Person(s) of the Year

Hello everyone. Being a teacher is great. You work with kids, you get to really impact people, and of course there is Christmas Break! I feel so much more productive when I have time to go get grocercies, mail stuff, etc.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I did. I got a lot of really cool stuff (a messenger bag, a new coat, a little device for my ipod shuffle, and an awesome new book that I'll review when I'm finished), I gave a lot of cool stuff that my family liked, and I got to spend good times with my family. We pulled out the UNO card game and made it popular again in a two day span. My sister and I also were successful in suprising my parents on the 27th with a small gathering of family/friends for my parent's 25th wedding anniversary! Quite an accomoplishment in this day in age, and hopefully if my future wife is reading this, I'll be as lucky.

Okay, on to the subject at hand. Time Magazine annually publishes their Person of the year. I believe this year was Bill Gates, his wife, and Bono for their efforts in fighting worldwide poverty. A pretty decent selection if you ask me, but then I started to think harder about it. I thought about 2005 and all that has gone on. On Dec. 26, 2004 the tsunami hit southeast Asia and surrounding areas. I'll count that has 2005, especially since most of the relief efforts took place in '05. Later there was the Live 8 concert in eight different cities worldwide to raise money for global poverty (Bono was a main driving force behind this). Then Pakistan was shaken by a terrible earthquake killing thousands upon thousands. Finally, and certainly not least, was here in America...Hurricane Katrina and later Rita. I think about all these events that happened in the past year that required so much help, whether monetary or actually manpower (rebuilding), and I can't help but think "why just the Gates' and Bono?!?" So...in a PTI Blog first, I am naming a PTI Persons of the Year. And you guessed it...those persons are ALL of us who gave to relief efforts. Sure, my friends and I didn't give millions like Bill Gates but we don't have that much. It is great that he did that, but we all did our part. Whether in church, a bucket at a football game being passed around, the Salvation Army bell ringers, we ALL gave what we could. This year alone, two classes of mine (one at L-C and another at EM) ran little fundraisers making not huge, but nice little amounts for both tsunami victims and Katrina victims. So I tip my hat to EVERYONE out there who gave, even in the smallest amounts (I remember slightly the story from the Bible of the woman who gave to the church all the time, even if it was just a tiny amount)...the World is a better place with us all.

Why I'm In A Good Mood

Well tonight I find myself in a pretty hearty mood. Now I usually am a optimistic person and really I haven't been "too down" lately, but tonight I'm just in a good mood. Here is a short list of why:

1. It is semester test time here at East Marshall. That means it is quiet in the school and the teachers job is a bit more simple. Sure, it is a lot of checking, but it just means that we've made it through a semester.

2. I'm watching Chris Rock's "Never Scared" for like the 100th time on HBO currently, and it is STILL funny.

3. Basketball is on a short hiatus during tests and break. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying basketball. I like the other coaches I work with, but having no practice and no games for awhile means some free time. Plus after having road trips on both Monday and Tuesday, it was nice to come home early tonight.

4. Today was the first day of winter. No I don't like winter. Nobody in Iowa does. But with today being the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year...the optimistic side of me says the days will only get longer!! I like that.

5. It is Christmas time. Enough said. Something about the season always puts you in a better mood.

That is all for tonight.

Stick This in your portfolio

Hello again. I know, I know. You are thinking, "it hasn't been one month since his last post." That is true, it has only been since Wednesday. This is the new and improved me, that will promise to uphold the duties of this blog as much as possible. Anyways, on to the subject at hand.

