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Friday 02.27.2009
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7:18am
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This is a really BIG deal.
As you Californians are aware, the state budget passed. It is NOT looking good for public education in California. Class sizes are going to explode. Art and music programs WILL be cut. Athletic programs WILL be cut. Per student dollars WILL be cut, as if we need that. California ranks 47th in the country in per-student spending. Thousands of teachers, even veteran teachers of 10+ years WILL be without a job. Friday, March 13 is the big day for those pink slips, and across the state we have declared it "Pink Friday." If you can, support education on that day by wearing pink, and visiting a school near you. We will be demonstrating, shoulder-to-shoulder to show our community the actual numbers that this 11 billion dollar cut means for OUR children we teach.
Here's more facts, figures, and what to do on Friday, March 13th:
Find more videos like this on Pink Friday
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Sunday 02.22.2009
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9:56pm
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My little friend for 36 hours
So I've been pretty sad since Saturday morning. On Friday morning, a couple kind-hearted 8th graders came rushing to me with a tiny little "package." Inside was a very frightened and injured juvenile hummingbird. Apparently I'm the "animal" person on our campus, and any time there is an injured animal they bring it to me. So of course I took this poor little baby in, though not quite sure what to do with her. Her beak was bent and one of her wings was not quite right. I figure she either fell from great height from her nest, or she crashed into something.
Luckily I don't have a 1st period class, so I was able to set up my "emergency" cage I keep in my classroom for such purposes. I covered the bottom with tissues, and ran to another teacher whom I know has hummingbird nectar since she keeps a feeder outside her room. Unfortunately, little Bella (she was named by one of my 7th graders later in the day) wouldn't eat out of the petri dish I put in front of her. She did, however, very much like to sip drops of nectar from my finger. This was so cute it completely melted my heart. It got to the point where she would see my hand and open her beak to beg for food.
I had to move her into the lab storeroom that connects to my room so she wouldn't be a distraction to my 8th graders whom I have for periods 2-4. She didn't like that. We could all hear her chirping for attention through the door! I'd peek my head in, she'd look up at me, and open her beak for food. I'd feed her, but then she'd start about 5 minutes later. Too. Cute. Apparently she thought I was her new Mom. However, and how cool is this... my 7th graders were scheduled to do their "Bird Beak Adaptation" lab on Friday! So, once they had finished the lab and were working on their data analysis and conclusions, I was able to bring Bella out for them to see. I fed her for each class and they were able to witness her amazing almost-reptilian tongue lap up the nectar. Talk about a great coincidence! She loved all the attention and by this point in the day was very alert and even hopping around the cage and perching anywhere she could.
After school, I drove to Wild Birds Unlimited because I knew they'd know what would be best. I had spent my lunch hour researching care of injured hummingbirds and found out it's a felony to keep them in captivity unless you have proper permits. Yikes. Fortunately, Wild Birds Unlimited were able to give me the name of a woman in Anaheim who rehabilitates hummingbirds. I was able to find a feeder that would fit in her temporary cage, and I bought some nectar so she'd be OK through the night until I could get her to her new home. I was able to get her to sip nectar from a disposable pipette, and eventually got her to drink from the mini-feeder I put in her cage. Getting her through the night was another issue. I made sure she was well-covered with cotton, cranked up the heat, and closed all the vents in the house so our room would stay nice and toasty. She would have been used to sleeping with her sibling in the nest and definitely needed some heat.
I was so scared when I woke up on Saturday morning, afraid she wouldn't make it through the night. But when I opened up the curtains she looked up at me all bleary-eyed, and chirped for food! This just was the kind of cute that kills. She ate for awhile and then seemed satisfied. I put her on a perch that Geoff had fashioned for me the night before and she seemed much happier than being on the ground, though her balance wasn't all that great. I spent a long time before I finally made the phone call to the rescue lady. I really didn't want to let this baby go. I had seriously bonded with her. She let me pet her and she liked to be held, and totally trusted and relied on me. But, as painful as it was, I knew I couldn't care for her in the way she needed it. Hummingbird's primary diet requires protein in the form of insects. They only drink the carbohydrate-rich nectar to give them the energy to chase down the insects. You can't buy this kind of food for them unless you are licensed. I had hopes she'd wake up able to fly and I could release her in my yard where I have several feeders, but no such luck. So I made the call, and made arrangements for her new home.
