c a n ' t r e s p o n d

Ugh... Mr. Meluso is soooooo swamped and I really need to be able to respond to blogs here at school. I normally respond at home, but now when I get home I want to dip in the pool - to numb my itchy arms and legs - then nap with Millie to avoid the dreaded 9.00 pm bed time. Grrrrrr.....

So Navajo and Simplicity, I have a response so grab me in class - figuratively Navajo, not literally....

Defeated already...

Tried - like other geeky co-workers (I'm talking to you Meineke!) - to work on the new gradebook portal and I could not login. Considering I was the trainer for the department for this, this is pathetic. I have also been unable to edit a thing in PBWorks from home and I have been trying for a week. Grrr... But what is really going on here is procrastination.

Two years ago my master's thesis was accepted for presentation at a conference held by the School Of Visual Arts in NYC. I was the only high school teacher among college professors in the arts and humanities. It was a great experience. After my presentation, one individual from Toronto had a few critical things for me. I got the distinct impression he did not like the conclusions I drew in my paper. Not that I think he was wrong per se, just that we do not agree.

So I was surprised to get a forwarded e-mail for a proposal of papers for a colloquium at the Ontario College of Art & Design in October. Guess he thought my paper would go well. So I have a great idea for a direction to move in from my original paper, but have been procrastinating writing the 300 word proposal. Don't know why... it doesn't have to be a completed work. The session is informal and they can be works-in-progress. And just like my show submissions, I know I may not get in, but jeez...

So I tried to delay it by working on school stuff... and that did not work out... so I think you and I both know what this means....

Heading off to write that proposal... sigh.....

Deered...

Quite appropriate, that one. At Miller-Kingsland on Saturday I found deer scat - common round here. But there was something different. Lumps of poop that were the size of large pine cones, segmented into pieces the size of the deer scat but still stuck together. What was it? My parents live around the block form there and dad claims he saw a coyote. But there are also bear around - saw a cub in my backyard last year.

So, I went online and looked up poop. I know, life doesn't get much more exciting than this kiddos! Well, after careful analysis of many images of doo-doo - in shovels, pointed at, next to rulers for reference, in HUGE piles - I have figured out that it is bear poopie. And it was fairly fresh.

Now, I also have these spots on my that are a result of my allergic reaction to being stung by that nasty bumble bee. And the spots are not looking better. As a matter of fact, they are going from pink to magenta to purplish.

So this little project of mine is becoming quite an adventure. But does the threat of bee stings and bear encounters mean anything to me? Hell no! My sister drove by the house recently and said it looked amazing! Just what I needed to hear. Planned on going by there for more punishment - I mean, work - on Friday but I see rain in the forecast. Bummer...

Oh, and I have one person signed up for the trip to Paris. So people, let's get saving and sign up!!! S'il vous plait...

Brudd...

So I thought I would use Blogger security codes for the titles of my entries...

I am itching like crazy!!! These hives are sooooo bad and I have an in-service tomorrow. Thinking of wearing shorts to it so that the male teachers who laughed at me last year at a meeting will think I have something contagious and not come near me. Oh, did I forget to write about that incident? Silly me. I'm feeling kind of salty so here goes...

At the last union meeting of the school year, we buy ourselves lots of pizza so it is a lunch get together and a meeting. Birds of a feather flock together so I am at a table in the senior cafe with art and music people and a couple of other great fellows and gals. Across the room, a table of all majority-testosterone-possessing teachers - aka male. All of a sudden I notice one-by-one they turn to look at me and my two female friends from the department. And they are laughing while looking at us or me. Couldn't tell exactly which of us got the gaze. No, none of us had cheese dripping from our chins or a need to use a tissue, if you know what I mean... So, I stared back for a bit, then went on with our business of enjoying each other...

My question... why must some people be this immature? No idea. But I have to say I have worked in a few different fields - publishing, paparazzi, a major sports organization - and in four other school districts. Never have I encountered this type of behaviour. Did it bother me? Well, they aren't my kind of people, so no. I don't really fit in with most people and I tend to stick with those who accept me for the unique person I am. Hence, the reason you will never see me take lunch in the teacher's cafe. But, if a teacher behaves this immaturely towards one of his colleagues - and this was a whole table of them - who's saying they behave maturely in the classroom? Just wondering...

Now, on the other hand, SUPER excited for the new school year and meeting three periods of new Photo I kids and seeing the Photo II & III kids. I just hope they are all as excited as I am...

Gotta go soak in the pool now and numb these damn hives before I scratch the bejeezus out of them!

Enjoy the picture of me with my "cutest baby in the world" niece Lucy...

Mistaken Identity...

So after some research, apparently certain bumble bees do not sting. The rest do. And the kicker... they do not have barbs on the stingers, so when the pull out the stinger, it does not break off, meaning they can sting you again and again! And the stings after the first are worse because there are now antibodies present, making the reaction worse! Ugh... and those who are allergic - me - can get a variety of reactions. Me, well, those weren't varied bites on me from bedtime. They are hives. Apparently stage one allergic reaction involves swelling, redness and soreness at the location of the sting and hives that itch all over the body...

