Walks Like a Duck

Thursday (before Thanksgiving break). Fourth period.

Onyx: "I'm not high. But my keyboard is moving."

The computer in question was sitting stationary on the table.

This is my second full week in the class. I have Onyx in two different classes. She's been pretty mellow. But on this day... 

Not high? I doubt it.

She started off by telling another student to back off. (He didn't want to listen. He felt it was his duty to not give up and help Onyx with whatever it was that was bothering her. In this I intervened letting him know that this was not the time to push.) So, to keep the peace, I had Onyx sit closer to me.

It was a drop drill day, so when Onyx got under her desk, she accused it of stabbing her in the back. (She fell on one of the table legs.) How one can fall when one is sitting on the floor... 

She spent the rest of the period listening to her music. There was a bit of seat dancing. But I don't think she got much of the actual work done.

Not high? Perhaps. But something was definitely going on with her.

And she can't understand why she has a D in the class. (I attempted to explain where the problem was, but she didn't quite grasp my explanation.) 

Caught Unprepared

Wednesday. (This was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving break.) It was the end of first period. And the kiddos were standing at the door, waiting for the bell.

Instead of itching to get out, they were looking outside in horror. It. Was. Raining.

Me: "You all remembered your umbrellas, right?"

They looked at me blankly.

Me: "This has been all over the news. They've been forecasting rain for today for a week. Do you ever check the weather on your phones?"

They were all in long sleeves. Some had sweatshirts on. Some had hoodies. They weren't going to freeze. But they were going to get wet. 

Ah well. Maybe they'll learn.

We even got thunder and lightning.  The next period a lightning bolt struck so close that it knocked out the school WiFi for a bit.

A Different Bible

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

What if something that you wrote ages ago was now being used as a foundational text for some religion you only just found out about? (I won't specify what you wrote. It could be a diary. It could be a story of some sort. Nor will I specify where this group is located. They could be here. They could be extraterrestrials.)

Starting Over

When I started crocheting the Ruffle Tree, I had an idea. I could take a picture each day after I finished bands for the tree, thereby documenting my progress. (I took pics of the first two bands, but not in place, a couple weeks ago.) 

Those first two bands: 

I had this idea after I had completed two more bands. So, I took the first picture, and then I placed the second two bands and took this second picture: 

You'd think me taking the two pictures in the same sitting would make the pictures look similar, but no. Sigh.

I took the project to work. I have one of those assignments where I have a lot of sit around and watch the kiddos work time, so I needed to keep my hands busy. The great thing about bringing crochet projects to work is that I can drop them in a second and help a student when they need it. Then I can pick the project right back up.

I was able to complete two bands a day. That's great progress.

Then, the Friday before Thanksgiving break, I took a look at the last band I completed, and I realized something. I made a mistake. 

(I omitted a round. In each band. Because rounds 2 and 3 are the same, somehow in my head I didn't realize I had to do it twice. I think I might have gotten it right initially, but by band 5, I was just omitting that one round as a matter of course. Until I stopped and looked at the pattern. Sigh.)

And, I decided that I was going to have to start over. 

It wasn't just the error that caused the decision. Missing that one round isn't terrible, although having that round does make the tree look better. (I've since this done them correctly, and I can see the difference.) As I was working those bands, I realized a couple other things.

First, I realized that there was a better way to cast on each band. Rather than using the usual chain and then doing a round of single crochet, foundation single crochet would work perfectly here. It's stretchier. And it makes it neater. (Although that round isn't really seen.) 

Once I discovered the mistake, I thought it would help me not make that mistake again. I was wrong.

Then, the other reason starting over was necessary, was that I was going to run out of yarn. The yarn I was using was vintage. And I could tell that I was going to run out of yarn before I could finish the project. There are ways to introduce a different yarn...

But, if I wanted to remake the cast on anyway, and I had so many that I had done wrong, I might as well start fresh.

So, I did.

I anticipate this not taking all that long to complete. I started my second try on Thanksgiving Day. And other than forgetting that one round (again!) it went pretty well. (My first try was practice. Kind of like swatching.) 

