I Quit!

I just read this article on another blog and felt like I had to share my thoughts.  The mere fact that I am posting this to my blog should be taken as an indicator of my strong feelings on the matter, as I haven't posted anything to this blog since I started the school year.  I have lots of reasons for not posting, but don't want  to go into that now. 

I apologize for getting firmly attached to my soapbox in the following post; I don't mean to offend anyone.  My main reason for commenting here is to serve as a personal reminder of my thoughts in the days, months and years to come.  I sincerely hope that I can live up to my own beliefs!

Please teacher friends; take the time to read this article.  I know I probably wouldn't read it as I was rushing through my Google Reader trying to keep somewhat caught up and on the lookout for new great ideas to try in my classroom.  But I am interested to know what you all think.  Is this the direction we are all headed?  Is it really this bad in NC?  Is it only this bad in NC?  I teach in a private school; are we headed down the same slope? 


My thoughts:

I don't know what to think... I guess I am grateful that I don't feel that way (yet), but I can see that I am headed that way...  I have taken on many extra (unpaid) duties in an attempt to prove myself necessary to the powers that be...

I was especially moved by the comments that follow regarding our need to teach and defy the lawmakers; we do what we do for the students, and we need to be cognizant of our roles in their lives and less worried about the repercussions of testing.  On the other hand, many teachers cannot take such a stance without fear for their jobs.

So what's the answer?  I don't know; but we teachers have to stay strong and committed to our students.

September!!

It's September.  The best time of the whole year!  The weather gets better, school settles into routine, aaannnd... it's my birthday month!  I have to admit, I am totally annoying about my birthday.  Every time someone mentions a date in September, I do the math and announce how many days that event is away from my birthday!  I'm trying to tone it down... but it's hard!

Click here to link up.  I'm really going to try hard to plan posts and be a better blogger!  Stay tuned!

Wonder Woman I am not!

Boy, have I been a bad blogger this week.  I had big plans to be a part of the Teacher Week Linky, but only got Monday's post written, before I hit the wall.  We started with kids on Thursday after three days of meetings, and I am wiped out!  I spent yesterday catching up on laundry, sleep, and grocery shopping.  I also managed to write some basic lesson plans for this week.  So today, I have time to relax, read, knit and blog!

Speaking of reading, I am reading a really great story by Chandra Hahn called UnEnchanted; an Unfortunate Fairy Tale.  It was a freebie I found and started earlier in the summer on the school's iPad and found yesterday for my Nook.  In UnEnchanted, Mina is a typical insecure teenager who is unknowingly descended from the Grimm Brothers.  A family curse catches up to her, and she must complete the Grimm tales to stop the characters from living in our world.  I love it.  Click the picture to add it to your Nook library for free!

In other book news, Ivan died this week.  So sad!  Ivan's story was just released by Katherine Applegate (of Animorphs fame) in her remarkable book The One and Only Ivan.  You can read my review of this amazing story here.

In other news, my new class is great!  Although we only have two days done, and who knows what they'll be like when we actually start school work, so far, they have been delightful!  A bit chatty, but I am hopefully attributing that to their excitement of a new year.  This week, they will have so much to do, they won't have time to talk!!!  :)

The scariest night of the year is just around the corner.  No, I'm not talking about Halloween.  Or even Monday...  CURRICULUM NIGHT!  Picture me cowering in a corner...  I don't know if anyone can relate, but I get sooo nervous in front of parents!  I am super silly and have been known to sing and dance in front of the kids, but in front of the parents, I turn into a complete mess.  Even after 12 years, I hate it.  But I have a secret weapon this year.  I have made a Prezi to introduce the parents to room 102; my hope is they will be sol busy being amazed by my tech-savviness, they won't notice how nervous they make me!

Room 102 on Prezi

Back when I thought I was Wonder Woman and could do everything plus three more things, I was going to write about Prezi for Technology Tip Tuesday.  And to wrap up this crazy, rambling post, the movie at the end of my presentation is about Ivan.

Hope the beginning of your year is the best ever!

Must Haves!

It's late, but I'm linking up for Teacher Week at Blog Hoppin!  I don't know how well I'll do the rest of the week, but here goes!  (I originally wasn't going to link up at all; I start back to school this week with meetings and kids on Thursday. I didn't think I'd have the energy, but it's amazing how much energy a great start can give!)

Anyway, on to my must haves!

1. Iced Tea.  I am totally addicted; I don't know if this actually counts, because I MUST HAVE tea every day, not just at school!

2. My laminator.  Love this thing!  I have been using it tons this summer, and can't remember what I ever did without it!  My favorite laminated thing:

3. My ActivBoard!  Currently it's broken - boo!  I am hoping and praying (crossing my fingers, ankles and eyes!) that it gets fixed by Thursday.  BTW this is the second year in a row it hasn't worked after a summer away - what's the deal!?

4. A good book to read.  I feel it is sooo important to model silent reading when I expect my kids to read.
 But if I don't have a good book, I won't be able to get into it and forget about all the work I could be doing!  So I try to keep something great on hand.  I also like to be reading adult books.  I want my students to know that I am a real reader; I don't just read kids' books!  Some of my favorite authors:

Jodi Picoult                    Kristin Hannah                   Diane Chamberlain

See you tomorrow with a Tuesday Tech Tip!

5 things...

Joy of Kindergarten is hosting this great linky, and I couldn't resist.  The kids come today for open house.  Then Monday and Tuesday, we have meetings and we start on Thursday!  While I am really looking forward to a new year, there are definitely perks of summer that I'm going to miss - a ton!

1. Staying up late.  I am a night owl at heart, and during the summer, I allow my late night-ness roam free!  This summer, I've spent my late nights reading, blogging, knitting, pinning even going for late night walks around the block!  This past week, I've tried to go to bed before 10 to prepare for a new year.  It hasn't been easy!

2. Afternoons on the front porch.  This is the first summer I have spent a lot of time on my front porch sipping tea and reading.  I love it!  I live in a fairly quiet neighborhood, and it's so peaceful out there; I'm going to miss my lazy afternoons.

Not my porch, but isn't it pretty?

3. Snacking throughout the day.  I have gotten so used to just grazing all day long.  I have been starving by the time I made it home this week as I was working on my room!  It's going to take some time to get used to eating on a schedule again!

4. Capris and sandals!  I guess it's time to wear 'real' clothes again... sigh.  Meanwhile, to that end I went to the store and bought two new dresses today!  One was only $11!!!

Not the exact dress I bought, but close!

5. Fresh brewed iced tea!  I have such a huge addiction to iced tea.  I always take a giant cup of tea to school, but once it's gone (usually before 10am!) I settle for instant. 

What a great linky!  Click to link up!  As for me, I plan to spend the next few days enjoying as much as I can....