my-so-called blog

i had a really rough day today and to get my climbing-towards-a-migraine mind off of the bullshit, i decided to watch my my-so-called life dvd. there are a few things i just needed to say about watching this as a 30 year old.

1. i am so fucking depressed that its been 15 years since that show has been on the air.

2. i am also so fucking depressed that i am identifying with the (godawful, stick-up-the-ass) parents.

3. clare danes was straight scary looking in the pilot episode. real white and eyebrowless.

4. rayanne was NOT really as cool as we thought when we were 15. (this is the mother in me coming out).

5. even though i love my mother and she was never like patti chase...no wait, she absolutely WAS patti chase. everything about her. her hating any new, cool friends. stating they were RUDE when they clearly were just kids. i adore my mother. i really do. but in high school, this was her.

6. i would have ditched sharon as a friend too. she was awful.

7. jordan catalano was a complete fucktard. when angela goes in the room at that party and he's there watching "i touch myself" he looks at her, and looks away. without saying anything. fuuuuuuuuuck you. that is absolutely unacceptable. and then, he only talks to her--hell, suddenly knows her NAME--only when she is put in a cop car. fuck you jordan catalano. you are a fucktard.

8. and the leaning thing?! it's like he has a stroke every once in awhile. not cool. weird.

9. brian krackow. why?

10. then the scene at the rave when everything happens...them switching shoes, "with your hair like that it hurts to look at you", her finding her dad cheating, her crying on her mom and falling asleep...this episode was the best show that has ever, ever hit the airwaves. it is DESPICABLE to be that it was taken off the air.

11. i hate that the youth of america doesn't KNOW this kind of sincerity, reality, beauty. they know the motherfucking HILLS and THE OC and other inane, mindnumbing bullshit. it's disgusting.

1990 called. they want their teen angst back. wait, they just called again. they want their joke back. hahah.

me, a first grade teacher. in general ed. who wouldv'e thought?

yes, i accepted a position as a general ed 1st grade teacher in the bx. i am so excited, yet totally freaked out. here is a review of the school:

At a time when other public schools struggle to provide students with even minimal exposure to music, PS 68 is doing the impossible. Through an eight-year partnership with Education Through Music, a not-for-profit organization promoting music education in the schools, PS 68 offers instrumental music instruction for all students beginning with keyboard twice weekly in kindergarten and 1st grade. By 3rd grade, children are learning the violin and continue with it, or viola or cello, through 5th grade. Many graduates of PS 68 go on to attend specialized arts middle and high schools, and the program boasts of alumni now attending Julliard and the Manhattan School for Music. Children are taught to share their skills with others by performing at nursing homes and community events. As Cheryl Coles, principal for 13 years, explains, "If you have been blessed, and we have, you have to turn around and share that blessing."
PS 68 has been featured (twice!) on the cover of Scholastic News, the children's magazine, and on Fox News, and has received numerous awards in honor of its children and programs. Television news personality Jane Pauley has acted as "Principal of the Day," and renowned classical musicians have participated in its programs.
PS 68 has a partnership with the Chess in the Schools program. Children learn the game, participate in competitions, and use chess as a vehicle for understanding their academic subjects, particularly math. We saw a bulletin board showing how children used different math skills to calculate the number of squares on a chess board.
In 2003, in response to some moderate discipline problems, the school implemented a good-behavior incentives program that, according to Coles, has been very effective. The program operates by awarding "tickets" to classes for good behavior and removing tickets for bad behavior. For example, if a 1st grade class lines up quietly for lunch, and each child is wearing the school uniform (maroon and gray plaid for girls; gray slacks and a tie for boys), the class will receive tickets. If, however, the same class runs down the stairs on the way to the cafeteria, tickets will be subtracted. When a class accumulates a certain number of tickets, it is asked to work on a literacy project and a math activity (such as writing a story and creating a bar graph) showing how it earned the tickets. The class is then awarded a pizza, popcorn, or ice cream party.
On the day of our visit, the children at PS 68 were remarkably well behaved. Whether listening attentively to their teachers or engaging in activities with their classmates, these children showed respect for adults as well as each other. The relationship between students and adults is formal. Students call teachers by their last names and greet the principal in unison each time she enters a room. When we spoke with 5th grade students, children stood and gave their names before answering, and did not interrupt each other.
Many students are immigrants from the Caribbean and have varied educational backgrounds. Other children transfer to the school after having been unsuccessful in the local parochial schools. With these needs in mind, regular classroom instruction is supplemented with math and literacy assistance in the after-school program. Children also receive weekend and holiday homework packets, and, for those approaching standardized testing, "test sophistication" activities help students tackle the exams with a strategy for success.
The classrooms were very large and bright. Living plants, colorful art projects, and enormous chess pieces filled the entryway and main office. In addition to a large play yard, the school has a smaller courtyard with playground equipment designed for younger children.
Admissions: Unfortunately for those not living in the school's zone, PS 68 is full to capacity and rarely admits children from outside the neighborhood.
Special education: The school has "self-contained" classrooms (children with special needs only) as well as classrooms where two teachers lead a class comprising one-third special education students and two-thirds general education students.
After school: The program features academic enrichment as well as chess, chorus, boys' and girls' basketball, and cheerleading. (Melanie Acevedo, January 2005)