Dear New Mechanic,
I’m sorry that when you asked for a cash advance on your paycheck, that you didn’t realize it was actually a cash advance, meaning that you would have to pay us back, out of your paycheck. I realize that it was very interesting to you to learn how much a catalytic converter is worth. I understand that they use precious metals in making them, and that when Rick is going to junk a car, he sells the converters separately. Interestingly though, Rick ONLY sells the converters off of the cars that he is sending to the junkyard, because it is illegal to drive without one. Did you really think that it was a good idea to cut the converter off of your own car and sell it? I am so happy for you that you got a whole $250 for it, but now you need to spend $450 for a new one. We really have tried to help you out, but unfortunately we are not able to pay you in advance any more, as we have 7 kids, and cannot afford to keep you up for weeks at a time. We are more than willing to pay you for work that you actually do.
Sorry,
Heidi
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Monday, June 23, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Education Blues
Written 5/28/08
I know you’re probably sick of hearing it, but I need to blog about my job again. This blog has turned into my main form of stress relief, and without it, I might just go insane.
Let me preempt this post with a disclaimer. I want to point out, without a shadow of a doubt, how much I love teachers.
My mother is a teacher. She is an incredible teacher. I have witnessed, for as long as I can remember, her dedication, long hours, hard work, passion, and frustration with teaching. She is the kind of teacher that I wish my children had every year. She stays late at school daily, and works during her weekends and vacations. She continually stays on top of new teaching methods, and researches the brain’s ability to learn. She takes the time to get to know her students’ different learning styles so that she can adapt her teaching style to teach them individually how they will best learn, all the while maintaining an orderly environment conducive to learning. I can remember, during my childhood, many instances of her bringing students home. These were not the students who were respectful, doing well, and got good grades. The students that my mom took a special interest in were the students who needed it most. These students were her most difficult. The one’s many teachers would like to see transferred to another class. She befriends them, takes them out to eat, and pays them to do petty work around the house. She stresses to them the importance of education, and I am confident that she has changed lives. I could NEVER do what she does. Because of her, I know that there are amazing teachers out there.
That being said, I got my results back from my students math eog’s. (end of grade tests). Out of my 25 current students, I have 4 that passed. Granted, the very nature of my program is to help students who are “at risk”. Therefore, I would have been surprised if the majority of them had passed. But, come on, 4? The worse part of this is that most of my students, because of my program, turn in their homework and have fairly good grades. I have a few students who failed the test miserably that have been on honor roll all year. ALL YEAR. My question is how does a teacher give a student an “A” or a “B” for a grade, when the student obviously has no grasp of the material? I have found that the grades my students are getting have nothing to do with what they are learning. The grades are mostly based on if the student does what they are told. If they sit quietly and don’t draw attention to themselves. If they turn in their homework (even if it is wrong). So these “good” students, whether they are learning anything or not, think that they are. They think, “Well, I have had a good grade in that class all year, I will do fine on the test” They don’t need to study, they don’t need to worry.
WHAT IS GOING ON??? There is a serious problem with the education system in our country. And, we’re the best country in the world. People die trying to come here to live. Why are our students performing so poorly compared to other countries? Why are our high-school students graduating with a VAST difference in knowledge depending on where they live? Why do I feel, as a parent, that I need to use my brother-in-laws address to get my kids into a different “better” school district then my own. It is so SAD that our children don’t have the same opportunity across the board. How does a student get an “A” in math all year, and then fail the math test miserably?
And about my particular students who all failed? My 8th graders will have 2 more chances to take the test, and will then be held back. Some will end up dropping out of school, because who wants to be 16 or 17 in the 8th grade? My 6th and 7th graders will be bumped up, until 8th grade, when they will be faced with the same dilemma. And unfortunately, they don’t understand the ramifications. 2 of my students were really upset. I was trying to console them about the test, and they both gave me blank stares. Then I found out that they had just “broken up”. Lord help us.
