#day eighty three

[daily-pearl-doodles]

A rare traditional pearl I drew a while ago to practice expression, sorry for how blurry it is my phone camera is awful

(day eighty three)

[187days]

Day Eighty-Three

Today was so weird. It's nearing the end of the semester, and usually that means students get super focused because they're trying to get their grades up. Instead, most of my freshmen lost all ability to focus because there's a storm coming and they might have a snow day tomorrow. And then there was a fight in the cafeteria, and they couldn't stop talking about that.

I did manage to teach a lesson, though! I had to stop to redirect students entirely too often, but I still made it happen.

First, I went over yesterday's assignment about different types of governments and economic systems. Then I showed them some maps indicating where those systems are found, and which countries are the most fragile. We also revisited a map they've seen before, which is the map of countries currently experiencing armed conflict. I backed up Mr. F's lessons without meaning to (but we will absolutely pretend I meant to, heh). He was teaching about correlation and causation; I was asking students to tell me whether there was a correlation between the type of government or economy a country had and its fragility (no), or a correlation between conflict and fragility (yes). So, y'know, that's some unintentional awesomeness right there.

In APGOV, I taught the last lesson I had to teach, which was about the media as a linkage institution. I'd been telling my students it'd be today (the remaining days are for working on their final projects, and taking one last vocab quiz and one last practice test), but it really sunk in when we wrapped up and I said we'd covered the whole AP curriculum (and then some). There was a collective "whoa," and a few smiles and nods of accomplishment.

After school, we had a faculty meeting. The Principal went over the expectations for remote learning (which we'll transition to after we have three snow days, if necessary), gave some updates about next year's budget, and then sent us off to various locations to meet in our advisory groups. Ninth grade advisors met in my classroom, so I ducked out quickly to get up there and get set up. Mr. N's reaction to that was to call me a wizard, which is COMPLETELY ACCURATE.

Heh.

We set our agenda for our PLC meeting on Thursday, and then- much like our students had been doing all day- talked about whether or now we're going to have school tomorrow. I said I wouldn't mind a snow day, or a delay, but I would mind having to drive into work in messy weather because I'm an awful driver. All my colleagues know this except the new ones. It got a laugh out of Mr. C, which- if you've been following along at home- is always a goal of mine. Life is better when folks think I'm funny!

[im-here-for-everything]

Todays reminder!

[yourpostisonpinterest]

@fartgallery

i found your post on pinterest! (again)

[sluttish-armchair]

Interior of the Ministry of Truth

I might change some colors so everything is more visible for any [sharp inhale] rotoscoping (good god) I’ll have to do. But this is the first of the many desks I’ll have to make. Making the set base and figuring out the desk (relying heavily on the source material at all times) took me about three hours. Before this I worked on the hallway scene for an hour. The Mountain Dew Slurpee hyped me up shsbsbsjsbsjsnjsjs

Oh, and just for you to understand the sheer size of this 3D model:

That’s how small the desk and little guy are in comparison to the base of the set. Yeah. I’m going to die lmaooooo

[mademoisellesarcasme]

we are having a Bad Paperwork Time in my household today (Husband and I are both on top of our paperwork but apparently everyone else in the world is fucking incompetent about it)

[darkblueboxs]

some of yall may not like this one but. those shows netflix keeps cancelling?

Stop trying to save them.

Stop getting hashtags trending, stop spamming twitter accounts, stop crowdfunding billboards outside Netflix HQ, stop putting your TVs on silent and playing episodes on loop to boost ratings, stop creating petitions and binging shows in one night to fit within the “renewal decision timeline”. PLEASE stop.

Maybe one time in a hundred, this will work. But every time you are guaranteed to be giving priceless free marketing, promotion, attention and screen time to a coorporation that may love having you beg on your hands and knees for their scraps of Entertainment (tm) but will never love you back.

If you are angry that Netflix cancelled something you like, cancel your subscription and tell them why. Taking to social media, streaming the show repeatedly and encouraging others to do the same might make them reconsider the cancellation, but it will definitely encourage them to keep following a business model of making controversial (RE: bad) decisions to gain free publicity and a user base increasingly willing to drop time and cash on broken promises.

Engagement and news coverage will never make Netflix reconsider their practices. No such thing as bad press, right? If you want to see real change, go silent, cut them off and take your money elsewhere.

[toestalucia]

this one is still ridiculous LOL

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Master post (my pinned post) has been updated for anyone who uses it :)

[cicadaland]

what did he mean by this?

