When I was trying to figure out what I was going to talk about today, I went over to Bluesky to jumpstart my brain. I ran into this post:
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And I thought he said this way better than I could, so I thought I'd share the thread.
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These are the things that worry me. I'm not the only one who worries about this, am I?
After avoiding it for a week, I finally sat down to bind off the front and back of eldest nephew's sweater. It went about as I expected. That is, badly.
I had bound off maybe a dozen stitches when I decided to reevaluate.
Reminder: tubular bind off is basically Kitchener stitch, which is grafting stitches together. I'm sewing them, not actually knitting.
So, to get the dozen stitches bound off took a while. And as I examined what I had done, well, it didn't look good. (That's my big issue with Kitchener--I can never get the grafting to graft. It does not look like seamless knitting when I do it.) Plus, it didn't stretch that far.
At which point I was done. My stretchy bind-off would be way quicker, actually stretchy, and it would look good.
That meant that I had to undo the dozen stitches I'd bound off. This wasn't knitting, so I had to unstitch each stitch. Then, I had to unravel the last row of knitting as that row was preparation for the tubular bind off. This all took a while.
And then binding off took basically no time at all for both the front and the back. If only I had started there...
But, bright side, when I finish the sleeves, I won't do all those extra steps. That'll make it easier.
And my bind off looks like this:
The other bind-off? Not worth the effort. This looks fine.
I'm at crunch time. Christmas is in 10 days. Will I finish the sweater in time? (The answer is no. This is not getting finished in time. Deep sigh.)
Sweater Tracking:
Friday. BEST.
(I finally found out what the acronym stands for. Behavioral and Emotional Support Teacher. It was driving me crazy not knowing, and now I do. Phew.)
Small class, but it has to be as the students need extra support. Academically they're at grade level, but emotionally, not so much.
We were warned early on that it might not be a good day for Gavin. The previous night he had switched foster homes, so we weren't sure if it was going to be a good day or a bad day for him.
Gavin started off okay, but by the second period, he and his friend were disappearing from class (not bothering to ask permission or even inform anyone of where they were going) and returning only to go out again. (Eventually we learned they were going in search of snacks.)
It all came to a head when Gavin took something from the instructional aide (a ski mask) and wouldn't return it. This was when Gavin was sent to the principal's office and he did not return.
And then there was Dennis.
As it was Friday, it was make up work day. Dennis had one assignment to make up, and then he pulled out his PlayStation.
Mr. T had told me that if they were finished, they could play games or watch a movie. It was kind of a reward for getting through the week. No worries, then.
Dennis logged into his account only to find he had been suspended. For a year.
I threw out some ideas as to what the suspension could have been for as the notification did not specify. Dennis had to do some searching to figure it out.
He had been suspended for pornography. Which was confusing to him as he had not done anything that would qualify as pornography. He complained that he was fourteen, there was nothing he could have done to warrant that.
Now, there have been days and students and situations where I'd say that the kiddo clearly did something that was a problem. For Dennis? Nope. I believe him when he says that he did nothing wrong.
He tried to find a way to appeal the decision, but he couldn't get in contact with a human. As he went through that, he figured out what must have happened. He had reported a fellow player for bullying him. He figured that that player had falsely reported him as retaliation.
That tracks.
Dennis did not get his account restored. Instead, we started a movie and another student requested a board game that Dennis joined. (Monopoly.) And that was the day.
Not too terrible of a day. And I had two instructional assistants who were able to keep things on track.
Thursday. Spanish 1. Seventh period.
(This was the same day as yesterday's post. I covered an extra period. Two doors down from the French class.)
Because Spanish 1, the class was mostly freshmen, and it took some time to get them into the room and into their assigned seats. (I had a seating chart with their pictures.) But then, once they knew what they were supposed to do, they got to work.
The room was quiet. They were all making a good pretense of working. That's when the assistant principal walked in the room. I looked over, and there was the drug sniffing dog.
We all exited the room. I was the last one out. The students were chatting, as they do.
One girl was in a near panic. Her friend explained...
"She's worried that they're going to find her chips."
Chips? Unless they were laced with marijuana, no one was going to care if she had chips in her backpack.
This I did not say. I did say that they weren't looking for food. I assured the girl that her chips were safe.
