Broken System

It's been a few days I know and I will get you caught up on the kids and the test scores but first I have to findmy soap box. Okay, there it is :-) Friday night Sarah and I went to Mexico to hang out with our friends and it was pointed out to us that there was a bus parked by the border. This is apparently the deportation bus. What happens is the U.S. government saves up a bunch of people who have been caught in this country illegally and then they bus them to a point of entry and drop them off. I was aware that this happened because my friend's husband was deported. What I was not aware of was the process.

There is a gate that the people get off the bus and walk through and then they walk through this long fenced in area to a turnstyle where they give a border patrol agent their name and they are released into Mexico. That's it. All they have is what they are carrying. No family, no plane ticket, no money, nothing.

Since moving here I have come to understand a whole new side of immigration and the debate over our borders but let me tell you, what I witnessed Friday night should make any American ashamed of our government that this is how we treat anyone, citizen or not. There were children in that line. Young girls. Who are now, this very moment at risk to be raped, sold, murdered and God knows what else. Border towns are dangerous places because people get left there without anything and will do anything.

I don't know the answer but I know treating people like they don't exist is not right. Next time you get a chance to vote on an immigration issue please think about all sides of it. There are two sides to everything and just because one side is expensive or difficult doesn't make it wrong.

Migraines I like

Believe it or not there are some migraines I like. I know that sounds weird coming from anyone, especially me being hospitlized and injected wit things and taking all the pills that I do. But it is true, I guess after all these years I have grow accustomed to the little guys. Yesterday I had one I like, very sharp pain in one place and the shot took care of it nicely.

Today however, is another story. Lots of pain all around, constant, makes me grumpy. I had bad dreams, didn't sleep alot and jsut want to go to sleep. It has to go away beause we are going to Palm Springs in a few days and vacation starts at 3 today. I think it is weird that I have some migraines that I like, what do you think?

Big Day

Today is a big day for me. I am an interventionist. What this means to the outside world is that I take kids who are two to three years behind in reading and writing and try to bring them to grade level in one year. What this means in my everyday life, chaos, referrals, nonstop talking and evergy, judgement and oh yeah, chaos. But today is the day.

My babies are taking the test. Not the AIMS test, that's after break. This is the test for the end of the level of intervention. To see if they have made growth over the months that they have been in my care. I think I was a little freaked out this morning about it. There is a mystery stain in my new shirt and we have conferences today. I actually ran in the building looking for somone and I have a migraine, tell tale signs that I was freaking out but I don't notice until after of course. I am nervous for them. They have worked hard to patch the holes and move up.

Now, they are nervously sitting there trying to take there test like it is the SAT's or something. I keep saying they are doing great, but are they really? Did I really do well by them. I took two leaves of absence and yelled at them alot. So many things that I could have done better are going through my head. Time will tell. I will update when I know.

Blood in Blood out

This is the title of a film that was released in 1993. You may not have heard of it, don't worry, I am not sure many peopl have. It is a 3 hour long epic of gang life in east L.A. set from the early 1970's to the late 1980's. It follows 3 cousins who grow up together and end up taking very different paths. You may wonder why I am telling you this. It has to do with lesson 489 of being a teacher. Never say yes to a student without knowing for sure what you are getting into. One of my students asked me if I had seen this movie and I said no, I had never heard of it. He raved about it and said I had to see it, it was great, his favorite movie. I figured this was the end. But no, he brought the DVD to school. The unrated directors cut. Fantastic.

This movie had some very bad acting, some very bad violence (but no worse than the Sopranos), and I was sure it was never going to end. There was one surprise at which I was mildly interested and Sarah (who watched in protest at first and then in the way that you can't stop watching something horrific because you might miss the most horrific part) wants me to bring it up at parent teacher conferences this week as to why they let their son watch this movie and if they want him to emmulate the behavior. The movie was pretty true to real life. Much of it takes place in San Quentin and I have seen several documentaries on it and it did not seem overly dramatic for the movie.

Anyway, my review is thumbs down because frankly it is depressing, especially if you have never been to L.A. and never spent much time with hispanic people, it only shows the negative side of gang life (no there is not a positive). It is late, I am going to sleep.

Morning Mayhem

Something fascinating happens every morning at our house. As we rush around getting ready, so do our neighbors. We have fallen into a very predictable pattern of getting dressed, making lunch and then eating oatmeal. While we are eating our oatmeal we usually see our neighbors going through their predictable morning routine. Dad comes out of house, runs down sidewalk with backpack in hand. If you count to ten slowly a young boy will follow (very slowly). He is usually carrying a glass of milk or eating on the run. If you then count slowly to five or seven you will see a teenage girl likewise with some sort of food and hurrying down the walk, trying not to get left behind. Occasionally a teenage boy is there as well but he manages to get out before the crowd most mornings.

This is fascinating because one, it gives us breakfast fodder and two, it seems crazy that so many people live so quietly nextdoor and are so late every morning!

Monday Funday!

Monday dawned early this morning. Not as early as it should have though! My alarm went off and Sarah said, are you getting up? and I said, yes. Then I promptly fell back asleep. Hard. for almost 30 minutes and evidently so did Sarah as I heard her stumble toward the shower later. We made it to work on time but it has been one of those days where you always feel behind. And seeing as those I didn't have my lesson plans done it was interesting. But now all is well. We have started essays and wrote odes.

Two more periods and then a parent meeting and then home for more sleep! Hope everyone had a good Monday.

Happy Thoughts

I usually blog about things that upset me or that are ironically not funny so today I'm going to blog about happy things instead (or actually Sarah is going to blog, I am dictating as my head hurts - but that is the only not happy thing I'll blog about now).
Happy Thought #1 - One of my students had an almost perfect essay after a whole year of behavior and academic problems. We were very proud of him!
Happy Thought #2 - My students were perfect for a huge observation yesterday therefore my observation was nearly perfect and my boss is very happy!
Happy Thought #3 - No one judged me last night when I chose to eat 2 chocolate milk shakes for dinner because I could not share in the alcohol that was being used to celebrate our great observations!
Happy Thought #4 - I am being recruited by the local high school to teach there next year. It will not happen but it's nice to be wanted and sought after.
Happy Thought #5 - I got up and cleaned the bathroom this morning and I may even fold the laundry later.
Happy Thought #6 - Today is a pedicure day and it's also going to be 95 degrees! Perfect weather for the pool party at 2pm!
Happy Thought #7 - Sarah gave me a shot of pain killers, saving me the trouble.
Happy Thought #8 - I got to sleep in this morning! (I put my sleep mask on so the sun wouldn't bother me.)
Happy Thought #9 - I lost 2 pounds this week!
Happy Thought #10 - I saw Little Miss Sunshine this week which was a really good film. It was the first independent I've ever liked, according to Sarah. It was very funny, I highly recommend it!