Fun like this is reason #552 why I Love my Job:

Physics-related Email from Student:
Hello Ms. SG!  This is probably going to sound very odd but as I was doing my homework I had a really odd question.  For the sake of the question let's just say people are able to move things with their minds.  Because you could move things with a force (brain) and a distance (meters and whatnot), would that technically be work if the object was moving in a plausible situation?  If so, how would you measure said force?

Again I realize that this has nothing to do with the quiz tomorrow, but I was studying and I couldn't get that question out of my head.  If you could reply back it would be highly appreciated.  Thank you so much! ~Crissy


My reply:
Hi Crissy, great question!  I know the answer, and I am going to send it to your pencil with my mind.  Please lay a pencil on a sheet of paper in front of you.  I will send the answer to your pencil and the pencil will write my reply onto the paper.  Watch for it ... it'll go slowly, so you might not have the full reply until 2-3 AM.  Make sure you watch the pencil the entire time because if you leave the room or even take your eyes off of it, the pencil will erase what it has written and start over.  :) Ms SG

Reason #161 Why I Love My Job:

Jasper was sad that my test didn't have any extra credit 

... so he made his own!

Reason #876823683 why I love my job:

Poor Allie was caught chewing gum in school. In lieu of serving hard time, she opted to write gum haiku. A much better choice, don't you agree?

Chewing gum is not
a good plan when you're in school
you might get caught, Whoops!

Oh, PS i am
Chewing gum at this moment
it is very good

Ok now I will
say goodbye because I have
to eat dinner, Peace.

ps ... why the gum-chewing rule? Does anyone care anymore?

Reason # 43543 why I love my job:

Every year my students suffer through 2 weeks of standardized testing, known as the CMT. This year I asked them to post their CMT Practice Test with triumph (on the fridge, on a bulletin board, etc.)and send photographic evidence for extra credit. Well, I got some pretty great photos ... but this one by far takes the cake:

BEST CMT PHOTO

This is the best thing I have ever seen.

Dallas School Districts

Opening Convocation

(delivered by a 3rd grader)

I love my job, part 2

One of my students baby-sits for Neil Armstrong's grandkids. One of them told her that they were in school one day, and in class they did a jigsaw puzzle of his Pop-Pop. He has no idea why. (He's only four). That is so cute.

I love my job.

We were doing concept maps about our pre-knowledge of space/astronomy. Note how "God" is listed under Space People (along with Luke Skywalker and Galileo, among others) and how he "lives in" Heaven, grouped under The Unknown Universe (along with the Big Bang).

Really, my work is done here. What can I possibly have left to tell them??

Throwing Paper Airplanes

Some people never grow up.

The end is nigh

Tomorrow is the last day of my summer vacation.

Alas, beautiful August days!

Alas, serenity!

Hellooooo, paycheck!!!

Dream Analysis

I had a dream that the secretary in the office was reading kids' names off a sign-in sheet, who needed to come down to the office. You know how kids will write names like Ben Dover, Mike Hunt, and Phil McCracken on sign-in lists, right? So she's reading, and it goes like this:

... Alyysa Shea, Zach Morton, Henry Phillips, and Penis Mount.

All the kids & teachers erupt into laughter as she ends her announcement.

Don't you think she might have realized that "Penis" is not a typical first name????

Summer Bliss

There's something so sweet and simple about sitting in my PJ's on a summer morning, windows thrown wide, drinking coffee when I should be at work, or doing something. But school ended yesterday, and there's perhaps no more favorite day than this one, the first day of a long summer stretched out before me. And I have such long tales to tell, but it's too much work to put them all into words, and how do I anyway find the words to tell the rapture of singing at Carnegie Hall, the horror of a young life stolen, or the butterflyish anticipation of spending the rest of my life with Jamwall? So I'll just drink my cup of coffee and listen to the hawk screaming outside and look at my pretty petunias and bask, and return to the page when I am able.

writing notes in class

Today I sat in a workshop for 8 hours; sometimes I wrote things down. I wrote my bucket list, which I'll share tomorrow, and this:

I also flipped through a whole body + soul magazine, and got some great tips for living green, which I'll also share. It's amazing what you can learn when you have a chance to sit still for a few minutes!!!

I'm sorry, but it's funny.

