Richard Miles

I’ve grown up in a society where things are constantly changing. As I became accustomed to the ever changing world I’m growing up in, I realized that there was one person who was always the same, something I could always count on: my grandfather. I’m not talking about the kind of rigidness and inflexibility that you sometimes associate with growing older. I’m talking about the steadfastness of character and loyalty to all things good and true that we rarely see these days. I will always remember my grandfather in a brightly colored sports coat sitting in one of the front pews of this church. I’ll remember his cookie jar filled with cookies, the dozens of rubber bands he wore around his wrists, and his commitment to the Ohio State buckeyes. I’ll remember getting birthday cards exactly two days before my birthday with cash stuffed in the envelope every year. I’ll remember the unique greetings he had for each of us his grandchildren, Sal sal, Philly, and Nasty. I’ll also remember his loyalty in love and service to his wife, my Gram. I’ll remember his love for his children and his grandchildren, his commitment to supporting anyone who wanted to make the world a better place, and his ability to forgive quickly. I know I am very lucky to have had almost thirty years with a grandfather like him and my love and admiration for him will never change.

Oh yeah, what did you do today?

$100 the price it probably costs to hire a substitute when I stay home from school after a sleepless headache-filled night

$75 the cost of towing a broken down Stella Scooter approximately one mile after the clutch went out

$11 the cost of having a new-er tire put on to my Honda Civic after I ran into a curb in a sketchy part of town while searching for Mr. Pete

$19.99 the cost of a car charger for Mr. Pete's chocolate phone---he should use said charger so that he is not say, stranded on the side of the road with a broken down scooter while his wife is risking her life (read running into curbs) trying to find him

$2.00 the price of yesterday's paper that the woman at the Shell station sold me while I was waiting for my friend Brad to come help me rescue Mr. Pete

$20 the cost of eye drops for pinkeye

$9.99 Aloo Choley from Baba India for two to remedy the wounded souls of this day

Being at home on the couch =priceless

Bladder Spasm, Kisses, and The Global Financial Crisis

Wow, what a title. I just thought I couldn't ignore the kidney stone drama I've been experiencing. It's been a whole load of fun. It's been about three weeks since I had my first stone and since then I've had a double J stent and I've had a double J stent removed. The whole thing was a great way to learn about the amazing technology associated with medical advancements and to learn more about the necessity of certain pain killers. The double J stent I had was installed (a funny way of saying that) to prevent swelling after removing a kidney stone. I was glad to see her go (the stent that is) since it hurt to bend over to tie my shoes and it really hurt to deal with disrespectful teenagers. So it was gone as of 9:30 AM but she left my bladder or something in spasms. It was as if I was passing another kidney stone. So, it was more percoset for me and a nap with a heating pad. The offending doule J stent is pictured below.

Do not be deceived by the friendly looks of these suckers. They are one big pain in the....kidney.

In other news, my students are buckling under the Mrs. Pete Pressure. I've had several heart to heart conversations with students where I raise my voice to a very loud volume and use very sharp words and angry statements to convey "my heart." The results are almost instant...obedience. It's kind of rough having to get really passionate and angry to get results from students. I wouldn't do it if it didn't work. I was feeling pretty bad about being so hard on kids and demanding better results from them. Yesterday, I stayed late to get some work done. One of my more difficult female students stopped by to get some extra help and blew me some kisses for all my hard work on her way out the door. It might sound wierd but it was really funny. I think she was trying to make me laugh and show her appreciation at the same time.

And finally, I can't help but talk about the Global Financial Crisis. You really should go over to amalah and check out her hilarious commentary on said crisis. I know I'm not any kind of economic genius but I'm a little confused about all of this. If the whole WORLD is in some kind of economic crisis, can't we just decide to change the rules? I mean didn't we, as a world, make up the rules to this silly financial game? Didn't we assign values to the lumps of gold and silver we found beneath the earth's surface? Isn't it just like monopoly at this point, can't we just give everybody some more of that flimsy paper cash? I'm not naive enough to think that this isn't really complex. I'm just thinking that we as a human race created this mess and I'm just a little confused why we can't untangle it. Is it just me (or the percoset) or does this seem like an easy fix?

