Away we go!

We're off and running in a new school year. Thanks to my ambitious nature in the spring, this year's AP class turned in two assignments. Forty students times two makes eighty assignments. At about fifteen minutes each, that's approximately twenty hours of correcting. And, why do I love this job?

It's the students. Really. They are worth it all. No day is the same, and they teach me so much. Besides the two classes of AP, there are the three of English 11 and Creative Writing. Oh, I'm Literary Magazine advisor, too.

So far everything's been rolling along like a well-oiled desk chair. The first day I walked someone to the office to see the principal. I was subbing for another teacher during my prep time, and one the guys, out of four obnoxious ones, wouldn't stop making fun of another kid. Thought he was Eddie Murphy or something. He kept up the chatter all the while we walked. Said I was racist. I said, "Yeah, right. I was Miss America last year, too." (Really I didn't say anything.)

Too hot in my room at 8:00 a.m. so I emailed the responsible people because if it felt that ghastly that early while I was sitting in my chair and no one else was in the room, think what it was going to be like teaching 28 students! Said it was NOT too hot in my room. So, the sweat soaking my armpits and staining my new green dress were a figment of my imagination. A dream, maybe? A hot flash?

Several new foreign exchange students: three from Germany, one from Portugal, and one from Norway. One student who moved here from Miami has never seen snow. Boy, is she in for it! The young man from Portugal says that whenever he goes to a country where it is supposed to snow, it doesn't. I hope his luck continues.

Student quote of the week: "Yeah, my brother tried to catch his fart in a jar once. He's so dumb, you know?"

Today, our dog Angel went to doggie heaven. Her years of chasing rabbits and her pal Brady stay with us. I can see her sitting on the steps to look out the window, waiting for the kids to get home from school, only to be dressed in clothes and played with like a doll. I can see her tail wag like a fly swatter when we come in the room, and then lying by the couch while we watch TV. She's sit on the deck or the front porch like a proud lion surveying her domain, ready to bark and snarl if a stranger set foot on her turf.

She helped raise Brady as a pup, nipping him into submission, training him to behave and leave his annoying puppy habits behind.

We love you, Angel and will miss you every day. Thank you for your seventeen years of companionship. No dog could top your sweetness. RIP

lunch bunch and videos

Part of the fun of a teacher inservice day is getting an hour for lunch instead of 27 minutes. Today we went to Pizza Hut and caught up with what everybody did over the summer. (Good luck having those twins, Liz!)

Also, cleaning the room is part of the get-back-in-the-saddle ritual. I threw out many VHS cassettes, and I'm officially updating to DVDs and Internet videos. Got to get with this century. For the past three years I've asked for a projector in my room to show student projects, videos, and educational YouTube interviews and such---and I never get one. The young teachers all have them, and I guess they think we seasoned veterans won't use 'em. So, I had a hissy fit in the library, complete with stomping my feet, to show I'm not that old. And---I'm getting one!

You know the old saying about the squeaky wheel?

Technology and Thoreau

Ahh, as summer slips away, I'm back to work. First day of inservice includes meetings, meetings, more meetings---and technology training. It takes the year for me to master the new technology, software, hardware, etc., and then the next year they change it again! New laptops are great, but with them comes more new stuff to learn and use. Thoreau was right about technology. It doesn't really make our lives simpler; it just adds to the things we need to learn and do.

"We don't ride the railroad; the railroad rides upon us." ---Henry David Thoreau

Summer is so sweet---the cherry on the sundae, the kiss before bed, the dog's underwear (you know, way better than the cat's pajamas).

Did some serious hammock time today. Glass of iced tea, the New Yorker, and a nap. Heaven.

And, an ice cream cone for dessert tonight.

It doesn't get any better than this.

August 3 Musings

Yup, been awhile, but here I am again. Went to 2-Onion farm this afternoon and hoed the cauliflower, cucumbers, carrots and beets. It was hot, but there was a breeze. Drank lots of water and worked through an aching muscle in my backside. Will either feel great tomorrow or won't be able to walk. Came home and cracked open the best watermelon we've had all summer. Mmmmm! Lots of vitamin P!

