The Chills

Whenever I find myself dealing with a challenging class, the teacher usually says something about them being "good kids". Only once before has a teacher referred to a kiddo as "evil". (I don't know if I wrote about her at the time, but I had her in a class later. This student.) 

I have encountered another. 

Damien (alias picked for obvious reasons) was noted in the lesson plan as "he won't do any work, but he won't disrupt the class". 

Okay, then. Tuesday. Eighth period. Eighth grade success. 

They were working on a Mission Map. They were to figure out a mission statement (for their life, I guess) and their four pillars (ideals of some sort), and then they were to make a poster with this information. 

They were given a packet of work to go through with setting goals and figuring out where they wanted their life to go. (This is the end of the year, so it was kind of a culmination assignment going over stuff they've been talking about all year.) They had instructions online. Ms. T said she went over all the instructions the week prior, so they should have known what to do.

But eighth graders with a sub for a week. They played weaponized incompetence. 

So, I wasn't much watching Damien. I did note that his desk had brown marker all over it. And he clearly wasn't doing any work. As promised. 

Half way through the period I passed out poster board. They were to make a poster, after all, and while I did not expect them to start the poster yet, I wanted them to have the materials they'd need. 

I warned them that they would only get one sheet of poster paper. (Otherwise the middle schoolers will make a mistake and need another. Not all, but most of them will. This is not my first rodeo. I know how they work.) 

And while most of the kiddos continued with their packets, Damien folded his poster paper into little boxes, and then he proceeded to tear them into little cards. Okay, then... 

I had Damien in class again on Thursday. The first thing he did was to grab the bottle of glue... 

Oh, no. Absolutely not. 

I took that glue from him so fast. (I didn't know what he was going to do with it, but it wasn't going to be good.) Then I noticed he had a blue marker. I attempted to take that away from him... 

And that's when I saw it. He kind of growled at me. 

Not his marker, but I decided not to have that fight. 

I tried to get him on task. I mentioned that he had already destroyed his poster paper. "Oh, was that what it was for?" Someone wasn't listening when instructions were given. 

But, I did give him another packet. (I had extra.) He then did with that what he had done with the poster paper. 

We kind of looked at each other. Damien just looked at me... Yeah, I like to joke that eighth graders are evil, but it is a joke. I know they'll grow out of it. They really are good kids. But Damien... 

Before I could contemplate how to get the blue marker away from him so he didn't make a mess of the desk again, the school psychologist came in and asked to take him for counseling. 

Yeah, I was good with that. Sadly, he returned after a half hour. 

Damien did not do any work. But he did not sacrifice any small creatures, so a win? (And I was able to clean off the desk.) 

Success (the Class) 13

If I commented on your blog last week, I apologize. I wasn't entirely mentally there. It was a long, hard week in the eighth grade success class. I don't have a lot of good stories, but I have a lot of little things that happened. Which makes this the perfect time for a Thursday 13. 

ONE

The assignment was to make a Mission Map. They had instructions. They had resources online. Ms. T had discussed it the week before. (She said this in the lesson plans, and I believe her.) But they had no clue what to do. More likely, they weren't listening when Ms. T was instructing, and they weren't bothering to read through all the materials to figure it out. 

TWO

Ms. T said they were to leave their phones in a phone box that all the teachers at that school have for just that purpose. They've been doing this all year. But with me? They "got their phone taken away". They "didn't have a phone". Yet, I saw many of them had a phone in their pockets.

I got irritated with this, so I took pictures of the mostly empty phone box each period. And I emailed them to the teacher. Petty, but I don't care. 

THREE

Beginning of seventh period, Monday. I warned students should be in their assigned seats. They said they were. I knew they were not as one of the kiddos I knew, and he was not in the seat indicated with his name on the seating chart. When I called him out on it, four other students suddenly knew where they were supposed to sit, too. (Names were noted.) 

FOUR

The fire alarm went off. Seventh period. As this is not the school where this happens frequently, the kiddos all ran out the door. We barely got down the stairs when an assistant principal shooed us back to class. False alarm. 

FIVE

Allergy season? Colds? Or an excuse... In sixth period they managed to go through a box of tissue as several boys kept getting up to go "blow their nose" outside. In groups. Every couple minutes. (I made a blanket rule that only one person could blow their nose at a time, that's how crazy that got.) 

SIX

Sixth period, Tuesday. Blake asked to use the restroom. (After refusing to sit in his assigned seat and giving me a false name.) He was on the escort list, so I called for security to escort him. He left before they arrived. And then he returned with popcorn. Sigh. (And acted clueless when I told him he was supposed to wait for an escort.)

SEVEN

Third period, Wednesday. Fire alarm went off. I figured it was another false alarm, but no. We evacuated. (Someone *ahem* didn't grab the evacuation stuff: roll sheet, sign, backpack, because she assumed it was a false alarm.) And that was a very long walk for someone who was already feeling the week. At least most of them made it back to the classroom before me. (That's good.) The three that took their time... Well, that's what detailed notes to the teacher are for.

EIGHT

Seventh period. A girl got a hold of one boy's paper, and was very loud about how she could not read it. They passed around the paper. Passed it to me. (Yeah, the writing was bad, but most of their writing is bad. It wasn't out of the ordinary bad.) Announced to the class that the boy had bad writing. And that he really needed to work on it. 

NINE

On Thursday and Friday they had guest speakers. Apparently, the state of California has a fund for students to use as a scholarship fund, and the speakers were walking them through claiming the accounts. 

