Samoan Fire Dance

There is amazing diversity in my classes.  White students are the minority by quite a large margin.  One of the bigger populations in the school is Polynesians.  I am one that doesn't really like extra credit.  If I see a parent, I am more inclined to offer extra credit points.  That is what I did for the students at parent teacher conferences.  I offered to have people write papers, or do whatever they wanted to do.  I had one student that wanted to perform a Samoan Fire dance because he needed points on his rock cycle test.

I got the DVD today and I am blown away at how much time not only he invested in the assignment, but also how much his parents let him do.  It was literally a fire dance.  It is amazing how much that 14 year old can do.  I am glad that I can take into consideration that science is not for everyone.  If someone wants to dance and play with fire to earn credit for my class, just as long as they can connect it to the material that we are studying I am fine with it.  I offered some people to make a drawing if they wanted to.

The best part about it is that I am able to be culturally sensitive to my students.  I am able to see a talented young man display pride for his culture for his extra credit.  It really does make me feel happy that I am able to do that.

Longest day of my life!

Today I had the opportunity to go to soldier hollow and ski the cross country ski course.  It was really fun.  I had a great time.  The ride up on the bus was boring because my MP3 player died within 5 minutes.  The ride up wasn't so bad.  I had so much fun trudging through the snow for the avalanche safety training.  I learned about different kinds of wax and the chemistry behind it.  It was fun.  I skied a few laps around the course, got a good sunburn, and I fell...a lot.

The first time that I fell, was when a 6th grader plowed into me because he didn't know how to stop.  I have a bruise the side of Texas on my left thigh where the kid hit me.  But that wasn't the worst part of the day.

The worst part...the drive home.  It took SO long!  There was an unfortunate 3 car pileup needing air lift and everything. We were stuck in traffic for hours.  I was the only teacher on the bus from my school.  It was interesting when I had to make sure the students got home.

I had a student tell me that I am a great teacher.  It was a great end to a really long day.

Not so nice things I wish I could say

If you don't like swear words, don't read this post.

There are some words that I hear every day that I would love to be able to use to tell some of my students.

Lyrics to In One Ear :
They say that we ain't got the style,
We ain't got the class,
We ain't got the tunes that's goin to put us on the map
and im a phoney in disguise,
tryin to make the radio,
i'm an anti-social anarchist dyslexic so and so,
they say i'm just a stupid kid,
just a crazy radical,
rock and roll is dead i probably should've stayed in school,
another generation X who somehow slipped up through the crack,
they'd love to see me fall but i'm already on my back

And it goes In One Ear,
and right out the other,
people talkin' shit but you know it never bothers me,
In One Ear,
and right out the other,
people talkin' shit,
they can kiss the back of my hand

Now i know i'm not a saint,
i been a sinner all my life,
i ain't tryin to have no buds,
i'd rather keep them in the line,
they wanna criticise you now,
cast another stone,
burn me at the stake and see them watch it from the dome,
they say the devil is my pal,
i do alotta drugs!
the crowd will only like me if they're really fuckin' drunk,
they think they know my thoughts,
but they don't know the least,
if they listened to the words they'd find the message that's beneath

And it goes In One Ear,
and right out the other,
people talkin shit even though they never bother,
In One Ear,
and right out the other,
peopl talkin' shit don't ya know they never bother and...

Here's the moral to the story,
we don't do it for the glory,
we don't do it for the money,
we don't do it for the things so all the critics who despise, just go ahead and criticise,
it's your integrity that drives us, addin fire to the flame and it goes

In One Ear,
and right out the other,
people talkin' shit but you know they'll never bother,
It goes In One Ear,
and right out the other,
i'm only playing music cos you know that i love it, it goes
In One Ear,
and right out the other,
people talkin' shit but you know we'll never bother,
It goes In One Ear, and right out the other, people talkin shit well you know they can kiss the back of my hand 

Graduate School

I am a little bit late in posting this, but I am still excited.  I officially got into the Instructional Design and Educational Technology or IDET  Masters program.  I will start the program this summer.  I will be graduating with my Masters May 2012.

The Simple Pleasures

There are a few things that I can find pleasure in.  Once of those things came in the mail today.  No matter the economy, I get credit card offers.  I get my kitties to come and snuggle when I have a bad day.  I get good grades.  I found out I like asparagus today when it is boiled.  The little things add up.

Choices

Another Haircut

Knowing that my sister in law has wonderful abilities to cut hair, I take advantage of that to try out the kind of hairstyle that I like. I decided to have a hairstyle that I have wanted to try for a while.  Short in back, long in front, like a reverse mullet.

I think that it turned out cute.  I also kept the bangs. 

Side view...

Back view.

I guess it is a little bit hard to see in pictures, but I love it.