Whiffle this year

I would personally like to find the Texas State Legislator who proposed the school year change that pushed us past Memorial Day and beat him/her silly with a whiffle bat. I feel like I am torturing these kids and myself. They are so far gone right now that I am just a glorified babysitter. Final Exam? Hee hee hee. I swear I am dumbing it down on a daily basis. My kids are losing brain cells by the class period. Whiffle, whiffle, whiffle!!! Whap! Whap! Whap!

Wonder where your students will be in 10 years?

My sister had to go to the pharmacy to get a prescription filled for her cat. When she gave the young woman at the counter the presciption, she was asked for the patient's birthdate. My sister explained that she didn't know because it was for her cat. The woman looked at her quizzically and asked her if her cat had ever filled her presciptions there before. At that moment my sister couldn't hold it together any longer and started laughing. When the poor girl started to ask for the cat's phone number, she collapsed in hysterics. My sister felt really bad for laughing but I am just a little concerned that this person is working in a pharmacy.

Next Year

Middle ground. I can survive without constant peaks and I know the pitfalls of this profession are the unavoidable valleys you run into working with kids. But why can't I achieve a middle ground? Had several weeks of real excitement about next year because I had been told that I could teach a history class and probably some AP classes. This week, belated news that they really wanted me to stay with the 9th graders. Didn't tell me until I had heard it from several other people who had seen the master schedule already. It felt like damage control to me. It probably would have stung less if I hadn't been told from another teacher that they'd just hired a teacher for that position from our feeder middle school. Sigh. OK, I can understand. I am good with ESL and SPED kids. I also know that I tend to get certain kids because I have a good reputation with handling some of the more difficult kids. But come on. Throw me a bone. Throw me some nerds. Please rescue me from freshmen. They are really different now and as any teacher knows, they are "YOUR KIDS" this time of year. But I keep thinking back to October when I had over 170 "STUDENTS" and would have walked out the door if the opportunity had presented itself. Opportunity meaning the ability to survive w/o living out of my car of course. I know I can go home for the summer, take some good classes and recharge those educational batteries. I just don't know if I have the edumacational battery life to put up with another first 6 weeks like I had last year. Too many days of Death Valley. How about a few more days of Hill Country?

Zen and the Art of Biting your Tongue

Designer Jane started telling me about her vacation plans today as if she had never attempted to bite my head off the other day. In the middle of all her jet-setting info, she drops the bomb that her mother is pregnant and that Jane is devastated. Besides the fact that Jane's a freshman in high school and she's probably horrified by the idea that her mother might be having sex, Jane is suddenly confronted with competition. My little Jane has been an only child up until now. Things are gonna change. I sympathized nicely with her and she wished me a good weekend as she walked out the door. Oh well, at least I am a favored chew toy. Glad I was able to not say what I really wanted to say the other day. Just keep chanting, "Summer, summer, summer."

Uncomfortable silence

Some quiet rumors had been floating around that we would have a new department head next year and that the announcement would be made during out meeting today. With the arrival of both our regular AP and the "never seen before in our meeting" principal, we figured some news was about to be broken. Nice nice was made, congrats on the hard work preparing for TAKS were showered and then our dept. head announced she was leaving the school completely because she had decided in Oct. that she could no longer work under the current administration. Silence. Silence. Silence. Introduction of new dept. head. Nice, nice, nice. Everyone have a good day. A massive rush by some befuddled teachers out the door. Boy, I can't wait to see how the next few weeks play out.

Four more weeks to go

Yesterday one of my favorite trust-funded, designer-clothed students was in quite a funk. You could tell just by looking that something was wrong with her. I asked her to come outside and asked if she was okay because I was a little worried about her. Her so lovely response, " Why should you care? I don't care about you. I don't care about any teachers. In fact, I hate all teachers. All I care about is the grade." Well now. That's quite a verbally aggressive tantrum for first period on a Tuesday. I backed up several feet, put my hands up in surrender and told her, "Well I apologize if I am invading your personal space here but I will not apologize for caring about my students." "I guess we're done with this conversation." Today I didn't make eye contact or even look in her direction. Maybe I'll surrepticiously check on her tomorrow. I know it's not proper monitoring of my kids but it's too late in this year of years to get chewed on again. Call me the dog toy of freshmen.

