reunion
Having a hard time justifying going to my 20th high school reunion. It would be SO MUCH FUN - it sure was last time.
But, the flight would be about $800, plus $100 reunion fee, plus hotel and car rental (I don't really know anybody who still lives there - at least, I'm not really in touch with people and don't want to be like, "Hey, wanna save me a couple C-notes by letting me crash with you?").
Because, all that gets me a trip to Mongolia, or a trip to and month in Senegal. Or trip to and several months in Mexico.
I know some people see these as big trip, but I see trips across the world while dodging passport-page-wasting-visas as big trips.
Alas. It makes me sad, but I guess I must forgo. Sigh.
The Kyrgyzstani invaders are not here now ... making me worry, of course, that they'll come storming back at midnight. My poor students, putting up with my exhaustion and sleep deprivation. I'm trying to be even-tempered, but I have to take at least partial responsibility for their slow-like-molasses progress. Rowdy 5th period today for the first time EVER was SILENT. For a sustained period of time - like 15 minutes. It was amazing. It wasn't necessarily good (they should have been working together), but it was such a little piece of heaven that I almost kissed each and every one of them. I said, "Thanks so much for sharing this beautiful moment with me," and Spitfire said, "See how you love me," and then others were like, "No, she loves me more" and the golden silence became only a beautiful memory. (BTW, I realized that getting angry at Aztec Boy is amazingly effective - he hates it when I'm angry at him. No more will I hold back from that.)
I have one kid from 5th who is The Agitator - gets everybody else all fired up and in trouble. Anyways, at "brunch" today Security Guard 2 (he's great, but not as incredible as SG1) asked who he was, and he wasn't hanging where he usually does outside my classroom. They are planning on stalking him because he leaves school right after my class and they want to see where he goes and calling the cops to issue truancy tickets - you know, like poisoning the whole termite's nest. So, 5th period Mr. Principal Man calls and says, "Answer this without letting him know we're talking about him. Is The Agitator there?" Then right after school Security Guard 1 yelled accusingly across the quad to me, "What's with your boy The Agitator?" I whispered, hey, this is all on the DL man, and besides, he ain't MY boy or MY problem. And he was like, "I don't care! He's a pain in my ass!" Which, Mr. Cool Security Guard #1 simply DOES NOT SAY.
But, it's true. The boy needs a smack-down. Little agitator. Why does he have to stay for MY CLASS every day? If he's going to skip, why can't he do it BEFORE my class?
Why? Honestly? Because I make sometimes more than 10 phone calls a day to get kids to my class. Today it was about 7 parents, "La clase comienza y su hijo/a no esta' aqui. Donde esta'?" I heard about lots of flat tires and incorrect start times and all sorts of BS.
Too many of my students won't have a high school graduation reunion to consider attending because they won't graduate. Sad. Though I don't believe the stats that say 30% of kids or more don't graduate - I've never been in a district who had anywhere near that kind of drop-out rate. And I teach the toughest kids.
But, the flight would be about $800, plus $100 reunion fee, plus hotel and car rental (I don't really know anybody who still lives there - at least, I'm not really in touch with people and don't want to be like, "Hey, wanna save me a couple C-notes by letting me crash with you?").
Because, all that gets me a trip to Mongolia, or a trip to and month in Senegal. Or trip to and several months in Mexico.
I know some people see these as big trip, but I see trips across the world while dodging passport-page-wasting-visas as big trips.
Alas. It makes me sad, but I guess I must forgo. Sigh.
The Kyrgyzstani invaders are not here now ... making me worry, of course, that they'll come storming back at midnight. My poor students, putting up with my exhaustion and sleep deprivation. I'm trying to be even-tempered, but I have to take at least partial responsibility for their slow-like-molasses progress. Rowdy 5th period today for the first time EVER was SILENT. For a sustained period of time - like 15 minutes. It was amazing. It wasn't necessarily good (they should have been working together), but it was such a little piece of heaven that I almost kissed each and every one of them. I said, "Thanks so much for sharing this beautiful moment with me," and Spitfire said, "See how you love me," and then others were like, "No, she loves me more" and the golden silence became only a beautiful memory. (BTW, I realized that getting angry at Aztec Boy is amazingly effective - he hates it when I'm angry at him. No more will I hold back from that.)
I have one kid from 5th who is The Agitator - gets everybody else all fired up and in trouble. Anyways, at "brunch" today Security Guard 2 (he's great, but not as incredible as SG1) asked who he was, and he wasn't hanging where he usually does outside my classroom. They are planning on stalking him because he leaves school right after my class and they want to see where he goes and calling the cops to issue truancy tickets - you know, like poisoning the whole termite's nest. So, 5th period Mr. Principal Man calls and says, "Answer this without letting him know we're talking about him. Is The Agitator there?" Then right after school Security Guard 1 yelled accusingly across the quad to me, "What's with your boy The Agitator?" I whispered, hey, this is all on the DL man, and besides, he ain't MY boy or MY problem. And he was like, "I don't care! He's a pain in my ass!" Which, Mr. Cool Security Guard #1 simply DOES NOT SAY.
But, it's true. The boy needs a smack-down. Little agitator. Why does he have to stay for MY CLASS every day? If he's going to skip, why can't he do it BEFORE my class?
Why? Honestly? Because I make sometimes more than 10 phone calls a day to get kids to my class. Today it was about 7 parents, "La clase comienza y su hijo/a no esta' aqui. Donde esta'?" I heard about lots of flat tires and incorrect start times and all sorts of BS.
Too many of my students won't have a high school graduation reunion to consider attending because they won't graduate. Sad. Though I don't believe the stats that say 30% of kids or more don't graduate - I've never been in a district who had anywhere near that kind of drop-out rate. And I teach the toughest kids.
posted by NOLA at 7:08 PM
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