Good day all,

I am happily ensconced at school taking the mineral ID course I wanted.  Today was a field trip day.  We journeyed into South Carolina to Chunky Gal Mountain (which really looked like a series of mountains to me) to search for garnets & rubies.  I had some luck with the garnet hunting.  I have 2 particularly nice specimens to work with tomorrow.  On the ruby front none of use scored.  Last class found 2, so just not in our stars I suppose.  I also picked up some other specimens that I liked, but I haven't a clue what they are.  Several of the more experienced folk just smiled at me, but that's what learning is all about.  They only took the course for the field trips.  I, on the other hand, am looking for the know how.  My immediate curiosity is what does garnet grow with.  Lots of quartz, no garnet.  Garnet is found in a very hard dark colored rock.  I am tired and sore and very happy.  I will sleep well tonight.

I am caught up on my reading endoresement class... until Friday when I will be behind again.  I've only finished half of this week's lesson and I have to redo part of it.  I keep making the mistake of framing my answers in my world, the world of middle school.  Instructor wants answers framed in terms of the academic expectation.  So when we talk about the emergent reader, we are talking about Pre-k & kindergarteners, not eigth grade English Language Learners.  Makes me crazy, I have no experience teaching anything below 3rd grade & I only did that for a week to help out a friend.  I have dealt with youngin's one-on-one, but enmass... ouch, that's a whole new world of classroom management.  Grumble, grumble... I wanted to be a happy-go-lucky student this week.

I am off to dinner and an auction.  Maybe I shall pick-up a find. 

be well dear friends

Good day all,

I am still struggling with my internet connection.  Most frustrating!  I can't tell you how many emails & comments never got posted because my connect disappeared.  New modem, new connector, discovery that my connection on the pole was incorrect (now I have only 21 channels on the television, but it's just company so no biggie), and my signal is still too weak.  Dear man has gone back for extra cable and some meter to try something else.  Such is life!  The boy is back!  Changed out a splitter and my connectivity has quadrupled!  We may have this licked!!!

Interesting week at school.  Number of failures is about the same but they are failing with 50s instead of 30s.  That's a start.  I wonder if I am lowering the bar some way... hope not.  Discipline issues are still huge.  Porno ring has several of your young men at home for a few days.  Unlike paper, digital images are easy to track and administrators just followed the trail from cell phone to IPOD to MP3 player and back to the phone.  Two young women were caught with alcohol because one was so drunk she was staggering before 10 am!   Another girl pushed a teacher into the wall... teacher would have dropped the whole thing if the student has just apologized... unfortunately this is a youngster who would is neither liked nor respected by her peers, so she works at being feared.  Very sad.  I've seen her out  eatching over and playing with the young ones in the street.  She is kind and protective with them... how do we translate those positive relationships into the rest of her life.  Another young lady was hauled off by the authorities on a bench warrent for something she did in the hood.  Then there was the 6th grade boy that whipped "it" out during break and invited everyone to come and see what he had.  It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.  One the other side of the coin, our lone entry in the county science fair earned a blue ribbon and will be moving on to state.  4 of our middlings earned recognition in the local Washington's day essay contest.  The band youngsters placed in the highest ranking for a HUGE jazz band competition (these are middlings I'm talking about!) for the 5th year in a row.  Two of my Hispanic girls took several of the class roddies to task, telling them how it would be if they were in school in Mexico.  Told those foolish boys that if they wanted to waste their opportunities fine, but get out of our way!  I just stood there with my chin shining my shoes.  It was a moment to savor.  Most of our middlings are making an effort... if I could just figure out how to get the fools out of our way I would be a happy teacher!

High stakes test is in 2 weeks and then on to the Science Fair.  Unfortunately parental support is not easy to come by, so many of my middlings do their experiments and projects in school.  This is actually a very exciting time.   Lots of stuff going on and with information and ideas being shared.  We all enjoy the unstructured nature of the process and I particularly love watching them "help" each other.  We have geeks and artists and scientists and writers... and when they will offer and accept their strengths and weaknesses... well magic does occur.

I'm off.  Still lots to do... I need dry cells and I work at the store this evening. 

be well dear friends

ACK!!! My internet connection has been spotty for the past 2 weeks or so and finally gave out on Friday. ComCast was out this morning and either my wiring is fried or some beasty has been nibbling on it! Either way they won't be able to pull new wiring until Thursday. Consequently my presence will be limited. So I have not sunk into the depths of depression, I'm just connection challenged! Can't use the schools connection, so I'll have to haunt the local hot spots for a connection... most inconvenient. How will I know how to dress in the morning without my weather report? I am also forced to start my day sans Pithia's daily message! This is not good, this is not good at all.

Positive energy from all my CS buddies has made a difference. I am climbing the hill. I can summon the light again. New week is starting, the sun is out and the moon is waxing. We're on the upward side of the pendulum swing for the next 2 weeks.

