I love stuff like this. Not sure what that says about me...

Thanks, Racheal. This is awesome.

Dear Geocities & Yahoo... YOU SUCK

Dear Geocities,

You said we had until October 26th before you deleted our websites. Today is September 20th. When I went to the once-beloved website that I created for my college band, Brickle, this is what I found.

Bastards.

Now my future children will never know that I was in a hip rock band in college. Briana, Dave, Melinda and I no longer have photos of us being young, thin, and cool. If I hadn't spent so much time working on this stupid Geocities site back in 2002, I might have had more time to finish up that business minor I started.

Its one thing that you folks at Geocities will be shutting down our websites. You gave us an October 26th deadline. But what's up with you shutting it down a FULL MONTH before the deadline? Seriously?!? You guys suck. I hope all of you at geocities lose your priceless childhood photos and family memories in a fire. Or a flood. Or a shark attack.

You might ask why I didn't back up the site. I WAS TRYING TO DO THAT VERY THING WHEN I DISCOVERED YOU PREMATURELY DELETED IT!!!

Your non-friend,

HeatherBay

Three weeks have passed...

I've spent the last three weeks among the 5th graders, and this is what I've learned:
1. 5th graders don't care about cutesy bulletin boards. Not even a little bit. The hours and hours you spent making sure everything was perfect? Not even noticed. You might as well forego the butcher paper and fabric and cutesy laminated cut outs.
2. 5th grade boys try to act tough. They think its cool to act like gangstas/pimps/thugs (at least where I work). This must be nipped in the bud ASAP.
3. Rites of passage seem to include: starting to wear deodorant, leg hair/shaving leg hair, training bras, and menstruation.
4. They are old enough to use nasty language and be disgusting, but are young enough to still like Hannah Montana. And High School Musical. Aaaaand the Jonas Brothers. (gag)
5. It is imperative that they begin wearing deodorant. Soon.

Dude looks like a lady??? (or "Why I Love Fifth Grade)

My class theme is "rockstars" and each table group is made up of four kids. Each kid has a role- guitarist, drummer, bassist, piano player. It's just a classroom management thing. That way, I can say, all right, all the "guitarists" come pick up materials for your group. Or "bassists," start a table discussion with the "drummer." and so on... That way all the kids rotate through positions and they think they're hip and cool, etc... It is all based on Kagan principles.

Anyway, in introducing this to the kids, I showed them a powerpoint which introduced them to the instruments (guitar, bass, drums, piano). I also showed them some photos of famous bands so they could recognize the various instruments. The whole point of the exercise was to make the kids realize that people in bands have to work together, listen to each other, and work through their differences to be successful. The kids quickly picked up that, as a table group, they ALSO have to work together, listen to each other, and work through their differences to be successful. Sweet.

However, this seemingly simple exercise developed into a more complex conversation. I showed the kids pictures of bands that I thought were important: The Beatles, The Runaways, and Ben Folds Five (because they feature a pianist).

From this photo, the kids thought Joan Jett was a man (Joan Jett is the one in the long-sleeved red shirt).
After much discussion, they revealed that they felt this way because she wasn't "dressed slutty." So apparently a woman in long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and short hair can't play rock and roll. I pointed out that a lot of teachers have short hair and wear modest clothes. The kids pointed out that regular women could wear modest clothes, but rockstars should wear tight/revealing clothes, wear a lot of makeup, and show a lot of skin. This led to a deep conversation about body image and the role of women in media.

I love fifth grade.

Oldies but Goodies #1

Briana and I have taken to posting our old Portland pics on facebook, so I dug up this gem from youtube. It's a bunch of our old pics from 2006. Highlights include: OMSI, public transportation, and the zoo. Good times!

Augusten Burroughs

Augusten Burroughs, one of my favorite authors, came to speak at the Clark County Library a few weeks ago. He spoke for about an hour, answered questions, and was kind enough to sign books for his fans. I unexpectedly ran into my dear friends Deanna Rilling and Toni A., along with her husband, Scott. That was a nice bonus, and it was nice to have someone to sit with. I was also pleased to see that the 400 seat was PACKED with fans. See? Las Vegas isn't as culturally unaware as you all might think.

Girl in a Coma

On June 8th, Steve and I went to see the band Girl in a Coma play at Burt's Tiki Lounge in Salt Lake City. This band was amazing. The band is made up of two sisters, Phanie and Nina, and their friend Jenn, all from San Antonio. They met back when they were in junior high. What I really like about them is that they care about their MUSIC, not sex appeal. This band is a great model for young women, especially the young ladies of Girls Rock Vegas.

Their show was freaking amazing. Nina, the guitarist, played the guitar like a woman possessed. Also, they were really cool. After the show, they talked with fans and took photos, signed CDs and were generally really cool. While their opening band was playing, the band members of Girl in a Coma were even selling merch- totally down to Earth.

Anyway, please check out this band. They rock.

Grand Canyon!

