In the car on the way to the beach
Thursday, March 19, 2009
i love socal
Yesterday after work chris and I decided to take the puppies to the beach for a walk. It was such a beautiful day yesterday. At 5 it was 72 degrees with a tiny breeze. I had a t-shirt on and didn't need a jacket. I feel so lucky to live near the beach. Our beautiful evening walk was the perfect end to a stressful work day. Here are a few photos that I took of the silly puppies.
In the car on the way to the beach
In the car on the way to the beach
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Update
Monday I went to the doctor to get some blood test results. All of the tests were negative. It is kind of funny, but I was hoping that one would be positive. I mean I don't want anything to be wrong with me, but I do want an answer. I am happy that I am healthy, but if I am healthy than what is the problem. I guess I have always been a problem/ solution person. If there is a problem I want to fix it right away. If I do something I want to do it well. It is just frustrating to me that there seems to be no answer at this point. The one thing I desperatly want to succeed at, I can't, and there are no answers for me right now. I am looking into seeing other doctors. I just don't know what they can tell me that is different at this point. I just want an answer and there is the possibility that I will never get one.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Heroes
This was forwarded to our staff today. Many of the nations educational shortcomings are blamed on teachers but we are constantly faced with hurdles we can't climb. This article helped me to appreciate the proffession I am a part of and the amazing people that do what I do. I added a little story of my own that happened today in red.
Real Life Heroes
An essay written by an assistant principal in Ohio .
By J. Bradley:
"Where are the heroes of today?" a radio talk show host thundered.
He blames society's shortcomings on education. Too many people are looking for heroes in all the wrong places. Movie stars and rock musicians, athletes, and models aren't heroes; they're celebrities.
Heroes abound in public schools, a fact that doesn't make the news. There is no precedent for the level of violence, drugs, broken homes, child abuse, and crime in today's America. Education didn't create these problems but deals with them every day.
You want heroes?
Consider Dave Sanders, the schoolteacher shot to death while trying to shield his students from two youths on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton , Colorado. Sanders gave his life, along with 12 students; and other less heralded heroes survived the Colorado blood bath.
You want heroes?
Jane Smith, a Fayetteville, NC teacher, was moved by the plight of one of her students, a boy dying for want of a kidney transplant. So this woman told the family of a 14-year-old boy that she would give him one of her kidneys. And she did. When they appeared together hugging on the Today Show, Katie Couric was near tears.
You want heroes?
Doris Dillon dreamed all her life of being a teacher. She not only made it, she was one of those wondrous teachers who could bring the best out of every single child. One of her fellow teachers in San Jose, Calif., said, "She could teach a rock to read."
Suddenly she was stricken with Lou Gehrig's Disease which is always fatal, usually within five years. She asked to stay on the job ... and did. When her voice was affected, she communicated by computer.
Did she go home? Absolutely not! She is running two elementary school libraries! When the disease was diagnosed, she wrote the staff and all the families that she had one last lesson to teach .... that dying is part of living. Her colleagues named her Teacher of the Year.
You want heroes?
Bob House, a teacher in Georgia, tried out for "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". After he won the million dollars, a network film crew wanted to follow up to see how it had impacted his life. New cars? Big new house?
Instead, they found both Bob House and his wife still teaching. They explained that it was what they had always wanted to do with their lives and that would not change. The community was both stunned and grateful.
You want heroes?
Last year the average school teacher spent $468 of their own money for student necessities ... workbooks, pencils, supplies kids had to have but could not afford. That's a lot of money from the pockets of the most poorly paid teachers in the industrial world.
Schools don't teach values? The critics are dead wrong.
Public education provides more Sunday School teachers than any other profession.
The average teacher works more hours in nine months than the average 40-hour
employee does in a year.
You want heroes?
For millions of kids, the hug they get from a teacher is the only hug they will get that day because the nation is living through the worst parenting in history.
An Argyle, Texas kindergarten teacher hugs her little 5 and 6 year-olds so much that both the boys and the girls run up and hug her when they see her in the hall, at the football games, or in the malls years later.
A Michigan principal moved me to tears with the story of her attempt to rescue a badly abused little boy who doted on a stuffed animal on her desk .. one that said "I love you!" He said he'd never been told that at home. This is a constant in today's society .. two million unwanted, unloved, abused children in the public schools, the only institution that takes them all in.
