Zizi Rho Designs

...at the farmers market...

This was my setup the last time I went. I've been tweaking it. I rather like this look.

(In case you didn't know, I have a little knit/crochet business. You can find me online here.)

That's it! We be done! How are you celebrating the end of the A to Z Challenge?

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

Yahoos

Some students...

11th grade English. They had a couple articles to read and questions to answer. Standard fare.

Then, because, well, just because, Mr. C also had an extra credit assignment for them. they had a choice to do this after finishing the day's work.

I gave the instructions, or tried to. A couple of the kiddos weren't giving me as much attention as I'd like. As in, complete. (I only had a few things to say. Complete attention for two minutes is not too much to ask.)

So, unsurprisingly, a little misunderstanding cropped up. I noticed a knot of boys, the same ones who were distracted while I explained things, not doing any of the work.

"But it's extra credit..."

Um no. No, it wasn't. And if they had been listening earlier...

"I'm failing this class, anyway."

Of course. Because when you're failing the course, you're going to ignore extra credit opportunities.

I've had these sorts of discussions before. So, I asked the spokes-boy if I'd be seeing him soon at the continuation high school. (Might as well get to know the players now, so I'll know them when I see them over there.)

Oh no. They weren't that bad. Summer school would make it all up for them. Which they were looking forward to.

Yeah, they were looking forward to summer school. Told me it would be lit.

via GIPHY

Did you ever attend summer school? Is junior year too early for senioritis? We're almost done--are you ready for A to Z to be over? 

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

Ximena's Help

Um, yeah, so I'm totally cheating today. The girl in the story--not named Ximena. Although, I do generally change students' names. (They are minors, after all.) And I have run across a girl named Ximena. She's three years younger and a pleasure to have in class. Not blog-worthy at all.

(In case you're wondering, her name is pronounced "humena", so my title is an alliteration. Kind of.)

I was back at the continuation high school. It's been a while. The computer class. They were working on computer literacy, career planning, or the yearbook. Every class had some of both (although there was only one period of yearbook).

And, of course, there were the ones not working on any of the above. Even though they should have been. This was the continuation high school, after all.

But the boy was on task. It was an assignment on workplace safety. Things like how should one lift something and how one responded to fire alarms. He called me over to ask the answer to the last question, which was something about what causes back pain.

He chose an answer and hit "submit" for the whole thing. He got 79%. He needed 80% to pass. Helpfully, the submission screen gave him a list of what he'd gotten correct and what he'd missed. But he couldn't go back and fix his answers.

I wandered away. The next time I returned, I discovered the boy and Ximena working on the assignment again. Redoing it. Only this time, they were utilizing Ximena's phone. She had pictures of various screens--the question screens and the submission screen.

Um... Cheating...?

No, they said. These were the boy's answers. Ximena had just taken a picture. Of his answers. And whether they were correct or not. So, they could retake the questions and get them all right this time.

Deep sigh. Well, at least it was on task.

That next time through, he got 83%. So, he passed. And as that was the last assignment for the class. He had finished.

It just kinda left me with an odd feeling.

Would you consider that cheating? Or, was he just redoing his own work? What did you post for X today? Did you cheat, like me?

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

What a Difference!

First period math "support". It was my fourth time covering this group, and I wasn't looking forward to it.

(It's a special ed class. The teacher has missed this period several times due to IEP meetings. I just happened to have a first period prep often enough to have gotten to cover. Pure luck.)

Small group, but they do nothing. And I couldn't convince them to get on task.

I've listened to conversations that I'd rather not repeat. Partying. Stuff they shouldn't be doing. I won't go into details.

I wasn't the only one with this problem. I had told Mr. L what happens while he's out. He informed me he had similar issues.

But this day, as Mr. L gave me the rundown of what they were to do, he explained that they finally had gotten in enough computers for all of them. So, instead of working on math, they were doing credit recovery. (It's kind of a long explanation, so just suffice it to say that I am familiar with this.) And things were going much better.

Dubious, I awaited their arrival. And they rolled in as per normal. But then a surprising thing happened. They got to work.

via GIPHY

I watched. I expected the usual conversations. While there was a little talking, they were mostly on task. One girl wrote an essay. (I got to proofread it. It wasn't bad.) One boy finished one assignment and started another. Another boy, who has done nothing every time I've seen him before, actually pulled up a science website for his current event for his science class.

Apparently, the lack of computers in the room was the issue. Who knew?

Sometimes I'm happy to be wrong.

Has someone ever surprised you in a good way? Have you ever been glad you were wrong about something?

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

Vast Distances?

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)

What if the distances to other stars was just an illusion?

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

Under Yarn

So, I find myself between projects yet again. Sigh. But then I realized that there was something I'd been meaning to do for a while, but I hadn't had the time.

It was time to cover my cords.

I've done this before. But this time I decided I didn't like the look of the last ones, so I was going to cover them with an I-cord. But, I hate knitting I-cords. Well, apparently, one can crochet an I-cord...

(Although, if you don't mind knitting the things, that would work as well.) 

And, here's what I ended up with...

finished

in progress...

I know what you're thinking. Why? For the earbuds, it keeps them from getting tangled. And the other is just because I can. (Yes, I'm that kind of crazy.) 

Do you ever do something just because you can? 

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

Tree

When I started contemplating what sort of thing I'd photograph for T, this tree came to mind...

I walk by it every day on my way to get my mail. It's become a good friend.

Do you have any interesting trees nearby? Is there something you walk by every day that puts a smile on your face? 

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