I would also like to take the time to thank someone. All of our children are absolutely brilliant, but 1 of them is particularly gifted. She is in the highest level of classes, and “AIG” (the intellectually gifted program). She is amazing. She also received her first “C” this year. Not because she didn’t do the homework, not because she wasn’t polite and respectful. She received a “C” because she was struggling with the material. So thank-you, Mrs. Culbertson, for being honest with her. Even if she cried. A lot. I would much rather my children be prepared and know what they need to work on, than think that they are doing better than they actually are because they don’t give someone problems in the classroom.
I know you’re probably sick of hearing it, but I need to blog about my job again. This blog has turned into my main form of stress relief, and without it, I might just go insane.
Let me preempt this post with a disclaimer. I want to point out, without a shadow of a doubt, how much I love teachers.
My mother is a teacher. She is an incredible teacher. I have witnessed, for as long as I can remember, her dedication, long hours, hard work, passion, and frustration with teaching. She is the kind of teacher that I wish my children had every year. She stays late at school daily, and works during her weekends and vacations. She continually stays on top of new teaching methods, and researches the brain’s ability to learn. She takes the time to get to know her students’ different learning styles so that she can adapt her teaching style to teach them individually how they will best learn, all the while maintaining an orderly environment conducive to learning. I can remember, during my childhood, many instances of her bringing students home. These were not the students who were respectful, doing well, and got good grades. The students that my mom took a special interest in were the students who needed it most. These students were her most difficult. The one’s many teachers would like to see transferred to another class. She befriends them, takes them out to eat, and pays them to do petty work around the house. She stresses to them the importance of education, and I am confident that she has changed lives. I could NEVER do what she does. Because of her, I know that there are amazing teachers out there.
That being said, I got my results back from my students math eog’s. (end of grade tests). Out of my 25 current students, I have 4 that passed. Granted, the very nature of my program is to help students who are “at risk”. Therefore, I would have been surprised if the majority of them had passed. But, come on, 4? The worse part of this is that most of my students, because of my program, turn in their homework and have fairly good grades. I have a few students who failed the test miserably that have been on honor roll all year. ALL YEAR. My question is how does a teacher give a student an “A” or a “B” for a grade, when the student obviously has no grasp of the material? I have found that the grades my students are getting have nothing to do with what they are learning. The grades are mostly based on if the student does what they are told. If they sit quietly and don’t draw attention to themselves. If they turn in their homework (even if it is wrong). So these “good” students, whether they are learning anything or not, think that they are. They think, “Well, I have had a good grade in that class all year, I will do fine on the test” They don’t need to study, they don’t need to worry.
WHAT IS GOING ON??? There is a serious problem with the education system in our country. And, we’re the best country in the world. People die trying to come here to live. Why are our students performing so poorly compared to other countries? Why are our high-school students graduating with a VAST difference in knowledge depending on where they live? Why do I feel, as a parent, that I need to use my brother-in-laws address to get my kids into a different “better” school district then my own. It is so SAD that our children don’t have the same opportunity across the board. How does a student get an “A” in math all year, and then fail the math test miserably?
And about my particular students who all failed? My 8th graders will have 2 more chances to take the test, and will then be held back. Some will end up dropping out of school, because who wants to be 16 or 17 in the 8th grade? My 6th and 7th graders will be bumped up, until 8th grade, when they will be faced with the same dilemma. And unfortunately, they don’t understand the ramifications. 2 of my students were really upset. I was trying to console them about the test, and they both gave me blank stares. Then I found out that they had just “broken up”. Lord help us.
I would also like to take the time to thank someone. All of our children are absolutely brilliant, but 1 of them is particularly gifted. She is in the highest level of classes, and “AIG” (the intellectually gifted program). She is amazing. She also received her first “C” this year. Not because she didn’t do the homework, not because she wasn’t polite and respectful. She received a “C” because she was struggling with the material. So thank-you, Mrs. Culbertson, for being honest with her. Even if she cried. A lot. I would much rather my children be prepared and know what they need to work on, than think that they are doing better than they actually are because they don’t give someone problems in the classroom.
Who needs sleep?
Written 5/20/08
Can I vent for a minute?
I'll take that as a yes.
This week SUCKS!!!!! I mean, our lives are always hectic, but someone needs to put me out of my misery this week.
