Attending the Wrong Period

Note: You may have heard my area has been hit with multiple wild fires. As of now (Thursday night), my immediate area is safe. The fires are north of me. We are, of course, holding our breath as the red flag warnings are still in effect as our area is dry and anything might spark a wild fire nearby. (I'm not tempting fate. I'm knocking on wood, crossing my fingers, and doing anything else in hopes that my area remains safe.)

Thursday, the last week before winter break. Seventh period. 

Elise hovered at the door, looking in. "I'm not going to be in eighth period today." 

Me: "I'm not your teacher. You need to tell your teacher this."

Ms. D had a class called "math support & enrichment". This is an extra math class for kiddos who have difficulty in math. Which means that for a sub it's an nightmare, usually. Imagine a room full of kiddos who hate math, who will avoid doing any math work, and it's their second math class. 

As Ms. D is a co-teacher, she only used the room seventh period. For eighth period, Ms. F took the room for another math support & enrichment class. As I'm sure Elise was well aware. 

Elise: "I have cheerleading practice today, so I won't be here."

Me: "I have no access to Ms. F's attendance. You have to tell your teacher." 

It was a weird day, with us having every period for 29 minutes. (Usually they're on block schedule with only odd periods or even periods.) So, when Elise asked to stay, I allowed it. (Some of them might not have a seventh period but will have an eighth. It's weird.) 

Of course, this was a mistake. Elise was with her friend, and there were two boys. And, the four of them were in play mode. (They had no work to do. Normally I'd tell them to get caught up on missing work, but we were near the end of the day, and the grades were due. There was no work for them to get caught up on.) 

If the class had been any longer, I would have kicked her out. As it was, I had to separate the group for doing inappropriate things in a classroom. ("But we're friends. We always do this at lunch.") 

(Read: swiping each other's cell phones, taking video and pictures of each other, kicking each other, pulling elastic and smacking each other with it, etc.) 

So, since Elise hung around seventh period, she remained behind for eighth period to tell Ms. F she wasn't going to be in class, right? 

Nope. I ran into Ms. F the next day and asked. Elise was not there. Nor had she checked in with Ms. F. 

Friday. 

Elise: "I won't be here eighth period."

Me: eye roll.

Then I shooed her out. She asked to stay. After Thursday? Nope.

Can't Sit Still

For the last three days of the semester (the last three days before winter break) I caught a special ed assignment. Ms. D is a co-teacher, so I was expecting to be all over the place. What I got was a day in one classroom proctoring the final for two different seventh grade math classes. 

(Ms. D co-teaches seventh grade math with two different teachers. On test days she takes the special ed kiddos to another room. The special ed students test in a different room to help them focus.) 

Fifth period. 

I had seven students testing with me. They could have spread out in the room, but they sat in groups of two. The final was online, so once I verified that they had logged in, I sat back and watched. 

Calvin couldn't sit still. He changed position a couple times. He found a loose chair, pulled it up next to him, and then twisted so he was half in that chair and half in his desk. Then he started humming.

I warned Calvin that they were taking a final and he shouldn't be humming. He found he did not like the seat he was in and he wanted to move. I had a classroom of more than thirty desks, so I told him to pick another one. He did.

Then the humming started in earnest. "Last Christmas". I reminded him that not only was he testing, but the other students in the room were testing as well. 

Eventually, he finished his final. I was to keep the kiddos with me (rather than sending them back to their usual classroom which is usually what happens, but finals), so I allowed them to be on their phones. 

Calvin? Found "Last Christmas" and played it. Sigh.

I told Calvin that the room still needed to be quiet for the other students who weren't finished. He didn't get my point. And the shifting and squirming and such he was doing before became constant movement. 

It was a long, long period.

The next day when I talked to the general ed teacher, Ms. M, she asked how the final went. When I mentioned some difficulty, she had one reply. "Calvin?" Yup. She got it in one. 

I asked if he had ADHD. Because, seriously. Of course he did. 

I hope he matures out of some of these behaviors. Because special ed doesn't necessarily mean difficult kiddos. But seventh graders? Yeah, some of this is his age.

Free Day

School started back up yesterday, so it's time to revisit my subbing stories from before winter break.

Sunday afternoon. I did not have an assignment for the following day, so when my phone alerted, I was quite happy. It was for Mr. L who I have subbed for in the past, but I don't sub for him often. (He's not out a lot.) 