Seriously, I'm sure half the students in that room had some sort of food in their backpacks. (They'll pull it out during class time.)
The assistant principal and dog and dog handler and counselor all exited the room. They let us back in.
The dog hadn't found anything.
I'm not sure if I was surprised or not. I mean, I wasn't surprised the dog hadn't noticed the chips. But freshmen? I wouldn't have been shocked if they had found drugs. But it was good they didn't.
Thursday. French.
The way the lesson plans were written, it sounded like the teacher had been having issues with the class. So, I made sure to watch them carefully and try to keep them on task.
It wasn't quite the end of the period, and they started packing up...
Me: "You've still got, like, six minutes left of class."
Them: "Six... seven..."
I walked right into that one.
Just in case you were wondering how "six seven" is going, it's still going. Middle school classes are worse, but the high schoolers are in on the game too, just not as obnoxious about it.
But something I just realized, as in last Friday... The last two digits of my cell phone number are six and seven. Because, of course.
(No way am I giving that out to the kiddos, though.)
Last week, while I had some time in a class where the kiddos were nominally doing their work (they weren't really, but they weren't making a ruckus), I happened upon an article that I want to talk about today.
The article: "The Conservative Grievance Business Is Always Hiring"
There are people who find ways to make a living about being outraged. And the public falls into the trap of being outraged along with them. The current kerfuffle has to do with a college student who claims she got a failing grade on a paper because she expressed her religious views.
And... no.
If you dig a bit deeper, you find that this girl went after a trans teaching assistant and got them fired. Why? Because these people find different people weird, and they have chosen to use their time and energy to chase them from having a life. They want to chase them into the shadows.
The problem is these people aren't all that smart. If only the media would dig a little deeper, they'd find that out.
But no. They want to be outraged. They know outrage sells clicks.
So, let me talk about my outrage. How it sucks that someone can claim bias to get someone fired when they did shoddy work.
Don't believe me? Here's a link to the assignment: Reaction Paper Requirements.
Then read the paper. (If those links don't work, I got them from this article via Yahoo.)
It reads to me like someone knew the paper was due at 11:59 PM and started writing it at maybe 11 PM (maybe 11:30). And, in stream-of-consciousness fashion, they wrote down what they were thinking, getting angrier and angrier at having to do the assignment.
There are no cogent arguments. There is no textual evidence. There's no intro paragraph or concluding paragraph. No hook. Not really a beginning.
If I were grading this... Well, let's look at the criteria.
1. Does the paper show a clear tie in to the article?
No, it does not. She doesn't at any point cite any text. She alludes to the article, but she doesn't paraphrase anything from it. She doesn't even cite the title or author of the article. (The high school English classes are taught how to write a sentence that tags the article they're using. So, it's something she should have known how to do.)
2. Does the paper present a thoughtful reaction or response to the article, rather than a summary?
Well, she does not summarize the article. Is her reaction thoughtful? Meh. I might have given some points for this, just because she did turn it in and she did react, albeit without providing clear evidence to support her point. Lots of hand waving excuses for why the article was wrong.
3. Is the paper clearly written?
Not really. She's clear on her viewpoint once she gets going. But the structure is a mess. It could use a good edit.
The paper was worth 25 points. I wouldn't've given it over 10 points if even that much. I can see why it got a zero. My grade still would have been a fail. (It would need 15 points for a D.)
But to hear her tell it and to witness the controversy over it, you'd think she wrote a masterpiece that was dismissed because they didn't agree with her viewpoint.
Did you read the paper? What grade would you give it?
Whenever I've assigned writing when it's their opinion (not often, because this only happens when I'm on a long term), I never care what their viewpoint is. Just so long as it's argued coherently. I could see giving a paper an A about something I completely disagreed with them about. It'd be irritating, but good writing is good writing.
Of course, this isn't really about the paper. This is about a girl who doesn't want to think too deeply about gender roles and whether or not what she's believed all her life is right or wrong. And when she got a zero, rather than reflect on what she wrote, she lashed out.
Sadly, she's not learning what the professor had hoped to teach.
Stupid people follow the authority blindly. And that's what they want. Blind obedience. Not people who think.
