend. 

Third period was sophomore English, which I wrote about yesterday. The screen projected a note to the kiddos, reminding them of what they were supposed to be working on. Then fifth period it turned into another note to me, saying not to touch anything. 

It was a little creepy, but I've heard some stories of what subs end up doing, so I understood. I did not touch anything. Why would I? Everything was working perfectly... 

Oh, you know what's coming. 

Seventh period walked in. I took roll. Explained what they would be watching. (They watch movies all year, so this was nothing new.) Then, as planned, the movie started. 

I got comfortable. We were about ten minutes into it when something blinked on the screen, we got the spinning wheel of doom, and the movie froze. 

Naturally. 

The teacher had left his phone number, so when things didn't right themselves, I texted him. When I got no response, I called. 

I explained the situation. He said he couldn't fix it from where he was, and he couldn't leave. (He was on campus.) The class would have to do something else... 

Luckily, this was a good class, so they found something to entertain themselves. 

Just before the period ended, Mr. A walked in. He did something on his phone, and the movie righted itself. He had Apple TV hooked up, and he had programmed the full day on it. Somehow it had lost connection. Mr. A had the remote on his phone. If he had left a remote with me... 

But, as I said before, some subs... Anyway, the kiddos had access to the film, so they could watch it at home. Not as good as on a big screen, but tech issues and all. 

I was kind of glad not to have to watch the movie again. But I know they would have rather had it. Ah well. 

It worked for almost the full day.