Given Time

Given time, I seem to be able to get things finished. For example, I put up shelves in the garage, so we have more room to walk around. That is an absolute necessity if we want to fit both cars in the garage at the same time.




Speaking of the garage, I've got to say that I LOVE garage door openers!!! As long as you pull into your own driveway, when you push the button, the door opens, and you're virtually inside the 4-walls of your house.

Ooooohhh... I know what you're asking, and the answer is, "Yes!" For the life of me I couldn't figure out what was wrong with the remote, until I noticed the garage door 2 houses away moving up and down. I don't think anyone saw me!



I also managed to put up a few Halloween decorations. This is a major accomplishment for me, since the past few years I just haven't had the desire to celebrate holidays. And, the thought of having to take down decorations really discouraged me from putting them up in the first place.





If my back and neck hold up a little longer, I think I will rearrange the furniture in the front room. It's been this way since we moved in (the end of July), so I think it's time. I'll post pictures, when I'm finished.

Retraction

Okay, I've had about 4 days to think about that "It's Official" post, and I think I'd like to make a retraction. I DON'T hate my job... But I DO hate bureaucracy; the red tape that teachers have to follow when speaking to "phantom-type" parents, that don't follow through with recommendations discussed (together), and neglect the importance of their child's education, the minute they leave the room.

HELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, parents... Stay informed! This is YOUR child we're talking about. And if you want that child to have a well-balanced education, then stay informed (*see note below). If you ask your child if he/she has homework, and they never do, and you're doubting in your mind that it's a true statement, CONTACT THE TEACHER! Ever heard of a phone, or e-mail??? OR, if your child is bringing home tests or grade sheets weekly, with failing grades, you might want to check that black hole they call a backpack (or in some instances, under the bed); you'll be surprised what you'll find in there, including unfinished classwork assignments (now known as homework), not to mention the answer for why those grades are so low!

*Don't get me wrong, I know it's hard: you've got jobs to do, other children to attend to, houses to clean, a life to live, etc... But that doesn't give you an excuse, explanation, or reason. He/she is your child and you just need to deal with it!

It's Official

... I hate my job! I don't like dealing with poorly trained children, who with little or NO manners, try to manipulate assignments to their best ability, or to manipulate the other students in class, AND the classroom teacher! But, dealing with the parents of those same students is so much WORSE! And, so much more unbelievable!

Apparently it IS acceptable for a student to speak disrespectfully to a teacher, and to behave poorly is class. Why, you ask??? Because they're just modeling what they've seen their parents do; not only in front of their own children, but in front of someone else's children, as well.

All of this because she didn't want to wait 10 minutes, on the chairs, outside the classroom door. Granted: It was warm this afternoon (around 100). Granted, the chair may have been warm. Granted, she was going to have to wait a few minutes. But, think about it: How many of us can avoid lines? Like say, traffic lines, grocery store lines, concert ticket lines, doctor waiting room lines, the line at the post office, dmv... Okay, you get the gist... Lines are inevitable, and we're all busy... No one really wants to stand in line, yet we DO, because there is something at the other end of that line that we DO WANT... Like the 1-minute thrill on an amusement park ride, food to eat, postage stamps, medicine, an evening out, and in some cases, insight to the progression and education of our children, as they become well-rounded, educated, polite, productive individuals, and some day the adults with the ability to thrive and succeed in a world full of LINES!

As important as that last statement may seem, I beckon to ask, "Does that give the parent the right to barge in on another parent/teacher confecerece, arguing over which parent should've been seen first and why!

Literally, all I have to say is: GROW UP!! Wait your turn, and demonstrate to your child respect, patience, and understanding that: Being an adult requires ACTING LIKE ONE!