So, keep thinking. Keep questioning. Keep pushing back. They win when we don't pay attention.
No, I did not touch the sweater last week. It was part dread of attempting Kitchener stitch (and failing), and part just no time to devote the mental energy.
So, I pulled out the beanie...
I am at the decreases at the top, so it's almost finished. Yay.
And then I can tackle that skein.
See that tangle of yarn at the top of the picture? Somehow, while I've been knitting along on the beanie, the skein fell apart.
And I can't wait until I finally finish this beanie so I can wind that tangle into a ball or something. It's making me a little crazy.
Soon, now.
And maybe this week I'll get started on the sleeves of the sweater (and bind off the ribbing for the front and back).
The beanie posts:
It was the Friday before Thanksgiving break, seventh period. (I saved all my subbing stories for when I was back at work.) Cross country.
Cross country is running, long distance. Generally for class time they change into running clothes, and then they go and run a few miles. How many? I'm not sure. But at one point a couple of them were discussing an upcoming 10K and a half marathon.
But cross country season is over, and the team didn't make the end of season CIF championships. So, they just had to sit in the room for the period with the sub.
(They asked if I could just dismiss them to go home. I would have loved to have done that, but they're enrolled in the class so they have to be in the class even if they have nothing to do. I explained that if they could get a parent to pick them up early they could leave. Only one student followed through on that.)
I sat back and watched the room. Several boys got into a group. They had a pad of post its, and they were folding them into triangles. And then one boy tossed it towards the ceiling...
Oh crap! Not this again.
I have noticed students doing this again. Ceiling darts. They toss these things towards the ceiling, hoping they'll stick.
Normally I put a stop to this as soon as I see it. But seventh period cross country the day before a vacation, and they didn't have an assignment. Considering that there were worse things they could be doing to entertain themselves, I went a different route.
I asked. Apparently it's currently popular on TikTok.
Naturally.
I told them fine, they just had to not leave the things in the ceiling when class was over. No mess, and it was okay.
It kept them busy for a while...
(Yeah, I blanked out any faces you could see. They are minors.)
They got quite a few up there:
Some used spin to get them to stick. One boy made a straw contraption out of paper. (I commented on spit balls. They weren't going that route.) I don't think that actually worked at all.
This only kept their attention for a while. Then they went outside and started racing each other. Sprinting. (Reminder: they usually are long distance runners.)
They did clean up before the end of the period. No ceiling darts left behind.
(I saved all my subbing stories from before the break until I was at work again.)
The kiddos were supposed to be working on their "capstone" assignment. As it happened, this was NaNo, but only 18,000 words. (Wow, Wikipedia says National Novel Writing Month is no more. Very sad. The end of an era.)
Mr. C warned me the class could be talkative, but that sort of thing doesn't bother me so long as they get their work done. And so long as they aren't being crazy. If they're just chatting while working, they tend to have the most interesting conversations.
Somehow, we got on the topic of glasses.
I make no secret of the fact that my vision is terrible. I've worn contact lenses since I was 14. (The kiddos are weirded out by contacts, so I try to normalize them. I tell the glasses wearers how much easier my life is wearing them rather than wearing glasses.)
Kinsley complained that she needed glasses, but there was a holdup in getting them. She said she'd finally asked one of her teachers if she could move closer to the board so she could see. The teacher, naturally, wondered why she hadn't spoken up sooner.
However, the move ended up being a problem. She was seated next to this boy, and now the boy was sure Kinsley was into him.
She explained that she had befriended the boy, and they texted back and forth. They got along great. But the befriending did have an ulterior motive...
Kinsley was into his girlfriend.
She heard a rumor the girlfriend was bi, and she's hoping if things go south for that relationship, she can swoop in and charm the girlfriend.
I mean, as long as she isn't actively sabotaging the relationship...
After that, Kinsley and her friend in class swapped horror stories that they had written a while back. (The other girl said she wrote her story at age 11.) And gave each other feedback.
And I listened in. It's fascinating to listen to teenagers talk.
Tuesday of the week before Thanksgiving, I had nothing. (I saved my subbing stories for when I was back at work.) I had the rest of the week booked, but not Tuesday. I just missed catching two assignments during the school day Monday, and as I was leaving school for the day, I was trying to accept that I might not work that Tuesday.
