Reasons I am so bad at posting these days:

Weekend To-Do List:

1. clean up this gross house
2. do yard work - inlcuding plant 2 new hydrangea bushes
3. grade a gazillion vocab quizzes that have piled up and grade the last 16 research papers from my Brit Lit seniors
4. purchase the rail passes for this summer's trip to Europe
5. go to Tea Leaf Green
6. get a visit from a college friend (inspired by #5 on this list) who is staying with me - Now you see the importance of #1.
7. purchase Mothers Day gifts
8. plan lessons for next week
9. re-read Cry, The Beloved Country so that I actually know what I'm talking about in class.
10. oh yeah, and sleep at some point. and grocery shop. and keep my sanity.

I heart Google images.

Today was a bad day...quite honestly the worst I've experienced in a while. I am tired, my head hurts, and I am oh so overwhelmed. I thought, however, that I would try to accentuate the positive rather than bitch and complain, so here we go.

For tonight's post, I thought I'd include a nice montage of the only things getting me through this week.

Let's begin......

First there's my favorite candy which is currently residing in my desk drawer at school where I am keeping it so I can eat too much of it.

Then there's my favorite t.v. show that comes on in approximately 27 minutes. (I've promised myself I'll grade while I watch. Ummmm, yeah right.)

Next we have colored pens which are the only things that make grading bearable. Green and purple are my favorites, but I like to switch off every few papers to shake it up a bit.

Did I mention I started a great new book? I can't wait to curl up with it a bit this weekend.

And finally? There's the promise that this will all be over in 7 days. I am ready to be baking cookies, listening to carols, and giving presents. (Okay, I am excited about the getting, too) It's so hard to be Christmasing when I feel so overhelmed with school, but my break begins in 6 days, and it can't come fast enough!

Mental Health Day

So it's been 200 years since I've last posted (nothing like the use of a good hyperbole). I've been busy busy busy doing all sorts of things but mostly drowning in my school work. I'm afraid that I've lost any readers I previously had as a result of my lengthy break from posting, so I am making an attempt to come back.

I have a substitute today, so I am posting at home - midmorning on a weekday. A rarity. I hadn't missed a day all year, not really on purpose, it just happened. My intention was to grade all morning. (I'm behind as usual.) And then I wanted to do some Christmas shopping this afternoon. Last night, however, I arrived home at the lovely hour of 7 pm which is far too late when you get to work at 7:15 in the morning. I decided that I need the mental health time more than the grading time at the present moment, so here I am.

My new plan? Post on my blog, clean my kitchen, go to the gym, come home to shower, meet the husband for lunch, and go Christmas shopping. Notice anything about this list? Ummmm, it is normal stuff that normal people should not get excited about, but I am taking a day off to do these mundane things. I know I can't complain; I am the one who chose my profession, and I am generally satisfied, but seriously.......This is far too much information, but I've been wearing the same toenail polish since September if that gives you an idea of how much time I spend on myself in proportion to how much time I spend on my job. We won't even discuss shaving the legs.

That being said, there are many bloggers out there who are just as busy as I am, and they manage to post frequently. (Andi, Carrie, and the all-powerful Dooce just to name a few.) I like blogging, and I like your comments via the blog or in "real life" for those of you who know me, so I want to keep it up. Perhaps I should move it up on my list of priorities.

On another note (since this is a somewhat bookish blog after all), I would love your suggestions on books to add to my Christmas list. Books are always the longest category on my list every year. C'mon, even you lurkers out there who read and don't leave comments whould have something to say for this one. Give me one or two really good books you've read in the last year, and I'll add them to my list. One good thing about my profession? I am about to have two solid weeks of uninterrupted "me time" which means lots of me reading time!

So, fellow bookish folk, any suggestions?

In case there is any doubt that educators have the most difficult job in America.....

too much too soon

I've witnessed two bizarre humorous slightly disturbing situations already since I've been back at school. A colleague of mine was alerted by a student that there was "something in the boys' bathroom that should not be there." When said teacher went to check it out, he finds a DVD entitled "Good Assternoon" with some fabulously trashy naked girls on the cover. He of course used extreme caution in disposing of the item without actually allowing it to make contact with his skin.

Episode #2 - Another teacher-friend of mine is handing out textbooks to her class when a girl returns hers to get another one because that one has "something in it." Being the smart teacher she is, my friend waits for all the students to leave before investigating the issue, and what did she find? A condom. Not just any condom, people - one that appeared to be used.

I laughed at these situations heartily, partly because they didn't happen to me. We all made our fair share of comments. ("eewwww," "at least they used protection," "at least they had their English book with them")

But then later I heard some freshmen discussing A Night in Paris (aka Paris Hilton's film debut) with more information than they should know at 14. My point in telling you this? I feel archaic making this comment, but kids know way too much way too early these days. Many of the students I teach are probably more knowledgeable about sex - kinky sex - now than I was at 20, 24, who knows, maybe even now. My worry is that kids are not mature enough to deal with it.

The same kids who gasp and freak out when I refer to literary characters as being sexually active are having sex themselves. A lot of it. Is there something weird about that?

Curiosity is a natural thing, and I know I teach kids who are literally a bundle of hormones, but it seems as though they are learning too much too fast, and they don't know how to handle it. A quick search for statistics will tell you:

• In the next 24 hours, 2,795 teenage girls will become pregnant.
• More teenage girls are having sex than boys. (maybe they feel more pressure to act grown up, satisfy upperclassmen who flatter them...I don't know.)
• According to the CDC, 65% of new HIV cases this year will occur in people under 24.
• Currently, 32 states do not require any type of sex education.

My point is....is there really a problem here or are people like me just reading something that's not there? If there is a problem, who is a fault? Parents, schools, the media, the kids themselves who are not taking responsibility?

Weigh in. I'd love to hear your thoughts.