9.12.2005
Day 11 (Monday)
Well, I got the feedback from last Friday's observation. It's about as lukewarm as I expected. He was actually quite generous, in my opinion--all things considered. At any rate, as it is after 10:00, my hoped-for seven hours of sleep are shrinking before my eyes...so let me be brief:
the bad and the ugly
Sorry, this doesn't have to do with teaching; this is just me venting. This morning I walked out into yet another beautiful Las Vegas morning--and found that my car was towed sometime during the night. It's totally my fault. It had been parked in a clearly-marked "no-parking zone" that was considerably closer to my apartment than the available legal alternative--thinking that I would be right back out to go to the doctor's. Which was, of course, never to be. To the tune of 170 bucks.
And now, nearly a day later, I STILL don't have my car, because although I spoke to the towing company's customer service no less than FIVE TIMES before showing up there, nobody bothered to mention that they required proof of ownership in order to pick up your car. My title, owing to a recent registration in this state, is still being processed and sent via mail, so that's out. But what of the registration form?
"It's in the glove compartment," I told the lady behind the counter, and they disappeared with my keys. A fruitless half-hour later, I'm telling the lady behind the counter that I'd be more than happy to go look myself, if they're truly having trouble finding it. "I'm sorry sir, you can't do that," she says.
$20.35 in an additional day's worth of storage later, I STILL can't find my registration form--it's not at home. So what I've got here is one anonymous jackass' inability to find it in my glove compartment, verses my inability to find it anywhere else in the world. (Except in my own car--I am unwilling to concede that it's not there, largely because I remember putting it there in the first place.)
So tomorrow, I'm going in with a couple DMV receipts that prove me to be, if not the owner of this car, at least the guy who paid for the recent registration, plates and title. And if they won't accept that AND won't let me go search my car myself, I swear to Jeebus, I'm going back there with an attorney. A dashing, young attorney who also happens to a colleague from work. Neener neener neener.
the good
Today was the second time I got all of my pull-out kids together in my room during the afternoon block (eight kids spanning three grades and 97 different ability levels). Unlike the first, this one actually ended with me not wanting to immediately quit the profession. Even more optimistically, our little friend Duane made some serious behavioral leaps today, and spent not only the first ten minutes completely in his seat (via a touch of extrinsic motivation) but kept his mouth shut and raised his hand more so than most of the others, incredibly. We'll see if it sticks...!
Class rules:
[[UPDATE (7/22/06): I have since consoladated those rules into these: 1. We will respect others with our bodies and our mouths. 2. We will work hard and stay on task. 3. We will listen to our teachers and follow their directions.]]
My rewards/consequences system is pretty hip too, and seems to be pretty water-tight--at least on Day 1 of trying it. (Famous last words, but hey.) More on that later.
|
the bad and the ugly
Sorry, this doesn't have to do with teaching; this is just me venting. This morning I walked out into yet another beautiful Las Vegas morning--and found that my car was towed sometime during the night. It's totally my fault. It had been parked in a clearly-marked "no-parking zone" that was considerably closer to my apartment than the available legal alternative--thinking that I would be right back out to go to the doctor's. Which was, of course, never to be. To the tune of 170 bucks.
And now, nearly a day later, I STILL don't have my car, because although I spoke to the towing company's customer service no less than FIVE TIMES before showing up there, nobody bothered to mention that they required proof of ownership in order to pick up your car. My title, owing to a recent registration in this state, is still being processed and sent via mail, so that's out. But what of the registration form?
"It's in the glove compartment," I told the lady behind the counter, and they disappeared with my keys. A fruitless half-hour later, I'm telling the lady behind the counter that I'd be more than happy to go look myself, if they're truly having trouble finding it. "I'm sorry sir, you can't do that," she says.
$20.35 in an additional day's worth of storage later, I STILL can't find my registration form--it's not at home. So what I've got here is one anonymous jackass' inability to find it in my glove compartment, verses my inability to find it anywhere else in the world. (Except in my own car--I am unwilling to concede that it's not there, largely because I remember putting it there in the first place.)
So tomorrow, I'm going in with a couple DMV receipts that prove me to be, if not the owner of this car, at least the guy who paid for the recent registration, plates and title. And if they won't accept that AND won't let me go search my car myself, I swear to Jeebus, I'm going back there with an attorney. A dashing, young attorney who also happens to a colleague from work. Neener neener neener.
the good
Today was the second time I got all of my pull-out kids together in my room during the afternoon block (eight kids spanning three grades and 97 different ability levels). Unlike the first, this one actually ended with me not wanting to immediately quit the profession. Even more optimistically, our little friend Duane made some serious behavioral leaps today, and spent not only the first ten minutes completely in his seat (via a touch of extrinsic motivation) but kept his mouth shut and raised his hand more so than most of the others, incredibly. We'll see if it sticks...!
Class rules:
- Follow directions the first time they are given.
- Stay in your seat.
- Keep your whole body to yourself.
- Be respectful of others.
[[UPDATE (7/22/06): I have since consoladated those rules into these: 1. We will respect others with our bodies and our mouths. 2. We will work hard and stay on task. 3. We will listen to our teachers and follow their directions.]]
My rewards/consequences system is pretty hip too, and seems to be pretty water-tight--at least on Day 1 of trying it. (Famous last words, but hey.) More on that later.
// posted by Tom @ 10:15 PM 
