Posts under ‘Randy’

They came to cart our couches away today.  One month after declaring them a fire hazard.
Our Very Nice Custodian:  We’re here for the couch.
Kids: No!!!
Me: Now guys.  You know it has to go…
Kids:  Why?
Me:  It’s veryveryvery dangerous.
Kids: Why?
Me: Don’t you know, couches have a disease.  It’s called random spontaneous combustion.  Can you repeat that?
Kids:  Random.  [...]

Last week my second graders crossed the Rubicon of their writing journeys.  It was a point of no return.
They surged across the murky waters of This and That straight into the Land of PARAGRAPHS.  Not one, but two.  ParagraphS, with a capital S at the end.
No more struggling primarily with THE WORD or THE SENTENCE.  [...]

Last week the last lingering afterglow of Winter Break sank deep into the bowels of the Pacific Ocean.  Kids began to slack off.  They stopped doing their homework with any amount of care and attention.  On Thursday, the day we have Music, and now, now that I think they’re old enough and mature enough to [...]

All first and second grade teacher RELISH winter break.  No duh, you say.  Who wouldn’t devour three weeks off, not a care in the world (NOTE: failing economy with daily headlines about the Governator cutting jobs, cutting education budgets, cutting the school year, cutting yacht taxes… hmm…one of these things just doesn’t belong here.)  But [...]

I had to do it again today.  Call the Department of Child and Family Services to report a parent.
This one haunts me for different reasons than the last one: last week, I knew the mother intended well but just needed some parenting help; today I know the mother intends bad.
This mother instructed her seven-year-old child, [...]

Last week José smiled. On a fairly regular basis. When he wasn’t frowning, that is.
And, he sat downstage right or left most of the time we were at the rug, rather than practically out the door and with his back to me.
I considered all this enormous progress and worked hard to acknowledge [...]