Zombie Teacher on Facebook

Happy April to everyone! Happy Tuesday! Happy 4-day week! Testing season is ramping up again, and I for one, am stressed.

Note the lack of posting in the last week. Sorry :/  So I'll keep it short today and submit some current "likes" and "dislikes" for your viewing pleasure.

And while you're at it, head to Facebook, and "like" my page!

Like! New Textbook Adoptions

(I'll be nice and not say which series we're dumping)

-Free goodie bags

-Free books

-Free logins & passwords

-A LOT less supplementing next year

-A LOT less COPYING next year

Dislike! Student Attitudes this week

-It's NOT Easter yet. Stop eating candy.

-You seriously don't know what to do when you get to class? (warm-ups, HW out)

-I am talking. You are NOT. Period. Duct tape?
-You are invading my personal space bubble. Take 2 steps back.

-Seriously? You didn't "get" your HW? Did you Facebook Message me? Did you text me?
(Yes, my cell phone is on my teacher webpage, and no, no one bothers to prank me)

Like! Student showed me how to use the "pen" tool to WRITE on my POWERPOINTS!

-How did I not know this? Oh right, my students are smarter than me.

-Go to "Add-Ins" while you're in the file.

-Click on the wavy pen/writing icon.

-Go to Insert or Options or whatever is the right-most drop-down choice and enable the pen tool

-It will show up in the bottom left corner of your Powerpoint to activate as you go through the lesson

-Another student showed me there is also an ERASE tool there! SaWEEEEEEET!!!

Dislike! Losing prep time for field trips

-Field trips are fun.

-But not on my double-prep day when I have double test classes to teach the day before and after.

-Field trips are fun but TIRING.

Like! Helpful subs who correct your stuff because they're bored

-And then go help other teachers with THEIR stuff cuz they're bored

-I wish I were more organized to HAVE stuff for them to correct

Dislike! Not helpful subs who don't follow sub plans and make negative comments

-Why are you subbing if you don't want to help kids?

-Why are you subbing if you are undermining the teacher on purpose?

-THE MONEY ISN'T WORTH IT IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING!

(Sadly, that goes for us full-time teachers too)

Like! The Book Thief

By Markus Zusak. Click the picture at right to check it out. I listened on Audible coming to and from work and the reader does a fantastic German accent that really brings the story to life. I bought a copy for my classroom. It's a perfect complement to whatever (mature) grade in your school is covering WWII and/or the Holocaust.

Most of the material we cover in school is from the perspective of soldiers or Americans in the war, or Jews who were affected; compared to this book, that tackles what life was like within Germany, from a teen's perspective.

I hadn't really thought much about what it must have felt like, to Jewish sympathizers living in Germany, or those actively helping to hide/save Jews; to go against the Nazi party, fear for their lives, and then be bombed by the Allied forces right alongside civilians who were actually Nazis. As though that excuses the killing of any innocents, whatever the circumstances.

Beware... you will need Kleenex in several parts of the book.

As far as math connections, maybe some map/scaling with History tie-ins? Where the locations of the book are? Statistical analysis of the population/war? Right now, I'm too tired to think of anything but my awaiting bed... and the work I didn't get done today... but I'll probably be dreaming of Liesel Meminger and her life as a Book Thief, and if the last 14 minutes of my Audible version of the book will make me cry again on the way to work tomorrow. Very touching and very thought provoking.

Dislike! Needing so much caffeine to stay awake that my right eye lid has begun to twitch.

-Zombie eye ball must be eating my brain.

-Zombie need sleep

-ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz