FLOOD!

I suppose it happens to everyone, but I'm not sure that makes me feel better. At 5:10 this morning I woke up to what I thought at first was a hard rain hitting the top of my patio table out back. I soon realized the sound was coming from inside and jumped up to investigate.

In kind of a worst nightmare scenario I found that the source of water, the air conditioning unit, was dumping gallons of water into my living room and guest bathroom. This is one of those stories where the nightmare goes on for hours as I realized I didn't know where the valve was to turn off the water to the house. (I rent, don't own ... couldn't find the dang thing) Frantic calls to my landlord didn't help the situation since he takes care of things by default (his girlfriend is the actual landlord .... he just fixes everything) and he didn't know where the valve was either, but was on his way.

Unfortunately, they live about an hour away and while I continued to look for a valve and throw towels and bedspreads and stuff on the floor to help impede the disaster, water continued to empty into my house.

I finally figured out that I could at least get a bucket under one of the sources, which I had to empty about every five minutes. The other source was coming down the wall and so I really couldn't get anything under it. There was now standing water in both bathrooms and water splashed up from the carpet when I walked across it.

By the time the landlord arrived it had been probably close to an hour and a half since I called. He ran all over the place looking for a valve and when he finally found it (a lever), it was one I had had my hands on while I had him on the phone initially .... I could have had minimal water input had I pulled that lever and checked to see if it stopped the flow. Hindsight.

As things stand now, I have two people in here trying to suck the water out of the carpet. The carpet is wet throughout .... both bedroom closets, both bathrooms (no carpet, but standing water), living room, guest bedroom, and probably the coat closet, though I haven't looked yet. I guess I can say that I was fortunate enough that the water didn't make it much past my bedroom door, so the computer wasn't in danger and there is a dry spot for me to be. (Good thing, since I have to finish up my research paper today.) The water did, however reach the entertainment center (cheap MDF that soaks up water like a sponge) so I guess I'll have to replace that. Wonder if my renter's insurance will cover it?

The doors to the laundry area were just walked past my room and I guess he is getting ready to pull out the washer and dryer to get the water out of there. Yep, the dryer is now in my kitchen. Out back on the patio there are sopping wet towels and a comforter hanging over the patio furniture and fence. Stuff that will have to be washed later .... if the water is ever turned back on.

The landlord just told me they would have to put down new carpeting or flooring, which isn't really a surprise. I asked him how he was going to do that with all this stuff in here and he told me they do it all the time. (he lays floors for a living) He's really positive and optimistist, which I suppose is helpful, since I'm kind of miserable. He said "I'm glad you woke me up at 5:00 this morning ... it gets me back on schedule. Since the time changed I haven't been able to get up". Talk about looking on the bright side of things .... geesh. The good news is, they are going to let me pick the flooring. I feel funny doing that since it's not my place, but he says they want to keep me happy. Guess it pays to be a good tenant. I'll be here for at least three more years, probably, so I guess that's three years of knowing they don't have to worry about their tenant.

Oh well, on with the worries of the day. Short term, I have to finish up this paper. If I can get the reference list written to standard, I'll be finished. Long term, I now have a huge mess to contend with. I guess I'm spring cleaning whether I want to or not.

Musings on Toilet Paper

No, I don't sit around thinking about toilet paper all day, but after visiting the employee restroom at work this morning a thought did cross my mind.

It was obvious the custodian had already been in to clean before I went in, because there were two fresh rolls of tissue in the toilet paper caddy (or whatever you call it) and two partial rolls that didn't have much paper on them resting on the handicapped rail. Obviously she had changed out the rolls.

I finished off one of the partial rolls thinking, of course, it was best to use those up before beginning with the newer ones, but even as I did so I started thinking: "I bet there are people in this building who think they are above finishing off these rolls and will start the new ones before these are gone." With day two of testing still ahead (see previous blog) I didn't give that thought a second one and headed off to class.

Later in the day I returned to the same employee restroom. Sure enough, there sitting on the handicapped rail was the partial roll and one of the new ones was halfway gone! What makes people that way? I could certainly understand if the newer roll was of a more superior quality, or if the old roll was damp or dirty in some way, but it's all the same paper and there was nothing wrong with the partial roll.

I don't understand how people's minds work sometimes. Do they think they are too good to use a partial roll? Do they think they are somehow entitled to a fresh roll? Fresh bowl, sure. Fresh roll? Get over yourself. I bet they wouldn't spare a square either.

I don't get it.

Let the testing games begin

WARNING: TIRADE AHEAD

So today began three days of practice testing before the big one in May. The results will likely be back by the end of the week, giving our principal enough time to have a month of coronaries about the scores before we have to abuse our students with the "big one" at the end of the year. This also gives him a month to ride our tails anew about them.

And what is the point? If they (the powers that be) could convince me that there was some educational benefit to it all, I might be on board, but as it stands I will never be in favor of three days of testing for a 10 year old.

I think what I find most annoying about it all is that we have students performing below grade level. They're below grade level when they come to us ... sometimes as much as three years behind. We are told to modify curriculum to meet their educational needs at their current level, because after all, how can they be expected to do fourth grade work if they are academically on a 2nd grade level? Good point, right? One would think.

