"Glitches"

I'm perturbed. Adults are supposed to take care of kids and it's hard for me to sit by and see shoddy performances by the grown ups around here.

J is one of my former students and has a hereditary syndrome which, among other awful things, is taking her eyesight. She actually has been legally blind for several years and it's not getting better. She is a bright child, a hard worker, a trooper, not a complainer....I've seen her walk right up to the chalkboard and squint, inches away, determined to see.

There are tools that can help J and when she was at my school, she had some of these tools. So I was shocked to hear that now at the middle school, she is doing without. They have none of the various magnifing machines as aids for her. I'm not faulting the teachers. J brings out the best in educators and I've never seen a teacher who didn't stretch and grow from working with her (including me).

It's the special ed department that fell down here. They only ordered the supplies last week, nearly a month after the beginning of school. Who knows how quickly these things will arrive? This child has had as IEP for seven years. She was not a surprise who showed up at the special ed department's doorstep on the first day of school. I am angry about the low standard of care for this child. And I'm afraid some of it might have to do with the fact that J is also gifted. Is the SpEd department doing that "thing", that thinking that because she's gifted, she will make it even with this disability? They are calling it a "glitch". I'm wondering if it's not a possible lawsuit.

And on another note, one of my little 3rd graders today told me that his mom took him and his two brothers out of school last Wednesday afternoon for a "weird reason". She wanted to go to the movies so they went to see Hancock. This kid knew this was screwy. He said several times that it wasn't his idea. No, it wasn't his idea....he's eight. It took a bonehead adult to think of something this lame. I would call this a major parent brain glitch.

I'm very impatient with these glitches. Hey adults, don't make life harder for children. That's just plain wrong.

Finally.....September!

Hooray! The longest month (or so it seems) is over! I was looking at that gorgeous baby sweater in my last entry and I thought "What is that dirt evident from the deck?" That, my friends, is the grass. And it's not just our lawn. All the lawns around these parts are dry and seer. That's August in Indiana.

But I took a look around my August landscape and by gum, there are still some good things going on in the flowerbeds. Lookee here...


Another good thing: I have finished the Buggy Blanket for our little Cincy grandchild. I learned that I do not like intarsia, at least not for a pattern like this one. But I do love this blanket and the idea that it will keep our baby snug and warm.

And finally, I need to post a correction. Someone near and dear took exception when I said I didn't like September. It seems he thinks I should appreciate the month of his birth and he certainly has a valid point there. Not only that but September leads right into October and that is, as we all know, the king of the year!

Playing around

I'm so excited! I've learned how to upload (or download...can't remember the term) photos! And so here is my latest knitting project: a sweater for my soon-to-join-us Cincinnati grand baby.

Please note: Hand painted yarn. What every stylish newborn is wearing these days.

That's better....

....or at least less green.

Time for a new picture

I like this picture of me....Scout thinks my arms are stretched out because I'm sending her a hug. (True and also they are stretched out because otherwise when I take a picture of myself, all I get is the pores of my nose.) So this photo is just a bit special to me. However, I am noticing that green tinge more and more. Time to download more photos and turn my skin back to a more normal hue. No more Grandma from Emerald City.

On another note, I had my first school study trip. We took 72 fifth graders downtown to do research at the library. A good time with just the usual bumps in the road (nice play on words after that bus ride)....one child telling me all about how my gray hair ages me, another telling me all he knew which was a lot about his personal favorites Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan, another few boys having to be stopped from assaulting one another's privaties on the bus (oh, the back of the bus is an unholy place). We timed it well because I definitely can use this three day weekend for recovery!

August

I'm just sitting here thinking that I am not a fan of August. When those crickets or cicadas or whatever they are start making that insect sound, it sends me into an August funk. And speaking of insects, I see bugs in August that I never see earlier or later in the year. Maybe they are necessary to Mother Nature but I think they are nasty.

We start back to school even though it is barely midsummer. I love teaching and once I'm in my school year routine, I'm comfortable and happy. But the transition is hell. Being in two schools stinks at this time of year. Setting up two classrooms, two schedules, working with two principals and two staffs....this taxes my limited organizational skills. This year I sent out my list of students and my schedule 3 times at one school and never at the other. I'm blaming it on Xanax madness...

There's not enough rain and my garden is thirsty but I'm too hot and pooped out from adjusting to school to even have empathy. Anything that survives August in my garden is a trooper. If I survive August, I'm a trooper.

And don't get me started on why I don't like September......

School: Day 2

Much better!