Found a new rock store just around the corner from me. I thought it was just the usual bead store, but the quality of their gems is above the norm and they have rocks, raw crystals & gems and fossils. I picked up a mosasaurus jaw (looked something like the Lock Ness monster is portrayed) and 2 spinosaurus teeth (T-rex type). I deal with 130 to 175 middlings a year. When you get out the fossils and put them in their hands 2 or 3 get this look in their eyes and you know you've got them. This is Florida, no museum with huge permenant diplays and this is not the best environment for preserving fossils. For most my piddling collection is as close to the real thing as they will ever get. It's not much, but every now and then magic does happen. Galo who runs the place is an avid jewlery maker with an excellent set up. She can tumble, polish and cast. Here is someone I can learn from, I am very excited.

I have 3 classes of tests left to grade so I'd best get to it.

You remain on my heart.

be well dear friends

Good day all,

At this moment of my life I find myself oddly content. I am alone, a state I did not anticipate thus was not prepared for... but have adjusted to. I know I must make the effort to reach out to my community and I'm almost at that point. School is a challenge, but I am not overwhelmed. I am S-L-O-W-L-Y rebuilding a social network... part of which is web based. Who said you can't teach an old woman new tricks?!? I know this moment won't last. I know the voices of the tasks ignored will soon demand my attention. I know that who and what I am at my core will demand to explore and grow. But for this absolutely wonderful moment in time,

I AM CONTENT

I spent last Sunday at Universal Studios and had a wonderful time. Weather was colder than normal, mid 50s with a brisk wind that kept most of the locals home (short lines!) I met the real star of Men in Black, Frank the Pug, saw all the shows, did only a single roller coaster (vertigo was so bad it took almost 10 minutes for me to be comfortably stable on my feet) and just drank in the scenery and attention to detail in the architecture and exhibits. Oh and I had Irish stew at Finnighan's, delicious! I want to go back and spend a day on the other side at the adventure park. I know I won't ride most of the rides but I love all the detail added to areas where folks have to wait in line, plus the shows and Mythes, voted best theme restaurant 4 years in a row. Can you guess I'm all about the show!?!

This was a 4 day week for us. My part was ready but my printing was late. We are behind and my middlings are fighting me as I try to move us ahead. I was able to move several of my most capable students into advanced classes. That is going to kill my class GPA, but I cannot in good conscience hold them just to boost my numbers. A harder decision was to move 2 of my Spanish speakers along. Both youngsters provided essential interpreter services to others in that class. Moving them puts 2 other students at a HUGE disadvantage, exacerbated by the fact that the administration has done away with my ESOL aide. But again, I could not justify holding them back. It is unfair to hold them back, yet I know I am unable to replace the assistance they offered to generously to the other students. This was a hard one.

My alter is clean, but that darn candle on the right side keeps tilting inward... wonder what I'm missing... or is a leaning candle just a leaning candle? I'm still unfocused and drifting, but I have faith that the universe will eventually wash me up on the proper shore. What can I say... I am content!

Another pleasant moment, I went into the store last Monday (to help with a 187box shipment) after being gone since the 23rd, almost a full month.  And they were glad to see me!  Felt really good.  One gal was supposed to leave just after Christmas, but family issues kept her here.  She was so glad to see me, gave me such a big hug.  I never knew she felt that strongly.  I treat everyone with kindness and respect.  I try VERY hard to stay clear of the drama.  I tell EVERYONE when the store looks good or when we move a lot of stock or just that I enjoyed working with them.  Apparently my 3 to 5 hours week mean more than I thought.  Know what dear friends, last weekend was a good weekend. No wonder I'm so content.

Have a wonderful weekend where ever you are.

be well dear friends

Good day all,

My grades are in and I have only 9 failures out of 130 for the semester... not too bad.  Now quarter failures are huge, 35!  Of course, 5 are non-native speakers I would normally pass but I gave them a 59 instead of a 60 to make a point.  Administration pulled funding for my English Language Learner (ELL) aide and hasn't hired a suitable substitute for the ELL that is expected to be out for the next 3 to 6 months.  These kiddos have been hung out to dry and I am NOT going to pretend everything is fine.  They still passed the semester, but they NEED the support that they are being denied!  Most of the others are just lazy.  They had the opportunity to fix it and decided they didn't want to do the work.  Better to learn how to recover from failure BEFORE they get to high school.

Been chatting with a new friend about my x and the divorce.  Result was one of "those" dreams.  Woke up panicked and barely able to breath... and 30 seconds later I was myself!  I've come a very long way... only took 5 years.  I've learned a lot this past year... made more progress than I have in... humph, can't remember it's been so long!  Hey, I'm on a roll now!  I am inspired by the way the folks around me are meeting their own challenges... I'm not quite up to taking the risks some of you are taking, at least not yet.  But I'll get there... I feel like I'm headed in the right direction after drifting for the past year or so.  The original metaphor had me tethered to someone else's ship, toed along by their faith and their dreams.  The divorce cut that line and set me adrift. I'm still being carried along by universe's winds and currents, but for the first time I don't feel like I have to "work" at knowing.  I am content.

be well dear friends