Then, just as I was pulling out of my parking space, my phone alerted. I grabbed that assignment so fast...
Tuesday. Senior English. Co-taught.
Since it was a late(erish) call out, the general ed teacher taught the class as planned. (Even if it had been longer planned, I think Ms. U would have just kept on with the plan for the day anyway.) They were getting ready to start a new book, and they were doing the prelim work for it.
Me? I sat at the back of the room, unneeded.
The lesson went off very smoothly. The students were attentive when Ms. U was instructing, and they actually discussed what she asked them to discuss as the period wore on. (I know this as I walked the room then, listening in. I didn't have to prompt them.)
This is not normally the sort of day that makes the blog. The only reason I'm mentioning it is because of what they were going to be reading...
A comic book. A graphic novel. This one: Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon.
It was fascinating. Ms. U had the class do notes on the superhero genre. What were the expectations? What sorts of stories are usually told in this medium? How does one read a comic book, anyway?
She used terminology (frame, gutter, etc.). She had them write about what they knew of this type of story. She explained how they were to look at the various panels and how to compare panel sequences.
I learned a lot.
I would have loved a lesson like this when I was their age. Graphic novels have come a long way.
As I was looking up the graphic novel so I could link to it, I found it on YouTube. In case you're interested, this is for the first story in the graphic novel. (It contains five. The class was only going to read the first two or three, time permitting.)
Ms. U got them started with the first couple pages. She hinted about how they'd also be learning about subverting expectations.
A couple weeks back I was doing my (now) usual of railing against how ICE is an evil entity hell-bent on kidnapping people and sending them to horrible places (either concentration camps or to detention centers... well, those are the same thing), and I got a comment that they were after criminals, and...
I'm going to leave off debating whether or not they're going after criminals (they're not), because what gets to me is what they're doing with these (mostly innocent) people they're taking. No due process. No trial. Just shipping them off to... concentration camps.
The whole thing is evil. And it bothers me no end.
It all boils down to white supremacy. That's what this is. They don't want "brown people" here, and that's what this is all about...
Mark Kelly: "We have a president who doesn't understand the Constitution, who installed an unqualified secretary of defense. I cannot think of a secretary of defense in the history of our country that is less qualified than Pete Hegseth. He should've been fired after Signal-gate."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 30, 2025 at 6:31 AM
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That's why I love stories like this: How 200 New Yorkers Foiled an ICE Raid Before It Even Began.
And most of this is really not legal: DOJ Says Noem Made Final Decision on El Salvador Removals in Breach of Court Order
If this is about removing criminals, why are so many children getting caught up in it?: ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record.
They're not going after criminals: College Student Is Deported During Trip Home for Thanksgiving
But it does not matter what I (or anyone else) says. Those who are supporting this regime are enjoying this. They're for the cruelty. And you won't convince me that those who have excuses for this stuff are anything other than on the side of the concentration camps.
This is destroying the U.S.: America’s Formula for Greatness Is Under Threat
I finally finished the front of the sweater...
But I've still got quite a few steps to do before it's complete. (Like, sleeves.) The next step was to knit the ribbing at the bottom. (Why we're doing it this way? Designers have their reasons.)
That part didn't take nearly as long as I expected. I started with the back...
And then on Saturday I completed the front...
And so I'm just about done...
All I have to do is bind off. It's called a tubular bind off. And I just looked it up...
Turns out I'm very familiar with this. It's called grafting or Kitchener stitch.
Let's just say that we are not on the best of terms.
(I understand the directions. I've attempted the stitch. It makes perfect sense. But when I attempt it... It just does not work for me. There's no good reason for this.)
So, now I'm debating. I know some very good stretchy bind offs. Do I attempt the grafting? Or do I do a different bind off?
I will have made a decision by next week. I may attempt the grafting and see how it goes. If it doesn't (which is likely), I can always rip it back and just do a stretchy bind off.
This is what I get for not reading ahead on the pattern. Sigh.
Well, at least there's progress. I'm getting there.
Sweater Tracking:
It's the day after Thanksgiving (here in the U.S.), otherwise known as Black Friday. No school for me (so my school experiences from last week will appear next week), so that means summer schedule, and that means quiz.
