Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Absent without Leave

My oldest daughter has had several absences from school lately due to illness. She is now having to petition the school to keep her credits and be able to graduate, and make up all the work she missed. I can't help but look at the different attitudes of the teachers, and their willingness, or not, to work with her in making up the work. Some have said that she was an "A" student before she left, and has been getting "A's" since her return, so no problem, but others don't even want to give her the school alotted time to make up the work she missed. All you can do is stand by, encourage her to keep going, and shake your head at some of the attitudes.

Hang in there. Stick

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Beam me up Scotty

One of the teachers I work with has a habit of recording incidents of bad behavior on the part of students, especially foul language. She writes down the language used, date it occurred, and time. Somehow, one of the students found out about this journal while in her class. He blurted out, "You're sh***ing me, you write this down?" Of course she immediately took out her book and began writing in it. One of the other students then said, "Captain's log, stardate 2007 point 2....." Needless to say, she was not amused at the time, and kicked him out of class. As for me, I thought it was hilarious. Guess you had to be there to not.

Have a great day. Stick

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Keep the Faith

As a High School history teacher, I discuss many different religions, and the impact they had on the people of that particular time period of history. To me, this is one of the hardest things I do. I have strong religious convictions of my own, and it's so difficult to be teaching these ideas without voicing a real opinion about them. Even with that, the thing that surprises me most as I teach many of these kids, is the lack of ANY religious ideals among them. Now, there are some that are good kids with a solid religious background, and they come from a variety of faiths, but there are just as many who have no beliefs, or who profess one belief, but don't live that way. Maybe it's just a show for their friends, but when a kid tells you his goal in life is to sell drugs like his uncle, and to join his gang, it can really be discouraging.

All I can do is keep going, set the example I can, and hope for the future.

Take care. Stick.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Don't grow a moustache!

My two boys have been playing basketball, with their season finishing last week. The oldest boy went to the last practice, and came home with a fat lip from an elbow to the mouth. That has now turned into a bruise that covers the right side of his upper lip. From a distance it looks like he had half of his moustache shaved off. The girl's tell him, "Don't ever grow a moustache! It doesn't look good on you."

Poor kid can't even shave yet, and he's already getting criticism.

Take care. Stick.

More Wanton Destruction

It wasn't enough for our master bedroom to be torn apart. We needed more. I think we are gluttons for punishment, with maybe a streak of masochism. Saturday we tore out the tub surround in our master bathroom in preparation for putting tile around it to match the tile on the floor and counters. This means untill we can put it back together, we don't have a shower or tub in our bathroom. The tile is all up, with the exception of one trim piece that we forgot to have cut, and it is ready to grout. It really finishes this bathroom. The only thing we wish is that we had the money to put in a jacuzzi tub. Now we can focus on the rest of the bedroom, with the bathroom door a high priority :o). There is a light at the end of this tunnel, we just hope it isn't a train.

Take care, and have a great day. Stick

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Sick like Me

I mentioned that my oldest daughter just had her wisdom teeth out. Unfortunately for her, she also now has the flu, and so do I. This has really hit her harder than me, because she was already more susceptable due to her condition. I can only hope that the rest of the clan can avoid this pleasure, and stay healthy. Just one more log on the pile :o).

Take care, and stay healthy. Stick

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Karma or Dharma?

In my history classes I am having the students work together in teams to teach a section of our current chapter. It has been interesting to see some of the ideas they have come up with for how to present their material, especially those who generally do not do anything in class--no notes, no homework, etc. These are the ones who get the most upset when the other students don't pay attention, and talk while they are trying to teach. Maybe it's Karma, or maybe it's justice, but it feels GOOD. :o)

Take care, Stick.

The Agony of De-teeth

Our oldest daughter just had two of her wisdom teeth, and two other teeth extracted yesterday. She does not handle pain well to begins with, and she is just miserable. She had originally planned to go to school today--not happening. We bought her protein shakes, pudding, yogurt, and ice cream to prepare for the time while she can't chew, or eat normally. She had a few mashed potatoes last night.

I can't help but remember my own experience with this painful episode. I must have been very loopy coming out of the anasthesia, because my mother says she had to hold my arm to keep me from falling over. In my own mind, I felt wonderful. I think this was the drugs talking, because I remember being miserable later. We went on a trip just a few days after my surgery, and I had a Big Mac for lunch. I had to take it apart, and eat a layer at a time, beacuse I couldn't open my mouth far enough to eat it normally. I hope my daughter recovers quickly.

Take care, Stick

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Weapons of Mass Destruction

It's horrible! The destruction never seems to end! There are pieces of debris everwhere!
Yes, we are remodeling again. We just tore down two walls yesterday in the hopes of creating a new and improved master bedroom suite. We now would like to meet the guy who wired our house, and ask him, "What were you thinking?" They ran power through the floor to one of the walls near our old bathroom door to power an outlet. Then it went under the floor for another 10' to come up into the wall further into the bedroom and power an outlet. From there the power went through the wall to power a light switch, and then up into the attic and back another 10' to power a switch that was 2' above the first outlet! When I told my father-in-law all of this (he's a contractor), he wasn't even surprised, he just laughed.
Sometime soon, we hope we'll have our room finished, our privacy back, and get out of the war zone. Currently we don't have a bedroom or bathroom door. I've hung a blanket where our new bedroom door will be. Come to think of it, the blanket might slow the kids down more than the door did, since they never knocked on the door . Maybe I'll install a self-locking door with a keypad, and then a doorbell (and then not connect it to anything).
Take care, Stick.

Friday, February 2, 2007

Funny! NOT!

I know that as a child, I was hilariously funny. My jokes were witty and cutting. My sense of comic timing was perfect. I'm sure that is true--or at least in my mind. The reason I know this is that my boys have this same attitude. They make up knock-knock jokes, they tell jokes, they make witty comments, and none of them are funny to anyone but them. Maybe someday they will finally understand what it really means to have a sense of humor, and know what is funny. Or maybe the problem is with me, and I still don't know what is funny and what is not.

Probably not. Take care. Stick

Thursday, February 1, 2007

"Too Hot to be Cold"

Having lived in southern Utah, where temperatures can reach 115 degrees and more in the summer, it has been a little difficult for my children to adapt to living in Idaho. I think they have finally made it. The other day, our temperatures rose to just above freezing. My two boys, who involved in youth basketball right now, had to walk to their team practice. When my wife and I went to pick them up, they were dressed in their tee-shirts, shorts and basketball shoes. No coats. No sweats. We asked them what they were thinking. Their answer, "It's hot outside!" Current outside temeperature at that time, 17 degrees.

Take care, and stay warm. Stick