Newbie Sabotage

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

What if the new employee in your workplace was sent there by someone with the intention of undermining it (people, environment, etc.)? 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Mobius Cowl Pictures

On this lovely M Monday, I have pictures of my mobius cowl:

...that I posted about back in June when I finished it (with a bonus post of me modeling it). 

I made this on camera with the intention of posting it to my YouTube channel. My brother was kind enough to edit the footage into a video that's approximately 30 minutes long. 

(What is a Mobius strip? Just in case you don't know.) 

And I just need to sit down and watch it to make sure it's ready before I actually post it. (I have watched it twice already. The first time it needed many edits. The second time it needed just a couple more. It should be ready now, but it's just a matter of me finding the time to watch it again.) 

It seems to be taking me forever to do anything anymore. 

(This post was supposed to distract you from last week's post, where I hadn't frogged that dragon swatch yet. I actually managed to frog it on Saturday... and I got no further. I won't bore you with pictures of what it is now--a ball of unknitted yarn.)

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Locked In, Part 2

Because I don't usually blog on Saturdays, my A to Z plan is to just post a picture and be done with it. And we saw how that worked out last week...

Let me start with the picture:

But the picture needs context, so... 

Back in February, I wrote about the day I tried to get out of my car at work, and the lock snapped on me. Have I gotten this fixed since then? Of course not.

I tried to find an auto body shop... Okay, so I meant to find an auto body shop, but I haven't quite gotten to it. I can lock my car door from the outside, so I've been doing that. And promising myself I'd figure out how to get the lock fixed eventually.

But guess what? The school I'm doing my long-term assignment at has an auto shop.

There's a long story of me ending up in a room with the auto shop teacher (there was a meeting about a software program that our students are using), and the conversation turning to the students needing projects, and I mentioned my little issue.

Mr. A, the auto shop teacher, had me leave my car with the auto shop (which is just a couple buildings over from where the classroom I'm in is). They took a look at it, and the above is the part needed to fix the issue. (I also allowed them to "inspect" my car. Why not? It's for their education.) 

I went to order the part. It would arrive during spring break. I got the call it was in. I went in to pick it up. On my way to my car with this in my hot little hands...

Splat!

The asphalt of the parking lot is very cracked and uneven. I was wearing sandals. I was walking too fast, probably. I'm not sure. I lost my balance, and I landed on my chin. Well, mostly my right knee. And my left knee. And I have a bruise on my left palm. My right wrist is very sore.

(I'm writing this on Friday the 5th. It happened yesterday. By the time you read this, I should be considerably less sore.)

I had about five bystanders immediately around to help. Sigh. I never seem to do this sort of thing without an audience of some sort. (I have done this sort of thing too many times.)

As you can see, the part is undamaged. Now it's just a matter of getting on the auto shop's schedule to get the part installed. (They were supposed to do it this week, but wires got crossed and it didn't happen. Hopefully soon.)

When I got home from my little spill, I discovered my face full of asphalt. (I got a nice purple bruise on my chin a couple days after, not pictured.) So, bonus picture:

I couldn't resist the selfie. I washed the black muck off my face right after I took the pic.

Wishing you all an accident-free Saturday. Now, tell me your fall stories.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Keymaker

Wednesday. Seventh period. It was my prep period, and I was doing what I've been doing during all of the prep periods during this long-term assignment--preparing for class. 

That means I did a little bit of grading, a little bit of lesson planning, that sort of thing. I keep hoping to get done with my stuff before the end of the period, because if I do, I can sneak out early and go home. 

I got through everything I absolutely needed for the next day. I was even current on the grading. I looked at the clock. I had less than ten minutes before the final bell. 

Deep sigh.

Right at the bell for the end of the day, the traffic getting off campus is crazy. If I get out right before the bell, it's okay. If I can't, it's better to wait about ten minutes for the traffic to clear away. 

At the moment I could have left, that would have put me at my car just at the bell. I'd be in the worst of it.

I scanned my pile of stuff to do to find something to do for five minutes. 

The co-teacher and I had determined that the math classes would have their next test the week after spring break. The day we returned, we'd give them a study guide and some time to review what they'd need for the test. 

