Today was quite a normal day for me (whatever normal may be). I woke up at my normal time. I had a shower and ate my normal breakfast (cheerios). Then I did my normal things: dried my hair, makeup (not too much), brushed the teeth and got dressed. I woke my daughter up at her normal time and left for work at my normal time.
It was a normal day at school, some ups, some downs and things were normal for a Monday. I got home at my normal time and went about my normal getting supper ready, etc.
Sometimes normal is great.
It's Crazy Isn't It?
Jayjay
Monday, October 6, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Friday Fill Ins
And...here we go!
1. October is full of colour, crisp air and that wonderful aroma that only occurs in the autumn.
2. Crazy drivers scare me!
3. Leaves are falling all around, it's a cornucopia of colour and texture and paints the earth with a carpet of warm tones.
4. My favorite horror movie is The Birds because it scares you without ghouls, goblins or psychotic serial killers .
5. Good food, good wine, good company = good memories.
6. It was a dark and stormy night and I was curled up with a good book seeking solace in it's pages.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include a trip to the Scarecrow Festival and Sunday, I want to go on a hike and enjoy the crisp fall air!
JayJay
1. October is full of colour, crisp air and that wonderful aroma that only occurs in the autumn.
2. Crazy drivers scare me!
3. Leaves are falling all around, it's a cornucopia of colour and texture and paints the earth with a carpet of warm tones.
4. My favorite horror movie is The Birds because it scares you without ghouls, goblins or psychotic serial killers .
5. Good food, good wine, good company = good memories.
6. It was a dark and stormy night and I was curled up with a good book seeking solace in it's pages.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include a trip to the Scarecrow Festival and Sunday, I want to go on a hike and enjoy the crisp fall air!
JayJay
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Now That Made My Day
You sometimes wonder, when you're in the teaching profession, if you ever really touch anyone or make a change, or even teach them something. It can at times be a lonely and thankless job, but then there are the bright spots.
I received an email today from a former student who is now in high school. I taught him math in both grades 8 and 9. The email was a thank you letter for being a great teacher and giving him the tools he needed to be successful in high school. Now, this student whom we will call Mr. Lazypants, is a very intelligent young man, but he wasn't the best at applying himself. He cruised through most of his early years in school just doing enough to get by. For some reason I saw the potential in this kid and really pushed him to challenge himself. No doubt, he resented the pushing at times, especially the after school detentions for not doing his work and the extra help sessions at lunch time or after school, but with maturity he has come to understand why I pushed so hard. This year he is taking advanced grade 10 math and told me in his email that he felt he was having success because I pushed him and made sure he knew his stuff. He has aspirations of becoming an engineer and I know he is capable.
It seems like a little thing to some, just one email, but to me it was reassurance that we do get through sometimes and it is worth the effort. We can't get them all, but we can get to some of them and when you hear from even one, it really makes your day. So go ahead write a letter to a former teacher whom you felt touched your life, it'll make their day too, I guarantee it.
It's Crazy Isn't It?
JayJay
I received an email today from a former student who is now in high school. I taught him math in both grades 8 and 9. The email was a thank you letter for being a great teacher and giving him the tools he needed to be successful in high school. Now, this student whom we will call Mr. Lazypants, is a very intelligent young man, but he wasn't the best at applying himself. He cruised through most of his early years in school just doing enough to get by. For some reason I saw the potential in this kid and really pushed him to challenge himself. No doubt, he resented the pushing at times, especially the after school detentions for not doing his work and the extra help sessions at lunch time or after school, but with maturity he has come to understand why I pushed so hard. This year he is taking advanced grade 10 math and told me in his email that he felt he was having success because I pushed him and made sure he knew his stuff. He has aspirations of becoming an engineer and I know he is capable.
It seems like a little thing to some, just one email, but to me it was reassurance that we do get through sometimes and it is worth the effort. We can't get them all, but we can get to some of them and when you hear from even one, it really makes your day. So go ahead write a letter to a former teacher whom you felt touched your life, it'll make their day too, I guarantee it.
It's Crazy Isn't It?
JayJay
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Speechless
Well I'd like to think of something earth shattering or incredibly motivating to say, but I'm just too tired. Busy day, week, month at school and I am just too tired to think tonight. I'm calling it a day and hopefully tomorrow I'll have more energy and will be able to come up with something better than this. Night-night all.
It's Crazy Isn't It
Jayjay
It's Crazy Isn't It
Jayjay
Monday, September 29, 2008
Hurricane Kyle
Well folks Kyle came and he left. By the time he got to where I live it was down graded to a Tropical Storm. We did have some high winds, with storm surge, but nothing as bad as was feared. Some parts of the province were harder hit and had some property damage and downed trees as well as power outages, but overall we fared very well.
The good new is that people were ready this time, unlike 5 years ago when Hurricane Juan hit. It's nice to know that people actually learned from the last hurricane and even though we didn't need it we were all prepared. History is the greatest teacher.
It's Crazy Isn't It?
Jayjay
The good new is that people were ready this time, unlike 5 years ago when Hurricane Juan hit. It's nice to know that people actually learned from the last hurricane and even though we didn't need it we were all prepared. History is the greatest teacher.
It's Crazy Isn't It?
