Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Entry 9

I've had to change my plan from daily impromptu writing because the system at school doesn't allow blogs. I don't get home until 10:00 at night, often too weary to gather my thoughts for this blog. I didn't feel sincere calling day 12 day 8 so I've switched title to numbered 'entries'.
My students are more motivated as a whole than last year's bunch. Could be I'm more alert and on top of things. Last year students were given a syllabus of assignments, all independent work units, and were told to work at their own pace (that was the model I inherited when I joined the system). A few students were so far behind in obtaining enough credits to graduate that they indeed were motivated to work day and night to complete course early,enabling them to complete more courses in the school year. But, for the most part, our students were accustomed to not being seen in the big classes at main campus; they became experts at looking busy and doing nothing -
n o t h i n g. These students come to our school expecting to get away with same behavior - give them 18 weeks to do five units and they'll take 18 weeks! We don't allow our students to be invisible. Our classes are small enough to monitor each kid's progress and classroom activity. They don't get to stare into space - they're called on it and re-directed or they're put on an academic contract that risks an F for the course if they miss deadlines.

That said, I also brazenly changed the entire curriculum this year and spelled out weekly due dates for all 18 weeks. One day a week students work with me on composition while the other students work independently on literature and versa-vice.(Remember I have two levels of students in same class at same time) Students are adhering to the schedule and many are completing their independent literature studies early. The student motivation and progress are great except that we have composition lessons through the end of November. Hmmmm. What will the students do if they have no literature assignment to work on?? That was my dilemma yesterday. Problem solved. I added more literature assignments. The really good news here is that students are learning much more than they did last year.

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Day 8

I always look forward to Mondays. On Sunday night when everyone has to get home early to be ready for Monday, I just smile because so do I have to be ready for Monday but not until 3:00!!! I enjoy my teaching but not necessarily the conditions under which I teach. If I'd never worked in the corporate world, I might be more tolerant of inefficiencies. For example, when you teach you lose the right to go to the bathroom whenever the urge hits; you cannot leave a classroom unsupervised so you either call for security to watch your class (and they're never quick) or you wait and race down the student-clogged hallway between classes. Most everyone knows that a teacher's work is not done when they walk out the door - piles of papers have to be graded and weekends are often spent finishing papers and planning lessons.We don't get nice relaxing lunches, either - they are spent eating on our feet while we patrol lunchrooms, hallways or outside play areas. During the course of any corporate business day, I might stroll over to another manager's desk and visit - not when you teach! There's no time to visit with colleagues. I thank my lucky stars that I have a room with a linoleum floor where I can see the dirt and sweep or scrub away; many classrooms have old filthy carpet that hasn't been cleaned properly in years. We all put up with technology - we stumble over heaps of cords that are shoddily installed, we dread the too often message that all systems are down, and we're grateful for technology as it is delivered. We are given a tiny dark workroom under the stairwell with no windows and inadequate lighting to work on our prep period. We're not allowed to work in our rooms because we most often share the room with another teacher; we must haul our papers, resource books, pencils, staplers, paper clips,and grade cards with us to the work room. Further, we're not allowed to use the copier in the workroom because it belongs to the day school. We must cart our papers from the workroom to the principal's office and use the very slow copier there. Large copy orders are sent to the print shop which helps when you're organized. For those impromptu lessons, just another teacher prevention barrier, I call it! The kids are what makes us love what we do. It certainly is not the salary or the conditions. A teacher needs a lot of dignity up front when entering the teaching profession as dignity is not nurtured inside the system.

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Day 7

Uneventful. Really! I taught English 1 same thing as yesterday's English 1 students - using graphic organizers to expand topic sentence. Everyone behaved. I had Fancy, my standard poodle in class with me; students love her and she's well-behaved. At dinner break, Fancy and I went to the Dairy Queen for ice cream cones. Taught third hour and drove my 37 minute commute home on the I-10. That's it!

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Day 6/Esprit Du Free!