Best Laid Plans

Right around Halloween, I started thinking about Christmas. Planning. I even found some yarny things that sparked my interest. 

And I started my Christmas shopping. 

(I used to do way more making of Christmas gifts, and that'll happen again in the future, but for the last couple years I just haven't wanted to.) 

For the most part, it's not hard to keep things a surprise. I do most of my shopping online. Shipping things to me is not an issue.

The only time I need to be cautious is when I am ordering things for my roommates. 

I don't have to be cautious, per se. I tend to be the one that picks up the mail. And when packages are dropped at our front door, I get them unopened. 

I decided this year I'd get them pajamas. (I think the major influence on this was a pajamas sale I saw at one of my regular online shopping haunts. I gave them pajamas a couple years ago for Christmas, and they were a hit.) 

I put in the order. I even got myself something so I could show it off as what came in the package. (Not that they were likely to question it, but I was being especially sneaky.) 

I watched the online tracking, and I knew when the package would arrive. (The tracking said Tuesday, but it hit the L.A. area Sunday night, so I knew it would arrive Monday.)

I got home from work on Monday evening, and I did my usual. After getting inside, one of the first things I do is get the leash and take the roommate's dog for a walk. As Buttercup and I were heading out, I saw my package right outside. I tossed it inside as me and the dog continued on our way.

Usually Luisa is not home yet, but she had stayed home sick. The other roommate is usually home (she's retired) as she was at that time. 

When Buttercup and I returned from the walk, my roommate admitted to an oops. And it was the last oops I wanted to hear.

Luisa had opened my package. 

Naturally.

The one time it made a difference.

The other roommate had asked Luisa if she was expecting something. She was. No one bothered to look at the name on the package. Mine. 

Sigh.

As soon as Luisa realized it wasn't what she was expecting, the package was put in my room. And considering how clothes are folded and packaged, I doubt that either of them even paid attention to what was inside.

So, I tried to hide my horror and hope that they didn't catch on. They didn't seem to, but we'll see. 

I mean, this is not usually an issue. Ever. The one time...

I just had to share this with someone. Because I can't tell them, at least until we exchange gifts. Then it'll be a funny story. 

Thankful 13

As this is a vacation week for me, I am on my "summer schedule". (Subbing posts return next week.) I spent way too much time trying to come up with a topic for the Thursday 13, but then the obvious choice occurred to me. 

I mean, Thanksgiving? (Sometimes I wonder about myself.)

So, yeah, 13 things I am thankful for, in no particular order:

1. Vaccines. While I did get Covid (for Christmas last year), I was very fortunate to get what felt like a cold. Have you had your flu shot? Your updated Covid booster?

2. Time off. It's so nice to have a week off of work every so often. And it's only four weeks after this until winter break.

3. Streaming services. I've been lamenting the lack of ideas on what to watch on TV, but that's a me problem. There are so many things I could watch. It's just a matter of choosing. Currently, I'm working through Doom Patrol. I'm open to suggestions on what I should watch after I finish this.

4. Hulu got PBS. I accidentally stumbled upon this a week or so ago. One thing I missed when cutting the cord was PBS. I love NOVA. And the Ken Burns documentaries. There are a couple other series that I like to catch. (Miss Scarlet and the Duke.) There's even a knitting show that shows up from time to time. But I had to use the app, and that was awkward. But now, it's streaming along side all the other channels on Hulu, and that's just wonderful. I'm so thrilled.

5. I'm caught up at work. Well, for the moment. That could change. (I must say these things so the universe doesn't get any ideas...) Normally when I'm doing a long-term subbing gig, I would be using any time off to try to get caught up with things (lesson planning, grading, etc.). But when I left school Friday afternoon, the Monday we return was ready to go. The grading is up to date (except for the kiddo who turned in a packet just before the end of the last period, but that's a problem for next Monday). And anything I need to do can get done on the Monday we return.

6. Ice cream. Yeah, ice cream. I'm grateful it exists. 

7. Chocolate chip cookies. Okay, now I'm just making myself hungry. But if ice cream doesn't appeal, I can turn to chocolate chip cookies.

8. A cool fall. We've had years where it's still blazing hot in October. We've cooled off nicely this year. Sure, we had a bit of a rain scare last week. (Rain's not necessarily scary, but they were promising days of rain. We got one day.) But I've put away the Capri length pants and I'm almost ready to change out my bedding to winter sheets. 

9. I have someplace to go for Thanksgiving. It would not be fun to just cook for me, and I really do enjoy a turkey feast. (I probably won't be around the internet today, but I'll likely be back tomorrow.) 

10. Scheduled blog posts. I write these usually on Sundays (although most of this week's posts were completed earlier). Then I set them to post through the week. It simplifies a lot to not have to write blog posts all week long. 

11. Knitting/crochet projects I've started. I'm glad to have something in progress. Starting things just takes so much mental energy. It's nice to have things to work on.

12. My water tumbler. I have this insulated tumbler I bought from Target a couple years back. I have it constantly beside me at home. It's filled with water. I like how it keeps my water cool all day long.

13. Today's topic. I really, really had no idea what to write about today until what I'm thankful for popped up. This is the last blog post for this week that I needed to complete, and now it's done. I'm quite happy about that. 

(Yes, I have a post scheduled for tomorrow, but I wrote it several days ago.)

What are you thankful for? 

Not Really Missing

It's Thanksgiving break. I have no school this week. So, per my usual routine, last week's events will appear next week when I'm back in school, and this week I'm kind of on a summer schedule. Today's post is something that happened several weeks ago. I had written this post, but then something more interesting happened, and this got pushed. Knowing this vacation week was coming, rather than deleting it entirely, I just left it in draft until now.

Third period. AP Statistics. 

This was the period where they do the announcements. As the student leadership read through the various activities and such that they want to let the students know about, the class got to work on the day's assignment. 

I looked over the seating chart. I had one absence. 

"Logan's not here..."

It was more of a question, really.

Several students pointed up. "He's doing the announcements."

(The speaker is actually on the wall, but I knew what they meant.)

Ah. 

This was the sort of class that the students who do the morning announcements would be taking. 

Sure enough, Logan arrived in class a few minutes after the announcements finished. His desk neighbor had gotten his computer for him, so he sat down and got to work. 

(Yes, I do get the good classes sometimes. Yes, they are boring to write about.) 

A Quicker Meal?

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

Have any of you seen the show Upload on Amazon Prime? 

(Briefly: In the future, people can be uploaded into a virtual world after they die. The show is about one guy navigating this world. It's a half hour show in its 3rd season. It's a comedy, but the world definitely is dystopian.) 

I'm a bit behind, but there was one episode that took place on what I assume was Thanksgiving (although it was called something different). And they had one throwaway detail that I think is perfect for this week.

What if you could "digitally print" your Thanksgiving dinner? (Think 3D printers. Yes, it's food. Yes, it's edible.)

Buttoned Up

The last time I talked about the body pillow knitted cover, all that was left was to attach buttons to the back to close it up.

When I was planning how to finish this off, buttons were the obvious choice. But, I did not knit button holes into the piece. I figured with the yarn as bulky as it was, I could find buttons that would easily fit through the knitting. 

I went out and bought large buttons.

And they turned out to be too large.

But when I figured out how big the buttons should be, I realized that I had those buttons in my stash.

Those are vintage buttons. Which should be obvious when you see the price was 29 cents.

I attached them while watching The Gilded Age.

I'm not 100% satisfied with how this whole thing turned out, but I was determined to be done. Except, while writing this blog post, I realized that I could make extra buttonholes (by crocheting a loop along the edge), use the large buttons, and perhaps close this up better.

This is good enough for now. If I choose to do this again, I would start all over and just get enough yarn to cover the whole thing. But, I'm contemplating redoing those buttons. Maybe.

It'll be January if I do. For now, this works. 

