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March 8th, 2012
04:24 pm
In my time as an instructional assistant, I have encountered two students whose parents were both lawyers. With the first student, I enjoyed developing a great rapport with him. This year, I have had a dissimilar experience with the other and current student.
As I interact with this student, I find myself dealing with a child who has been molded to be a lawyer. Great and fine. The issue being is that he is not yet a lawyer; he is still a middle school student. The year is nearly two-thirds over, and I can count the times of a reasonable compromise – one that occurs within 30 minutes of a crisis or conflict that includes the student giving some concessions or taking responsibility – upon a single hand.
It is remarkably bizarre to have a student pace back and forth, chanting “There is always a time for justice,” and being removed from a classroom due to him losing 3 percent of a quiz grade due two reasons – not writing his full name and writing “shut up” as a figurative meaning for “bite your tongue.” In a world filled with horrors of grand cruelty, I doubt the wisdom of instilling a finite and intractable sense of justice into a preadolescent child.
It would be best for children to learn such lessons on their own time, when they are ready to appreciate the power of such concepts.
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July 2nd, 2009
11:10 pm - Frustrated Central
Currently, I'm an extra special serving of what the fuck. Today I learned that Alan Johnson died. He hung himself.
Now I'm tracing back. Last conversation: I talked with him through facebook over how he was friends with Evan Bloom. Seemed strange to me, since I met Evan through Manda. Turns out they were roommates back in Alan's BSC days.
In a stupid, selfish way, I am angry at Alan. Where the fuck are we going to host Gamer Thanksgiving? Yeah, that's right - get incensed over how Alan's death complicates holiday gathers. But it does. And so much more. Not only will Gamer Thanksgiving have to find a new home, but there won't be an Alan looking with glee as food clutters tables and friends gather to make it vanish. No more time with Alan. What a fucking killjoy this is.
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June 4th, 2009
05:53 pm
Running is becoming a major player in my life again. With any luck, I will be extending my runs into the double digits soon. I'll look up some races and run another 5k in July or August. For the early fall, I want to see if there are any mini-marathons.
Life is enjoyable, at the moment. Chances are, I won't be working this summer. The prospects of me working at a summer aide, middle school or elementary, are slim, so I will sign up for courses. Don't really feel like fighting tooth and nail for a seasonal job when people are getting laid off in droves. The sooner I get my masters, the better.
Done the lion's share of today's work. Now I'm going to do something I haven't in far too long. Sprawl out on a bed and spend part of an afternoon listening to an album. Being There. And I get to feast on red grapes. Simple pleasures, but it works.
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April 10th, 2009
11:56 pm
Brunch was fun. Rosie's Diner rolls along the Lowellian vibe - fast paced service and waitresses that are as likely to poke fun at as you as deliver your meal. I had Irish Bennies. Eggs coated in hollandaise sauce floating over hash browns on top of an English muffin. The Irish on top of the English - as things should be.
Making miraculous time driving back to Salem during Friday rush hour, I tuned the radio over to 91.5 – WUML is still an interesting station. It’s excessively limited broadcast range meant that I only listened to a few songs – Irish folk songs, no less!
I had more, but I ran after getting home. Gotta start training seriously; however, it is also important to WRITE before I stretch my body to its limits. Little things are lost. More will come along later. I can only hope to grab and save sufficient scraps then.
Current Music: Tonight I Have To Leave It - Shout Out Louds
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July 3rd, 2008
02:34 pm - Recap
Thanks for the kind words about the struggles when I was assigned a new student. In truth, it was a change for the good. My old student needed services beyond what my school can offer, and the new student. Well, she's taught me an awful lot. She was born with a spinal defect, but lives as if the handicapped title doesn't apply to her.
She's needed a lot of assistance with her classwork, since her old school had expectations and course work that were drastically behind what we do in Andover. She had some tears over low grades, but she received support and bucked as soon as she wiped the salty stains on her cheek. Now you'd think gym class would be hard for a girl with a pair of ankle braces and a regular need to use a walker or bracing on surfaces to move around. Not this one. She's often help time people and measure distances when the gym classes did track and field. But when the commotion was dying down, I'd ask if she wanted to give it a shot. I'm a composed person, but I struggled to keep it together when she hobbled over to the sand pit, and did her best long jump. I had my hands ready to catch her if she feel backwards, towards the less sandy and more dirt section, but she made it nearly two feet. Rebel yell and all she went out there. One impressive gal.
I'll be returning to Doherty for another year as an assistant. I aim to take grad courses in the winter - it's too late to sign up for fall courses, and hope to get student teaching underway for Fall 09.
Currently, I won out a position in the summer school. I faced three other candidates. All had more seniority than me and one had several years of summer school experience in that school district. There will be some awkward moments when the school year starts up, but I had no shame in taking that position.
From the looks of the setup, we'll be breaking up the roughly 24 kids into groups of six for half the day. Six staff. So I'll be dealing with 4 kiddies for 45 minutes in 3 sections per day. I've locked down the position as the "drama" instructor. I took home copies of Holes, The Cay and A Wrinkle in Time. I'm thinking of taking one or two and creating an abbreviated play for them. I have one and a half hours per week with each section. We meet for six weeks, so that's nine hours of time. The first week will be a wash, so that's like 7 hours of time. Perhaps I should just work on adapting one book into a play. I'll just do it in small translation chunks.