Sixth period was embarrassing. You'd think they'd know how to behave for a guest, but no. Getting up for no reason. Not listening. Talking over the speakers. Yeah, it didn't go well. 

TEN

There were two kiddos who were tasked with making sure the Chromebooks were all plugged in at the end of the day. Odd day monitor did an excellent job. Even day monitor... Sigh. And I like this kid. Had him in the art class. He'll mature eventually, but right now he's giving in to his baser impulses. (Although, he had the best reaction to how much money he had in his CalKIDS account: "I've never seen that much money before in my life". It was about $1500.) 

ELEVEN

Joaquin, one of my problem kiddos in period one (see yesterday), asked for his work during first period Friday. I assumed he was not eligible for the CalKIDS scholarship, so I was going to send him out of class so as to not disturb the others with the presentation. One of the presenters: "He's eligible". Then why was he ignoring...? Free money for college...? Did he do what he needed to do to claim the money? Nope.

TWELVE

Third period, a student disappeared. Not to restroom (as I was keeping an eye on them). I stepped outside to see, but he was not there blowing his nose. He returned a bit later. Where was he? Oh, he had just gone to take something to his history teacher without asking permission. (I think the history teacher was next door, but still!)

THIRTEEN

If this was a Thursday 20 I could make it work. It was a hard week. I emailed all of this (plus what I couldn't include) to Ms. T. I received a reply. I don't think the kiddos are going to enjoy the consequences. 

Within the first day I learned that the kiddos were being bribed. For a good note they were going to get a pizza party. Most of the kiddos knew that they were not getting a pizza party. (Some tried to get me to "write a good note". I explained that I write an accurate note. It's good if they choose to be good.) 

Ms. T has a note on her board: Be Good Humans. Hopefully they will be. Just not with a sub last week.

Stupid Eighth Grade Games

I caught a week-long assignment in an eighth grade success class. And it was as bad as I anticipated. Oh well. 

Ms. T left me a packet of instructions with students who were likely to be issues and places to send them to. Many of the kiddos I had met in other classes, starting with that vacant art class at the beginning of the year. 

First period. Monday. 

Six boys spent the period in play mode. 

If I wasn't spending the period putting out (figurative) fires, I would have written down a list of their random conversations. They were at various parts of the room, so their conversations involved the whole class. And nothing would make them settle. 

So, when I had them again on Wednesday, I had a hair trigger. (The school is on a block schedule, so each period meets every other day.) 

Class hadn't quite started when Royce dropped an f-bomb loud enough for me to hear it. I didn't hear the conversation, but Royce had spent Monday joking with Antonio, and that was a good enough reason to send him out of class. (A neighboring teacher had offered to take a kiddo if need be.) 

Once Royce was gone, Ignacio started in. Well, not started. He sat in a corner, and he didn't do all that much. I had had him in the art class, and in the times I've seen him since then, he's only behaved worse. He was on Ms. T's list of students to look out for, and I was already irritated. So, out Ignacio went. 

As Ignacio was packing up, Joaquin decided it was a good time to start a rock-paper-scissors competition with Ignacio. I went to stand between them. Joaquin tilted a little so he could continue to see Ignacio on the other side of me. Okay, then, Joaquin just volunteered to go, too. 

I told Joaquin to go to the room directly below the one we were in. At this point Joaquin remembered he was on the escort list. (A fact he denied on Monday.) He refused to leave the room without an escort. 

Luckily, I had already called one for Ignacio (who was being sent to the in-house detention room), so I just asked her to escort Joaquin downstairs. She agreed. 

Three down. The class got very quiet. 

Then, Antonio started to talk... 

Me: "Do you want to work in another class, too?" 

I had three more classrooms to send kiddos to. 

Antonio wisely decided that that conversation was not one he wanted to have. 

It was amazing how peaceful things got once they were gone. Well, for a little while. 

The students complained of some high pitched tone. "Can't you hear that?" 

I didn't hear a thing. I closed the door. They said it didn't help. 

That's when I remembered the tones that only teenagers can hear. I spent a class period playing the tones several years back. 

So, I mentioned that someone was probably playing tones on their Chromebook that only the kiddos in the room could hear. As I am old, I was deaf to it. 

Kiddos were plugging their ears. Complaining. But as I couldn't hear it, I couldn't determine where it was coming from. 

The kiddo managed to annoy their classmates and their classmates only. 

I sat back. Watched for issues I could deal with. 

The kiddo must have decided that me not reacting at all wasn't any fun. The rest of the class no longer seemed to have an issue with a noise that I could not hear. 

Not too terrible. Sadly, Friday did not go as smoothly. 

(I'm writing this Sunday afternoon. I already got an email response from Ms. T. She is not pleased. The kiddos aren't going to be having a nice time upon her return to class.) 

Follow the Money

It's all about the grift. 

Headline: Suing His Own IRS? Creating a $1.8 Billion Slush Fund? What the Hell Is Trump Trying to Pull?

Answer: It was always about the money. 

That's what they're after, after all. Enriching themselves. 

Planning and Research

Did I touch the yarn last week? That would again be a no.

But, I really need to get going on some sort of project. Hopefully this week won't be as enervating as last week was. 

I did pull out my start: 

And I thought about ripping it back. The turning the circle into an oval didn't quite work out mathematically. It's a simple process where at one end I make the tallest stitch I can, and then I step them down into the shortest stitch. Then I build back up. And repeat for the second side. 

Somehow I ended up a stitch short. 

Of course, since I'm not doing an eye here, I could just start with an oval...

This is the thing that makes designing hard. So many choices. And I'm not sure what I want to do. So, today I'm just looking through some ideas to see what might spark. 

