I am half misanthrope and half social butterfly.
No, wait. I lied.
I’m 95% misanthrope.
ChristinaMused
Conversations at the Dinner Table*
Want the Recipe?
One ingredient, easy-peasy Maple Rubber Cement.
I guess confectioner is not going to be my new day job.
What I came home to, from my Ferdinand who was out mowing the lawn and couldn’t bear to mow over the carpet of wild violets.
Love that boy.
Michigan school bans baby bump photos in yearbook.
What Say You, Educators?
Light the Corners of my Mind
Half a lifetime ago, there was a failed contract negotiation and a strike action, the both of which caught up a whole community in blame and anger and tore apart some friendships and working relationships that never did recover. My mother was one of the teachers in the middle of the storm and it was at about that time that I was trying on the idea of education as a profession.
When I brought it up to my mom, she was understandably cautious and instead of jumping in with blind enthusiasm, she helped me see the whole picture of the industry. She went through pros and cons with me and was honest about the positives and negatives. At the time, I was taken aback and a little hurt by what I viewed as a lack of cheerleading on her part. However, that conversation has, over the years, been a fantastic guide as I manuevered my way through the hills and valleys of a career in education.
Still, I vowed that I would handle things a little differently when my kids came to me with career ideas. So that is why when the 15-year-old asked me out of the blue if I thought he could be a good English teacher, the first thing I did was draw a complete blank on what I had intended and then rain all over his parade by telling him that he at least needed to wait until I had a new job so I wouldn’t be competing with him, too, in the tight job market.
I’ll take that Mother of the Year tiara now.
tomesaway asked:
I just read the older post about sequestration and your job. I'm so sorry. You deserve so much better.
It’ll be fine.
I don’t know how yet, but it will be okay. The person who is replacing me will be a good fit, and I’m operating under the silver lining that at least my students get to keep their after-school program. His were not so lucky.
We are having a “get to know the new coordinator” night next week, so they can see us shaking hands and being friends. The culture of poverty really dictates that I be seen handing over the reins and being okay with it. Otherwise, most of my students will refuse to come next year, or refuse to give NewGuy a chance, and that would be too bad.
Edited to Add: I don’t think I was clear earlier. My after-school program isn’t one of the 7 in our RESD that lost funding. But through seniority, one of the coordinators from a closing site bumped me out of my job and will be taking over after July. He’s someone I’ve worked with for 3 years, and I want to pave the way for him to have a successful run once he arrives.
positivelypersistentteach asked:
I dare you to pick your nose in front of a group of students and see if they say anything.
I’m so going to do this. Do they have to be MY students? I could really have fun doing this to the 5th grade students they bring through the middle school building on tours to get ready for moving up in the fall.
my-life--in-a-nutshell asked:
I know you are over marathoning (Congrats, btw!), but will there be more half marathons in your future?
My husband is convinced that there are more half-marathons on the horizon. But the next one he wants to do is the same day as the Tour de Donut. My priority will always be the bike. : )
raiselm asked:
If train A leaves the station at 9:06 with 11 passengers wearing brown hats, how long does it take until beer?
AAAUUUUGGGHHHH!
Too much like the exponents and story problems I’ve been teaching all day.
Now. The beer definitely starts now.
theimprobablefiction asked:
What's something exciting/fun you're looking forward to during the last few weeks of school? (Can be school related, but doesn't have to be!)
So many of my favorite things happen in the last few weeks of school! Alt Ed graduation is Friday night, and then high school graduation is Sunday afternoon. School’s spring band concert is next week. Coming together as a school community to honor and celebrate our collective kids—I love it. We spend a million years supporting and raising and teaching and admonishing and guiding and disciplining and sighing, and then they don those caps and gowns and the school band plays 78 rounds of Pomp and Circumstance and the valedictorian makes everyone cry and they’re off. Flying away to go have the lives we’ve been pushing them toward and it’s all bittersweet and unforgettable.