This lady was too cute. She had to be in her 80s, and had tons of different birds in her home. She even had a newborn hummingbird that was seriously the size of my pinky finger. I stayed about 30 minutes while I watched her rush around to put the proper feeders in her cage, and examine her injuries. She told me that if she could fly, then she'd rehabilitate her and release her. But if her wing didn't heal, she'd need to put her to sleep. I really wish she hadn't told me that. That's just awful. Anyway, I sat for awhile and watched little Bella in her new home. She was very bouncy and hopped all around, and ate her new protein-infused nectar. Finally, I had to go and that was the hardest walk down the driveway. I cried. I can't believe I got so attached to this tiny little creature in such a short time. I really hope she is OK, and will fly away soon. Good luck, little Bella. Come see me, please.
Bella on Friday after I got her a feeder. She was getting sleepy.
Saturday morning, before taking her to her new home. Such a pretty little girl!
Current Mood:  sad
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Wednesday 12.10.2008
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10:24pm
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It is time to move on.
Teaching.
In this country at least, I don't think this career is worth it. And I really feel like I need to start looking for something different to do with my life. I don't know what is happening with children these days and their parents, but it's really kind of scary the lack of motivation and responsibility I've seen year after year. Every year it gets steadily worse. Education seems to be least of everyone's priorities. Even with our new president. I was shocked to see how little it was ever brought up in the debates. It speaks a lot about how little people care about education in the USA.
Approximately only 40% of my students bother to do their homework. Only about 25% bother to study for tests and quizzes. On test days, I typically have a good chunk of students come sauntering into the classroom, look at the board, and say, "We have a test today?"
This is a high SES school. Many kids don't even show up with something to write with, yet they have iPhones tucked in their $250 jeans or Coach bags.
They don't listen. Ever. I am so incredibly sick of repeating directions, or even just telling them to actually READ the directions on a paper or on the board. The laziness. Oh the laziness. What is this? Are they spoon-fed to death in elementary school? Or at home? Why is this happening? What is wrong with this generation?
35% of my students have a "plan" meaning they have ADD or ADHD and every year that number goes up. Why is this? Is this suddenly a new disease, or are parents just seeking an excuse for their lack of parenting? I can't get anything done because I spend most my time trying to get work out of these kids with plans. Parents bring their lawyers into meetings frequently and demand to sue if you don't give their child extra time to get their homework done. For most of them, it's not that they run out of time to do their homework and legitimately need the extra time - it's that their parents don't bother to follow up with them, and they play video games all night or play on MySpace instead of doing their homework. They're so stupid if they don't think we look at their MySpace pages and how often they log on. But they get extra time to do their work or else we get sued.
Today two students were cheating. One was letting the other copy his homework. He admitted to it in the principal's office. It's his 2nd offense. But when he gets home he cries and his daddy now won't leave me alone because apparently the word of a 13 year-old is more credible than a 30+ year-old adult. When did the respecting teacher go out the window? How did this happen? What is wrong with the current generation of parents? They worship their children too much. They celebrate every stupid little thing. And they have created monsters who think real life is this way.
I have really tried hard this year, but I am so miserable. I thought things would get better this year, but they haven't. All of this is really not worth it. I need some sort of way out. I just can't take this anymore. I hate waking up in the morning. I hate my job so much.
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Sunday 11.16.2008
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10:55pm
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Doing ok.
Thanks to all you guys for checking in with us throughout the weekend. We've got some good friends! :)
When I woke up Saturday morning and opened the shutters, I knew something wasn't quite right outside. It was orange and dark enough to be dusk. My Mom calling, freaking out because she just saw Brea & Yorba Linda on CNN, confirmed it. As the day went on, it got pretty scary outside. By 1:30 PM, it was dark enough to trigger our patio lights which go on based on light sensors. We had to turn on the lights inside to even see. The Sun went from being an eery red to not being able to locate it in the sky. And then my asthma had a ball. I can't remember the last time I've had to use my rescue inhaler (except prophylactically before cross country practices), and I was puffing every 2-3 hours. Just stepping outside to dump some ant poison (they were invading our house to escape the smoke!) was enough to make me dizzy.
Geoff's brother had to go gather valuables from his parents' house in Brea due to the mandatory evacuations there, and move all their cars to his place in Fullerton since they were out of town at the USC-Stanford game. Later in the afternoon as we were watching fire coverage on TV, his brother called and told us to turn to KCAL 9. What we saw was just horrible. It's awful enough watching people's homes burn down. When you see a familiar house, it physically hurts. We saw Geoff's aunt & uncle's neighborhood and immediately recognized it because there is a house 4 houses down with a blue tile roof. A phone call from Geoff's dad, and a subsequent photo found randomly online by Geoff's sister later confirmed the worst:
Their house is gone. They only had enough time to grab their dog and flee, it was THAT fast. I can't even begin to fathom what they are going through right now. What it's like to be living in a hotel now with nothing but the clothes you are wearing. All the photos, wedding treasures, family heirlooms, and other irreplaceable items lost. I couldn't deal. Really. I would need sedation.
