Well, They've Done It Again!

Infomercials, that is. As I've mentioned before, I am fascinated by infomercials. Everything always works so well, tastes so delicious, and makes everyone so happy. I've seen the one for the Cricut paper cutter a few times now, and every time I do, it catches my attention. I've never been interested in the whole scrapbooking thing (don't even have printed pictures about - everything is on the computer), but making cards is appealing to me. So, after spending about 90 jillion hours on the internet seeing what people had to say about the thing, I felt the need to order this:


I must tell you, it is most awesome. I'm always impressed when something is well designed, and this really is. Part of the reason I bought it is that it will come in handy for teaching - I can't tell you how many things I have had to cut out over the years, and with one push of a button, this will do that for me. (That's the rationalization part of the purchase - had to justify it somehow, but it is actually true).

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Day, I made these - some of the kids' teachers did a really neat project this year with the Kindergarten about Dr. Wangari Maathai. She is an extraordinary environmentalist and women's rights activist from Kenya. She founded the Green Belt Movement, which has many goals, one of which is planting trees. She won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, and the kids in the kindergarten class have been learning about her and her work as part of their study of peace this year. We made a donation in honor of the teachers, so I made cards that had to do with trees and nature. It's amazing what 5 and 6 year olds can accomplish - Big Trouble's class has regular "peace talks" with another Kindergarten, and have really come to such an amazing understanding of the importance of peace and caring for the environment.

If only Kindergartners were in charge of the world......well, that probably wouldn't actually go so well, but in theory it's a nice idea.

Teacher Appreciation Week

That's right - this is the week to remember to say thank you to the teachers (and principals, teacher aides, librarians, etc.) who take such good care of our kids every day. Part of the reason we live in the appallingly expensive area we do is because the schools can't be beat. I used to teach in a little town up in the Catskills where money was really tight. So tight that I had to buy a rug for my classroom because it wasn't in our budget (which then promptly got vomited on by a sick child, and had to be discarded). I think we used to get something like $125 every year to buy/replenish teaching supplies, classroom books, etc. Obviously, this doesn't go very far, and lots of my own money went towards things my classroom needed.

They don't seem to have that problem here; the classrooms are stocked with more books than you could imagine, dozens of different kinds of manipulatives, games, computers, you name it. It's like Disneyland. However, go to an area which is a little less affluent, sometimes just the difference of one or two towns, and the contrast is stark. The lack of supplies is startling, especially as these schools are often in areas where children need them the most.

Even in the best of circumstances teaching is a daunting task. In the beginning of the year you are given 25 or so children, none of whom is the same as the other. Some are way above grade level, some way below, some don't speak English, some come from homes with more problems than you can imagine, and you need to teach all of them. Not just the required curriculum, but how to be good people - how to co-exist, how to be kind, how to share.

When I was a teacher, I would constantly hear jokes from people about how teachers hardly worked - "Summers off! Only working 9-3!" Yeah, summers off are nice, but I always worked a good part of the summer getting ready for the next year. Working 9-3? Hmmm.... come over to my house some evening or weekend and see all the papers, tests, journals, and projects that I will be grading, not to mention planning for upcoming lessons. There really is no good response to this; the only way for the loudmouth spouting these witty remarks to possibly understand is to place them in a classroom and hand over the reins. As this will never happen, teachers can only continue about their business, teaching, caring for their students, and helping to shape them into the people we know they can be.

So, a big thank you to all the teachers out there - both those that taught me, and those that take such wonderful care of my children. You are doing an important job, and are greatly appreciated for it.

45 Minutes?

Yeah, I don't think so. In my search for a teaching job, I decided to apply to New York City, as the Bronx is right next to Westchester, and Westchester teaching jobs are frighteningly competitive. Everything is done on line these days, and you complete one application for all schools in the NYC school system. The website claims that the application will take approximately 45 minutes to an hour to complete. Hmmmm......

Now, I don't consider myself a particular nitwit, but apparently time in my world is extremely different than that of the NYC public school system. I especially enjoy the fact that once you submit your application, you can go back and change some sections, but not the 2 essays. (Yeah - 2 essays. I must say, there is definitely something surreal about being 39 and writing job application essays meant for 22 year olds) Thus, being the somewhat neurotic soul that I am, I felt the need to re-read (and also make The Professor re-read) said essays about eleventy million times, hunting for typos and unfortunate grammatical mishaps.

This morning, however, after spending a frightening amount of time on the thing (again, slightly more than the 45 minute estimate) I pushed the "submit" button and finally sent it on its merry way. Godspeed, job application, I wish you well.

Headache of the Day

Being a grown-up can be really great, but sometimes it is really hard. Like when your brain is already overworked from teaching flute lessons and trying to write job applications, and your six year-old calls out from the other room (expecting an actual answer, mind you), "I wonder where time goes after it's gone?"

Creativity, But Not My Own

I've always been incurably nosy, and one of the things that always fascinates me is the way people choose to spend their time, both in work and leisure. I'm forever intrigued by people that have a passion for something, whether it be knitting, writing, kite flying, or whatever. The passion is what I find wonderful. When they start talking about their favorite subject, their eyes light up, and it's abundantly clear that they love whatever it is they're discussing.

Thus, I love trolling the web for people's blogs; not only does it allow me to peek into someone's life, but the authors usually write about whatever their passion happens to be. I came across this one recently; it's about book and magazine covers, and is really neat. It's an interesting window into a subject I know almost nothing about, but as an avid reader, I am grateful that someone else does.

One Down

Well, I have two essays to write for the NYC teaching application, one of which is finished (mostly). This means, for those of you playing at home, that I still have one more to go. There's definitely something surreal about being 39 years old and writing essays on job applications again. That being said, here is what I've been doing instead of actually writing essay #2:



Don't you judge me.

And Just in Time for Spring

Actually, the way this spring is going, they may actually come in handy. My mother's birthday was waaaaay back in January, and as I couldn't figure out what a good present would be, I asked her if she would like me to knit her something. She had seen the Endpaper Mitts I finished during Miss Serious' illness, and decided she would like a pair:


Now if I could just remember to bring them to her, she could enjoy them as well!