The Glitches

Yesterday 27,000 Hoosier kids were bumped out of the online Istep test.  All over the state, they had to discontinue testing. Today testing was going pretty well until around 11:00 when we started getting a ton of glitches, and we got the official announcement that the dept. of ed discontinued testing all over the state for the second day.  So great that this test which determines our school's letter grade is so well designed and monitored by the lovelies at McGraw Hill.  Thanks, McGraw Hill!  You're doing a heckuva job!   As the fifth graders filtered back to class after 45 minutes of wasted time, one little guy wouldn't budge.  His teacher asked me to talk with him.  When the room was empty, I asked him if he was frustrated by the testing glitches.  He started crying, "For the last 2 nights my mom has made me go to bed about 4 hours early and we didn't even do the test either day.  And now she's going to keep doing it, and we're never going to take this test."  Man alive, that irked me no end.  Not sure I believe him about the 4 hours, but still, the kid's fun time is being cut short for no reason.  And that's something I'll never support. He was crying pretty hard so I told him about my tooth extraction and the chisels and the mallets, and the drilling and the taste of blood in my mouth that's making me nauseous all the time and how I was going to stay home today but I came to work because of Istep, and in this way I communicated that I understood his frustrations and that we both had legitimate beefs. He went back to class and then my boss told me to go home and go to sleep.  I took a long nap and I may be feeling better.  Let's see what tomorrow will bring. Please send some good vibes to the Hoosier kids who are dealing with this aggravation. And always remember to do whatever you can to explain to others how dumb standardized tests are.

The Mallet

This was one of the most hideous mornings of my life.  The oral surgeon could not pull my tooth out.  He had to drill into the bone, hit at it with a chisel and mallet and even "split" my nerves, whatever that means.  It was a living hell.  When it was all done, the surgeon said, "That had to be traumatizing for you."  Truer words were never spoken.
On the good side, I'm in bed, watching Pride and Prejudice, nibbling on mashed potatoes and wishing I could get my tooth back.

The Review

Husbandman and I saw an independent film tonight.  Called FERLINGHETTI.  It's about a cool poet named Ferlinghetti who wrote about the rebirth of wonder.  Love that phrase. Here's our review.

L:  How'd you like the movie?
Hm:  I enjoyed it.  I learned a lot.
L:  Fave part?
Hm:  I liked all the scenes in North Beach.
L:  Who do you think would most enjoy seeing this film?
Hm:  People from the Bay Area.
L:  Did watching the film make you want to write poetry?
Hm:  No.
L:  Fist of 5?
Hm:  3.5.
L:  I'm giving it a solid 5.  It was awesome.
Hm:  God, you're easy.
L:  Ferlinghetti is a great movie about a great poet.  If you want to see this documentary, you should.

The Tooth

Okay, huddle up peeps.  I'm chomping on a granola bar Friday morning and a crown pops off a back tooth into my mouth.  I head over to the dentist to get the crown fixed up and guess what?  My tooth has to be extracted.  Tomorrow morning.  And I need to get an implant, but because of this Israel trip, I may not have time to get it.  Okay.  Freaking out. Why me of all people?  I'm stressed. Not going to lie.

On another negative note.  Husbandman and I ventured out today for our first ever official hunt for MOREL MUSHROOMS.  We found zero.  Everyone else around here finds a million.  This ticks me off no end.

The Fire

Walked into Friend Vander's teaching space on Friday afternoon.  Her firsties were all writing about pets.  Fun firstie immediately stopped writing when he saw me and walked up to intercept me as I tried to talk to Vander about a tooth problem I'm having, "Dr. H.  You should be a social worker."
"Why do you say that, Bud?"
"Because you like to play with puppets.  And you're nice to little kids.  And do you want to look at my writing and tell me how hard I'm working?"
"Yes, of course I do."  I read over his piece and asked, "Firstie, This is sad. Did your fish really die?"
"Yes, His name was Smile.  And he died.  And when we went back to the pet store, they didn't have any more beta fish."
"My son had a beta.  His name was Firebeam."
Firstie looked at me for a few seconds and then said, "You know what my fish was named? Firesmile!"
I wish I could be a firstie teacher.  These are obviously my peeps.

The Peeps

Ai Weiwei

The San Antonio Riverwalk.  I miss it a bit.  Not going to lie.  But today kept me hopping and that felt good too.  Worked with a ton of peeps----measured homes for hermit crabs (2nd grade) , outlined facts about blue jays (first grade) and created symbol stick puppets that represent different jobs (Kinders).  AWESOME curricular choices, artfulteachers!

I now have quite a bit of data entry to do, but Husbandman has brought home a movie for us to watch.  Last night we watched Hyde Park on Hudson.  Really must learn more about the affairs of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Not sure he always acted admirably in the relationship department.  Tonight we're watching a Clint Eastwood movie about baseball.  I will also drink a glass of wine as I work.  So, things are pretty good.  Once I get focused on the data forms, things ought to move quickly.  It's not exactly rocket science.

IRA 2013

Our talk went well. Now we have to write this little monster up. Fun hanging out with KC. Now I'm heading home. I'm so happy I now know how to blog from my phone.

IRA2013

We are ready!

IRA 2013

Time for wine on the riverwalk

IRA2013

So far so good. New app so I can blog from the phone.

The Insurance

Everyone is fairly fried at Artful School right now.  Including me.  I actually feel I may have a touch of post traumatic stress disorder after 8 weeks on the business school project.  That gig was like being in the twilight zone, no lie. Still, even though people are fried, I can count on much support from the Artful Colleagues and  I try to give support back.  With 5 weeks of school left and tons more stuff to do, we're all bouncing around like pinballs, frantic and frenzied.  Not sure how people do the year round calendar.  But maybe more frequent, shorter breaks is the way to go.
After school today, someone came to teach us how to renew our life insurance.  I think life insurance is dumb, but the gal acted like it's the best thing since sliced bread.  I almost asked her if we could get life insurance if we committed suicide because I was curious, and I was also in a pretty bad mood at the moment, but right when I was about to ask, she started telling us that we can't. There are rules about this. Question answered.  Problem solved.  Stayin Alive.