Dangerous.
Dangerous.
Dope or Dopey? =)
This is a tough one and I’ve had two or three this year who will call out - in a disruptive way. Sometimes it is when I’m speaking. I have one great class that causes me to struggle because of several who have a bit of a problem with knowing the appropriate time to engage (not in the middle of a question or when someone else is talking.) I encourage kids to have a pencil and paper or a tablet in hand to jot down notes of what they want to say - sometimes they are afraid they’ll forget.
Other times, when it is class discussion, I use poker chips. Each student gets two. When they want to interject, they spend their chip. Every student must participate twice before anyone can have a third input. It is a daily grade and so easy to assess b/c everyone must give up their chips.
This article takes it much further and is a good one if you’re struggling with this.
“Namely, how do you deal with a student who, despite receiving consequence after consequence, continues to call out in class?
Before we get to the solution, it’s important to note that there are times during a normal school day when you may want to allow your students to respond to you or their fellow classmates without raising their hand”
This ain’t just a platitude or an empty promise.
I’m praying for you.
Will you please pray for me, too?
Don’t just look at the problem; look at the purpose. Remember the goal.
You’ll never know until you try.
You’ll never get better until you try.
And if you try…
Your “I can’t” may eventually become “I can.”
“Yesterday’s victories will not carry you through today. Neither should yesterday’s defeats dominate tomorrow.” —Tony Evans
Dear Noah,
I walked out of church today.
CHURCH.
And you were outside…
With your clothes off.
AT CHURCH.
FYI: You don’t get naked at church. It’s a little awkward.
Brian’s right—it’s indecent exposure.
I can’t even put a picture with this letter. I will not be posting baby porn on Mother’s Day.
I know it’s hot, and I know everyone thinks you’re cute because you’re six months old…
But you are not a stripper.
Thanks.
See you at lunch…hopefully with your clothes on.
Love,
Auntie TJ
My mom is awesome.
If you get the privilege of knowing my mom, here’s a list of things you would find out about her.
1) She’s smart and kind. She was a nurse before she retired.
2) She’s a fantastic cook. If you’ve never eaten her cooking, you can’t die happy.
3) She’s a social butterfly. You can find her on Facebook…often.
4) She’s persistent. She will pass that Super Mario Bros. game…even if she has to YouTube tutorials on how to do it.
5) She’s got a servant’s heart. If you come to our house, be prepared to hear her ask you several times if you would like something to eat. She always offers to help me out when she can—doing my laundry so I can rest or cooking for a meeting/party at work. She waits up if we’re going to be out late. She’s the last one to sit down and eat at a meal, and she’s the last one to go to bed almost everyday. She puts everyone else first.
6) She’s strong. Cancer and kidney failure tried to shut her down, but she’s still standing. Through it all, she never complained or felt sorry for herself. To this day, I don’t think I completely understand everything she went through because she always put on a strong front and a smile for us.
7) She’s patient. She stayed married to my dad for 32 years. Enough said. =)
Yeah, my mom is pretty awesome. I’m glad God made her mine.
I want to be like her…but my chicken adobo doesn’t turn out good like hers, so I guess I’ll just work on the other qualities.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! I love you!

*I wrote this post a couple of years ago, but it still describes my mom pretty well. I guess I should add #8: She’s consistently awesome. =)
Awesome Couple At Gas Station Make Dumb ‘Leno’ Skit The Best Thing To Ever Happen On ‘Leno’
My new favorite people. If that doesn’t make your morning, you must be having a really good morning.
guest post by Johnna Weller, Ed D. Note from Vicki: As I was talking to Johnna from Discovery Education about this post, I started hearing her talk about districts who are struggling with Common Core. We thought that it would be helpful to know what people are doing to cause their…
Dear Noah,
I went into the exercise room to work out for the first time in many days—er, weeks.
I walked in to find your little orange and blue entertainment center in the middle of the room.
Apparently I’ve been gone too long. No one notified me that this is now a baby gym as well.
I thought all your stuff was downstairs. You have the front room. You have the family room. Now you need stuff upstairs, too?
Sigh.
It looks like you are continuing your takeover of this house. I guess there’s no stopping you. Everyone else around here fights over you and jumps every time you call. What’s next? World domination?
It’s safe to say I’m a little concerned. However, I’m really out of shape and can’t stop eating chocolate, so there’s probably nothing I can do to stop you at the moment. I’d better get to working out now.
Love,
Auntie TJ
During one of my periods at school today, I was by the door getting things ready for my class.
One of my students in a different period came in saying she was looking for her pencil.
I didn’t pay much attention to what she was doing, since I was a little preoccupied.
She left a minute later, saying she couldn’t find her pencil. She told me to keep an eye out for it around my desk.
I kind of thought it was weird that she would think her pencil would be by my desk, since she sits on the opposite side of the room, but I told her I would.
I walked to my desk.
This package with this note was on my laptop.
She totally made my day. =)
If you keep moving, change is possible…and if change is possible, anything is possible.
Stop comparing yourself to others…and start focusing on who God is.