2002-01-18 - 9:13 p.m.
This week --- wrote up two kids (one for stepping up to me), there was a fight, one of my kids did the self-mutilation thing in science class (that's two this year, by the way), a kid sexually harassed one of my girls, another kid who sexually harassed a girl had his hearing officer throw the paperwork out because our idiotic VP (our pet name for him is "the stupid one") screwed up said paperwork, had an emergency ARD, and tried desperately to get my grade 8 students to CARE about how well they write. We're working on application letters to the various magnet schools here in SA (the ones that are open to my kids, that is - some of the ones in the "better" districts aren't open to inner-city students, supposedly just because they are out-of-district students) and I have been stressing to them how much the quality of their writing will affect their chances. Many of them seem like they could care less. Or else they just assume it's gonna be handed to them, regardless of their lack of effort. I just don't know. I do know that I'd hate to see any of my kids end up at the regular high school. Oh, and we also had open house and a double baby shower this week. And I read an article on the internet about abolishing high school which seemed interesting until the author started making all these unsubstantiated assertions about how kids mature faster than they used to. What? Faster than during most of human history when people married at 14 or so and began their careers at approximately the same age? I hate poorly researched writing.
I'm thinking of doing a photo project on the kids' neighborhood and the area surrounding our school. One of my students gave me the idea when he showed me some photos he had taken. Not a GT project, necessarily, because many of them are not particularly motivated or gifted, in my opinion. More like a project for those who want to do something different. I have quite a few regular ed and special ed students who are motivated and would love to get to do something special. Maybe when we do poetry some of them can do a words and images montage or something.
I'm listening to Jill Scott and smelling the aroma of the next door neighbor's pot smoke through the walls. It reeks. I've never really liked the smell. I used to hang out with folks who smoked a lot, and I guess I got used to it to some extent, but now I really notice it and dislike the smell.
Tomorrow Vero and I are going on a mini-road trip. We're driving out about 70 miles to do some sight seeing. it should be fun. I also need to UPS my sister's b-day present. I should've done it tonight ... but I didn't.
Opal