Cool video

Cool video.

It's Friday Night and I am bored Tag

1. The Godfather (1972)-I am more impressed by this every time I see it.
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)It's my ring tone.
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Schindler’s List (1993)
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) It makes me sad.
8.The Empire Strikes Back (1980) I have never seen all of Star Wars however.
9. Casablanca (1942)
10. Seven Samurai (1954)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) I am addicted to the extended version. Hello Viggo.
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Goodfellas (1990)
16. Cidade de Deus (2002)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Rember when Harrison Ford was likeable? Sigh.
18. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
19. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
20. The Usual Suspects (1995)
21. Psycho (1960) Still freaks me out.
22. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
23. Fight Club (1999) Dark but actually amusing.
24. Citizen Kane (1941)
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Scary, scary, scary
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. Memento (2000)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
30. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
31. The Matrix (1999)
32. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
33. There Will Be Blood (2007)Uh no. Look at title.
34. Se7en (1995) EEWWWW
35. Apocalypse Now (1979) I don't get it.
36.Taxi Driver (1976)
37. American Beauty (1999)
38. Léon (1994)
39. Vertigo (1958) Youngd Jimmy Stewart gives the heebie jeebies
40. Amelie (2001)-I love this movie.
41. American History X (1998)
42. No Country for Old Men (2007)
43. The Departed (2006)
44. Paths of Glory (1957)
45. M (1931)
46. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) It is incredible.
47. Chinatown (1974)
48. The Third Man (1949)
49. Leben der Anderen, Das (2006)
50. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(2004)
51. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
52. Alien (1979)
53. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
54. Laberinto del fauno, El (2006)
55. The Shining (1980) -scary, scary, scary
56. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
57. The Pianist (2002)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) Niiii
60. Forrest Gump (1994)
61. Saving Private Ryan (1998)-kinda wish I hadn't, still unsettled by opening scenes
.62. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) rr rrrr
63. L.A. Confidential (1997)-messy but good
64. Boot, Das (1981)
65. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. Untergang, Der (2004)
68. Aliens (1986)
69. The Maltese Falcon (1941)-he's such a bad boy
70. Raging Bull (1980)
71. Metropolis (1927)
72. Rashômon (1950)
73. Terminator 2: Judgment Day(1991)-Too scary!!!
74. Modern Times (1936)
75. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
.76. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) ok but I've enjoyed other musicals better
77. Sin City (2005)-eewww
78. Rebecca (1940)-7th grade honors English requirement. Thanks Mrs. Peters.
79. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
80. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
81. All About Eve (1950)
82. Some Like It Hot (1959)
83. City Lights (1931)
84. Amadeus (1984)-Oh god, it was also our Senior play. Gag!!!Rock me Amadeus.
85. Vita è bella, La (1997)
86. On the Waterfront (1954)
87. The Great Escape (1963)-my Dad's favorite.
88. Touch of Evil (1958)
89. The Prestige (2006)-book was better though I like me some Hugh Jackman. Yo Wolverine.
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
91. Jaws (1975)-I had nightmare's and I was 9.
92. Full Metal Jacket (1987)-my brother's favorite. Another I don't get it.
93. The Sting (1973)-charming
94. Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)
95. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
96. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
97. The Apartment (1960)
98. Braveheart (1995)-I can't handle his macho blather.
99. Blade Runner (1982)
100. The Great Dictator (1940)
101. Strangers on a Train (1951)
102. Batman Begins (2005)
103. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
104. Ladri di biciclette (1948)
105. Salaire de la peur, Le (1953) Wages of Fear
106. High Noon (1952)
107. Ran (1985)
108. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)Ewoks?
109. The Big Sleep (1946)
110. The Wizard of Oz (1939) My favorite next to #4
111. Notorious (1946)
112. Back to the Future (1985)
113. Fargo (1996)-Don't normally do edgy but I laughed at the woodchipper scene.
114. Oldboy (2003)
115. Unforgiven (1992)-Another wish I hadn;t seen though I love Morgan Freeman and Clint.
116. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
117. Donnie Darko (2001)Why?
118. Ratatouille (2007) Not worth the hype.
119. Mononoke-hime (1997)
120. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
121. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
122. Yojimbo (1961)
123. Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)
