Should I Grade Those Papers?

I brought home a whole stack of essays that my students wrote. I really need to get them graded during break. But I don't want to do it.

There are about 55 papers, three to five pages each. I told myself that I would start on Tuesday, but now it is Wednesday.

We'll see!

Sunday

It is Sunday, and it is 7:30 a.m., and I am up and awake. Ugh.

School's Out for Easter

Yea! School was out at 11:30 today. My goal was to leave at 11:45--as soon as the busses were gone, and the streets were safe. I didn't quite make it--it was 11:47.

I did bring some projects home to grade. I do have good intentions, but we'll have to see.

However, tonight, I'm not thinking of school. We are going to see a favorite singer, Paul Marinaro, who is just fantastic. He is at Pops for Champagne, a really fun champagne bar in Chicago.

I'll try to post during break, but no promises, because, as the song goes, School is out for Easter . . .

Parent Conferences

I just got home from my last Parent-Teacher Conferences. Actually, after I got home, I found a tumbler filled with ice, then watched a really trippy episode of The Simpsons.

I have always hated Conferences, before they took place. After they are over, however, I think they are the greatest thing. I got to meet with some really great parents--especially interesting were parents of children who recently immigrated to the United States. One from Sweden, and one from Harbin, China. Amazing kids, and really cool parents. Both here less than two years, and both students are light years ahead of most of my American students.

There were a few that it was good to see--these were the students that needed a "poke with the sharp stick of reality." The folks and I plotted and schemed to make sure that this happened.

Of course, I am also a curve raiser--I called several sets of parents to let them know that I had time available, and would appreciate it if they came by. Two took me up on my invitation and scheduled appointments, and a third dropped in.

Over all, it was a good evening. Will I miss these? No. Are they valuable? Yes. If every parent paid this much attention, we would have few problems.

Guess What Came In The Mail Today?

When I looked through the mail today, there was the usual assortment of bills and advertisements.

Then I saw it. It was a large white envelope with a Springfield, Illinois, postmark. It was from the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System.

It was the forms I need to fill out--where do I want the check sent, which insurance do I want, how many sick days do I have left.

Scary. But scarier yet is the thought that I am very lucky! The Illinois House of Representatives voted today to raise the retirment age for government employees, including teachers, from its current 55 to 67. Ouch. If that were the case for me, I would be working nine more years. Whew. I don't think I could make it. And after all, do they really want me to be there at that age.

Of course, if I stayed until 67 I would beat the record for years teaching at our school. Currently, the record is 42 years. Let's see--33 + 9 would be . . .

Damn. My math is terrible, I would only have 42. A tie! I would have to stay until age 68!

Am I Going To Be On Fox News?

Today, my students were giving speeches. Their presentations were to be on a trend, issue, or problem that is facing us in the business world. There were many interesting presentations on a variety of topics, such as the Enron scandal, the bank bailouts, etc.

In my Period 7 class, while helping one of my students make sure that his PowerPoint slide show was properly loaded, I noticed some illustrations that I did not think were ones that I wanted shown in class.

It seems that this individual was doing a presentation on the issue of health care reform. The student, a real character, had included a very racist image of our President on his title slide. (Oh, dear!) In sliding through the rest of the slides, everything else was fine, and actually made sense, until I reached the conclusion slide, where he had compared what he referred to as 'Obamacare' with socialism. However, the image he chose to use to illustrate socialism was a Nazi logo with a swastika. (Oh, crap.) What do I do now?!

My first thought was that I couldn't have him illustrate his speech in this way, so I suggested that we delete those images. Click. Delete. Gone.

My second thought was that he or his parents would call Fox News and report me for censoring their darling's sincere report.

My third thought was that we had not done a very good job in our school if at this age he did not know the difference between socialism and national socialism. Sigh.

Well, after some arguing, little Johnny gave his presentation. He did a fine job, even if he didn't have a proper title slide.

At the end of class, I called Johnny to the side and we had a little discussion of appropriate ways to get our messages across. I also suggested that he learn a little more about economics and politics.

Johnny did thank me for helping him to understand. Yet, if the caller ID says Fox News, I just won't answer.

How Many Bus Days?

Today, while I was passing out a test, one of my students, Tony, asked me what bus days were. I, of course, was clueless as to what he was talking about. Was it when school busses ran? Was it when the city busses ran? I was not sure.

I asked him to clarify. He explained that he had purchased something on-line, and the web site told him that he could expect his order in "10 to 14 bus. days."

Oh, my. And this is a student in my Business class.

How Many Years Do You Have Left

When I was walking in from the parking lot this morning, one of the younger teachers was walking in at the same time, and asked, "George, how many years do you have left?"

