Sunday, September 16, 2007

Scratch One for the Little Guy!!!

From day one the Pariah learned that the Advanced Orchestra would be combined with the Beginning Orchestra. This is bothersome because it's like teaching Pre-Algebra and Calculus at the same time. It makes it very difficult to give all the students the positive experience necessary to grow a successful program. The Pariah made an effort to meet with other colleagues to decide what could be done to enhance the experience. One of his colleagues offered the suggestion that he must never let the situation just die, so from day one the Pariah has made an effort to change the scheduling. Instead of just complaining like the average person, the Pariah decided to offer solutions as he talked about the need for change.

One day the Pariah came into work to find out that one of the solutions mentioned would be used effective immediately. The Pariah was ecstatic, but more importantly, the students are now having a positive experience. It all comes down to the simple fact that if there is a problem, complaining does no good. When solutions are offered problems are resolved.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Down With Sams Club!!!

The past week the pariah has learned of one of the best deals on earth. It is unknown how this has slipped past the attentive eye of the pariah for noticing great bargains. The pariah has learned of a new vendor that who's violin is "'A stringed instrument played with a bow, capable of great flexibility in range, tone and dynamics.' Don't overlook the aptitude your child may possess for this superb musical instrument."

Upon further analysis it has been learned that this gem of an instrument is sold for the amazing low price of $83.88. It is amazing that the local vendors of Summerhays, Burt Murdock, Riverton Music can even stay in business when there is a new vendor that sells such a quality instrument.

This information came to the Pariah's attention when he spent every single day after school performing repairs to the quality instrument already mentioned. Strings have broken, bridges have fallen, pegs don't stay put, and tone is comparable to that of nails scratching on a blackboard. WHAT A GREAT DEAL!!!

The pariah has come to the conclusion that despite the great deal of such a quality instrument that it can be called a "superb musical instrument", all must join forces so that the local vendors of all music instruments don't go out of business. The temptation to buy such a wonderful instrument must be overcome. One must decide that it is better to spend a couple hundred of dollars to buy an inferior instrument, an inferior instrument that don't require day-to-day attention of a certain pariah, or any other colleagues.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Bing Bing Bing!!! Round 1, Fight!

Well, day one started off just the same as any other day. Get up at the butcrack of dawn, get ready, put on the brown shoes, and leave for school. Nothing new there; its been done a million times. School start off normal. 1st period, 2nd period, then it got interesting. While the 3rd period class was arriving, 2 students decided to resolve some differences.

Well, so, maybe it wasn't as elegant as I say it was. Student A was Student B's bully last year. Student B chose this class under the assumption that student A would be in a different class. Before the bell rang, student B was sitting in the classroom minding his own business when student A walked in the room. Student B said "I took this class so I wouldn't have to put up with you!", then the fit hit the shan.

The argument was quite fierce, and it seemed as if student B (the bulee) would prevail when a certain pariah decided that it was time to end things. The pariah swiftly took the two students into his office to resolve the problem. Right as each student was agreeing to respect the other, the hall monitor walked into the class. She came promptly to the pariah's office and entered.

Apparently, student B had done the same exact thing to a different student in the previous period. Student A was sent back to class, and the pariah left student B with the hall monitor. After a few minutes, the hall monitor left the student in the office on "timeout". The vice-principal came minutes later and student B was gone for the day.

The rest of the day went just like any other day. 4th period, 5th period, LUNCH!!!, 6th period and 7th. As the pariah was driving home he pondered how the day went, and how 2 students changed a typical day into another day in the life of an 8th grader.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

The Beginning

While I was student teaching I became a pariah. Not only did I become a pariah, but I became THE pariah. I had some very unique experiences that were never documented. Now that I have a full-time teaching gig I decided that I need to document all the awkwardness, weirdness, and any other interesting occurrences that may happen during this school year. I will try to keep my blog as updated as possible. Thanks for reading!