Why then is the State still insisting they take an end-of-year test on fourth grade level? This is where it becomes obvious that none of the test-taking madness makes any sense. My below grade level students with modified curriculum, who don't do any work during the year on fourth grade level because they aren't capable are still required by the State to take that stupid test at the end of the year. And - they are expected to pass it.

So, my position has always been, if they have to take that test on grade level, they need to at least attempt grade level work during the academic year to have the slightest chance of passing. (which they won't, by the way, but they won't anyway ... if you see my point) I continue to drag them all along, year after year doing my best to get them somewhat prepared for a test they won't pass. But does doing so mean I'm not meeting their educational needs ... but if I don't they won't have any success at all on the test (a 2 is better than a 1) ... but are they learning anything ...

And so continues the vicious cycle.

My other problem with the testing is this: we are encouraged in all grade levels to use manipulatives and technology and let them work in small groups and with partners, etc. etc. etc., but the daggone testing at the end of the year allows for none of that. The ONLY things they are allowed to use is a ruler and a calculator for part of the math test. They can't even use a dictionary for the reading part.

They're 9 and 10 years old, for crying out loud ... let them use some unifix cubes. Let them take tests in a group, give them a dictionary .... we've spent all year teaching them how to use this stuff, let them use it!

Standardized testing is a joke. If the world knew how many questions a student in 5th grade had to answer correctly to pass the end of grade test, they would wonder why we even bother to spend the money for the paper it's printed on. (something like 12 out of 60 questions, for those of you dying to know) Such a waste of time and effort. And the truly funny (but sad) thing is, those fifth graders who get 12 out of 60 questions right run around the school the day they get their test results screaming about how they passed the test and are going to middle school. Big hairy deal. Forgive me for being a teacher and still saying this - they are morons. We won't even talk about the ones who can't manage to pass.

By the end of the year we will have spent at least 20 hours taking standardized tests of some sort. Twenty hours of Magic School Bus videos would be 1000 times more educational ... and tons more fun.

Boo, hiss to all the so-called educational leaders of our state and country. I hope they remember who to blame when their kids have to repeat a grade because they can't even answer 12 out of 60 questions correctly on a test.

And forgive me while I laugh about it.

Dessert Island

Don't anyone get bent out of shape .... I know I wrote dessert and not desert. One of my kids did that at school one day and we all got a big laugh out of it. He's a good natured kid and thought it was funny, too. And I don't know about you, but a dessert island sounds more inviting than a desert island. Banana pudding, here I come! Hee, hee.

So because I have been off work for 5 days and am going stir crazy from being home so much, here's a question for everyone:

If you were stranded on a deserted island, name 3 people you'd like to be stranded there with you. (others may join you later through the underground hatches ... oh wait, different island)

Oh btw, you'll only be stranded for a little while, so don't struggle with the choices too much.

My three: my friends Terry and Carmen and my brother (he can hunt and provide comic relief and help us make weapons ...lol)

Yeah, I really have nothing to do.

Procrastination

I'm the queen of it.

It was my intent to write my teacher research paper over spring break .... 4 days at my parents' house, stuff to do for work and an irritatingly long algebra assignment ... the paper didn't get done. So today (the beginning of my Easter break) I am working on it, except right now I'm not and I haven't been for about an hour now. I have 3 of the 10 pages done.

I also have a concept map to do for Algebra, which I've known about, and could have been working on, all year. Haven't started it. I have figured out, though, that I can probably fail that assignment and still get a High Pass for the class. It pays to do well on earlier assignments.

I realized today, also, that I need to work in my little patch of yard. Somehow in a week's time the dandelions have grown to colossal heights. That might be an excuse to avoid this paper some more later in the day or tomorrow, if I don't get it done today.

I'm hoping that by Sunday, I have everything (or most things) done so I can enjoy Easter and my Monday off. That will be a real treat.

Michael's Back!

Next week on Lost!

Moving

My principal dropped a bomb at faculty meeting today. Due to our ever increasing student population (765 and counting), and the current hodge-podge location of classrooms due to having to add additional teachers throughout the year, there is going to be mass relocation this summer, even though some of us have been in our rooms since before Moses (his phrase). At the end of the year we are to box everything up and prepare to move from our rooms.

Aaaargh. This greatly distresses me. I've been in my current room for almost 11 years. It will take a U-Haul to move all my stuff from there, but that isn't what bothers me the most. Over the years I have taken pains to make sure my room stays clean and that things (desks, chairs, walls, corkboards, etc) have remained in practically new condition. I have watched as other rooms are trashed by kids and teachers ... teachers who came and left a year later.

This assaults my sense of fair play as so many other things seem to do. How would it be fair for me to end up in a room that was trashed when I've taken such good care of mine? I some days feel like I'm standing in the middle of the ocean screaming about some inequity or another, but of course I'm never heard because the roaring drowns me out. It seems to me that so many problems could be solved if people followed the rules and things were fair.

But life isn't fair, we all know that. We also know it's probably good that it's not. Whatever injustices I think have befallen me, the justices may have been worse.

Still, I don't want to move out of my room. But if I have to move, maybe it will be to a classroom in a different district. I have always said that the day I have to move out of that room will be the day I leave that school. I started my online application as soon as I got home today.