I was sort of surprised at the question, because I thought everyone knew. (I guess I shouldn't expect that everyone will know everything--after all, it isn't ALL about me!)

So, I told her that I was going to be finishing up this June. She seemed very surprised, and said, "But you look so young!"

I found this so amazing, because today I didn't feel so young. Still, I was so shocked and pleased that I could have kissed her. But I didn't. I don't want to be fired this close to retirement!

Parent Conferences

Thursday night we have Parent-Teacher Conferences. Ugh. My list of appointments is almost full. Mainly great students (I suppose they are such good students because their parents pay attention to them.)

I always get apprehensive. I'm not sure why. I have only rarely had really rough conferences, and I always feel very positively once the evening is over.

Tomorrow, I think I will call the parents of a few students I need to talk with, to see if they can come in for one of the times I have left.

Jerry Kupchynsky

This weekend, while driving around doing errands, I heard a very interesting story on WFMT based on a New York Times article about the passing of a beloved music teacher, a "Mr. K," from East Brunswick, New Jersey. After his passing, nearly 100 of his former students gathered to once again play, at a memorial concert for him.

The uplifting story of his challenging personal life and the gift of music he gave generations of students really touched me. The story reminded me of a number of teachers who greatly impacted my life. Miss Adducci, who taught me to critically look at ideas and how to write well. Mrs. Postweiler, who taught me to value the great ideas of literature. And Mr. Justice, my orchestra director, who taught me the importance of having music, good music, in my life.

How will my students remember me? I am not going to get ego involved and speculate. I'd like to think that by doing my best, I have channeled those great teachers who impacted my life, and have given my kids some skills, attitudes, and appreciations that that will serve them well in the future.

I'd encourage you, if you haven't read this story, to check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/opinion/28lipman.html

I Broke Down

I didn't think that I would do it. I was all set to tell the kids that they would have to wait another day for their projects.

But I broke down. I drove up to the school to get them. Only 30 minutes.

But just so you don't think that I am über professional, there were THREE estate sales within a few blocks of the school.

Found some really cool stuff (and some really boring student papers).

Oh well . . .

Awake early today, unable to go back to sleep, I thought that I should get up and grade those projects that my students turned in recently. They have started to bug me for their grades.

So, I got up, made some caffeine, then went to get the papers. Couldn't find them. Then I realized that they were still in my room at school!

Damn!

Brilliant Lesson Plan

Yesterday, I had a brilliant idea! I wanted to fill part of an extra day that somehow had crept into my current unit.

I was finishing a unit on financial planning and budgeting, and was remembering an episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Reese got mad at his family, moved into his own apartment, and proceed to make many bad financial decisions.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a copy of this program. So, I checked Amazon, I-Tunes, and a whole bunch of other sites, and I couldn't even find it to purchase.

Then I found a site where I could download it, supposedly legally. Click. Several minutes later, I had a copy of the program on my computer.

Being a good teacher, I double checked it to see if it worked, and it did. However, I didn't recognize the voices. It turns out that the only copy I could find was dubbed into German.

Oh well. So much for cool new lessons!

Pep Rally

Today was my very last pep rally! What fun! What chaos!

The theme was "Boys against the Girls." The girls were supposed to wear pink, the boys, blue. The boys sat on the south side of the gym, the girls on the north side. Nothing was done however, with this theme . . .

The reason for the pep rally was to celebrate spring sports and spring activities. One of the girls' teams won a state championship (the trophy was almost bigger than the girl carrying it). I couldn't hear which one, the noise was too loud.

The band played, but not much. There were no cheerleaders or pom pons. However, we had a special 'secret' guest. Jesse White came and brought his famous tumblers. Wow, those kids are good!

Word on the street, however, is that our school's security people gave Mr. White some sort of hassle. I guess they are not used to seeing gymnastics coaches or state officials in our neighborhood!

Technology

I had a great lesson planned for my first hour Marketing class. We were going to study subliminal messages in advertising. I had my examples ready, and the equipment necessary to project the images on the screen. (A really cool device--it is called a projection table. It has a video camera on a stand over a table with lights. Connects via a cable to your tv or projector.

It worked on Tuesday night before I left. In the morning it did not function.

Gasp. What am I going to do. My lesson is ruined.

I faked it. I talked about other things, and filled the hour.

Later in the day, I found that one cable was plugged into the wrong place.

I will blame the cleaning people . . .

My Teachers

When people tell me that they envy me being able to retire, I know it is because they wish they could, too. That's how I felt three to five years ago, when our school was a rough place to work. Not bad students, not violence, just toxic administration and board. I try not to think about that anymore.

