April 7, 2010: Happy Birthday to Me

Does that sound to self-centered? I am not trying for that, but that was pretty much the only eventful thing to happen today. The day was typical, other than finding a big "Happy Birthday" sign on my classroom door when I arrived to school today. I gave the students their grade reports for the 3rd quarter. This is a print out of their all their grades for the class, it is not a report card which just lists the grade the student has for each subject. I had to go through the typical, "You all can do better" routine. I do believe many of them can do better, I am not just blowing smoke to try and motivate then. The challenge is, as the weather keeps getting nicer and nicer (80-90 degrees all week so far!), the students will be thinking more and more of being somewhere else.

I did demonstrate my naivety in class today. We were giving an example of the President meeting with party whips in Congress, and I innocently mentioned that I did not mean that he would be whipping them. I went on to say that of the US Presidents, he would be the most likely to be whipped himself. I am sure you are thinking the same thing a few of my students were, I was making bad, inappropriate, off color joke. A few of my students began laughing out loud, unable to believe I had said that. I didn't see what the big deal was because in my mind I was thinking that, well, of all the Presidents so far, Obama does not seem very physically strong compared to the previous US Presidents, as a result they all could kick his butt. That is where I was going, but it quickly became the race card. Fortunately, the students did NOT believe that I was making a racist comment. But needless to say, after the fact, I did feel pretty uncomfortable.

We had a softball game tonight. It went well, we jumped out to a 7-0 start in the first inning and won 12-7 in the end. I hit well (2-4, 3B, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI). So far this season the team is 2-0 and I am hitting an awesome .750 (6-8, 2-3B, 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI, 2.000SLG%). I am feeling pretty good about it. I was a little disappointed on a play I was running out to first. I was thrown out but less than an inch, I know he got me, I am not arguing that. I am disappointed because I wonder if I have "lost a step." I joked, if I were 38 I would have beat out the throw!