Busy bee Wednesday

A crazy day today.

First period during my prep I had to make copies; while I was waiting I graded the remaining Thanksgiving packets. More no-name papers. Sucks to be those students. Also, many students ignored the short response questions. Even though they had them written on the back of the packet. Duh!

I taught Class A second and third, they were rowdy. Fourth I had a coverage, I had them work with SNOT the way I did with my classes yesterday. Fifth was another prep, but I had to meet with my AP. That same bully mother is still all "concerned" because of her kid's progress report. So then I have to go explain everything to the AP and pull out my proof so that he can show her. It's such bullshit. But thank god I kept track of things. I had about ten minutes to "eat lunch" in my classroom at the end of fifth. With Class C in the room having Social Studies. Sixth and seventh were Class B. They were also rowdy. Eighth period was a sixth-grade assembly; lucky Class C won't have to do any homework tonight.

I stayed in my room until 4pm. I finally checked out the overhead projector that one of the APs sent to my room. Hurrah! I figured out that there's enough space on one upper wall to project onto. Now I just need transparencies to write on, and I'll be good to go. That new "toy" should make things so much easier; I can actually do shared reading, I won't have to write large passages on the blackboard, I can have transparencies already prepared instead of rewriting the board each period.

Last week I started re-reading A Prayer for Owen Meany. I'm about halfway done. The book itself, which I forgot until I saw the stamp inside it, came from a small secondhand bookstore off the 90 in Mississippi. I must have gotten it on my one day off of Red Cross duty; it was off the highway a bit to the west of our hotel. I think I bought an Amy Tan book there too.

Anyway, look at this post: all the semicolons! John Irving uses tons of semicolons in his novels and apparently it's contagious.

In grammar nazi news, I explained the difference between "nauseous" and "nauseated" to two students today. Just as the smart people at Fametracker enlightened me, I compared those terms with "poisonous" and "poisoned." Thus, feeling "nauseated" is not the same as "nauseous," as the latter means causing nausea. The students may not have gotten it, but it was a teachable moment.

God, I'm all over the place here. I'm still hungry, my lips have been really chapped the past few days, and I still have so much work to do. Friday's test prep is not at all planned; I have one day left for that! Shit!

It's 6.30. That's not too bad. I should be able to get some more work done. I must read the essays the kids turned in. My science lesson is just about done, yay. I have to submit a math lesson on Monday; I am going to try and use the lesson from determining patterns in the Friendship poem.

In the mail today I received a wrapped Christmas present from my grandma in Illinois and a nice long letter from my friend in the Peace Corps in Africa. Neat!