So, I still don't have a computer (that's a ridiculously long and angry story for another day, if it ever ends), so stop sending me PMs and things if you expect a response in any short order.
Anyway, I've had a pretty looong week. Started feeling overwhelmed with all the work I have coming up and the limited time in which to do it around Wednesday. Wednesday morning I used my school's parent connection to email an introduction to all the parents of the kids in my classes. Had a few responses, most of them encouraging, and one from a very angry mother whose son had failed a quiz I gave on Monday when my mentor was absent and her son's class would not settle down so I could teach.
Let me explain: at the beginning of the day I wrote a quiz just in case students decided they didn't need to participate in class for the day since my mentor was not there. At the beginning of each class period I gave two options: we can follow the schedule set for today, or we can all sit quietly and take a quiz over reading that had been assigned over the weekend. The material covered in this reading was easy stuff -- very basic ecology, and most classes had finished their notes over the chapter on Friday. The quiz was over vocab. and key concepts all printed in bold so anyone reading would know it was important information. I really don't have trouble with these kids, but the presence of a substitute is basically an invitation to push the boundaries set in a classroom. All but one class stayed focused and worked hard, asked questions, every class flowed smoothly. In the class that took a quiz, all but one student failed it. Oops.
So, this mom was upset because she had either been told by her child or just assumed that I intentionally gave an impossible quiz as punishment for the acts of just a few students, which was untrue. One, the quiz was (as I said) basic information. Two, if just a few students had been creating the problem, I could easily have dealt with them. My mentor replied to the email explaining that I am a teacher just like she is, and that I have every right to administer any assignment I deem appropriate. The mother's reply basically insinuated that she believed that I, as an intern (she actually italicized the word every time she used it) did not and should not have the authority to give any assignment that would so harshly affect students grades.
So, yeah, it was pretty huge blow to the old self-esteem. So, my roommates invited me out for dinner and (what else?) alcohol, to take the weight of the day off my shoulders.
Could my day get worse? You bet. Sure I had a delicious giant chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry, but what did I discover on attempting to leave the restaurant?
Why, A FLAT TIRE! (here's where the pictures come in):
So, we called my roommate and boyfriend, who had taken another car and already left, and told them to come back. The boyfriend and I then took turns lifting the car up on the jack. For a while we couldn't get the jack to move, and then realized his girlfriend was sitting in the front passenger seat, weighing down that side of the car.
The boyfriend had been told and assured us that we didn't need to loosen the lugnuts before lifting the car up (must remember to hurt whoever lied to him later), so we took turns trying in vain to loosen the nuts while the tire was in the air.
Then some random guys showed up and offered to help. By this time we had lowered the car back onto the ground and were still struggling to loosen the nuts (we had a ****ty tire iron, too). One of the guys made a big show of displaying his muscles, only to fail miserably at tire removal. Then his significantly scrawnier friend gave it a try and succeeded, much to our delight.
So, we put the spare on, laugh about our adventure, and part ways. One roommate and her boyfriend in their car, other roommate and I in my car. We are merging on to a street not far from the restaurant when my roommate suggests we put air in the spare tire. At roughly the same moment, the spare goes flat and we are forced to pull over on a poorly lit little road where the same people keep driving by and staring at us as I fight the urge to chew out the woman at AAA who is not going fast enough.
Roommate calls other roommate and asks her to come back to pick us up, because we do not want to have to hitch a ride with the tow truck driver who is on his way. What follows are pictures of us waiting for the tow truck:
Watching the car from the roommate's car:
Roommate telling her boyfriend we might die:
Car:
My roommate kept trying to take my picture and I kept trying to shield my eyes from the ****ING BRIGHT FLASH.
So, while we were sitting and waiting, we saw the tow truck pull into the custard stand across the street. A friend of ours was over at said stand, so we called her and told her to point the truck in our direction.
Success!
So, first we used my roommate's air compressor to try to air up the spare, but apparently I had knocked it off the rim.
I was flabbergasted.
But our friends came over to offer some support.
So we took (more) awkward pictures.
And then, of course, we had to throw up our letters in front of my car:
Finally the driver hooked up the car and agreed to tow it to a nearby Wal-Mart where we would just leave it overnight. Driving to the Wal-Mart we passed a gas station. =(
We got there, but the tow truck and my car were nowhere to be found.
So I cried.
And then we tried to pass the time by being idiots:
And then he came back!
This was printed on the side of the truck, and it made me sad.
So then, car unloaded and locked, we said our goodbyes and went back home.