This made me think of something that happened today. I have this boy in my class that did nothing last semester. He always seemed down and annoyed, and he rarely completed any work. Now admitedly, I noticed this but when you have 140 students it is hard to give the personal attention and push to every student. At the end of last semester I spoke to him briefly and told him that he could do better. The new semester began and things started to improve. He is doing a lot more and I have been impressed with some of his work. Now just to back track for a second, for the entire year, everyday he has been the first one to walk into my class. He does not look at me when he walks in, and he will never say a word. So yesterday I was walking through the room checking homework and I stopped and told him "You are doing so well lately. I am really proud of you!" You will never believe what happened today. He walked in smiling and said cheerfuly, "Hi Mrs. Pompey." I was floored. Is that all it takes? I took two seconds to tell him how great he was doing, and today he was a different kid. It made me so happy and so sad at the same time. Why had I not told him that sooner? Really all they need is the same thing I need some times, a "good job" or "thank you." I by no means think that I am a hero, but I am so glad that I could tell him something that he obviously needed to hear. Back to the article.
You want heroes?
Visit any special education class and watch the miracle of personal interaction, a job so difficult that fellow teachers are awed by the dedication they witness. There is a sentence from an unnamed source which says: "We have been so eager to give our children what we didn't have that we have neglected to give them what we did have."
What is it that our kids really need?
What do they really want?
Math, science, history, and social studies are important, but children need love, confidence, encouragement, someone to talk to, someone to listen, standards to live by. Teachers provide upright examples, the faith and assurance of responsible people.
You want heroes?
Then go down to your local school and see our real live heroes - the ones changing lives for the better each and every day!
Now, pass this on to someone you know who's a teacher, or to someone who should thank a teacher today.
Real Life Heroes
An essay written by an assistant principal in Ohio .
By J. Bradley:
"Where are the heroes of today?" a radio talk show host thundered.
He blames society's shortcomings on education. Too many people are looking for heroes in all the wrong places. Movie stars and rock musicians, athletes, and models aren't heroes; they're celebrities.
Heroes abound in public schools, a fact that doesn't make the news. There is no precedent for the level of violence, drugs, broken homes, child abuse, and crime in today's America. Education didn't create these problems but deals with them every day.
You want heroes?
Consider Dave Sanders, the schoolteacher shot to death while trying to shield his students from two youths on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton , Colorado. Sanders gave his life, along with 12 students; and other less heralded heroes survived the Colorado blood bath.
You want heroes?
Jane Smith, a Fayetteville, NC teacher, was moved by the plight of one of her students, a boy dying for want of a kidney transplant. So this woman told the family of a 14-year-old boy that she would give him one of her kidneys. And she did. When they appeared together hugging on the Today Show, Katie Couric was near tears.
You want heroes?
Doris Dillon dreamed all her life of being a teacher. She not only made it, she was one of those wondrous teachers who could bring the best out of every single child. One of her fellow teachers in San Jose, Calif., said, "She could teach a rock to read."
Suddenly she was stricken with Lou Gehrig's Disease which is always fatal, usually within five years. She asked to stay on the job ... and did. When her voice was affected, she communicated by computer.
Did she go home? Absolutely not! She is running two elementary school libraries! When the disease was diagnosed, she wrote the staff and all the families that she had one last lesson to teach .... that dying is part of living. Her colleagues named her Teacher of the Year.
You want heroes?
Bob House, a teacher in Georgia, tried out for "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". After he won the million dollars, a network film crew wanted to follow up to see how it had impacted his life. New cars? Big new house?
Instead, they found both Bob House and his wife still teaching. They explained that it was what they had always wanted to do with their lives and that would not change. The community was both stunned and grateful.
You want heroes?
Last year the average school teacher spent $468 of their own money for student necessities ... workbooks, pencils, supplies kids had to have but could not afford. That's a lot of money from the pockets of the most poorly paid teachers in the industrial world.
Schools don't teach values? The critics are dead wrong.
Public education provides more Sunday School teachers than any other profession.
The average teacher works more hours in nine months than the average 40-hour
employee does in a year.
