Wonder what my cats and dogs are doing at home without me right now...

I'd much rather be home with my sweats, some fluffy socks, a blanket, the coach, my cats, my dogs, my book. But locking myself in a room with a series of 12 year old kids who also don't want to be here sounds good too. I guess.

Trying to imagine how blown away I'd have been if a teacher of mine had magically put "Dream On" on the (non-existent) sound system/radio in science class when a kid asked if today was a free day. This bunch didn't even look up when I did it. phbbbt.

Six minutes before 1st period starts. I have seen one of my students so far. Maybe this is the day the 7th graders finally organized that general strike they've been telling me about??

One of my neighbors has been putting up these fish facts posters. All kinds of different fish, marine, freshwater, deep, shallow, all kinds. This is a good one. “Stg this real fish” took me out. Good work, neighbor.

I don’t think night people get enough credit for adapting to a world run by day people

Bread, Milk and Butter (1972), dir. Jim Simon, Wantu Studios

"Ms. G, your students like you because you're just a sphere of kindness." I assume they meant my classroom is a nice place to chill, but I'm picturing myself as an amorphous, vaguely circle-shaped blob of joy now.

Given the number of times my 7th graders hijack my Spotify account, I'm worried about my #spotifywrapped this year...

Some of my 7th grade boys found my tub o' Hot Wheels (for demonstrating ramps) and are sitting on the floor, playing with the cars. #MiddleSchoolLyfe

Another day in the middle school salt mines.

Okay now we deal with the 3 weeks between Thanksgiving & Winter breaks. Complete with moar! standardized testing, an early-out Monday, a formal observation of my class doing a lab (last year's notes included "please stop doing labs every observation."), and probably a shit ton of sugar & caffeine.

“why the fuck are we invading Venezuela” should really be on at least a couple of chyrons

happy thanksgiving!

i could fix him

You know what, I'm just gonna re-up this post

Why are they chanting "ILL" "INI" across the room at 8:43 on a Monday morning during the ed game? I need more coffee. #MiddleSchoolLyfe

Ugh. I take it back. Someone in the class just got to a score of 67K and the crowd has gone wild. #MiddleSchoolLyfe #SchoolOnMondayAndTuesday

And now let us give thanks for the makers of educational game websites. #SchoolOnMondayAndTuesday

Holiday Cactus is having its moment.

for those of you buying a thanksgiving turkey today, remember to take it out to defrost in time for the big meal! generally a frozen turkey needs to defrost for ten minutes per pound of weight

2nd hour just requested Sade. They never fail to surprise me.

8th hour is far and away the most popular time to request bathroom passes. #Data #MiddleSchoolLyfe

Watching a live cam of Rio and listening to bossa nova before 1st hour today. Kids keep asking me if the video is real or AI. :(

I have noticed I have a verbal tic when teaching and say "Alright!" to get the attention of my students. They counted today. I said it 20 times. They are keeping track on my whiteboard and have learned to delight in my errors. They are now trying to trick me into saying it more.

Someone farted in 2nd hour. Crank the air filters and open the window. #MiddleSchoolLyfe.

Another rainy, grey morning. 1st hour is appropriately sleepy and quiet. Got some jazz going in science to keep them that way. #MiddleSchoolLyfe

Just spent a chunk of 1st period talking to the kids about the weather in Yakutsk, Russia. The coldest city on earth!

A gentle reminder for your day, in case you need it. 😽🤍

Spent a lot of energy avoiding an email this week. Finally worked up my nerve and opened it…. And it was no big deal. Just a “Please schedule The Thing at your convenience.” Not “The Thing is this week and LOL you are screwed,” as I had assumed/feared. Phew. 😮‍💨

fuck this cop, man

Because international student enrollment is so often used as a cudgel in discussions about immigration, this is a good time to remind people that international students aren't taking up spaces for US students at state schools, they are paying full tuition that FUNDS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR US STUDENTS.

Saw this maple while I walked home from work

In addition to being straight-up Nazi rhetoric, the "undocumented immigrants caused the housing crisis" lie seems designed to drive me, personally, insane.

I thought it was so sweet that one of my kiddos asked me to be a "cheerleader for a day!" We hugged! I may have teared up. Then I went to practice. WHAT MADNESS HAVE I AGREED TO?

"There's too much doo-wap happening in here right now! Please focus!" is a thing I just yelled in my classroom. #MiddleSchoolLyfe

another successful exploding whale day here in the us of a, let’s see if we can top it next year

On this date in 1926, the first recorded airplane bombing took place in Williamson County, Illinois, during a feud between rival beer and liquor factions, the Sheltons and the Birgers.

Mr. Accordion

instead of saying this was good strategy, maybe senate dems should say: "the republicans were going to kill people by starving them to death, and because we aren't monsters, we decided to let this fight go. We'll keep fighting. Stop electing monsters."

Had to ask for a sub for a second day. Class is going to be wild. Send good vibes to the substitute teachers of the world.

Art is emotion through expression. AI does not think and it cannot feel. It is a program designed to scrounge the internet to pass things off as its own. All the while stealing jobs from real artists and soaking up drinking water.

I am so sick, I’m gonna need a sub tomorrow. Any volunteers?

Found some graffiti in my class that asked, poignantly, "Are boys ever cats?"

Absolute joy is watching middle school students hear "Groove is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite for the first time.

Hire more teachers. Hire more teacher aides. Hire lots of special ed teachers and pay them more. Fund the schools you want. Pay some fucking taxes.

These good boys and girls are therapy dogs waiting to start their shift at a children’s hospital. 🥺

We're talking about sound waves. Kiddo asks "Ms. G? What's the difference between a vibration and a vibrator?" GULP. Lock your grown up face in before answering, girl.