Thursday, December 25, 2008

commercials...

I just have to sit back and laugh every time I watch commercials! Especially around Christmas! Now I know that I can not be the only person on the planet that thinks this is absolutely ridiculous but, as I am watching TV a couple of days ago commercials start coming on for AFTER Christmas sales!!! Christmas isn't even here yet and already they are advertising for sales after! Do these companies think that we don't know that there is a DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS??? Do they think that we will forget???
It's bad enough that stores start to put out Christmas decorations before Halloween, but come on!!! Can't we just enjoy the season?? Isn't our economic system so much better than everyone else's!!!! Capitalism at its finest!
I don't know about you, but it gives me a sense of "hurry up, hurry up!!! before everything is gone!" And the next thing you know, you are sucked into the stores and the family stays at home and then your vacation is over!
Bottom line, can't advertisers at least wait until it IS the day after Christmas to start advertising??? Can't we just enjoy the holiday??? And whatever happened to all the holiday shows and entertainment? It seems to just be the same 'ol song and dance as before the holidays... I have decided I am going to unplug during the holidays, throw on some jams and just enjoy the season!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

always the teachers fault...

Why is it when you turn on the news and there is something on about a school they always blame the teachers??
School shootings always come back to somehow being the teacher's fault,"they should have known how depressed he was", "why didn't the teacher's do something about it?". When a school has not performed well on a state mandated test, it's always the teacher's fault!
I wish parents could actually see how their little "angels" behave when they are not around! I wish parents could hear the filth that comes out of their mouths, the lack of respect kids have for other adults! I wish parents could see how their kids refuse to work or bring supplies to school!
Somehow, all this and more is the teacher's fault!?
I would love to be able to have a video camera in my classroom, like the cop's have on their cars, so that parents and the general public can see just how unruly kids can be.
I personally think that school should be a privilege, not a right! I think that if parents were to have to pay for school, they would make their kids behave more.
Why do you think kids in private school do so much better... parents have to pay for the education! When you have to pay for something that expensive, you tend to want your money's worth!
I teach in a very low income, inner city school and let me tell you... most of the kids are very unappreciative of the education they are receiving. They think that everything should be given to them, they don't have to work for anything, and you should respect THEM, not the other way around!
Teacher's are nothing more than glorified babysitters who work their fingers to the bone and don't get the respect or the pay they deserve!
If you are lucky and get a classroom with mostly "normal" kiddo's in it, you might be able to get a point or two across! But if you get a classroom with a lot of Special Ed. kids in there... good luck!!!!
I teach 8th grade and have kids in my classroom that can't even read on a first grade level! How am I supposed to get that kid caught up in less than 9 months??
Our former leader came up with a brilliant idea of "No Child Left Behind" which translated to... every child needs to be in a regular classroom!! Any teacher will tell you that not all kid's need to be in a regular classroom setting!
It is frustrating to see what a child needs and know that there is nothing you can do for them. Paperwork takes forever, moving them to another "special" classroom is almost impossible, and leaving them in a "regular" classroom is detrimental to them and the other kids in the room, as these kids are usually the most disruptive!!!
I have had a kid that actually talked to dead people... I've had a kid that self mutilated... I've had kid's that openly recruit for gangs, I've had kids threaten me!
What are we teacher's supposed to do?? Why doesn't anyone ever blame things on the principal? the overall administration? the superintendent? the president??
Trust me when I say... teacher's do turn in kid's that they suspect will do harm to themselves or others. What happens though is the sea of paperwork and documentation that you have to come up with to get these kids any help or removed from the school is exhausting! Why does it have to be so hard?? What happened to the Paper Reduction Act?? What happened to Teacher Rights?? Why don't parents turn around and look at their own child and think, "yeah, he can be a pain in the ass!" and do something about it! I can't tell you how many times I have heard a parent say,"well, I guess it's your problem now!" or "I don't know what to do, I can't control him/her".
Yeah, this is what we have to put up with and more... so the next time you think teachers get too much time off, please remember...
1. we don't get paid for those days off, not even the summer!
2. we are usually grading papers, filling out paperwork, or buying supplies for YOUR kids or attending workshops!
3. we don't get reimbursed for: buying things for our classrooms, or when things get stolen, or when our tires get slashed, or when kids think it's funny to scratch your car up, etc..
4. we certainly don't get paid extra to do anything after 3:30pm like: watch football, volleyball, basketball, golf, or any other sport because the parents can't go, supervise dances, help out with fund raising events for the kids, detention after school, home visits, helping kids with their homework, etc.
5. we usually have to pay to attend redundant classes in order to keep our certificates to teach, of which we have to pay for those too!!!!!