124. The Green Mile (1999)
125. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
126. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
127. Notti di Cabiria, Le (1957)
128. Gladiator (2000)
129. Battaglia di Algeri, La (1966) The Battle of Algiers.
130. Annie Hall (1977)
131. Die Hard (1988) -I admit it.
132. Into the Wild (2007)
133. Ben-Hur (1959)
134. The Deer Hunter (1978)
135. The Sixth Sense (1999) Still spooky.
136. It Happened One Night (1934)-This is so sweet.
137. The General (1927)-I had a crush on Buster Keaton until I realized he was my probably older than my grandfather.
138. Platoon (1986)
139. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
140. Life of Brian (1979) I'm Brian! No, I'm Brian.
141. The Killing (1956)
142. Smultronstället (1957)
143. Amores perros (2000)
144. Finding Nemo (2003)
145. Diaboliques, Les (1955)
146. The Incredibles (2004) I think I like this more every time I see it.
147. V for Vendetta (2005)
148. The Wild Bunch (1969)
149. Heat (1995)
150. Children of Men (2006)
151. Brief Encounter (1945)
152. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
153. Juno (2007)
154. The Princess Bride (1987)-Inconceivable!
155. 8½ (1963)
156. The Graduate (1967)
157. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
158. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
59. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
160. The Big Lebowski (1998)
161. Crash (2004/I)
162. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
163. Stand by Me (1986)-river Phoenix mso young makes me sad.
164. Gandhi (1982)
165. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
166. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
167. Snatch. (2000)
168. Harvey (1950)I do like this one.
169. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
170. The African Queen (1951) They did a great job together.
171. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
172. The Thing (1982)
173. Trainspotting (1996)
174. Gone with the Wind (1939) -The book, the movie.. divine...
175. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)=liked the book better.
176. Wo hu cang long (2000)
177. Belle et la bête, La (1946)
178. The Gold Rush (1925)
179. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) surprising movie
180. Groundhog Day (1993) Hello Mr. Tobolosky!!!
181. The Conversation (1974)
182. American Gangster (2007)
183. Scarface (1983)-only because my students were so enamored. Yuck!!!
184. Patton (1970)
185. Duck Soup (1933)
186. Toy Story (1995)
187. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
188. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
189. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
190. The Terminator (1984)
191. Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das (1920)
192. Sleuth (1972)
193. The Hustler (1961)
194. Umberto D. (1952)
195. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
196. Stalker (1979)
197. Glory (1989)-I did teach 8th grade US History.
198. Ed Wood (1994)
199. King Kong (1933)
200. Grindhouse (2007)
201. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
202. The Exorcist (1973)bad teenage mistake.
203. The Lion King (1994) 1 1/2 is better.
204. Hotaru no haka (1988)
205. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
206. Spartacus (1960)
207. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)-really affected me as a 9th grader.
208. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
209. The Lost Weekend (1945)
210. Stalag 17 (1953)
211. Magnolia (1999)
212. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
213. Lola rennt (1998) Run Lola Run
214. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
215. The Philadelphia Story (1940)-another favorite
216. Frankenstein (1931)
217. Out of the Past (1947)
218. Big Fish (2003)-I own it but have never seen it. lol.
219. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
220. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
221. Casino (1995)
222. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
223. Toy Story 2 (1999)-better than the first
224. Mystic River (2003)-no bad things to kids movies
225. Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)
226. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
227. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
228. Hot Fuzz (2007)
229. A Christmas Story (1983)
230. Ikiru (1952)
231. Mou gaan dou (2002)
232. Manhattan (1979)_I love the soundtrack better than the movie.
233. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
234. Young Frankenstein (1974)-"Blue car!" Sound of horses neighing.... A private joke.
235. Dial M for Murder (1954)
236. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
237. Rope (1948)238. Once (2006)2
39. Roman Holiday (1953)
240. Quatre cents coups, Les (1959) The 400 Blows
241. The Searchers (1956)
242. In Cold Blood (1967)
243. Ying xiong (2002)
244. His Girl Friday (1940)
245. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
246. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
247. Samouraï, Le (1967)
248. Strada, La (1954)
249. Harold and Maude (1971)


Bold for see, Italics for partly seen. Feel free to add or delete.