Category: Current Status

More about next year. Right before our Monaco trip, I was called into the principal’s office and told that they needed an experienced math teacher to fix our AYP problems. However, we don’t need an experienced computer science teacher to fix those problems.

Although I haven’t taught math in 5 years, I’m still an experienced teacher and am certified in math. I hope they are right.

Yes, I’m being affected by No Child Left Behind, which I believe in. AYP means that we have a group of students that can’t pass the standardized tests (TAKS).

Thus, next year, I’m going to be teaching a group of 9th graders who have not been successful at math. At first I was told I’d be teaching kids that were supposed to be 10th graders who hadn’t passed the test, which I liked better as I have taught that group before.

Now they are putting me where we can get to the root of the problem. Well, I need to be put in elementary school to really get there, but since I’m high school certified and these kids need to be dealt with now, I’m stuck with this group. I’m told they will be enrolled in both Algebra I and my class.

I’m also told I’ll have my own classroom. Floating bothers me because there is no place to lock up your belongings, and I do need to keep medical and glucose supplies near me.

It promises to be an interesting year. The sad part, is if I am successful, I’m probably stuck doing it. And if I am not, I’ll probably be hung out to dry. Provided I even survive it. You see, I already know these kids, and the first problem is that they don’t know how to sit in a seat and be quiet for a full class period.

Pumplandia: Violet’s Diabetes Blog: In which I am my own guinea pig

Occasionally I have to change sets at “work”.

I work in an urban school, building is about 50 years old, and the restrooms are nasty. Teacher restrooms are slightly better than the girls rooms.

I have been extremely lucky because my room has a closet. When I’ve had to change a set, I duck in, close the door, and half the time my students don’t even know I’ve ducked out. Once, I completely changed clothing and not one kid noticed I was wearing different clothing — okay, that proves high school kids don’t look at their teachers.

They have told me: “it would not be appropriate to make someone with your experience float”. I also did let them know if I had to float we would probably have to look into the ADA (American’s with Disability Act) as I need to carry around medical equipment.

That STILL doesn’t solve the where do I go to change a set as I don’t want to do it in a restroom OR in the nurse’s clinic.

I can however, always leave the old set in place, and put a set in my arm. Haven’t tried it, but may have to.

Tekakwitha writes about baking bread and about how she has to think about carbs. The ‘betes: Bread and crackers

For me, the worst part is not just thinking about it, but concentrating so hard about it, when someone says the word carbs and I’m around food, I just blurt out what I’m thinking. Sometimes it’s just the number but today the PTA brought us bagels and I had NO idea, but was thinking hard that each was at least 4 USDA servings, so blurted that out.

ARGH!

Part of that is teaching all day — you get bombarded with questions, that you just answer the first thing you think of, especially if it is something you are thinking about.

Pearls and Dreams: Pain scales and daily living

I know exactly how she feels.

Lately, I’ve been feeling like a problem patient to my dentist. I have been able to go almost 2 years without seeing a dentist, I had an emergency, and found this really neat Korean guy who was able to fit me in on a Monday afternoon, and managed to relieve my pain.

Since then, I haven’t had a month go by that I haven’t seen him. In fact, just hours after he filled two fillings he was wanting to watch, I chipped a corner off the tooth next to the one he worked on.

The good news, is that it isn’t hurting, and it isn’t bothering me. So I’m not going to bother him. I was going to have the next two fillings done in two weeks, but I think he’s going to have to work no that tooth, and do the other two fillings later, but I’ll let him decide.

I’m afraid he thinks I’m a nut case, but at least he’s figured out why I hate and avoid dentists — the novocaine doesn’t seem to work.

It isn’t a friggin’ needle!

It’s a lancelet. Yes, I understand that the general public doesn’t know what a lancet is, but that’s up to the writer of the piece to explain.

Now, I have no idea if you can get AIDS that way, and I really wonder about the parents of a child that would do that. Not to mention the child!

Someone on the insulin pumper list has already mentioned the concern that blood sugar testing devices may be restricted on campuses as a result.

CNN.com – Official: 3rd-grader stuck 19 schoolmates with needle – Apr 29, 2005

Official: 3rd-grader stuck 19 schoolmates with needle

The Diabetes Blog

This has NEVER made sense to me. If you know how insulin works, eating a particular food would not lower blood sugar.

However, some substances can reduce insulin resistance — it has been shown in studies that I’ve seen that cinnamon can.

But that isn’t the same.

Certain foods can also affect how fast other foods metabolize — for example, dieticians usually tell us to eat our night snack with a serving of carb, protein and/or fat, so low down the absorbtion of sugar in the carb.

That’s also why typical Mexican foods and Pizza are hard on diabetics. The fat contain slows the release of sugar in the carbs.

Everyone is passing on DLife’s tip of using a Clinistix or Diastix urine glucose test strips to test whether or not a drink is diet or not.

Well, those aren’t on my list to carry.

However, I do carry a blood glucose monitor and use mine to test drinks. If you don’t want to download a “false” reading — hit the calibrate button when you do and it won’t be included on your download.

I usually end up doing it about once a month.

I guess the thing next thing to check is the cost of those test strips versus blood glucose strips. However, in my case since the insurance covers a sufficient supply, the glucose test strips are cheaper.

One of the “fun” things about being so glucose sensitive, is that whenever my blood sugar is off, I get some kind of weird infection. That is also true of whenever I come off of antibotics, so add the two together, and I have a lovely cold sore — first one I have ever had.

ARGH!

I got my graduation packet today, and I have filled everything out that I know how to fill out. I’m going to take it to school tomorrow, and once I have all the rest of the information I need, I’m going to fill it out, make copies, and then mail it after school.

It needs to be return receipt.

Oh, and in case you don’t know — I should be finishing a Master of Science from the University of North Texas, majoring in Computer Education and Congitive Studies.

Basically an education degree, though we focus on using technology.

I’ve told two people that this week, and I figure I need to tell the blog readers this too.

Remember something VERY important. Your doctor is your employee. If things are not going well, you need to tell the doctor that. For example, if you can’t get an appointment when you need him, if his employees treat you rudely, etc. you need to tell him.

Earlier this year, I was ready to fire my sleep doctor. The situation has been fixed though, and that relationship is going well.

Of course, as employers we also have to realize that things aren’t always as easy as we would like them to be.

One of my very good friends is cratering because of a medical condition. I was appalled to find out that she need Procretic, and she ordered it through Medco, our mail order service. Whenever I get a new drug, my doctors ALWAYS give me a sample, at least a weeks worth, that gives me a few days to make sure it’s what we want.

Then I get a 30 day script AND a 90 day script. I fill both scripts immediately, that way I won’t run out if Medco messes things up, and I have a couple week window on the refill.

This is the SMART way of handling new scripts.