December 10, 2010
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1 Cat just caught on fire.
2 Honestly.
3 I did lights for the Winter Concert last night, came home late, walked through the door and our reasonably cool cat Corey swept his tail through a candle, and we had to put him out.
4 NOT out THAT way!
5 Puh-LEEEEEZE!
6 Nah, we just sorta put the fire out, which was on the tip of his tail, and he is now walking around like he’s the total shit.
7 Meanwhile, the whole place smells like arm-hair fire.
8 Corey, we have to luv ya. Coulda been worse, pal.
9 Moving on, Part the First: Not too much more to report tonight; spent the night at the school enjoying a wonderful Winter Concert, which ran pretty long.
10 So today’s DN will be refreshingly short.
11 I have an entire pets DN in the works, but not today.
12 Fun stuff, to be sure, but it’s 1 a.m. and I have barely settled in.
13 The absolute GREAT thing is that I have little to say, for once in my life.
14 The concert rocked beyond words; the light design wasn’t mine, but it was a design by a local group doing The Nutcracker, and it looked absolutely stunning.
15 Meanwhile, real life goes on and on.
16 I have a bajillion things to put here.
17 The only thing is, I’m WAY outta my game today, or last night if you really want to play the game.
18 So I have made an executive decision to close this one out early.
19 I’d LOVE to say sorry, but really?
20 It’s past 1 a.m. yo.
21 I have no idea how I ever got to fifty and even sixty items in the DN anyway, which originally had MAYBE ten.
22 Well, every night is different, as is every single day.
23 This day ran late, so today the DN is a short one.
24 Yeesh.
25 Just like my earliest works.
26 So…<place latest person who kicked the bucket here> walks into a bar…
27 Sorry. Tasteless.
28 I thought maybe awakening at around 5:30 might help, but when I’ve been going to sleep at around 8 p.m. lately, the sudden switch to 1:20 a.m. isn’t good at all.
29 Not at all.<blinking, realizing the early hour>
30 This one isn’t going to continue though.
31 I really have enjoyed getting to sleep early.
32 I have been doing that because it gives me full strength to give everything I have each day to my students.
33 Today won’t matter that much, because they are taking one of the kajillion bubble tests that somehow define education nowadays.
34 I just have to pass out booklets, answer sheets, and number two pencils. After that a monkey could do my job today.
35 What a perfect time to test kids: right when they’re studying for finals.
36 They have to take a “benchmark” test which measures how well they have met the standards.
37 Essentially, it is a test to see how well I have taught to the test.
38 Like I said, a monkey could do that.
39 That’s where education is headed. I taught exactly to the test this week. For one thing, they DO learn a lot, and learn it fast.
40 For another thing, it actually has released me to enjoy bringing enrichment into their lives. By saving around forty standards to be covered this week, I was released to show them an amazing film on the Golden Age of Greece.
41 Also, if the State ever goes to merit pay for ”good teachers”, I’ll have a LOT of experience in how to get them to answer certain kinds of questions.
42 Don’t get me goin’ on THAT one. If they ever go to merit pay, I’d be sitting purty. Four out of five of my classes are honors, at the highest achieving school in the District.
43 My teaching has nothing to do with any of it.
44 Good parenting has everything to do with it.
45 Given merit pay, I’d be sitting on top of the world, even if I showed movies all year. I deliberately don’t, because I LOVE teaching and get WAY into it, but there are those who would be in my situation and get merit pay even if they miss a bunch of school days.
46 Conversely, someone teaching lower-level classes at a poor-performing school would not get merit pay, even if they work their asses off each day.
47 Amazing.
49 Welp, looks like I reached fifty items after all.
50 It’s funny, ‘cuz despite a clear lack of sleep hours, I still woke up fresh as a daisy!
51 Okay, had lots of fun listening to beautiful music, and looking at a fierce light design last night, and I am excited about monitoring bubble tests today.I dropped a coupla Beatles’ oldies on FB. Love the two-minute wonder songs. So have a look.
52 Life’s good.
53 Live life.
54 Love life.
55 Have a lovely weekend.
56 Peace.
~H~
