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

Keeping Up with the Cool Boys

Friday. Sixth period seventh grade science. 

They had an assignment on geology. It was done in stations. That is, the class had three different activities to complete with a third of the class doing each activity. I timed them, having them move on to the next activity after 15-20 minutes had elapsed. (I was familiar with the assignment as it was the last thing I did with seventh grade science class last year as I finished up my 30 days.) 

Because Ms. W said it didn't matter who was in which group, I asked for volunteers to start the rock measuring station. (There were rocks that they were to "observe". They had to draw them, use a ruler to measure them, weigh them, and roll them.) Of course, the boys who volunteered... 

Yeah, so it didn't go well. The boys played around. They should have been measuring rocks. They were making jokes. (Not that you can't joke and work, but seventh graders. They can do one or the other, not both.) They were running. They were mock fighting. You know, the usual. 

I reminded them they had limited time. And when the timer went off, I told them it was time to move on to station two. 

But no. They weren't finished... 

Yeah, they weren't finished. Not shocked. But that was their fault for wasting time. 

I stood over them and shooed them back to their seats. Time. Was. Up. 

Hugo wasn't happy. Hugo had been trying to work, but the other boys... It's hard to work in that kind of chaos. I was sorry, but time was up. I told Hugo that he had to go back to his seat. He burst into tears.

Hugo pulled it together and went back to his seat. As did the other boys. I got a new group to the observing rocks station (a much calmer group), and we moved on. 

What I had forgotten was that Hugo had a one-to-one aide. Before going on his lunch break, he told me that if something went wrong, I was to send Hugo to his case carrier. Which I didn't do, because forgot. (There was lots going on. I am not shocked I forgot.) 

When the aide returned from his lunch, he asked how things had gone. And I told him. 

The aide proceeded to take the rest of the period to get reports from the other students as to what went down. Sigh. Apparently, Hugo's meltdown was a level 1, which was good, as Hugo has been known to lash out when he gets upset... 

I guess I dodged a bullet. 

Of course I let Ms. W know what went down. Her response was that Hugo "wants to work with the 'cool boys' but does not actually handle the chaos very well". 

Those are the "cool boys"? Yikes. Seventh graders really have terrible taste. 

Feels Like January

It rained on Tuesday. 

Things had been cooling off for the last couple weeks. And the weather reports had warned us of rain. I had put an umbrella in my car the night before, and I was not shocked to wake up to water falling from the sky. 

Rainy days are an absolute mess at school. There's no real protection from the rain when the kiddos are changing classes or at lunch. And things flood. 

But we muddle through. Sopping wet. At least I had high school, so they weren't deliberately jumping in puddles. 

Some were disappointed that the rain let up in the afternoon. They were hoping practice would be cancelled. But, considering how hard it had rained, I pointed out that the fields were probably unsafe to practice on. 

We don't usually get rain this time of year. Rain is more a December, January kind of thing. Usually this time of year it's pretty warm and the Santa Anas blow through. We worry about wildfires. 

The next day it hadn't quite warmed up. Things were still damp. 

As the class was getting ready to exit, one of the students, complaining of the cold, commented, "It feels like January". 

I mean, it wasn't quite that cold, but I understood what she meant. 

The weather is a bit off. But not really in a bad way. I had to put my blanket on my bed and dig out my long pants. SoCal winter is coming.

One AM

I went to bed last Sunday night figuring I wasn't working Monday. I hadn't managed to pick up an assignment. (I had just missed a couple. Sigh.) 

I had worked myself into looking forward to a day off. I went to bed a bit late. But I was totally asleep when the alert on my phone woke me with a job for Monday. I grabbed it without looking at it too closely. It was one AM. 

I was covering a special ed teacher who co-taught with three different teachers. Not a bad gig. (Block schedule, so I only had three classes.) 

The first block I had integrated math 1 (think: algebra 1). It turned out the general ed teacher was also out. After a bit of a scramble (as the general ed teacher had assumed Mr. R would be there), another teacher got the lesson loaded to Google Classroom, and we were good to go. 

The class... 

The other sub was competent. She took roll while I got the class going on what they needed to work on. The kiddos were very laid back which was fine. But, they were not following certain rules, like having their cell phones put away and like actually doing their assignment. Sigh. 

But things came to a head when three students "returned" from somewhere. We had been keeping track of who was allowed out of class, and the three of them hadn't been allowed out of class. (How we missed them leaving, I have no idea.) 

The other sub asked the kiddos their names. And one of them lied to her about it. That's when we learned that this girl was not enrolled in the class. Deep sigh. 

She was incensed that the other sub called security on her. She claimed that she had only just been taken out of the class... (Which poses a couple questions: If she knew she was in a different class, why would she go to her old one? When the other sub called roll, why did she not say anything when her name was not called? Why was she roaming campus, anyway?) 

The student acted like the aggrieved party, but security agreed with us. Because, seriously? Doubling down when you're in the wrong? 

When Mr. R responded to my email about the day, he commented that the class was very immature. Yeah, we caught that. 

The rest of my day was uneventful as the general ed teachers were there and taught their lessons. 

I don't really mind the one AM calls. It gives me time to go back to sleep before I have to go to work. 

Speak Now

I've lost some blog followers. I see their blogs, but they no longer come and visit me. And I know why. But it still stings, you know?

People want to be "non political". But we are in that moment. You know the one? Where silence is siding with the oppressor. 

My blog is not about politics. And if I wanted to read blogs about politics, I could find many where I could do so. If you wanted to read about politics, you wouldn't be here. I write about my knitting on Mondays and my job Wednesday through Friday. 

But I can't not say something. We are in that moment. This past weekend was the second No Kings protest, and it appears that lots of people turned out. Good. 

Things are bad. They're getting worse. 

And I hear people talking about not letting a difference in politics ruin relationships. 

But, you see, if you're siding with the oppressor, we have a fundamental difference in core values. If none of what they have done thus far bothers you, I have to question what sort of person you are. Concentration camps are okay? Masked kidnapping is okay? Bombing innocent fishermen is okay? Sending troops into cities is okay? 

Make no mistake, they're all criminals. The regime. And even though the media seems to be sane-washing him, he's making less and less sense. Those around him are doing the harm they want because they know how to make him believe them. He's a puppet for those with brains in their heads and cruelty in their hearts. 

This week I was reminded of the poem "First They Came". The poem resonates as the man who wrote it lived it. He didn't care about the people they came for first. He was all in with that regime. Until he was the one targeted. 

And, make no mistake, they will come for you, too. If you aren't white, male, and rich, they don't care about you. They will use you to further their ends (and keep power) until they no longer need you. 

So, I resist now. And I speak. 

We are not alone. More of us are disgusted by this than support it. 

Too many people don't realize how bad things truly are. They turn blind eyes to it. It hasn't touched them yet. It will.

So, while I am sad for those that no longer visit, I have to understand that they're supporting things that I vehemently oppose. Which makes me happy that you're still here. We agree. And we can fight together. 

Tracking the Growth

I actually made some progress this week. That's what happens when I'm no longer having to lesson plan and grade. And my subbing gigs aren't too taxing. 

In case you'd like to see the progress. October 6th:

October 13th: 

October 20th: 

So, progress. I'm hoping this week will be like last and I can knit more during the week rather than just on the weekend. We'll see. 

How are your projects coming along?

Sweater Tracking:

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

Spitting Image

Friday had been a minimum day (end of the first quarter). Ms. S and I checked out at the same time, and we were outside, chatting. (Ms. S is another sub who I see around all the time and I've worked with her before.) 

We both had a last period prep, so school wasn't quite over. Students were standing outside waiting for rides. (Some students get out early.) We were comparing notes on various assignments. It turned out that the next week we'd be subbing for two co-teachers. 

As we were talking, a mother walked past us. She looked so familiar to me. She nodded as she passed, but we didn't say anything to her, just continuing our conversation. 

A few minutes later, the woman passed by again, going the other way. This time she had a student in tow. A girl I recognized as she had been in the class I covered that day. 

Ms. S: "No wonder she looked so familiar..." 

I didn't realize until that moment that Ms. S recognized her too. I commented that the girl had been in my class. 

Why did she look so familiar? Her daughter looks just like her.