You want heroes?
For millions of kids, the hug they get from a teacher is the only hug they will get that day because the nation is living through the worst parenting in history.
An Argyle, Texas kindergarten teacher hugs her little 5 and 6 year-olds so much that both the boys and the girls run up and hug her when they see her in the hall, at the football games, or in the malls years later.
A Michigan principal moved me to tears with the story of her attempt to rescue a badly abused little boy who doted on a stuffed animal on her desk .. one that said "I love you!" He said he'd never been told that at home. This is a constant in today's society .. two million unwanted, unloved, abused children in the public schools, the only institution that takes them all in.
This made me think of something that happened today. I have this boy in my class that did nothing last semester. He always seemed down and annoyed, and he rarely completed any work. Now admitedly, I noticed this but when you have 140 students it is hard to give the personal attention and push to every student. At the end of last semester I spoke to him briefly and told him that he could do better. The new semester began and things started to improve. He is doing a lot more and I have been impressed with some of his work. Now just to back track for a second, for the entire year, everyday he has been the first one to walk into my class. He does not look at me when he walks in, and he will never say a word. So yesterday I was walking through the room checking homework and I stopped and told him "You are doing so well lately. I am really proud of you!" You will never believe what happened today. He walked in smiling and said cheerfuly, "Hi Mrs. Pompey." I was floored. Is that all it takes? I took two seconds to tell him how great he was doing, and today he was a different kid. It made me so happy and so sad at the same time. Why had I not told him that sooner? Really all they need is the same thing I need some times, a "good job" or "thank you." I by no means think that I am a hero, but I am so glad that I could tell him something that he obviously needed to hear. Back to the article.
You want heroes?
Visit any special education class and watch the miracle of personal interaction, a job so difficult that fellow teachers are awed by the dedication they witness. There is a sentence from an unnamed source which says: "We have been so eager to give our children what we didn't have that we have neglected to give them what we did have."
What is it that our kids really need?
What do they really want?
Math, science, history, and social studies are important, but children need love, confidence, encouragement, someone to talk to, someone to listen, standards to live by. Teachers provide upright examples, the faith and assurance of responsible people.
You want heroes?
Then go down to your local school and see our real live heroes - the ones changing lives for the better each and every day!
Now, pass this on to someone you know who's a teacher, or to someone who should thank a teacher today.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Stand up for Schools!
The State budget recently signed by the Govenator cuts schools funding by a magnitude unlike we have seen in California's history, slashing 11.6 billion from public schools, which translates to over 8 million for my district over the next couple of years. Because of this, 106 teachers, counselors, and administrators from my district have been told to find new jobs. How can this happen? How can this be? Everyday I talk to another friend that is scared and unsure about his or her future. One of my friends cried today as she looked at her pink slip. Schools are really just sad places right now, and it makes me so mad that despite everything we are expected to smile, teach, and changes the lives of those around us. How will I do that when I have 45 students in a room next year? Besides the cuts of teachers, we are looking at extremely large classes, and the cutting of all or most special programs and services. Teachers across California are observing Friday, March 13 as Pink Friday, in sad recognition of an anticipated 16,000 layoff notices (pink slips) being delivered statewide. Our president just addressed congress and spoke about how the education level of our country is declining and more people need to go to college. We can not focus on bettering education and then strip its recources. We can not touch a student's life when they are shuffeled into an overflowing classroom. And we cannot create excitment and inspiration whithin our students when we are staring at a pink slip. I thankfully have not received a pink slip, and I am so thankful that as of right now, I have a job next year. But the more I think about it, I wonder if this is a place I am going to want to be after the cuts have all been made.Monday, March 9, 2009
Things I've never done before #3- Indoor Soccer
I have been going to a new Gym latley and one night during my Wednesday night class I got to talking to one of the girls. She looked really familiar and we came to find out that we both used to play soccer in Oxnard. After a little more chatting she invited me to play on her Women's indoor soccer team that started yesterday. My gut reaction was "No way! I am old and out of shape." But since I am trying to be a yes man I forced myself to accept her invitation. Yesterday was our first game and I was so nervouse. I am no where near soccer shape and I knew it was going to be rough. I have also never played indoor before so I didn't know how different it would be. I must say that I had a lot of fun. It took 8 minutes before I was gasping for air and needed a sub which, okay this might sound sad, I was pretty impressed with. I did end up having quite a bit of playing time and I was the only one on my team to score a goal!!!! I scored a goal! It has been a long time since that happened. Unfortunately we lost 8 or 9 to 1, but hey there is always next week. Maybe I'll score two next time :)
Monday, March 2, 2009
The things kids say
A teacher friend of mine sent this to me. I never have theses types of responses but I still thought these were so funny and cute.