The co-teacher had modified the test that Mr. J. had left. (We were doing the section in two parts, so there were topics on the test we hadn't covered yet.) I then volunteered to modify the test study guide to reflect the changes. I had even made the copies so they'd be ready for us after the break.

But I hadn't written out a key for the study guide.

I had five minutes...

And really, it only took me about five minutes to get it done. At about the time the bell rang. 

I got to my car a bit after that final bell. Where I encountered the expected traffic. Ah well. If I had left earlier, the traffic would have been worse. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Jangled Up

Of the six periods I'm covering for this long-term assignment, the AP computer science class was the one I was worried about the least. This was the wrong assessment. 

Third period AP computer science consists of ten students who are taking a more rigorous course to prepare them for the AP test in May. Mr. J put all their materials for their code.org work in their Google Classroom so they could work their way through the the curriculum. 

In theory, this should work. But high school students. 

Mr. J had planned out when they should be ready for their test. I printed out the thing they'd have to do. (It's similar to the kind of questions they'll have to answer on the AP test.) And...

It did not go well. They're lost. A couple of them kind of get it, but the rest aren't utilizing their expertise. 

So, now we've got some adjustments to make. I can push them onward to the next section. Or, we can try to figure out what they should know before we move on. The main issue here is that the AP test is about a month away, and if they're tested on something they don't learn, they definitely will miss those questions. 

If only I knew more about computer science. If only I knew more coding than just basic basic HTML. 

When I started with them, I noted the dates Mr. J had indicated for the end of this section. I reviewed it with them, asking if those dates would work for the test. They didn't say much of anything. I took that as agreement. (The class is pretty quiet most of the time.) 

It wasn't until I dug down and figured out how to see what they had accomplished that I realized they weren't doing the work they were supposed to have done.

Well, now I know. Perhaps now I can give them enough guidance so that they will put in the effort to figure things out, or at least they'll articulate the questions so I can find a way to get them answers.

We'll see. Wish me (and them) luck.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Impassioned Plea

Computer science. Sixth period. 

It was the Thursday before spring break. (We had Friday off.) They had been working on this job interview unit, but they weren't making much progress, so the plan was to continue to give them time to complete their resume and some online "how to interview for a job" modules. 

The phone rang. 

"Is Viola in class?" 

Knowing vaguely who that was, I turned to the students. "Viola?"

Viola waved her hands frantically in "I am not here". 

The teacher on the phone, Ms. D, asked if Viola was busy in class, because if she wasn't, could I send her to her English class to make up a test on The Great Gatsby? 

Viola was motioning violently, albeit quietly, begging me to say that she was, in fact, busy. 

Technically, she was. She was missing several assignments that she needed to complete. But would she? She and the boy next to her were deep in conversation, but not the kind of conversation that leads to doing classwork.

So, I had a choice. And I was leaning towards making Viola do that test. Waiting to take it until after spring break wouldn't help her, and it wasn't like she'd be using my class time productively. 

I held the phone to my shoulder and discussed it with Viola. As soon as I called her name, she knew who was on the phone and what she wanted. I pointed out that it would be better to get this test out of the way now rather than later, like after spring break.

Once Viola realized I wasn't going to tell Ms. D that she couldn't come, Viola begged for ten minutes. I agreed that was reasonable, so I relayed that information to Ms. D, and I hung up the phone.

"Did you read the book?" I asked.

She said she had seen the movie several times. (Insert my eye roll here.) 

She took the ten minutes to study up, and then off she went. 

About an hour later she returned. Happy. "I'm pretty sure I aced it." 

She agreed it was better to get it out of the way. "I'd probably fail it if I took it after the break." 

Yup, I knew this. I'm glad she realized I was right.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Horrible Human Being

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

I just watched (by the time you read this, I should have finished it) The Buccaneers on Apple TV Plus. If you've seen it, you know where this question comes from.

What if you discovered that your very good friend's romantic interest (or romantic partner) was an absolute horror? But when you attempted to warn your friend about what you personally witnessed, they wouldn't listen to you. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter