future

Whoa! Two in a matter of minutes! Simone, Carrie...you'd be proud ;)

So, as far as my future goes, who knows? The Lord! Seeing as our great state is falling quickly down a financail spiral of doom, I am left, with hundreds, and thousands statewide, without a job in the fall. (sad...no funny kids stories for a while) But, I don't plan on just sitting around waiting, hoping that something will just fall into my lap. I have a few game plans, if you will, of what the future could possibly hold.

Plan A:
Everything works out, and I teach at Vista del Mar in the fall again! Not likely, but not impossible...

Plan B:
I move to Oklahoma and get a teaching job there. This isn't completely crazy, as I was born there, have nearly all of my family out there...with my parents nearly moving back. My uncle is a teacher, and has principal friends, so I could most likely get hired quickly. Problems...school would start when I'm in Africa, so I'd have to miss the first couple of weeks. If Capo Unified could hire me back, and I was already in a contract with another district, I would lose the position and little seniority I already have. Hmm...

Plan C:
Move in with Kara Robertson (she just called me a few days ago and told me that she is in need of a roommate to move in in August) and her roommates. Initially when I called her back, I told her how this seemed wonderful, but I'd probably be moving as I have no job and no source of income other than unemployment, and that this, unfortunately cannot support me. She called me back later, and we talked for quite some time. Through our conversation, it dawned on me that I could go back to school in the fall and get my master's. Moving in with her and her roommates would save me nearly $800 a month, and if I can get student loans, I might be able to make ends meet. Liking this one...

So, there are still a lot of things to figure out. I need to break my lease regardless of the "Plan" I choose, which will cost money. And, I need to know soon. If you read this, and I'm not offended if no one does, please pray with me that God would reveal everything to me...opening only the door He would have me go through, slamming doors in my face of what I shouldn't do, or opening several doors, and just trusting Him and taking a step of faith.

"Gold Dust or Bust"

So, I really should be writing sub plans write now, but I've been wanting to write this down...

Last week Simone came to my school to watch my kids play, "Gold Dust or Bust." They did great! But the best part wasn't their performance, it was a comment made by a sweet girl of mine.

As I was "directing," I was unable to take my normal pictures, so Sim grabbed my camera and off she went. I waited for about 10 minutes before we started the play, as parking can be horrible. As we were waiting, this little gem of mine said,

Little Gem: "Ms. Murphy, who's that?"
Me: "That's my friend, Mrs. Knepper."
Little Gem: "Simone?" (I tell the kids my friends first names, apparently)
Me: "Yeah."
Little Gem: "Isn't she from South Africa?"
Me: "Yes, sweetheart."
Little Gem:...voice quietly fading away..."I thought she would have been bl-"

It was priceless. I started laughing out loud like crazy!

Periods?

So, the other day, a little girl came up to me to ask a question. This is not rare, as she asks questions frequently, whether relating to the content or not. However, one thing was a little different than normal. She was speaking in a much softer tone than normal, so at first it was a bit hard to hear. The conversation went as follows:

Student: Ms. Murphy, when do we get our periods? Fifth grade?

Me: What sweetheart? (thinking at this moment I heard her wrong)

Student: When do we get our periods? (still speaking quietly, but loud enough to know I heard her correctly "/

Me: Umm....what?? (wanting to shrivel up into a ball at this point...thinking to myself...'These are the kinds of questions you need to ask your mom, sweetie.')

Student: You know, like first period, second period, third period? When do we get our periods?

Me: (light bulbs going off, sigh uncontrollably escaping my breath) Oh! OH! In middle school. Sixth grade.

Student: Oh, bummer. I wanted them next year. (or some sentence related to this)

Me: Okay, have a seat sweetheart.

Yeah...escapades of a fourth grade teacher. You never know what's in store for you. One thing I have learned for sure is to get complete clarification before trying to answer a question that could have more than one answer, or meaning.

more great parent responses...

OMG you poor girl... I bet you where dying. LOL I understand.

Oh my gosh--don't worry about it at all! It's part of history and culture.

Every child needs that experience in class when they see their poor teacher realizing it's all going horribly wrong!! Please, on behalf of us parents, worry not...So if she wants to come to school in a headdress and little else, I'll know why?!

TEACHER OF THE YEAR!!!

So, today a really awesome (horrendous is a better term) thing happened. I was showing a PBS "Gold Rush" documentary and didn't realize that a painting of a male Native American shooting a bow and arrow was going to be showcased to enhance detail from the time of the Gold Rush. Well, the author of this Native American painting decided it would be best to depict this certain male Native American without a loin cloth....to give a better idea of the era?

The class erupted in laughter and shouting, and who knows! I was trying to cover the t.v. while turning it and the dvd player off, all amidst turning bright red. (I think they realized I was freakin' out)

As I walked down the short path to my principal's office, every part of me dreading it as I did when I was a 4th grader, I thought about my pink slip I received yesterday.

I prefaced our "conversation" with...
"Okay, so I got my pink slip yesterday...you totally don't have to rehire me." (part joking, part serious)

He is a great principal, very understanding. He helped me to write an email to my parents explaining what happened. Here are a few responses I got after sending out an email from my students parents. If I get any other good ones, I'll make sure to post them as well...


response 1:
Melissa,
Giggle, giggle. I had to laugh a bit at your expense. I can imagine the wide array of reactions. I will also talk to my daughter this evening. NO WORRIES!

response 2:
Omg! I wish I could have been there!!! You poor thing!!! :) I can not even imagine the expression on the kids faces! I'm fine. I'm sure she will tell me all about it!

same responder...different email:
Btw she got a bigger kick out of ur reaction than the movie. I had to pull over we were laughing so hard! :)

response 3:
LOL no problem


But, lesson learned...review CLOSELY every movie to be shown in a classroom from here on out.

funny kid quote of the day...

student: "ms. shertzer, are you a double or a single?"

ms. shertzer: "what do you mean?"

student: "do you have a husband?"

ms. shertzer: "no"

student: "you are a single. were you married?"

ms. shertzer: "i was once, but not now."

student: says nothing. walks away.

not a blogger

i won't be offended if no one looks at my blog, as i most likely won't be putting up a lot of blogs. don't judge me.