Our little kickball team, an amalgamation of a few teams from last season is undefeated through 4 games! Tall Guy and I had to disband our beloved "Rick is 21" because not enough people came back from last season, so we got tossed in with "Look Ma, No Hands" and what a great thing that has turned out to be. We actually played the team on which 2 of our former teammates ended up, another amalgamation of teams from last season and a force to be reckoned with. We played a game of perfect defense and put together some nice offense, scoring 3 runs to their 1. I have to toot my own horn and say that I had a diving catch (my first and it felt good, and a lead-off double because they overthrew trying to get me out at 1st so I turned on the juice and made it to 2nd - we didn't score, but it's gratifying getting 2 bases on a bunt).
This weekend is Homecoming at my little school so I will be attending a bonfire this evening and a day of athletic activities tomorrow. I will NOT be chaperoning the dance tomorrow night. This is a good thing since the students had to be warned to keep their genitals apart when dancing or risk not having a dance next year.
Teenagers+music+dark=chaperoning nightmare.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Things I've noticed about h.s. in the past 2 weeks
There are some interesting phenomena about high school, things that haven't changed since I was a student, and some things that have changed so drastically I can't imagine existing in this environment.
Hasn't changed:
*Kids think they're smarter than adults and that they can get away with stuff. I was in charge of "Picture Day" for the yearbook class photos. Almost every single class had 2 boys who tried to give the "thumbs-up" sign. Every one of them was yelled at by a chorus of teachers watching the process.
*Chemistry still sucks.
*At lunch, boys sit with boys and girls sit with girls. Except for the drama kids.
*Pressure is still the best way to get homework done. The library has a computer lab and every morning, 15 kids are in there frantically typing. While we didn't have to type most assignments when I was in high school, first period still found a huge group of students trying to get that last paragraph written.
Changes:
*Being able to look up the theme of your paper on the Internet - damn that's helpful.
*Emailing students their assignments and having them dump their papers into an online folder so that you have them when you get home. You can edit them using track changes and re-email, or print them out and make comments by hand. I think that I would have appreciated this more my first year of teaching, rather than when I was a student. Pretty cool.
*A phone in every pocket, and once school gets out, attached to every ear. God knows I'm addicted to my own cell phone, but being around teenagers and cell phones doesn't make me like the little buggers any more.
*The school librarian is way cooler :)
Random observations:
-Two chairs will never due if one is available. Seriously, they sit on top of each other, even when plenty of seating surrounds them.
-It's soo nice to have a cafeteria with a hot lunch. If I forget my lunch, or just don't want to eat last night's leftovers, there is a warm, tasty option at the other end of the hall. When I last taught, there were vending machines in place of a lunch line so students & teachers had the option of a mildly stale sandwich, a lukewarm yogurt or a "Cup-o-Soup", chicken flavor. Mmmm.
-Despite my being almost 15 years older than the seniors here, I still feel like "one of them". When did I get so old?
Hasn't changed:
*Kids think they're smarter than adults and that they can get away with stuff. I was in charge of "Picture Day" for the yearbook class photos. Almost every single class had 2 boys who tried to give the "thumbs-up" sign. Every one of them was yelled at by a chorus of teachers watching the process.
*Chemistry still sucks.
*At lunch, boys sit with boys and girls sit with girls. Except for the drama kids.
*Pressure is still the best way to get homework done. The library has a computer lab and every morning, 15 kids are in there frantically typing. While we didn't have to type most assignments when I was in high school, first period still found a huge group of students trying to get that last paragraph written.
Changes:
*Being able to look up the theme of your paper on the Internet - damn that's helpful.
*Emailing students their assignments and having them dump their papers into an online folder so that you have them when you get home. You can edit them using track changes and re-email, or print them out and make comments by hand. I think that I would have appreciated this more my first year of teaching, rather than when I was a student. Pretty cool.
*A phone in every pocket, and once school gets out, attached to every ear. God knows I'm addicted to my own cell phone, but being around teenagers and cell phones doesn't make me like the little buggers any more.
*The school librarian is way cooler :)
Random observations:
-Two chairs will never due if one is available. Seriously, they sit on top of each other, even when plenty of seating surrounds them.
-It's soo nice to have a cafeteria with a hot lunch. If I forget my lunch, or just don't want to eat last night's leftovers, there is a warm, tasty option at the other end of the hall. When I last taught, there were vending machines in place of a lunch line so students & teachers had the option of a mildly stale sandwich, a lukewarm yogurt or a "Cup-o-Soup", chicken flavor. Mmmm.
-Despite my being almost 15 years older than the seniors here, I still feel like "one of them". When did I get so old?
Hate in my heart
For Eric Gagne. How many times does he have to blow a save before Francona realizes that the Eastern Division Little League team is missing their star pitcher? Someone better give Tito a stern talking-to this morning. The kind of talking-to that says, "if you let Gagne so much as put on a Red Sox uniform and think about pitching with anything less than a 9-run lead, you're fired."
Thursday, September 6, 2007
OverwHelmed
First by the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and then by the First Day of School (remember that?).
Our trip west was wonderful. Way too brief, but great, nonetheless. I was able to take a drive through a small section of the mountains outside of Boulder (in a HUMMER...oh, the shame). We stopped at Boulder Falls, which was a beautiful sight with some cold water, and in the town of Nederland, which probably has a population of 73 but which has a library in the town "center". The wedding was flawless complete with touching vows, excellent food and plenty of dancing (mostly by me as Tall Guy never got quite drunk enough to stay on the dance floor for more than 3 minutes).
The first day of school was hectic and this first week has been packed with new faces and lots of questions. I have 6 advisees, all freshmen, so we are new together, which is kind of nice. I am slowing starting to learn the collection and the flow of the day. I hate telling people to be quiet, but I like helping them find a book. And, still not loving the whole "last-name" thing. I actually had a student walk up the desk and introduce herself. She said, "Hi, I'm Bryn," to which I replied, "Nice to meet you, I'm Jill. I mean, Mrs. O'Connor. Damn."
A new kickball season starts tonight. Tall Guy and I are on a new team, Look Ma No Hands, and we're looking forward to a winning season.
Our trip west was wonderful. Way too brief, but great, nonetheless. I was able to take a drive through a small section of the mountains outside of Boulder (in a HUMMER...oh, the shame). We stopped at Boulder Falls, which was a beautiful sight with some cold water, and in the town of Nederland, which probably has a population of 73 but which has a library in the town "center". The wedding was flawless complete with touching vows, excellent food and plenty of dancing (mostly by me as Tall Guy never got quite drunk enough to stay on the dance floor for more than 3 minutes).
The first day of school was hectic and this first week has been packed with new faces and lots of questions. I have 6 advisees, all freshmen, so we are new together, which is kind of nice. I am slowing starting to learn the collection and the flow of the day. I hate telling people to be quiet, but I like helping them find a book. And, still not loving the whole "last-name" thing. I actually had a student walk up the desk and introduce herself. She said, "Hi, I'm Bryn," to which I replied, "Nice to meet you, I'm Jill. I mean, Mrs. O'Connor. Damn."
A new kickball season starts tonight. Tall Guy and I are on a new team, Look Ma No Hands, and we're looking forward to a winning season.
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