I feel for my daughter who is so frustrated with the job market. She applies for jobs and no one gets back to her in a timely manner. What's worse, she is a better worker than most and takes responsibility. This evening she told me that her best qualities were that she is responsible and can do the job. Neither quality is valued in the current job market. What is up with that????

I wish character was a quality people looked at. Why do we focus so much attention on the experiences of potential candidates? It's a money thing. Those with money can have a greater number of experiences thus they look more attractive to potential employers. If only I could do something to make things easier for my girl. She has worked so hard to do well and should get something for her efforts. Does this world really have to be about who you know instead of what you know?

As I age I find I am more sensitive to scents. Many of the students in my classes use the flowery scented lotions hawked by stores such as Bath and Body Works. I don't mind them so much but they are too heavy. Years ago I used to wear a fragrance that I liked (still sort of do when I smell it) but it was very heavy. So heavy in fact that I had to stop wearing it. Now, I want a new fragrance and it's not easy to find one.

I went to the store of stores for perfume -- Neiman Marcus. They have any top line fragrance on the market. I sniffed and tried and walked around and ultimately left with nothing.

Why? It all costs a lot of money and I'm not convinced I like the fragrance enough to invest. Perhaps the perfume companies should sell very small quantities for a smaller cost to entice wearers. As I was at the fragrance counter other women were making the same comment: "Do you have a sample? I don't want to spend the money to find that I don't really like it."

Maybe these companies should sell a 5 dollar spray to sample. That way the prospective buyer could see if she likes how it smells on her with her particular body chemistry. If it works, then she would feel more comfortable spending the big bucks on a new fragrance.

A three day weekend. Ah joy.

I only wish I had plans. There is not much going on here -- the weather has turned (and I got the best sleep since I've been here as a result) and the pool is out of the question. But I don't have a real urge to do anything other than go home.

Well, at least I had a really good laugh at work today. It was a professional development day so no students were present. That gave me time to hang out with the people in the English dept. including my friend Drew. Gosh he made me laugh.

Gay men are quite entertaining as friends. They like all the things I like (well, I am generalizing and I don't mean to -- I obviously don't know all gay men) and can be just as catty as I. However, there is no competition of any kind the way there sometimes is between women. Perhaps I'll give my friend a call this weekend and see what trouble we can hunt up.

Just to have sleep will be wonderful!!

How can I get my underachieving kid to do something? It's infuriating. And when I called tonight to ask where he is having success in school he told me everywhere. Really? Someone needs a reality check.

And on the other side of the coin is my job as teacher. So many of my students do not do work and are receiving a grade of F for the first marking period. I've communicated with the parents; the students know what is required of them and still they do nothing. With the parent frustration I'm hearing, I wouldn't be too surprised to be one or two less kids in a couple weeks when the report cards come out.

Ugh.

I have a three day weekend ahead with no plans. I have a bitch of a week following because I have no prep period on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. I have to proctor the proficiency exams to 11th graders. What burns me up is that I don't even teach 11th graders. AND, I have to have sub coverage for two of my own classes because I'm scheduled to proctor exams. Really, Nevada stupidity is hard to understand. Reason 8,000 why I would never move my underachieving son out here. I can only imagine how much lower he would sink out here in the land of no brains.

I am so tired tonight. Let's hope I can get some sleep without the neighbors having a knock-down, drag-out fight -- should I call the cops or no -- though I do find the argument to be interesting in its absence of merit.

Really, though, I was beat today as a result of the neighbors waking me up at 2am and then trying, after hearing them fight for an hour, to get back to sleep. I did get back to sleep but that just made the alarm clock all the more dreadful. After dealing with freshman who are rude and obnoxious all day, the last thing I felt like doing was going to the gym. But I had to. I had an appointment with a personal trainer to help me get it together.

So, I went to the gym, got my plan, and ran the track. And I felt regenerated. I was actually able to go home and grade papers without having any caffeine to keep me afloat (and too bad the essays I graded did not help my spirit). Obviously we'll see how I feel tomorrow. Still, it was good to burn some calories.

Let's hope I get back to the gym soon.

I'm off to bed.

Working in a punitive place is really wearing me down.