I have other projects to keep me occupied for the foreseeable future.

The pillow cover's progress in blog posts:

• New Project?
• A Start
• Keeping It Simple
• Plodding Along
• Warm Knitting
• A Pillow's Worth?
• Growing
• Half a Pillow Cover
• Notes for Next Time
• Leaving the Mistake
• Blanket Stitch Accomplished
• One Round of Single Crochet
• Measuring
• The Pillow Cover Making's Progress
• Attached
• Almost There

Fight Fight Fight

It was the Thursday before a three-day weekend (for Veteran's Day), and so, of course there were more teacher absences than subs available. I was asked to cover a class on my conference period. As I wasn't scrambling for anything, I was quite happy to help out. (It doesn't hurt that I get paid extra for covering another class.)

I had a choice, so I picked the class that was closest to the room I was in the rest of the day. (Mr. B's classroom is kind of back of beyond compared to the rest of the campus.) It was chemistry.

It was the first class of the day. I got a chance to chat with Ms. N before she left. (She was chaperoning a field trip.) She mentioned that the class was small and her best behaved. 

I recognized a couple students from success seminar last year. (Not problem students, like Kress.) 

As advertised, they got to work and weren't an issue.

Because of the weather, I had left the door open.

It was more than halfway through the period. Suddenly, a cacophony of voices erupted somewhere outside. It was such a sudden change and loud enough that we all knew what was happening.

A fight.

I've been proximate to enough of these to recognize the sounds. As had the students. Someone noted that it sounded like a fight. After less than a minute, I heard a golf cart speed by. (Security all drive golf carts on campus.) 

The thing that I didn't expect? Not one student moved from their seats. 

We all heard it. Usually, half the class would have run to the door to look out and see if they could see what was happening. This time? Not. A. One.

I was so shocked, but I said nothing. I didn't want to give them any ideas.

The noise quieted down fairly quickly. I assume several security descended upon the fight and removed the combatants. That's generally how these things go.

The chemistry students continued to work on their assignments. (They were practicing dealing with significant figures.) 

I was so impressed by them not reacting to the fight that I made sure to mention this in my note to their teacher. They deserve kudos for things like this.

The Vanishing Student

The long-term special ed social studies class I'm covering is all juniors and seniors. And I haven't had any major behavior issues so far. The classes are pretty mellow, and the students mostly do their work. Kind of.

But there is some drama.

Elena is a student I met in success seminar last year. She's bright. But she's got some issues. 

On Wednesday, Elena was on time for third period. She was all ready to work. Problem was, she was enrolled in fifth period, not third. 

She didn't want to leave, but I figured her science teacher would be missing her. I sent her on her way. (I even called her science teacher to tell her that Elena had come to the wrong class.) 

She did return fifth period. But she wasn't so much in a working mood. She finished quickly, or she didn't do the work, I'm not sure which.

And then, towards the end of the period, she went to "get some air" just outside the classroom. 

Then I saw her through the window, walking away from class.

Sigh. 

***

I don't usually do this, but right now it's Tuesday the 14th, and I'm editing this post to add information. (I wrote the above on Sunday.) Because I just got a call from the attendance office. 

The attendance clerk called to verify Elena's attendance on that Wednesday. See, I was the only teacher to mark her present (although that mark was a tardy), and Elena's grandmother was calling the school to verify.

Luckily (or unluckily) for Elena, her presence that day was now memorable, so I could relate to the attendance clerk the above story. (Although, now I see that Elena never did make it to her third period class.) 

This leaves me with questions. Elena came to school, but only attended one period? I know she was on campus third period (as she had been in the room), but since she didn't go to her third period class, where did she spend the rest of third period? 

I'm not sure exactly what's going on with Elena. I get a sense that she's going through some things. Some major things. 

I'm used to not getting the whole story. I hope Elena gets the help she needs.

Grades Due, Naturally

The start of this new long-term assignment has gone pretty smoothly. The classes are pretty mellow. There's an instructional aide to clue me in on what I need to do. The lesson plans are complete.

