Teachingbug.com

Sydney Pollack died today. He was 73 years old. He was diagnosed with cancer 9 months ago and he died peacefully at his home in California with his family. He was an Oscar Award Winning Director and I had the privilege to be in one of his movies when I was 3 years old. I later was able to meet him again at an anniversary party for the film. I send my best wishes to his family.

To all of you out there just dying to know what will become of me next year…..you don’t have to wait any longer! I went out on my first interview last week….AND…..I will be teaching 2nd grade at Roger Gehring ES. I am thrilled. I have heard good things about the school. I am ready to dive back into teaching again! YEAH!

Hi there everyone! My mom sent me this video and after I watched it I was speechless. Please click on the link and take about 15 minutes to watch this video. WOW…Walking On Water…..watch and you’ll see.

http://www.wretch.cc/video/ritahsia&func=single&vid=2282608&rpage=2&p=0

We got a puppy! The Ferreiro Girls finally broke Steve down. We were at Sunset Park and this lady had a litter of puppies that she was selling for $25. We went over to “just look.” The girls all gave their sad faces and promised to take care of him. You know all the empty promises! We left the park and the kids decided on the name MACARONI. Mac for short. Cute, huh?
After a few days…guess who was inseperable? Maybe it was the male bonding….Anyhoooo…we got a puppy.

Ok you all…I have to brag for a second. Stevie Rae entered her very first pageant today and she did so well. I am so proud of her. She won runner up and “Cutest Face” in the Little Miss Hawaiian Tropic Beauty Pageant. Now she gets to go to the finals in California. Do I take her? That is a lot of money to spend on a 4 year old. She had so much fun. We all had so much fun. UGHHH! Decisions….Decisions!

FINALLY…..my oncologist called today and I am cancer free. YIPPEEE!
Sorry Dolly!

I read today in an email from the Superintendent of the Clark County School District that the state of Nevada is in financial trouble resulting in a possible $66 MILLION dollar deduction in EDUCATION. WHAT???!!!
That bothers me so much. How could our state be in that much trouble? There has to be other places to cut. For instance…I was at the park today with my husband, kids and brand new puppy having a picnic. Well the park was full of kids. There was even a preschool there playing. Out of nowhere the sprinklers come on and all you can hear are the screams of all the kids and parents. It was terrible. The worse part was that there were THREE Henderson Parks and Recreation trucks with 2 guys in each one parked across the street. They looked over and did NOTHING. The sprinklers stayed on for another 25 minutes. They seemed to be more interested in shooting the breeze then helping out the soaking wet citizens. So are those 6 men’s job of sitting around more important than the education of our state?
There is a survey you can take with the school district and offer any suggestions you may have:
http://ccsd.net/budgetSurvey.php?s=1
I just took the survey and it took less than 10 minutes. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK!

So I went to my Oncologist and she found a mass in my left breast….UGHHHH! The sonogram didn’t pick up anything so I had to have a P.E.T. Scan yesterday. I will never understand why injecting radiation into my body is the most advanced way of detetecting cancer. Doesn’t radiation cause cancer? Oh well.
I thought the I.V. with the radiation cocktail being pumped into my body was the worse part. Or maybe it was the fact that I couldn’t come within an arms length of my babies for a day? This was my 4th or 5th P.E.T. Scan and I had lost minimal amounts of hair before. Well this time around my scalp was so sensitive that I couldn’t put my hair into a ponytail. I went to get a hair trim today and small amounts of my hair fell out. HOLY CRAP….I was freaking out….NOT MY HAIR, please Lord NOT MY HAIR! As I was getting my hair dried I looked over at the chair next to me and noticed a woman in her later 60’s early 70’s and she had a shaved head with a gray mohawk. Everyone was gathered around her taking pictures and she was cracking up. I thought….what has this world come to when Grannies are getting mohawks? Then I heard the buzzer and looked over and the mohawk was being shaved off. WHAT???? Well this woman has a daughter and a sister who both are going through chemo and they have lost their hair, so to show them her love she shaved her head for them. I instantly started to weep. WOW…I honestly don’t think that I would do that for my sister. I also realized that hair isn’t as important as being alive. Being alive for my husband. Being alive for my babies. Being alive and making this world a little better just by being in it. So whatever the results of my P.E.T. Scan, I am ready!!! Doesn’t Dolly Parton make wigs?!? LOL

I have been thinking about our country’s “economic crisis.” How does the world’s richest and most powerful country have a problem like this? It seems like just because it is on the news 24/7 it has to be so. So what would happen if the media start saying that people are spending money again? Will people run out to the malls and start living like they did before? Or should people not go back back to the way they were, on the verge of bankruptcy.
I for one know that I have lived beyond my means ever since I was old enough to have a credit card. There should be some kind of law that says….ok you make X amount a year, then you should only have one credit card with a limit of X amount. What we are aloud to spend should be based on what we are worth. I know that I am not alone in my generation. Maybe that is why we are in a crisis. Everyone has maxed out their credit cards, bought houses that they are upside down in, and drive cars they feel they have to drive to impress their fellow man.
Although I am not working right now….I know that I can. Knowing that I have a college degree and can return to teaching is a nice safety net. I know that I can go back to work in 2 days or 2 years. That is one of the perks of being a teacher. I remember after 9-11-01 happened. I was working as a concierge and the hotel started cutting back and I was so worried. Meanwhile my friends, who were teachers, didn’t have to worry about that and I envied them so much. Like I said before, it is nice to know that I will always have a career.
GET AN EDUCATION! It will last you a lifetime!

I thought that I would shed some positive light on the Clark County School District. The following was a certificate sent to Walt Rulffes, the CCSD Superintendent, from Senator Ensign. As a teacher it feels great to hear it.

“Congratulations to the teachers, administrators, and staff of the Clark County School District on being the nation’s only district of the ten most populous to meet all the federal benchmarks of the No Child Left Behind Act during the 2006-2007 school year.

I commend you on this significant accomplishment and on your commitment to providing our community’s youth with the best possible education. As you face the challenges inherent in such a fast-growing, diverse, and transient school district, please accept my best wishes for your continued success.”

I wonder what will happen to the No Child Left Behind Act when we have a new president. Do you think that this is a successful way to approach public education? What should stay in place and what should change?
LET ME KNOW!
Rach