Ready for more negativity? I don't like field trips. Especially with Alma De La Rosa. Going on field trips with my students in Bennington and with campers at BDC on the cape were fun. I enjoyed it. Field trips at ADLR are extravagant 'ventures where rules forgone for fun and what's easiest by all involved, teachers, parents and students alike. I think what drives me the most crazy are employee parents that don't do their job that day because they "have" to be with there child, parents that come to help that go off with their children without saying anything, parents, children that bring money and the list goes on, educational assistants that are assigned to a class and then wander off without telling anyone.
The main rule about field trips is that it has to be educational. Totally agree with that rule. So we go to the state fair every year under the pretense of "education" but the kids never want to spend time at the exhibits where they can learn things about energy or animals. They want to spend their time at the insurance and health care booths where they get cheap pencils, paper fans and other free stuff. So frustrating, because that trip if done properly could be a great learning experience.
Today we went to see the "Earth" movie. I think this is a great idea and I've done a lot of preparation for it with my students. We've talked about photography in nature, watched some of the BBC's "Planet Earth" and so forth. However, not once has a student asked me what the movie is going to be about. All they want to hear is how much candy they get to buy and whether or not I'm going to buy it for them. It's ridiculous.
In other news, we have quite the love quadrangle going on my class. Fonzo, Cosmo, Raul are all head over heels for Fiona. Those boys are always trying to find ways to show her how much they like her. What's funny is the lengths they will go. After Fiona won the Science Fair she was standing with Fonzo gushing to me about excited she was about it and he turned to me and said, "She won because she's so perfect and pretty looking." He was trying to give her a round about complement. Fiona turned to him and said, "I'd rather think I won because I'm intelligent." (I had Fiona in my class last year and I'm so impressed with how she has matured and become so confident. She is constantly showing me that she really believes in herself.) Cosmo was sitting next to her at lunch and she had a sick look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I'm hot." I said, "So take off your sweatshirt." "Right!" she said. Cosmo looked at me and said, "She's hot because she's sitting next to me!" So obvious. He's going to be a real heartbreaker.
Fonzo came in this morning in tears. He wouldn't tell anyone why. he just sat at his desk and cried. It's odd to see a boy-man sob. They sob with their whole bodies. I tried to coax out of him whatever it was that was making him so upset. I asked about his dad, where he was living with his sister, if anything had happened last night that had made him upset. He refused to answer and just continued to cry. Then later on the field trip as we were walking to the movie theatre he tossed a piece of paper which I picked up. It was a picture of a heart with tears coming out of it, eyes and a sad face. At the top it said, "Can you help fix me?......" There are weird drawings at the bottom, something that looks like a wrench and a screwdriver. The wrench has 7/14 on it. It smells like some sort of cheap cologne, perhaps he has been carrying it around for awhile. I'm going to turn it into the principal this afternoon. I know Fonzo tried to throw it away, but being a mandated reporter and all...It makes me so sad.
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