This one is fun. Is it a cheese, or is it a dessert?
While I knew quite a few of these, I did not know all of them. I got 22 out of 25 or 88%. I made a couple good guesses, and I made a couple not-so-good ones, so that total is higher than what I actually knew.
Take a shot, and let me know how you did in the comments. Good luck.
It is Thanksgiving here in the U.S. (and I have the week off, so my subbing stories have been saved for next week), and I have been trying to think of a good topic for today's list. (This is a Thursday 13.) Then it hit me. Tomorrow is Black Friday and the start of the holiday buying season. Why not a Christmas theme?
So, today, I went on Netflix, searched "Christmas" and listed the first 13 movies to pop up. Descriptions by IMDb. Snark by me. (Believe it or not, I really do like some of these types of movies. But I can't take some of these descriptions seriously.)
1. Jingle Bell Heist
At the height of the holiday season, two strangers team up to rob one of London's most famous department stores while accidentally falling in love. It really worries me that this is the first thing that pops up for my search. What does Netflix know about me? Why would they think this is what I'd enjoy?
2. My Secret Santa
Taylor disguises as Santa at a resort to fund her daughter's ski lessons. Working with the charming manager Matthew, she finds holiday cheer and a chance at love amidst challenges. I do not think I'd enjoy this one. I can just see this being all sorts of awkward.
3. The Night my Dad Saved Christmas 2
When Santa vanishes during a chaotic Christmas, a quirky actor tries to replace him. A father, his teen son and special friends must rescue Santa to save Christmas. Two? You mean to tell me that this is a sequel? They made one already and it was popular enough to justify a second installment?
4. Champagne Problems
An executive travels to France to secure the acquisition of a renowned champagne brand before Christmas, but her plans are upended when she falls into a whirlwind romance with a charming Parisian - only to discover he's the founder's son. The roommates watched this one the other day. I made dinner in the kitchen while it was on. I think I've seen enough.
5. Last Christmas
Kate is a young woman subscribed to bad decisions. Working as an elf in a year-round Christmas store is not good for the wannabe singer. However, she meets Tom there. Her life takes a new turn--that seems too good to be true. Not a bad premise. Maybe this would be a good one to knit to.
6. Christmas with the Kranks
With their daughter Blair away in Peru, Luther and Nora Krank decide to skip Christmas altogether until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they must celebrate it at the last minute. Ah, finally one I recognize. I haven't seen it, but this one has been around for a while (starring people you know).
7. A Merry Little Ex-Mas
A separated couple tries celebrating one last Christmas together with their kids before their divorce. However, the husband's new girlfriend joins the festivities, causing tension and chaos during the holidays. Oh no, I know exactly how this one is going to go, and I haven't seen a bit of it.
8. The Christmas Chronicles
The story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about. With Kurt Russel as Santa. Maybe...
9. A Sprinkle of Christmas
Libby, an up-and-coming baker, has opened up her storefront business just in time for the Christmas season. Trying to get everything off the ground, she finds herself in a heated anonymous online feud with Peter, an A-List actor, after (hiding his real identity) he gives the bakery a scathing review. At the same time, in real life, Libby takes on a game-changing side-gig: catering cake and confections for Peter's brother's high profile holiday engagement party. Neither realize they're already in a fight with each other. I worry when IMDb doesn't have it's own description for this.
10. No Sleep 'Til Christmas
A bartender and a businesswoman find that they have only one thing in common: insomnia. Oh no. Interesting title, and the description is interesting... But I think I should stay far away from this one.
11. Marry Christmas
After finding love, the Wright Brothers (Joey and Matthew Lawrence) unwittingly schedule weddings for the same day. A sibling rivalry ensues for the right to wed their brides on Christmas. That title is making me cringe.
12. Klaus
A simple act of kindness always sparks another, even in a frozen, faraway place. When Smeerensburg's new postman, Jesper, befriends toymaker Klaus, their gifts melt an age-old feud and deliver a sleigh full of holiday traditions. Animated. Maybe. Doesn't look terrible.
13. Our Little Secret
Two resentful exes must awkwardly spend Christmas together after they learn that their new partners are siblings. Interesting setup. Could be okay. But I doubt I'm going to risk it.
