Dizzamn!

kids it's been a long damn week!! yes it's only a 4-day week but what a week it was! the addition of my new class and the accompanying increase in workload, a head cold mason gave me from his daycare buds, and wednesday's parent teacher conferences it's causing a mentally stressful accumulation o'shizzle that my reptilian central nervous system can't assuage. i'm so busy i can't even get any ride therapy in during the week! the conferences started 30 minutes right after our duty day officially ended. the parent-teacher committee fed us dinner-a nice gesture-but; to not discredit them, they usually forget about the two vegetarians on staff here at our school (me being one of them). so, for my turkey sandwich i pick off the meat and give it to my friend tom. even the salads have chicken chunks in 'em so i pick them off. the antipasto has cheese chunks but i'm guessing too it's made using rennet; so alas i eat the oh so yummy desserts. not very satisfying but it curbed my sweet tooth for 2008. thursday i'm dragging ass and i come up with a great reading assignment that i think will help kids comprehend typical, sterile, science reading. yup, science reading. it had great graph interpretation, complex symbiotic interactions...it went over like a ton o'bricks. i hate to make comparisons but jeez, my non-honors kids have about as much work ethic as a trust fund baby (minus the trust fund, that is).
here at my district we're under new supervision a la a new superintendent whom i happen to like. he's trying his darnedest to improve how we teach stuff and my administrative personnel are amazingly supportive but have they really tried using researched-based methods? we're trying all these new models and on paper they're great and it's superseding the antiquated shizzle with thought-provoking ways of validating grading and student work; but, no instructional model can ever replace the parental support asians, europeans, and indian families have for their kiddoes. this support, may i add, is not too dependent on socio-economics. unfortunately here in the states, a strong correlation with (low) student achievement and free and reduced lunches exists. i know that the typical american boy or girl has no idea what kind of fundamental changes the global economy is undergoing currently. by the time they reach adulthood they're going to be in for a rude awakening when china takes over the number one position for being the economic badass. Ph.D. carrying non-americans will create such a state of high-tech, ultra-competition globally that the students who slacked in my class-and other classes in this country-might only qualify for a shitty, hourly gig. be ready for a paradigm shift teenage slackers that have no parental support. hopefully your maturity'll guide you to an educational and work ethic enlightenment.
ite den. i'm done with my diatribe of non-sequitorial nebulousness. tomorrow i'm going to take maricel to her first soccer game of the season. i'm going to be shutter buggin' y'all...
phew. i'm writing this the next morning now. i'm much better now, thanks. this is what the thermometer said when i woke up (interior: top; exterior: bottom number).our backyard with mr. sunshine starting to wake up.
had to fire up the oven to take the cold edge off the house.