09 May 2009

The GOOD & the NOT-SO-GOOD

Things I need to be grateful for today:
  • I finally am finished typing my exams
  • I have my last few weeks of teaching school planned out (sort-of)
  • Steven & I made the BEST homemade pizza tonight
  • I went downstairs to find some beautiful flowers today
  • My Mom & Pop gave me a gift certificate to my Favorite Restaurant...all I have to do is find time to go one weekend
  • I will be playing the piano at church soon (hint, hint), so that means I get to practice! Back to the 'ol piano!  Maybe that means my next purchase should be a Baldwin...whadda ya think?
  • My Idol pick *Adam Lambert* is in the final 3!
  • I love watching American Idol on my new t.v.
  • I'm going to be released from my church duties tomorrow
  • I'm so busy, I'm actually glad I'm not a *mom* yet!



Reasons what I am not-so-grateful today:

  • I have sit here at the computer WAY too long today working (NOT playing...ugh!)
  • I still have to actually TYPE (or record on paper) my lesson plans for the next few weeks
  • I have a PILE of papers to grade downstairs, and if things had gone according to plan today, they would have already been graded
  • My kiddos just got done doing a HUGE cultural project involving writing a paper, making a PowerPoint presentation, making food, etc etc etc.  Out of the 3 classes I have graded, I have found a total of  SIX projects (and they worked with partners) that are completely copy & pasted from an online source (illegal, I might add), or totally copied into a translator and THEN copied and pasted onto the paper.  I mean, these are my BEST kiddos (5 out of the 6 of them, that is).  I have already confronted 2 of them, and now on Monday I have to go and face 4 more of them.  Just approaching them w/o being TOO judgemental is hard. I know these are junior-high kids, and there is a *small* part of me that thinks "maybe they think as long as they put the website on their resource list, it is okay" or "maybe if I only copy every other sentence and stick an AND or BUT in there, it is okay".  I really don't know what to think, and I am HIGHLY upset by this!
  • Steven's arm is hurting again...and we STILL don't know what the heck is wrong with him.  One day it's his elbow, the next day it's his wrist, then his knees, ankles, etc etc etc.  It's frustrating not being able to help him, and it's even MORE frustrating for him, I'm sure.
  • MY BACK IS KILLING ME FROM BEING HERE IN THE COMPUTER CHAIR SINCE 10 AM THIS MORNING! (it's now 10pm this evening!)

3 comments:

Emily S. said...

oh that cheating thing puts knots in my stomach, remembering my own confrontations.... I HATE when kids do such horrifyingly blatant things, and on such BIG TICKET items.

{{HUGS}}}.... go to bed!!! Try not to fret about it tomorrow....

Peeser said...

Cheating sucks. I'm sorry they have put you in that situation. Especially this close to the end of the year. Those that just copied and pasted may have to learn the hard way (via an "F") that cheating is unacceptable. Those that used the online translator might be in a better situation- if the work they translated was their own, you could probably be more lenient. However, if they copied the stuff off the internet, put it into an online translator, then pasted the "translation" onto their project, they are equally screwed.

Could you at least say that it is good that they are trying to do their work, even if they are cheating? (as opposed to my students, who are mostly failing because so many of them do not do their work...)
I don't know. I will try to remember to pray for you tomorrow as you deal with this. I hope you had a beautiful Mother's Day! May your back feel better throughout the week!

<3 you!

ollie said...

I have one word for you:

Chiropractor

They make all the world's ails disappear!