My Life as a Substitute Teacher: Part III

Today has been a day in substitute teacher heaven. I'm a math teacher today. If I were a real math teacher this would be bad, but being a substitute math teacher is a really, really good thing. The teacher probably knows that most subs can't teach or explain 1/4 of what these kids are learning, so all I have to do is pass out work sheets. And all the kids today are either seniors or honors students which = really well behaved quiet classes.

Today I've:
-Finished a book
-Started another book
-read (almost cover to cover)two magazines
-tried to figure out the new method of registering for classes at BYU-Idaho
-Internet shopped for things I won't buy
-Randomly surfed the WWW

All that and I still have a class and a half to go. Days like today make me happy to do what I do.
Also I was thinking. . . There are very few days that I wake up dreading work. I hope to one day be a teacher so I see this as a good sign.

"I ate too much butter and drank too much rum"

If you haven't listened to the Elected I suggest you do so now. When I first started getting into them I was living in Jackson Hole. I would come home at night after work, play Gameboy and listen to The Elected.
The lead singer is Blake Sennet of Rilo Kiley, Boy Meets World and Salute Your Shorts. They have two LP's. The First is "Me First" and the Second, "Sun, Sun, Sun".
I love them both but the second is my favorite.
I'm not a reviewer of music. I can't tell you all of the components that make Sun, Sun, Sun such a great album.
Every time I share this album with someone they really don't seem too impressed, which I guess is okay with me. Maybe it was the was the perfect album for me at the moment I needed it. A lot of the lyrics related to the way I was feeling at the time. I think its great, maybe you will too but probably not.

Ageism is Racism

In the last sentence of my last blog I wrote, "I feel really old today". I would just like to confirm that statement.

After my day of substitute teaching my day has gone as follows:
-Checked my email
-Watched PTI
-Watched Sports Center
-Watched the news (I've become quite fond of Diane Sawyer and World News Tonight on ABC. I've kind of had a crush on her since I was a little boy. DTC.
-Thought about what I would make for dinner

The rest of the night will probably go this way:
-Make Dinner (pork chops, cabbage and some kind of frozen vegetable)
-Idol is on tonight!!!!
-Watch Olympics
-Watch the news
-Watch David Letterman
-Listen to music
-Talk to the girlfriend (Christina :)
-Read a little
-Fall asleep watching ESPN, which doesn't take long.

I feel like Seth Cohen on the last episode of season 4 of the O.C. When him and Summer just sit in recliners with TV guides. Only I don't have a Summer (at the moment she's in San Francisco) and I'm no Seth Cohen (I guy can wish, right?)

My Life as a Substitute Teacher: Part II

My dad's been sick the past two days. This bad and good. Bad because my old man is sick but good because it means I've got work for two days.
My dad teaches the Technology Education class (TECH ED) at the middle school. His class is kinda hard to cover. I can't really teach kids how to make CO-2 cars or build airplanes or balsa wood bridges, so I'm resigned to reading a book/internteting while they play games on the computers. I've got to constantly monitor what the little jerks are looking at too. Today I banned Google Images and Yahoo! Music.
There is however a bright spot. In about 30 minutes I get start to Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. The 6th and 7th graders get to watch a movie instead of having free reign over the computers. I'm all for it!
Its really sad to me that hardly any of these kids have seen any of the old Indiana Jones movies. Bob Dylan was right.
I feel really old today.

My Life as a Substitute Teacher

I'm really liking this substitute teacher stuff. I'm starting to get to know all the kids in the middle school and the high school. I really like them.
This week I was the substitute chorus teacher in middle school and the high school. What are the odds of that. I've never watched the TV show Glee but I would assume that my life was very similar to the chorus teacher on that show.
Middle school chorus was crazy. I had over 60 kids in a few of my classes. They really behaved, which really surprised me. We sang a 1960's medley that started with Rollin on The River and had some Bob Dylan and Beach Boys in the middle then ended with that Dawning of the Age of Aquarius song. Those kids really love to sing.
The high school wasn't as amusing. We just watched Mamma Mia, which I may or may not have liked.
Last week my baby girl (boo, sugar mama, hot mamma, GF, breezy, home skillet, main squeeze, old lady) came to visit. It was pretty great. We're like in love and stuff so I don't think either one of us felt like we had to go be tourists or anything. We just hung out. We thrift stored, hiked a little, visited the grandma, made amazing food, listened to Vampire Weekend and Dustin Kensrue, went to Whole Foods twice, bowled. It was the best. It couldn't have been better. I can't wait to see her again in San Francisco.
Oh and I really like this song.

Hey Friends,
I really like this song, a lot. You should listen to it.

Valentines Day, Twenty-Ten

A facebook status Christina Rose Matekel will never have.

"My man fed me steak, shrimp and lobster tail last night...and then dessert♥ ;)"

For Emma, Forever Ago

I'm sitting in my room listening to Bon Iver. I really love it.

And a Little Battered Radio

I'm a substitute teacher. I'm not sure very many of you know that. It's turned out to be a cool job. I've lucky to be able to do it everyday too. I sit in a class room and tell kids to be quiet and read a book or play hearts on the computer.I really like the reading books part. I've been able to read books I've been wanting to read for a while now.
The telling kids to be quite part isn't so bad either. For the most part I've been really lucky. Besides the freshman classes that I've subed for they've been good kids. Was I that squirrely when I was a freshman? I don't remember.
I've perfected my hearts skills too. Love that game.
Today is Thursday. I have the day off Friday (parent teacher conference) and I'm subbing for a math class Monday.
I'm excited for Monday. Why? Christina Rose Matekel will be here! I do miss her a lot. I've been looking forward to next week since Dec. 20th and now its finally (almost) here.
Also, I'll be in Salt Lake for Spring Break 2010. It's gonna be crazy. Maybe as crazy as Spring Break '99. I'm excited to get back to my city. I'm sorry I won't be able to make it up to the Rexburg, but if you wanna come down we'll go clubbing and get crazy in SLC!
Also, I really love Vampire Weekend right now. Especially after I read the article about them in the latest issue of Rolling Stone. They're cool guys, not yuppies like I thought.
Also, I'm excited for the Super Bowl. I think its going to be a helluva game.