Have I mentioned that I hiked in the Grand Canyon? Well, I did. And I survived. It was amazing and beautiful and I can't wait to go back after I get in better shape.
We also visited Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam.
I traveled with these awesome people from the Geographical Alliance of Nevada, led by Chris Ryan. This group was made up of teachers and university professors from both southern and northern Nevada. We learned a lot, traveled a lot, and had a great time.

July, July!

I say your uncle was a crooked French Canadian...


P.S.
Can you believe it's already July?!?

Clarification...

So perhaps I've been a little vague. Here's an update on my career situation:

• I am still teaching. I am moving to a different school and I will be teaching fifth grade.
• I didn't not lose my job- just voluntarily moved to a different school. At last count, there are 213 elementary schools in our district.

That's all.

Student Filmmaking

Gee, I'm sure glad I got an undergraduate degree in Media Arts from BYU. Some kind stranger has posted my TMA 285 project on YouTube!

This was created in a class where we formed a "film crew," wrote an original script, shot it on 16mm film, and edited it using Avid and ProTools- all in one semester. I had some awesome team members, including:
Kirsten Bales-Heder
Jason Conforto
Jonathon Dayton
Robert Fewkes
Todd Hamilton
Daniel Heder
Sarah Heder
Ryan James
Heather Rampton
Jana Schurig

Seriously though, I've been trying to find a copy of this for, like, the past five years. So thank you, kind stranger!

Let the purging begin!

As I'm closing one chapter of my career and preparing to begin a new chapter, I felt a little purging was in order. Nevermind that I have 13 giant Rubbermaid containers full of teacher junk. Nevermind that I own enough children's books to start a smalltown library (thanks to Scholastic, eBay, and Goodwill). Since purging junk and books takes a degree of organization that I can't muster at midnight, I decided to start small... just a little facebook purging.
It's not like I'm super snotty about facebook; I am "friends" with enough childhood friends and former coworkers to start a marching band. However, there are just some people that I don't care to be in contact with anymore. These are former coworkers that generally spread drama wherever they went and created a toxic work environment... for fun and sport. I just don't want these negative influences in my life anymore. So I blocked them.

...and I feel better already!


Note to self: #1 Task for tomorrow: tackle the 13 giant Rubbermaid containers.

Girls Rock Vegas... totally awesome week of camp!

Thanks to Denise Rosch and Channel 3 for visiting our camp and telling our story!

Aired June 12, 2009 on the 4:00pm news

I can't even begin to describe how amazing our first annual Girls Rock Vegas Summer Camp has been. The campers, counselors, and musicians worked so hard to make it a success! We are empowering girls, one chord at a time!

(I realize that sounds cheesy in general blog conversation, but that's our camp slogan.)

Heather = Toby (or, Free at Last!!!)

As I went to the office to return my classroom keys, a certain admin stopped what she was doing to exclaim, "I need to check you out and inspect your room!" even though the member of the office staff assigned to inspect classrooms had already done her job. That person explained that I was already checked out and that my room was fine. So the admin grabbed my checkout sheet and scrutinzed every last thing, even though I had gone above and beyond, creating my own typed and categorized inventory sheet for items in my classroom (this school has NEVER inventoried their materials, even though they have had millions of dollars of state and federal money poured into it when they became an empowerment school). I also provided receipts for everything I had purchased for my classroom in the last two years (totalling over $4,000).

"What about your whiteboards, sweetie?" she asked.

"I never received white boards from this school." I answered. During my first year of teaching at Vegas Verdes ES, I went to Home Depot, ordered a large piece of melamine tile board, which I had cut into 1' by 1' squares. Ghetto? Yes, but a much more economical solution than the Lakeshore Learning addiction that this school suffers from.

"Well, every classroom received whiteboards." she said.

"No, they did not." I wanted to tell her that some classrooms also received easels, smart boards, curtains, custom tiled floors and paint jobs, furniture, plastic trees, etc...

"I'm sure they didn't just grow feet and walk off," she said, trying to rally the support of the office full of other teachers and office staff. "Hmph. I guess next year we'll have to take an inventory and make a sign out sheet so these things don't just continue WALK OFF when people leave."

"Um, okay. Here are my keys."

I may be a perfectionist, I may be a little messy, and I may come to school with wet hair a few times a year... but I am NOT a thief. I haven't stolen so much as a paper clip from that freaking place. It infuriates me that Dr. G would try to imply that I stole from children, when in fact, she and her inner circle had been misappropriating funds for the last three years. I'd been harassed for the last few weeks of school, but trying to publicly call me out on whiteboard theft while I'm dropping off my keys? Unbelievable.

More "Fun and Exciting" things that I choose not to be a part of:

• Multi-age classrooms (1st grade - 3rd grade) where older gifted students are required to "teach" remedial students. Kids don't come to school to teach, they come to school to learn.
• Not making Adequate Yearly Progress for several years in a row due to a lack of structure and actual teaching.
• Spending tens of thousands of dollars to fly out personal friends and pay for their travel expenses, under the guise of hiring "consultants."
• General misuse of state and federal money.
• Teacher turnover rate of more than 50%
• and many, many more...
  