The original eye I found on this video: 

The only issue with this sweater is that this designer then squared off the oval and turned it into a square. The picture my niece found had a sweater that stayed kind of circular. And my sister-in-law wants me to duplicate that shape. 

So, why don't I just duplicate niece's sweater? Sister-in-law is a different size. 

I then ran across this video: 

Which is fun. But, I don't have two colors, and again, she squared things up at the end. 

Or I could just start with an oval: 

But how do I keep the oval going? I did a lot of guesswork on niece's sweater. Oh, here's something that might help (funny what I find when I start looking): 

But I rather like the idea of starting with a circle, elongating it so it becomes an oval, and then keeping the oval going until the piece is as big as I want it. 

So, decisions made. It's amazing how writing it out does help. 

I'll rip back to the circle, and then sit down and get that circle turned into an oval. And keep the oval going. Which was what I had planned in the first place, but I'm having some trouble executing it. 

In case you weren't around two years ago, this is the sweater that I made for my niece: 

And this was the picture she found that she wanted me to duplicate: 

Wish me luck figuring out the oval part.

Not a Good Sign

Friday. AP Computer Science, fourth period. 

It's AP test time. Most AP classes are studying for their test, taking their test, or recovering from their test. The lesson plans stated they'd be doing some test prep. I figured on a pretty chill class. 

The students started arriving. Saw me. And cheered... 

Uh oh... 

It was passing period. They were arriving. And they were celebrating like someone won a championship. Hugging each other. Saying "Merry Christmas". Jumping up and down. 

A couple of them were disappointed. They weren't remaining in class as they had an afternoon AP test and were going elsewhere to mentally prepare. (Or maybe have a lunch with others getting ready for that test. I was unclear as to what they were doing, but I had no problem letting them go as the AP test is a high stakes test, and they get understanding from me on test day.) 

Once class started I heard all about how much they did not like their teacher. "He doesn't teach," they told me. 

I don't think I've met this teacher. This was the first time I had covered the class. So, I could not argue with them (not that I was planning to). 

But my issue is: is the teacher very, very strict, and now they think they get to play? But, AP class... 

Well, they weren't doing a lot of work. But they didn't trash the classroom. So, a win? 

I mean, I got my stuff done. I was able to take roll. I told them what they needed to complete. Many of them had vaguely programmy stuff on their computers. There was eating in class and some had their phones out, but no one was locked into TikTok, and no one made a mess of food. 

This is all I want most days, so I call it a win. 

And, Friday. So, I got through another week. Summer is coming.

The Conversation

Thursday. Eighth grade math, special day class. Eighth period. 

To start every class, Mr. R has them do "Good Things". This is special ed, so the classes are small, so each student gets a turn. 

When it was Alonzo's turn, all I heard was something about going on a cruise. Well, that's cool. Only, as Alonzo continued speaking, the explanation went into Hantavirus and something about bombing the ship... 

Eighth graders... 

We moved on from Alonzo and finished Good Things, but when it was time for them to start working on their math, Alonzo circled back to Hantavirus. 

He had all the questions. I have not been following the news. I heard part of a report in passing about a cruise ship and Hantavirus, and that's really all I know. I suppose I could have looked this up, but they had math to work on, and I wasn't in the mood to humor Alonzo with this random topic. 

Alonzo? He found other topics to discuss with his classmates. Because I was of a mind to, I listed as many of the topics as I could for their teacher as they happened. As the topic changed, I added to the list. The list wasn't exhaustive, though, as some things were said in passing that I felt didn't merit inclusion on the list, and some things I just didn't get. 

So, what do eighth grade boys discuss when they should be doing math? 

• Hantavirus: Alonzo really couldn't let this go.
• History class assignment roles: apparently their history teacher had assigned them roles for some Civil War project. One boy was a spy. One boy was a slave. And the third boy's role was kind of unclear. There was a long conversation about how they liked/did not like their roles and how things got assigned.
• McDonald's: this was a weird ramble about food that turned into some VR chat that was McDonald's based. I was again unclear on what exactly they were talking about. 
• Tigger: yes, the tiger in Winnie the Pooh. This was more a rhyming thing where they did go there (starts with N...), but they were also wondering if they got the correct name for the tiger in Winnie the Pooh. 
• TikTok Challenges: they went from Tide Pods to a bunch I'd never heard of. 
• Mall food: food is always a popular topic. It ended up being a thing about various things they could get, and then Alonzo said he could also get food when he went to the mall for something else. Somehow this segued into how Alonzo needed to go to the bookstore to pick up a new book coming out (the kiddos were amazingly well-read). 
• Fake dice: they acted like they were playing craps. Without dice. For about a minute. 
• "Why are you rubbing your belly?" He was not rubbing his belly. 
• Movies: Hoppers and Project Hail Mary. They liked both. 
• Someone started whistling.
• "Jesse called some girl 'slave'", which then turned into Alonzo saying that he could say all sorts of career-ruining things about Jesse. 
• Alonzo said that some teacher said that because he did something with his thumbs, that he was double jointed.
• Alonzo pulled out some money and a receipt he had. The receipt got passed around. The money was counted. (After they left, I found a nickel on the floor.) 
• Somehow the money led to them talking about various gum flavors. Mostly listing and stating whether they liked them.
• Video games: a brief mention of some games they liked.
• They circled back to Tigger and words that rhyme with it.
• Kool-Aid pickles: and then pickles in general. 
• Six... seven... Yes, sadly, that's still a thing, and it just pops up at random times.
• And then some sidetrack into Zuckerberg. Why? I have no idea.

