Bad days at work suck. They're even worse when they occur at the beginning of the week.

So, my ass is in a sling because a very large number of my students failed the semester. I realize that on paper this is a horrible stat; however, I have been making the same complaint for a while. How do you pass students who do no work? Or, do you pass those who do no work? That's the rock and hard place I'm between.

I have students who do not work. they are not failing my class because they don't understand what I'm teaching; they are failing because they don't do work. Even worse, because they don't do work, I cannot actually do what I do well.

For example, I am good at teaching emerging writers how to craft a solid essay. However, in order for students to improve they need to provide a first draft. It's incredible how many don't bother. Then they won't work on a second draft -- even when thirty minutes of class time are provided for the assignment. Then when I try to teach students how to proofread or edit, so many are disengaged because they didn't do the work in the first place and they have nothing to apply my class lesson on.

Today I got in trouble because the lesson I taught yesterday (reading aloud in class and asking clarification questions as we moved along) was "just reading". When I suggested to my boss that was exactly what my students needed, he scoffed at me and said I didn't know how to do the job. When I asked how my lesson could have been better, he made a suggestion: to have students break into groups after doing the reading on their own and discuss whether or not Odysseus is a good example of an epic hero. Hmmm, I say. That's a great idea IF I could count on my students arriving to class prepared. They don't. Worse, even if they did do the reading, they don't fully understand what they read thus my decision to read in class with them. Now I have proof: those who paid attention during the reading, submitted study guides that indicated as much. But still I'm a bad teacher.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but if we continue to allow kids to do no work, where exactly do we expect our future to go? What do we teach when we allow students to have no work ethic?

I feel like I'm on the cusp of something big. Few in my field care to have principles because it's so hard to keep at it. After crying on my husband's shoulder, he made a recommendation: just pass them. Sadly, that's what I was thinking on my way home. Doesn't it suck that those lazy ass kids win?

It's campaign season again. I think I'm getting ill. Really, the Republican Party couldn't find candidates better than Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney? I shudder to think what might happen to this country if either of those three get elected.

I have many reasons for disliking the candidates on party lines alone, but there are some real particular issues I have with them individually:

Santorum does not understand that there should be a separation of church and state. Hello mister. It's part of the foundation of this country. Jeez, if you can't respect that, what can you respect. Furthermore, this fellow is a staunch adherent to the conservatism of the party. No thanks. I like Planned Parenthood and don't want your church interfering with my rights.

Mitt Romney bothers me because he cannot string several sentences together without sounding like a doofus. I do not want to hear him talk any more than I've had to recently. I have no trouble with his religious background nor do I care about his lofty income.

Ron Paul is an interesting character. I don't believe in what he believes, but I do like his demeanor. In fact, I dislike this candidate least.

Newt Gingrich is a slippery bastard that can do real harm to this country. He lacks honesty and integrity. The absence of those two things could put this country in harms way of one form or another. I hope the stupid idiots of South Carolina do not represent the thinking in this country. Newt is bad for America. Count on it.

So, I have ten more months to rant. I sure hope America votes for intelligence.

Reality TV has left me enjoying life without television. I cannot stand how contestants are pitted against one another and we are supposed to enjoy the scheming that goes on. IF I wanted to watch idiots behaving badly, I'd watch soap operas. (Like every "rule" this too has an exception: Project Runway is wildly entertaining. Even though the judges are merciless when looking at the finished assignment, I enjoy seeing creativity at work. I doubt Isaac Mizrahi and friends are capable of putting a glam design together using only materials from the dollar store.) Anyway, the biggest problem with reality TV is it cuts the writers out of a job and that's not right.

Don't despair. There's light up ahead.

Tuesday nights are a fine night of guilty pleasure TV viewing. Glee followed by New Girl followed by Raising Hope all offer intelligence, fun, scandal, sex, drama, and just plain old good TV viewing. I think I'll be making my schedule clear at 8 pm on Tuesdays to watch these three shows. I can sit, knit, chuckle and relax. Isn't that what TV viewing should be about?

I'm glad some writers are working and creating some good, off-the-beaten-path material.

The holidays are about over -- I still have my family celebration -- and I learned, or was reminded of, an important lesson: the best gifts are not big and expensive but well thought out. I truly got good gifts this year. Julia heard my request for personalized stationery. Rod remembered how much I enjoy knitting things. But it was Ted and Deittra who have moved me to really do what I do best -- knitting. Next year will be a knitted gift year.

I just went through my knitting stash -- I have some really good stuff. While my color palette is limited I think I'll find some nice patterns for my friends and family.

I am sitting and watching A League of Their Own right now and realizing we have traveled too far from what was good about Christmas and now push too hard for expensive things we don't need. We need to get back to basics. If we have money to spend on silliness, we should just put it to good use and enjoy each other's company instead.

Yup, I am going to enjoy preparing for next Christmas. And I might even send cards next year too!

Good Lord it's been a rough couple of weeks.

As usual, I am in hot water because I have high expectations for my students and some people -- parents or students -- don't like challenge. So, they complain. And I get the heat.

