Field trip was . . . .  okay.  Not as good as last year, because there were way too many cooks in the kitchen; last year, just 8th grade advisors went, this year, 7th grade came too.  Which is great, because I’m technically 7th grade, but it was an organizational nightmare, and this is from a non-organizational person.  It also reinforced why I think it is just SO WRONG that they are doing away with MY program, when it becomes apparent that we do what is best for kids — including setting limits and consequences, and GASP! following through on those things — because our kids were, hands down, better behaved than the other group.  One of my legendary ‘bad kids,’ not my word, but what the opinion is, was just SO GOOD. But, we had warned her before we left, and she knew we meant business.  When her best friend (from the trad. program) was getting into trouble and I talked to her and set up the expectations and consequences ("If I see you trying to sneak off with one of the kids from [ another school, that I got the very STRONG impression from their teachers was a home for boys with Issues, ahem, there were 3 staff for 9 boys] you will be in the teacher’s cabin, period."  It just so happened that MY bad girl was there, and I looked at her and said "S, when I say ‘you will end up in my cabin, what does that mean?" and she looked at her friend and said "She means it."

Well, of course the looping bad girl kept it up, so off she was sent to m cabin.  One of her teachers thought it was mean (well, SORRY, but if you want to be the one to organize the search team this evening when she disappears into the woods with a couple if these boys, fine) and even S, My bad girl, when M (her friend) was complaining "It’s all MRS. S Fault! Mrs. M told me so!" (Again, could we have a little backup here for YOUR KIDS?) S looked at her and said "Mrs. S TOLD YOU."  All, like, "What the fuck dude? DId you expect to get away with it?"  I even made a point to go to S and say "You are doing a GREAT JOB, and I am so proud of you."  I’m sure she would have loved to have been in the hot tub with these boys and splashing girls from a third school in the face, but she held back, because she KNEW that I had no qualms about calling her mother and saying "Come get her."  And while I think it’s important to be friendly with your students, you also need to set boundaries and remind them who the adult is.  DON’T fucking turn around and be all "it’s all mean Mrs. S fault." Because my kids know the rules, they had a GREAT TIME.  They hugged me and wanted to sit with me on the bus and at lunch and they were even able to talk to me about the M situation — one boy, another ‘bad one,’ approached me because he was upset that M was upset, and we talked like adults and he understood my position at the end.  And then he was fine.

ANyway, I ended up not rafting because after i was in the wetsuit, I was hit with the need to remove said wetsuit (Which sucked) to have a … moment in the restroom.  I felt so awful I didn’t dare re-suit and be on a river for 4 hours with no escape, so I stayed behind.  I cried (I CRIED) not because I couldn’t raft, but because my kids now didn’t have their own teacher on the trip with them.  And because they are perceived the way they are, I worried for them.  As it was, they took a group photo without waiting for all of my kids to get their gear on, so it’s "All of the 8th grade, except some multi kids, but who cares."  I do, dammit.  Instead of going, I went to each kid and helped some with PFDs and helmet straps, and told them all that I really wanted to be there but didn’t want to be throwing up on them (Which was more polite than saying "I can’t afford to pay for a ruined wetsuit") and that if any of the trad teachers gave them a hard time, to tell me about it.  I watched some of my kids (2 of my favorites, kaitlin and A) on the ropes course, and took a nap in the lodge, and spent some more time in the bathroom.  When the buses got back, I greeted every one of my kids with a "How WAS IT!" and they were all excited.  S came running off the bus "Mrs. S! It was so awesome! I’m so glad i went!" and hugged me.  Some of my boys were all "It was stupid and boring, we wanted REAL EXCITEMENT," but that’s what they would say if they went down any river, ever.  Everyone had a good time, though, which was cool.

Last year, we were able to be more relaxed — because of the class, and because we were the only school there.  We had great fun scaring the kids, but this year, we didn’t because we were dealing with so many other issues.  One boys tent was being especially talkative after lights out, so myself and another teacher went to quiet them, but before we got there, I motioned for her to be quiet so we could hear what they were saying:  "And then she’s like ‘ASSIGNED SEATING! NOW!’ and I was so pissed off!" — "And then S[me] will say…." and at that moment I said "WHAT!" and the whole tent was silent. Hee.  "You boys come all this way, and do all this stuff, and all you can think to talk about is ASSIGNED SEATING?" (Assigned seating is despised — if you’re doing what you need to do, you can sit wherever.  If you’re not, well, get in your assigned seats.) Jeez.

I did do the low ropes course, with Mel, the math teacher that is leaving, and four of her kids and 2 of mine (both, interestingly, in foster care and long term members of the System, so you know, BAD — except they are GREAT KIDS, especially when you consider where they came from and the lives they’ve had) and on the first element, one of my boys spotted me and was all "Go Mrs S! You’re beating (a kid!)" and even though I didn’t beat him, my kids were all "Yeah, but HE feel twice and you only fell once."  On an element I wasn’t going to do, one of my kids looked at me and said "OH, Mrs S, you have to at least TRY! That’s what you’d tell us."  And I said "You’re totally right. I’ll do it." And I did!  One element, I didn’t, and I told my kid that was cheering me on "You know how I’ve been out a lot for dr appointments?  That’s the only reason I’m not doing this one." (It was to get over a 12 foot wall, lots of scraping up the boobs and thighs and such) .

I got home last night, dirty and tired and I went to bed early and slept late.  Today, Dave is working a telethon (Children’s Miracle Network) which always throws him for a loop when he considers fatherhood.  I don’t know if it will be lessened or increased when he does these and I AM pregnant, but 12 hours of back to back to back stories of kids in major medical crises is never good for a person.

Right now, I’m sitting on the front step (yay wireless!) in beautiful weather that hs turned cloudy.  It’s 85 according to my weatherfox thingie, and the neighbors that we should be friends with but have never managed to connect with just drove by.  See! I’m cool! I have an iBook. And a wireless network AND we have 2 Subarus.  (He is a crew manager or a Subaru rally team, and a computer guru at UM, and she does yoga and web design. SEE! I know.)  ow that I look up the street, though, there’s a red sign in their lawn and I can’t tell what it’s for — For Sale? Rent? Yard Sale? Hmmm.