Bullying during discussion about bullying

Today in my homeroom we took part in an a presentation given by MPD on the effects of bullying.  We viewed videos, a PowerPoint, did some role playing and listened to the variousl reasons why bullying takes place.  Obviously, this is valuable information for the students to hear as many times as necessary to create enough awareness to help prevent bullying from occurring.  It was after the officers left that a more open, honest discussion took place.  One student declared to the class that he was experiencing bullying and described what it was that was being said to him.  Other kids followed up with commentary about the presentation and a few students made their feelings known to their classmates about the bullying that was going on in the 8th grade. We started to wrap up the discussion when one of the boys in the class asked me for permission to punch another boy in the class because he told the student who originally disclosed that he was being bullied to go "kill himself". Because I can't/won't use student names on this blog this is a little hard to follow. So nobody was punched, but the whole class got a little live action bullying on display right in the Room 23.

If this was Anti-Bullying day, I hesitate to think about how Tornado Awareness Day is going to go tomorrow.

Back in the Saddle Again.

Well, its been a few years since my last confession, I mean posting and I am truly glad to be back.  I'm especially glad that I began taking an online course on blogging as an educator.  It includes using Wikis, RSS and Podcasts, but I am not quite to that part in the course yet.  Aside from learning how to better use these amazing Web tools to teach kids,  I am really excited to be back on this site publishing my thoughts on any and everything.  Ultimately I think I'll be creating a school blog and one of my own for me and anyone who wants to notice.

Who has a blog and doesn't post?

It has been almost 3 whole weeks since my last post? What is the point of having a weblog if nothing happens with it. I would promise to rectify this for the future, but I know myself too well.

Lets see. One would think that I have a ton of stuff to spout off about, but let's go for about a pound first and look where that takes us.

The Brewers are 11-7 heading into the Windy City. Gotta love that. J.J. Hardy, whom I have pushed to be traded for almost as long as Hillary has been a bag of wind is just hammering the crap out of the ball, second in the league in homers for now. I am not completely sold, but am starting to warm up to him a little.

Had a horrible incident with some ill fitting shoes on Sat. at work. I will spare the details, but let's just say, multiple blisters, multiple toes, multiple feet. I will have to sand the dust off of those kicks the next time I think I might want to put them on again. I had to walk around with my shoes untied for almost the entire game. Barefoot just wouldn't fly.

Pretty happy to have figured out how to share this ridiculous piece of me with some people I know. I am not sure they will ever come back to check it out, but at least it is real now that someone else has actually seen it.

This doesn't work when it isn't more current for me. I will work harder to keep up to date, otherwise it is all old news and who gives a darn about that?

Until later,
Clint

Filling In

Well today I got the first cavity of my adult life filled. Gotta love the sensation of a Novocaine delivering needle being driven two inches into the inside of your mouth. It amazes me how powerful the anesthetic is, my head was numb all the way up to above my ear. It didn't take all that long, but I guess I could think of a few things I would rather do. However, I did enjoy the conversation I had with the nice dentist's helper.
Just finished watching Borat for the 2nd time. I still laughed at a ton of the stuff that happened. It has to be one of the funniest films I have seen in years. I don't normally watch comedies, but the buzz about it when it came out convinced me. I definitely want to own it. The Extra footage is hilarious.
Intercepted a letter from one of my students to an older student that mentioned that she wanted him "to be her first". Thirteen years old. Some people's kids.

Chunky Cheese

Due to my 4 year-old's ability to keep her underpants dry for one night, the family was rewarded with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. I haven't been to one of these joints for about 10 years and some things have changed, but clearly, some have not.

• The infamous ball pit of urban legend lore was very absent from the new and improved C.E.C. Whether there ever was AIDS filled needles in any pit anywhere, is it even possible to think of one of those with imagining the scene in Saw II when the junkie chick dives into the vat filled with used hypos?
• Too many kids out of control without parental supervision, including mine. The additional door security makes it harder to really lose a junior, but it can get dicey with all of the good places to hide for a toddler. Add to that the fact that some kids think the kiddie pop-a-shot basketball is their own personal 3-point shooting court or one-on-one hoop makes for some interesting collisions and arguments.
• The below average quality pizza. Perhaps someone should tell them that the sausage shouldn't actually look like shit balls, even though it tastes like them.
• Of course, the wife almost immediately blistering a guy with dagger eyes and acid tongue the second you decide to selfishly attempt to enjoy a video game of your own.
• I gotta believe that in this day and age of technology, the stuffed, flea ridden, rummage sales reject, larger than life singing animals have jumped the shark. Does anyone even notice? Do they do more harm than good? Have they ever been vacuumed? My answer is No, Yes, No.

The Brewers kicked Ben Hendrickson today for a player who will never be a Major Leaguer. Some guys are only good enough to be AAA players. That is fine, not everyone has the Big Show in them. I am just disappointed that it has taken this long for Doug Melvin to figure it out. If we could just move Kevin Mench next. I would be willing to take a bag of balls and a box of rosin bags in trade.
My Brewer prediction, for the record, is 80-82. Sheets will breakdown before the All-Star break. Corey Hart will have a breakout year. Bill Hall will put up similar numbers as last year and Johnny Estrada will have a great season as well. I hope I am wrong about the record, but I just can't choke down all of the kool-aid yet.

Until later,
Clint

Some People's Kids

I don't think I would believe it if I didn't witness it myself. One of my students is so full of himself and his "image" that he honestly thinks that all of the girls AND adult women in the school are interested in him. He chronically describes all of the success he has with his "game" when he talks to each "breezy". He invites them to call him "Daddy". It is frightening to hear and I cannot fathom how it is that he arrived at this perception. I know that he, like many of my students is very needy in the attention department, but this is so ridiculous its laughable. I would like to think that he will grow out of this attitude, but I am more concerned for the females that are subjected to hie "game".

Glad to hear that the Brewers finally cut the rope on Brady Clark. Had a good season a couple years ago, got the big money, came back to Earth and had to be unloaded for a journeyman reliever named Elmer. Adios!

Until later,
Clint

Job #2 begins today.

Working at the ballpark is a bittersweet situation. I definitely need the bread, but hate the long days that working two jobs requires. I know, I'm lazy and lots of people do work a lot harder than I do. I just don't like it.
My NCAA bracket looks like someone took a shotgun to it. Lots of close games, to many went the "wrong" way this year. I didn't need that ten bucks anyway.
The neighborhood grey squirrel finally got the best of my birdfeeder. I use birdfeeder very loosely since I rarely saw anything with wings on it at any point during this past winter. Damn rodent broke off half the wooden pieces that keep the seeds on the platform. I gotta hand it to 'em though, they sure are determined.
For someone that always seems to have something to say, this is pretty pedestrian stuff. Hopefully I will be able to put together more compelling fare in the very near future.

Until later,
Clint