The beginning of 2012 has been very tumultuous time for my family. We had a great holiday and were feeling very optimistic about the coming year. At the school I was working at, there was an opportunity to work in the library and I was very excited about the possibility of doing something different. I felt very confident in my ability to do the job well and in my chances of getting the job.

On the day I was suppose to interview for the position, I got a huge surprise. First, my interview was delayed due to other meetings. Then I was informed that they had decided to not consider me for the position after all. I was floored by this, as we had discussed it Monday and they seemed to think it was exactly right for me and vice versa. I was asked to meet with the head of the school later that day as he couldn't attend the morning meeting. I thought this was a little odd, but figured he was going to explain why they had decided against giving me the job. The only thing mentioned was that I had misspelled his name (the only time I did that during my employment there). I couldn't meet him at 3, because I would be teaching science class, which surprised the principal. So, it was arranged that I'd meet him at 4:15 when my partner teacher could cover my bus duty.

Now, this all occurred on Friday the 13th, a day on which I usually have good luck. I come to find out that the meeting was not to explain why I didn't get the opportunity to work in the library, but to tell me that I am no longer employed with them. I was completely shocked. I will not go into details here, but it was not justified. They asked if I still wanted to stay on teaching Saturday school, and I agreed to do so. One, I had already committed to teach it and I keep my word. Two, my family and I would be needing the money. Three, I enjoy it.

Today, I sent them a letter of protest countering each of the stated reasons in my termination letter. I'm not sure how that will go over, but I felt that I needed some form of redress for the false claims against me.

After the initial shock and anger wore off, I began to view it as an opportunity to purpose the job I really wanted. I found a job opportunity immediately following my dismissal, sadly it did not go anywhere. I have returned to substitute teaching, trying to become familiar to nearby principals and teachers in an effort to increase my chances of finding a permanent position. Job hunting is exhausting and frustrating, but I will keep looking though I may end up in another field. I keep telling myself, "Just keep swimming.". That I will get a break, make it to the first interview.

In other news, I have decided to enter a cross-stitch design into the state fair. I love doing projects, and I've never entered a arts/crafts contest before. The design was chosen by my friends and family on Facebook and Google+ from a selection of pictures because I couldn't choose just one. The favorite was a Celtic knot stained glass window. I removed the trees in the background, and turned it into a pattern. The minimum size for a piece is 25 inches squared. The pattern is 48 pages. The finished product will have approximately 407,652 stitches.

I started sewing on January 8th, and my first night's progress is shown on the right. I chose to stitch the design 25 count fabric using 146 colors, this means there are 25 stitches per inch of fabric. I decided to incorporate a shiny blending filament for the glass parts, but to leave the blending filament out of the edging. I am hoping to show the same patience in my job search as I do in my cross-stitching. I admit that I feel much more pressure on the job front than the contest front as the stakes are much higher.

I have to submit my entry by April, the design must be completed in August so that I can drop it off at the fair. I'm hoping that I do well in the competition, though I expect that the ladies that have been participating for years will have the upper hand. Minnesota sweetened the prizes this year in honor of it being the 100th anniversary of the fair. They have increased all prizes by $100.

I have been working diligently on my design in the evenings and on Sundays.I feel I've made very good progress, despite the fact that I'm only about 1/3 of the way trough the first page of the design. The number of colors in the design means that there aren't many large blocks of one color, so I must change colors often. To the left is my progress as of yesterday, I have reach the left edge of the first page of the design. It is approximately 4 inches across at the widest point.

Somehow I will have to find a balance between this and reading. I want to read Dragonflight by Anne McCaffery in February. I am also trying to enroll in school to get my Media/Library Specialist degree and certification. It took a while to process my admittance and financial aid paperwork, so I'm late getting enrolled for the Spring semester and I'm not sure I'll be able to sign up for classes, but there is always the Summer semester. I am really glad January is over, and hope that the year improves greatly.

Zero to 60 in Just 8 Hours

It's amazing how quickly life can change, how it can go from one extreme to another in the space of a few short hours. As most of you know, at least those that have read my previous posts, follow me on Twitter, or are friends with me on Facebook, I have desperately been applying for work since we moved to Minnesota in June. I have been agonizing over how we will survive without a stable income. Though I had been accepted to substitute teach in two districts in the last few weeks and had gotten a job teaching keyboarding skills on Saturdays, I was still worried. Even with these jobs lined up, it meant no pay until September 15th at the earliest. The stress level has been high with no income for several months.

I have been eagerly awaiting an IT position that I applied for, and was told that there would be no word about until the end of September. Being told that you are first in line for a job that won't be available for another month is both flattering and terrifying. You can't just stop looking, the family must eat until October.