Reason # 813 why I love my job:

Anonymous pop-up smiley cards, left for me to find.

Are you smarter than an 8th grader?

Here's an online quiz my kids are taking. Their score averages around 8/10. How well do you do?

Work and Machines!

The plight of the orange mittens...

First, the Background.

One of the jobs of being a teacher in my school is to direct the traffic during the early-morning parent drop-off. This is quite a stressful job, because everyone wants to show that their BMW is the fastest, and that crosswalk laws don't apply to people who are late for their manicure. The person in my school who does this job is a lovely lady named Gilda, and I have always admired how she does the job with such cheer.

One morning, a particularly cold morning, we talked as I crossed the traffic under her careful supervision. We observed that she'd be warmer with mittens, but of course they would need to be bright orange, so that she could direct traffic with them.

A few days later I happened to be shopping at my favorite woodsy online shoppe (read all about how great their customer service is here); I discovered a pair of fleecy orange mittens on sale, and had them sent to her at school. They arrived in just a few days, and Gilda came to my classroom waving her mitten-clad hands happily, thanking me.

Now comes the strange part of the tale.

This past week, whenever I arrived at school, I saw Gilda directing traffic, sporting her new orange mittens. This made me happy, because I like when people actually use a gift that I give them, which is rare. But on Tuesday, I observed that she seemed to be putting the mittens on as I approached the school. It didn't really capture my attention too much, until I saw her doing the same thing on Thursday. I began to think ... could it be that she was actually just putting the mittens on for me to see?

Sure enough ... I went inside, but about two minutes later peeked out the windows and saw, to my utter dismay, that she had other mittens on and the orange one was sticking out of her pocket. How odd! Why would she only put the mittens on for me to see?!?!?!

I don't even know how to think about this. It is so very strange that I don't know whether I should be flattered, offended, or what. I suppose I'm supposed to feel just the way I feel, which is a giant "Huh?!?"... not to mention that the preferred mittens are bright yellow, therefore highly visible, and possibly warmer. So I can understand that. But why the charade?

On another note, here are some of the pictures you can find if you Google "orange mitten":

Reasons #297 and #298 why I love my job:

Universal truths,

randomly placed

by the hands of the young:

Creative freedom:

Our science tables were so trashed that they needed a paint job; I asked the principal for permission to paint them. We laid the base color in October and have finally gotten around to putting the animal prints on. Yesterday we started the giraffe; I projected the print onto the screen so kids could see how it should look. One tiger is also finished. There will also be cheetah and zebra. Only 10 tables to go!!!

A LiveBlogging Experience:

Kids entering the classroom on the first school day after my classroom roommate got fired.

Where is Ms. Miller?
(awkward silence)
Ummm, she is out today, she had a family thing.

Woah, Ms. Miller's desk is all cleared off.
Yeah, umm, we are doing like a desk-switch fall cleaning thing. Boy, am I getting dusty. Does anyone else hate dust as much as I do? (deflect deflect deflect)

Do we have a sub?
Yes, it's Mr. Zapliski.

OK, he's cool. Where's Ms. Miller?
...

Hey Ms. G, is Ms. Miller out today?
Yup, she had a family thing. Get your notebooks out everyone! (cheerful smile)

Where's Ms. Miller?

She's out today. She had a family thing. (how many times do I say this before it starts to sound fake?)

Are you our sub?

Nope, it's Mr. Zapliski. I'm just starting the class until he gets here.

Woah, this rooms looks empty!

Yup, we're doing some cleaning.

Is there a sub for Ms. Miller?

Yup, it's Mr. Zapliski.

Where's Ms. Miller?

(She got her ass fired, OK? She wasn't any good, and she was incompetent, and you should be fucking grateful! Jesus Christ!!! Now take out your notebooks and watch fucking Mythbusters, OK?!?!?!?!?)

She's out today.

Repeat above cycle 25 times.

OK, this is just the best thing ever.

4-year-old calls 9-1-1 for math help. If you haven't seen this yet, you'll soon get it by email.

Reason #998 Why I Love My Job

This school year, I give a prize to kids who come up with the best way to use recycling in the completion of their homework; I thus accept homework done on cereal boxes, soup cans, old worksheets, newspaper, etc.

Christopher took it one step further today: