The Disbelief

Met with honored adviser this week and she likes the new chapter 5 v. much. Next week I can hand out the diss to my very own committee. And in a month, there will be some defending of that dissertation. As for the worksite, we had a few peeps out of the room for various reasons, some of them sadder than others, and that resulted in some good work being done. They are writing plays about the Little Rock Nine. Tomorrow I meet CB in Chicago for a weekend of walks and wine. I still can't believe I'm done writing though. I hope that sinks in soon.

The Chapter

I'm rewriting chapter five. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Testing

Testing week is wrapping up. The fourth graders had to write about a perfect day. One kid wrote about his weekend of sickness which included vomiting up hotdogs and macaroni and cheese, going to the doctor for pink eye in both eyes and then having an allergic reaction to his medicine which resulted in itchy bumps all over his neck. After several turns around the room, I couldn't stand it any longer and finally leaned over and asked, "You think this is a perfect day?"
"Yeah, because I didn't have to go to school," he told me.
Gee thanks I wanted to say, but I simply walked on, hoping he would add a line of explanation at the end so that the test readers could see that he wrote to the prompt. I'm not sure they're going to understand.

The Camera

A video camera was set up in my room yesterday to document behaviors of Kidwithmanyproblems. The camera seemed to incite him as he drew a picture of an obscene gesture, taped it on to a ruler, and proceeded to march back and forth in front of the camera, holding it aloft. That was the least of my problems with KWMP yesterday, to tell the honest truth. Sadly, I forgot about the camera while I was on my prep and when talking about my day with a teacherpal made comments like, "This is so f***ed up!" and other remarks along those lines. I wonder who watches that tape. Again, probably the least of my problems.
(Massage scheduled for 4 pm today, so no worries!)

The Experiences

Walked in Brown County yesterday. And napped. And read a book called Kira Kira. Q. good. And then I saw Superbad with Husbandman and #1 Son. Also good. #1 loved it the most.

The Forum

Because my new school is an old school and because it is a failing school, there are community meetings about the school going on right now to discuss possibilities for moving the school or restructuring it in some way. It looks like restructuring involves closing shop, and that would be a drag since I just moved in. I went to a meeting last night and the neighbors want a more diverse demographic in the school. Too many poor kids in one building. One point no one brought up is my preference for the downtown locale. I almost stood up and told them that I like walking over to Bloomingfoods after I teach and I like being able to see the courthouse fish in the morning from the parking lot. But I'm new, so I didn't pipe up. I lost my chance to voice my opinion.

The Huddle

Okay, I know you're all probably thinking, "Hey, where are those awesome fotos that this blogger always posts on her blog?" Huddle up peeps, let me tell you the problem. Our main computer is broken and the computer shopkeepers say we will never use it again. So all my fotos are in the shop, and they're going to try to save some for me. If you know a good computer that I should buy, let me know. It has to happen soon. On the workplace front, one of my little peeps got suspended today and that made me a bit sad. I tried to dissuade him from scraping people with paperclips, but he just kept doing it. And someone eventually did get quite the gash. On the diss front, honored adviser has the revised version. I'll keep you posted about what happens next.

The Routine

Another Saturday rolls around and it's time once again to see if I can move the diss to the place it has to get to before adviserpal can read it over. After she reads it, she'll let me know if i can hand it over to the committeemen. Husbandman thinks I have fear of finishing syndrome, because I'm getting so anxious about the work. But I think I have longing for a weekend syndrome. Or I may have realization that it's not going to be done today syndrome. Or when will this thing end disorder. Okay, down to the basement. Whining is a critical first step in my writing process. But you already know that.

The Perk

Open House was last night and 5 people showed up. I loved that. We had a relaxed, pleasant chat. Well most of us did, one of the peeps talked on her cellphone during her visit. She was multitasking, which I'm all for. A calm and cheerful Open House. Other educators seemed down about the turnout. Don't rock the boat, my friends. Be careful what you ask for. And other cliches along those lines.

The Task

Chapter 5 has to be totally rewritten. So annoying, especially considering that I don't feel like rewriting it.