I'm Not Going to Lie to You

My little sister used to preface most shocking things she said with this phrase. It was the default phrase she used to convince you of her honesty. It was like saying:"I know you're not going to believe this, but it's true." So I'm not going to lie to you, this is a conversation I had with a student we'll call Mr. Miracle Boy Genius

MMBG: Uhm, Ms. Pete, I've been meaning to talk to you bout somethin
ME: I know, my colleague mentioned you'd stopped by my room
MMBG: Yeah, it's about the honors class
ME: Yeah
MMBG: Why am I in that class?
ME: Why do you think you're in that class?
MMBG: I dunno
ME: It might be because you're smart
MMBG: Oh that.
ME: Do you remember talking to me about getting into the honors class last spring?
MMBG: Yeah, see here's the thing
ME: The thing is about how you didn't fill out your last test...not one word of it
MMBG: Yeah, I've been going through some stuff.
ME: OK, so you want out of the class. It's too hard for you.
MMBG: No, it's not that. I just don't belong in there. I mean everybody follows the directions. It's like if I do something wrong, you're going to know. It's not my kinda class.
ME: So you want out? I can change your schedule. If it's too hard, I mean....
MMBG: No, I just wanted to let you know that I don't fit in
ME: No, you don't
MMBG: Alright, just wanted to let you know.
ME: I know.
MMBG: So we're cool
ME: (I have no idea what just happened) Sure
MMBG: See ya
ME: Our next conversation is going to be about the fact that you need to wear glasses.
MMBG: I've got an appointment next week.
ME: OH, OK. We'll keep me posted.
MMBG: I'm out.
ME: See ya.

See, here's what's crazy about this conversation. MMBG was in my college prep class last year and we GOT INTO IT. He didn't talk to me for ten weeks. And when he did start talking to me again, it was in one word sentences. So, this conversation is revolutionary. This is one of those kids who I think is on the bubble between making it and not making it. So I pushed him into an honors class to see what might happen and voila! I have a kid who is challenging himself, advocating for himself, communicating with adults appropriately...I mean the next step is clearly winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

I'm not going to lie to you that this is the kinda stuff that gets me all excited. Just knowing that this kids is going to be able to read the board from his seat is enough to make me bounce in my Dansko clogs. After that, the possibilities are endless. Since I'm confronted with some of societies "issues" every day, I'm constantly wondering what it takes for people to change. How do some people flourish with just an ounce of extra attention while other crumble under the umbrella of social services they receive? If this kid makes it through this quarter, who says he'll make it through the year? Who will undo all the work I do to "save" this one kid?

News

Well it's been an exciting (and not always in a good way) start to school. I'm a little overwhelmed with everything that's going on but hope to reach the light at the end of the tunnel (or quarter) some time soon.

One of my favorite bloggers wrote a touching piece about leaving his job as a teacher...it is both inspiring and disheartening. I wish there was something I could do to keep good teachers from being swallowed by the system that is public education. Check out this post.

On a totally unrelated note, I'm taking a new fitness class. It's hilarious. They could make a Saturday Night Live skit about it. I won't go into details until I'm done taking the class because then I would be making fun of myself.

Things to Be Happy About

1. A former student (note that he wasn't a stellar former student) came by to say hello today. Not only did he return a book (from two years ago) that he "borrowed" from me, he also made great eye contact, spoke with confidence, and....is academically eligible to play football this year. That's very exciting in the world of a seventeen year old. That's very exciting for me too.

2. School starts tomorrow. I ran into so many pleasant students today. Some helped me get my room ready, some made friendly conversation, and all were very mature and...nice.

3. One of my favorite babies is turning one. Happy Birthday Mr. Mister.

4. I got a chalkboard at Ikea today.

5. I'm healthy enough to give blood. I know, I know why would you give blood after having a sinus infection for 69 years? Because I have good blood that Hoxworth really likes. I could file charges against them for harassment they call me so much. I give blood because it's something tangible I can do to "give my life away" (is that literal?).

