Greetings from the Apple Store in the Big Apple

Brooke and I are in New York City, here to do some school observations. We had an excellent day out with a friend exploring this great city in all its diversity. We're interested to see that in its schools in the coming days. It's great catching up with old friends too. Not sure I could trade the weather we have in California for it though. OK... maybe I could, but it would take some persuasion.

I'm writing this from the new MacBook Air at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue. I should find a shop attendant to let them know it's missing a right mouse button. Now I know what it feels like when my grandmother gets on the computer.

Alright, off to find some good NYC eats.

Evening venting sessions...and a trip to New York

I think we're feeling at a bit of a low point at the moment after tonight's classes. We were supposed to be talking about Response To Intervention (RTI), but instead the conversation turned more toward what wrong with our school district. Mind you, we're not talking about what's wrong with our students or schools: we're quite happy in that regard. Sometimes evening classes turn into venting sessions. What makes it worse though is to have to go to class today on President's Day -- a holiday otherwise. We miss our jobs in Japan. Perhaps we can find something in Dubai and get another overseas teaching experience. Along with our experiences in public schools, I'm sure we'll have a lot to offer to our future employers. Our students and schools are great, but sometimes the district gets us feeling bummed.

At the end of the week Brooke and I are going to New York to visit partner schools, to do some observations, and to get some new ideas for our classes. I'm excited about that. We'll also have a chance to visit some friends in New York! Looking forward to that too.

Hella aching...

As one of our delightful English teachers likes to say, I'm "hella aching" this week... and it's only Tuesday. I love my students... but why do they have to act like teenagers all the time? Oh, wait! Right. Because they are teenagers. I guess I'll have to forgive them for that. But I don't have to forgive them right away.

Please, Friday: come quickly!

The start of good intentions

I originally started this blog with one short entry in January 2005, planning to post on it every week. It never happened that way... which is a shame, really, because I'm sure that there are many lost little anecdotes that might have been saved had I kept up with my endeavor to keep an e-journal. So, here I am again, three years later: still a teacher, but in a totally different place.

I used to teach English in Japan for a now-bankrupt mega-school, where students did what they were told, the paycheck was great, and classroom supplies appeared as needed. Now, I'm a Special Education teacher in a public school in California... in a bankrupt district, teaching amazing, frustrating, incredible inner-city teenagers, and working hard to help keep my wonderful little school in good repute.

My other half is also a teacher. Yes, I actually think of him as my other half: he's the peanut-butter to my jelly. (Or am I the peanut butter?) We teach the same subject, work in the same community, attend the same graduate classes.. and count down the days until our next vacations. It's very hard work. But we both have the philosphy that all we need in life are travel, purpose, a paycheck, and each other. We value our time more than money... and the best thing about taking such a poorly-paid job is having our summers off. In fact, thinking about the summer is what gets us through the bad days. That, and each other.

Just recently, we were deciding where to go this summer. We had so many great ideas, but I kept thinking back to something my students said. Most of my students or their families come from other countries, and they often look at my travel map to see if I've been to their hometowns. (I have a large world map on the wall with pins marking most of the places I've been to: 31 countries so far.) They always ask why there are no pins at all in South America or Africa. A very good question, I think.

So, after much deliberation, we bought tickets to South America for the summer (or, winter, if you look at it from the southern perspective). Hooray! How exciting!

Only eighty-six days of school to go.