A Reading Lesson

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. 

This Is Racism

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."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 30, 2025 at 6:31 AM

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

Plot Twist

I finally finished the front of the sweater...

Yay! 

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:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back
• Missed Deadline
• Distractions from Knitting
• A Month Late
• Inching Along
• Tracking the Growth
• Weekly Sweater Update
• Moving Right Along
• Good Progress
• Almost to the Interesting Part

Cheese or Dessert

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? 

Cheese or 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.

13 Netflix Christmas Movies

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. 

Scheduling Ahead

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... 

The Redistricting Fight

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. 

Sidetracked

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:

• The Next Projects
• Observable, Perhaps
• Well Travelled

Check Writing

(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.) 

Phantom Cramp

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. 

Rage Bait

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.

Time to Buy a Whistle

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

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— Long Beach Indivisible (@indivisiblelb.bsky.social) November 16, 2025 at 4:55 PM

You may notice a theme to the articles I'm linking to: 

A New Kind of Neighborhood Watch: Sonoma County’s ‘Adopt a Corner’ program aims to protect undocumented day laborers from ICE.

What We Can Do About ICE: ICE is in the Bay Area. And yes, we can all do something about it.

It's a game of strategies. Border Patrol takes a new approach, and rapid responders adapt. This time, the responders are backing each other up. The target was in Santa Ana, where Border Patrol focused their attention on the elderly at bus stops, grocery stores, and one with a cane.

Then They Came for the Dreamers: Immigrants brought here as children were told they wouldn’t be deported. Now, they’re being targeted anyway.

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.

Almost to the Interesting Part

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:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back
• Missed Deadline
• Distractions from Knitting
• A Month Late
• Inching Along
• Tracking the Growth
• Weekly Sweater Update
• Moving Right Along
• Good Progress

Glitchy

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.) 

Not Seeking Help

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. 

Catching Assignments

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... 

It's Happening Again

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. 

Good Progress

...if I do say so myself.

The bulky yarn helps, as does just knitting a couple rows a night. I didn't get to knit every night, but I'm knitting more now that things have cooled off a bit. 

I did not get around to figuring out how to create a video of the progress. It's one of those things that I'm going to have to have the headspace for before I attempt, and then it'll probably take me way less time than I anticipate. 

While I work on this sweater, I have to think realistically about the requests I got in July for Christmas. 

I have officially given up on knitting the twins anything for Christmas this year. They requested Minecraft sweaters. As I know little about Minecraft, I went in search of patterns. I could not find anything. I found some sweaters, but no pattern for them. I found patterns for Minecraft critters, but those I'd have to adapt somehow, and I really don't have the time, especially considering how far along I'm on this sweater for their big brother. 

So, I bought them Minecraft sweaters. Well, sweatshirts. One wanted just a green Minecraft sweater and one wanted an ugly Christmas Minecraft sweater. If I have any time, I did find a pattern for a Minecraft beanie. But it's more likely that I'll have time in January or February for that. 

Kinda a fail, but at least I've managed to make something for two of the four nephews. 

Sweater Tracking:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back
• Missed Deadline
• Distractions from Knitting
• A Month Late
• Inching Along
• Tracking the Growth
• Weekly Sweater Update
• Moving Right Along

Their Instructions

Friday. Halloween. Seventh grade science...

(If anyone recalls how I started last school year--long term for a maternity leave for a seventh grade science teacher--this room might look familiar. Yup, this is Ms. S's class, the class I covered last August/September.)

Because Halloween, Ms. S left a movie. Wall-E. Since the classes are 90 minutes long (block schedule), the kiddos started with a vocab assignment. 

The definitions were written on the white board. Then they were to illustrate the terms and use the terms in a sentence. They've done this before. Several wanted computers to look up images, but Ms. S said no computers. 

(I covered the class about a month ago, and I severely limited computer access per instructions. Those students who managed to find a good enough excuse to get permission to use a computer proved why no computers was the better way to go.) 

It was time to start the movie. But, while many of them had finished the assignment, many still had not completed copying the definitions of the terms. I warned them that I was going to pull down the screen, so they had only a couple minutes left for that task. 

