28 November 2006

Just when you think it can't be more amusing


The hell that is the school I work in is run by a Principal who is NEVER there. She decided not to come to work today after arriving after 11 am yesterday. I guess that four day Thanksgiving Holiday was too exhausting and she needed to get a pedicure to go with the new hair style she sported yesterday. They decided to go on with the faculty meeting without her.

As my fellow Teachers began to make possitive steps towards working out Dicipline solutions with security and the Assistant Principal the PA system broke in and the school Counselor announced a call for the secretary. All of us stopped and stared. We all realized at the same time that the Counselor never bothered to show up to the meeting. The Assistant Principal (second in command if I am not mistaken) got up to tell her to get to the meeting. When he returns he was livid. He was told by the Counselor she was busy and had other things to do as an excuse for not attending the meeting. Within a few minutes of his return the Counselor comes storming in yelling at the top of her voice. "Don't come at me like that. I is as grown as you. (She is the ripe old age of 22 compared to the Assistant Principals 54)" She continued to yell at him while he remained cool headed. We Teachers quietly left the room. What a fresh new hell....

10 hours of sleep will do it everytime


After a day like yesterday nothing felt better than going to bed. Sure it was 4 hours earlier than I normally do but so worth it. I am always so torn about school. After the nightmare of 6th period was over I had an awesome 7th period class. I laughed and joked with my students. There are some great kids at this school but unfortunatley the lack of administrative support for those students that disrupt the whole school is really pulling down the teaching staff. If it were not for the close bond of my fellow teachers I don't know what I would do. It helps having one of your best friends in the classroom next door. It made my heart melt to see, after the verbal assult of 6th period two teachers repeatedly check my door to see if I was alright. Talk about a strong bond. It tells you something about the dedication of my fellow Teachers for each other and the students we teach. Thank Dog for them.

27 November 2006

Why can't we have traffic jams like this anymore? I love Chicago History. I am always amazed when I view pictures of areas then and now. I just sent this picture to a friend of mine in Germany because he had a picture taken here last year of the same spot.

The more Chicago changes the more my love grows. There may be some cracked cups in the cupboards but this is still the greatest city in the United States that I have been to. Well, except for maybe Cambridge. It is an east coast Evanston.