Not a Newbie

The Thursday before spring break. Tenth grade English. Third period. 

The assignment: they were working on "independent projects". After some observation, my guess is those projects had to do with the book they were reading, Night by Elie Wiesel. 

I did my usual intro which I managed to finish just before the daily morning announcements. When the teacher leaves a vague lesson plan, that's because the kiddos have been working on this and should know what to do. So, I expected them to get to work. I opened the seating chart in the attendance software, and started to take roll... 

A boy walked in late. He sat in the corner. I went to mark him tardy, but he did not look anything like the picture of the boy in the seat. As I looked around and compared the live students to the seating chart photos, I noticed that the two bore no resemblance to each other. Um... 

"Why are you not in your assigned seats?" I asked the class at large. 

And suddenly, a third of the class remembered, "I don't sit here," and a minute of flurry ended with a live class that actually looked like the seating chart. 

What? Do they think I'm new? 

While some teachers' seating charts are out of date or they don't really enforce them, I knew Mr. C's chart was accurate (he said so) and that he did enforce it. 

I noted the attempt in the note, and I moved on. 

It was funny how the class was very laid-back and talkative right until I insisted on assigned seats. Then things got very, very quiet. Hopefully they got some work done, but sophomores. Some are still not quite focused on getting it done. 

Have you ever read Night? Did you sit next to your friends in school? Did you get your work done?

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

Motivation Lacking

Monday (the week before spring break). Tenth grade world history. Eighth period. 

The assignment: work on the study guide to prepare for their test on Friday. For the last thirty minutes of class, show the movie Midway. Apparently they'd been watching it in thirty minute increments for a couple days. 

The test was for their unit on World War II. As I meandered around I got relevant questions. One girl verified who the Axis were. Another student was verifying who the leader was in Italy. 

But not everyone was on task. 

I noticed that Jasper and his buddy weren't on the study guide on their Chromebooks. I pointed out that perhaps they wanted to get to the work. They needed to be ready for their upcoming test. 

Jasper didn't see my point. It was Monday. The test was Friday. He had plenty of time to do the study guide. 

Oh yes, I've had this conversation before. Many, many times. 

Somehow Jasper got on the topic of his grades. He was doing fine, he said. Three Fs was just where he wanted to be. Um... 

The low grades, the having plenty of time to get his work done that he was not doing, those are topics I usually discuss with the students at the continuation high school. I said as much. Jasper? He thought the continuation high school sounded like something he should aspire to. 

While I do not begrudge the students at the continuation high school, as they were probably going through some things, I do not encourage students at the traditional high schools to go there. The continuation high school is to help the kiddos out of the bad situation they got themselves into. If they can avoid this, they should do so. 

But again, Jasper thought the continuation high school sounded way easier than his school. Sure, in ways it is. But if Jasper is going to avoid work, he won't get anywhere at the continuation high school. Which I said. But he didn't see my point. 

Deep sigh. 

I left his name in the note, and I let Mr. M know what Jasper didn't do. I assume Jasper bombed his test, and Mr. M can follow up to remind Jasper that he did not use his time wisely when it was given to him. 

Will that do any good? Likely not. But if Jasper hears it enough, it might eventually make some impact. 

Then we got to watch some of the movie Midway, which I had not seen. I'm including the trailer just in case you missed it, too. 

Have you ever seen this Midway? Do you enjoy history? 

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

Letters from Children

So many terrible things happening all the time now. So, what can I find to talk about for this L day? How about: 

Protesters Fill Minnesota Capitol, Read Letters from Children Held in Immigration Custody

I'm still a little salty from the conversation I had where they said, "It's not really that bad". 

It's really that bad. 

The concentration camps are "unbelievably inhumane". A family held at Texas' Dilley ICE detention center wrote letters describing neglectful medical care, inedible food and a disregard for their religious accommodations. 

And this sort of thing will traumatize these kids for the rest of their lives. Even if the kids aren't taken. 

Tuesdays are my day to rail against the current regime in power in the U.S. Even in April. Feel free to vent in the comments. 

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

Knitting Another Beanie

I really appreciate K falling on a Monday this year. Makes my life so much simpler...

Last July I asked the family what they wanted for Christmas. Middle nephew requested a beanie in Lakers colors. I finished his in about a week, and he seemed to like it. 

When I finished it, to show it off on the blog, I asked my father to model it. 

And at that time, I offered to knit my father one. 

I started it a few weeks ago. I'm only working on it once a week for a couple hours at a time, so that's why it isn't done yet. 

I decided to reverse the colors. And I'm not sure which one I like better. Here's where the new one is as of this writing: 

It's not too far from done. But I really should be working on other projects. I'll get there. Eventually. 

So, what do you say? Which is better? Option one, with the yellow on top? Or option two, with the purple on top? 

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

Jacaranda

 Happy purple tree season to all who celebrate. 

We're not quite to purple tree lined streets yet. Just a few have started blooming. But they're already making a mess... 

Those blooms are thick. And squishy. And they make a mess. This is why these trees get lots of hate from the locals. 

But last year I read lots of "ooh, wow" online about these. And it's Saturday and J-day, so why not? 

It is a striking color.

Are there any things local to you that tourists love but you hate? What sort of colors are popping up around you? 

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

Identify 26 Global Foods

As it is spring break for me, I have saved last week's subbing stories for next week when I'll be back to work. That means this week is summer schedule time. And Fridays are for random quizzes. 

This one is perfect for our little April trek through the alphabet. You'll be given pictures of 26 different dishes, one for each letter of the alphabet. Can you identify each one?

Identify 26 Global Foods from A to Z

I got 20 out of 26, or 77%, which for me is excellent. I am an incredibly picky eater. I don't try a lot of new things, and I don't keep up with new trends. A few of my correct 20 were lucky guesses. 

I bet you can do better. Let me know how you did in the comments. 

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

Humble Bundle 13

A couple months ago, I found out about a sale of all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels in a digital format. Which is something I had wanted for a while. I jumped at that. 

Ever since, I've been getting the emails from the company, Humble Bundle. Mostly they bundle up video games, but they do digital books and comics, too. You get a bunch of media at a great price, and they donate the proceeds to charity. 

Since it is spring break (so I'm on the summer schedule), this is a Thursday 13. Since this is April, well, Humble starts with H... Here are 13 bundles you can get right now from Humble Bundle:

1. The Collected Peanuts: 43 books of Peanuts comics. Pay at least $25. Sale ends April 15th.
2. Valiant Classic Omnibuses: 7 comic omnibuses for at least $18. Sale ends April 27th.
3. Guitars and More for Dummies: 18 books for at least $25. Sale ends April 21st.
4. The Dark Worlds of James Herbert: 17 books, for at least $18. Sale ends April 13th.
5. The Best of Ellen Datlow's Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Anthologies: 29 books for at least $18. Sale ends April 28th.
6. Linux the Good Stuff: 17 books for at least $60. Sale ends April 19th.
7. Strategic Minds Collection: 7 battle games for at least $18. Sale ends April 22nd.
8. Avatar 20th Anniversary Physical RPG Bundle: 6 physical items for at least $49. Sale ends April 24th.
9. Humble Heroines: 6 female-fronted games for at least $18. Sale ends April 15th.
10. Spring 2026 15 for 15: 15 games for at least $15. Sale ends April 15th.
11. Dungeon Master's Adventures, 3D Printable Miniatures & Scenery: 91 item software bundle for at least $25. Sale ends April 20th.
12. The 2026 Certification Bundle: 45 item curriculum bundle for at least $25. Sale ends April 12th.
13. Realer than Reality Scanned Material Bundle: 22 items for at least $30. Sale ends April 20th.

Sometimes they have good stuff, sometimes not. Check out the website and sign up for the emails. You might be surprised at what they have on offer.

Have you ever bought from Humble Bundle before? Jealous of my acquisition of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels? See anything you might be tempted to buy?

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