Geeper Creepers

I'm sitting on hold with the vision insurance division of our insurance company while they try to wriggle me out of a $68 bill for something that I shouldn't be paying for. I'm listening to fake classical music hoping that my insurance representative is ripping the eye care "professional" a new bum hole.

Ten years ago, I stumbled out of my local Lenscrafters with a slight prescription for nearsightedness. Now as I near the age of thirty unable to read street signs or computer screens without my glasses or contacts and I'm constantly sticking my fingers into my stigmatized eyes with the latest and greatest in contact lens technology. Don't get me wrong, contacts are amazing. But just like ever thing else these days, solution is a bloody fortune (a $17 bottle of the premium stuff for allergy prone folks like me lasts a little over a month). And while glasses are all the rage (I mean Tori Spelling wears them), there's just a lot to them. It's tough to run a marathon while your sporting your artsy black plastic million dollar please-don't-let-these-fall-off-and into the oncoming traffic specs.

And with contacts...you should have to have a license to own those suckers. Cleaning and disinfecting, remembering to take them out before you sleep, realizing that you can't open your eyes underwater when you're wearing them.... Add in the fact that I'm prone to pinkeye, have eye dandruff (eww, but really it exists), and have dry eyes to boot; contacts are just a huge pain the butt and in the wallet.

My insurance company just called me in the middle of this post to tell me that they will not pay nor will they have me pay the price the eye care professional is asking me to pay. There was talk of supervisors and official reports and all kinds of crazy things.

Really this is just a post about how if I wasn't a teacher with the summers off, I'd totally have to pay the $300 in illegitimate bills because I wouldn't have time to sit on the phone during business hours to listen to fake classical music (while running up my cellphone bill).

School's out for the Summer

Readers' note: This entry is soaked in sarcasm and could come across as angry...it's not.

Now that school is out for the summer, I'm getting the usual question "What do you do all summer?" This question is usually said with remarkable disdain that someone may take a three month long vacation whilst others work their tail ends off.

My summer routine is usually really mundane. I get up around nine or ten, stumble into the kitchen and fix myself a tropical drink, eat lunch, take a nap, go to the mall, and watch cable until 2 AM.

REALLY, that's NOT what I do. I think that people ask this question out of genuine curiosity but their assumptions are generally misguided. They think that teachers enjoy a 3 month long hiatus after working from "eight to three" each day during the school year and soaking up government holidays and snow days. My new answer to this question is, most teachers do what other office-type people do all year round. Here is my top ten list of what I do during the summer.

10. Check email Many public schools block websites or frown upon teachers checking their personal email accounts or doing personal business from school. I spend the summer responding to email in "real time" (like a 24 hour return rate) rather than having to wait until after 5 to write back to people.

9. Restore my bodily functions to healthy intervals My trips to the restroom are like trying to run the wrong way through the flow of traffic in the mall to make it to a "onner" (it's only one stall) only to find out someone beat me to the tinkle. Change the mall traffic to a swarm of disgruntled teenagers and you'll understand why I'm very strict about my liquids intake during the school year.

8. Detox I know I made a joke about drinking up there somewhere. I'm talking about caffeine here. While I'm careful I don't drink too much before my fifty minute break, I do drink "a few" cups of coffee each day. I usually try to kick the habit once the summer starts.

7. Personal maintenance It's difficult to schedule appointments in the middle of a school day unless the office is close to school. Your liable to find your substitute gagged and tortured in the corner of your room when you return. Various and sundry appointments (dental, vision, doctor, etc.) get scheduled during the summer.

6. Go on a vacation EVERYONE is trying to travel during Winter, Spring, and Summer breaks making travelling during these high demand seasons a little more expensive. The summer time is a great time to get away but it would be nice to take off some time during the great white depression of February.

5. Make money Most teachers supplement their income by working during the summer. I'll teach a summer class at a local university.

