i'm just glad the awkward sexy cup wasn't for me!

welp...good thing that would you rathers don't come true and are only hypothetical otherwise, this post would likely be antithetical...for i would be forced to rhyme all of the time. the last "would you rather" asked of me, was a bit of tomfoolery. to ask a teacher to rhyme all day, seems a bit like child's play. but i WILL say that although this may seem a bit nonsensical, i appreciate the allure of the more commonsensical.

i'm no dr. seuss.

i had the misfortune of being shot again today-methinks this should not be a daily occurrence..even after fixing the laser pointer...0 appreciation.

tutoring = toooooo loooong. the only saving grace is that my side kick is great.

and when i finally got home (had to stop to get valentines), i had to cut up potatoes...focusing on the eyes. making sure that each piece had 2 eyes-i was tempted to draw smiley faces on them before we plant them. i'm not quite sure how i got suckered into this. i still have other things that i need to be focusing on. i had looked up the info about planting them prior to the whole idea, so i knew what to do. now i need to wait a day for the protective coat to form on them before planting them (in case anyone wanted to know...)

THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS IS THAT THE POTATOES THAT COME FROM THE GARDEN WILL GO TO THE FOOD BANK!

in other news, one of the teachers on my hall got an early valentine from one of her students this morning...

awkward much?

last night i went to my education reform policy class, and it was a really great session! we got to hear from mr. mckenzie, an op-ed blogger for the dallas morning. he was interesting and had some good insights. and then we had three advocates telling a little about their organizations and how they got started. it was enlightening. 

i must make a quick plug for one of my coworkers and policy ed fellow, dallas gutierrez. check out his blog post on the teaching trust site here.

it is tragic that our society here in america holds the profession of teaching in such disregard; that it is not valued in a manner that reflects its importance. the fact that the phrase "those who can, do, those who can't teach," even exists, is evidence of a huge misconception about teachers. let's be honest, (as honesty certainly is the best policy) in fact, let's be brutally honest (intellectual brutality?) the job of a teacher is not merely to know one thing and master it. i find myself constantly learning new things and then i have to figure out the best way to coach different types of students and deal with discipline, and plan ahead, remember a to do list of items that need to get done and have deadlines, try to keep the lessons engaging enough for kids who are on, above and below level....try to integrate the latest and greatest technology into the lesson somehow, create rubrics, grade writing, reading, science and social studies essays...what have i left out? oh yeah, plan for tutoring, talk to parents, plant potatoes...work on common assessments, study data to figure out how to best impact my students, grade district writing papers, put up relevant bulletin boards..and i've left out so much (like sst's, rti, trainings, sub plans, committees, paperwork, paperwork, countless hours at home finishing what i didn't want to stay at school doing), but that said, if you are one of 'those who can' and feel that teaching is a cop-out job, i would like you to remember that the only way that you possibly could do, is because there was once a string of teachers who gave you the tools that you needed.

oh, and i would love to see you come to my room and 'do'  for a day in my classroom (without my help and management)...game on!  you see, the truth is, i have held a plethora of jobs in which i could have moved up and 'done,' but i wouldn't have had the impact or made a difference like i can as a teacher.

i'm not complaining, nor do i mean to rant, but last night the thought was just screaming through my head. teachers in this great country are not revered in the way they used to be, and our society reflects that. that is a sad commentary on our society.

to all of my teachers, i may not have shown the most appreciation when i was in class, but in retrospect, my hat is off to you. (if i were abraham lincoln, it would be a top hat, but lately, it's just a bandana....but it's still off in complete respect!). to those of you currently in the teaching profession, do not quit (unless you are terrible; in which case, it might be best if you did find a new calling). quality teachers are not easy to come by, but when we do encounter them, we should do whatever it takes to hold onto them!

i know, all of that from last night's meeting...

g'night!
 jrob