Mon: 8:00- kids to school, to the shop to work, had to get the girls some clothes for their allstar gymnastics tryouts at walmart, at my job at 2:00, out at 5:35, met Rick at the Gym (gymnastics) at 5:45, home at 8:00, dinner, bathtime, and bed.
I missed my first IEP meeting for Andrew, which was at 2:00. They usually schedule these for Fri. because I dont work Fri. but they couldn't get us in until Mon. Rick had to leave the gym, pick up the boys at daycare, and get pizza for dinner.
Tue: This is EOG (end of grade test) week for the kids, which means a hot breakfast instead of their usual cereal. Rick cooked this morning, I will get up and do the breakfast duty tomorrow morning.
8:00- kids to school, Rick and I had errands to run in the morning, and an appointment at 11:00. had to get some stuff for my job, back to the shop at 2:00, off to my job at 2:30. out at 5:30. Pick up boys, meet Rick at the Gym at 5:50. Home at 8:00. Grocery Store for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and yogurt because it was SO LATE! dinner, bed.
Wed. and Thur. I have to Proctor for the EOG's at my school, which means I will be dropping my kids off at 7:30, so that I can get to my school at 8:00, and stay there all day, walking around a silent classroom, watching students NOT cheat on their tests. I will not be allowed to sit down. In case in that 5 sec. that I rest my legs, one of those crafty 12-yr.-olds breaks out a answer sheet.
Thurs: my job takes a field-trip, with all the other programs like mine, which means that instead of dealing with 25 fresh out of testing, restless, wild, middle-school aged kids, I will get to enjoy 150 of them. I will get out of work at 5:45, and then rush to get to the boys tee-ball game at 6:15.
Fri, one of the kids has an ENT dr. app. I don't know which one, and I don't CARE!
These days of not sitting down or taking a breath until 9:00 at night are going to KILL me!
Did I mention that I can't wait for this school year to end?
Can I vent for a minute?
I'll take that as a yes.
This week SUCKS!!!!! I mean, our lives are always hectic, but someone needs to put me out of my misery this week.
Mon: 8:00- kids to school, to the shop to work, had to get the girls some clothes for their allstar gymnastics tryouts at walmart, at my job at 2:00, out at 5:35, met Rick at the Gym (gymnastics) at 5:45, home at 8:00, dinner, bathtime, and bed.
I missed my first IEP meeting for Andrew, which was at 2:00. They usually schedule these for Fri. because I dont work Fri. but they couldn't get us in until Mon. Rick had to leave the gym, pick up the boys at daycare, and get pizza for dinner.
Tue: This is EOG (end of grade test) week for the kids, which means a hot breakfast instead of their usual cereal. Rick cooked this morning, I will get up and do the breakfast duty tomorrow morning.
8:00- kids to school, Rick and I had errands to run in the morning, and an appointment at 11:00. had to get some stuff for my job, back to the shop at 2:00, off to my job at 2:30. out at 5:30. Pick up boys, meet Rick at the Gym at 5:50. Home at 8:00. Grocery Store for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and yogurt because it was SO LATE! dinner, bed.
Wed. and Thur. I have to Proctor for the EOG's at my school, which means I will be dropping my kids off at 7:30, so that I can get to my school at 8:00, and stay there all day, walking around a silent classroom, watching students NOT cheat on their tests. I will not be allowed to sit down. In case in that 5 sec. that I rest my legs, one of those crafty 12-yr.-olds breaks out a answer sheet.
Thurs: my job takes a field-trip, with all the other programs like mine, which means that instead of dealing with 25 fresh out of testing, restless, wild, middle-school aged kids, I will get to enjoy 150 of them. I will get out of work at 5:45, and then rush to get to the boys tee-ball game at 6:15.
Fri, one of the kids has an ENT dr. app. I don't know which one, and I don't CARE!
These days of not sitting down or taking a breath until 9:00 at night are going to KILL me!
Did I mention that I can't wait for this school year to end?
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Talented Mechanic
Written 4/16/08
Well people, Kyley and Andrew are gone on their Outerbanks field-trip. Rick and I were up until 2:00 am last night, and finished everything this morning to get them ready for a four-day-trip. Why were we up until 2:00am and still didn’t finish? Because we have only known about this trip for EIGHT MONTHS. That’s why.
