So we just experienced some major wind. And since I'm from Benicia, where it's really windy, it wasn't anything exciting truthfully. The wind blew most of the snow away and it started to melt. True, we had some rain, but it really wasn't anything big.
We DID have a big snowstorm later in the week though. That brought a lot of snow & wind. Dakota loves being out in the snow, and I love snuggling under a warm blanket with my pets with the wind howling outside. Some of the bets naps I ever had were during a snow storm.
People thought it was weird that I had never been around snow when I agreed to move to Alaska. But I really do love living with snow. I enjoy it so much. I really love having a snow dog now too.
I think Dakota is over 50 pounds now. I can barely lift him. I let him go off his leash to play with some teacher dogs and he did really well. So far he knows: come, sit, high five (really shake), drop it, and speak. I've just started "lie down" and I'd love to teach "sing" (where he howls).
But this week, we start house breaking. To be honest, I'm a little unsure as to how to do this. He knows how to go outside but he still goes on his pads. And after the airport fiasco, I'm not trusting him to not go in people's houses.
School is going really well. I really love my students. They make me laugh and bring so much joy to my life. One day, we were reading from our leveled readers and there was a picture of a clown fish. One of my 3rd grade boys looks up at me and says, "Clown fish? They tell jokes?" And he was dead serious.....and it took all I had not to laugh!
There's a dark light ahead.....some of the issues I face out here teaching are being faced all over the United States. State testing is hitting teachers hard. I'll soon be judged on my student's test scores as to whether or not I'm a good teacher. And my students are so stinkin' smart, but most of them struggle with tests. Imagine taking a test that mention school buses, when most of the country has had to cut buses out of their budget.....then imagine teaching in a place with a dirt road and most of the rides are four-wheelers or snow mobiles. So of course, a test that mentions something you've never seen is quite appropriate, no?
I love teaching, I really do, but if I can't show the results the state wants, then I'm out of a job. Sure, I may bounce around from job to job until I can't find one or I start teaching in a place no one else will teach, but my future as an educator may be in jeopardy.
What other option will I have but to marry rich? ;)
So, I am seeing the writing on the wall. I need to tighten my skills and become the best teacher I can be. I've been working on my classroom management skills for the last 6 years, and now my focus will be on various teaching methods.
My goal is to teach a fish to climb a tree. Cause essentially, that's what the tests are like.....how high a fish can climb a tree.....that's why you read about teachers in other states just throwing the fish up in the tree....i.e. changing test scores....what state was that? Alamba?
Anywhoo, I've been kinda withdrawn this past week. My aunt is in a coma right now and I've been mostly talking to my mom a lot. I've kinda taken a break from the internet. My new season of CSI came in and so I've been catching up with my one of my favorite shows. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but I don't have cable. It's by choice. My cable company pissed me off by offering a deal to my brother's house and my mother's house, but not to me.....they wanted me to pay $200 a month. That was four years ago. I don't miss TV. Last year, my roommate got cable and it was on constantly. Sure, I liked watching the oscars, but it wasn't worth it to me to get it again. So I just rent seasons and catch up.
But now to end on a lighter note: here's Dakota being a draft blocker at the Miller's. (Thanks Michelle for the pic! ~ Check out her blog on my page!!)
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| My snow dog finding the coldest spot in the house. |
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