Oh, and did you know that heat and sweat can make you itch even more? Ugh..... time to go back in the freezing pool to numb myself!

Bees...

So I thought bumble bees did not sting. Not only was I wrong, but my thoughts regarding stinging once then dying was also incorrect.

But let me step back a bit... went to Miller-Kingsland to do more work. Decided to magnify the impact of my clean up by working on the road side of the fence. Clearing out the dead decorative grass blades, the weeds, the maple saplings and the poison and non-poison ivy. Looking smashing - sarcasm - with my lavender elbow length gardening gloves and my flourescent yellow safety vest, I was a gal on a mission. Make the people of my town say "wow" when they drive past this historic house. Instead, it ended with multiple "ow's" on my part. Only six more feet of frontage to go and a bumble bee swarms up from the depths, latches onto my face an inch from my mouth and stings! I swat, it latches onto my hand, bites and I get it off. I decide I should clean up, more out of defeat than tiredness. As I am putting the the debris in the bag, the f-er comes back for more. Latches onto my ankle and bites again! Same bee, three stings! What the heck? This meant war, and only one of us was going to come out alive. I pummeled the bee.

My ride came to get me and that was that.I may have had a swollen lip, but I won... or did I? As of right now, my ankle hurts like the dickens... I limp and it is real red and it has been almost 24 hours. To add insult to injury, a bug found its way into my bed last night and bit me repeatedly on my upper legs. I am insanely allergic to mosquitoes and other sundry bugs and I may have to cut all my nails off to keep from scratching....

But I have to walk down the hill today to work on a clean up project at one of the gas stations. I would probably just soak in the cold pool and numb the bites all day, but hubby and I are usually two of the only ones that regularly show up for these volunteer things. And of course, I am just dying to go back to M-K to finish up the roadside job. I am such a glutton for punishment!

On a better note... developed the last roll of film from Portland and it is super! I shot some covert images at the legendary Burnside skatepark with my Yashica 35mm and some great stuff around the bridges. Can't wait to make the contact print. Also printed in the darkroom in the basement for about an hour last evening. The negatives I was printing are not good but I managed something. I have to say, I do not like the Kodak filters. I am just not getting the contrast from a #5 that I expect. I may have to buy 3"x3" Ilfords to fit my enlarger. We shall see...

Priorities...

Noticing a bunch of hullabaloo on the internet and the news about teachers conversing with students on the internet. hmmm......

Some thoughts:

• Many of us do lead lives that are positive and the classroom is not always the place to discuss non-subject things. Just not enough time. You will never find a picture of me at a wild party drunk or drugged out of my mind because I DO NOT DO THAT!!!! And perhaps it is good for a student to know that about a teacher... I tend to be of the practice what you preach way of thinking when it comes to this.
• Perhaps the reason for a lack of respect for teachers is the fact that many people - media, politicians, etc. - forget that teachers are people who are members of their community, part of a family, have friends, i.e. real people with real lives. We are not money grubbing thieves who steal from the tax-payers and crawl into a closet in our classrooms at the end of the day, to re-emerge in the morning. Knowing a little bit about us - note: a little, not everything - may break down some barriers.
• I like my former students to know some things about me that can enlighten them. For instance: I travel (not to the shore and Florida!), I read, I volunteer, I have friends of all genders, races, ages, and sexual orientations.
• I also do my own art out of work and like them to see it. I am a firm believer that you have to love and practice what you teach. That is most certainly conveyed to the students and helps them see the worth of what you are teaching.
• Keeping in touch can help in keeping an eye on those who need watching. I don't mean that in a Big Brother kind of way. But, just because the vulnerable student graduated, does not mean he is ok. He/she might benefit from knowing that there are still people who care about him/her.

A lot of the stuff I have read on this topic blames the teachers for being immature or trying to be buddies with students. One thing NEVER mentioned is that teachers did not cross a line of professionalism by becoming involved in students' lives first. When people started relying on the school system to raise the children, teach them the life lessons they were neglecting, making sure they were fed, watching for signs of depression and drug/alcohol abuse, and holding the educators legally liable for all the above, something in the game changed. Teachers no longer were merely responsible for passing on one's knowledge in a subject area. We were expected to adjust our relationships to the students in such a way that we could also be surrogate guardians. The good teachers are looked up to, not as buddies. But sometimes students confuse the two. And of course, some teachers don't know the difference. But they are not the majority.

I certainly do not mind looking out for students - especially since some at-home situations can't be blamed on a parent or child - but I don't like it when teachers who care about kids are made out to look bad. These relationships are just so complicated sometimes. In many cases, it helps to keep in touch. The students understand that we do genuinely care about them and their time with us is that much more meaningful. They know they will not be forgotten once July 1 comes around. Perhaps what needs to be done is some addressing regarding how to place parameters on keeping in touch. As for me, you will not find a picture of me with a beer - thought, note, I am legally allowed to have a drink - I do not partake in illegal activities that will find their way onto the internet, and I dump the "friends" whose posts are offensive. If I don't want former students seeing them, odds are it's not a person I really want to be friends with anyway...

End of rant... now if only the sun would come out...