life lessons

Some things I have learnt recently:

• gardening isn't as bad as I thought, especially if it happens almost by magic
  
• baking scoops are awesome (I bet they have a more technical name, but I don't know it)
  
• Canadian Tire does not sell metal potato mashers
  
• kids are just waiting for someone to call them on their BS, then they will pick up their socks (most of the time)
  
• pink lemonade + cupcakes = delicious
  
• females have to be twice as smart as males, even in the teaching profession, since for some reason we need to trick them into thinking everything was their idea.  this is not fair.
  
• ordering shoes online rules
  
• McNally has fabulous stationary
• who you are willing to cry in front of at work is a good indication of who you trust and respect
• picking my clothes up isn't that bad

Overheard in a basement in Saskatoon

Guy :  You're just like me, except that you're a chick and you're dirty.

(that's not clean dirty, not perverted dirty you bunch of sickos)

a little perspective

I'll admit it, I lost sight of the big picture.  I have become that teacher.  The one who is just. so. frustrated.  Your lack of effort?  It bothers me.  Please, there are 10 days left.  Could you just learn this last unit so we can all move on?

Friday, I followed a girl into the bathroom.  I wasn't particularly mad, but I did know she was going to the bathroom to text someone and I planned to catch her in the act.  You know, make her feel sheepish, cause some mild embarrassment and confiscate a phone for an hour or two.  Fun teacher stuff. (seriously, I LOVE catching kids with phones and making them live without them for a day.)  I was not expecting her to exit the stall in near hysterics.

What ensued was likely one of the hardest things I've had to deal with yet in my teaching career.  It's certainly something they don't prepare you for in University.  No one tells you what to do when a student comes forth and tells you their friend is being abused, mentally and possibly physically.  That your first reaction will be to want to go find that missing student, to make sure they are okay yourself.  That luckily you are slightly smarter than that and you will simply offer hugs and an escort down to student services because you sure hope they know what to do in such a situation.  That you will feel just as helpless as the teenagers themselves.  That you cannot imagine living with such a burden at 15.

Math seems very unimportant at times like these.  Two of my students have been carrying around this terrible knowledge and feeling of helplessness for 6+ months.  One has been living it.  In my naivete I blamed hormones, spring, turning 16, typical teenage stuff.  It's just all so much bigger than me and my classroom...