i feel the need to write an update, but i can't really say that i have much excitement to write about. here are some thoughts in random order.
the right guy won american idol, and coacher and i are thrilled. we feel that this proves that the real america isn't into perversion and crazy-weird high drama. we might be reading too much into it...on a related note, the show was pretty good, minus queen latifa's outfit and that crazy-long tongue hangin' out of the KISS guy's mouth the entire performance. (bonus: paula didn't speak!)
track and baseball seasons are over. i was actually a little giddy on the bus after our last meet (i love coaching track, but a few kids with attitudes or poor work ethic can ruin it for me...don't tell anyone was giddy about the end). baseball's end wasn't as good for coacher, whose team lost by 1 in the district playoffs. i will leave the details to him if he wants to share, but i will tell you this: there is this one baseball mom who is a real treat to be around (<---dripping with sarcasm).
speaking of treats, apparently there is a knock-off brand of spam called treat. (is that even possible to have a knock-off brand off unidentifiable meat?) coacher claims that it's yummy and, sadly, we now have some in our kitchen.
and finally, i got to send some high school graduates off into the "real world" tuesday night. around 12 kids from my alternative program graduated, and it was a sight to see. i could have done without the obligatory graduation speeches, but watching them graduate was a must. i got a couple pretty heart-wrenching thank you letters from a few students who absolutely would not have made it without the program. BUT here is the sad part...one of my absolute FAVORITES (yes, i have favorites) didn't pass her test to graduate. let me tell you, telling her she didn't pass and therefore wouldn't graduate was the most heart-breaking thing i've done all year. she broke down into sobs and had to leave because she couldn't even talk. if you knew the girl, you would understand how much it hurt. (here's a glimpse: she lives by herself and passed up an opportunity to continue living with an awesome family in Texas just to pursue of graduating from our high school because she wanted to graduate from the same school her mother graduated from. she is awesomely sarcastic, and she became a Christian a few years back because of the awesome family with whom she lived. it's evident that God is working in her life. at graduation (she came to support classmates), she said that she had prayed and prayed and prayed that God would let her pass the test, but that if that wasn't the Lord's will she understood and would be okay. wow.)
on the other hand, i had another girl in my class who has basically half-hearted tried to get her work done the entire semester, and the final two days before graduation she spent all day in my room trying to complete all of the assignments she had neglected all semester. she didn't finish. she didn't graduate. she cried hard. big, rolling tears. i felt bad for her and tried to encourage her, but geezzz, i had been warning her all semester not to put things off. what's that saying? "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink..."
i'm thankful for the horses that drank this semester.
and finally...i still have 9 days of school left. ouch.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
oh monday
first conversation this morning:
boy who comes in every morning at 7:30: good morning, mrs. lotz. how are you?
me: good.
him: are you okay? you don't look like you got much sleep last night.
thanks.
(my eyes were red and lately i've felt like i could sleep for days...)
he is actually a really nice boy. sometimes things just don't come out right.
boy who comes in every morning at 7:30: good morning, mrs. lotz. how are you?
me: good.
him: are you okay? you don't look like you got much sleep last night.
thanks.
(my eyes were red and lately i've felt like i could sleep for days...)
he is actually a really nice boy. sometimes things just don't come out right.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
today
today was a good day!
today was a good day!
i don't think i had to tell even ONE person to stop talking and/or do the work.
AND there was dessert in the Teacher's "Lounge."
thank the Lord.
today was a good day!
i don't think i had to tell even ONE person to stop talking and/or do the work.
AND there was dessert in the Teacher's "Lounge."
thank the Lord.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
yesterday.
Yesterday
Oh, how I do not long for yesterday. (I mostly do this to vent, so pardon me...)
2nd block – Referral #1 was written. There is a young man, we’ll call him Jim. He has been a struggle since day 2. I tell him he needs to do his work, he glares at me with a look that could literally kill. Later I tell him again to stop talking and do his work. He glares again, then stares into space in defiance. I begin writing a referral…always nice to have it halfway written for the next episode. I look up. He’s texting (district policy says no phones from 8-2:50). I go to take it away. “It’s my mom,” he says. “Really? Well, she should know you can’t text, so I have to take your phone.” “Nope, you’re not taking my phone. I’ll just go to the office.” “Ok.” I finish writing the referral with phone details. He’s in ISS today.
