Stair Guard

Last Tuesday was the first day of state testing. And I managed to catch an assignment. Woo-hoo! 

The past two years at this time of year, I had been on long term subbing assignments. Those years for the testing time I found a place to hide out. (The administration required staff to be on campus during testing. I used the time to grade and lesson plan. It was very useful.) But this year... 

As I was checking in for the day, the principal gave me an assignment for testing time. Tardiness has been an ongoing issue. And only certain grades were testing. (Those grades not testing didn't have to arrive at school until 10:30 AM.) Plus, some students like to roam the halls. 

Ms. C (the principal) asked me to position myself at the entrance to the school, and for the first ten minutes of the school day, shoo the kiddos to where they were supposed to go. After the ten minutes, I was to shoo all kiddos to the PE field where they would wait out testing time. 

(Students who weren't testing but showed up to school at the usual 8:30 AM time were sent to the PE field. Any testing students who were very late were too late to start the test and so were also sent to the PE field.)

Okay, then. 

(I couldn't just hide out in the classroom where I was to sub the day as there was a class of students testing in there. And for reasons, subs aren't allowed to proctor the tests.) 

The first ten minutes of the school day were brisk. Many late students. An assistant principal was there as well, so I really didn't have much to do. Then they locked the front gate, so the students who arrived had to enter through the main office. And I positioned myself by the stairs leading out of the main office (pictured above). 

And... 

There wasn't much to do, really. As the arriving students had to pass through the office, the office staff called for security. Security met them at the steps and drove them (in their golf carts) to the PE field. 

I maybe questioned five students who were roaming. There were other students on their way to or from the restroom. But mostly I sat on the stairs and read blogs. (I had brought my computer with me. I had a feeling it would be a boring job.) 

Mostly, I saw staff. When it came up in conversation, I explained what I was doing. I was "guarding the stairs". 

Stairs that didn't really need guarding. 

But hey, I was getting paid for it. 

And for those of you who were here for J-day, another example. The following picture was taken when I turned almost 180° from the above picture of the stairs. (That open door in the background is the classroom I was in this time last year for that eleventh grade English long term assignment.) 

What's the weirdest thing you ever got paid to do? What time did your high school start? 

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

Rage Over Reckless Destruction

A new book came out last week. It's called Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID. 

I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to write about today that had something to do with the letter R, and I came up blank. But then I remembered the game. For A to Z, my game is to write what I would normally write for the day and then try to figure out a title with the letter of the day. This week is proving to be troublesome. Although my Tuesday theme is on point (see graphic above). 

And this week it's that book. Because the damage those idiots did to the world at large is massive. They've been making the rounds publicizing the book: 

• Whistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did 'just abortions,' asked for 'Barney-style' slides before gutting agency, per new book
• “Into the Wood Chipper”: Whistleblower’s Inside Story of DOGE Shredding USAID, 14 Million May Die

Check out the book if you're so inclined. And remember, the regime killed people just to "fix the deficit", and they didn't fix anything. 

Link for Amazon. Link for Bookshop.org (in case you don't do Amazon). 

No questions today. Just an open forum to rant if you are so inclined.

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

Questionable Quality

Now that eldest nephew's sweater is complete, it is time for me to start on my last project for last Christmas. (I mean, it's been in the planning stages since last summer. I even wrote about it. Once.) 

Yeah, I've been avoiding it. 

My sister-in-law requested a purple version of the eye sweater I made for her daughter. (This was my big project for 2024. This is the last post with links to all the posts I wrote about it.) 

And... I just don't wanna do it. There. I said it. 

I never felt fully comfortable with the eye sweater. Niece found a photo of what she wanted. I could not find a pattern to go with it. I found something close, but it didn't have the curve at the hem that Liv wanted. So, I faked it. And I hated faking it. 

Was it close? Did I get the right colors? Is that two rounds or three? Should I make this bigger? Does it need more of a curve? Does it need less of a curve? 

I still feel residual stress from the thing. 

And now I have to do it again. 

Only, this time, I'm basing it off the thing I made. Which I have the notes for. I wrote down what I did, just in case I had to replicate it. 

I found those notes a few months ago. And I put them someplace to find easily. And now I can't find them. (Although, I typed them out in 2024. And then in January I turned them into a note that I put on my phone. So, I do have them.) 

It's time to woman up and get this thing done. On Saturday (after two weeks of no knitting/crochet when I had time but just chose not to start) I pulled up the video (that I used to make the eye to start) and started crocheting. And... 

I don't like it. 

It's not coming out oval enough. It's curling. I'm going to redo it. 

That's maybe an hour of work, so no big loss. Getting the oval to oval isn't quite working out. But I need to start with an oval so that the hem curves. 

Deep sigh. 

For me, getting started is the hardest part. I have the yarn. I have a project bag. I started the oval. I can do this. 

Note: I know you all mean well and just want to encourage me, but "you can do it" or "it looks great" sort of thing in the comments is not going to encourage me at all. It's just going to make me feel worse. So, unless you want to trigger me, please avoid telling me how talented a crocheter I am. Because I am not. 

Now, how do I make this fit Q for A to Z? I have no idea. (That's kind of a theme this week.) I mean, you already know, but I don't. Yet. 

What color would you want this disaster of a sweater in? Have you ever had a project that you just did not want to do? What's the best Q-title you've done for A to Z? (My absolute favorite A to Z Q-post was "Quinceanera and Sweet Sixteen".) 

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

Palm Trees

Back in October, I was standing in line at a taco truck when the sky behind the palm trees just called to me: 

And that is all. 

Do you like palm trees? Do you have a favorite tree? Any good food trucks in your area?

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

Officially of the Assignment

The Friday before spring break. English 9. Eighth period. 

The assignment: come up with examples for various ideas expressed in Romeo & Juliet. Things like "Being an obedient, sheltered, and naive child," or "Love can be chaotic and dangerous". 

They were allowed to work together. Some interesting conversations occurred. (These kinds of days are so much fun. I roam the room and just listen. I only pop in to the conversation if they're saying something that is factually wrong or if they need a referee for their debate.) 

The last topic was "Unrequited love". 

Adrian told Bruce to write "yumeshipping" on his paper. Adrian spelled it out. Bruce didn't like this idea. "What is that?" He pushed back. He figured it wasn't appropriate. 

Me? I was curious. It sounded vaguely anime. I had a feeling it was probably on target. 

Adrian searched it up. Definition: the practice of shipping yourself (or an original character that represents you) with a canon* fictional character. (And "shipping" refers to the desire by followers of a fandom for two or more individuals, either real-life people or fictional characters, to be in a relationship, in case you haven't heard the term before.) 

So, uh, yeah, creating a "relationship" with a fictional character is probably the ultimate in unrequited love. Fictional characters definitely can't love you back.

I'd say Adrian understood the assignment. 

I assured Bruce that yeah, that was an excellent example. There was some concern that Ms. B wouldn't like the example. I've met Ms. B, and while fairly strict (she teaches freshmen, after all), she's a reasonable individual. Personally, I think she'd be tickled that her students came up with an example she'd never heard of. (I assume she's not into this sort of thing, but I could be wrong.) 

Adrian wrote it down. I didn't look that closely at Bruce's finished paper, so I don't know if he added it as well. 

They'll start reading the play after the break (which it now is). Ah, Shakespeare. 

Have you ever heard of yumeshipping before? (Or shipping? Or canon* characters?) Would you ever want to create art (drawings or fan fiction) of yourself with a fictional character? Who?

*Canon: Of the original or official story. A "canon character" is a character from some piece of other fiction, like Batman or Dracula or Colter Shaw from Tracker. 

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

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...