When they talk about their desire to quit working, I remind them that their time will come all too soon. I also remind them that I have been in school since the day after Labor Day in 1957. Wow. That seems like a long time. I'm sure the parents of some of our younger teachers weren't born then!

I was thinking about some of my grade school teachers today--Mrs. Swanson, my kindergarten teacher who taught me the importance of regular snacks and naps. Mrs. Gates, who in first grade instilled discipline and a love of poetry. Mrs. Leach who laughed a lot. Mrs. Walton, my third grade teacher who taught us to sing and dance. Mrs. Pidrak who in sixth grade helped us through the trauma of a presidential assasination.

I'm sure that my school would have been on a watch list, if we had such a thing then, but I sure learned a lot of great things from these folks.

I hope I have helped my students to learn at least a small fraction of the useful, and not so useful things, that have made my life so rich.

TRS

I called the Teachers' Retirement System today. This call was to initiate the process to begin my pension after I leave in June. Just a few clinical questions--verify address, social security number, etc.

In two or three weeks I will get the paperwork that I need to give to our accountant at school to process. They said it takes 60 to 90 days to process the paperwork after my last day at work.

It is seeming a little more definite now. People keep asking me how many days I have left. I don't know exactly. (I have the numbers written on my calendar, but I don't look at them. It isn't really important now.)

I suppose, I should look, but I just want to savor the moments.

Spring ahead!

Everyone, including me, was moving slowly at school today. Losing that hour of sleep to the time change gets me every time!

I should have shown a movie!

Values Clarification

Hello Blog Buddies

Sorry that I haven't posted anything this weekend. We kinda withdrew from everything, not doing much. (Did see Damnation of Faust at the Lyric Opera on Saturday. An amazing piece of theatre. One of the best things I've ever seen!)

Other than that, a lot of hanging out, and that was a good thing!

Back to school tomorrow--we'll see how many are late--time chanhged this weekend. Spring ahead . . .

On Friday, I threw my lesson plan out the window. (I tend to be organized and keep to the calendar--am I a.r.?, a business teacher?, German?, obsessive?, all of the above?

Well, as I was beginning a lesson on planning and saving for the future, one of my students asked how I had prepared for my future, now that my future was here. What a great question! So I talked about that for a while--my experiences, what I had planned for, what I thought about years ago, etc. In my later classes (I teach the same course four times each day!) I talked a little about that, then had the students do a 1970's -vintage values exercise about the things that are important in our lives. We had a blast! Much better than the boring stuff I had planned! I'm sure glad that I have kept up (or not cleaned out) my files!

We'll see what happens on Monday!

Lockdown

Today, at the beginning of third hour, my prep period, an announcement from the principal, came over the intercom announcing a lockdown. Teachers were told to lock their doors, and not let anyone out for any reason. He did, however, clearly state that it was a drill and not a dangerous situation. Damn. And I had to go to the bathroom.

So, I locked the door to our office, and tried to get some work done. Unfortunately, the internet was not cooperating, but I still managed to be somewhat productive with my knees crossed.

It turned out that they brought in the drug-sniffing dogs to check the lockers. They did find some things in gym lockers. I didn't hear how many.

Of course, my students, told me that they shouldn't just check the lockers, most students aren't stupid enough to leave their stash in their lockers. We'll see if next time they bring the dogs into the classrooms. That would be interesting if a dog started pointing at one of my student's backpack.

Of course, the good old days were different. The students would have been so uncool as to carry a backpack. (I think you would have been beaten up for that!)

In those halcyon days we had no security guards, the building's doors were unlocked all day long, and our school was a place where nothing happened. Everyone knew who the drug dealers and users were, but if they were from 'good' families nothing happened. There were no discipline issues, especially if your parents belonged to the right clubs and lived on the right side of the tracks. There was no violence, unless it was from being bullied. There was no immediate danger, unless it was food flying in the cafe.

Things have changed, some for the better, some for the worse. I guess, however, that we look back at the past through rose colored glasses.

Quiz

Yesterday, I gave my students a pop quiz. It wasn't to test whether they knew the material, it was to promote discussion. (I wanted to make a point about the metric system, so I gave a quiz on the English system of weights and measures.)

Of course the students all failed. I expected them too. When they asked whether I was counting the quiz for a grade, I told them "yes!" Of course, I was planning to just assign a 'participation' grade, and not assign the meager points that they had earned.

Today, one of my students sheepishly asked if I was really going to record the 20% that he had earned on the quiz. After toying with the class for a little while, I thanked the student for having the courage to question what I had told him. I used that as a learning experience to point out that we should not just accept what we are told, but that it is ok to question things in life.