3rd block – A boy walks in—we’ll call him Andy—and I tell him to go ahead and get his folder and get started on his work (which he knows to do, since we’ve been doing it since day 1). He blows up. Literally, starts yelling and telling me that I always pick on him. (Yes, I do, because he is always the one who isn’t doing what he’s supposed to do.) I send him to the hall, to which I take my time getting so that he will have some time to cool off.
“Now really, is this worth getting upset about?”
“Yes.”
“What’s so terrible that you need to blow up when I tell you to do what you’re supposed to do?”
“You’re always picking on me right when I sit down. I can’t even talk to people in class.”
“Well, you’re supposed to grab your stuff on the way into class, then go ahead and get started on the work. (He’s a senior and has only 7 more days to finish his credit recovery work, so yes, I am a slave-driver, but I’d like him to graduate. “And yes, I do pick on you, but I also ‘pick on’ people who aren’t doing their work, which is usually so-and-so and so-and-so, and you.”
Details about his work habits are discussed…
“What would be a better way to handle your frustration…I mean, erupting in anger can’t really be very helpful, can it?”
“No, but sometimes when you get onto me you are snappy and I just can’t handle the way you talk you very well. I don't mean to offend you...”
“I get snapped at every day. Do you think that it would do me much good if I blew up every time a kid snapped at me?”
“No…but like now, you’re talking to me in a soft voice.”
“And that is such a terrible way to talk? So what would be a better way to handle this?”
“You let me go to the counselor.”
“Andy, I have let you go to the counselor to work or talk 3 times in the last week.”
“No you haven’t.”
“Yes…”
He is yelling and pacing now… “If you knew the bad week I’ve had you would understand.”
“Ok, that’s important information. If you could explain that to me I would understand you better.”
He then goes on to explain that his girlfriend is in the hospital with an extra chromosome or something. I later got an email from our counselor, saying that the boy’s girlfriend or their baby-in-womb might have a serious problem. Well, that explains it. Andy later came back to apologize for his actions and for erupting, then to explain the situation.
“Wouldn’t it have been much easier if you would have explained that in the beginning? Now I understand…” Geez. Pray for them.
6th block – Referral #2 for Myspacing on district computers, which I have continually reminded the girl about. CONTINUALLY.
Referral #3 for a boy, we’ll call him Kyle. He was reading his leisure book, as he usually tries to do, and I took it away. (He should be working on math…). He said he wasn’t going to work on it, but I gave him a few minutes or so to reconsider. Instead, he took out his doodle book and began drawing. I told him he needed to work on his math. He got up, slammed his stuff in the stack by the wall, and walked out of the room, saying, “I’m dropping out.” To this, I had no response. I just acted like it didn’t happen. He explained himself in a note to the counselors. Something about it not being his fault. “People just don’t understand that he keeps knowledge in his head.” Oh, if that’s all it is then we should just go ahead and pass him through high school.
Only 18 days left. Not that I'm counting.
Oh, how I do not long for yesterday. (I mostly do this to vent, so pardon me...)
2nd block – Referral #1 was written. There is a young man, we’ll call him Jim. He has been a struggle since day 2. I tell him he needs to do his work, he glares at me with a look that could literally kill. Later I tell him again to stop talking and do his work. He glares again, then stares into space in defiance. I begin writing a referral…always nice to have it halfway written for the next episode. I look up. He’s texting (district policy says no phones from 8-2:50). I go to take it away. “It’s my mom,” he says. “Really? Well, she should know you can’t text, so I have to take your phone.” “Nope, you’re not taking my phone. I’ll just go to the office.” “Ok.” I finish writing the referral with phone details. He’s in ISS today.
3rd block – A boy walks in—we’ll call him Andy—and I tell him to go ahead and get his folder and get started on his work (which he knows to do, since we’ve been doing it since day 1). He blows up. Literally, starts yelling and telling me that I always pick on him. (Yes, I do, because he is always the one who isn’t doing what he’s supposed to do.) I send him to the hall, to which I take my time getting so that he will have some time to cool off.
“Now really, is this worth getting upset about?”
“Yes.”
“What’s so terrible that you need to blow up when I tell you to do what you’re supposed to do?”
“You’re always picking on me right when I sit down. I can’t even talk to people in class.”
“Well, you’re supposed to grab your stuff on the way into class, then go ahead and get started on the work. (He’s a senior and has only 7 more days to finish his credit recovery work, so yes, I am a slave-driver, but I’d like him to graduate. “And yes, I do pick on you, but I also ‘pick on’ people who aren’t doing their work, which is usually so-and-so and so-and-so, and you.”
Details about his work habits are discussed…
“What would be a better way to handle your frustration…I mean, erupting in anger can’t really be very helpful, can it?”
“No, but sometimes when you get onto me you are snappy and I just can’t handle the way you talk you very well. I don't mean to offend you...”
“I get snapped at every day. Do you think that it would do me much good if I blew up every time a kid snapped at me?”
“No…but like now, you’re talking to me in a soft voice.”
“And that is such a terrible way to talk? So what would be a better way to handle this?”
“You let me go to the counselor.”
“Andy, I have let you go to the counselor to work or talk 3 times in the last week.”
“No you haven’t.”
“Yes…”
He is yelling and pacing now… “If you knew the bad week I’ve had you would understand.”
“Ok, that’s important information. If you could explain that to me I would understand you better.”
He then goes on to explain that his girlfriend is in the hospital with an extra chromosome or something. I later got an email from our counselor, saying that the boy’s girlfriend or their baby-in-womb might have a serious problem. Well, that explains it. Andy later came back to apologize for his actions and for erupting, then to explain the situation.
“Wouldn’t it have been much easier if you would have explained that in the beginning? Now I understand…” Geez. Pray for them.
6th block – Referral #2 for Myspacing on district computers, which I have continually reminded the girl about. CONTINUALLY.
Referral #3 for a boy, we’ll call him Kyle. He was reading his leisure book, as he usually tries to do, and I took it away. (He should be working on math…). He said he wasn’t going to work on it, but I gave him a few minutes or so to reconsider. Instead, he took out his doodle book and began drawing. I told him he needed to work on his math. He got up, slammed his stuff in the stack by the wall, and walked out of the room, saying, “I’m dropping out.” To this, I had no response. I just acted like it didn’t happen. He explained himself in a note to the counselors. Something about it not being his fault. “People just don’t understand that he keeps knowledge in his head.” Oh, if that’s all it is then we should just go ahead and pass him through high school.
Only 18 days left. Not that I'm counting.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
FSBO
You are looking at the product of literally hundreds of hours of work. We should probably post the "before" pictures so you will see how far the house has come from the days of its wretched renters. Those might come next week. For now, if you know anyone who might be interested in buying a nice-looking house on 2 acres in Rogersville, please let us know. It has 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and hardwood floors throughout, and it's in the best school district around. We are asking $5,000 less than a realtor suggested, and we'd drop the price even more for someone who wants it.Gene and Ruthie Bybee are saints, by the way. They put in as many hours as we did, probably more. The house would look half as good without them. (But really, did we expect anything less of them? No.) And I think Ruthie has a career in "staging,"(as realtor-types call it) don't you?
I must say that the oven, along with the hardwood floors and huge yard, are my favorite pieces of this place. It is brown with blue-green accents, and it's called a "Modern Maid." Love it.
Friday, April 17, 2009
fenced in
the lotz household needs a recommendation for a fencing company to come build us a lovely 3-4 ft wooden fence. if you have suggestions, please let us know.
speaking of fences, quite a few of coacher's athletes have disregarded fences altogether, as evidenced by their high number of homeruns. freshmen, in particular, seem unphased by the presence of fences in the outfield...also, it's worth noting that mark queen hit a "bomb" at practice yesterday. you should ask him about it.
for those of you who don't know, coacher is doing a great job with his very young team so far this year. he's cool, calm, and collected (but also pretty hot in his baseball uniform).
Thursday, April 9, 2009
yesterday.
i have been promising some of Coacher's 2nd graders that i would bring banjo (kitty) to meet them sometime before the end of the year. yesterday was the day.
the day looked a little like this:
7:40 - at MSU to meet a student to make sure he had everything in order to take the GED. he was late.
8:10 - left the student alone to take his test. he's independent, so he wouldn't care if i was gone all day. went to the MSU library to print about 100-150 pages of articles about teenage pregnancy and absent fathers for a research proposal that needs to be turned in for editing tomorrow.
8:35 - apparently left my jump drive (including all saved articles and my research proposal in progress) in the computer at the library.
9-ish - got banjo for the ride to rogersville elementary. she cried and crawled all over throughout the trip until she perched on the back of the back seat .
9:10 - apparently got caught by the helicopters doing 72 in a 60 mph zone. i blame this on banjo but, according to Coacher, banjo can't pay the fine so i get credit for it.
9:11-9:16 - got pulled over by a highway patrolman in rogerville and during this time shook while trying to find all necessary documents, keeping a shaking banjo from jumping out of the window, and explaining that i usually don't drive around with a cat in my car. he wasn't really interested in my explanation.
9:17 - took my ticket and drove on, slowly.
9:45 - (because i drove about 45 mph from then on) got to school with banjo, where the kids freaked out with joy and in response, banjo scratched the poo out of my neck.
9:45-10:30 - held a scared and shaking banjo as approximately 20 kids at a time petted her, patted her, made faces at her and told me every single story of every cat they ever had, heard of, or saw a picture of. most stories ended with "and then it died." banjo took it well by hunkering down in my lap, closing her eyes and shaking. i told the kids she liked them because i thought she was "purring."
10:31 - breathed a sigh of relief that banjo hadn't struck out at anyone.
10:32 - left the elementary and drove home at 45 mph.
11:10 - left for MSU to meet the test-taker.
11:45-12:00 - found the test-taker, who hadn't eaten lunch because he didn't bring money. made him get lunch and shove it down his throat quickly before he had to get back to testing. (you can't think on an empty stomach!!)
the rest of the day was sort of a blur with a huge track meet mixed in. needless to say, taking banjo to Coacher's school might not have been the best idea, but i couldn't go back on my promise to those kids, and they loved it...
on a side note, i found out on tuesday night that one of my former students shot and killed someone last saturday. he was a very bright boy; it's sad to see someone with so much potential go down like that. when i heard the news i said "lock him up." then i heard that he might have been trying to protect his cousin from someone, which makes the situation very sticky....
the day looked a little like this:
7:40 - at MSU to meet a student to make sure he had everything in order to take the GED. he was late.
8:10 - left the student alone to take his test. he's independent, so he wouldn't care if i was gone all day. went to the MSU library to print about 100-150 pages of articles about teenage pregnancy and absent fathers for a research proposal that needs to be turned in for editing tomorrow.
8:35 - apparently left my jump drive (including all saved articles and my research proposal in progress) in the computer at the library.
9-ish - got banjo for the ride to rogersville elementary. she cried and crawled all over throughout the trip until she perched on the back of the back seat .
9:10 - apparently got caught by the helicopters doing 72 in a 60 mph zone. i blame this on banjo but, according to Coacher, banjo can't pay the fine so i get credit for it.
9:11-9:16 - got pulled over by a highway patrolman in rogerville and during this time shook while trying to find all necessary documents, keeping a shaking banjo from jumping out of the window, and explaining that i usually don't drive around with a cat in my car. he wasn't really interested in my explanation.
9:17 - took my ticket and drove on, slowly.
9:45 - (because i drove about 45 mph from then on) got to school with banjo, where the kids freaked out with joy and in response, banjo scratched the poo out of my neck.
9:45-10:30 - held a scared and shaking banjo as approximately 20 kids at a time petted her, patted her, made faces at her and told me every single story of every cat they ever had, heard of, or saw a picture of. most stories ended with "and then it died." banjo took it well by hunkering down in my lap, closing her eyes and shaking. i told the kids she liked them because i thought she was "purring."
10:31 - breathed a sigh of relief that banjo hadn't struck out at anyone.
10:32 - left the elementary and drove home at 45 mph.
11:10 - left for MSU to meet the test-taker.
11:45-12:00 - found the test-taker, who hadn't eaten lunch because he didn't bring money. made him get lunch and shove it down his throat quickly before he had to get back to testing. (you can't think on an empty stomach!!)
the rest of the day was sort of a blur with a huge track meet mixed in. needless to say, taking banjo to Coacher's school might not have been the best idea, but i couldn't go back on my promise to those kids, and they loved it...
on a side note, i found out on tuesday night that one of my former students shot and killed someone last saturday. he was a very bright boy; it's sad to see someone with so much potential go down like that. when i heard the news i said "lock him up." then i heard that he might have been trying to protect his cousin from someone, which makes the situation very sticky....
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