Rant Continued

I picked up one of those telemarketer calls.  You know, the ones I was complaining about yesterday.  I got a computerized message that was not even for me.  It was for some guy I had never even heard of.  So, they've been calling my phone number so much that I remarked upon it, and it was the wrong number.

And that was the only phone call I got today.

Telemarketer Rant

I have been receiving an insane number of telemarketer calls today.  (I did not work today.  I've been fighting a bug since Sunday, and I felt that I'd best rest today so that I don't get full-blown sick.)

I haven't been picking up, so it is supposition that they were telemarketers.  But the caller ID gives me phone numbers that I do not recognize.  I only pick up calls from people I know.  And every time I experimentally pick up for a number I do not recognize, there is a long pause...and I hang up because I do not want to talk to a telemarketer.

It is a waste of time to call me.  Whatever they are selling I am not buying, and no amount of hard sell is going to make me change my mind.  

Because of caller ID, I see that many of these phone numbers are repeats.  After a week of me not picking up, you'd think they'd get the hint--I'M NOT GOING TO ANSWER.  But no.  The computer keeps calling.

So, I got at least a dozen calls today.  Only three were calls that were actually for me.  I began to wonder.  Did my do-not-call registration run out?

It turns out that you can check that sort of thing.  I did.  My registration is still active.  So, what gives?

Irony

I had a choice of two assignments--either 7th grade science or ELD (English Language Development).  Both are good teachers, so I decided to go with science since I had an English class yesterday.

When I got to school, I learned that another sub had been put into the science class.  This sub had been scheduled for a teacher who was due to be out tomorrow, not today (gee, that happened to me just last week).  So, I was an extra sub.  Oh joy.

Luckily, the office had projects that needed an extra set of hands.  But first I was sent to an English class.  The sub who was there just got word of a family tragedy, and she wanted to go home.  They had another sub coming in to cover, but she hadn't gotten to school yet.  So, off I went.  

The first sub passed off the stuff (keys, computer password) to me, and she left.  Then the class' actual teacher walked in.  She was getting the lesson plans set up.  The bell rang, so the teacher started her class.  While she was busy with the students, the sub who was going to cover the class for the day walked in.  I passed off the stuff to her, and I left.  (I wonder how the teacher reacted when she turned around to find a different sub.  I didn't say goodbye.  I wasn't going to interrupt her for that.)

Back in the office, I waited for my new instructions.  Then the phone rang.  There was another assignment at the elementary school.  I don't do elementary.  So, a sub already in a class was called to go there, and I went to replace her.  

Where did I end up?  In the ELD class.  If only I had picked the other one...

Cheating

I know it was cheating.  I don't care.

I was going to be in the computer lab all day with freshmen.  9th graders.  In a room with computers.  I didn't want to take any chances.  I knew that I was going to want names if anything went wrong.

The attendance program has this nifty little feature--you can see pictures of the students in the class.  I printed out these pages for each class.  And I took them with me to the computer lab.

I walked around the room with my little clipboard with sheets that had pictures of all the students.  So, of course nothing went wrong.  The classes were wonderful.  The students were on task (creating Power Point Presentations for book reports that they are going to give in about a week).  The students were even polite (mostly).  

But I felt in control, and I guess that's the whole point of having the pictures with the names.  It was a nice day.

Another Skunk Sighting

I leave for school 'round about 6:30 AM most mornings.  I generally have other things on my mind as a means to make me move in the morning.  So, I was distracted by some thought or other as I pulled out of my garage.  I pulled up to the drive, turned on my left blinker, and made the usual glances to make sure that the street was empty before I pulled out into it.  

I looked to the right.  Then I turned to the left.  And out of the corner of my eye I spied a big, bushy black tail that had a white stripe on it.  Oh great, the skunk.

The skunk was going the other way into the bushes.  My windows were closed.  And hey, I was in a car.  So, all in all, this was the least troubling skunk encounter that I've had.  (This was the first encounter, and this was the second.)

Considering how many times I've spotted the creature, I'm pretty sure that there is a colony of them living in the area.  Oh, that's a troubling thought.

Out of Coke

They were working on acrostic poems (special ed English class).

One girl was using the word "nervous".  She needed help for the "O".  I suggested she think of a good preposition to begin the line.  They were to use more than two words for each letter, so a prepositional phrase is a good place to start.

She came up with "out".  So, I asked, "What is something that if you were out of it, it would make you nervous?  If you were out of it at school?  At home?  In the kitchen?"

Her reply: "Coca-cola."

I figured that that was good enough.  She wrote it.

Later, she showed her finished "nervous" acrostic poem to the instructional aide.  He read through it and laughed out loud at "out of Coke".  

I guess that was a better suggestion than I thought.

Distracto Boy

CAHSEE, day two.

The first time I noticed him was sometime during part one.  The boy was examining a rubber band that he was wearing on his wrist.  He looked off into the distance.  He was not working on his test.  I advised him to skip the question he was working on and go back to it later.  

The next time the boy caught my attention was when half the testers had checked out.  The boy was staring into space again.  Another proctor commented that he wasn't doing much on his test.  It started to look to me like he had ADD.  

By the time we had about 10 students in the room, I noticed that the boy was nearly done with his test.  When there were only 5 students left, the boy was on the questionnaire.  I tried yesterday's trick.  The boy claimed that someone else needed my attention.  I didn't budge.

The boy took his time answering the questionnaire.  When he finished, he needed time to "check his work".  Um, sure.

The other students still testing were actually working.  They were struggling.  So, we let the boy be.  We were going to hover over him, but not until that became necessary.  Unfortunately, it didn't, for the boy decided to be done just before the last student finished.

I would be more annoyed, but I needed something to write about today.