My normal blogging routine is to write my blog posts on Sunday. I may get a post or two done ahead of that, but for the week, I have things finalized on Sunday.
Except this week. (I took a lazy Sunday and read all day. It was nice.)
I am writing this on Tuesday. I am going to schedule this to post Wednesday.
If you're on Blogger, you probably already know how to do this. When you open up a new post, "Published on" is right there in the Post settings sidebar.
If it's not open, just click on the arrow. (It's usually open when you open a new post.)
"Automatic" will be selected, and the date and time will be the current date and time. As you can see above, I've clicked on "Set date and time". Then I selected the date on the calendar thingy. (If you want to go ahead months, use the little arrows next to the month and year at the top.)
Once you've selected the date, you can select the time. (You can select the time first.) Just click on the time, and a wheel with all the hour and half hour times will pop up. (You can type in a time instead.)
And that's it. Type in your post as normal, and then hit "Publish".
It'll show on your posts screen as "Scheduled" with the day it's scheduled to go live. And that's it. It's ready to go.
Now I need to go and get Thursday's post ready...
On election day, California voters had one thing on the ballot, redistricting. Because of what they did in Texas. And then Texas' redistricting got overturned in court. For now. We'll see what happens when the case gets to SCOTUS.
In case you haven't been following, today I'm posting a video with one of the lawyers explaining what's happening. It is over 30 minutes long, but it has some interesting bits. (It also has the requisite "like and follow" bits as well as a couple ads.)
Some good things are happening. More bad things, but sometimes it'd good to hear about what's going right.
Last week I did make some progress on eldest nephew's sweater, but when it was time to find a take-along project for my Saturday out, I realized I couldn't take it.
I have about two and a half inches before it's time to start the neckline, and that's something I'd rather puzzle out at home. (Yes, I have a pattern. But I've been knitting straight for a while. Reading and binding off and counting happens now, and I need to be able to focus.)
So, time to pull out the beanie...
Not too far from finishing this one. If I focused on it this week, I'd probably finish it. But, I want to focus on the sweater neckline. (What the beanie will look like finished, different colorway.)
I rather like the double yellow band. I'm glad I left the error.
The beanie posts:
(A very rainy) Friday. Sixth period. Special ed business math.
They're seniors, and a couple of them had been in that weird long term special ed I covered in February/March. They did their warm up, and then I explained that they had a check writing test.
"Check writing? This is a math class."
Once I passed the paper out, it made sense. They were balancing a check register, and then they had one bank check to fill out. They're doing a unit on banking.
After that, they watched some videos on savings accounts. These were each about five minutes long, and they talked about IRAs, mutual funds, bonds, and retirement. (It's an interesting series on PBS: Two Cents.)
It's cool when I'm in a class where they're doing something that I know they'll need in the future. They might not actually write checks, but the will need to know how to keep track of the money in their bank accounts.
Easy class. Easy day.
(Last week was only a three-day week due to the holiday. That means it was kind of slim pickings for blog fodder.)
Thursday. Eighth grade English.
I had covered this about a month ago (and I have covered Ms. R's class many, many times), so I knew what I was in for. I also knew that her co-teacher was going to be out. The night before I made a silly wish. "Wouldn't it be great if Ms. S was subbing for the co-teacher?"
Guess who ended up subbing for the co-teacher?
It made for a way easier day.
Third period. The class had just finished their warm up, and I explained their assignment. They had chosen a story or article the previous week (there were a limited number of choices, but they did get to pick amongst them), and Ms. S and I had passed out the stories to the students. They were to annotate the story they picked, and then they'd have questions to answer about them.
While they were getting started on the assignment, Russell "fell" out of his chair. He was lying on the ground, not moving, just lying there.
Ms. S and I conferred. She remarked that Russell should probably be kicked out of class. I concurred. Having known Russell from the art class, I knew that his behavior wasn't going to improve. This was the perfect excuse to send him out.
Ms. S called another classroom to find him a spot. Russell complained. "But I have a cramp!"
Uh huh. Sure you do.
Ms. S escorted Russell away. And when she returned, neither of us had to deal with his shenanigans for the rest of the period. Bliss.
