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Sunday, 18 October 2009

  • Brief update.  Finished marking period 1 and it just makes me realize how much I hate having 6 marking periods in a school year.  Switch to 4 please.  If we did trimesters, the teachers would still be required to give out an interim report so the amount of grading would be the same.  Anywhoo.  I have 6 classes this year, so I'm earning extra moola (not too much though.  bummer).  Double section of AP biology, lab, a few Sagan classes, and honors bio.  I haven't decided which class is my fav yet.  I like them all so far but for different reasons. 

    Other news.  Mom has completely healed from cardiac surgery and we're going to book our Costa Rica trip soon - numero 5 for me, I should really invest in property down there.  Dad had an experimental procedure done with electrodes being implanted in his spine so he has this remote doohickey that allows him to control shock therapy to minimize pain.  Craziness.  Parents are also graciously paying off the remainder of my student loans.  Note to self: get them insane holiday gifts this year.

Thursday, 18 June 2009

  • The legal system bothers me.  I just found out today that NYC has banned any condom demonstrations in the classroom since 1995.  At the same time, however, the schools are required to incorporate HIV/AIDS and sex safety into the curriculum.  Dubbayou tee eff.  I've done 'wrap your weenie day' a few times now where I unroll a condom on my arm while discussing how to put them on and what types of contraceptives protect against babies and against diseases.  Then later all the parents thank me for sparing them from an awkard lecture.  But now I find out that it's ILLEGAL?  The NY Civil Liberties Union is hoping Obama's hatred for abstinence only education will spark the NYC DOE into changing the policy.  Most people in the school didn't even know (including my boss) but now if I continue doing it and ONE parent complains, then I'll probably get some sort of letter in my file - EVEN THOUGH the school agrees with condom demonstrations since students want to - and need to - learn about safe sex.  Little liberties like sex ed is one of the reasons that I LOOOOOOVE living in the Northeast and now I find out NY is one step closer to being a red state.  Way to go.  Grrrrrrrrrr.  ANGER.

    What also angers me is how much the students just love wrap your weenie day.  Even if I have the most ridiculous motley crew of adolescents, they all are enraptured, and ask lots of serious questions.  The questions sometimes sound ridiculous, but then I notice that other students are nodding along and I realize that these teenagers have never learned basic things that you should learn in middle school health.  EVERYONE wants to learn this information and they all want to know how contraceptives work and a few always stay afterwards to ask me questions that they're too embarrassed or shy to ask a parent or doctor about.  It pisses me off so much that due to one chancellor's regulation 14 years ago that I have to deprive my students of learning about something that is so essential to their own lives.  You can tell teens all you want that condoms fit anyone, but you would never believe the looks (and sounds) of amazement when I roll one down my arm.  Any idiot looking into my classroom would be able to instantly know that students are learning and interested in learning and now I have to cut out that lesson??  Ridiculous.

Friday, 05 June 2009

  • Minor but exciting events from the big apple.  I applied to get CollegeBoard AP certification, so that should come through soon.  Am now fully licensed to teach in NY state - no more interstate reciprocity.  Yay hours upon hours of testing in giant cold event rooms.  I'm going to be renting my first car on July 1 so that I can spend the month on the Cape biking to the beach.  Whilst there I will become certified to be a CPR instructor.  After some detective work, I've found out that my esophagus goes into crazy spasms so I need to restrict my diet.  Mike and I leave for our international shennanigans in exactly 2 months.  That's the most exciting part.  The other stuff is just all the why my life is awesome right now.  My biggest problem is I still haven't decided what to ink myself with for #5.  That and the damn proctoring that I have to do during Regents week.

    Life is grand.

Friday, 27 March 2009

  • Despite living in en why city for almost 2 years, I had only like, my 2nd or 3rd encounter with a crazy person.  Some crackhead white trash woman with a gut hanging out of too-tight clothing was blocking me from walking down the sidewalk and then started batting at my scarf.  And laughing.  Her big-black-guy posse was laughing too and doing that talking after you thing.  "What'd you say?!  Get back here!"  That response always bothers me.  Oh?  You want me to come back?  Sure - what were you saying now?  Yeah, I'll turn right around so you can play with my scarf more like it's a fucking cat toy.   Are the buttons on my jacket shiny too?

    On a more positive note.  Just had parent teacher conferences last night and this afternoon.  Kicked its ass.  I hear about all these teachers getting wicked confrontational parents, but nobody's done that yet.  Then again, I'm so super organized that before the parents can say anything I just throw all this data and numbers and grades at them.  While I'm writing down the kid's test scores, lab grades, hw average, and overall grades for the entire year thus far, I tell the parents all about how Timmy comes to class late every day or chats with his pal.  So mom and dad are overwhelmed with the information and turn to the kid who ends up getting all flustered and embarrassed.  Go me.  I ROCK.  Just like how yesterday I accidentally drew on a kid's face and accidentally nailed a kid in the crotch.  Then today I told a mother (in front of the guilty party) that the only way her daughter could be louder is if she brought pots and pans into class and started banging them together.  Girl thought it was funny.  Mom was unamused.  I'm still awesome though.

Monday, 23 March 2009

  • I *might* have used the adjective "boobular" today in anatomy class.  The worst part is was that nobody seemed all that surprised by my word choice.  It's ok though, because I also called something "ka ka" (instead of calling it bullshit, which it was) and that was the funny part.  I also said the word "nippular" to my boss.  That's ok since he was talking about demonstrating the use of an EKG to the anatomy class and I said I don't know how that's possible since I've never seen one that didn't expose the nippular area.  He wasn't surprised by my word choice either. 

    Anyway.  Mike and I are going on a romantic 3-country trip this summer!  I paid for both our plane tickets.  $83 roundtrip.  Total.  That's right.  Be jealous.  Thank you grandparents for frequent flier miles.  The plan is to fly into Paris and then we'll go to the Swiss Alps (not to ski, sorry), and continue on to Rome and fly out of Venice.  All squished into 2 weeks.  TWO WEEKS OF AWESOME!  Cheese and coffee all over the place.  Magical.  I think I'm turning into a globetrotter.  This makes 3 out-of-country trips in a year (Costa Rica #3 in August, CR #4 this Feb, and now France/Switzerland/Italy this August)...

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kellycakes

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    • Name: Kelly
    • Country: United States
    • State: New York
    • Metro: New York City
    • Birthday: 8/21/1983
    • Gender: Female
    • Member Since: 6/14/2004

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  • everything and anything about the beach: the flow of sand through your fingers and toes, sound of the waves, smell of the breeze carrying the salt ashore, seagulls moseying up and down the coast, seaglass and driftwood, and of course everything that lives in the ocean.

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