Flake (Mondee)

I flaked on writing this weekend. But I'm not going to let that become a roadblock. That's the difference between me this year and last year.

Today was...good! I had to do my best to keep kids focused and on task which is easy or not depending on if the student is viewing it as encouragement or nagging, and that depends on the individual and their attitude.

I'm still learning things every day about the school and the students and the other teachers. For example, I spoke to a teacher in the bathroom today and I was like: You're in the language department right? And my memory was semi-accurate, she said Yes! But then I'm like: You teach Japanese and French, or... and I thought she might say, no, Spanish, or something, but she said English, it's Language Arts. And I was honestly confused, for some reason I never learned what that was, so I asked: like literature? And she explained it's composition and grammar but I'm still not crystal clear on what Language Arts means. I don't even know if I should be capitalizing it or not. Maybe it's poetry and essays? And she further explained that I was thinking of  'World Languages'.

I didn't mean to sound ignorant, but when do you actually hear that terminology except in academic settings? I suppose I should look up "Language Arts" so I am clued in. I couldn't quite tell if she was amused or disdainful of my lack of knowledge. Hopefully the former. I'd like to see her do my job (including changing grown kids' diapers) for a day if she was looking down on me. So I hope not!
I'm still figuring out what my role is when I'm in the classrooms as a support person. Specifically on how involved I should be and how much I should push them. I'm just doing my best and trying to feel it out in each situation. They say that trying is a success in itself.  If I was ever really going to become a teaching sub, I would definitely need to learn how to use more technology ie the projector and laptop setup, because most classes use that every day.

I finally got the chance to chat with my fellow support staff when we were asked to wait in the other room by the teacher while she had a parent meeting, and we ended up talking about cars and home mortgages. Which was not what I would have expected, but in retrospect, I'm the one who brought up both subjects. I got to know them a little bit from the conversation anyway. They are kindhearted.

I got to do a lot of coloring in an art class to make an example of analogous and complementary color schemes for the (super) nice teacher. So I felt useful and got to do some drawing too. Which is better than that day that I sharpened a whole bunch of pencils for them with a small handheld sharpener and got a big finger blister for my efforts. I offered her my assistance as a volunteer if she wanted extra help in the classroom after school, but she said they are good for now.

I still want to volunteer with the Drama department. Even if it's just organizing or building something and the drama teacher said that I could come anytime and they would have stuff for me to do. I'm pretty excited by that. I hope it works out. I'm going to donate our sewing machine to them because I never did learn to use it, which is sad because our mom taught us when we were kids and I have since totally forgotten from lack of use.

The update on the wildfires here is that over 45,000 acres are burned so far, with 32% contained by 7,500 firefighters working to support the process. Fortunately, it rained a lot yesterday and today and that will help, but it also increases the possibility of flash floods in those areas! I didn't even think of that issue until I heard it on the radio. "Rain can dislodge boulders and cause mudslides of previously burned areas." Thanks, radio (NPR/OPB)!

Our neighbor friend moved out yesterday after living here for many years, and we helped him a little bit. He is an author and deep thinker, and he gave us a copy of his book. Also his microwave oven and an old office chair. And a great table which I put into the laundry room with his friend's help to use as a folding area. He was really generous because that's how he is, but he also has much less room in his new place. He's the person who got me started practicing the ukulele by giving me a lesson! He plays ukulele and guitar and used to make his living as a musician and teacher. Pretty cool! I was a lot hesitant to accept his microwave gift since we've lived without one since my mom's old one died, but I think it will be good to have for the upcoming winter. Since I gave away my crockpot (slow cooker) when we got the ice cream maker, maybe it will be helpful to make soup or stew, without having to simmer it for hours on the stovetop.

I have got to make salad for us tonight. We had pizza and chicken wings two nights in a row, and I need some more vegetables! Peace and Love and Yoga (maybe I'll do some?! I need to...)💜