If anyone knows any small drama pieces I could do as a start off that'd be great. The kids will be sixth to eight graders next year, so we're prepping them for that level of course work. Wel, time to get busy...
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02:26 pm - The Way It Should Be
Quick story. 3 characters.
Mark - great friend of mine
Freddie - Getty manager
George - Co-Shell manager
Mark is on a quest to keep two cars on the road and this mission is frequently attacked by the maintenance hungry cars he owns. The Hyundai needed only an air conditioning recharge, but Mark was short on money, so drove over the to Getty and asked for an estimate. Freddie, who is the primary manager, told Mark it'd cost him 90 bucks. Mark said he'd come back later.
Mark did drop it off a few days after than and went to return to pick up the car. When he retrieved the car, George was there and Freddie was not. George insisted the price was 140. Mark explained that Freddie told him it would be 90. No joy. Mark paid the larger than expected bill.
Mark returns to the station a day later. Freddie is there and George is now missing. Freddie asks about the car and how it's doing. Mark says its fine, but George created some confusion over the price. When Mark told him that he paid more than Freddie's price, Freddie ran into the office
He didn't scream at any random worker.
He didn't call up George and give him hell.
Freddie pulled 50 bucks cash from the register and jogged over to Mark, handing it over to him. Freddie apologized for the situation and explained that George charges the rates from his Shell station, even when he's watching Freddie's Getty.
Sucker like me, you know I'll be giving Freddie plenty more business. Of all traits, I rarely recognize honor in people and especially less when they run a business. Still, it's great when it pops up.
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April 3rd, 2008
03:58 pm - More pattern recognition
It was a Thursday when I learned that I wouldn't be rehired for my former job. Today, I was told that I would be working with the six grade starting Monday.
My transition into eighth grade was decent, but I've becoming immensely comfortable with the roughly 100 kiddies on my "team." I can see more than a few handful of kids I see great, not simply good things coming from them. I've bonded with a good number of the kids.
I had to grit hard to not come to tears over the news. I nearly broke down on my ride home. As you all know, a failure in Pete's system is a rare instance.
The student I work with will be soon in a different placement, and an incoming student has a medical situation that requires a one on one aide to monitor her. I'm told she's fine developmentally, academically and socially. The issue is that she just needs someone to physically assist her and to make various judgment calls.
It's close to the end of the year, and I would really love to wrap up the time with the kids I have become close with. It's going to be difficult explaining the situation tomorrow...
I'm told the sixth grade schedule is so drastically different - snack time and a later lunch, that I will feel like I'm working in a separate world from my eight grade. Troubling. Very much so.
Current Mood:  frustrated
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January 22nd, 2008
05:03 pm
I got called Mr. Sylvain today. A lot. For a change, it felt very welcoming. I am getting used to it. Students I don't know well are asking for me by my formal name. Just shocking.
If cards are dealt well, I'll be leaving work early to visit the alma mater. Time to get cracking on the teaching "attunement." I drive SUV. I see others around me, but I find my path past most.
Running is digging back into my veins. I love the post run surge of blood. Goal by Friday sunset: run to the ocean.
But for now, I'm going to run UBRS. Time for another type of attunement. Onyxia, here I come!
Current Mood:  happy
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January 21st, 2008
02:24 pm
January is a harsh time to resume running.
Current Mood:  frozen
Current Music: CPU Fan Hum
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October 19th, 2007
10:28 am
Let me start off by saying how cool I am. I'm writing this on my sister's computer, drinking a flavored Smirnoff I stole from my muddah. I have enough self respect to not reveal the flavor of said kinda alcoholic drink. For now.
Yet again, I am going to mention work. The magic is starting to work. The kids don't think I am odd once in a while; I see them believing I'm strange. Love blowing them away with unexpected enthusiasm. I can pump them full of encouragement, and it seems to come from an unending well. I know it's barely three weeks into the job, but damn it feels great.
The biggest paycheck is getting home and barely doing anything. So drained, I can barely unwind and do some basic chores. Collapse always imminent. Barely make it past 11:30. Even then, I am usually zonked on couch, irretrievable until early morning cat laps push life back into me. Toss feline food in bowl, get scraggly self ready for today, try not to "make too much noise" so neighbors can pretend people don't live above them. Holy and tiny - grave and true.
Saw a play with dad. Smacked great fun at artificial America. Tied up too much at the end, but still very worth the standing ovation. I ran into Monica, an old Salem State classmate. As if I could forget, she reminded me she was that "opinionated lady." She came from Croatia, and she has and continues to struggle with American society. Mentioned how she cried while everyone else in the theater laughed. Still good. Definitely had some struggles, but is living, pain and all. Must be some joy. I understood most of the words she said, but a few came out like jumbled word explosions. I missed some of the words, but caught the meaning. Jack Kerouac. Painting. Poetry. Still going.
Beat, so fucking beat.
Crazy life, unattached to constraints, could be seen as a threat to my current life. Maybe it is. But I can embrace it, along with the multitudes of miseries and shattering elations. It all is so many things.
Good night all.
Current Location: A blue walled room
Current Music: Slippery whine of tires dancing along North Road
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