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.
MARIA: Here it is. TEACHER:
Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria.
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using
tables.
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No,that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand
TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE: No, sir. It's the same dog.
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher :)
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.
MARIA: Here it is. TEACHER:
Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria.
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using
tables.
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No,that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand
TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE: No, sir. It's the same dog.
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher :)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Older and Wiser
Tomorrow is my birthday and I have a lot of conflicting feelings about it. I will be 27, and that is not a problem for me. I am kind of glad to leave 26 behind. I mean, it was a good year. I celebrated my second year of marriage, bought a house (huge), and got two puppies. My 26th year was a year of growing up. I learned all things house hunting and mortgages and interest rates and financing options, and I am very proud that at this stage in my life I have what I do. I don't want to leave behind the feeling of spending the first night in our own home, or the memory of painting my first wall. These were all good things. I also became pregnant at this age, which was a wonderful feeling. An exciting time, when I thought that things could not get better.
At the same time I want to leave the age behind. This year encompassed a lot of firsts I want to forget. My first and second miscarriage, my first emergency room visit, first huge loss. It is a time that I have gained a lot from, but I really want to leave it behind. 27 feels like a brand new start, a clean slate.
Tomorrow is by birthday, and I want the day to pass quickly. Not just because I am excited to leave my 26th year behind, but because tomorrow was my original due date. Tomorrow I would be having a baby, but I am not. It is something I have been dealing with all month and it has been hard. I think about how different things would be right now. I think about if I would have had a boy or a girl, and I envision a much different celebration than the one I will have tomorrow. I am optimistic about the future, but I just want this month to be over.
At the same time I want to leave the age behind. This year encompassed a lot of firsts I want to forget. My first and second miscarriage, my first emergency room visit, first huge loss. It is a time that I have gained a lot from, but I really want to leave it behind. 27 feels like a brand new start, a clean slate.
Tomorrow is by birthday, and I want the day to pass quickly. Not just because I am excited to leave my 26th year behind, but because tomorrow was my original due date. Tomorrow I would be having a baby, but I am not. It is something I have been dealing with all month and it has been hard. I think about how different things would be right now. I think about if I would have had a boy or a girl, and I envision a much different celebration than the one I will have tomorrow. I am optimistic about the future, but I just want this month to be over.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
VEGAS
Chris and I got away for the weekend and it was so nice. In these hard economic times, going to Vegas for a couple of days may not have been the best choice, but it was a release that I needed and we had so much fun. I was "sick" on friday so I could not go to work :) and we arrived to Vegas about 2. We spent the entire night walking around and laughing, drinking, and eating. It was great. On Saturday we put in some serious shopping hours and that night went to a nice dinner at the famous chef Emeril Lagassi's restaurant. Chris and I are loyal "Top Chef" watchers (show on bravo), and apparently that automatically makes us food critics. The food at Emeril's was amazing, and it gave us the opportunity to use our new food critic lingo :) Such dorks, but great meal. After dinner we saw a hypnotists show. It was so hilarious and amazing. Hypnosis is a little scary. These people were making fools of themselves, and apparently had no recollection of it. After the show we met up with an old friend that I went to elementary, middle school, and high school with. Kind of crazy that you have to go all the way to Vegas to see someone from your home town, but it was a wonderful way to end a fun weekend with my hubby!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Things I've never done #2- Valentine's Card
About a month ago Whit and I were at the mall and we found this new store called Paper Source. We were immediately amazed by all of the cool paper, and arts and crafts things. Most of our amazement came from the fact that people actually buy that stuff and create beautiful things with it. Many of my friends are very creative and my other sister is as well, but Whit and I did not get this trait. So right then and there we decided we were going to make Valentine's cards this year. I am sure that in one of my elementary school days I made a cute card for my parents but that was probably the last time I broke out the red and pink construction paper. I really wanted to try to be creative and make a card for Chris. I think it worked out pretty well. I had a lot of fun doing it and it meant a lot to him. Check out my skills
Open once
Open again and find three envelopes connected and a cute homemade card in each.
Open once
Open again and find three envelopes connected and a cute homemade card in each.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Not Boring
I am continually amazed by my students. They are so funny, and stupid, and inappropriate and brave. It definitely makes for days that are not boring. Here are some of the gems from this week:
1. One of my AVID students came in on tuesday very upset. She had done an extra credit assignment in chemistry. They had to research a new discovery in the field of chemistry and write a short paper on it. She came in outraged because she received no credit. She gave it to me to look at and I started busting up. She had researched an new element called Govermentium. This element was not made up of the normal protons, nuetrons, and electrons, but made of nuetrons, assistant nuetrons, morons and peons. Every four years the element goes through a reorganization when the nuetrons morons and peons switch places (something like that). THere was a bunch more but I can't remember. She looked at me and a light bulb went off. "Mrs. Pompey, there are no morons and peons in chemistry are there?" My response, "Nope, not in chemistry."
2. When analyzing a poem by Langston Hughes we were identifying things like similes, metaphors, alliteration, and I wanted them to tell me the name of the device Dialect. I gave them the definition and one boy shouted out dialogue. I said no, but they were close. A few random students shouted words that started with dia- and then with the utmost confidence a boy stood up and shouted "diaphram!" I think I was the only one in class that giggled at that.
3. The most innapropriate story this week. During 2nd period there are announcements over the loud speaker and one announced that next week at lunch there would be a "Best pick up line contest" (I know, right). So this sparked an impromtu contest in my class. "Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven" and such. THEN one boy in my class said "Mrs. Pompey, do you work at subway?" "huh?" my response. AND then he said, "Because you gave me a foot long!" OMG. are you serious. What would you do in that situation? After throwing up in my mouth a little bit, I continued with the lesson, and spoke to him after class. So crazy.
4. Finally, from this weeks original student poetry I found out that two of my students have lost parents to cancer, 3 have been abused, one was taken from her mother for undetermined reasons, one was attacked in a park, one has a sibling in the hospital, and two are not happy on the planet right now. These were just from the students who shared.
It wasn't a boring week.
1. One of my AVID students came in on tuesday very upset. She had done an extra credit assignment in chemistry. They had to research a new discovery in the field of chemistry and write a short paper on it. She came in outraged because she received no credit. She gave it to me to look at and I started busting up. She had researched an new element called Govermentium. This element was not made up of the normal protons, nuetrons, and electrons, but made of nuetrons, assistant nuetrons, morons and peons. Every four years the element goes through a reorganization when the nuetrons morons and peons switch places (something like that). THere was a bunch more but I can't remember. She looked at me and a light bulb went off. "Mrs. Pompey, there are no morons and peons in chemistry are there?" My response, "Nope, not in chemistry."
2. When analyzing a poem by Langston Hughes we were identifying things like similes, metaphors, alliteration, and I wanted them to tell me the name of the device Dialect. I gave them the definition and one boy shouted out dialogue. I said no, but they were close. A few random students shouted words that started with dia- and then with the utmost confidence a boy stood up and shouted "diaphram!" I think I was the only one in class that giggled at that.
3. The most innapropriate story this week. During 2nd period there are announcements over the loud speaker and one announced that next week at lunch there would be a "Best pick up line contest" (I know, right). So this sparked an impromtu contest in my class. "Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven" and such. THEN one boy in my class said "Mrs. Pompey, do you work at subway?" "huh?" my response. AND then he said, "Because you gave me a foot long!" OMG. are you serious. What would you do in that situation? After throwing up in my mouth a little bit, I continued with the lesson, and spoke to him after class. So crazy.
4. Finally, from this weeks original student poetry I found out that two of my students have lost parents to cancer, 3 have been abused, one was taken from her mother for undetermined reasons, one was attacked in a park, one has a sibling in the hospital, and two are not happy on the planet right now. These were just from the students who shared.
It wasn't a boring week.
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