Jayjay
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Tropical Storm Kyle
5 years ago tomorrow Nova Scotia was hit with a rather damaging hurricane named Juan. It took us a long time to recover and some of the recovery is still in progress. Tomorrow we are awaiting a visit from Tropical Storm Kyle with predictions of winds just below hurricane strength and up to 100 mm of rain. Now I usually enjoy a good storm, my home is located on ocean frontage property and it can be brutal and beautiful at the same time, but I'm not opening welcoming arms for Kyle.
We have spent the day battening down the hatches and making sure we have batteries and other necessary supplies, since after Juan we went for a week without electricity, but I'm hoping the preparation is all for naught and Kyle loses his strength or better yet leaves us alone totally. Anyway according to the meteorologists we should be prepared, it's pretty much a sure thing and will hit around mid afternoon tomorrow and go through most of the night. So I'll say a prayer that it's not that bad, that no-one gets hurt, and the damage will be minimal and hopefully it will be answered. If not, then we will once again pick up the pieces (literally) just as we did 5 years ago and life shall move forward. As I said I enjoy a good storm, but I think maybe this one not so much.
It's Crazy Isn't It?
JayJay
We have spent the day battening down the hatches and making sure we have batteries and other necessary supplies, since after Juan we went for a week without electricity, but I'm hoping the preparation is all for naught and Kyle loses his strength or better yet leaves us alone totally. Anyway according to the meteorologists we should be prepared, it's pretty much a sure thing and will hit around mid afternoon tomorrow and go through most of the night. So I'll say a prayer that it's not that bad, that no-one gets hurt, and the damage will be minimal and hopefully it will be answered. If not, then we will once again pick up the pieces (literally) just as we did 5 years ago and life shall move forward. As I said I enjoy a good storm, but I think maybe this one not so much.
It's Crazy Isn't It?
JayJay
Thursday, September 25, 2008
There's Got To Be An Easier Way
Sometimes I just think "there's got to be an easier way to make a living". We had a fun day at our school just the other day. It's a day to promote school spirit and for the students and teachers to related to each other on another level and get to know each other better at the beginning of the school year. The day is filled with fun activities including a BBQ for lunch, which is not an easy task with 500 students. I was one of the coordinators for this event again this year. The planning, as you can imagine, takes a considerable amount of time, for which we are not paid. The day of is spent running around making sure everything is in place and all the activities flow smoothly, which can be a challenge in a junior high school.
To get to the point on this day I had to tolerate a verbal assault from a disgruntled student. He wasn't happy about just about everything that took place that day and didn't mind screaming, I mean sharing his opinion with every teacher that happened by. Apparently, by the time I crossed his path he had had a belly full of being annoyed and other such nonsense and figured he would just let loose. Now, out of about 500 students, this was the only one voicing complaints (in an incredibly rude and disrespectful manner I might add), but yet it is the one that just sticks with you for some reason.
It is very difficult in a situation like this, where so many staff members had put in extra time and effort to host a great event such as we had, not to let loose on the offending student as he had on everyone else. So I brought him into the office, only to be barraged en route by continued insults which had graduated into profanities and veiled threats that weren't very veiled and I thought to myself there must be an easier way to make a living and began to consider some options. I was still contemplating my options when I ran into a student whom I have had the pleasure to teach for the last 2 years. I like to call her Miss Dimples. She struggles academically and her parents (who are very loving) are not wealthy enough to hand over all the amenities that some of our teenagers have come to expect these days, but she is honest, and vibrant and an incredibly hard worker. She looked at me with with a smile on her lips and in her eyes and said, "Miss, this is my favourite day all year. I always look forward to it and you know next year when I'm in High School I'm really going to miss it, but most of all I'm going to miss all the teachers in this building, they're the best."
As you can imagine this brought me out of my funk and made me realise, there is an easier way to make a living, but I can't think of one that can be more rewarding. Thanks Miss Dimples for putting things into perspective for me and for not letting one bad apple spoil the barrel.
It's Crazy Isn't It?
Jayjay
To get to the point on this day I had to tolerate a verbal assault from a disgruntled student. He wasn't happy about just about everything that took place that day and didn't mind screaming, I mean sharing his opinion with every teacher that happened by. Apparently, by the time I crossed his path he had had a belly full of being annoyed and other such nonsense and figured he would just let loose. Now, out of about 500 students, this was the only one voicing complaints (in an incredibly rude and disrespectful manner I might add), but yet it is the one that just sticks with you for some reason.
It is very difficult in a situation like this, where so many staff members had put in extra time and effort to host a great event such as we had, not to let loose on the offending student as he had on everyone else. So I brought him into the office, only to be barraged en route by continued insults which had graduated into profanities and veiled threats that weren't very veiled and I thought to myself there must be an easier way to make a living and began to consider some options. I was still contemplating my options when I ran into a student whom I have had the pleasure to teach for the last 2 years. I like to call her Miss Dimples. She struggles academically and her parents (who are very loving) are not wealthy enough to hand over all the amenities that some of our teenagers have come to expect these days, but she is honest, and vibrant and an incredibly hard worker. She looked at me with with a smile on her lips and in her eyes and said, "Miss, this is my favourite day all year. I always look forward to it and you know next year when I'm in High School I'm really going to miss it, but most of all I'm going to miss all the teachers in this building, they're the best."
As you can imagine this brought me out of my funk and made me realise, there is an easier way to make a living, but I can't think of one that can be more rewarding. Thanks Miss Dimples for putting things into perspective for me and for not letting one bad apple spoil the barrel.
It's Crazy Isn't It?
Jayjay
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