Cutest Little Brown Dog, Ever

Przemek

During the 1995/1996 school year, Gary and I hosted a foreign exchange student. This was kind of a last minute decision, but it was definitely the right thing to do, because within a few weeks of our decision I drove over to the bus station in Show Low to meet a young man, from Poland, named Przemek Baszynski, who quickly became a member of our family. Przemek attended the local high school, played soccer on the school team, visited Las Vegas, Phoenix, and the Grand Canyon, was asked to the Sadie Hawkin's dance, attended a Suns' basketball game, learned to drive and obtained his driver's license, participated in the senior class trip to Disney Land and Magic Mountain, graduated with the class of 1996, and before returning home, visited some friends in Boston.

Since returning to Poland he has graduated college, married a beautiful bride, has an adorable daughter, and started his own successful business.



Przemek will turn 30 on the last day of September... Happy birthday, Przemek!!!

No good, Rotten, Sorry, Awful Kind of Day!

Did you ever have one of those days, where no matter how much effort you put itno it, everything you did seemed to come out wrong??? Well, that's what yesterday was like for me!

My job is becoming more and more stressful, and less and less enjoyable. It hurts me tremendously to think that maybe, just maybe, I no longer have a desire to teach. Jesse assures me, almost nightly, that I just need to make a change; as in go to a different school, in a different district next year, but I fear the problems of teaching will be there, too. For example: The parent who overlooks the sorted information her daughter tells me on a daily basis, about her family, but comes unglued because I mentioned I could smell cigarette smoke in her hair and clothes. Seriously, I'm pretty sensitive to smells of smoke, and was simply making a random statement that there are side effects to smoking, and the permeation of smoke on hair and clothes is one of those effects!

Or, how about the parent that was upset because I left her daughter outside the door for a minute, so she could prepare herself to come into the classroom. There was NO mention of the fact that this same student, a good solid 40 minutes later, very rudely announced to me, and the class, that it was "my fault" that she was unable to finish her assignment on time. That parent made no mention of this sassiness during our phone call, rather she stated that she would be speaking with the principal. When I suggested to her that it is protocol to speak to the teacher about such issues first, she continued to state that "the principal" was her line of direction. Still there was NO mention of the disrespectful behavior. Oh, and she didn't thank me for calling her to see if she could deliver her daughter's reading assignment, that she accidentally left at home, along with the behavior report. Nor did she thank me for paying for her child's lunch, just one week before, when she forgot her money. And, there was absolutely no mention of her child's dishonest actions, the previous week, and the compassion shown to her when I allowed her to remain the class representative.

And as if that wasn't enough on my plate to handle, there was a third student, just plain acting out, who let everyone know, "She was going to the Recovery Room," as if that is a REWARD! Nope! Not! Not even close! Even the teacher in charge of the Recovery Room said, "Oh, no... You'll spend the day with the assistant principal." BTW: The assistant principal was made aware of "the problem" around 9:15, and promised he would come to the classroom, as soon as bus evacuation was over... I didn't see him again. So at lunch time, I headed for the office, with "the problem" in tow, only to discover, there were NO administrators to be found! And, better yet, the secretaries told me to put the student in another teacher's room, but that teacher was now also at lunch. And, there were already TWO students in the "time-out" room, so they told me to leave "the problem" in the waiting area of the office. Seriously, there is something wrong with this system... The principal and assistant principal are out on lunch duty. If there is a problem, they have to be paged. If they have to come in, someone else has to be paged to take their place. If someone else comes to take their place, the person with "the problem" is standing in the office, or their classroom, or where ever, waiting for someone to come and take care of "the problem" so the teacher can take care of the rest of the children, who by this time are off task, wondering what is going to happen to "the problem."

I'm so glad it was only a 1/2 day, for it seems to me my "strikes" were up, and I was "OUT!" But, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

After work I had to go to the doctor... UUGGHHH! I'm so tired of going to the doctor. And, now they want me to see a surgeon and discuss surgery on my back... I'm REALLY NOT handling this!

Introducing Sydnee Annette

This is Tanette Turley... I'm pretty sure her last name should be Wiltbank; I mean, she did spend a LOT of time at my house. Any way, Tanette and Jared gave me the privilege of being present during the birth of their first child, and my grandchild, Sydnee Annette. This was a first for me, and an AWESOME experience! Thanks, Tanette!