I am still jazzed at my discovery on Sunday that I was able to drive my 5-speed Miata one-armed. I hadn't tried since three years ago when my arm swelled up so with lymphodema and it stopped working all together. I sat in my little dream car and twisted my body every way possible to try and get the key in the ignition. I just couldn't bend enough around the steering wheel so sadly I determined my Miata days were over. It has sat in my garage collecting dust ever since. Sunday, I was nearing a bittersweet opportunity to sell the car - how I hated parting with my symbol of top-down-music-up road-esprit du free! "I better just make sure I can't drive this car before I let it go," I thought to myself. Well, low and behold, three years later, call me more limber and a little bit slimmer - I got the key in the ignition! Started like a charm. Next step - take it around the block. Gingerly I let off the clutch, pressed down the gas pedal and purred out of my driveway in first gear. With a blink of an eye, my hand left the wheel to shift into second. Hand back on the wheel and we're cruising down my street. Into neutral for the stop sign, then a quick pop back into first, deftly into second gear - no fear! Third was a stretch of the rib cage and not pretty but I made it. I can't scoot the seat up as closely as it needs to be in order to fully engage the clutch, making third gear a little tricky. Onto the freeway and into fourth gear and we're cruisin'! What a thrill to be back in the seat of my little white rumble car!

Long story short, I decided not to sell the Miata (dah!) and instead drove it to work Monday, top down music up! I lilted up the sidewalk to get ready for a meeting with the Superintendent. For the first time in three years, I actually read my contract instead of just signing it and I discovered they were only giving me credit for 32 hours - I was sure I had more graduate hours than that so asked for a review of transcript. Turns out there has been an oversight of 40 more credit hours - so happily I moved two steps laterally which gives me a little pay raise of about $4,000.00! Too bad I didn't pay attention these past two years!

Anyway, I taught with high spirits on Monday. My English 1 kids learned how to use three different graphic organizers to expand a topic sentence. Rachel's mom came in fore a performance conference during third hour. Rachel dresses goth, keeps hair over her face which is so covered in piercings that she looks like she fell into a tackle box;she sits at a front table by herself, and writes very lightly in pencil; this girl does not want to be noticed. Last week, I took some graded work back to her and commented on what a good job she had done. Since then, she has been contributing - albeit very quietly- just loud enough for me to hear- but she has become engaged in class. So I was able to report to her mother, in front of Rachel who was at her mom's side, that her daughter was doing well and was demonstrating some excellent writing skills. Rachel beamed.

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Days 4,5

Thursday my English 2 students were asked to take a test identifying components of good writing; topic sentence, supporting detail,specific details, organization, coherence. This gave my English 1 students time to read their literature assignments. But Bernardo took out his cell phone to answer - an automatic F for the course- so I had to take time to write up grade card and referral to ISS - in house suspension. Then I found Sam drawing instead of reading - so I had to write up another referral to ISS. Burgandy threw up at my doorway shortly into the class period. Seems her dinner didn't agree with her. I knew I was saving that toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash in my drawer for something - came in handy. Remarkably, she cleaned up, came back to class and was productive. Janitor was there right away to clean up floor. Students were compassionate - wanted to make sure Burgundy was all right. Cesar finished his assignment early and volunteered to rub on a vinyl saying above my door - " If music be the food of love, play on" by Shakespeare. Travis and his girlfriend Cassandra insisted on holding hands and laughing out loud, disrupting the other students so I moved them outside to a picnic table on the patio outside my back door - they had to finish their worksheet or they would be referred to ISS.
I play soft jazz during class - students like it. I keep fresh flowers on my desk at all times and candy in my drawer for little rewards. I also keep a supply of band aids, hand lotion and hand sanitizer - all of which the students really appreciate. Esai brought me an apple, smiling sheepishly as he put it on my desk. We didn't have school on Friday. It was a good week

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Day 3

Over the summer I re-wrote the English curriculum. Now students know each week what will be covered and what is due. In the past, if we gave students 18 weeks to complete one assignment, they'd do their best to take 18 weeks, daydreaming, drawing, being absent, disrupting - whatever it took to avoid doing work and string things out 18 weeks. No more! Further, I broke each week's work up into 2 components-composition and literature. Remember, I have level 1 and level 2 English classes in the classroom at the same time. With my new curriculum plan, on Mondays I actively teach composition to level 1 students while English 2 students work independently on their literature packets. On Wednesdays, the reverse is true: English 1 students work on their literature packets while I actively teach composition to English 2. Keeps all students accountable for completing weekly work. Our students need immediate feedback so senior students receive a partial credit to be my aide; they help me correct objective tests and file all students work for parents to review during their monthly visits. Now that I have provided this overview, I will begin sharing specific anecdotes.

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Day 2

My classes consist of about 30 students each period. Half are English I and half are English 2. How does one teach two levels at the same time? I inherited a curriculum of self-study packets divided up into units. I was instructed to teach one on one with the students as they needed help. It didn't take long to figure out that many of my students couldn't read beyond a 4th or 5th grade level. Further, quite a few of the kids were ADD or suffered from similiar attention disorders. How could we expect these kids to sit quietly for 108 minutes and work??? Kids entering our school were accustomed to mainstream education where all they had to do was show up - they didn't have to work. They were accustomed to failing. They didn't have to participate - classes were big enough so all they had to do was hide, keep quiet and look busy by doing graffiti or writing notes. Their often-overwhelmed teacher would teach the teachables,ignore the problems, and scramble to meet ever-increasing administrative and paperwork requirements. Granted, many of our students knew our school was their last chance, having been kicked out of every other school program; these kids generally make an effort to complete work. But just as many kids come here expecting to zone out, do nothing and fail. Packets weren't working for these students. I spent all my time disciplining and students didn't progress.

I wish to address the discipline code because it's key to our success with students. We are very strict here. Parents/guardians are required to meet with principal and are interviewed about commitment to completing an education. Parents are held accountable as well as the student for regular attendance and serios learning. Parents must come in monthly to meet with all teachers to review their child's work. 4 absences or 4 tardys result in an F in that class. Excuses must be medical with doctor's note or family emergency. Parents cannot call their children out of school on a whim. Classrooms adhere to strict behavior guidelines as well. We have a term here called " being F'd out". Students do not receive multiple chances to behave badly. Rules are made clear and students sign a form that they understand the consequences. If they use profanity, they are "f'd" out; if they wear head coverings, hoods, or have inappropriate messages on their clothing, they are "f'd" out. If their cellphone or other electronic device is visible during class hours, they are "f'd" out. If they are insubordinate or in any way disrupt the learning process, they are "f'd" out. Students may receive a 'referral' for disrupting the learning process as a warning that the next infraction will result in an F. In the case of a referral, the student is immediately removed from the classroom and sent to a room reserved for 'in-house suspension'. The principal will call the student to the office and determine if further disiplinary action is necessary. Students may be suspended for repeat offense. Parents are brought in to discuss goals. Some students are expelled. We are trying to adapt our students' behaviors so they can function in a society with rules and expectations. Discipline is fair, swift and strictly enforced. All teachers play by the same rules. It works.


Over the summer, I constucted a curriculum that broke the

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums

I'm back in the classroom and thought I'd share my teaching experiences with you this year. Our school is an open enrollment alternative high school outside Phoenix, Arizona. Most of our students can't make it in a traditional setting - the main campus is 3800 students, 40 in some classrooms. Some students come to us from juvenile hall. Others are returning to get their diplomas after dropping out of school to have a baby. Still other students are the dads who have to work during the day to support those babies/teen-age mom and versa-vice. Several of our Native American students are bused in from the reservation where they live without running water or wooden floors in their homes. We have close to 300 students at any one time but due to students leaving, we matriculate over 1,000 students in any given year.

I teach literature/composition I and II (freshman English) and literature/composition II (sophomore English. I have a few wannabe gsng bangers both male and female. About a third of my kids are Native American and the rest are Hispanic or white and a very low percentage are black.
This gives you a thumbnail demographic. Tomorrow I'll talk about discipline and how classes are run.

Vacation Retrospective

I'm back home in hot hot Phoenix after three weeks in Southern California - too long to be a house guest!! San Clemente was cool and lovely but my 67-year-old hostess/friend is too set in her single ways and her house was too small for me and my standard poodle Fancy!And I'm too accustomed to a conflict-free life to be a house guest for more than 2 days! My San Clemente hostess has sleep issues;all noise prevents her from sleeping. She goes to bed at 9:00 and gets up at 5:30 or earlier. I like to watch a little David Letterman and wake up about 8:00 the next morning, have a peaceful quiet cup of coffee as I ease into the day. But the post- nine o'clock PM TV bothered my host. My dog's nails clicking on her hardwood floors after 9 PM bothered my host. Me sloughing back and forth from the living room to the kitchen or bathroom on tip toes in my bedroom slippers bothered my host. Flushing the toilet after 9:00 bothered my host.Leaving toast crumbs on the counter top until after I finished breakfast bothered my host. Not cleaning up the dog poop until after I had finished my breakfast bothered my host. So after two days I left San Clemente! I stayed 2 days with my friend in Santa Monica who believes dogs belong outdoors. This posed a problem on two fronts as the neighbor dogs were so excited about Fancy being in the yard that they broke down my friend's fence and trampled the herb garden in the process of sniffing out my visiting dog. It was the utmost epitome of graciousness that my Santa Monica friend allowed Fancy in the house on the marble floors. The next leg of my visit was my longtime gal pal in West Covina who is dog-friendly, thank God. We shopped 'til we dropped. Fancy was a hit on Rodeo Drive, The Grove, Mirabelle's on Sunset Boulevard, The Formosa Cafe in Hollywood, and the Fairfax Flea Market. The last stop was San Diego at my friend Julie's. Her three children and their dog Joey loved Fancy. I had an expensive brake job done on the Jag while I was there and had Julie's furrier alter my mink to accomodate my swollen right arm/shoulder. School starts this Thursday.

Legalize/Tax Marijuana?

Those of us living down here so close to the Mexican border wonder if Mexican drug cartels are the next Afghanistan. They are thugs, well-armed and well-funded. Law enforcement friends in El Paso tell us that whatever weapons the law has, the cartels have bigger and better weapons. The irony is that United States citizens are the cartel customers. We are the users. Of course this drug traffic includes cocaine and heroin. Are we fighting the wrong battle here? Would legalizing/taxing/controlling drugs knock out the cartel power? A large percentage of incarcerated criminals in this country are convicted of drug crimes that we citizens subsidize to the tune of $45,000/year per prisoner. Hmmmm. Think of the money saved there. Maybe we could build schools instead of more prisons? Drug use is the culprit - how do we fix that? Strengthen the family unit? Lower our lifestyles so one parent can afford to stay at home and raise our children? How do we heal the holes in the souls of all those addicts out there that can't get enough? How do we keep children's hearts and souls intact?

Sea Glass From San Clemente

Greetings from San Clemente! I arrived at my friend Leigh's beach bungalow yesterday via Lake Havasu and my gal pal Jackie's lovely home above West Covina. Beautiful 65 degree sunny weather here with cool marine breeze - a pleasant change from Phoenix. Leigh and I took our dogs Fancy and Maggie down the hill for early morning blue sky walk that has become a ritual whenever I visit. Surf was up and surfers were a-bobbing.
We were back home by 8:00 and celebrated the morning with a glass of Piper Sonoma sparkling wine.

The purpose of this whirlwind trip was to provide the editor of San Clemente Times with some photos he requested of the sea glass I had collected during my cancer treatment/daily commute from San Clemente to LA. Each morning I'd walk along the pounding surf, searching for sea glass. It calmed my fears and filled my heart with joy. I wrote a poem about San Clemente Sea Glass which will appear in San Clemente Times on June 25th as an excerpt from Cornfield Heiress. As soon as I learn to upload pictures, I'll post for all you loyal followers.

Photo shoot went well. Leigh is a great cook and for our dinner, prepared grilled lamb chops, grilled asparagus, fresh corn on the cob, paired with a central coast California pinot.

Tomorrow it's down the coast to San Diego to spend a day with pal Julie and her three children before heading back to hot hot hot Phoenix.

Photo Shoot in San Clemente

Great News! The San Clemente newspaper is going to publish my poem 'San Clemente Sea Glass'. You can find it on page 220 of Cornfield Heiress. The editor asked for some pictures of me,my sea glass, and my friend Leigh, who hosted me while I was undergoing daily cancer treatments in LA. I began each of those many mornings searching for sea glass, allowing the surf to calm my fears while my little glass treasures filled my heart with joy. Sharing the poem with San Clemente residents is my way of saying thank you for an extraordinary gift of sea glass.

Book Review: Cornfield Heiress:A Memoir Of My Lives And Loves

Book Review: Cornfield Heiress:A Memoir Of My Lives And Loves

zzsimonb's rantings: WTF

zzsimonb's rantings: WTF
Thank you for reading and reviewing my book, Cornfield Heiress. I hope others find it enjoyable, too.

One-Armed Inspiration

OK. Several people have suggested that I speak to others about overcoming cancer, the loss of use of my arm/hand. I always wondered why they thought my story would help anybody. What's the point? Well I get it, thanks to the prosthesis department at Scottsdale Nordstrom's. I needed a new prosthesis as mine had sprung a leak. The lovliest,tall blonde salesperson with a smile a mile wide stepped forward to introduce herself as the prosthesis specialist. She was so articulate and positive and beautiful - I thought she might be Mrs America. As she started to help fit my bra, I noticed that her left hand was nothing but a stump. "Looks like you're one-armed challenged as well," I commented. "Oh, I was born this way," she retorted lightly, and on she went with business at hand. I'm telling you, I was touched and inspired and felt hopeful. Why? I guess because she didn't let her handicap get in her way. It's OK to be positive!!! A handicap is not who we are! We must proceed as normally as possible. I get it. Maybe I can help someone else be stronger by sharing how I've overcome my one-armedness. We are a community. We must keep our arms around each other and stay strong, vibrant, alive.

pharmaceutical irresponsibility - Again.

Boniva and Fosomax - bad stuff says my dentist. Thank God I don't take it but my dentist warned me that either of these drugs will make oral surgery almost impossible - apparantly these drugs will prevent healing. You'll never heal from oral surgery if you take these drugs. Why does this country allow such irresponsibility? All for the almighty dollar? Pharmaceutical corporations had it made when they were issuing hormones to every menopausal woman in the world. Never mind that the drug was never properly tested. Never mind that they knew the drug caused cancer - hooray. . . pharmaceutical companies can make even more money treating women's cancers!! Isn't it obvious why so much emphasis is placed on cancer treatment - and not finding the cause???? Way too much money made to stop treating cancer. We should be outraged. I'm outraged.Is anybody out there listening???

HCG Diet Rants and Raves

What a grueling diet! It works, my friends - you lose a pound a day IF you follow the diet exactly. Big IF! Food has been my everything for the last forty pounds - I blame it on giving up men and sex! Nonetheless, food has been my entertainment, my comfort, my delight, my release from depression or boredom - you name the discomfort and I'll replace it with food.
Weeeelllll . . . the HCG diet only allows 500 calorie a day of very specific foods - few of which I like. No breakfast - only tea or coffee with a tablespoon of milk. My lunch is 3.5 oz of lean beef and asparagus. At 3:30, I'm so hungry I start seeing gray, I'm weak and grouchy so I have my fruit - 1/2 grapefruit or a small orange. At 6:30 I have another 3.5 oz meat portion and more asparagus. In the meantime, water water water. When I get home at 10:00, I have a grissini stick and my second fruit allowance which I prefer to be a sliced apple; however the apples down here in Arizona are all cold storage and mushy - yuck! So I have another 1/2 grapefruit. Really tough on the weekends when I want a martini on Friday night and Eggs Benedict for Sunday Brunch!
Easter weekend I decided to forget the diet, had fewer than 5 cocktails, small portions of carbohydrates, some eggs, cauliflower with cheese- and I gained 8.5 pounds in two days! Took me all week to get four of those pounds off!
It is a mind over matter diet and that phrase is an understatement! So for all of my Cornfield Heiress Club members who are struggling with the HCG Diet, you're not alone! Hats off to the perfect women who wear basic beige and sensible shoes - surely this group has no trouble with the diet!
I find myself testing the limitations of the diet all the time. For example, I'll try a potato vodka martini in place of my evening fruit. It doesn't work! I purchased some cigars to stave off the nighttime cravings - that doesn't work either.Why do we sabotage ourselves so? Why can't this be solved with logic? Why can't the hole in the soul get full some happy way?
I got a prescription for Ambien so I could knock myself out at night- it made me eat in my sleep! One morning I woke up to find a martini glass on my bed stand filled with peanuts and maple syrup, for Godsake! And the vodka bottle had been pulled out of my cupboard and at least 1/2 cup was gone from the bottle. In my sleep I did this! I had a terrible headache that morning and could barely get out of bed.
I've decided to try a three week plan next round instead of six - maybe that will make it easier to stay on point - tackle only 10 pounds per session.
What are your experiences? Thoughts?

Happy New Year, Cornfield Heiress fans! We made the 'Favorite Picks' list at Changing Hands Bookstore! Comments from readers are coming in. Most say that its an easy read; others comment that once they started reading, they couldn't put it down! Many readers either have breast cancer or have survived treatment. For my Lymphodema mates who have lost the use of an arm, I discovered some new tips for 'One-Armed Living': I bought an electric knife. Wow is it emancipating! Tip #2: I had trouble buttering my toast - jumped around the counter. Well guess what fixes the problem - that rubber mesh drawer liner!! #3: I found tubs of butter and cream cheese that fit perfectly in my kitchen sink drain; tub holds still while you scoop out the spread. #4: Other great finds are Screw-Pull's champagne cork extractor and an electric corkscrew - can't stop celebrating life,now, can we!!