[its--ali]

oh for FUCKS SAKE

[187days]

Day Eighty-Three

My APGOV students came in, crushed a vocab quiz- their very last one!- and then we did some test review. I addressed some common FRQ errors I saw on their last test- specifically, on the court case question and the argument essay- and practiced some questions with them. Then, I gave them the remainder of time to study independently, or work on other things. 

My World students continued to work on their multi-genre projects, and I did some planning and grading while they worked. I also answered questions, give research tips, and offered feedback on work when asked. One of the boys in my Block 2 class, who kept switching topics, finally found something he’s really interested in researching and blasted through half an essay. He even asked to switch into my room for his flex block so he could keep going because he “had the forward momentum, Miss M!” And then he had me read what he’d written because he was so proud of it (and rightly so- it’s good writing!), so that was awesome. 

It’s fun to watch my students soaring at the end of the semester. 

Also, not that I want to jinx it, but the vibe in my Block 3 class- which was awesome, at first, then abruptly became unsettled a few weeks ago- seems to have been restored. The attention-seeking behaviors that were so disruptive have largely ceased, there’s no argumentativeness, we’re having fun, the class conversations are positive... It’s such a relief to have that back! 

So, basically, what I’m saying is things are going well for me... which led to me causing some drama during today’s faculty meeting. 

Whoops. 

See, we’re supposed to write reflections on the first semester since it’s about to end, and The Principal gave us time to do that after making a few announcements. The prompt asked us to identify highlights and challenges, and I’ve definitely had both, but overall it’s been a good year. One of my colleagues at my table has NOT been having a good year, and it’s largely because she’s a department head, and the meetings between department heads and the administration have been pretty tough. I don’t know exactly what’s gone on, but I know they’re clashing. So this colleague kept saying she had no highlights to write about, and how could they think that anyone would, and I blurted out that I had plenty. Mrs. T told me that wasn’t a helpful comment, but... it was an honest one. Like, I’m not trying to be all toxic positivity over here- there are definitely things that need to be addressed, things we could be doing better, etc, etc...- but relentless negativity isn’t helpful either. 

I guess it was a “don’t rain on my parade” moment. Anyways, the moment passed, we all moved on. I’ll work on the brain to mouth filter in the future. 

[sillysanddweller]

UGRUIGHGJ do u guys ever finish an essay and feel like ur brain got put thru a juicer

[neverendingford]

.

[creepyclothdoll]

The Devil's Wheel

The Devil’s Wheel

“If you say yes,” said the Devil, “a single man, somewhere in the world, will be killed on the spot. But three million dollars is nothing to sneeze at, missus.”

“What’s the catch?” You squint at him suspiciously over the red-and-black striped carnival booth. You’re smarter than he thinks you are– a devil deal always has a catch, and you’re determined to catch him before he catches you. 

“Well, the catch is that you’ll know you did it. And I’ll know, too. And the big man upstairs’ll know, I ‘spose. But what’s the chariot of salvation without a little sin to grease the wheels? You can repent from your mansion balcony, looking out at your waterfront views, sipping a bellini in your eighties. But hey, it’s up to you– take my deal or leave it.”

The Devil lights a cigar without a match, taking an inhale, and blowing out a cloud of deep, sweet-smelling tobacco laced faintly with something that reminds you of rotten eggs. If he does have horns, they’re hidden under his lemon yellow carnival barker hat. He wears a clean pinstripe suit and a red bowtie. No cloven hooves, no big pointy fork, but you know he’s the Devil without having to be told. Though he did introduce himself.

He’s been perfectly polite. 

You know you need the money. He knows it too, or he wouldn’t have brought you here, to this strange dark room, whisking you away from your new house in the suburbs as fast as a wish. Now you’re in some sort of warehouse, where all the windows seem to be blacked out– or, maybe, they simply look out into pitch darkness, though it is the middle of the day. A single white spotlight shines down on the two of you. 

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” you say. “I bet the man is someone I know, right? My husband?”

“Could be,” the Devil says with a pointed grin. “That’s for the wheel to decide.”

He steps back and raises his black-gloved hand as the tarp flies off of the large veiled object behind him. The light of the carnival wheel nearly blinds you. Blinking lights line the sides. Jingling music blares over speakers you can’t see. The flickering sign above it reads:

THE DEVIL’S WHEEL

“Step right up and claim your fortune,” the Devil barks. “Spin the wheel and pay the price! Or leave now, and a man keeps his life.”

You examine the wheel. 

The gambling addict

The doting boyfriend

The escaped convict

The dog dad

The secretive sadist

“These are all the possible men I can kill?” You ask, thumbing the side of the wheel. It rolls smoothly in your hand. Then you quickly stop, realizing that this might constitute a spin under the Devil’s rules. He flashes a smile at you, watching you halt its motion. 

“Addicts, convicts, murderers– plenty of terrible options for you to land on, missus!”

“Serial wife murderer?”

“Now who would miss a fellow like that? I can guarantee that the whole world would be better off without him in it, and that’s a fact.”

The hard worker

The compulsive liar

The animal torturer

The widower

The desperate businessman

The failed musician

The beloved son

“My husband is on here too,” you say. 

“Your husband Dave, yes. The wheel has to be fair, otherwise there’s simply no stakes.”

“I know what’s gonna happen,” you say, crossing your arms. “This wheel is rigged. I’m gonna spin it around, and it’ll go through all the killers and stuff, and then it’s gonna land on my husband no matter what.”

“Why, I would never disgrace the wheel that way,” the Devil says, wounded. “I swear on my own mother’s grave– may she never escape it. In fact, take one free spin, just to test it out! This one’s on me, no death, no dollars.”

You cautiously reach up to the top of the wheel and feel its heaviness in your hand. The weight of hundreds of lives. But also, millions of dollars. You pull the wheel down and let it go.

Clackity-clackity-clackity-clackity

Round and round it goes. 

The college graduate

The hockey fan

The Eagle Scout

The cold older brother

The charming younger brother

The two-faced middle child

The perfectionist

The slob 

Your husband Dave

Clackity-clackity-clackity.

Finally, the wheel lands on a name. A title, really.

The photographer

“Hmm, tough, missus, but that’s the way of the wheel. But hey, look! Your husband is allllll the way over here,” he points with his cane to the very bottom of the wheel, all the way on the other side from where the arrow landed. “As you can see, it’s not rigged. The wheel truly is random.”

“So… there really isn’t another catch?” You ask. 

“Isn’t it enough for you to end a man’s life? You need a steeper price? If you’re really such a glutton for punishment, I’ll gladly re-negotiate the terms.”

“No, no… wait.” You examine the wheel, glancing between it and the Devil.

You really could use that three million dollars. Newly married, new house, you and your husband’s combined debt– those student loans really follow you around. He’s quite a bit older than you, and even he hasn’t paid them off yet, to the point where the whole time you were dating you watched him stress out about money. You had to have a small, budget wedding, and a small, budget honeymoon. Three million dollars could be big for the two of you. You could re-do your honeymoon and go somewhere nice, like Hawaii, instead of just taking two weeks in Atlantic City. You deserve it. 

Even so, do you really want to kill an innocent photographer? Or an innocent seasonal allergy sufferer? Or an innocent blogger? Just because you don’t know or love these people doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t. 

The cancer survivor

The bereaved

The applicant

Some of these were so vague. They could be anyone, honestly. Your neighbors, your father, your friends…

The newlywed

The ex-gifted kid

The uncle

The Badgers fan

“My husband is a Badgers fan,” you say.

“How lovely,” the Devil says. 

Then it hits you.

Of course.

The weightlifter.

The careful driver.

The manager.

The claustrophobe.

Your husband Dave lifts weights at the gym twice a month. You wouldn’t call him a pro, but he does it. He also drives like he’s got a bowl of hot soup in his lap all the time, because he’s afraid of being pulled over. He just got promoted to management at his company, and he takes the stairs to his seventh-story office because he hates how small and cramped the elevator is.

“I get your game,” you announce. “You thought you could get me, but I figured you out, jackass!” “Oh really? What is my game, pray tell?” The Devil responds, leaning against his cane.

“All these different titles– they’re all just different ways to describe the same guy. My husband isn’t one notch on the wheel, he’s every notch. No matter what I land on, Dave dies. I’m wise to your tricks!” 

The Devil cackles. 

“You’re a clever one, that’s for sure. I thought you’d never figure it out.”

“Thanks but no thanks, man,” you say with a triumphant smirk. “I’m no rube. No deal. Take me back home.”

“As you wish, missus,” the Devil says. He snaps his fingers, and you’re gone, back to your brand-new house with your new husband. “Don’t say I never tried to help anyone.”