From our Union's website:
NRS 388.132 requires schools to provide a safe and respectful learning environment. This applies as much to students as it does to teachers. Teachers often discuss issues regarding parent and/or administrator threats, abuse, and harassment. There are statutes and school district polices to protect teachers from these types of actions. Because of the requirements of NRS 388.132, the school district promulgated Policy 5137 which provides that teachers have the right to work in an environment free from harassment, abuse, and threats.

Click here for some further insight into my journey at an "empowerment" school.
Michael and Toby's Greatest Moments

And just to show that we're not all fun and games, here is a little food for thought...

• An article on Teachers' Perspectives on Principals' Mistreatment
• Breaking the Silence: Overcoming the Problem of Principal Mistreatment of Teachers
• Bullying Bosses

And then I realized... (Episode 2)

... that a job is just a job. My problem was that I put too much of my heart and soul (and money) into a job where I wasn't appreciated. I am really hurt because I gave that place 100% of myself for the last two years, and now that I'm leaving, I feel like Toby, from "The Office."

Heather = Toby.
Here are some of the things I "choose to be":

• I choose to frame my instruction from state and district standards, use district-adopted textbooks and programs, and use assessment to drive my instruction.
• I choose to use school funds wisely and honestly in a manner that benefits students.
• I choose to give all students the instruction that they need. Differentiation is NOT discrimination.

At least Toby got a party and a Michael Scott parody song when he left. All I got was some nasty emails.

Class Photos

I will be removing these later today, as I don't really think its a wise idea to post a photo of my students online. However, I need these pics for our class yearbook, and I tried to email them to my work email, which had already exceeded its whopping 20mb capacity.

Dude, DON'T buy a Dell...

Unless you want to spend 4.5 hours on the phone with tech support regarding a brand new laptop that sounds like a lawn mower, has 2 USB ports that won't work, and won't accept any external hard drives. Seriously, the ear-piercing sounds coming from the fan are horrid enough to hear ACROSS the house, and my dog is terrified of them- she is currently hiding under a chair.

... and then I realized (Episode 1)

I spent most of today driving to and from St. George because I had to pick up some equipment for Girls Rock Camp. The night before, I made a super awesome iTunes playlist so I'd have some sweet tunes to blast. I was really looking forward to driving for 5 hours and singing along (poorly) at the top of my lungs. It was also nice to be have some time to drive fast and clear my head.

You know, there was even a time when I thought it would be pretty sweet to be a big rig driver. It sounded like a lucrative summer job as well as a fun and exciting way to explore America's extensive highway system.

HOWEVER...
#1: My car is not as rock steady as it used to be. I can barely go over 65 mph before it feels (and sounds) like it might explode. Also, my brake light is constantly on and I can't figure out why. And when I put my foot on the gas, a scary gurgling/farting sound comes from under the hood. This can't be good.
#2: Semi trucks. For some reason, when they pull alongside me, I have this overwhelming urge to drive into them, like there is some kind of magnetic force drawing my car into the underbelly of the semi. I hate when that happens.
#3. Wind that blows my Corolla all around the road like a wadded up tissue on an air hockey table.
... and then I realized that I really just enjoy air conditioning and listening to loud music.

On a positive note, this was one of the first times I went on a solo road trip with an iPod. How did we travel without iPods? It seems like so long ago that I used to drive between Provo and Vegas with a portable CD player and, like, 900 burned CDs. It was awesome to just set up my playlist and let it go without having to fiddle with anything audio related for the entire trip. I feel way less like I'm going to veer off the road to my death.

Where the passengers change, they don't change anything...

Oh Ben Folds, how do you always know exactly what I need to hear???

Fred sits alone at his desk in the dark
There's an awkward young shadow that waits in the hall
He's cleared all his things and he's put them in boxes
Things that remind him: 'Life has been good'
Twenty-five years
He's worked at the paper
A man's here to take him downstairs
And I'm sorry, Mr. Jones
It's time
There was no party, there were no songs
'Cause today's just a day like the day that he started
No one is left here that knows his first name
And life barrels on like a runaway train
Where the passengers change
They don't change anything
You get off; someone else can get on
And I'm sorry, Mr. Jones
It's time
Streetlight shines through the shades
Casting lines on the floor, and lines on his face
He reflects on the day
Fred gets his paints out and goes to the basement
Projecting some slides onto a plain white
Canvas and traces it
Fills in the spaces
He turns off the slides, and it doesn't look right
Yeah, and all of these bastards
Have taken his place
He's forgotten but not yet gone
And I'm sorry, Mr. Jones
And I'm sorry, Mr. Jones
And I'm sorry, Mr. Jones
It's time

They're the Girls of DC...

...and they are definitely ready to rock!

Here's the awesome camp song from Girls Rock DC. I hope they won't mind me posting it here because it is a totally amazing song that summarizes what I want our girls to take away from camp. Go DC! If all goes as planned, I'll be going to volunteer at their camp later this summer. I can't wait to learn from them!