Wednesday Hodgepodge


1. Did you know there is a National Day of pretty much everything in the universe? February 23 happens to be National Inconvenience Yourself Day...when was the last time you were inconvenienced?
Gosh, I have no idea.  I'm sure if I sat and thought about it long enough, I could come up with something, but I just can't be inconvenienced like that at this time.  : )

2. When a room in your house needs painting who does the job?
I do.  After we painted the house before we moved in, I told CH that I was done painting...forever.  But, it looks like painting may be in my future with the remodeled bathrooms, plus some trim that needs to be repainted.
3. Are you friends with your cousins?
Unfortunately, I didn't grow up around my cousins.  We were in  Tn., they were in Tx.   We had a lot of fun every year or two when we got together, though.

4. Do you use an alarm clock? If yes-is it an actual alarm, music, or something else?
I use my cell phone as an alarm clock.  It's set to a nice, soothing tune that won't put me in a bad mood right off of the bat!

5. What do you put ketchup on?
If I get a hamburger out and they put ketchup on it, I'll eat it.  I don't put ketchup on anything. I'll put it on my plate and dip my french fries in it, but I prefer honey mustard.

6. What smells make you nostalgic?
Oh, there are so many!  This is weird, but the smell of plastic reminds me of Christmas.  I must've gotten something plastic one year that I really liked!  

7. Have you heard about the high school English teacher recently suspended as a result of some things she wrote in her personal blog? You can read the story here but in a nutshell she vented a lot of frustration onto her blog. She didn't mention individual students by name but she did make some harsh comments about kids in general and their parents.

What are your thoughts-If you're a parent is your child's teacher online and are you 'friend' or 'follower' there? If you're a teacher are you on facebook and do you accept or friend students on fb? How about their parents? If you're a student are you friends with your current or former teachers online? Do any of them have blogs you read? If you're a teacher or a parent do you ever use your blog as a place to vent your frustrations with our educational system? So much to discuss...
I don't accept parents of students as friends on facebook.  I suppose if someone wanted to find my blog, they could, but I don't advertise my blog address.  I'm also very, very careful about what I say in both places.  I would never use my blog as a place to voice my frustrations; I like my job too much!  
I do have a professional blog that is linked to my mountain school, but I've made sure the 2 blogs aren't connected.  I think that, as a school employee, you have to be extremely careful about what you say.  Children look up to us, and,  especially those of us who are in an elementary school, are molding these kids' lives.  A lot of these kids experience daily disappointment with the adults in their lives; they don't need it from the teachers, too.  
I understand the woman's frustrations, but you've got to be smart about the internet.  Once it's out there, it's out there.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 
Since the last question was about school, I've got to tell you what happened yesterday.  I have "speech procedures" , or a routine that we follow.  The students come in, we work on what they need to work on, they get their sticker on their sticker chart, then they line up at the door.  Yesterday, I had just finished working with one of my students (a second grader), and he got up (before he got his sticker).   He said, "Is that it?" and I said, "I guess so."  (I was hoping that he would remember the procedure and sit back down so that he would get his sticker.)  He said okay, then started out the door.  (My door will lock on its own after it's been shut a few times.)  As the door was closing, I mentioned that he must not have wanted his sticker today, and the door closed.  And locked.  Then, this child frantically tried to get the door back open.  The handle just kept going up and down extremely fast as I was trying to get to it to open it up!  I got the door open and reminded him he needed to follow the procedures, and he would get a sticker next time.  (Yes, I'm the mean one!)  This kid is so incredibly cute, so it was really funny to me!  But, I bet he won't forget the procedure again!

20 comments:

  1. Most of the teachers I know do not blog and they certainly do not friend their students or their students' parents on FB.

    If teachers/firefighters/doctors, etc. want to speak freely, they have that freedom to do, as long as they are willing to accept the responsibility for doing so. That may include job loss as their bosses wonder about their maturity, etc. But they should go ahead and speak if they feel compelled.

    Some see it as a free speech issue. I liken it to when I was in the Air Force. We agreed, as part of our privilege of serving, to curtail our freedom of speech so as not to run afoul of the UCMJ. Made sense in that context because there was an actual LAW involved.

    Love your random thought. You're not mean -- you're consistent. And children learn through mistakes. Good for you for showing consistency (letting him struggle) and grace (opening the door).

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  2. #1-ha!