Rick wanted me to report on his job. As you may know, he owns a used car-lot. Because Rick has a full-time mechanic at the shop, when he sells the car, he explains to the customer that if the car breaks-down, he will fix it for a much lower rate than a garage. This keeps the customer happy, which in turn, brings him more customers through word of mouth advertising. Happy customers = More customers. So now for the story:
He had a customer coming in every-other week to make her payment. Every time she came, she was in the passenger seat of someone else’s car. He assumed that her son was using the car that she bought from Rick. After approximately 3 months of this, when she came in to make her payment, she said that the car had been broken-down for a few months, and she thought that she had saved enough money to get it fixed. Rick was shocked, and explained that he wished she would have told him, as he could have fixed her car and worked out a financial arrangement with her. He towed her car back to the shop that same day to fix it. She was quite surprised when he called her within 15 min. to tell her that her car was fixed, and it wasn’t going to cost her anything but the tow bill.
“Well, how did you fix it?” she asked.
“I put gas in it”
I would love to say that this is the only time this has happened. It’s not. Three times now this has occurred.
The lesson of this story? I’m not the only one who has to call Rick when I drive the car completely out of gas.
Well people, Kyley and Andrew are gone on their Outerbanks field-trip. Rick and I were up until 2:00 am last night, and finished everything this morning to get them ready for a four-day-trip. Why were we up until 2:00am and still didn’t finish? Because we have only known about this trip for EIGHT MONTHS. That’s why.
Rick wanted me to report on his job. As you may know, he owns a used car-lot. Because Rick has a full-time mechanic at the shop, when he sells the car, he explains to the customer that if the car breaks-down, he will fix it for a much lower rate than a garage. This keeps the customer happy, which in turn, brings him more customers through word of mouth advertising. Happy customers = More customers. So now for the story:
He had a customer coming in every-other week to make her payment. Every time she came, she was in the passenger seat of someone else’s car. He assumed that her son was using the car that she bought from Rick. After approximately 3 months of this, when she came in to make her payment, she said that the car had been broken-down for a few months, and she thought that she had saved enough money to get it fixed. Rick was shocked, and explained that he wished she would have told him, as he could have fixed her car and worked out a financial arrangement with her. He towed her car back to the shop that same day to fix it. She was quite surprised when he called her within 15 min. to tell her that her car was fixed, and it wasn’t going to cost her anything but the tow bill.
“Well, how did you fix it?” she asked.
“I put gas in it”
I would love to say that this is the only time this has happened. It’s not. Three times now this has occurred.
The lesson of this story? I’m not the only one who has to call Rick when I drive the car completely out of gas.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Y'all jiss don know haow t tawlk
Written 3/25/08
There is a day after Easter story that I can’t delve to deep into, because kids surf the internet. Anyway, I’ll just say that it involves Rainia finding stuff in our room, and my mother explaining to her that the Easter Bunny always leaves supplies for anyone who works in a school system to make baskets for other children just in case the Easter Bunny forgot to visit their house. Rainia, at 9 years old, had one of the saddest moments of her life. She barely spoke to anyone for the rest of the day.
On the flip side, I felt better today. But first I felt worse. I had to go back to work today, so I checked my school e-mail which I never do on my days off. I should make a point of checking it once in a while, because this was 9:30 am. Of course there was an e-mail from my supervisor saying that there was a mandatory staff meeting at 10:00 am. And do not be late. I have never washed myself so quickly in my entire life. I’m sure I missed some spots, but I put on a little extra perfume to make up for it. I wrapped my hair so tightly that when I took it down this evening it was still wet. I hopped out the door on one foot so that I could save zero seconds by putting my other shoe on in the car. I called Rick on the way to tell him my bum luck, and by the way, I may just run out of gas because the car is below empty. By the grace of God I didn’t run out of gas, and I was only 6 minutes late to the meeting.