Did this scare the rest of the class? Of course not. But at least they mostly read quietly.
I do not kick students out often enough. There's a part of me that wants to give them one more chance. Maybe they'll actually "be good", which is what they always promise when I go to assign a consequence. The thing is, they never do. They just get worse.
Wednesday. Middle school graphic arts. Fourth period.
"Five times five isn't ten. Are you stupid?"
Class was getting started. I had explained the lesson (something to do with a honeycomb-shaped outline that they were to fill in with things about themselves), and they were getting out the materials they'd need. I approached the boys. (If you look at the above photo, the boys were sitting at that front corner, Nigel on the end and Nolan along the longer edge.)
I agreed with Nolan, that five times five didn't equal ten, but I told Nolan that his tone wasn't appropriate.
At this point the other kiddos (along the other side of the table) informed me that Nolan and Nigel weren't allowed to sit next to each other as they liked to rage bait each other. (Yes, that was the term they used: "rage bait".) So, I told Nolan to move, and he moved to the opposite end of that table.
Did that end the issue? Of course not.
Nolan kept finding reasons that he had to get up. He needed colored pencils. He needed to sharpen a pencil. He needed to throw out trash. He needed to blow his nose.
And every time he got up, he walked by Nigel. And then did something to Nigel. Like, he went to turn off his computer, or he shoved him, or he just said something to him.
They rage baited each other? It seemed more like Nolan was bullying Nigel.
I forbade Nolan from getting up. Nolan created a paper airplane and threw it at Nigel. Then he commanded Nigel to open it.
I retrieved the paper airplane and left if for their teacher. (Nigel saw what Nolan wrote. It was a homophobic slur.)
I was so happy for the end of the period. As they lined up at the door, Nolan took another swipe.
"Pink isn't a color for boys..."
Ah, this I could refute. I explained how pink used to be considered a more masculine color, and that really, there is no gender with regards to color.
Nolan took my point, and then he tried for another avenue of attack.
But that's when the bell rang, and it was no longer my problem.
Kids at that age can be awful. That the other students knew of this tells me it's an ongoing problem. Why Nolan's so angry... I have no idea.
ICE has invaded North Carolina. Charlotte. Because of course.
One thing I've seen is people are getting whistles. The idea is if someone sees the kidnappers approach someone, you blow your whistle and get loud. Draw a crowd. Make it hard for the kidnappers to kidnap. The longer each kidnapping takes, the fewer people they can get.
@tiredderit.bsky.social @jesscraven101.bsky.social
— Long Beach Indivisible (@indivisiblelb.bsky.social) November 16, 2025 at 4:55 PM
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You may notice a theme to the articles I'm linking to:
What We Can Do About ICE: ICE is in the Bay Area. And yes, we can all do something about it.
I Study Fascism. I’ve Already Fled America.
Then I saw this, and I had to share:
It is dark times. We need to be each other's light.
The instructions for the front of the sweater say knit even for 24.5 inches:
I'm almost there. For the back, I had to knit a bit more...
Why the difference? Neck shaping. In about 3.5 inches I get to start shaping the neck. No armhole shaping as this is a drop shoulder sleeve.
Things are coming along. The solo image of where I'm at:
I'm getting there.
Sweater Tracking:
Friday. Seventh period. Integrated math 1. (Read: algebra 1.)
The plan was for them to do their study guide for a half hour, then I'd go over those answers, and then they'd take their test. While they were working on their study guide, I texted the teacher with the names of all the students (nine of them!) who were absent.
No one had any questions about the study guide. So, then it was time to start the test. I collected their work, and they went to get computers.
The test was online.
Dr. R wanted the names of those absent so she only had open tests for those students who were in class. (Absent students could access the test from computers at home, but at home we couldn't guarantee the students weren't using notes or their phones or someone else was doing the test for them.)
Once they got logged in, a student called me over. Her test was paused. It turned out she was on my absent list. (Which, seriously? I called out the roll. Was she not paying attention when I called her name?) So, I texted Dr. R to open her test.
Whew. Class was quiet. Phones were put away. Things were going well...
Sterling approached. His test had been paused. He showed me that when he tried to input a plus sign, he instead got a new screen. And because it was a test, the computer only allowed one screen and one tab open while the test was being done.