Teaching needs to be a respected profession, like anything else! We can not and should not keep teaching because it's for the "sake of the children", we all need to remember that teacher's have families too, and they don't live on bread and water... and no magic fairy comes around and pays the bills and makes everything rosey red for the next day!!!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Advent Calender

The best memory ever of my childhood!
Opening each door and eating that wonderful little piece of chocolate! Heaven!
It is ONE of the traditions I try and hold on to and share with my son.
World Market sells the calendars and they actually are reasonably priced. They also have lots of German candies and decorations! World Market also carries the Glu Wein, the wine you heat up and serve, a tradition at the Weinachtes Markt (Christmas Market)
Memories... one day I will make it back to Germany, hopefully teach in the DODD's system!

Almost Christmas...

I love Christmas time, I just wish it would snow!!
Why is it things never happen when you're on vacation, they always seem to happen when you actually have to go to work??
I didn't buy a Christmas tree this year... and it feels kinda weird?!
We always go over to my mother's house for Christmas and put presents under her tree, so I didn't see the need to keep buying a tree that doesn't get used.
Am I dreaming or do you remember a time when the department stores and shops closed before the 25th and didn't open until the 27th??
I wonder how much stock people really put into Christmas, when the whole time they are off from work, they are out spending money at the stores??? Don't people ever just hang out with family???
I know I must be fairly odd, but I actually love hanging out with my friends and family! I love hangin out with my son, getting into philosophical arguments with my mom and sister... playin with the cutest nephew ever born!
Plus, I like to partake in a little holiday cheer called Alcohol!
Does anyone really remember what Christmas is all about????? Are people so busy that the only thing they think about are the "presents"?
I guess us Europeans just view things a little differently, seeing how we are just slightly older than the Americans! Maybe one day they'll learn to slow down and enjoy the simplest things life has to offer!
Love, Life, and Laughter is all that you need!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

married men...

Why is it so easy for some people to go out with married people???
Why is it easy for married people to cheat?
Is it acceptable to date a married man if the circumstances are out of their control, meaning an abusive spouse, no sex in the marriage, no love in the marriage???
Is it just that married men are safer for someone who is terrified of commitment? Or is it an issue of control???
Question, if a women cheats with another women, is it still considered cheating on their husband???
Why is it that men can handle that better than if they cheat with a man??
It's funny to see a married couple fight and argue over stupid stuff! You just want to go slap them and tell 'em, what the fuck!!
I think back to my marriage and often wonder what the fuck went wrong...
I thought I did everything right! Apparently not! I try and pass along advise to people who are going to get married what I thought went wrong with my marriage.
It's funny but I have this catholic priest that comes by my work (bartender in a restaurant) who brings these young couples to be married. He introduces me and just waits for me to give my "not so nice" advice to them, I often wonder why he does this? Is it because I am not afraid to tell them what marriage is all about? Is it that I ask them, "so who's going to do the laundry??" ?
Why don't they give reality classes before marriage, instead of these lovey dovey type classes??
I don't regret the divorce... I have had twice the fun in life than my x! Revenge is sweet when you look better than the current wife!!
So back to married men??? Good or bad??? Guilty or just don't give a shit??

Christmas anticipation...

You know teachers look forward to Christmas break... more so than any other time (besides summer vacation) because it is the midpoint in the year. With the moon at it's brightest and closest to the earth, the kids are all crazy!! I think you could even say the teachers!! You would have to be a little whacked to put up with 150 of someone else's kids!
But I eagerly await the holiday... it's a magical time!
Since my family is German, we still celebrate the 'ol world way.
I still hold on to the memories of my grandparents and Christmas time, and hope to pass them on to my son.
Love, Life, and Laughter is all you need... I wish you and yours a great and intoxicating holiday season, however you may celebrate it.

catching up...

I find myself trying to catch up on the last couple of weeks events...
and the only thing exciting to say is...
nothing.
In the real world, we had four fires and a few fights at school! Why is it hard to get students expelled from school when they are a clear danger to themselves and the rest of the student body?? I laugh because my son was suspended from school for having his hair too long. Yet, at the school where I teach I can't get rid of a student that threatens me! Students are free to bully, fight, set fires, and be a complete and total disruption to the learning environment of the entire class! Document, document, document... is all we ever hear in school! When will enough be enough???
I know you must be thinking, "well it must be your classroom management that's wrong", I can assure you that I am a pretty tough teacher and don't put up with anyone shit...
I wish I had the liberty sometimes to tell these kids exactly what I think... but when you have kids in your classroom that really don't give a shit about getting a free education, it makes you want to show them a bit of reality!!
One thing I really don't get is Christmas parties....
I have two jobs, and not one of them is having a Christmas party! I volunteer for a non-profit organization and we had a Christmas party... explain that one to me!
I am so glad to be appreciated by the people that I spend most of my time with!!!
Oh well, I had a great time at the non-profit anyway...