TGIS

background music : cruel to be kind by letters to cleo

this week has been pretty back to normal. normal with all the little chaos in the classroom. no fistfights, more of word play. my "kids" are very restless and lazy. yep, pretty much normal into the last several weeks of school.

while my students already have summer in mind, i am just starting to teach them, as in really teach them. my freshmen classes are delving into the world of conflict in fiction. we're tackling romeo and juliet next week. as for my sophomore class, we're well under way finishing august wilson's play "fences."

the patch is still on. i just noted that every time i put it on my right arm i get sick. so it's on my tummy these days. again my kids have been on a vigilant watch. first week has been very good. i hope next week becomes even better.


my big childhood secret is out. all my kids know that i do not know how to ride a bicycle. my seventh period class has taken it as their project to teach me how to tide a bike before school ends. i turned down the offer tell them i've got my own personal trainer waiting for me.

discipline issues in the classroom have mellowed. my boys have been noticing i've been fresh with them lately. "you a'ight, ms. a, you've got them silent jokes." hah, if these kids only know how i was with my high school kids back in rural, they'd know what i've been giving them is nothing but a taste. i've been branded OG (old gangsta) and "you, mah nigga" by these kids, and trust me, in our world, that is something good, actually.

i have mixed feelings about leaving or staying at the high school. the OC side of me wants to go back to the middle school and take my game back. back to the structured "real" teaching stuff. the other part of me would miss the age group, and the sense of humor of the kids, not to mention the maturity of the literary materials i can explore in my classes. i will be patient and see what lies ahead for me.

yesterday my friends K, S and D and i went to a local resto/bar to celebrate our own payday friday. i had a lot of fun and i have come to the conclusion that my alcohol limit is indeed very limited. 2 drinks, that's it. i haven't even made it through my first drink and i was already BUZZED. thank goodness for my ADHD bladder, i pissed all of it away in 3 hours time. the funny thing was,when S and i went out to get something in her car, we met two tables of teachers from the 2 other schools from our district, celebrating payday friday also. heck, a week with our kids sure will send you celebrating the weekend just like we did.

today, bruce and i are off to see Z. noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.