I texted Dr. R. Sterling continued working on his test...
A few minutes later, another problem. Sterling wanted to backspace to fix something he had mistyped, only backspace wasn't working. Deep sigh.
I had Sterling get another computer. Clearly the one he had was glitching (or he hit something that was disrupting things), and I wasn't going to be able to fix it. So, I had to text Dr. R one more time...
It was after school when I saw her final response. That she had opened Sterling's test twice. (I got busy with class stuff so I wasn't looking at my phone.)
I made sure to send along an explanation for what happened. Tech issues. Always gets us.
This is one reason why the math teachers don't usually give tests while they're out. (Well, those teachers who do the online tests. Some teachers still do tests on paper.)
Wednesday. Seventh grade English, special ed.
A couple of the students had to finish their district writing assessment. The rest had a grammar packet to work on.
I had been warned that the class could be "chatty". Most days that's not a big deal, but the students who still had to finish their writing assessment needed a quiet room. Luckily, I had an instructional aide who knew the kiddos and was able to call them out when they wouldn't settle.
But seventh graders.
Mostly the room was calm. But then Dante started talking to his neighbor Garfield. Not loudly, but it was distracting enough. So, I meandered over there.
I stood between Dante and Garfield. Hovering. Dante looked up at me. And asked me a question. About the assignment. He was stuck.
Okay, then. That's something I can help with.
I answered Dante's question. I helped him enough so that he could continue on with the assignment. I went back to the teacher's desk.
A few minutes later Dante's talking again. Again, I meandered over. And again, it turned out that Dante was stuck.
By the third time I asked Dante why he didn't just raise his hand to ask for help, rather than turning to his neighbor. (They were not discussing the assignment. The energy of the conversation was playing, not academic.) Dante replied that he thought that if he contemplated the question enough, he could figure it out.
Well, clearly not. Clearly when he got stuck, he distracted himself with talking to his neighbor.
This is not unusual. Nowadays, kiddos rarely raise their hands. They rarely ask for help. Unless I'm standing there. If I'm in front of them, they'll take that opportunity to ask a question. But they won't seek me out if they're stuck. They'll stay stuck.
I'm not sure why this is. But it's something I can work with.
I like to be booked in advance. But last week that did not happen. When I left school on Friday, I had nothing scheduled for Monday or Tuesday.
Saturday evening, something popped up for Monday. Whew. I wouldn't have to spend Sunday waiting and wondering.
And then Sunday afternoon that assignment was cancelled. (The teacher sent an email apologizing for cancelling. I assume whatever reason she was going to have to miss school resolved itself.) 😞
I tried to be happy about the prospect for a day off. (There was going to be a little construction in the house, so I wanted to be away from home for that.) I went to bed planning what I would do with my day off.
Then, at about 5AM-ish, a job popped up. Whew.
All day Monday I kept my phone and computer open. Hoping for Tuesday.
(Monday's assignment was an English class. The tenth graders were doing prelim work before reading Animal Farm while the ninth graders were analyzing the poem "Ozymandias".)
And a couple assignments did pop up. Sadly, they popped up while I was doing my job. 😞
(If I don't grab the assignment when it pops up, it's gone. One of them I saw four minutes after it posted. I tried to grab it. It was gone.)
Tuesday wasn't going to be a problem being off, though. No work planned in the house.
But, at about 7:30 PM, something for Tuesday popped up. Whew. And this one didn't get cancelled. Again, whew.
(AP Economics. The kiddos were prepping for a test. But we had technical difficulties with the computers not letting them get logged in. Well, only about a third of the class. But seniors. In advanced placement. They weren't a problem.)
The rest of the week was booked. As is this week. So, after Tuesday I could relax a bit.
Now, as for next week...
I have about five different ideas about where to start today. It's hard to narrow it down. But if I think about the one thing that bothers me the most about *gestures to everything*, it's the ICE raids. And the concentration camps.
This story was shared on BlueSky. This link takes you to the posts on BlueSky. Here's a taste of it:
They are committing atrocities.
Article: Lawsuit Alleges Inhumane Conditions at Broadview ICE Facility
And that's just Chicago. The same thing is happening in Los Angeles. And all over the country.
