Friday the 13th

The funny thing about today is... I was so crabby at my 5th hour class, and as I was explaining it to Amy, Krista (her neighbor and an excellent teacher!) came over to complain about an incident in her 5th hour class. It's always too bad when you have the most frustrating experience in your last hour of the day on a Friday. Yes, its being a Friday does help, but I definitely didn't want to carry that with me all weekend long--the frustration. Luckily, I've processed it to a certain degree, and I know what to do on Monday.

So my Journalism class has worn me down. And for those who have been reading this blog, especially experienced teachers, you probably could see this coming. I did a lesson where the students went out in newsgroup pairs (so groups of about six or eight) to do some practice photojournalism. I warned the assistant principals (which was a good thing--it was more like I asked their permission) and gave them guidelines, and they grumbled about them "We can't go outside?" "We only have fifteen minutes?" Blar. One newsgroup didn't come back. Another newsgroup took off without the other group. ZJ came back and started hollaring about his pen, and he had already picked out someone who had stolen it. RL and DB were instigating, and it all kind of snowballed. Luckily, JB, the person ZJ had decided took his pen, was probably the ringleader in convincing the rest of his newsgroup not to show up. Needless to say, I marked the three of them truant for not returning to class.

I know that I am going to have to talk to the class about respect, about using the time that I give them to do work, and I'll probably have to do some individual pulling into the halls. I have to talk to several parents about their senior child's failing (!), and I have to deal with the non-school appropriate assignments (there was more then one, though the second wasn't as bad) being turned in. It's obvious that they think they can get away with certain things, and I am definitely going to go in on Monday and I'm going to put my foot down. And I'm going to have to follow through and there is a strong possibility that some of my students are going to have to take a trip to the office.

Well after a frustrating day at the office :), I have applied to a few schools through WECAN. I wish Minnesota had something as groovy as this. I was able to apply to Whitefish Bay, Stevens Point, De Pere, and West Bend in a matter of minutes, without having to print anything out! I also applied for a summer school creative writing position with Whitefish Bay. I don't think I will get it, but that would be really perfect for me! It would keep me busy in the summer, and I would be able to work within an area that I have the most material.