So, you won't be surprised that I rated the class as "some made better use of their time than others" and that I doubted they had finished their assignments. Because, seriously? 

Broken Record, Student Edition

Wednesday. English 9, special day class (read: special ed). Fourth period.  

The lesson plans had all sorts of warnings about this class, including the note that this was her least favorite class. The instructional assistant went on to warn me that the half the kiddos just didn't care no matter what they did. So, I was prepared for the worst. 

And... things weren't that bad. They were doing a vocabulary assignment that went along with their reading of To Kill a Mockingbird, and then they could use that assignment on a quiz for the last couple chapters they read in class. 

Early in the period, Kaleb asked to use the restroom. He returned in a timely manner. 

About halfway through the period the instructional assistant left (as that was her usual quitting time). 

It was almost the end of the period, and Kaleb again asked to use the restroom. I said no. 

Kaleb was not pleased. He asked why he could not go. 

I explained that he had already gotten one restroom pass in the class, and getting one pass out of class was all he was going to get. Besides, there were only ten minutes left in the class period, and the school administration had instituted a rule that no students were to be allowed out of class for those last ten minutes. 

Kaleb did not see my point. One pass per period? That was unreasonable as far as he was concerned. 

So, he asked again. Could he go and use the restroom? And again, I said no. 

"But why?"

Me: "I already explained why." 

Kaleb argued that when he asked the first time there had been eleven minutes left of class. (According to the clock on my computer, it had been less than ten minutes.) But even he couldn't argue that since the first time he asked time had passed, and at this point there was definitely less than ten minutes left of class. 

Then, Kaleb: "Can I go to the restroom?" 

Again, I answered no. Again, Kaleb asked why. And again, I said that I had already explained. 

This time Kaleb offered that he would be able to get to the restroom and back before the end of the period. (Likely true, as the restroom was just steps away from the classroom.) I did not doubt him, but I did not give permission. 

It was now time for the class to start getting packed up, so I made that announcement. Kaleb? Asked to use the restroom again. And again, he asked why not?

Now the rest of the class was invested. They encouraged Kaleb to just walk out. If it was them, they would just walk out. (If it was them and earlier in the period, I would have let them go as they hadn't used their pass for the period.) Kaleb did not take the dare. 

Around we went again. Maybe twice? I lost count. Eventually, time ran out. The bell rang. And they all left. 

Deep sigh. I'm not sure why Kaleb thought that repeatedly asking me the same questions would get different results, but freshmen. Kaleb did not realize just how stubborn I can be when pushed. 

Carefully Crafted Insults

Last week I came across this article: "Is Trump a Racist? Let’s Look at the Stats." I have some thoughts...

First, uh, yeah. Duh. There's a whole lot of rather racist things happening, emboldened by this regime. If you find someone defending any of that as not racist, they're probably racist too. They just don't want to admit it. 

So, then I read the article. And they tried to quantify his racism via the percentages of people he calls, "Low I.Q." Okay, whatever. I don't know if you can "prove" racism via data like that, but it's something to write. 

My second thought, on reading the article, was about projection. How people will take things they don't want to look at about themselves, and they'll attribute those qualities to others. I wonder when he was tested and how that test was explained to him. Because he uses this low IQ thing a lot.

When I was in school, I wanted to take an IQ test. They weren't administering them anymore. When I took psychology in high school, I did a research paper on the IQ tests. And the thing is, they're not really great tests of intelligence. They have their biases. That's not something you can measure, anyway. There's a reason they've been sidelined for decades. 

Then the third thing I thought was about how he's been going on and on about those cognitive tests. How clearly he's had a few of them. Why else would he be constantly touting them (as if they were something to brag about)? 

Yes, I've drawn some conclusions. They're not the ones the article set out to prove. 

What do you think? What thoughts does the article bring forth in you?

From Taking Down the Notes to Zhuzhing Up the AI

If you're a regular visitor to this blog, this was not the post you were expecting today. Yes, normally I would post something about what I'm knitting or crocheting. But, I didn't touch the yarn last week. While contemplating what to post today, I figured I could do the A to Z Challenge Reflections post (even though it's late), or I could skip posting today entirely (which was a serious option). 

I don't really have a lot to reflect about, though. Every year it's the same game. I write my blog normally, but I make the post fit the letter of the day. 

The hard part for me is the blog hop. That's why I skipped doing the challenge from 2020 to 2022. If you look back on those years, you'll see I did fit my posts to the letter of the day, but I skipped Saturdays, and I didn't do the blog hop. 

It got to be too much, fitting in the going through the master list and visiting five new posts a day. Especially when very few returned the favor. 

So, I don't do that part. I do return visits to everyone who visits (unless I can't find their blog). And this year I visited everyone I had met on previous challenges who were taking part. 

I keep track of the blogs I visit on Feedly. If anyone ever visits my blog, I add them to that feed reader. (I have several named feeds.) Then it's really easy to find them again. 

Because Feedly, anyone who visited me likely had me visiting their blogs for the remainder of the challenge. I skipped blogs that I couldn't relate to, offended me, or that I found I couldn't find something to say about (read: most poetry). I may have missed a day here or there when I was offline, or sometimes Feedly fails to catch some blogs every so often. (There have been times when Feedly gives me ten posts by someone, and I discover that I have missed a month of their blogging.)

I love the challenge as I discover new blogs to add to my daily reading list. It's the most consistent way to do so. Alas, I have found that these are bloggers that find me, not the other way around. (Not sure why, but that's my experience.) 

