School's out ...

“For a teacher, it's not quite the same as graduating, but today was the last day of classes at my college and other than some grading tomorrow (if I do what I should), I am done for a few weeks.

Ha, other than prep for next term, that is!

Hope all the students on TT got the grades they deserved and that it matches with what they wanted.

Merry Xmas to all the teachers and professors on TT, too.”

“Pekka, we are off now too. No work till january 2nd!!!”

“I graduated! Now I'm looking for a teaching job. Am I nuts????”

“...because here I sit in my office calculating grades and reading the last few papers.

OTOH, it felt good to bug out last weekend and go spend the week in Marquette. A dusting of snow Xmas eve saved a white Xmas there, though Rhinelander didn't even get that. Not that I minded the storm going to the south of us and out East.

Birch, my grades are due Jan. 2, but I'm not officially back until Jan. 17. I'll be in prepping around the 14th.

Sorry stumprider, no jobs to offer. Hopefully there will be some retirements in your field, because super tight budgets are going to put a crimp in adding new teaching positions.”

“Yeah, I know the job market is tough. But I have a number of possibilities, and one "bite" already. I'm trying to be flexible as to location and position (that should be a nice phrase for some!). Apps going out from sea to shining sea and a few places that have no glimpse of a sea.

I was apalled (sp?) at the news today that 800,000 people lost unemployment benefits today because Congress failed to complete a jobs bill.

Guess both White House and Congress forgot, "that it's the economy stupid!"

PS the snow suks here. Pekka, take a hike or ski for me.

Mark”

“I don't know how I missed this thread earlier!!

We got an longer than usual quarter break this year: From Dec. 6 to Jan 6, one full month! I still have to do all my prep, but I am not too worried.

Have a good break and good semester!”

“Stumprider - what subject do you teach? What level? Our district is always looking for math, science, and foreign language teachers. I'm not sure what is open mid-year, but the web site is PCSSD.org. There's lots of good hiking in Arkansas. :-)

Good luck.”

“New Mexico needs teachers. Too bad the school system sucks.”

“Good luck Stumprider. Tenacious is my watchword for your job search ... and good karma, too.

Don't let the prep work distract you too much, Phil! But I learn each term how much the prep makes things easier in the end.

Tomorrow morning I'll file my grades, wait out the front that is supposed to bring sleet/freezing rain through, then head back to the U.P. for New Year's with my daughter and friends.

Safe travel everyone.”

“Stumprider - I was thinking that you should keep your ear to the ground out here in the California State University System after all. With our disastrous state budget deficit ($32 Billion), they could offer a "golden handshake" retirement package as an incentive to get a lot of older, high paid professors to retire early. They would replace them with part-time lecturers, full-time lecturers, and junior faculty at lower cost. That could create some openings for new faculty. We will see.

pekka - I agree that the prep time really does pay off...but sometimes that is easier said than done.”

“Isn't that the truth, Phil. I do some of my best "prep" work during the first week of classes, and then during the half hour before each class session.

I hope to read a book or two over break that is just for me, but actually I find that I can use almost any input to advantage in the classroom. If only my students read books (including their texts).

Okay, enough laments. Time to go to bed and get off the web.”

“What? Prep work? I thought it was all about standing up there and spewing facts to my class! Forget that teaching certificate...



j/k....i'm sure i'll work harder as a teacher than i am as an engineer!”

“The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.

He argued: "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about teachers: "Those who can...do. Those who can't...teach."

To corroborate, he said to another guest: "You're a teacher, Susan," he said. "Be honest. What do you make?"

Susan, who had a reputation of honesty and frankness, replied, "You want to know what I make?"

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face if the student did not do his or her very best.

I can make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence.

I can make parents tremble in fear when I call home.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write. I make them read, read, read.

I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, and definitely beautiful over and over and over again, until they will never misspell either one of those words again.

I make them show all their work in math and hide it all on their final
drafts in English.

I make them understand that if you have the brains, then follow your
heart... and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you pay them no attention.

You want to know what I make?

I make a difference.”

“beautiful, definitely beautiful!”

“Well said smileygirl!!”

“yeah, i didn't write it...it was one of those copy-and-paste jobs from an e-mail i got!”

“Woo hoo, the grades are filed!!!!! Happy New Year to me!!!!

(Oh, and the registrar put another class on my spring schedule -- more overload next term, not to mention that class size maximums have been bumped to 30 from 25 to accomodate the burgeoning student (nee unemployed) population. Let's see -- an English teacher with the normal load of 5 classes of 30 students assigns 4 papers in each class per term...that's only 600 papers to read each term. Like falling off a log, my friends. Sure, throw on a 6th or 7th class! We can't get enough! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ......................)

No, really, I'll be okay...really.”

“pekka, all you need now is a scale...”