finding a good story to tell

I don't really have any terrific stories, just a few vignettes.

-Senior math/science scores came in. Not many kids passed. I spent all yesterday and today convincing one boy that he has done better *every time* he takes the test. This last time he was only 1 question away on Science. Read his essay for English, scores aren't back yet....also better but still not quite there. We have been explaining to him that it is just the language. It isn't that he is dumb (he feels dumb), he would have easily passed the test in Spanish, but it is really hard for him 'cause it is in English. He told me he won't drop out for now....

-Funny how kids 'fess up things months later. Remember my child in November that disappeared and came back like an hour after school was over to get his stuff? Told me that he walked home cause he didn't feel good? Truth came out today. He had gone to the Newcomer academy to visit his old teachers. He went, two friends and one little brother of a friend. They were saying they were skipping tomorrow to go to INA and that they had done it before. "Hey Ms., Remember that first time that I skipped? Yeah, that is when we went before, but we didn't make it before school got out."

-Today I wore my new cool green flow-ey shirt and my newly hemmed khaki pants. Apparently my shirt reminds kids of a maternity shirt cause EVERY SINGLE CLASS asked me if I was pregnant. Most of the girls would call me aside and ask if they could ask me something. 7th period mi hijo put it up on the board, "Mrs. Fuller is not pregnant" (had to spell it for him) since it had become such a joke that everyone was asking. I just kept asking them if I looked fat or something. Generally that stops kids but today there were all out arguments between different sides of the room about whether or not I was pregnant. (For everyone's information, I'm not. But apparently I need to lose some weight. I like the shirt a lot so I will keep wearing it.)

-We might have a lead on the computers....they are going to investigate tomorrow.

-It looks like I get to keep my room assignment for next year. They have double-booked my room, but the other guy is ROTC so I think that is a mistake.

-None of my kids have ever heard of okra. since it is the reigning favorite food both for me and a lot of my family (you should see the amount of fried okra that mom has to make at our house!) I decided that I should bring them some. So I went to the store and bought some pickled okra so they could at least see what it looked like, even if it isn't really the same taste as fried or in gumbo. You wouldn't believe the noses that got turned up. One girl who gets me to try EVERYTHING wouldn't take any. I reminded her the number of times I have tried chili-flavored cheese chip stuff and chili-cheese on hot cheetos and chili-covered lollipops...and made her bite off one and then she could throw it away. She did. One boy took one from me so he didn't hurt my feelings and the other teacher said something about okra, "I don't like okra." "But *that* is okra." "Oh, f***." Then we had to have a discussion about appropriate language. :) But he ate the whole piece. One boy left his bag at school rather than try a piece. He said he would get to school early the next morning if we wouldn't open up the room down the hall for him now.

-Dan says that my students years from now will be spouting out Fuller-isms. They already have picked up on: "Does it look like I care?" "Whatever" and the like. Yesterday someone wrote on their paper, "Fiona kicked Robin Hood's a**." I told her she couldn't put that or use the stars, she had to find another way of saying it. "But Ms., How else do you say it?" Another student pipes up and says, "You should use 'tail' instead." This is because I am constantly telling said student to, "Sit his tail in the chair."

Ok, so that is my randomness of the week. Comments? :)