And now that we're fully into May, I'll see which of those new (to me) blogs become a regular part of my routine, and which ones fall away. 

So, now I look forward to summer vacation. I'm kind of planning my summer posts. On Fridays I have random quizzes, which are mostly done. I'm thinking up all the lists of 13 I can get set up for Thursdays. And on Wednesdays last year I started doing posts on blogging. That's where I need your help. 

What are some things about blogging you'd like to see a post about? 

I think I'm going to do a post about how to add gifs to your posts. (Or does everyone already know how to do that? I know many of you already know how to do that.) Maybe another HTML basics post? The posts I did last year are on this page (which you can also find at the top of the blog).

It looks like I'll have nine slots this summer. (Maybe less, if I catch a summer school day.) I only have two topics listed. That's way less than nine. Any ideas?

An Overlooked Detail

The very special ed class, Friday. 

The last time I subbed for Ms. H, the class was going on a field trip. This day, same. This time they were going to some event hosted by the LAUSD for their special ed classes. Something about a dance performance? 

Why was I needed? Some of the kiddos weren't going, so someone had to stay behind to supervise them. 

I had two students. And then a third joined us as her whole class was going as well as the teacher. (Why book two subs for two different teachers? I was sufficient to cover all the kiddos not going.) 

It was a fairly chill day. Alice was wheelchair bound and only spoke in grunts and cries. Nate arrived and put his head down on his desk and slept. Apparently, this was his usual. This was good as Alice does not like Nate. Nate has a tendency to (when awake) hover over Alice and bother her. (When Nate awoke near the end of the day, he hovered over me, and I had to make it very clear I did not want to be touched, and he still touched me.) 

Angela was from the other class. She took a seat and asked for paper so she could draw. 

I suggested a movie. Alice's one-to-one suggested Encanto. 

So, things were mellow. But then I noticed a problem. 

Ms. H's prep period was the last period of the day. Usually her students would join the other teachers' classes for the last period. But the other teachers were gone, too. What to do? 

I called Allie (the secretary I check in with). While I had looked forward to getting to leave early for the day, I was fine with staying and supervising the kiddos. But, I wasn't going to do it for free... 

Once I explained the situation to Allie, she readily agreed to credit me with the extra period. 

And so, once we finished Encanto, Angela suggested Lilo & Stitch (the original version). 

We were barely fifteen minutes into the last period when the field trippers returned. 

It had been a long bus ride. The kiddos had been outside. They'd been in the sun. They were wiped out. 

Which was fine. It wasn't like we were going to be doing work or anything. Movie and computer time. 

Some days, my job isn't much more than this. It balances out the more difficult days. 

Zzzzzz

Thursday. Seventh grade Spanish I for Spanish Speakers. Eighth period. 

They had a student teacher, so the class went on as normal. For this day, the students were doing oral presentations on various Central and South American countries. In Spanish. 

The student teacher taught the class in Spanish. 

I may have mentioned before that the language I took in school was French. 

So, yeah, I wasn't understanding a whole lot of what was going on. I mean, I got the gist, but I definitely didn't get the specifics. 

I may have also mentioned that I write about what happened last week, so this happened on April 30th. As it was the last day of the A to Z Challenge, I had distracted myself all day by reading blogs. But by eighth period I had completed that. 

And there's just something about sitting there while the kiddos were going through slides about Cuba, speaking in Spanish way better than I could ever attempt, that did not help my drowsiness. 

Sometimes, before bed, I'll play on my phone or I'll read. And there's that point where I kind of blank out, and when I go back and try to continue what I was doing, I'll realize I'm not comprehending anything I'm doing, and it's time to put that all aside and go to sleep. This is what I was feeling while in that eighth period class. 

Not good.

While I was not actively teaching, I was still there as an observer. (It's a legal thing. Since the student teacher isn't employed by the district, a district employee needs to be present.) And I was fading, fast. 

I needed something to wake me up. I checked my email. I flipped through some catalogs. I worked on the note to the teacher (which was largely unneeded because the student teacher would see her the next day). 

Even the fidgety seventh graders couldn't keep my attention. (And they were not behaving well.) 

Did I fall asleep? No. Well... I took a lot of micro naps. I definitely blanked out, many times, but not for long at all each time. 

Not ideal, but somehow I managed to stay mostly awake. 

(I did not stay up too late the night before, and I had gotten a good night's sleep. I should not have been that tired. But some days...)

A School Is a Small World

When I arrived at school on Wednesday, Allie, the secretary I check in with, was assigning the sub in front of me an extra period. So, when it was my turn, I asked if she needed me to cover a class for my prep that day. She did. She assigned me to the AP Environmental Science class. 

My prep period that day was the class after snack. At snack I first headed for the restroom. While I waited, another teacher arrived. Ms. K. The teacher I was scheduled to cover the next day. Before I could say something, Ms. K noticed the restroom line and decided to go and find another restroom. 

Allie had said to call her at the end of snack so she could call security to open the classroom door for me, but the classroom I was going to be in was in the STEAM building. I had covered a couple classes over the last month or so in there, and I had noticed that the building has its own security staff. I figured I'd find him and if I couldn't, then I'd call. 

On my way to the STEAM building, I passed Mr. T, the teacher I was going to be subbing for. I was going to say something, but he was talking to two students and heading the opposite direction. I decided against, and I headed inside. 

I found security talking to a group of students. When he spotted me, he asked me if I needed something. I explained that I was period subbing, and I asked if he could let me in the classroom. He did. And I had a couple minutes before the end of snack to eat the muffin I had brought with me.