Most of my students were homeless, but I just heard that the evacuation for them was lifted tonight and they could return home. I don't know how many lost their homes, though. The fire swept through our school's attendance area. What do you even say to them? Teaching school didn't prepare me for this. I don't know what to do. I hope tomorrow they will tell us. It's a non-student day, but teachers are supposed to report so long as we don't have our homes/families in imminent danger. It's going to be so sad driving in that way and seeing the burned neighborhoods and hillsides. I don't even know what route to take - so much was shut down. I can think of ten teachers who were evacuated too.
This weekend has been one huge living nightmare. I need to get some sleep now in my humidifier-enhanced & air-filtered cave I transformed our bedroom into. I kept waking up last night worrying that we'd get some knock on our door to leave, and when I was sleeping I was having nightmares about the same thing. The fires weren't more than a few miles away, but still. Geoff's aunt & uncle's neighborhood was 3 miles from the closest fire and look what happened to them. All it takes is one ember in the eaves. I'm glad the winds have died down. I hope this stops. I've had enough of it.
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Saturday 08.30.2008
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4:57pm
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meep.
I'm sitting here, busily typing up my class rosters, and my chair goes *THUMP* and I hear a rumble. My cat Gabriel sniffs awake and looks around like, "WTF, dude?" Of course I completely freak and bolt for the doorway, still on edge after that moderate quake we had back in July. I peek my head in on Ethan who is playing some Star Wars Xbox game and ask him if he felt anything. He said "Yeah, but there was an explosion in my game and I just thought it was the game." Then we hear sirens. Hrm. I start madly refreshing USGS and sho'nuff. 2.4 epicentered only 5 miles underneath our feet right here between Placentia and Yorba Linda. Lovely. Only a microquake... but I looked more closely at the map and there was a 1.9 an hour ago apparently. I hope this isn't a pattern where they get larger each hour. *bites lip*
Current Mood:  nervous
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1:13pm
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Oregon Trip
Our trip to Oregon was incredible, and I really hope we can make it an annual summer trip from now on.  sonder was right, it was dangerous to visit there, because I completely fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. Just like described throughout Twilight, it is green. Everywhere. There are gorgeous, gigantic trees all over, and their trunks are covered in moss, and there are ferns all over. There were times when it didn't even feel real because the beauty was so breathtaking. The fuchsia and hydrangea plants grew to heights as tall as me there! And the soil is very acidic because the hydrangeas were brilliant shades of blue. I was very jealous. When we hiked, there were WILD foxglove plants!!! On the one night when it wasn't clouded over, there were so many stars that I cried from the beauty. I have never in my life seen so many. I could see an arm of the Milky Way because the stars were so dense. I even saw two meteors skip across the sky over the ocean.
We stayed at my cousin's beach house in Manzanita, a block from the beach. But you could see the ocean from the hot tub. The beach there was the largest beach I've ever seen. When the tide was low, it was easily a football field from the start of the sand to the water. It was PERFECT for bocce ball!!! Here's me on some driftwood our first morning there (08.02) with the gorgeous rugged coastline in the background.
( More of the trip and pictures below the cut.Collapse )
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Friday 08.15.2008
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5:58pm
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A door closes, and a window opens!!!
So yesterday I was LIVID that Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince was bumped until July 2009.
Until.
I just read that this has allowed Twilight to come out on November 21st!!! Three weeks earlier than billed!
O
M
E
*dies*
Los Angeles, CA August 15, 2008 TWILIGHT, the first film in Summit
Entertainment�s thriller romance franchise, has moved up its North
American release date to Friday, November 21, 2008. The film, which was
previously planned to be released on December, 12, 2008, is taking
advantage of an opening in the upcoming fall release calendar. The new
release date for TWILIGHT allows the studio to both bring the film to the
written-series� enormous fan base sooner, and to present the film in more
theatres prior to the holiday movie-going season where traditionally
screen time for any popular film is limited.
When Warner Bros. decided to move HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
to the summer of 2009, we saw a unique opportunity to slot in our film
which has been gaining tremendous awareness and momentum over the past
several months, said Rob Friedman, Co-Chairman and CEO of Summit
Entertainment. We by no means are trying to fill the shoes of the
incredible POTTER franchise for 2008, rather we are just looking to bring
the fans of Stephenie Meyer�s incredible book series the film as soon
possible from a programming perspective.
Current Mood:  ecstatic
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