Six years ago today our son, Kelly, passed away. I hate how distant he has become. He's forever 25, and we keep aging and changing, plugging away at life and doing the best we can. I see his smile in the sunset as I look out the window right now. He may be frozen in time, but his essence is a part of us every day.

It's August, and soon I'll be back in the classroom. Don't tell anybody, but part of me is looking forward to it. I know; I'm sick. You know, that chalk dust, or white board marker ink gets in your veins and what ya gonna do?

If only winter didn't have to come as the school year progresses. In my bible, hell is cold, not hot.

Plantin' and Pullin'

Last Saturday morning I worked my first shift at a local, organic community farm near Belmont. The payment for this work is a reduction on the price of my family's box of vegetables we receive every other week. The first one comes Friday. Yum!

Six other people were there to work, five from Madison and one from Platteville. We dressed as told: old clothes and shoes, hats, sunscreen and bug spray. My husband and I used to farm, so I had been looking forward to this activity. I am no horticulturalist, but there's nothing I like better than fooling around in the garden.

Our first task of the day was to plant seeds, onion and fennel, into tiny cubes of soil with holes in the middle. We sat on chairs with trays of dirt on out laps, poured some seeds onto an index card, and used a nail file to push them into their respective holes. The fennel was easy, one per hole, but, the onion, ten little black seeds per hole. Tedious!

Next we went out to the field to weed. Chris, the owner, and our taskmaster for the morning, held up an implement and said, "This is what you'll use to weed the eggplants," and he showed us how to scratch along side of the plants without damaging them. I thought he was being a bit patronizing, until---

"What is that called," one of the women from Madison asked, pointing to the implement.

Big pause. We looked at her. I thought she was kidding. I laughed out loud. Turns out she wasn't kidding.

"This? This is called a ho," Chris said, holding it up again.

I never should have laughed and I'm sorry for it. Here she was, brave enough to come out and dig in the dirt and find out where her food comes from, and I laughed. Like I said, I'm sorry.

Later, we were on our hands and knees weeding the broccoli, and the same woman says, "Hey,what's this weird looking plant? It's fuzzy and prickley and looks kind of like a cactus.

Because I was in the row next to her, I answered: "It's a thistle."

I want you to know I didn't laugh this time. The teacher in me surfaced, and I was patient and understanding. Later, I pointed out a pea plant to her, and a tomato plant, too.

Like I said, I am no horticulturalist or master gardener, but that day I felt like one. If only my back hadn't hurt so much the next day.

Summer, ahhh!

Long days, moderate temps, blossoms and birds---it doesn't get any better than this! Thoreau had it right camping out near the pond. Wonder what he did about the damned gnats, though? No Absorbine Jr. then; must've used garlic rub or something.

Eight students in summer school for two and a half hours---not bad. Squirrelly students, though. Can tell they were in eighth grade last year. Laugh at nothing and poke each other, thinking it's a hoot. Glad I'm past thirteen. Wouldn't mind being nine or ten again, though. No worries and not a care. Ahhhhhh! Blissful.

Wheee-Awww!

Last day of school for the year. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Oh, that's right. I start teaching summer school on Monday. Awwwwwwwwww!

Guided twirling?

Every day we have a 20-minute guided study so students can do homework and see teachers if they have questions. During the 1st and 4th quarters, guided study is at the end of the day so student who are in fall and spring sports and activities won't miss as much class time.

For those who are left, it usually amounts to talk time, 'cause what high school junior (my guided study consists of 17 juniors) wants to study at the end of a long day of school? Tuesdays is silent reading day, and they are to quietly read a book or magazine for the 20 minutes.

Last Tuesday my advisees were talking, and I kept shushing them.

"Get something to read from the shelf and be quiet," I kept telling them in various ways, some of which got a bit snippy.

Until, one girl asked me what my first job was---and I stupidly took the bait and told them: "I gave baton-twirling lessons."

"Really?" they asked.

Well, the next thing you know it, I'm in front of the class teaching two of the girls how to twirl a wooden dowel, showing them my old tricks, as the others look on.

"Uh oh," they said.

In the doorway stood Dr. J, the principal. He looked at us, shook his head, smiled half a smile, shut the door and walked on. Why couldn't he have walked by when I was telling them to be quiet?

No Blarney

My white board collects a lot of stuff throughout the year, besides the invaluable stuff that I carefully post for the good of all students on a regular basis. Last week my white board became adorned with stuff that twenty, or even ten, years ago would never have been possible.

It began when I posted a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, as we are studying transcendentalism. I told students that while watching the local news, I saw Mayor Dave C give his consolation speech after being defeated by Paul Soglin during which he quoted Emerson: "What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us." We talked about what the quote meant and why the loser of an election would use it as he was leaving office.

After we got our work finished, Ramona, an exchange student from Switzerland, translated the quote into German. Next hour, Hyeon wrote it in Koren; then, Mindy in Chinese, Cagla in Turkish, Firas in Arabic, etc., Now, we have Thoreau's quote in eleven languages, not counting the one that Matt tried to pass as Gaelic as he is from Ireland---for upon checking Google translate, I found it to be blarney and erased it.

What a cool place to

a poem

Yesterday, 80-degrees in Wisconsin after a long, long winter sent me into closets and corners of the yard tossing and tidying, and inspiring a poem of sorts.

mornings, spring and being 10

anything is possible then

my hours unspent,

my seeds just sewn,

my life imagined

and nothing to regret, yet

Is that a chunk of moron in your teeth?

Today I attended a writing conference in Madison. In one of the sessions we were advised to observe and even listen in on conversations. So, I did. Not that I had much choice with this one.

A number of us wannabes were sitting around talking and waiting for our turn to pitch our work to the agents, when this guy, Joey, pulls out a container of dental floss, tears off a serving, and starts flossing. Right there in front of us.

And I thought high-schoolers could be uncouth.

If that wasn't gross enough, the lady next to him asked for some, like most people ask for a piece of gum, and there they sat, the two of them contorting their faces and digging that thread into their gums, while the rest of us tried not to look, which, by the way, didn't help because, guess what? They had to have a conversation about it, too:

"Did you know that Dr. Oz says you're supposed to floss four times a day?" says Joey.

"No, I didn't," says Ann.

"Yup, it can cause cancer."

"Wow. I didn't know that. I'm just glad I could get that piece of apple out of my front tooth."

"Yeah. But, nobody would have noticed," Joey says. "It's the same color as your teeth---unless the peel was still on it."

They laugh as they work the food bits outta those back molars.

"Gee, that sure is refreshing," says Ann.

"No kidding. That minty taste is invigorating! I feel so much better."

I'm glad he did. I don't know what they did with the used floss; I looked the other way and another woman got up and walked out.

Vote Kloppenberg for Justice

The Wisconsin Supreme Court election will be held next week on Tuesday, April 5.

You have no doubt seen the ads depicting David Prosser as a “rubber stamp” to Gov. Walker. Additionally, Prosser, rather than report a priest for sexual abuse, talked to the bishop who reassigned the priest to a different parish where the abuse continued.

I support JoAnne Kloppenburg because her record as a prosecutor and litigator has shown she will stand up for the law, fairness, and the people. She says she believes in “independent, impartial courts and judges, free of partisan politics.”

Those of us disgusted with Gov. Walker have been accused of resenting the rich and being in favor of socialism. Somewhere between Walker’s dictatorial rule and the total ownership of a society by government is a big field where capitalism and government can coexist. Businesses that make a profit, treat their employees and the environment with respect deserve our utmost praise. It’s those who abuse power and their workers, ship jobs and earnings overseas, and pollute the environment to line their pockets exponentially that earn our disdain.

Gov. Walker and David Prosser have both expressed their distrust of government. Yet, both are major components of the government. In essence, they are telling us they can’t be trusted.

This election for a new justice is for a ten-year term. Please make an educated, responsible decision and vote for Kloppenburg. If you want to know more, the web address is www.kloppenburgforjustice.com.

And all that jazz!

It's spring, the season for love and romance, for prom and flirting---and teaching The Great Gatsby.

I tell students it is my favorite of the classics, and if you pay attention F. Scott Fitzgerald teaches you everything you should avoid in life and love. Drinking and driving, infidelity, lying, cheating and snobbery are all laid out in the style of the 20s, with words that sculpt characters and their dreams.

On Friday we talked about how Gatsby wanted both his and Nick's house to be perfect for the afternoon tea when he and Daisy would reunite after five years. Gatsby commented on how Nick's lawn could use mowing and how he had someone mow it in the rain.

"My dad says that's not a good thing to do because the grass clumps up," Joanie said.

And, Joey said, "Yeah, my dad won't let me go near the lawnmower until the grass is dry."

"How many of your dad's are particular about the lawn?" I asked.

Twenty out of twenty-two hands went up, and we spent the next ten minutes digressing into "dad and lawn" stories.

Tracy said that one time she offered to cut the grass because her dad complained about having to do it all the time. He happily got her started on the riding mower, and she said she cut designs into the grass because it was fun. She was going to go back over it, but her dad came out and got her and said that from now on HE would cut the grass thank you very much.

I told my tale about my husband who got disgusted because our former neighbor used to cut about three feet into our lawn down the adjoining property line. I told him, "Who cares? He's cutting grass that you don't have to cut." "But it's my grass," my husband said, and he began mowing three feet over into the neighbor's yard. So, there was a strip of about six feet that always got cut double. Dueling lawnmowers. My husband should have just gone out and peed down the property line to mark his territory. What is it with guys and their lawns anyway?

OK, back to the book. Most students like reading The Great Gatsby but end up hating almost all the characters except Nick, the narrator. I think they enjoy the trek into the past age of big parties, flappers, gangsters and rousing recklessness. Tom and Daisy are the epitome of total superciliousness, and if they didn't know what that word meant before, they do now.

"We always read sad-ending books," Allen says.

It's true. Most classics have sad endings. But, sometimes enough Disney sap crap is enough, right?

If you like or are familiar with The Great Gatsby, you'll get a kick out of the youtube video a former student (thanks Angella) alerted me to called "Daisy's Lullaby." It's pretty cool. Let me know what you think.

Take that! :)

Some people have told me that if I don't like working in the public sector, I should switch to private. Anybody who knows me has heard me say that I LOVE what I do way before this whole attack on public workers. Kay, I have heard you do the same. We have pride in what we do. We provide a service, and we all know that if you want good services you have to pay for them. If you don't like the service, you complain. All this hoo-hah sounds like complaining to me, and it is hard not to take it personally.

I teach and mentor 123 teenagers per day. When they are absent, I get them caught up (whether they were sick or gone on family vacations); when they are having problems, I listen and encourage them to see the counselor; I give out band-aids, even at the high school level; I give career advice and much more. Sometimes I spend my own money on class projects, and this week I spent 15 hours beyond class time grading papers and planning lessons; sometimes it is more than that.

I am NOT complaining but defending what I do because I have been attacked. People wonder why we are rallying? It's because we feel disrespected and blamed for something we did not cause in the first place. Am I perfect at what I do? Absolutely not. Every year I try to get better. I've got my master's and every summer take a class or workshop to try to get better. So, all you critics out there who think I'm an overpaid whiner: if you are so envious of what I do, come do it and stop punching me in the stomach.

It's time to stop attacking each other and work together.

