Merry Christmas!

Even though I am on Christmas vacation right now, I am still seeing kids that I have substituted for. Especially Amelia Badish. But she graduated last year! She was a student who, in order to come in late every day, would buy me something from Starbucks each morning. That was when I subbed for a week.

I have been seeing Amelia for almost every day of the break somehow. She keeps saying "Mr. V! This is getting kinda ridiculous!"

Yesterday, while substituting for junior high math, we watched the movie Stand and Deliver. There was a scene that caught my attention because I didn't know the Spanish term being spoken, and I usually pride myself on having a pretty good comprehension of Spanish.

This pretty Latina girl went off with a guy in a nice car and her friend said after her "She thinks she's so hot 'cause she dates cavachos."

I asked my class what that cavachos meant and about three or four kids pointed at me and said "You."

Apparently a cavacho is a white guy.

That kinda made me chuckle.

Hi there! This week has been pretty great in terms of subbing, and life. I subbed four days, took on a couple of extra tutor sessions that I didn't plan on (which meant I got some Christmas goodies as well!), I bought a fantastic new digital camera, and more.

I got to work yesterday and today but I also got to sleep in each day-- each class didn't start until 9am. Perfect. And tomorrow I think I will be done by lunch.

Today after a simple three-period day (during which I watched Stand and Deliver, the most fantastic math teacher movie ever), I called my good friend Felipe and found out he was going bowling with a bunch of the junior highers on a field trip with the school. I kind of invited myself as a chaperone and got to bowl two games and get a free lunch! I bowled a 140 and a 125. Decent.

I also got my test results for TB. I don't have it!

Here is a picture of Felipe and a picture of my new camera, which is one of the best out there :)

I received two compliments today!

"Mr V. I don't know what I wanna be when I grow up, but all I know is right now, I wanna be just like you."

"Phil, your curls are very luscious today."

These are from two high school kids. Funny stuff :)

I have been subbing at the junior high all week. Somedays I really really resent those kids. Somedays they are a joy. Today is a mixed day. I often think about how my days are dictated by my attitude or amount of sleep or my hunger. I don't know if I can quantify it, but I do believe that there is some corelation between my internal state and my response to the students.

Today I woke up rested, listened to heavenly music while I got dressed, rode my bike to work, and I feel pretty great. I also gave a kid a rubik's cube earlier this week and taught him the final steps on how to solve it today. He did it three times in class (AFTER he finished his test, of course).

Now I get to cruise the internet and do blogs while my shining 8th graders take their geometry quiz.

ps. Did you know that I tutor? I tutor for two hours every day after school, Monday through Thursday. I tutor rich elementary school kids. It's awesome. I just found out that the father of one of the girls that I tutor is a pretty phenomenal photographer. Browse his website, you'll see:

Michael Haber Photography

Guess what?

I passed my math exam to become a teacher!

This is one I had to retake because I didn't really study the first time around. Now that I passed, I hope to student teach this Spring, and be a fully certified teacher by next year! Whoo hoo!