Two weeks ago I caught shit because I did not submit my ineligibility list on time. The following week I got an email from the woman in charge of the ineligibility lists that had the following message:

DUE FRIDAY AT NOON

DUE FRIDAY AT NOON

DUE FRIDAY AT NOON

Okay, I get the message. But, like, can't you been understanding of a teacher who makes one mistake. I would get it if I had been habitually late. I was late ONCE.

I don't really understand how the system works when students are withdrawn from the school. No one actually contacts me, but apparently I've been screwing that up too because I get emails from my supervising administrator telling me to do the paperwork for the withdrawn students. While I realize I have to do my job, I don't understand why the woman in charge of the withdraw paperwork can't contact me herself -- why rat me out to my boss? Further, if someone who is new to the school keeps having trouble doing what you want done when you want it done, why not ask if there's anything they don't understand??

I feel put upon. A couple weeks ago I had to give up my free period for testing. I have to do it again in a couple weeks only instead of giving up one period, I'll be giving up 3. Funny how I don't see the other teachers being put upon. Actually, there's a word for this: HAZING. I don't like it.

Maybe there's a job in NYC I can scoop up while I'm home for Christmas. Because, really, I'm not sure I'm going to get through this year.

I feel so cranky when I come home from work. It's really not a good place to be especially when I deal with children. why is it that some kids just feel the need to get under my skin? Ugh.

Anyway, I have begun thinking about the annual Christmas card. Usually by this time I have a picture of the kids at the ready. Not so this year. I am putting together a collage card -- the best of the best and all of us will be represented.

Case in point: Julia's picture. Pure happiness. Shouldn't everyone see that joy?

I could sure use some today.

Education in America is in the crapper. We allow kids to get away with murder and we remove any power a classroom teacher may have. To make matters worse, we allow lazy, under inspired teachers to be in a classroom.

Reform?

Teach for America seems like a scam to me because it doesn't recognize that there are some experienced teachers out there who can do the job and do it well. Everything I learned in school and in the classroom indicates that the best teachers are those who are intelligent in their jobs, experienced and well-supported. Throwing unexperienced 21 year olds in a class of kids who could care less because they have been treated poorly and have not been given a fair shake doesn't seem to be the fix either.

Now we could go after teacher's unions. They are responsible for the teacher attitude of "I don't have to do that" as in, "I don't have to go to my student's concert because it's not in my job description." Really? Shouldn't teachers be interested in the growth of their students. I know I appreciate seeing another side to my students. More importantly, they enjoy knowing that I've seen their talent outside the classroom. This was true even in private school where it was mandatory to attend concerts and such. However, teacher's unions don't make bad teachers; they make mediocre teachers lazy and then bad. Good teachers are good teachers regardless of the system they're in.

Lack of funding seems like the biggest flaw in reform. Throwing more money at schools will not make them better. Paying lazy teacher more money will not make them less lazy. Giving students who need glasses and a some real food a new computer won't make them math geniuses. Professional development is a joke and many teachers only attend because they have to. Very rarely do I see teachers return from any conference charged like I returned from the NCTE conference four years ago. Schools don't want to send teachers to the conferences that are meaningful either. When I interviewed this summer, one administrator gave me grief because I asked if the school would allow me to go to a conference on what's new in young adult literature. God forbid I want to know about what might work for students!!!

The lack of discipline is killing education. Kids are not responsible for their work. Parents attack teachers when their child fails because they automatically assume their child actually did the work. Schools force teachers to accept late work. Students don't have to give up precious lunch time to use the restroom; they can just leave the classroom. Seriously, when did you ever sit in a class and have to go so badly that you pitched a fit? For me, never. And, I never used the time-of-the-month excuse either -- ever.

I have a co-worker who is considering leaving teaching because he's tired of the crap. I am getting that way too.

Deadlines are killing me.

But what really bothers me is that the deadlines I thought I was meeting are moving closer to me. When I started at the school I knew I had to do about 9 online courses. You know, Identifying Harassment; Bloodborne Pathogens; Creating the Safe Work Environment. These courses are -- well, actually, were initially due on Oct. 21. then I got an email from my immediate supervisor a couple weeks back. She said the courses were due on the 19th. Today? This afternoon I received an email from my supervisor saying I had to be done by tomorrow -- the 18th. Seriously, that's just ridiculous. I did the work, but I'm still annoyed.