My first day, the secretary in charge of subs was out sick, but I knew who checks out keys so I got that done. I even managed to talk to one of the assistant principals about getting access to the gradebooks. (It was the wrong assistant principal--the other one had that access. But Dr. T told Mr. C, and it got done.) 

I started on a Friday. On Monday, I knew there was one thing I needed to find out.

When were progress reports due? 

Because, I knew.

It had been about a month since the end of the quarter. And considering how for my last three long-terms grades had been due almost immediately after me beginning, I knew it had to be very, very soon.

(I even mentioned this here on the blog: the vacant English class, the English class last spring, and success seminar.) 

I called the secretary in charge of subs, but she was again out sick. Who could I ask? I figured I might as well ask one of the assistant principals.

He got back to me right away. I asked on a Monday. Grades were due Wednesday. Naturally.

Before Mr. B went out, he left current grades. So, it wasn't a big deal.

At least this time I was on top of things.

And I know the next grades due are the semester grades, which won't be due until after Mr. B returns. So, I should be safe. *knocks on wood*

Holiday Décor

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

So, with everything *gestures wildly at the world* going on right now, it's no surprise that I've been made aware of many Jewish people who have decided not to decorate for Hanukkah this year (at least outdoors). And I find that sad. And infuriating. And probably smart. But most of all, I find that wrong.

But people suck, and we can't trust them to behave like reasonable citizens.

Which leads me to this week's "what if?" question. (I don't actually expect anyone to do this, but what if?)

What if we all decorated for Hanukkah this year, at least, the non-Jewish amongst us? It would make us a target, but maybe we need to direct some of that anger and anti-Semitism away from those who have gotten way too much of it.

Just Started

Band one doesn't look like much. Band two has a bit more to it:

And that's as far as I've gotten. (This is the tree pattern I talked about in this previous post.) 

This might become a school project, as I find that the long-term gig gives me more time than I expected. I've got a couple other things I want to finish, too. I'm not sure what I'm going to work on this week, but it might actually be more than one thing. The cooler weather has gotten my still hands itching.

The New Gig

A couple weeks ago, I was offered a long-term gig in a special ed social studies class. That job started last Friday.

I'm vaguely familiar with the class. I covered it in December three years ago. Yes, 2020. At that time I was subbing from home.

On Friday I started off class by introducing myself. The classes knew that Mr. B would be out as he was having surgery. (He's due back the last week before winter break.) They were a bit surprised that he was already gone. (I'm sure he told them when he'd be out. This is kind of standard when it comes to student reactions.) 

It was sixth period. I did my intro, mentioning that Mr. B was out until December. One of the students remembered that he was having surgery.

"So, when he comes back, he'll be able to walk?"

Mr. B is in a wheelchair. I don't know what caused his paralysis. (I've never asked.) And I don't know what he's having surgery for. But I highly doubt that some surgery (that he's only going to need a few weeks to recover from) is going to miraculously make him no longer wheelchair-bound.

And I don't think Mr. B even part way hinted that this would be the case.

I had the student repeat the question for Ms. P, the class' instructional aide. I let her answer. I didn't want to ruin my rapport on my first day.

So far, this class seems pretty mellow. Which is good news for me, not so good news for the blog. We'll see. Hopefully I can find something interesting to blog about for the duration.

Forgeries

Thursday. Seventh period. Seventh grade world history.

The class was calm. Cooperative. I gave instructions, and they got to work. 

Then, fifteen minutes later, seven or eight students walked in, five of them with hall passes. And inwardly, I groaned. If only they had stayed gone...

I know. That's terrible of me to say. But they were all the troublemakers. The loud ones. The ones who couldn't stay seated and weren't doing any work. (This was my third time with the group as I had gotten an almost complete week.) 

Once I got them sort of settled (as settled as they were going to get), I went to amend the online attendance. I went through the passes. 

On all but one pass, "not excused tardy" was scratched out and "excused" had been written. 