About a month or so ago now, I had the State Representative from the Marshall County/Grundy County area in as a guest speaker. Polly Granzow is her name. Taught Spanish for 21 years and now serves this role. I'm sure she is a nice lady, but I wasn't impressed by her visit nor were my students. When I had a chance to speak with her individually, we were talking about Education. One thing that turned me off right away was her lack of knowledge of what was going on in the state as far as education goes. She had NO idea that new teachers had to go through a 2-year mentoring program with the end result being a Portfolio that shows proficency at all levels of the 8 Iowa Teaching Standards. Wisconsin doesn't do this, nor does Nebraska, Minnesota I'm not sure of. Anyways, part of me wanted to forgive her for not knowing this because a public service worker as herself as a whole load of issues to face. Problem is she taught herself (so I would think she would pay special attention to that) and education is kinda a big topic in Iowa now. Why are we slipping as far as progress in our students? Why do teachers get paid crap? Anyways I informed her of this, wrote it down for her, and she said she will bring it up when the Legislature reconvenes. My main complaint is that we just graduated from an Accredited College/University with a degree in education. Now we spend at least 3 hours a month in meetings repeating everything we've heard before. Do they not trust the colleges for turning out good teachers? There are just many small flaws with the system including how often you talk to your mentor (mine here and last year were both very good, just that you don't have a lot of time to talk to them). The list could go on and on.

Like I previously said though, the end result is this Portfolio. It isn't a bad idea and really it isn't that hard. I run into two problems though. First, when you are planning/checking/coaching when is there time to find "artifacts" and type up rationales about why it shows are are good in a certain area? Second, and this is a problem that maybe only I face, is worrying about whether or not your "artifacts" are going to be good enough. Yes, this insecurity bit of mine is going to have to end in all areas of my life soon- but you want to make sure you have your best stuff in this portfolio. It determines whether or not you get your full license or not. So its kinda a big deal. My most recent revelation about this portfolio is the stuff you CAN'T put in...which probably mean much more than some crappy artifact. Some examples: Last year, the Junior High at Lineville-Clio bought me the book "Duck For President" and all signed the cover. It meant a lot to me, and I actually used the book in a lesson this year. The giant card I got from some students at L-C last year was touching. And then, the reason this thought came to mind: yesterday first hour ended. First hour is Government(my favorite class) with seniors. The bell rings, and the students are leaving. I'm sitting at my desk entering my first hour attendence into the computer when one of the girls comes up. She gives me a glass with some pretzels covered with caramel and almond bark wrapped up inside. She says it is a Christmas gift for me because I am her favorite teacher. I simply say "thank you and have a good weekend" - one of those moments were you are taken aback and don't know what to say. Anyways...the point is why do I need to make this portfolio to show I'm a good teacher when I have moments from students that tell me I am. Those mean a lot more to me and will last a lot longer.

Later

Has it really been this long?

Nov. 15. That was the date of my last post. One month ago. A lot has happened in one month and yet not much has happened. I was watching one of my favorite shows, Scrubs (buy season two, well worth it), and there is an episode called "My Monster." The basis of this episode is how the hospital controlled their lives. J.D. (the main character) goes on a date and every time he goes in for the "kill" he sees some of his patients and their nasty infections. Eliot is kicked out of her apartment because she can't afford it and has no time to search for another one so she's living out of a U-Haul. What I like about Scrubs is how it relates so well to my life and probably the lives of handfuls of other people. School runs my life. I chose my career, I wouldn't do anything else, and even my future plans as a Guidance Counselor still have me working in the school setting. Right now though, the school runs my life.

Even when I'm not working, I still am. At home, I think about what to do with a certain class. I think about students that I wish I could get back on track. I think about how I am going to plan things so I'm not overloaded with papers to check. Not to mention the actual checking and planning I do at home. The list goes on and on. I go to Hy-Vee or Wal-Mart or the mall and I see my students (this is actually one of the best parts of the job, but just an example of how the school never leaves me). A good friend told me today that instead of getting Carside to Go at Applebees I should eat there and hit on the waitresses. Not a bad idea until I reminded him that the waitresses are my students! I think if I did have a date anytime soon, I would probably bore the girl to death with stories from school. I think you get the picture.

In the episode, J.D. and the gang learn to cope and live with their "monster." I'm not complaining about my job at all. Heck, it is the sign of a good teacher who thinks about school that much. I just need to learn to make better use of "my" time and create more of it. Like today...a snow day (first of the year)...I ate out. I did some errands I never have time to do. Tomorrow is back into the gauntlet of school. It isn't easy, especially when I want to get out and meet people...especially meet "that one." You just cope though, because of small things like the students who make it worth while...the fun I have with the other teachers...and snow days ;)