The bell rang. I opened the door to start letting kiddos in the room. Who was outside? Mr. T. 

The students questioned why there was a sub and the teacher. Mr. T told them he had a doctor's appointment. Mr. T briefly went over the lesson plan (which wasn't necessary as he had left written lesson plans on his desk), and he asked if I would do a task that he had only just gotten an email about. 

The AP test was to start the next week. (As you read this, the AP tests have started and will continue through next week.) They asked that the students each fill out an index card with their name, student ID number, College Board username and password. Because apparently students don't all remember it, and rather than having to look it up for them (as they have in previous years), they'll have it available. 

Mr. T left. Class started. I passed out the index cards and explained. They had done this last year, so the students knew what to do. I collected the cards back, and then they started on the lesson for the day (studying for the AP test). 

Realizing that I now I didn't have to call roll, I alphabetized the cards, and then I compared them to the roll. I called the name of the missing student. Somehow he had not gotten an index card. Sigh. 

(I passed out the cards and then asked out loud if I missed anyone. Grrrr.) 

Mr. T had printed out the email, so I saw that the cards needed to be returned to Allie. Who is the secretary who checks in us subs. And checks us out. Who I would have to see when I left for the day anyway. I left this info in the note I left for Mr. T. 

At the end of class, I grabbed my stuff and was almost out the door when I came across two students waiting to get in for the next period. I knew the next class would also be period subbed. Because the school is on a two-lunch schedule, and my lunch was next, I had time to let the kiddos in while I waited for the next sub. So, I did. 

The bell rang to start class. No period sub. Before I had a chance to ponder that, the next period's sub arrived, just a touch after the bell. Ms. K. The teacher I was covering the next day. 

(She was grateful I was there as she would have had to find security to let her in. While the class waited outside. After the bell.) 

Again, I didn't have a chance to mention I'd be subbing for her as class had started and the room was full. I told her the lesson plans were on the teacher's desk, that the biology class had a test, and I headed out to my lunch. 

I passed the main office on my way to the classroom I would be in for the rest of the day. Or, I could go through the office... 

I went to Allie's desk. I gave her the index cards. She deposited them into whatever basket she had for that purpose. And then I headed to the teacher's lounge to eat my lunch. 

I've been around long enough to know the various teachers and where things are and how things work. Sometimes I can even make use of that knowledge. 

Stoppable

"So far, despite their best efforts, it's not working out for them." 

One of the things that I've been so afraid/angry about is the attempt to build more concentration camps. Rachel Maddow had something to say about these last week, and it's very good news. It seems I'm not the only one who absolutely is against these things. 

In case the video doesn't work for you, here's a direct link. 

"We have got to stop suing people for hurting our feelings." 

This one's just for fun. In case you're in the mood for a giggle: 

And if you can't see that one either, here's that link. 

That's enough for today. The comments are open for those who wish to vent (or giggle). 

Inside Out

Since last week, I only added about an inch in length. 

But I'm only working on this on Saturdays. (I really, really need to get going on the reluctant sweater, but I never quite find the time.) However, I had my father try this on, and we're at the point where I get to start decreasing for the crown. Woo-hoo!

Although, once this is done... 

One thing I don't think I've mentioned on the blog is how I like to knit things in the round: inside out. 

I'm not sure why I do this. My very first in-the-round project just naturally ended up inside out, and ever since then, I do it like that. 

In this case it might be a good thing. The floats from the colorwork need to be a little loose, or else the hat is too tight an/or puckers. 

So, as I knit, this is what's on the outside:

I'm rather happy at how even that looks. Of course, it's because I'm holding the purple in my left hand and knitting continental while I'm holding the yellow yarn in my right hand and purling that the English way. Because it's two stitches of one followed by two stitches of the other, doing it two-handed makes it go a whole lot quicker. 

Will I have a finished hat next week? Unlikely. Next weekend... Well, the plans aren't the usual plans, so I might not get much of anything done. Although, that's fine. It's not like this is on deadline.

Broken

It had been a pretty mellow Friday. I had special ed biology, and the kiddos were starting a project on genetic disorders. 

It was getting towards the end of the last period. I finished up my note to the teacher, and I sent it off. (I email my remarks nowadays.) I started to pack up my stuff. 

It wasn't quite time for the kiddos to pack up yet. I like to get ready early so than I can focus on making sure they clean up without worrying about my stuff. I had put away my computer, my pencil, and I was putting my water bottles back. I picked one up... 

...And crash... 

I heard something clatter all the way off the desk and onto the floor. 

My water bottle had hit a knickknack the teacher had on her desk. It was a big wooden S, part of her Ms. A tableau. 

A student came over and picked it up. It was in three pieces. 

He tried to make me feel better. He told me that one of her letters was already broken. But there was no way that letter stood up if it was already broken. 

Then it was time for the kiddos to get ready to leave, so I left the broken mess and tended to the finishing up of the period. The bell rang, and the kiddos left. 

I looked around for some glue. Found some Elmer's. It kind of stuck together? 

I left a note. I should probably find where these letters are sold and replace it. Stupid mistake. But it wasn't intentional. Sigh.

Zhuzhing Up the AI

Tuesday. Graphic arts. Fifth period. 

The day's assignment: using Canva's AI, create a poster picturing the student in a future career. And then include information about that career. 

(I'm not a fan of AI. And many students have expressed their dislike as well. The word on how the data centers steal resources has gotten out. But this is not my class, and my job is to execute the teacher's lesson plan. So, that's what I did.) 

Some of the students dove right in, finding the right site and application. Most did not like that they had to upload a picture of themselves (as the AI would insert them into the career image), but they did it. (Well, not everyone. A bunch of them did as little work as possible. I'm sure their grades already reflect their lack-of-work-ethic.) 

I walked around, making sure the students didn't have any questions. 

One boy was staring at his image. It had him as an electrician. He didn't like it, he said. 

I drilled down. What was the problem with the image? What could he tell the AI to do differently? 

Turned out, the background was pink, and that was his only problem with it. 

We found where one could "refine" the image by telling the AI what to change. He typed "get rid of the pink", and I pointed out he should be specific, so he added "make it white". 

The AI replaced the pink background with a white one, changing nothing else. And the student was satisfied. Okay, then. 

It was kind of eerie how the AI took their faces and put them into a real-looking work setting. This would be a great way to help students see a future that they might not be able to picture. But AI? Ugh. 

Have you made images using AI? Did you complete the A to Z Challenge? Do you plan to attempt it next year?

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

Yikes, Kiddos

Monday. Middle school intro to culinary. Fourth period. 

(Yeah, it's called "culinary" not cooking and not home ec. Weird, I know.)

The assignment for the day was a worksheet where they had to convert measurements with a pirate theme. That is, there would be a question about storing fish in a barrel (so the pirates had food provisions) and asking how many fish (or how many barrels) and converting from pints to quarts. Or tablespoons to cups. Or gallons to pints. 

The questions made sense. And I thought it was a very clever busywork assignment for the kiddos for the day. 

But middle schoolers...

Yeah, they didn't like this assignment one bit. 

Since I have the science/math background, I understood what they needed to do. And I offered my help to those who asked for it. Some did ask for it.

And then I caught Irene writing on a paper that was not hers. 

Damian spent the period whining. The work was hard. Why did he have to do this? He didn't understand. 

But, did he ask for help? Even when I stood there offering? Of course not. 

Irene? Was writing the answers on Damian's paper. 

No, Irene. Damian must do his own work. But she didn't see my point. Nor did Damian. 

A student asked to use the restroom. I had another girl, Nina, out. When she got back... "But she doesn't come back when there's a sub..." She doesn't? 

Okay, then, time to call security. Nina returned, 25 minutes after she left. In passing I mentioned that I had already added Nina's excursion to my note to the teacher. Suddenly, Nina was apologetic. Could I please leave her name out of the note? Yeah, now she's sorry, now that she knows she'll be held accountable. 

Students taking forever to "go to the restroom" has become ridiculous this school year, so I've been keeping track of how long everyone goes and leaving that information for the teacher. Every day. And especially when I have to call security. 

Then I look up, and Damian is chasing Irene. And I can't get over to stop them as there are a bunch of kiddos standing between me and them. Standing? They had work. There was no reason for them to be out of their seats. 

Yikes. It was quite the class. 

The period after this? Totally mellow and on task. Sigh.

Did you take cooking in school? Do you like to cook? 

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

X It Out

May 1st is Friday. And there's a May Day event:

You can find information about it here. And in anticipation of May Day, there's a cancel party (hence today's post title) for May Day Eve:

The idea behind this one is that by using the services that give the billionaires the profits that make them billionaires, we're supporting them in oppressing us. Of course, it's really easy to say, but a lot of these services are things that we use and like, so it's harder to do.

Information about the cancel party can be found here. 

It's a virtual event. In case you're interested. 

As I do every Tuesday, the comments are open for venting. (I may not respond, but I am reading all of your comments.) 

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

Weekend Knitting

Saturday, and I was back working on the beanie. I wrote about it last on K-day. And I haven't gotten much further on it than the last time you saw it: 

Very observant readers might notice that the colors have changed position. (No, not really. I doubt experienced knitters would notice without my pointing it out.) In the previous round, I did the cable crossing where the purple passes over the yellow, creating those little windows. 

(I think I did three whole rounds on this since you last saw it.) 

I did have Dad try it on. It's big enough to be a tight beanie skullcap type if I were to start the decreases now. But he said it wanted it longer (although, he doesn't really have any knitted caps, so he's not sure what he wants). 

He did not request this beanie. I offered to knit one for him (after he modeled middle nephew's), and he didn't sound interested. Basically, I'm forcing this onto him, and he'll probably never wear it. But that's cool as I did want to knit another, I had the yarn, and I was curious as to how this would look with the colors reversed. I'm knitting it for my fun, and I've just decided that he gets to store it after it's finished. 

Kinda selfish, no? 

I had planned a few projects that got set aside when I started my Christmas knitting last year. And I still have sister-in-law's sweater to do (which I whined about last week). It's time to get on the starting of things. Or, the getting back to things. 

We've made it to the last week of the challenge. What's something you've learned via the challenge (through your own writing or that of someone you've followed)? Are you planning on taking time off from blogging in May? 

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

Valotte

Normally my Saturday posts are just some picture that I can fit to the letter of the day. But V? 

I'm sure something obvious will occur to me after I hit post, but at the moment, I'm blank. And I have been pondering this for days. But with my pondering, I thought, why not video? Why don't I post a music video? There's bound to be a good song that starts with V. 

But, off the top of my head, nothing was coming. So, I consulted the Google, and found this website with a list of a bunch of songs that start with V. I didn't have to scroll long before I stumbled on "Valotte" by Julian Lennon. And I knew that was the one. 

I loved this song back in the day. And until running across it for today, I hadn't heard it in years. 

Oh, and by the way, apparently there's an MTV Rewind website with hours of music videos from various eras. In case you're interested. 