It was the way that the "not excused tardy" was scratched out and the way that "excused" had been written that was noteworthy. They had scribbled out the "not excused tardy" as if they were trying to blot it out, but they did a terrible job of it. "Excused" was very light and in block letters (unlike how the counselor had written the pass). It looked like they had used the outside walls as a hard surface on which to write.

I did not believe that for a second. I marked them all tardy.

One of the other late students (who hadn't bothered to bring me a pass) told me that they shouldn't be marked tardy as they had been locked in the new building on campus. 

I nodded. And I marked him tardy.

Because that's another thing that didn't pass the smell test. While all the classrooms lock to keep people out, none of them lock from the inside. I've been in the new building, and I know that if you're in the building and you want out, you can easily get out. There are many exits.

They don't realize that I've been around a while. They were definitely trying to get one over on the sub. Too bad they tried in on the sub who knows her way around that school.

How to Address a Postcard

For the week of Halloween, I managed to catch a seventh grade world history class. (Imagine seventh graders hopped up on candy and costumes. Halloween is not a fun day to sub.) 

The assignment for the day had to do with the Byzantine Empire. (I couldn't resist playing "Istanbul (not Constantinople)", the They Might Be Giants version, for them. This still didn't help them figure out how to pronounce Constantinople.) 

They had a question where they were to write an imaginary postcard to a "friend back home" about the wonders of Constantinople. 

It's a pretty straightforward question. I see these sorts of things in their assignments all the time. But there was one big snag...

They had no idea how to address a postcard.

I was surprised, although once I thought about it, I shouldn't have been. Who uses physical mail any more? They definitely don't send stuff, although some of them admitted to getting birthday cards mailed to them from family. They don't pay attention to the envelopes. 

Sigh.

So, I attempted to show them how an address should be written. (Luckily, I had access to the in class TV, so I created a slide with the school's address on it.) 

Oh, there was whining. Many just copied the school's address as the address they used. (They were supposed to make up an address in the known world from the period we were discussing.) 

In the end, I was happy they got the written portion on the correct half of the postcard. Some had used the lines for the address as where they wrote it. And, of course, some weren't doing much of anything as it was Halloween and a sub day and all they wanted to do was play.

The question, really, was more trouble than it was worth. Considering all the anachronisms inherent in the question (mail delivery? street addresses? postcards?), there are much better ways of formulating a written response than getting the students to address a postcard.

(Although, I appreciated that the work was in the book and on paper. The last time I covered this class, the internet was out for the day.)

Save Them

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

A couple weeks ago I read a fantasy novel where the main character had a choice to make. There were some men who had their consciousnesses put into the bodies of various creatures. This character could give them back a regular life, only these men would have had to take over the bodies of others to do so. Oh, and those that wanted this character to do this used violence as a persuader.

I thought it an interesting choice. So, anyway...

What if you could return someone to life (after they were killed), but you had to sacrifice an innocent bystander to do it?

Almost There

It's finished! Almost.

I finally sewed up the side seams. I have only one thing left to do, and this fuzzy, bulky yarn body pillow project will be complete.

I need to find buttons and attach them.

Then that bottom (or top) bit will close completely. 

I could just sew it together, but then I wouldn't be able to remove the cover to wash it. 

There's a yarn store trip in my near future. I need buttons. I also need some other things to begin a few projects I have in the planning stages.

Now that the weather's cooling off, I'm a little more interested in making stuff. We'll see how it goes.

The pillow cover's progress in blog posts:

• New Project?
• A Start
• Keeping It Simple
• Plodding Along
• Warm Knitting
• A Pillow's Worth?
• Growing
• Half a Pillow Cover
• Notes for Next Time
• Leaving the Mistake
• Blanket Stitch Accomplished
• One Round of Single Crochet
• Measuring
• The Pillow Cover Making's Progress
• Attached

Bike Parking

Because of tall fencing around the school campuses, when I get to leave early (due to having a last period prep--yay!), I have to walk out the front door of the office and around the school to get to the parking lot. (When I leave at the end of the day, gates are open, so I can walk through campus to get to the parking lot.)

