Waiting for School to Start

The internet company that deals with my apartment complex had all sorts of issues, so I still don't have internet at home. I did however find the closest library and sign up for a library card to use internet. I'm sure that will be useful.

I'm waiting for school to start. I have district orientation starting Wednesday. It shouldn't be too difficult but I need to focus on meeting mentor teachers at my school and finding out what the math department does. It's hard to lesson plan and unit plan without seeing what they already do.
In other news, whenever I tell someone I've moved to Las Vegas to teach they are so appreciative. Then they ask where I'm teaching. When I say Cheyenne High School they say, I'm so sorry for you, that is going to be so hard. Or sometimes they tell me it's dangerous or scary or that I'll quit. It's discouraging to hear so many horrible things about my school. It's to be expected though.

My blog will hopefully get interesting again in few weeks, but for now with no internet and no kids I don't have much to share.

The end of Institute

The last day of institute was both a wonderful day and an embarressing and frusterating day. The first period, Paul(Mr. Idzikowski) was supposed to teach the first two hours. Our high school was the only one with class on Friday so most of the other teachers had gone out Thursday night to the bars and Paul, not wanting to miss out, decided to join them. Now, I'm not sure if the drinking and staying out had anything to do with his mental functioning, but he forgot our students final exams at home. We were responsible for handing them back, and tracking the progress on Friday so he had to drive back to Long Beach to get them(about half an hour away). Luckily he had driven his car instead of taking the big yellow school bus we all ride(Yes the kids know, and yes they make fun of us). Suddenly I'm in charge of two hours of teaching completely not expecting it or ready. Plus it's Friday after the final, the kids have scored 89 percent and all they want to do is hang out. What they really want to do is cut Mr. Idzikowski's and I's hair, but they needed to get 90 percent for that.
As I'm teaching my lesson I notice that plenty of kids are talking. I'm teaching them how to find the circumferance of the earth using sticks, a friend in a different city, shadows and the geometry we learned this summer. I think it's pretty much the coolest thing ever, especially when I get Ryan with his gold football helmut up in front of the class pretending to be the sun for the solar eclipe demonstration(The greeks knew the earth was round before christ because they observed it's shadow on the moon.)
I really don't care that they are talking because I know that my rantings about Greek mathematical and astronimal history are not likely to be on the SAT's.