Monday, June 7, 2010


Hi. School's out for summer! I am working on a book, playing with polymer clay and basically hanging out.

Our daughter L.C. graduated this year from Memorial High School in McAllen, Texas.

She's planning to attend BYU-Idaho in September. We couldn't be more proud! YOU GO GIRL!





Thursday, May 20, 2010

Rules

I'm feeling a little frustrated today. I'm off kilter. I feel like the rules keep changing and I don't know where the line is. I teach in a high school. We have a dress code policy, a tardy policy and an attendance policy, but they aren't enforced and I feel like I keep getting thrown under the proverbial bus.

First example: the dress code. In one single day, I saw one of my students in the hall. She was wearing leggings and a long shirt. This is expressly forbidden in the dress code. I stopped one of our vice principals and pointed the student out to her. She asked me why I was bothering her, why didn't I just take care of it myself?! I tried to explain why the clothes were a violation and why I was pointing them out, but the principal walked away and left me standing there. I was so mad at myself, I should have said, "Because enforcing the rules you make is your job?"

Later that same day, I saw another girl dressed the same way as the first student. I stopped her and her friends and I told her that her clothing was not appropriate. The young man with her said "She looks nice." I replied that I didnt say she didn't look nice, I had said she was inappropriately dressed. Then another girl with her told me that it was a dress and not a shirt. I explained that the dress needed to be at least 3 inches above her knee and the dress code expressly forbids leggings. Then I realized I was arguing with a teenager and I told the students that since I was not actually talking to them or about them, they were free to leave. I then asked the student with the dress code violation to accompany me to the office. She willingly came with me, but when I approached the THREE vice principals standing at the end of the hall WATCHING, one of the male vice principals told the female vice principal that I needed fashion advice.

Not only was that an inappropriate comment, but the administration at this school wrote the
*&*!##%! policy and I was just trying to follow their rules! When I got closer to the THREE administrators, the female vice principal told me that she had felt the girls pants and they were not spandex, they were some other material and that therefore they were pants and not leggings! WHAT!? I am supposed to feel the pants now to tell if they are leggings or not? I threw my hands up and walked away.

Later I asked the vice principals why they didn't discipline a specific student who refuses to remove his hat in the building. I pointed out that not only was it rude, inappropriate behavior, but wearing a hat is also expressly forbidden in the dress code. I was told that this particular student had "anger control" issues and they were afraid he would be dangerous if his hat were removed!!!!!

I couldn't believe it. If this kid is so dangerous that he honestly couldn't be asked to remove his hat in school without injuring someone, is the general population in a public school really the best place for him?

Another dress code issue, This week I've been noticing many of the students at my son's school have stopped wearing their uniforms. I've called the school a few times to ask why some students are being held responsible for following the rules and others are not. For three days I have not gotten an answer.

Why is it that these rules are being made and not enforced? I am so confused and frustrated. I believe it is an epidemic in our society! I have students with 30 absences and they are still expecting me to record passing grades. Their parents and our school administration continually ask me what I've done to help them. Since when is it the teachers' responsibility to make the kids attend school? The tardy bell rings and there are easily 200 students still in the halls. Our administration, when they are on campus, just stands there in the hall and tells the students to hurry up. There are no teeth to the policy. They are not enforced. It is SO frustrating.

Last year I was entering grades and I saw the name of a student on my list that I didn't know. I went to the counseling center and asked them who the student was. They told me that she had been added to my class list 2 weeks earlier. Their rules state that if a student adds a class, they are to get the teacher's signature and return it before the class change happened. Well.....they disregarded that rule and added her anyway. Well, this student opted to skip my class everyday. When I called her mom, we discovered this student had been skipping many classes. The mom called the principal and the principal told the teachers that since we hadn't notified her parents, the TEACHERS had to tutor this girl and catch her up.

WHAT! Why wasn't the student punished for not following the rules? Why was that my responsibility?

I believe we are inadvertently teaching kids to disregard rules. If they are not held responsible for following rules in their homes or classroom, why would they obey other laws? Traffic laws? Weapons violations? Stealing? What about moral laws like no sex outside of marriage, or simple things like saying "Please" and "Thank You"?

Arbitrarily assigning rules we have no ability or intention of enforcing sends mixed messages to kids and adults alike. It is confusing and unsettling.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

A suggestion for Arizona

I think it is a shame it has come to this. I don't like the idea of Police officers stopping random people on the street and asking for papers, but I do believe citizenship should have to be proven. I think if Arizona stopped paying for education and welfare benefits for illegals, it would easily make up for the amount of $ they say the state will lose due to boycotts.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

fish segregation

Yesterday my son, Max and I went to Pets Mart to buy fish. We have a 30 gallon tank and one lone fish left alive. We noticed there were several tanks of mollies and platys. They were $1.00 each if you buy 10. cool. So we asked the attendant for 5 orange/black ones, five white ones, five dalmation ones and five black ones. The attendant said we couldn't buy the black ones with the other ones. We thought he was joking, but he said the black mollies were bullies and they did not play well with others :).

We ended up buying 10 white ones and 10 orange/black ones. The attendant put them all in the same bag and we took them home. When it was time to release them into our tank, all of the white mollies went to one end of the tank and all of the orange/black platys went to the other side of the tank.

message?

Friday, April 2, 2010

A comment on abortion.

I don't understand the term "pro-choice". It seems to me that having sex is the "choice" and the resulting pregnancy is the consequence. I've always understood that a person is free to make their own choices, but consequences are attached to those choices whether we like it or not.

Friday, February 19, 2010

match box pendants

Look at these outstanding matchbox pendants! I learned how to do this from the fabulous Penni Jo Couch and I've taken it and made it my own.

I've just started a Flickr site. Check me out. This is a picture of the matchboxes the group made. My pendants are on my site.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Did De Los Muertos





I really enjoyed making these. I ask $15.00 each.