The current school schedule gives me more opportunities to get out of work early. (Don't worry. I still get paid for a full day.) And, there's something that I noticed every time I had to walk around the school. I've been meaning to get a picture of it, and last week I finally did.

Thursday

Friday

I got the shot so quickly on Thursday that I did not notice my shadow in the way. (There were students I knew standing there, and I didn't want to explain what I was doing.) So, Friday, I decided to take another picture. And then I realized that having two pictures really shows it.

The sign reads "DO NOT PARK YOUR BIKE HERE". And that student parks that bike under that sign every day.

Every. Day.

I'm not sure who I'm laughing at. The student? Or the sign poster? Because, seriously? There are ways to figure out who's doing it. And the student just doesn't care.

There are two other fenced in HVAC units at the front of the school. They also had signs on them. (One of those signs fell down.) And they also had their very own bikes regularly parked there, but not lately. 

There's just one student holding on.

(There is a fenced in bike parking area. With bike racks. And I'm sure they lock the thing during the day, so it's way safer than the front of the school.)

Can't Beat the View

Last Tuesday (the same day as yesterday's post) I was asked to cover a seventh period for intro to health careers. 

This is known as period subbing, and it happens all the time. In this case, the teacher had a training going on during the class period, so I covered his class.

When I got there, Mr. I was there. He explained to the class what they had to do before he left.

We had a few minutes (during the passing period) to chat. They had moved the class into the new STEAM building (I've mentioned the new building before), so I commented on the new digs. The room it's now in is much smaller than the room it used to be in. (I've covered this class a few times.) 

Mr. I said it felt like the students were on top of one another. But, on the positive side, you couldn't beat the view.

The room was on the second floor, over in a corner. If you enlarge the picture up top, you can see the windows at the back. There are windows on the side too.

It was a great view.

I could see the lunch area. The library. I could practically see out to the athletic fields. 

The class was kind of working on their modules. It was the last day of the rotation, so many were finished. (They spend a couple weeks in different health care fields, getting an intro to them. Then they switch and try out another. It's things like optometry, veterinary, EMT, dental, mental health, nursing, etc.)

So, I didn't have much to do with them. I just occasionally reminded them to get back to work. 

Mostly, I looked out the windows. 

Some days it's nice to have a great view.

Took the Gig

It's gotten to the point that I don't look too closely at assignments when they pop up in the scheduling software. If I see it, I grab it, and then I examine it after. 

(Although, I can stop complaining about how hard it is to get jobs. It's a challenge, sure, but I've only missed a couple working days so far, and I'm currently booked until December. Of course, I'm booked because I accepted a long-term gig, that I'll talk about when it starts, but still, I'm good.)

It was Monday, and I had nothing booked for Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, within about twenty minutes, a gig for Wednesday popped up followed by a gig for Tuesday. I grabbed them as soon as they alerted on my phone. Then I looked at them.

When the teachers input their absences into the system, they can add notes. Usually it's the lesson plan. Sometimes, though, they add other things, like if the class is co-taught or if something weird is happening that day. 

For this assignment, the note read: "This will be period subbed by Special Ed teachers on campus". 

Huh? If the day was going to be period subbed, why put it into the system? If it's in the system, someone, like me, will pick it up. (It's not like the last couple years when there weren't enough subs to go around. They hired a bunch at the start of the school year. That's why getting gigs has been a bit dicey.) 

I debated. I could always cancel the assignment. But, would something else pop up? I wasn't willing to risk it.

As it was a special ed class, there was an instructional aide. And she was quite surprised to see me. The teacher hadn't bothered to write out a lesson plan as she had told the special ed teachers who she thought would period sub the class what was happening.

I guess me picking up the job threw a wrench in the whole plan.

(It wasn't a hard day. The government class learned about the Magna Carta and other ideas that got incorporated into the Constitution, and the world history class read a thing about the French Revolution.)

Ah well. I guess the sub shortage has changed the way teachers approach days out. But things are turning back around.