N.B. Here is the extra credit question from the quiz (hardly anyone got it right): Which is heavier, a pound of gold or a pound of feathers?

The answer probably isn't the one you think it is!

Union Meeting

Today, we had a meeting of our local teachers' association. Made me think about all the meetings that I have attended over the years. Hardly ever missed a meeting, though I never got super involved. I wasn't interested in running for office. We have a good group of people, always had. Always interested in doing the right thing for the kids, but we didn't want to be taken advantage of either.

The topics haven't changed much over the years--negotiations, working conditions, grievances, making our school a better place. The format hasn't changed either--refreshments before, then the business meeting.

In my earlier days, the "tea" was a really big deal. Each department would take turns bringing refreshments. The food would always be home made by the teachers (or their spouses). There would be punch in a crystal punch bowl. And on special occasions, the coffee would be served from the school's silver coffee and tea service.

Today, things are much more casual. We all work much harder today, I think. (Or am I just getting older?!) More often than not, the cookies are purchased on a big plastic tray from the grocery store, and the beverages are canned pop and bottles of water. Today, the host department ordered pizzas. Domino's. The pizza went over very well. But, I think we have lost a little something. I'd like to think we were more civilized then. . .

Next Year's Schedule

Today, the office was abuzz! Next year's schedule was coming out! It felt funny (good) to watch everyone philosophize about their schedule, their colleague's schedules, and some of the problems with the various combinations of classes.

Someone asked how I liked my schedule, to which I responded, "I like mine just fine!"

(Actually, I'm glad I won't be teaching the schedule they have for the new person. It actually is not very interesting!)

Alumni

On Saturday, I crossed paths with a former student. A young man that had been in two of my classes during the 1983-1984 school year. Brad (I don't have his permission to use his real name here) is a really wonderful individual who has made a very special place in the world. Through his business, he had crossed paths with another student, I'll call him Matthew, who had been in a typing class I taught. The fact that Matthew, class of 1982 would still remember anything from my class, so many years ago, is amazing to me.

I just hope that those memories are positive ones.

Disappointment

I was supposed to take two students to a leadership summit this morning (Saturday). Getting up early on a weekend, going to school, driving the kids to another school, spending the day, driving them home, was not my idea of fun. However, it was the right thing to do.

However, I had barely left the neighborhood and I got a call from one of the students, "I'm sick and I can't go. But I talked to Fred, and he is still going."

Ok, I continue going to school. I wait, and wait. Fred was a no-show.

As one of my colleagues once said, "You can always count on a kid to disappoint you."

I guess I don't really believe that, but there must be a learning experience here, for someone.

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

For many years, I have kept a coffee maker in my office. I need to have my caffeine. My long time companion has been an Oster coffee maker, with timer. I set it to make a pot of coffee just before I get to work in the morning.

This Thursday, I arrived at work and there was no coffee. I checked and it was full of water and grounds. So I figured that I had forgotten to press the start button.

I pressed the button, and just a few drops of water came out, then it stopped.

No. It couldn't happen. My coffee maker couldn't die, so close to my 'graduation.' We had been together for at least ten years, and now this.

Well, I brought in a replacement this morning. A shiny new Kenmore coffee maker that we had at home. It had been only used a few times. Now I am set for the rest of the year. Or so I thought.

Today, I was showing my students "Consumer Reports" magazine. In paging through, I saw that there had been a recall on Kenmore coffee makers. It seems that they can over heat and catch fire.

Hmmm. How would it be to have my coffee maker burn down the building, just before I retire!?

George, You Are Being Too Professional!

Today, we had a special meeting before school. They brought our colleagues from our sister school over for this big confab. I was here, ready to go, when my colleagues said, "George, you don't have to go to this meeting."

I thought they were joking. I was here, set to go, I always go to these 'mandatory' meetings. Then it was explained to me. "The meeting is about the new teacher evaluation process for next year. You don't need to know this--you won't be here next year."

Another reminder of the finality (liberation?) of June 2, 2010.

Not that I am counting, but only 58 more 'wakeups' after today!

Though, I again am not counting, this means that including today, the alarm clock has rung 6,047 times to remind me to come to work. Whew!

Casimir Pulaski Day

This morning, I was watching the news while I was having breakfast. One of the trailers at the bottom of the screen reminded me that today was Casimir Pulaski's birthday, and that many schools and other public offices were closed. Sadly for us, our district sought and received an exemption from that holiday--we must need more teacher-student contact time.

Of course, I did rub it in during class today. Then made sure that my students received an extra measure of knowledge from me!