We all have those students we want to take under our wings, for various reasons. There are the ones we want to save, the ones we want to inspire, or the ones who remind us so much of our former selves. I have a student named Brianna who is reminds me a lot of myself in college (when I was in my punk rock stage), but she's 13. She's got dyed black hair and is a bit of a punk and she is obsessed with the band Falling In Reverse. She's super smart, but doesn't apply herself, and I don't really think the other kids her age "get" her. We don't have punk rock kids at our school.
Last year, I had a student who no one really "got" except me. She was kinda indie/punk. Super adorable. Great taste in music. She didn't really have people who accepted her on campus. She had friends, but they weren't like her. A lot of girls didn't like her because they didn't understand what she was about and thought she was pretentious, so they were always trying to start shit with her. She ended up changing schools and finally found a place where she felt accepted. Thank goodness, because she's such a special person.
Anyway, back to Brianna. The other kids don't really understand her obsession with this band. They all listen to LMFAO and David Guetta and Bruno Mars. They know nothing of rock music, especially punk, pop-punk, or scream-o. Brianna was so excited a couple weeks ago because her mom bought her tickets to go see Falling In Reverse in concert. Brianna has been failing my class (and many others) all year. Brianna's mom came to conferences last week and found out how her daughter has been performing in school and Brianna told me today that her mom is no longer taking her to see Falling in Reverse. My heart broke for her. I totally understand why her mom took the concert away from her. Props to her mom for stepping in to make sure her daughter gets back on the right path with her education, but man. Music has always been one of the most important things in my life and I so know how important it is to Brianna. I wish I could take Brianna to the show myself. I wish I could talk her mom into taking her. Because this show is not just a fun night. This show is EVERYTHING to a 13 year old girl who does nothing but write about/think about/daydream about this band. And it's not just a show. She'll be around people who understand what she's about. For once, she'll be around people just like her. For once, she'll have a place to belong.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Survey
Stole this from Steff over at Iffy Inklings
Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
No preference.
Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel?Depends on the quality. I always take the lotions though! But if the shampoo is something cheap like "Head & Shoulders 2-in1", no thank you!
Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?
The feet are almost always tucked in.
Have you ever stolen a street sign before?
No way! I'm a good girl :)
Do you like to use post-it notes?I'm OBSESSED with post-it notes. I put them everywhere.
Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?I usually throw them away. But then I'll watch Extreme Couponing and think, "why not me?"
Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?
Bees.
Do you have freckles?On my arms
Do you always smile for pictures?No. I have the WORST photo smile.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Poor grammar.
Do you ever count your steps when you walk?Sometimes
Have you ever peed in the woods?
Maybe once?
What about pooped in the woods?Nope!
Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing?All the time. There's always music playing in my head :)
Do you chew your pens and pencils?
Nope because I'm always loaning them to students and I don't want their diseases.
How many people have you slept with this week?Zero
What size is your bed?
Full
Is it okay for guys to wear pink?Didn't you hear? Real men wear pink.
Do you still watch cartoons?Sometimes. Daria will always be my fave.
Whats your least favorite movie?LEAST? Oh jeeze. Lots. I don't know.
Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
No preference.
Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel?Depends on the quality. I always take the lotions though! But if the shampoo is something cheap like "Head & Shoulders 2-in1", no thank you!
Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?
The feet are almost always tucked in.
Have you ever stolen a street sign before?
No way! I'm a good girl :)
Do you like to use post-it notes?I'm OBSESSED with post-it notes. I put them everywhere.
Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?I usually throw them away. But then I'll watch Extreme Couponing and think, "why not me?"
Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?
Bees.
Do you have freckles?On my arms
Do you always smile for pictures?No. I have the WORST photo smile.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Poor grammar.
Do you ever count your steps when you walk?Sometimes
Have you ever peed in the woods?
Maybe once?
What about pooped in the woods?Nope!
Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing?All the time. There's always music playing in my head :)
Do you chew your pens and pencils?
Nope because I'm always loaning them to students and I don't want their diseases.
How many people have you slept with this week?Zero
What size is your bed?
Full
Is it okay for guys to wear pink?Didn't you hear? Real men wear pink.
Do you still watch cartoons?Sometimes. Daria will always be my fave.
Whats your least favorite movie?LEAST? Oh jeeze. Lots. I don't know.
Non re-elects
Last week was a really trying week, mentally and emotionally. On Wednesday, they non re-elected every teacher on my campus that wasn't tenured. A non re-elect is different than a layoff. A layoff is because of budget reasons. Sorry, we can't afford to keep you. A non re-elect is for teachers who are in their probationary years. When you begin teaching in California, you are on probation for two years. During those two years, they can fire you at any time and they don't have to give a reason. At the end of your second year, they have to decide if they want to keep you, thereby granting you tenure, or get rid of you because you're not good enough. A non re-elect means that you can never work in that district again, whereas if you get laid off, you can always reapply. So, 5 teachers on our campus (4 of the 5 who are GREAT teachers) were non re-elected, two of them being my good friends of mine and another being the only eye candy on campus!
Last year, Melissa and Rebecca received stellar observations by admin (this year, we have all new admin and they're terrible. It's very much an us vs. them mentality on my campus) and this year, they received good observations--not the stellar ones from last year, but still good. Then, their most recent observation forms come back and they're marked "does not meet expectations" on one tiny, stupid, minute thing--which is all they need to non re-elect someone. One of the 6th grade teachers received a "does not meet expectations" because she didn't have enough things on her walls! She is a first year teacher who was given really difficult kids and had been asking admin for help all year, but received none. And then they fired her.
Rebecca is our music teacher who also took on the leadership class, organized a huge school-wide going away party for our campus monitor, Eddie, who had been at the school FOREVER (who the new admin promptly transferred to another school as soon as they stepped onto campus), and spent countless hours putting on concerts and doing anything else they needed done at school. Yeah, she was non re-elected. Melissa was harrassed on a daily basis for almost a semester by one of her students. He said, "Shut up, bitch" and "Fuck you, bitch" to her and the Instructional Aide in her classroom on a daily basis. Nothing was really ever done about that kid. He was finally moved into the Opportunity class, after A SEMESTER of that.
It sickens me, the way teachers are treated. What was their reasoning for non re-electing them instead of just laying them off? Public education is a joke.
In other news, that fall I took a couple weeks ago? It looks like this now:
It's super puffy and itchy!
On Sunday, we went up to Oakland to scrimmage the Oakland Outlaws. It was a ton of fun and they were great hostesses as usual. Last year, we scrimmaged them in February. It was the first time that we, as a travel team, had played against another team EVER. We lost 242-24. This year, we only lost 152-51. We did so much better! And we only had 10 skaters and they had 17, so we were tiring out much more quickly. I love B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls.
I've come down with a really terrible cold and am out of work for my second day. :( I'm trying to get as much rest and liquids in as possible because we have a game in Paso Robles on Saturday and I need to be able to play.
Last year, Melissa and Rebecca received stellar observations by admin (this year, we have all new admin and they're terrible. It's very much an us vs. them mentality on my campus) and this year, they received good observations--not the stellar ones from last year, but still good. Then, their most recent observation forms come back and they're marked "does not meet expectations" on one tiny, stupid, minute thing--which is all they need to non re-elect someone. One of the 6th grade teachers received a "does not meet expectations" because she didn't have enough things on her walls! She is a first year teacher who was given really difficult kids and had been asking admin for help all year, but received none. And then they fired her.
Rebecca is our music teacher who also took on the leadership class, organized a huge school-wide going away party for our campus monitor, Eddie, who had been at the school FOREVER (who the new admin promptly transferred to another school as soon as they stepped onto campus), and spent countless hours putting on concerts and doing anything else they needed done at school. Yeah, she was non re-elected. Melissa was harrassed on a daily basis for almost a semester by one of her students. He said, "Shut up, bitch" and "Fuck you, bitch" to her and the Instructional Aide in her classroom on a daily basis. Nothing was really ever done about that kid. He was finally moved into the Opportunity class, after A SEMESTER of that.
It sickens me, the way teachers are treated. What was their reasoning for non re-electing them instead of just laying them off? Public education is a joke.
In other news, that fall I took a couple weeks ago? It looks like this now:
On Sunday, we went up to Oakland to scrimmage the Oakland Outlaws. It was a ton of fun and they were great hostesses as usual. Last year, we scrimmaged them in February. It was the first time that we, as a travel team, had played against another team EVER. We lost 242-24. This year, we only lost 152-51. We did so much better! And we only had 10 skaters and they had 17, so we were tiring out much more quickly. I love B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls.
I've come down with a really terrible cold and am out of work for my second day. :( I'm trying to get as much rest and liquids in as possible because we have a game in Paso Robles on Saturday and I need to be able to play.
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