Doused with a Slushie

As I looked out at my students last week, I couldn't help but wonder how long I'd still be doing this teaching gig under the current proposed governor's budget deficit bill fix. I feel like I'm under siege. Or, my profession is, anyway. I feel slapped in the face, punched in the stomach, doused with a Slushie.

The Boss and the Bossed

Attended the big rally in Madison yesterday. Very inspiring. This recent attack on unions is a whole other realm of being a teacher that I wasn't prepared for.

Both private and public sector entities have agendas, and both could work on getting better at what they do. But, eliminate one, and there will be problems. They tend to make each other better and add some healthy competition.

The private sector's bottom line is dollars, and I don't want to go back to the days when workers are discouraged from thinking about how they could do their job better and make services better and SAFER for the public. Then, we are simply hired hands and backs who take orders no matter how stupid they seem: it is the boss and the bossed. And, the bossed are pretty much at the mercy of the boss, unless, in case of sexual harassment or dangerous working conditions, they decide to sue. And, what "little" person can afford to take on the boss?

The public sector makes an attempt at cooperative services. Sometimes, this works, and sometimes it doesn't. One can get an education, but that doesn't mean that person is necessarily qualified for a job. This is what makes private sector people disgusted with public, as they see pubic employees as their employees, even though those in the public sector pay taxes too.

It's Only Rights

Recently, there has been much unrest in our state and our community due to the sudden introduction of Gov. Walker’s controversial budget bill. We can’t let it divide our community.

We all live in Wisconsin; we all pay taxes; and we all want a good standard of living and hope for a better future.

Upon thinking the situation over and listening to all the talking heads on both sides, the one thing that seems to surface repeatedly is fairness. We all get disgusted with the Wall Street bankers; we don’t like it when we have to pay for something and someone else does not. We are being pitted against one another in this political controversy, and that gets us nowhere.

Unfortunately, this has turned into a private sector versus public sector battle, but we need to realize that we need each other. If public employees don’t have money to spend in the community, the private sector loses, too. I have an uncle who worked for a private company in Wisconsin and belonged to a union. He is now comfortably and happily retired thanks to the work their unions did for him. He agreed that good pay and working conditions attract better workers. He, as well as my brother who owned a business in Madison, voted for Walker so he would balance the budget. Neither had any intention of voting for union busting.

When I asked my uncle if he would have given up his bargaining rights, he answered a vehement: “No---never!” Both my brother and uncle said they would call their representatives tomorrow and tell them to vote no to the bill. The middle class needs to fight for this, or there will no longer be one. Nurses, snowplow drivers, sewer workers, police, postal workers, military personnel, firefighters, teachers, etc. are all rallying in Madison to preserve the rights of the middle class. These people may be you, your family or your neighbors.

We are all in this together. Don’t let this controversial bill pit us against each other. Please write emails and call your legislators throughout the state and voice your opinion today. They work for us, both private and public employees of the middle class.

Letter to P'ville Journal 2/20

Editor,

The faculty and staff of the Platteville School District would like to thank the parents and community for their support and understanding as we struggle to uphold our commitment to our students and our profession. Many of you have expressed your support directly and through your children. Again, thank you.

We are doing our best to come to school and do our jobs as teachers, counselors, secretaries, librarians, cooks, aides, custodians, coaches, advisors, and mentors while our minds and hearts feel the pull of duty to support our fellow Wisconsin educators in Madison who are rallying to preserve the long-standing quality of education for the students of Wisconsin. As you may know, many of us have taken personal days and spent our evenings and week-end making the trip to the capitol. We strongly believe this is necessary to uphold the quality of education in our state and our community.

Education and children are our priority; we work in the schools because we know these young people are our future. We teach them to stand up for themselves when they truly believe in a cause, and we are now modeling that behavior.

Platteville has always stood up for education; we are not going to sit down now. We would appreciate your continued support.

With sincere appreciation,

Mark Ludlum, President

Platteville Public School Educators and Staff

Wisconsin May be Open for Business---but our Schools Will be CLOSED

Everyone understands Gov. Walker’s attempt to balance the state budget, but snatching the bargaining rights from hard-working people is like hog-tying the cow before the slaughter.

Here are some points to consider:

• People who have owned successful businesses have had good workers, good customers, good lenders or investors, as well as public services such as schools, postal services, roads, etc. Why are we giving big businesses tax breaks and picking on public employees in order to balance the budget?

• How can you be a Badger fan without supporting the educational system it is built on?

• Public schools educate the minds of children no matter how much money their parents make. Is taking away people’s hope for a better life for their children a good way to balance the budget?

• One argument for Gov. Walker’s bill is that public workers do not pay toward their own health insurance or retirement; however, those who work in the public sector make at least eight to ten percent less than those who hold comparable positions in the public sector. Years ago, teachers and other public employees were offered benefit packages in lieu of higher wages. Now that health insurance has turned into a "golden cow," they want it back without talking about it.

So far, elected officials have used the “Do as I say, not as I do” approach. They need to take the proposed insurance and retirement benefit cuts first.

People who enter jobs in the public sector do so knowing that they will not get rich. These people understand that cuts need to be made, but the sacrifices must be done across the board.

Please let your elected officials know how you feel about this.

Walker Rant

When we study Thoreau in junior English, I talk about how Martin Luther King got his idea for peaceful protesting from Gandhi and Thoreau. These people believed that if the government did something objectionable, then it was the citizen's job, and right, to object.

So, consider this an objection.

Governor Walker's stance on refusing to negotiate with unions because "the state has nothing more to give" is infuriating and unfair. If it were not for unions, workers would not have decent wages, conditions and benefits. Granted, the state and national budgets need balancing, but why not set an example and start at the top?

Why can't the Governor show that he and the other elected officials are going to do some cutting too. I want to see them slice their salaries and benefits as much as they are proposing to do to the other state workers. Then, maybe people wouldn't resent it so much. It has begun to feel like a dictatorship that is accusing the workers for being at fault for the state's budget problems.

Walker should sit down with union reps and talk about what they can do to help make the most efficient cuts so that education is not compromised. This may take some time, but this budget deficit began many, many years ago, and it is not going to get repaired easily.

One would think that Walker would want his own two high schoolers to receive a good education from well trained, well educated, well paid teachers. Or, do his kids go to a private school? I don't know. But, that is what could happen if education and teachers become disrespected. What young person wants to spend five years learning and preparing for a profession that is not respected by our state's highest official?

Only the rich will be able to afford a good education for their children by sending them to private schools. Do we want this elitist attitude? Too many good, smart people have been educated in public schools.

MOST Creative Writing Class

Thanks to all my creative writing students this semester:) I will SO miss first hour with you all, and you surely did yourselves proud on your final projects---the movie, the readings at the coffee shop with bongos and everything! Wow. It only occurred to me after I got home why you were all laughing when I was going to read a poem about my dogs. How could I forget about the standing joke about me throwing the puppy out the upstairs window when I was two?

In honor of you all, here is the song I wrote for you that is to be sung to the tune of "Winter Wonderland."

Tiffany sings, oh so loudly

While Grant drones, monotonely

Megan G. says, "That's enough,"

And Paige says, "Hey, shut up,"

In my MOST creative writing class.

Amanda draws, 'cause writing's a bother

And Daniel writes about his mother

Taylor puts her work off

While Emily doth scoff

In my MOST creative writing class

In the back, Samantha is texting

to Meg P. who's visiting Hollywood

If you look close, Caleb is dozing

And Anthony is late and in "a mood."

Erin says, "I saw a movie,"

And Sophia says, "I'm from Germany"

And Nick takes it all in

And sits there with a grin

In my MOST creative writing class!

Thank you for the great semester!

Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie

Finals week is next week, and this semester of Creative Writing will soon be a memory. A good one, at that. This year I've had an interesting mix of students, all of whom can write, despite what they say about themselves.