What do you think of the song? Had you heard it before? What's a song from your junior high years (ages 12-13) that you just adored? 

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

Ultimately Useless

When I arrived at school on Friday, I noticed that there weren't very many students waiting to be let in. And I knew. 

I had not been on this campus all week, but the other schools were doing state testing. So, what followed wasn't a surprise. 

I checked in at the office. Yup, state testing. Yup, the first two hours of the school day were the testing block. And I'd just replace the teacher I was covering. What was Mr. D covering? He was "supervising" a wing of the school, making sure kiddos didn't roam the halls. 

Basically what I did on Tuesday (see Wednesday's post), just in a different location. Okay, then... 

As you can see from the above photo, I didn't have a lot to do. I had time to take photos of what I was watching. 

The first photo was looking to my right. The above photo was looking to my left. 

I headed to the location to get the lay of the land. And, as I did on Tuesday, I kept my stuff with me, so I had a computer to keep me entertained. Because I knew. 

As I have subbed for most of the teachers in this wing, several of them asked if I needed anything while I was hovering. I explained what I was told, and some nodded in recognition. They had seen Mr. D around. (A couple flat out asked if I was Mr. D's sub.) 

Ms. B, whose door is the second door past the trash can, offered me a chair and table. Which I happily took. 

That was the view ahead of me. And the window to the classroom where Ms. B, math teacher, was. (The Ms. B who gave me the chair is an English teacher.) We talked for a bit. She was bored, as her class only had three students. This Friday was the makeup day for the students who missed the rest of the week. So, not only were we just down to the students that were testing (not all the grades), we were down to the students who hadn't been in at some point during the week. 

The above corridor leads to the bathrooms. A student here, a student there, would walk along occasionally. But they did not need a hall monitor. Not on this day. 

Notice that the shadow is kind of faint. The sun did come out, and I was right in it, so about halfway through the testing block, I moved. To that corner of the building. And then my view became... 

Now you can see the corner of the building where I was. 

People did stroll through. Teachers. Security came by on their golf carts several times. Students to and from the bathroom. Late students. The assistant principal even passed through at one point. But my presence really wasn't needed. 

If I commented on your blog last Friday (O-day) between 8:30 and 10:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time, this is where I was. 

Some days are like that. But hey, I got paid for it. 

Now, how am I going to make this fit U? You already know, but I don't. Yet. Hmm...

Does this sound like your dream job or your worst nightmare? Did I comment on your blog while I was out there?

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

Taking Down the Notes

Wednesday. Eighth grade English, co-taught. Seventh period.

I was in for Mr. S, the special ed teacher. Ms. R, the general ed teacher, was present, so the class proceeded as normal. And on this day, they were reading the play, The Diary of Anne Frank. 

(I have covered this class before, this year even.) 

Ms. R got them started. They were in the middle of Act 1, Scene 2. 

My job was to make sure the kiddos were following along. Which they were. So, I roamed around the back of the room, looking for issues. 

I knew Oscar was going to be an issue. 

Students had been assigned parts, so the reading went fairly smoothly. Mostly, the kiddos were following along and read when it was their turn. Occasionally a student would lose their place, but that's normal. 

Then, Ms. R would pause them to discuss what had just happened. There were nuances that the kiddos weren't picking up on as they don't tend to closely pay attention. So, Ms. R pointed out some of the conflict going on between Anne and her mother. She explained how Anne was more outgoing while her sister, Margot, was more reserved. And such.

While Ms. R was discussing, she reminded the kiddos that they were to be taking notes. 

They had sheets in front of them. There was a column entitled Plot. And a second column with Characterization, Conflict, and Setting. 

As Ms. R discussed how Anne was reacting to something, she pointed out that this was something that would work for Characterization. When she mentioned Anne getting upset at her mother, she pointed out that this was Conflict. And so on. 

Oscar? Yeah, not writing anything. 

I went over to point out that while Ms. R was talking, he should be taking notes. Problem: he had no pencil. 

I told him to ask Ms. R for one (as I don't normally carry supplies). I walked away. He got Ms. R's attention. They discussed something, but I could tell it was not about acquiring a pencil. Ms. R went back to instructing the class. 

At the next discussion point, I found Oscar had a pencil. But now his neighbor did not. She informed me that Oscar had taken her pencil. Oscar said he got the pencil from Ms. R. I watched them. Ms. R had not given Oscar a pencil. So, I made Oscar give the pencil back to his neighbor.

Oh, while Oscar had the pencil, did he write down any notes? Of course not. 

At the next break, Oscar did, in fact, ask Ms. R for a pencil, and she gave him one. So, I wandered over. Was Oscar writing notes? Of course not. 

Was the rest of the class taking down notes? Yes, mostly. There was one boy who wasn't. He claimed he was reading the play so he couldn't take down notes. And yet, when Ms. R would break to discuss, was he writing then? But he was in the minority. 

I stopped going over to check on Oscar. He wasn't trying. If he was just having trouble figuring out what to write, I could have helped him with that. But he was just playing.

Class over, and they left. I said something to Ms. R. Her response: just like every day. Yup. Oscar did this every day. 

Ms. R was a bit perplexed, though. She said that something happened in January. In January and February, Oscar was actually doing well. Attentive. Turning in work. She made him her student of the month for January. And then, sometime in March, he went back to this. 

Deep sigh. 

That Oscar did improve is good news. I wonder what made him revert. I wonder if he'll improve again. He's an eighth grader. He's bound to mature. Eventually. 

What would you guess Oscar's problem is? Do you prefer to write in pen or pencil?

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