Ms. S had left the movie on DVD and had that hooked up to her projector. 

The projectors were new technology a short time ago. They have been supplanted by the big TVs, but some teachers prefer the projectors. And in some cases those work better for some applications. 

I had not had a chance to test the equipment, but unlike with yesterday's post, I was sure this DVD player actually worked. But I wanted to have everything ready to go before I told a class of seventh graders that we were starting the movie. 

I turned on the projector. Then I turned on the DVD player. It immediately went into starting the movie... 

"You have to pull down the screen." 

"Turn out the lights." 

"I can't see the movie."

"Six seven..."

"We passed this part already." 

I didn't respond as they all shouted out instructions. Because really? I had it. Everything was working. And I was still waiting on one or two students to finish copying down the definitions before I pulled down the screen. 

So, I waited. I haven't quite figured out how to shame them into calming down. I can't compete with them all shouting instructions at me. But if I say nothing, they seem to think that I'm not hearing them or I don't understand what they're telling me. 

Eventually I was ready to get it all started. I explained that we were about ready to go, and that's when I pulled down the screen and fast forwarded to about the 20 minute mark (which was where Ms. S said they left off). 

That age just loves to explain things. They make sure the sub knows how things are supposed to go. Even though this sub did know what needed doing. 

As far as Halloweens go, this one was relatively sedate. 

Some previous Halloweens: 

• Bubble Gum Physics
• How to Address a Postcard
• A Gig on Halloween

Old Broken Technology

In February, I took a long term gig covering a class that had lost its teacher at the semester. It was a mad scramble. 

At that time, the library was clearing out its old technology. They were throwing out all their old DVD players as most teachers now stream video to their big TVs or have the kiddos watch things on their Chromebooks. The aide for the class snagged one of those DVD players and left it for the classroom. 

At no point did we ever use that DVD player. 

Wednesday. Freshman math, special ed. 

New teacher, but familiar classroom. Mr. R arrived, admitting that he had forgotten he was out of class, so his lesson plan was kind of thrown together. The kiddos had a couple worksheets, and then they could watch a video. (He left three choices.) That DVD player, that Ms. S acquired in February was connected to the TV. 

We got through the worksheets and "Good Things". (Every day they do a thing where the kiddos talk about one good thing in their lives.) And then it was time to watch the movie. I let the kiddos pick which one, and I went to start the DVD player...

Only it wasn't plugged into the wall. We searched for an extension cord... 

I turned on the player, put the DVD in, but the TV wasn't getting a signal. I switched out the cable. Nothing. I tried a few other fixes. Again, nothing. 

I grabbed a Chromebook, figuring I could stream the movie. Only, the Chromebook didn't have a spot to plug in the HDMI cable to plug into the TV. 

Finally, after a good half hour of troubleshooting, I cast the Chromebook to the TV. Only, the picture worked, but the sound did not. Sigh. (The sound worked from the Chromebook, so I turned that up as high as it would go.)

For the next class, the aide called a neighbor teacher who is tech savvy to see if she could figure out the problem. She plugged in a different DVD player... and that worked. (Well, the drawer for the DVD wouldn't open, but the TV got a signal from the DVD player.) 

So, the DVD player, that Ms. S "rescued" from being thrown out, didn't work. Sigh. 

If only Mr. R had tested the thing before setting that as the lesson plan... 

Unremarkable

In two weeks I'm going to have no memory of this class...

That was the thought I had as I checked out and got in my car and left school on Monday. 

Spanish I. The students had a list of assignments to complete, all in Google Classroom. I rattled off what they needed to do, double checked that the assignment was indeed posted in Google Classroom, took roll, and then settled in for the periods. 

It was before Halloween, so they had a sugar skull assignment as well. There were markers and glitter and glue near me. Some students (after completing the online stuff) came up and got materials they needed. They carefully applied glitter to their papers. No mess. (Well, I'm sure some glitter escaped containment, but not to any extent that I needed to worry about.) 

I bring along stuff to do for days like this. I read blogs. I keep an eye out for students doing stupid things, but these kiddos mostly just took care of what they needed to take care of. 

As I left, I realized that nothing terribly interesting happened all day. 

These classes don't generally make the blog, but it was the kind of week where there were a bunch of unremarkable classes. It's a great thing for me, but it's terrible for blog content. 

And, if I come across this post in the years to come, I will realize how true it was. I will have basically no memory of this class or this day. 

Election Day

It's election day. In an odd year. All that we have on the ballot is Proposition 50. You might have heard of it. 

Since we in California have mail in ballots, I voted ages ago. As soon as the ballot arrived in the mail. As there was only one thing on the ballot, I didn't have a lot of research to do. 

Pay attention to the redistricting going on. It started in Texas (I think). Now it's hit North Carolina among other places. This is cheating. We're only supposed to redistrict after a census. 2025 doesn't end in a zero. This was not a census year. 

But, it's all cheating. So much of what they're doing is illegal. Or even if it's just against norms, they're still not caring. They're doing it all, and no one is stopping them. 

Will this stop them? Probably not. But we must keep throwing sand in the wheels of oppression. It's not much, but it's something. 

This week I'll leave you with a video. American Fascism is disguised as MAGA Christianity. The site explains what the video is about, if you're in the mood. 

Moving Right Along

Where I'm at this week: 

It seems like every week I bemoan my lack of progress, but a funny thing happened when I started to put this post together. In the file of my yarny images, the last three weeks' pics were lined up, and I could really see how much the sweater had grown. 

I thought, wouldn't it be cool if I could reproduce that here on the blog? So, I looked up HTML, and I played around with it, and, well, I couldn't get it to work. I mean, I probably could, if I wanted to sink more time into figuring it out. Which, I don't. 

I could probably turn it into a video. Maybe next week? 

Anyway, progress has been made. And I even wound in the ends. Moving right along...

Sweater Tracking:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back
• Missed Deadline
• Distractions from Knitting
• A Month Late
• Inching Along
• Tracking the Growth
• Weekly Sweater Update

The Swap

I arrived to school on Friday, and the co-teacher began by asking if I wouldn't mind... 

Eighth grade math. They were to have a test the following week, but both the general ed and the special ed teacher had been out the previous class (for a meeting for the whole math department), and things hadn't gone so well with that sub. Although, as soon as she asked it, I remembered her asking me the same thing the last time I covered the class, last school year. 

Ms. W asked if we could swap. She'd teach Ms. S's classes (the classes that weren't co-taught but were doing the exact same thing as the co-taught ones), and I'd cover her classes. (One period of learning center, and one period of success.) 

I've always been rather flexible with work. I've had days where I came in expecting to sub for one teacher but was switched to another class for reasons. The previous week the secretary had emailed me asking if I was willing to swap gigs. Sometimes it turns out I'm covering one teacher for half a day and another teacher for the other half. My job is to fill in for absent teachers, and I'm perfectly okay with going where they need me to fill in. 

And besides, this was a way easier day than the one I'd been expecting. 

Although, it meant I didn't have a "home base" at all. Four different rooms. (Well, three, but I was also asked to cover an extra period that day.) 

But that's a minor issue when I can go where I'll do the most good that day. It's way better to have the teacher who knows the material and is familiar with the test making sure the kiddos are ready rather than insisting on following the classes I was assigned for the day. 

It's one reason why I enjoy subbing. The variety. 

One Small Detail

Wednesday. Seventh period success, eighth grade. 

Success is about teaching the kiddos study skills. There's some social/emotional stuff as well. (I've talked about covering this type of class before.) 

The class was across the way and a couple doors down from the art class. There were some familiar faces. And I knew what I was in for. But the teacher, while small, is mighty, so I wasn't anticipating any issues... 

They had an assignment online. I had them log in. They found the assignment, only the assignment didn't contain any assignment. 

That is, the assignment existed, but the teacher had forgotten to attach the slides that the students needed to do the assignment. 

It was a good-sized class. Full. And these sorts of students don't take to waiting too well. Let's just say they came in loud and not having something to focus on meant that instead of settling down, they got louder. 

I don't like to bother teachers when they're out, but this was a time when I was glad the teacher had left her cell phone number. I texted her... 