Yesterday, I received an email that lifted my spirits, I am being hired on a two month trial basis. If they are pleased with my performance I will be given a full contract with full salary and benefits starting in November. I am thrilled to have this opportunity, though I will be working 6 days a week. I will only be planning lessons for one day, admittedly for K-8th grade. During the week, I will be trouble shooting technical hiccups, learning all about servers, and help teachers incorporate technology into the classroom.

You may be thinking, "Wow! That'll keep you busy!", you are right indeed. But this isn't all that's new. I am short 6-7 classes (15-17 credit hours) of having my Minnesota Media/Library Specialist Masters degree. I must have this degree to be able to take any IT Specialist job in Minnesota. I called today to start the ball rolling on getting enrolled in St. Cloud University to take these class. I applied as a "non-degree seeking" student until I can get approved for the Masters program (I missed the deadline for this semester). I will also be applying for further financial aid to take these classes (to be done tomorrow).

It's a good thing I'm ahead on my reading goal for the year and that I have an hour drive to work because I don't think there will be much time to do any reading except for audio books for the next 6 months. I may have become the "Queen of Overbooking My Time", but it will be worth it. I will be successful in this job.

Another Work Cake

This is a birthday cake for all the January and February birthdays at work. I'm on the Staff Motivational Committee and they have been asking me to make the treats for the birthday people.

2008 Christmas Ornaments

I made this for my secret Santa at school. For those of you not familiar with the tradition, everyone at work that wants to participate fills out a form of things they like, collect, etc. Then everyone draws a name, you give the person you drew small gifts all week, then a slightly larger gift on Friday and reveal who you are. I think this is fun, and a great way to get to know your co-workers. I like shopping for someone that is practically a stranger, and on a very small budget, it's challenging.







Another holiday tradition we have at work is the Ornament Exchange, where people get an ornament and bring it in. Everyone draws a number, and you get to pick out an ornament. The people that come after you can take your ornament, it's fun and silly. I wanted to participate, so I made an ornament rather than buy one.

Hurricane Ike, Things are Beginning to Return to Normal

Today was the first day back to class for both students and teachers since Hurricane Ike struck the area two weeks ago, at least in our town. Some places started a few days ago, while others still can not return to the routine of school. There were mixed feelings about being back, on both the teacher and the student side of things. Glad because it's a sign that things are getting back to normal, sad because the break was kind of nice (once the terror was over anyway). The unexpected time off is much harder to return from because of all the uncertainty involved. There is no way to get yourself mentally ready for the return, because you aren't sure when that will be. Not to mention, many of the teachers have many repairs waiting for them at home and young children to worry about. A number of daycares don't have power and are not open yet, so parents are having difficulty returning to their jobs since they have no one to watch their children.

The older school buildings fared better overall. Our building had some water leak in from the internal courtyard areas, causing minor flooding in some of the hallways. The worst spot was the library, since it is right by the large courtyard next to the cafeteria. The carpet had to be ripped out, but none of the books were truly ruined. A few minor cases of mildew. The bookcases, which have been there for at least 20 years, got some water damage on the bottom. They are plywood and will probably have to be replaced, as they are trying to split now. Any roof damage that we sustained is so minor that it won't be visible until the next good rain (except on the new gym). One of the brand new junior highs lost enough of its roof to lose the use of 21 classrooms, these classes are going to be meeting in the halls, etc. until the rooms can be fixed.

Today and tomorrow, while teaching content, we are letting the students vent about their experiences during Ike. Today was mostly talk about what they went through. Tomorrow, in my class at least, we will be trying to come up with solutions to the problems caused by hurricanes.

In our town, 25% still do not have power. They are saying, as of this morning, that it will be November before 100% of the area has power back. In Galveston, it may be even longer. They are getting debris from Galveston in Corpus Christi, they know it's from Galveston because it's things like personal computers and such that can be traced back to the owners. For those of you not familiar with the area, I'm including this map to show the distance between the two cities. Sadly, I couldn't find one with a scale on it, but the latitude and longitude should help give an idea of the distance. Some of the houses on Galveston island were so completely destroyed, not even the foundation remains.

I'd like to thank, on behalf of our whole community, all the police men, electrical workers, phone men, tree cutters, and everyone else from other states and countries that have come down here to help us. It is really appreciated, even if we do not say thank you to your face. I truly hope that you never need us to return the favor.

Summer is Here

Yesterday was my final work day for the school year. It was the clean up your room and turn in all the teacher stuff to the principal day. As with most such things, it's a bunch of hurry up and wait. We had our celebration at the high school in the morning, honoring the people with many years of service, the retirees, and the paraprofessional and teacher of the year. Then it was back to school, it was really kind of boring since I had most everything done already. There is summer school at our campus, so everything had to come home. Not to mention that everyone is changing rooms, so might as well have it all organized and packed.

