Main » December 2004
December 25, 2004
Merry Christmas!
I've been quiet this week at home nursing a sinus infection and resting. We have another week off to recharge the emotional batteries and prepare for the next group of students. I am slated to teach two honors level Anatomy classes and one standard Biology class. I'm not even going to think about teaching for the next few days. The rosacea is better with the rest this week and I am only using minimal moisturizers to keep it in check. Healthwise I just had another lipid check and found I have high cholesterol LDL and triglyceride levels so I am on medication for that. I really need to cut back on the carbs and lose about 20 pounds so that is my New Year's resolution. I hope everyone has an excellent holiday season out there. Be good to yourselves and try to enjoy life.
Posted by Ken Albin at 02:49 PM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2004
Christmas
I finished the week giving final exams. Everything is graded and I even gave a makeup exam to the "f- you student, as demanded by the dean. We wouldn't want to upset the parents by holding the student accountable for his stupid behavior, would we? Teachers get no respect these days and we have low self esteem. This is not a business for the timid or those of weak character. Your honor and sense of self worth is sometimes all that keeps you in this business. One of our Biology teachers is not coming back after Christmas. She is an excellent teacher who has been given a horrible group of kids and no support from the administration. They have spent the past two weeks harassing the Biology teachers for asking too much from their students! So far my irascible demeanor has kept them away from me, but it is a matter of time before I become a part of this battle. We are trying to keep kids learning in an environment where mediocrity is the rule and teachers dare not expect a lot from students. As I said before, image is everything and parents only have to call the office to elict a panic reaction from the administration. Those who want their students to learn and who push them will be battling the parents, the kids, and the administration. It doesn't matter that the U.S. has low science scores compared to other countries. Don't make waves and this keeps everyone happy. School politics is not taught in education classes, but it should be. It might keep some excellent people from making the mistake of entering education as a career. I ask myself why I have stayed in this business as long as I have. Some days I just do not have a good answer to that question. The rewards get fewer each year and experienced teachers are dropping out with regularity.
Healthwise I have a sinus infection. The rosacea is pretty good with rest but my cholesterol is very high. I go the the doctor Wednesday and will probably be put on a drug to lower the lipid levels. I will also ask for an antibiotic to clear up this miserable sinusitis so I can have a few days of relative peace before being thrown back into the snake pit we call school. Christmas gets more depressing each year. Both parents are dead now and I have no close relatives to visit. We will stay at home again this year and hug the cats and rabbit and be thankful for having them.
Happy holidays.
Posted by Ken Albin at 07:28 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2004
It's nice to be respected
Well folks, it's the end of another long week. The rosacea flushing has not been too bad because the weather has warmed to a nice 75 degrees and the humidity has been fairly high. This helps a lot with symptoms so a little moisturizer has been all I've been putting on. I'm still taking the oil capsules and vitamins.
The end of our first semester is almost here and the holidays are approaching. These two events are bringing out the worst in some students. Today a cell phone went off in my 4th period class. I have asked all students to refrain from bringing cell phones to class for this very reason so I took up 2 phones today. I told the students involved that they could pick up their phones at the end of the day. One of the students began lecturing me that I had no right to take up their phones. I informed him that I certainly did have that right and I asked him to remain after class so we could go to the dean and verify that fact. He walked out when the bell rang, so I sent his phone to the dean along with an explanation of the situation. At the end of the day when the student came for his phone I informed him that it had been sent to the dean and he could pick it up there. He then began yelling at me repeatedly "F__K YOU!!" After he walked away, I went to the dean with a writeup of the event and requested that he be suspended. This poor excuse for a human being is 17 years old and still in the 9th grade. He doesn't know it yet, but he has as much chance returning to my class as I do of marrying Jennifer Lopez. It will be a cold day in Hell before this spawn from the shallow end of the gene pool bothers me again. I've been teaching for too many years to have to put up with trash like that. Thank goodness there are a lot of good kids here who actually are a joy to teach. Otherwise I would have quit long ago.
Posted by Ken Albin at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2004
Dealing with tragedy
This week the rosacea has been hanging in at a moderate pink. It's been cooler so the skin has been trying to dry out.
We've been studying the nervous system with lots of activities. It was a busy week but something happened that overshadowed everything in my honors Biology class. One of my girl's
father passed away with viral meningitis yesterday. It was sudden and I haven't seen the student since I heard about it. I told the class today and we all signed a card to send to the family. These kids are too young to have to face this type of horror and I really don't know what to say when something like this happens. I think the biggest shock for most of them is the sudden realization that they may not be immortal after all.
Posted by Ken Albin at 01:25 PM | Comments (0)