4. Go out to lunch This is kind of like trying to go the the restroom. Since our lunch is only twenty-five and half minutes long, I relish the summer time when I can go out to lunch and see friends during the week.

3. Read for fun

2. Forget the cares of the world Often public schools are blamed for the rising rates including crime, drop outs, teen pregnancy, etc. I like to take the summer to think about things like 'what should I wear with my hot pink flip flops?' and other shallow things like that.

1. Plan for next year Teachers are constantly thinking about how their curriculum could be written to better meet the needs of their students. I'll spend my summer test "driving" new books, rewriting syllabi, and reflecting on the previous year of teacher. I think most teachers do.

Teacher Man

Will Okun is a genius. Just so you know. He writes these brilliant photo essays about teaching in Chicago. Sometimes I feel like he's writing his column from under my desk. It feels like he's seeing what I'm seeing, feeling what I'm feeling, sweating when I'm sweating. I think one of the most difficult decisions in the profession is the idea of "passing," and what can be even more difficult, "the grade." Even in an age where there is "content area mastery," there are lots of gray areas. Don't get me wrong, grading is not subjective. Not all the time. And sometimes when I don't think a tenth of a point matters, I hear that graduation march in my head, I see slide shows of students' lives flash before me, and I think about the implications of passing and failing very seriously. Will Okun's essay does that this week.

Running

On Thursday afternoon, I got back from a nice long run in the 60 degree plus weather and felt refreshed. I plunked myself down on the floor for a little stretching when I heard a faint knock at my door. My neighbor and her mother were at my front door asking if I'd seen her daughter. My neighbor speaks in broken English and her mother speaks no English at all. Her eyes say a lot though.

Breathless neighbor: Eh, have you a-seen Stay-phan-ee
Me: No
Breathless neighbor: I was on the phone....ten minute...she gone

I got it. I grabbed my keys and headed out the front door with my neighbor. Her husband was already getting in the car to go search for his daughter.

I got a sick feeling in my stomach as my neighbor and I rounded the corner at the end of our street. I had heard a child screaming fifteen minutes before, screaming I thought, in a playing way; the way a kid would on the first warm day of the year. My mind started to play news stories of crazy inhumane things that happen to kids playing out in the yard.

My neighbor started to jog and then run and I felt tears in my eyes. Minutes before I had been running along listening to Paolo Nutini on my IPod and now I was running like a mad woman to find a small child. The stark differences in my motivation for running struck me.

For whatever reason at that moment I thought of God. This is probably what God feels like each time he feels like we're lost. Each time we encounter danger or temptation. Each time he feels like he might have lost us. And when he finally finds us, he finds us in a place where he may be the only person who can hear us, he hears our voice when no one else can.

I've only known my neighbor for a few short months and I ran like I was running after my own child. I can't imagine the feeling of dread and horror my neighbor was feeling as she ran after her only beloved child.

It reminds me of this verse:

"Look at it this way. If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine and go after the one? And if he finds it, doesn't he make far more over it than over the ninety-nine who stay put? Your Father in heaven feels the same way. He doesn't want to lose even one of these simple believers. " Matthew 18:13

It turns out my neighbor had rollerbladed over to another neighbor's house without her mother's permission. As we rounded the corner, I couldn't see the little girl. I didn't notice anything. But the mother heard the sound of her daughter's voice and ran to her to save her.

In that moment, I didn't hear anything. Not a sound.

Things That Make Me Wanna Puke

1. mandates for schools and education without funding
2. teenagers joyfully watching people getting beat up on YouTube (in a church lobby...it's a long story)
3. knowing our friends (a nice couple with a small baby) were robbed while they were sleeping
4. listening while Mr. Pete projectile puked all over our bathroom (he has a stomach virus)
5. cleaning up said vomit (you really shouldn't have to clean up your own puke when you're sick if you can help it, right?)
6. my inability to spell at the age of 28
7. when people ask me when I'm going to have a baby and gesture at my belly
8. having a teenager say "I ain't disrespecting you" in a disrespectful way
9. gas prices
10. watching Eliot Spitzer's wife's face and thinking about how his daughters must feel