Now I'm feeling a bit reflective. It was a very interesting and challenging year for me. I was part of three academic teams, yet part of none. A part of the Language Arts Department, yet not. I felt very accomplished as all my students were successful and passed their standardized test. I felt very sad as some children were lost due to situations in their own lives. I felt pity for those students that never seemed to learn from their mistakes, partially due to the limits put upon school discipline, sometimes due to lack of parenting, usually both.

Frustration with administration for lack of communication with staff about major issues in students' lives that being aware of would have helped us be better teachers. Frustration at being told how important my class was, but being pulled from it to cover other classes, which told me exactly how important they considered it and my students. It was an emotionally trying year in many ways and I'm glad to have two and a half months to recover mentally and emotionally.

Next year will bring its own challenges as I will be changing grade levels and subject areas. We will have a new principal and assistant principal. This summer I will be familiarizing myself with a new curriculum, writing lesson plans for a new subject, and preparing materials for the class. I am hoping this experience will enable me to return to Minnesota in a year and a half with my family.

I look forward to going swimming with the family this summer, Eddie Izzard on the 10th, watching some movies in the theater, and hopefully getting a new bike to ride to work next year.

Flabbergasted

I am flabbergasted by events at work yesterday. Why are teenagers so stupid sometimes? Why do they deliberately do stuff that they know is against the rules and do it in front of you?

As most of you know, I work in a junior high. My students range in age from 11 to 15. I have one particular young lady that has been a special challenge this year. The first time she got in trouble and was put in "In School Suspension", or The Hole as its more commonly called, I was shocked. She had been nothing but sweetness and cherry pie in my class. Over the year, I have seen her attitude increase. I had to write her up for walking out of my class and truancy, from then on she didn't like me because "I had it in for her."

Part of my teaching assignment this year has been to help out in the Hole during first period everyday. Most of the kids in there are basically good kids that did something incredibly stupid, and a few are repeat visitors. Well, over the holidays our full-time teacher for the Hole quit, he had found a better job. I wish him the best, supervising the Hole is a shit job for shit pay. Since he left I have been covering during first and third (when I usually have lunch duty).

Now this young lady winds up back in the Hole, this time for taking someone's backpack and running off campus with it during school hours. She is headed for Adapt, an alternative placement school, and is in the Hole until that goes through. This young lady is very lovely and always dresses very nicely. She can be wonderfully sweet, but she hates taking directions from grownups, or suggestions for that matter.

On Thursday, another girl in the Hole makes a comment that she is "waiting for a nigger" and she's not in any rush. Now she used this word to mean boyfriend, not in the racial slur sense. This is a new usage for me, I begin calmly explaining to her that this isn't a good word to use as it originally meant trash. The young lady then chooses to get upset trying to make it sound as if I was calling all African Americans trash. She then utters the word "cracker", a racial slur for whites in case you are not familiar. I request that no one uses any racial slurs in my presence and she begins repeatedly saying "crackers" and claiming she is talking about food, all the while with a sly grin on her face. I send her to the office and have to write the incident up.

Now, Friday morning, I have to escort all the kids in the Hole to breakfast. They aren't suppose to talk, however during breakfast they get a little chatty, though its usually uneventful. This morning is slightly different. Now, its been school policy for years that all medication must be kept in the nurses office, its in the handbook, gone over the first two days of school, etc. This fact is common knowledge. So our young lady is sitting at the breakfast table, holding two pills between her fingers in plain sight, facing them to me, in fact it seemed quite deliberate. I ask her what she has, she says Tylenol. I remind her that the nurse should have them and that the nurse needs a note from her parents to give her the medication. She says she has a note from her parents in her backpack. I have learned enough about this young lady to know that if I ask for the pills she will refuse, and I know she holds me responsible for some of the trouble she has gotten into. I have another teacher stay with them and go to get an administrator, on the way I meet the school police officer and ask him to come down.

The officer asks for the pills, she refuses. He then tries to take them out of her hand, she puts up a fight and ends up with her face on the table and in handcuffs. She proceeds to say "Thank you, stupid-ass Ms. Campbell." It's all my fault, you see. I take the rest of the students back to the Hole and look for the wrapper for the pills and collect her things together. Apparently, it goes downhill from there and she gets arrested and suspended.

Now, as all this happens more information comes to light. We have been trying to get mom in for a conference, but she never shows. It turns out that she has several outstanding warrants. The man they are living with, not sure if he's dad, step-dad or simply mom's boyfriend, is under investigation for drug dealing.

If all this is going on at home, of course her stress level is going to be huge. I'm sure that some of her actions at school have been as a result of this. She probably doesn't get much direction at home either, so is use to making most of her own decisions. I truly hope that her experience at Adapt will wake her up to the path that she is on. Mostly likely this incident will get mom in jail too. She will likely end up in the foster care system. Though I truly hope that she can moved past her current circumstances, I know that it is likely she will end up in the drug world trading her body for drugs, because that is what she has been shown is normal.