Another looming deadline -- grades.

Everyone here crows about the merits of Nevada Day. Yay! I get a three day weekend. But wait, I have to do the end of the quarter grades. Again, seriously???? I'd rather have had Columbus day off and no Nevada day off. A day off to do work just seems not like a day off. I should have made arrangements to go home for a long weekend instead of this silliness.

I am really disliking my job this year. Is it me or the system?

Did you ever see people line up at the baggage carousel at the airport? What a bunch of impatient pests! REally, if I am waiting for my luggage, get out of my way when I walk forward to grab it. Is there any reason for people to be in the way? NO!!!

Let's give each other space.

Another rough night with the loud neighbors.

At 2:30 I got up to call the service my apartment uses for such incidents. The problem, however, is that the service does not work for this property alone. In fact, the guy was in Henderson, NV -- an easy 40 minutes from here. Since my neighbor uses his patio as a smoking lounge, he and his friends are not there all the time. They just go out, have a smoke, and head back inside. It's really important that I get sleep. Getting woken up more than once in an evening is very annoying. Getting woken up several times since I've lived here by the same neighbors is inexcusable.

Is there anything I can do?

For starters, I am going to write a letter to the management of this property and let them know the service they've used to cover their asses doesn't work. (Incidentally, when I called to make the complaint, the guy said he'd already been at the property earlier in the evening.) I will simply continue to be the squeaky wheel here and hope the neighbors move soon. Aside from that, is there anything else I can do?

I also have an issue with bugs in this apartment. I'm currently vexed by tiny hopping bugs similar to no-see-ums we have in NY. They are all over the place in my office. I guess they like paper. I don't like them. Another complaint.

I wish we had assigned parking here. It seems that the row of covered parking where I park my car is the most popular row in the entire complex. Seriously? So, if I go out at night, there's no place to park near my apartment. Ugh.

And I still have nine months to live here in the dreadful desert.

Pet peeve week from the menopause mama.

Today's gripe:  grocery baggers.  Really, does it take a college degree to realize you don't put cans of tomatoes on top of the tomatoes themselves?

When I was a kid, baggers NEVER put cleaning products in the same bag as any food product.  Now, they just throw the stuff in the bag.

Is the problem that these young baggers don't actually put groceries away at home thereby being oblivious to the havoc they create?  Do they not spend any of their money on groceries to know that ruined stuff sucks?

Back in the day, real people worked in the grocery stores.  They were there day after day, year after year.  They build their careers there; paid rent and took care of their families.  Mrs. Lau and Mrs. Sabel worked at the local Grand Union -- they were it.  They knew their job and they did it well.  Now it's young people who don't know an artichoke from an avocado who work in these stores until a better, more prestigious job comes along.

We need to take pride in the work we do and stop just showing up for a paycheck.

America is over-coddling its children and will pay eventually.  I cannot believe how many parents contact me because they want me to give their children a retest.  Don't get me wrong, after 7 years of teaching Latin, I recognize the value of giving kids a second chance.  But I don't believe that students should take a retest on material that is straight forward.  I gave a matching quiz a couple weeks ago.  My students admitted that they did not study.  Their scores show it, too.  Still, they are looking for a second chance.

I think this business of giving so many chances is hurting a student's work ethic too.  I have students who are failing my class.  They do no work and beg for mercy.  On the rare chance that I give mercy, they turn around and screw up again by not doing the next assignment.  In Clark County, the middle schools are instructed to give students retakes.  Further, they are allowed to submit late work all quarter.  What are we teaching kids with this?  I receive these students in high school and they are far from prepared to face the challenges of the class because they didn't really master the correct behavior.

Often I hear that students have an A in every other class.  So.  In my class, where work actually means something, poor behavior and failure to do work equal poor grades.  I write kids up to be ineligible for their sport.  No extra credit.  If they didn't bother with the assignment in the first place, why should I have to design yet another assignment to help these lazy beasts?

Teaching is getting more tiring every year.  I suspect this culture of hovering parents is playing a role.  I wonder if these same parents are the reason the US is not doing well in comparison to other countries educationally speaking.

Just a thought.