Then I spent three hours the next day at Wal-Mart waiting for the tire to be fixed. There was nothing to be done for the spare apparently, and I haven't bought one because Wal-Mart apparently didn't have the right kind (mostly I wanted to get the **** out of there, the tire guy kept hitting on me). They pulled a HUGE drill bit out of my tire, but threw it away before I could get it. =(
Anyway, I've had a pretty looong week. Started feeling overwhelmed with all the work I have coming up and the limited time in which to do it around Wednesday. Wednesday morning I used my school's parent connection to email an introduction to all the parents of the kids in my classes. Had a few responses, most of them encouraging, and one from a very angry mother whose son had failed a quiz I gave on Monday when my mentor was absent and her son's class would not settle down so I could teach.
Let me explain: at the beginning of the day I wrote a quiz just in case students decided they didn't need to participate in class for the day since my mentor was not there. At the beginning of each class period I gave two options: we can follow the schedule set for today, or we can all sit quietly and take a quiz over reading that had been assigned over the weekend. The material covered in this reading was easy stuff -- very basic ecology, and most classes had finished their notes over the chapter on Friday. The quiz was over vocab. and key concepts all printed in bold so anyone reading would know it was important information. I really don't have trouble with these kids, but the presence of a substitute is basically an invitation to push the boundaries set in a classroom. All but one class stayed focused and worked hard, asked questions, every class flowed smoothly. In the class that took a quiz, all but one student failed it. Oops.
So, this mom was upset because she had either been told by her child or just assumed that I intentionally gave an impossible quiz as punishment for the acts of just a few students, which was untrue. One, the quiz was (as I said) basic information. Two, if just a few students had been creating the problem, I could easily have dealt with them. My mentor replied to the email explaining that I am a teacher just like she is, and that I have every right to administer any assignment I deem appropriate. The mother's reply basically insinuated that she believed that I, as an intern (she actually italicized the word every time she used it) did not and should not have the authority to give any assignment that would so harshly affect students grades.
So, yeah, it was pretty huge blow to the old self-esteem. So, my roommates invited me out for dinner and (what else?) alcohol, to take the weight of the day off my shoulders.
Could my day get worse? You bet. Sure I had a delicious giant chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry, but what did I discover on attempting to leave the restaurant?
Why, A FLAT TIRE! (here's where the pictures come in):
So, we called my roommate and boyfriend, who had taken another car and already left, and told them to come back. The boyfriend and I then took turns lifting the car up on the jack. For a while we couldn't get the jack to move, and then realized his girlfriend was sitting in the front passenger seat, weighing down that side of the car.
The boyfriend had been told and assured us that we didn't need to loosen the lugnuts before lifting the car up (must remember to hurt whoever lied to him later), so we took turns trying in vain to loosen the nuts while the tire was in the air.
Then some random guys showed up and offered to help. By this time we had lowered the car back onto the ground and were still struggling to loosen the nuts (we had a ****ty tire iron, too). One of the guys made a big show of displaying his muscles, only to fail miserably at tire removal. Then his significantly scrawnier friend gave it a try and succeeded, much to our delight.
So, we put the spare on, laugh about our adventure, and part ways. One roommate and her boyfriend in their car, other roommate and I in my car. We are merging on to a street not far from the restaurant when my roommate suggests we put air in the spare tire. At roughly the same moment, the spare goes flat and we are forced to pull over on a poorly lit little road where the same people keep driving by and staring at us as I fight the urge to chew out the woman at AAA who is not going fast enough.
Roommate calls other roommate and asks her to come back to pick us up, because we do not want to have to hitch a ride with the tow truck driver who is on his way. What follows are pictures of us waiting for the tow truck:
Watching the car from the roommate's car:
Roommate telling her boyfriend we might die:
Car:
My roommate kept trying to take my picture and I kept trying to shield my eyes from the ****ING BRIGHT FLASH.
So, while we were sitting and waiting, we saw the tow truck pull into the custard stand across the street. A friend of ours was over at said stand, so we called her and told her to point the truck in our direction.
Success!
So, first we used my roommate's air compressor to try to air up the spare, but apparently I had knocked it off the rim.
I was flabbergasted.
But our friends came over to offer some support.
So we took (more) awkward pictures.
And then, of course, we had to throw up our letters in front of my car:
Finally the driver hooked up the car and agreed to tow it to a nearby Wal-Mart where we would just leave it overnight. Driving to the Wal-Mart we passed a gas station. =(
We got there, but the tow truck and my car were nowhere to be found.
So I cried.
And then we tried to pass the time by being idiots:
And then he came back!
This was printed on the side of the truck, and it made me sad.
So then, car unloaded and locked, we said our goodbyes and went back home.
Then I spent three hours the next day at Wal-Mart waiting for the tire to be fixed. There was nothing to be done for the spare apparently, and I haven't bought one because Wal-Mart apparently didn't have the right kind (mostly I wanted to get the **** out of there, the tire guy kept hitting on me). They pulled a HUGE drill bit out of my tire, but threw it away before I could get it. =(