Before I went to text her, I had told the kiddos to work on missing assignments. Were they? Of course not. They were treating the time like free time, with half the kiddos sitting on the floor, and others were roaming around, getting into mischief. Sigh. 

Eventually, we got me logged into her account, and I was able to upload the slides to the assignment. Whew? Well, not so fast. 

Usually, when we assign the kiddos something, we "make a copy for each student" so they can edit the files. They each do their work and submit. But (something I learned the hard way a couple years ago) you can't give each student a copy when you attach something to an assignment already assigned. You can only do this when the assignment is being created. 

But earlier in the week (or was it last week? it's all starting to run together) I covered a class where they made their own copies of an assignment and attached it. So, I went to talk the class through what they had to do. 

As I explained, I got a couple good questions, so those who were following along were able to get the assignment to work. But after I got them started, I got more questions... 

Some students were able to get this to work. Others needed me to walk them through it. Individually. Sigh. 

Eventually I got to every student who couldn't figure it out on their own. Or, at least the ones who were asking. So, hopefully, they were able to complete it. 

Technology. Makes some things easier, makes other things harder. 

At least I knew enough to take away the excuse that they were unable to do the work. 

Six Seven

Six is sharp, said quickly, intonation ascending. Seven is said more on a sigh, with the "sev" drawn out. While there is no wrong way to "six seven", there is a general consensus as to how it should sound. 

I first mentioned this whole thing two and half weeks ago. Since then, it's exploded. It wasn't even a week after that post that I first saw it on Inside Edition or some similar show. And, as I explained to my roommates, they didn't even scratch the surface. 

The problem is middle schoolers are so impressionable, and they will mimic and repeat ad infinitum anything that catches their ears. (They will sing commercial jingles. I have a particular memory of the "five dollar footlong" ad being repeated by one seventh grader years ago. He would not stop, just sang it over and over and over again.) 

Every. Day. Every. Hour. It's pretty constant now. 

As far as fads go, this one is fairly harmless. Just irritating. Because at this point it's ubiquitous. If I'm around middle schoolers, I'm going to hear it. (I hear it with high schoolers too, but not to the same degree.) 

So, now it's become don't-set-them-off. I was calling for kiddos to return their computers, and I deliberately counted down. Although, calling, "eight, seven, six..." had the same effect. Just uttering "seven" with regards to something will do it. (No one is saying "six" for any reason anymore.) 

The last couple days I've started singing "5309" at them. (If you know, you know.) They don't hear me, but I like it. 

It's just a matter of getting through. Because, something that exploded this hard this fast? It's going to die just as quickly. 

Right? It's going to die? Soon? 

Please tell me it's going to die soon. 

I'm so done with this. 

Let Them Eat Ballroom*

*Phrase borrowed from ‪@ecmclaughlin.bsky.social‬

The federal government has been shut down almost a month now. They couldn't get a funding bill passed. This one is personal to me, because at issue is subsidies for health insurance. Without them, my insurance premiums will double next year. Yeah, double. I got notification this week. 

There are others whose premiums will go up way more than mine. And mine is not insignificant. 

Inflation is ridiculous right now. Groceries have gotten way expensive. As has everything else. All while the current regime is kidnapping people and sending them to concentration camps. And sending troops into peaceful cities because the cities oppose the dictator. 

They have money to do that, but they don't, apparently, have money to fund SNAP. So, as of November 1st, those who need those benefits to eat won't. 

People are going to starve. Because the regime wants to give billionaires tax breaks. 

But they have money to tear down the White House. 

Make it make sense. 

(It makes sense. They want poor people to die. I don't know what that gains them, though. If there are no poor people, who do they have to do their grunt work?)

Weekly Sweater Update

I once again had a week where I felt like I didn't get much knitting accomplished. Here's where the sweater is now:

If you see all the strands of yarn hanging off, those are from knots I found in the ball of yarn. I cut them out, and I'll wind in those ends eventually. The ends on the side of the work are where the first ball of yarn ran out and I joined a second. So, things are coming along. 

It feels like I haven't done much, but last week I was here: 

I gained a couple inches, anyway. 

Sweater Tracking:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back
• Missed Deadline
• Distractions from Knitting
• A Month Late
• Inching Along
• Tracking the Growth