    It seems like in this part of the country so many people I know are best friends with their cousins...still having big extended family weekend dinners together, etc. I never really had that since my many cousins were so far away. Hubs parents are both only children so no first cousins there.

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  3. I laughed out loud at your answer to #1 And I'm with you on #5 (except I don't use ketchup for fries). ;-)

    Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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  4. I just had to share with you, when my daughter was in the 1st grade she used to try to misspeak so they would put her in speech! She wanted those stickers that some of the other children received when they were in the speech room!

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  5. Your not the mean one. Kids want structure, it helps them thrive to know what's coming next.
    But so many adults don't follow through each day so they get frustrated.

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  6. I can't imagine a mean bone in your body. I agree with Thena...kids want structure. Loved your responses.

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  7. Loved you answer to #1! LOL

    I enjoyed your random thought story! You are right, I'll bet that student will remember the procedure from now on :)

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  8. Great answer to number 7, I agree with you that school staff (not just teachers!) are role models to kids whether they like it or not and they should always act with a bit of care and forethought, especially online.

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  9. Great answer to number 7, I agree with you that school staff (not just teachers!) are role models to kids whether they like it or not and they should always act with a bit of care and forethought, especially online.

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  10. I'll bet he won't forget again either! Experience is always a good teacher.

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  11. Good lesson learned. It's not just "Tiger Moms" who believe in making children responsible for their actions.

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  12. My son got his very first teaching job that way - he was student teaching as a band director when the current director was fired for saying something online...something unflattering but apparebntly true...about the school administrators. They fired him the teacher pretty much on the spot and hired my son, who was still a college student at the time. Bad way to get a job.

    Ironic you should mention cousins. When I was young, the only cousins I had were my mother's sister's children - five of them, five of us. Though we lived in different states, we had a blast when we saw each other. But some years ago, they became involved in some religion that pretty much dictated they could associate only with other members of that religion - or maybe they made that decision themselves. Anyway, the oldest daughter disagreed with the new dogma, and the family literally would have nothing ever again to do with her - or anyone else in the family. They became reclusive. When my uncle died a couple of years ago, they made no announcement, had no public funeral - we just kinda found out months later through the grapevine. And just yesterday we found out by the same grapevine that my aunt, MY LIVING MOTHER'S OWN SISTER, had died...on January 24! I did an extensive online search and could find no announcement, no funeral home info - the only way I could confirm was through social security records.

    So, sorry for the long response, but it was just weird timing that you should ask about cousins...

    On a brighter note, I have 3 alarm clocks - two Morkies and a Shih Tzu - that wake me between 7:19 and 7:23 every morniing. Never mind that Mommy got home from work at 2AM. And I hate ketchup.

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  13. Honey mustard or mayo on fries is awesome.

    Poor student, I bet he won't forget again.

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  14. The blog is interesting, isn't it? I can't decide how I feel about it. Part of me feels like she has the right to say what she wants to say, part of me agrees that if this is how she really feels she shouldn't be teaching.

    I admire you for sticking to your routine with the little guy, I think a lot of kids would be a whole lot better off if more people set rules then stuck to them. It's not mean, it just teaches them accountability.

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  15. I too don't think that boy will forget the routine the next time you see him; I can see him being frantic trying to open your door. I'm with you, I like honey mustard to deep fries in, as well as ranch. I also lived away from cousins for the majority of my life, got tons of them out there, probably have only met a handful. I hadn't heard about that teacher and her blog, but I have to agree with what you said. Kids do look up to teachers and they are a role model. If she needed to get her frustrations out, she needed to perhaps do it more anonymously than she did or make her blog private. I did know of someone who lost her job at a hospital one time because she blogged about a specific incident that happened there and that was a violation of the patient's rights so she got terminated. We do need to be careful what we write here because you are right, it is out there for the whole world to see

    betty

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  16. I also dig honey mustard on my french fries, but I like ketchup too. Loved your #7...you are not mean just keeping it real for your kiddies.

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  17. Loved your answers and especially your random thought. What a cute story. I bet he doesn't forget either!

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  18. I should pass along the 'soothing tune' tip to my hubs. His alarm and snooze makes me want to cry. ;) Great answer to #7.

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  19. I loved reading your answers once again this week, Mary! #1 made me laugh and your random story at the end was so cute. I will bet he won't forget that procedure going forward either. Take care! Candace

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  20. I can't believe I didn't get over here yet for Hodgepodge! Always fun to see everyones answers. I doubt that your the mean one! Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

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