Film Class

My principle approved my film class, with some conditions. I must walk them through the final project with an example, and they have to choose a book and movie from a list she pre-approves. I'm really excited about this project, but I have lots of work to do over the next few weeks. I hope I don't burn myself out before the class even starts.

A side note, I have my first cake for pay, they want it Wednesday. I'll be up all night tomorrow baking and decorating. So lots of cramped hands for me on Thursday.

NMSA

For those of you who aren't teachers, or are teachers and not from the US, NMSA stands for the National Middle School Association. I was lucky enough to get to go to my first teacher's conference on Friday and Saturday of last week. I really enjoyed it, it was sort of like having a three day weekend.

Our keynote speaker on Friday was Cal Ripkin, Jr. I hear he was very inspiring, as I am not a baseball fan and my A/C had died at home, I skipped his speech. I had to call maintenance to get it fixed, it turned out the motor had completely burned out and had to be replaced. (Might explain, at least partially, the higher than normal electric bills lately.) Once I was out of the assembly I ran down to check out the vendors, soooo much fun stuff. (Lots of freebies too.)I admit to geeking out. I think I am overusing parentheses.

I got to hear several good workshops, including Ruby Payne. Her speciality is working with poverty stricken kids. I had gotten a completely different picture of her message from the people that had raved about her approach. I quite enjoyed her ideas and she was a very good public speaker.

Some other things that I got to explore were diversifying instruction with multiple intelligences, increasing literacy using graphic novels, and educating students on free trade and sweatshops.

The speaker that I really wanted to see was Mae Jamison, the first African-American female to head a shuttle mission. While we waited for the speech to begin, they had the choral choir from Conroe (I believe) sing for us. These young ladies were immensely talented. She was well spoken and had a great sense of humor. She encouraged us to push kids while supporting them. I am really hoping that they put a video or transcript of her speech on the NMSA website. I did get to shake her hand and take her picture at the end.

An incident at work

Yesterday was the first day back at school for teachers, a day of welcomes and workshops. It was great to be back and see everyone. It was the usual stuff that teachers hear every year, and work very hard not to zone out during every year. ;) Went to lunch had a good time, though the restaurant really messed up, and we were all late getting back. The boss was very understanding.

At the end of the day we were all released to work in our rooms, as I worked I heard a co-worker make a comment I found a bit upsetting. If you are from Texas you know, that the legislature just passed a law adding "under God" to the Texas pledge. My co-worker said "I'm happy about the change in the pledge". That I don't have a problem with, though I did find it mildly disturbing. What really bothered me was what she said next, "It serves the jerks right for trying to take God out of everything." I was a bit shocked and a bit offended. I very much wanted to confront her, but bit my tongue, she wasn't addressing me and I knew my temper was too high.

Our government is suppose to be a secular government, no state or federal religion so that all religions and cultures feel welcome and included. I very much want to ask how she would feel if the city, state, or federal government added a line asking people to swear on Buddha, Vishnu, or Allah. Most likely she would be deeply offended. It saddens me that so many can not put themselves in other people's shoes and understand where other people are coming from.

I've heard some people say that the God in the pledge is a general god idea. I can say with a fair amount of certainty that outside of the Christian faith the capital "G" god refers specifically to the Christian/Jewish god. Other religions use the specific name of the god they are referring to. I've tried to explain it this way. If you are talking about your own mom, you say or write "Mom", when you talk about all moms it is a lowercase m.

Musings

Went to the eye doctor yesterday to get me and the girl's eyes checked. I had been hoping that she would escape the family's bad eyes. No such luck, though I seemed to have caught it at the very beginning, hopefully it will help slow down her eyes getting worse. Found her some really cute frames. I'm wearing contacts today for the first time in about 6 years. I got some great glasses too, very sassy!

Today was 8th grade play day, kind of an 8th grade graduation without the cheesy ceremony. We rent out the Palm Beach section of Moody Gardens. The teachers get to go relax in the sun and ignore the students, the lifeguards supervise. It's awesome! On the way home, a coworker said something very interesting. She was talking about how she has a very addictive personality. She'll try something just once, and if it's really good she just can't give it up. One example she gave was this olive dip stuff for bagels that she ate for breakfast for 5 years. She said the only way she can give these things up is to use Lint, because her "addiction to God" is stronger than any other. I thought this was a very interesting way to phrase it.

Another Update

I am still working on my project, but will be done very shortly. I am actually in the mood to write, I'm really eager and feel the need to do so. This is a completely new sensation for me. Much of my writing will probably remain private, but I'm sure some stuff will get on here.

I am looking for a teaching job in Minnesota. Wish me luck.