But let's understand. I am doing my job as it's been dictated to me. Get the students college ready. Teach above the Nevada proficiency exam. So, I do that and have my ass in a sling. I don't understand. Students who arrive at a high school with little work discipline and even worse skills still need to do the work. If the high schools are being measured according to the results of the Nevada proficiency exams, then the teachers need to do more than just give busy work. Open notes quizzes are okay if students are required to apply the notes to material. However, if you are giving quizzes that are basic skills, for example, name the capital cities of the 50 states AND you allow students to use their notes, I wonder what learning is occurring. Further, is that getting kids college ready?

I had to make a "failure reduction plan" for the high number of students who have Ds or Fs in my class. The first order of business is for me to address why students are not succeeding. It's because they don't work. I have yet to hear of an education program where students improve their reading and writing skills while avoiding reading and writing.

Do I have flaws as an educator? You bet. I am the first to admit that I am not perfect. Still, the job of an administrator is to aid the teacher. I am new to this school and am still learning the ropes (it's different from the other schools in the district, for the record). I have requested help from the deans and my supervising administrator about one class in particular. For the most part, I've been left on my own. Further, when I was evaluated in September the only criticism I received was that I had very little on the walls. I made a change. Now there is student work on the walls.

Flash forward two months. I've been evaluated and found lacking in every area. Words that were said in my classroom were taken out of context and used against me. It's apparently not allowed to talk to students about how Thanksgiving break is just that and we all need one. Despite the fact that I have been doing lesson plans the same way all year, suddenly they are horrible and no wonder students are not passing my class.

So, I've made changes and asked the administration to look at the changes I've made to see if I'm on the right path. I've not seen or heard from them. At the same time, budget cuts are looming on the horizon here in Nevada. Teachers will lose their jobs in January according to the pessimists. I suspect I'm one of them. That's okay too. But what's not okay is not allowing me an opportunity to improve my status. I truly feel as though I'm walking on eggshells at this new school even though I show up, do my job and work.

Ugh. Get me back to NY.

Two words a teacher should not say to students: Shut up.

Two words that students understand the first time a teacher says it: Shut up.

I have a class that talks and talks. I say, "Please stop talking." Or, "Please be quiet." Or, "Stop." Or, "STOP TALKING!" But it continues. So, one day I say, "Oh just shut up and do your work." And, miracle of miracles, the class settles and gets to work.

Hmmm.

So, I had a chat with my class. I mentioned that I thought it was funny how despite my repeated attempts to get them to be quiet, the one phrase they universally reacted to was the bad one: shut up. I equated it to my years teaching 5th graders. To get their attention I would call out, "Ladies and gentlemen" to no avail. However, if I called, "Boys and girls" the attention was grabbed. True story.

What's this all about? Today I went to a parent teacher conference for a student who failed my class first quarter for doing no work and is failing this quarter for the same reason. This is not isolated to my class. I heard the other teachers before me say the same thing. So, when I presented the situation to the parents, the father asked if I yelled in class. I said, "Yes. I have a big voice. However, I've been using the voice enhancement device as there is a student in the class who is hard of hearing." Then the father said that someone had recordings of my class (these devices are not allowed in school, by the way -- at least not if I want to use them to cover my ass) with me yelling shut up (which I don't recall doing). So, I said that's a discussion for the administrator and I left.

Now I have to contact the union rep to determine if I need to protect my job. All for a kid who does no work and is failing. All because the parents have done nothing as parents and have decided to not hold the child accountable.

For the record, if there is something wrong in my class and a parent thinks their child is unsafe or being mentally harmed in some way, I strongly believe that the teacher should be contacted first. Oftentimes there is a miscommunication. But to undermine the teacher's job by bringing something else on the table, well, I just find that wrong.

It's true I sometimes teach kids I don't like. This particular child, however, does nothing for me. I don't like or dislike her. She's just one of the kids in the class who is there. She does not raise my ire and I've not directed any discipline in her direction. Furthermore, she is in a class that is, for the most part, a nice group of kids. To learn that they have been recording me makes me wonder about my ability to trust kids at all. Should I now be sure that I'm never in a class alone with a kid? Should I assume that regardless of my conduct, if a student wants to discredit me or ruin my reputation it's doable with the help of a recording device?

All last year I wished for a video recording of my classes on a daily basis. Teachers would have protection then and the crap could get off the table and real learning could occur.

When a teacher is running scared and cannot enforce discipline, we have a problem in education. Why is America falling behind? Because we ask teachers to disregard discipline for fear of getting in trouble.

I wish I could shake this feeling of inadequacy. I have been off kilter for a while now, and I suspect it's because I have moved from one school to another to another without finding my ground.

I finally spoke to my department head today because I don't feel like my work is sinking in with my students. Sure enough, my DC showed me what she does. Spoon feeding. In order to get her students to pay attention to what is going on in class, they have to write what other students comment on in class and submit that for a grade. Since she is so organized, students feel as though they are learning. Since I simply assume that my students are becoming more enriched through class discussion, I am the fool. The kids who want to talk, do; those who want to listen and participate, do. Now I have a tool to get them all on track.

It's especially unfortunate that I have this issue of insignificance since I had to do a teacher poll for the Fairfax schools. I am an honest person and I may have shot myself in the foot. "Are you an overachiever?" No -- I'm not. Doesn't that sound like I don't really give a hoot? It's not my intention. Jeez. It's hard to look for work. I would really like a job that I could have for a couple years so I can get a handle on things and know what's coming up. Every year I'm in a new school it's like I'm a new teacher. I am tired of being new and learning the ropes.

Well, I just have to plug along.