Hey there boys and girls!
So I've decided it's pretty embarrassing to try and teach my students cursive handwriting when I myself am writing on a first grade level. I was writing a capital H on the board today and it looked like a ladder in a bad cartoon where the rung is about to break and the protagonsist is about to fall into the cliche cloud of dust. It's days like these where you just need to laugh at yourself.
The Eagles lost on Sunday. Now I can't bring myself to waste my precious hours trying to read any of the articles villifying my misunderstood football team. I now have two unbearable weeks of football-free "garrett time." I plan to go on long walks and enjoy nature. I will write seven incredibly maudlin short stories. I will put together a twenty thousand piece puzzle that depicts Buckingham Palace. Ha! I'll probably just get sucked in to a bad sitcom or video game...
This Thursday is the huge GMMS(my school) football game. All the teachers will be tailgating right after school. I just can't imagine myself getting plastered in the presence of my fellow educators, let alone the various students who will most likely be at the game. All week has been a veritable carnival of school spirit. Crazy sock day on Monday, crazy hair day today, pajama day tomorrow. I just can't bring myself to participating. I know it's sad, but I'm just not feeling the spirit. So one of the scariest things for me in teaching has been interacting with parents. They intimidate me even though I know I intimidate most of them. Because of the differences in culture, I'm terrified of relaying their child's daily discretions for fear of the consequential "spankings" that the students will potentially receive. I hate feeling responsible for their transgressions, but the phone calls are necessary to maintain a productive classroom.
On another note, I am convinced that coffee sales in the La Place area has sky rocketed post-Katrina. Every single day I come to PJs after school and everyday I am surrounded by about fifteen other displaced teachers who live and die by their ability to access the internet. If I was a bettin' man, I'd buy many a shares of PJs coffee house stock. Just don't tell anyone I told you.
For those of you who are not aware, I've been living with a very nice teacher from my school and his family. I can't express enough how appreciative I am of his hospitality, but there's something to be said for teaching eight and nine-year olds all day and then coming home to a first and a second grader. While they are incredibly sweet girls, I need some serious down time after a long day. Catering to their needs seem a little much for me to handle these days. Let's just say that I am not quite ready to have children of my own yet. Give me about a half a decade and I'll begin to consider it. Dogs are not the same as children. Sure they are a huge responsibility, but they are much easier to train...or so I've been told. Jack, my puppy, is definitely keeping me happy right now. He's getting bigger everyday and he's got such a pleasant disposition about him. Someday he's a little hyper, but I believe that is a result of the puppy chow. He's about nine and a half months old and I think he's ready to graduate to big boy food. I hear it mellows dogs out. He hasn't had an accident since the hurricane. Go Jack!
Well, time to saddle up and hit that dusty trail. Hmm...Maybe I'll buy my ticket home to the Northeast for Thanksgiving tonight. I do realize that even with all this adversity I've faced in the last month, I still have a lot to be thankful for.