This is how the whole day went. I got home at about 7:45 since it was a field-trip night. I honestly did not have time to feel depressed all day, and by the time I got home, the kids had already eaten Rick’s specialty. Rick’s specialty is Sloppy Joes. That’s what we called them up north. Around here, they are called Manwiches. I guess Rick thinks that it is ok to cook them, because they have the word “Man” in them. Because of that, I don’t argue the word. I like to argue the difference between Northern and Southern words, weiner instead of hotdog, y’all instead of you guys, and the one that really gets under my skin, toboggan. Where I come from, a toboggan is a kind of sled. Around here a toboggan is a hat. Since it only snows here once a year, and the snow is gone within hours, I believe that I have the authority over the difference between a sled and a hat. You cannot put a sled on your head! But I let Rick have Manwich, because that and soup are the only things he cooks. And the soup is questionable because last week when I was sick, I had some condensed soup WITH NO WATER ADDED. Lord was I glad to see those manwiches tonight though.
Rick says that it was a good thing that I had that meeting this morning, and had to work all day. He made the point that he would be depressed too if he had to spend the whole day in the house. Maybe he’s right. All I know is that I have a doctor’s appointment soon to talk about medication, and I am counting down the days.
Jacob and Joshua were play fighting today, which sometimes gets out of hand, but I was busy eating the best manwich in the world, so I didn’t stop them. Rick and I were sitting at the table when we heard Jake say to his twin, who is ½ in. shorter, but 5lbs. heavier, “You dont know kawate wittle kid.” We couldn’t help but to laugh.
There is a day after Easter story that I can’t delve to deep into, because kids surf the internet. Anyway, I’ll just say that it involves Rainia finding stuff in our room, and my mother explaining to her that the Easter Bunny always leaves supplies for anyone who works in a school system to make baskets for other children just in case the Easter Bunny forgot to visit their house. Rainia, at 9 years old, had one of the saddest moments of her life. She barely spoke to anyone for the rest of the day.
On the flip side, I felt better today. But first I felt worse. I had to go back to work today, so I checked my school e-mail which I never do on my days off. I should make a point of checking it once in a while, because this was 9:30 am. Of course there was an e-mail from my supervisor saying that there was a mandatory staff meeting at 10:00 am. And do not be late. I have never washed myself so quickly in my entire life. I’m sure I missed some spots, but I put on a little extra perfume to make up for it. I wrapped my hair so tightly that when I took it down this evening it was still wet. I hopped out the door on one foot so that I could save zero seconds by putting my other shoe on in the car. I called Rick on the way to tell him my bum luck, and by the way, I may just run out of gas because the car is below empty. By the grace of God I didn’t run out of gas, and I was only 6 minutes late to the meeting.
This is how the whole day went. I got home at about 7:45 since it was a field-trip night. I honestly did not have time to feel depressed all day, and by the time I got home, the kids had already eaten Rick’s specialty. Rick’s specialty is Sloppy Joes. That’s what we called them up north. Around here, they are called Manwiches. I guess Rick thinks that it is ok to cook them, because they have the word “Man” in them. Because of that, I don’t argue the word. I like to argue the difference between Northern and Southern words, weiner instead of hotdog, y’all instead of you guys, and the one that really gets under my skin, toboggan. Where I come from, a toboggan is a kind of sled. Around here a toboggan is a hat. Since it only snows here once a year, and the snow is gone within hours, I believe that I have the authority over the difference between a sled and a hat. You cannot put a sled on your head! But I let Rick have Manwich, because that and soup are the only things he cooks. And the soup is questionable because last week when I was sick, I had some condensed soup WITH NO WATER ADDED. Lord was I glad to see those manwiches tonight though.
Rick says that it was a good thing that I had that meeting this morning, and had to work all day. He made the point that he would be depressed too if he had to spend the whole day in the house. Maybe he’s right. All I know is that I have a doctor’s appointment soon to talk about medication, and I am counting down the days.
Jacob and Joshua were play fighting today, which sometimes gets out of hand, but I was busy eating the best manwich in the world, so I didn’t stop them. Rick and I were sitting at the table when we heard Jake say to his twin, who is ½ in. shorter, but 5lbs. heavier, “You dont know kawate wittle kid.” We couldn’t help but to laugh.
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