Holy Heat Wave, Batman

Shit, it's hot.

Since I don't have air-conditioning (well, the unit that came with the apartment only cools about three feet directly in front of it), it was difficult to sleep very well.

Then I forgot both my hot chocolate and my keys. I haven't forgotten my keys since my second year of teaching. And I've forgotten the cocoa (my daily morning drink) only three or four times, but this was the second time this month. Maybe I can blame the humidity for my forgetfulness? After all, I come from stock that is not well adapted to this weather--not only did I grow up in the temperate Northwest, but my ancesters are all Northern Europeans. This weather is just inhumane!

I do have one good thing to share--my classroom has air-conditioning! No, it's not new or anything, but this is the first time we've needed it. And boy, am I grateful. Actually, even the parts of the school (on the lower floors, anyhow) that aren't air-conditioned weren't too bad. Warm and sticky, sure, but not unbearable. (Of course, I haven't ventured to the upper floors; I'm sure it's a windowed Hades up there.) Walking out of the building this afternoon, after being fairly comfortable inside all day, was like walking into a preheated oven. Ack.

Also, my students are behaving pretty well for me, if fairly lazy recently with homework. I'm very happy and relieved about that. Now, I'm the one to thank for this, of course, since I worked so hard to set up the routines and expectations for my class. And just today I got to practice one of my favorite teacher looks. At the beginning of class, when I see a student not on task, I stare at them. Not glare, no raised eyebrows, just stare right at them, unwavering. Very quickly they shriek, "Miss! Don't look at me like that!!" and bury their heads in shame. Meanwhile, I continue to stare and they jump to getting to work. Hee. Sometimes I can't keep a straight face as long as I need to and the corners of my mouth twitch. Usually other kids see this and start to giggle.

Anyway, I don't really have a point here. It's really hot. We still have about three weeks left of school.