(43-90) It Ain't Over...

As disturbed as I was by my conversation with the "Art Teacher;"  I decided that I needed to address the matter further; so this morning I went to see the Principal.  The Principal wasn't available, so I left a message with her secretary; and within a few hours, I received a call.

I thanked the Prinicpal for calling and reminded her that we'd spoken about the "Art Teacher" previously.  I explained that I'd met with the "A.T" on Friday, because I was interested to find out why Lyndzi had received a 95 on her progress report and an 87 on her report card.  I explained that Lyndzi had a recognizable talent; and provided details of some of her artistic accomplishments; so that she would understand why Lyndzi's grade was surprising.  I then went on to tell her that the "A.T" had made several statements that I found disturbing; but the worst was that she had never met more undisciplined children than those that attended our school.  The principal was not pleased to hear this.

If you've already read "The Art Thief;" then you know what else I told the Principal.  And what the Principal told me; was that they are very concerned about the "A.T."  They met with her on Friday and the were going to be meeting with her again today.  They have her scheduled to attend several workshops that they feel she will benefit from; and will aid her in becoming more equipped to teach at our school.  She also guaranteed me that they are taking all of our concerns very seriously.

I advised the Principal, that I am at the school often, because I volunteer at least once a week; and I informed her that I've spoken with a number of parents who had very critical opinions of the "Art Teacher;" though they may not have made her aware of them.  And then, because I know that she's from New York; I threw in " What can I say, maybe I'm just an outspoken New Yorker; but when I feel that there is something wrong; I have to address it head on."  With that, the Principal said "You're from New York?  I'm from New York;" and we had a pleasant lil chat about that.   Now don't get me wrong; I don't think that the Principal gives my allegations more credence because I'm a New Yorker; I'm just saying that a common bond never hurts.

The Principal assured me that she knew that I was complaining because I love my children and I was concerned about our students in general.  And she encouraged me to contact her any time I had misgivings or questions about something that was going on at school.  I felt that Principal had listened to me and was taking my accusations seriously; so I couldn't have asked for more; FOR NOW.

As it so happens; both Kelsie and Lyndzi have art tomorrow; so we'll just have to wait and see how that goes.  AND, if either of my girls has anything unsavory to report; guess where I'll be heading?  
Till next time,,,
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-25) Paige vs.The Machine

Of all of the things that I'm NOT the Queen of; TECHNOLOGY is very high on the list.   Under the heading of TECHNOLOGY, I include, computers, the Internet, websites, and machinery.  I fully admit that my understanding of these things is extremely limited; which is sad considering that I'm a somewhat intelligent woman; and yet; it is what is.  Luis is often dismayed by my lack of knowledge in these areas; and I think that it's fair to say that all 3 kids have surpassed me with theirs.

All of my kids are very fortunate this year; because they all have FANTASTIC teachers; two of whom, happen to be friends of mine.  Lyndzi is in my friend Lori's class and Kelsie has my friend Shannon.  So yesterday I volunteered in Kelsie's class and Shannon asked me to go and make some copies.   Shannon handed me 4 double sided worksheets and explained that she needed me to make 3 sets of 25 copies of each.  Does that already sound as confusing to you as it did to me?  She also handed me a workbook and a pile of cardstock and asked me to make 3 copies of as many pages as possible.  OK, I won't lie I felt overwhelmed just by the instructions and considering I have a very poor Poker face, it could not have been a secret.  Shannon assured me that it wasn't a complicated endeavor and I actually reminded her that I am NOT The Queen of TECHNOLOGY, so the task sounded daunting; but nonetheless, I was certainly going to give it a try.  Shannon told me that if I needed to I could ask the secretaries for help.

I walked into the room where the copy machines were and there stood two behemoth machines like I had NEVER seen before.  The machines had  SEPARATE computer screens and three drawers for paper, not to mention that copies came out from both ends.  Seeing the photocopy machine reminded me of "The WOPR" in the 1983 Matthew Broderick movie, "War Games;"  it was just THAT intimidating.  I approached the copier, I looked it over CAREFULLY; and I TRIED to make some sense out of it; but it was just beyond me.  I knew that there was no way I was going to figure out the double sided job on my own and the secretaries were both on their lunch break, so I tried to add the cardstock and attempt the workbook copies, but alas, I was clueless.
I decided to go back to the classroom and admit my defeat, because I knew that Shannon had a break coming up and she could then go back to the copy room with me and show me what to do.  Shannon seemed surprised to see me return so soon, but she did very well containing her laughter. A few minutes later, we went back to the copy room together and Shannon explained that I had to manually make individual copies of each page, then put the papers one on top of the other, face up and feed them through the machine.  I was supposed to program some button that I can't remember the name of now (but I'll know it when I see it again,) and then set it for 25 copies.  Once the 25 copies spit out, I was to feed the copies in again to make another 25, then another; and then clear the machine and start the manual copying process over again for the second worksheet etc.  I managed to make all of the copies and TALK to Shannon at the same time; but there was DEFINITELY no way in hell that I would have ever been able to figure this out on my own.  Shannon had to go back to class before I'd finished the job, but she said that she felt confident that I could handle it on my own.  Of course as soon as she left, the machine advised me of a problem that hadn't occurred while she was there; but ultimately I got through it.  I didn't make the cardstock copies, but only because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to take the pages out of the book or not; and I thought it best to go back and ask.  Shannon seemed amused by my hesitance, explained that I could have made the copies without removing the pages (so I was glad that I hadn't removed them) and then she excused me from completing the rest of the copying.  Shannon asked if I could come back regularly to assist with reading groups and I happily agreed; as copying doesn't seem to be my forte and as we all know, I'm A LOT better with the written word.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING