Watching the 9th Ann

Watching the 9th Annual BET awards, and the Michael Jackson opening tribute got me kinda misty...

RIP, Michael.

The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back

Is running out the clock

Is running out the clock till summer arrives...come on, summer!

And now, the end is near...

(this was cross-posted to my other blog, located here.)

...and so we face, the final Friday. The grades were due in yesterday, so the DOE effectively left us with a day of freedom, complete and absolute, where there was Nothing You Absolutely Had To Do.

What did we do instead?

Some of us gave questionnaires to the students in our classes. Others threw pizza parties, complete with movies (thank heaven for Blockbuster Video and the Queens Public Library). Donuts abounded. Soda too. Teachers' faces - mine included - are beginning to unclench, finally.

Looking back on the semester and the year as a whole, I think that overall, this was a successful year. A lot of kids worked, grew, were pushed to their limits and prevailed. Some didn't, sometimes as a result of personal problems outside of school, other times because of issues with the class or the school, and still others faced some challenging learning problems. Some came back from such challenges and made it through.

What comes next?

I asked for 10th-grade again for next year and got it. The freshman class we got in this past year appears to be exceptional, and I am excited about working with them in September. Hopefully, I won't let them down.

I am disappointed about the handling of summer school situation, but shit happens and you have to move on. So I will be free this summer, while Ting and Michael spend the entirety of July in St. Mary's Hospital. Lotsa free time for me, there...but I am not sure I am looking forward to it. I want to work, to teach, to grow and find new ways of thinking about curriculum and bring it to a group of kids who I might be able to inspire to learn. Math is a beautiful thing, if taught correctly. My goal is to do that, and to be the best at that in my school.

Next week brings us the Awards Ceremonies, certificates of achievement we hand out to deserving 10th-graders, then my Mentee's oral defense -- we are a portfolio-based school -- followed by the Regents (ugh). Then a going away party, and we are done.

It is going to be over suddenly, and I find the summer stretched out in front of me with no thesis to write and no mother to look out for and visit. Right now, it seems like a vast void to fill. I need to find projects to keep me busy.

I will miss a lot of my kids who are moving on to 11th grade, many of whom I have had since they first came to this school, others I met only this year and have come to love. I wish them well, and I look forward to the next batch of kids.

why, oh why

why, oh why, do I find "The Backyardigans" so mesmerizing?

This is perfect (via stickycomics.com)

Link to Christian's Home Page:

Happy Birthday, Mom

My mother would have turned 71 today, leading me to all sorts of cascading thoughts:

• My original family is gone, for all intents and purposes, except of course for Pop, Mike and Titi Anna. I really don't know how to classify my cousins Ralph (with whom I grew up for a time) and Ray.

• On the other hand, my current family, although smaller, is wonderful. This is specifically due to Ting and Michael (my son, who turns 3 in two days). My mom would have been happy with this.

• Tomorrow marks 27 years since first entered the Air Force and changed my life in all sorts of ways irrevocably.
  

• I am close to completing my 5th year of teaching Math. I love my job and consider myself extremely lucky to be teaching at my school, where my mojo runs high, my opinions are valued, and my students are generally great. My methods, admittedly unorthodox, work for me. (I have another blog about this topic alone, which I neglect far too much.)

• There will never be enough time to learn all the things I want to learn, do all I want to do, and relearn all the things I want to remember. Sigh.

• I will never stop missing my mother, but I need to focus on my immediate family. Onwards into the future....and I love you, Mom. Happy Birthday.
  

Backyardigans - Almost Everything is Boinga, Boinga, Boinga - I can't get this song out of head!

PS. The Mama Martian is voiced by Alicia Keys.

PPS. I really like this Noggin show.

A video for my birthday, from Karl

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Happy Birthday/Anniversary/Homecoming

Well, we managed to converge three events into one day, creating a perfect storm of activity: my birthday, Ting's and my anniversary, and Michael's homecoming after surgery. I am going to be leaving soon to get them home...then I will go to sleep.