In the subbing app, the teachers can upload messages and files. Most do not. But, last minute call out, so Mr. L had uploaded his lesson plans. I read through them. And then I picked my jaw up off the floor.

It was finals week. Their finals were to start on Tuesday. For Monday? His classes had a "free day". 

Giving the kiddos time to go over work for other classes or just chill for a period is a lesson plan I get from time to time. Just not from Mr. L. He is rather famous for his busy work on days he's out. He once had them each pick a book from an old set of encyclopedias and list ten facts from it. I mean, it was probably more than ten, but my memory on this is murky.

So, for each class, I did the same intro: "And now I'm going to say something that I never thought I'd say in Mr. L's class. You have a free day."

(I had two students who needed to take their final early. That was the extent of actual work accomplished that day.)

It made it an easy day for me. And it was easy on them. I think some of them actually got work for other classes done, but most found games to play on the computers. And they remained mellow. So, a nice, easy day. 

Illegal Actions Should Have Consequences

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

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

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

I've been pondering the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. *waves hands* No reason, really. But it got me thinking...

What if those in power in government (say, like in the Supreme Court or the Oval Office) actually suffered consequences when they did something illegal?

Explaining the Project

I need to explain the why as this is not something I had any intention of making. 

I was surprised to get a Christmas gift from my brother. We had come to an understanding that his presents to me for all birthdays and Christmases were to edit the various videos I made for my YouTube channel. 

He then texted me this link, and I thought, why not? 

I did some online searching. Apparently, the Woobles patterns go with the kits, but I have absolutely no need for those overpriced kits. I have yarn. I have hooks. I know how to crochet. 

(That is not to say that those kits are worthless. If you don't have the tools nor the knowledge, these are cute. They give you the yarn you need, the tools, and the instructions. Totally worth it for a beginner.) 

I did find a pattern and a video for the character, although not as small or as cute as the Woobles one. But close enough. This I could do.

So, I did.

I have no idea what these things are supposed to look like, so hopefully it's the thing. Whatever.

And by the time you read this, it should be in the mail to my brother. Because he asked for it... 

(Well, not really. I assume a nephew will end up in ultimate possession of the thing. I doubt my brother plays Minecraft, but I know the nephews do.)

I mean, I was between projects. I needed something to do with my hands. And I had all the yarn on hand, in my stash.

First Friday Question

So, I hate the idea of resolutions, and I don't go in for all the various year start planning things that happen. (I believe that if you want to make a fresh start, you can choose to do that at any time. Why wait for January?) But I need a question for today (as school is out of session, so no subbing stories), so...

What is something you're looking forward to this year? 

I mean, I'm dreading all sorts of things, but I would rather put a positive spin on this. Although, I'm not looking forward to anything in particular. I hope to get my next video finished filming. And then I have an idea for one to do after that. 

Is there anything you're looking forward to? Are there any good movies coming out? New TV shows? Planning a trip? I'd love to hear your happy plans. (Or your dreads. Those are okay, too.)

13 Physical Constants

School is back in session next week. That means today's post is a Thursday 13. But what to write about? I'm not in the mood to think too hard...

Oh, I know. How about some numbers? I'm going to list some physics constants. Just because.

1. Speed of light in free space (c) = 2.9979 × 10⁸ m/s
2. 1 astronomical unit (AU) = 1.496 × 10¹¹ m
3. Mass of Earth (M_E) = 5.9742 × 10²⁴ kg
4. Radius of Earth (R_E) = 6.3781 × 10⁶ m
5. Avogadro’s number (N_A) = 6.022 × 10²³ /mol
6. Mass of hydrogen atom (m_H) = 1.0078μ = 1.6735 × 10⁻²⁷ kg
7. Electronic charge (e) = 1.6022 × 10⁻¹⁹ C
8. Electron rest mass (m_e) = 9.109 × 10⁻³¹ kg
9. Proton rest mass (M_p) = 1.6726 × 10⁻²⁷ kg
10. Compton wavelength of electron [λ_C = h/(m_ec)] = 2.4263 × 10⁻¹² m
11. 1 parsec (pc) = 3.086 × 10¹⁶ m
12. Mass of Sun (M_⊙) = 1.989 × 10³⁰ kg
13. Radius of Sun (R_⊙) = 6.96 × 10⁸ m

(I took the numbers from this list. I don't think anyone actually memorizes these numbers unless they use them regularly.)