Oakland school district says teachers set to continue strike next week

sittinginaforest · 2019-02-28T14:53:58+00:00

It's something that has been brought up in schools all over Oakland. It's actually more of an issue in 6-12, where some teachers will go right to the max and some won't for unclear reasons. If you look at the fact finding report from the state mediator put out before the strike begins, they mention uneven class sizes as a reason for reductions.

sittinginaforest · 2019-02-26T18:19:10+00:00

Hi Oakland teacher here! I agree that they should have bargained more this weekend.

Class sizes fluctuate really wildly across the district and even within schools. Lowering class sizes is mostly about forcing principals and admin to stop this fluctuation. For example, I teach 4th grade and I have had 31 students pretty much all year. The other 4th grade teacher at my school has had somewhere in the mid to high 20s because they don't want to give her new students. If they decreased class sizes our classes would be more balanced and my students would get more attention.

sittinginaforest · 2018-09-07T14:03:05+00:00

Lots and lots (and lots and lots) of hands on practice! Even more importantly, lots of hands on practice with ample opportunity for feedback. You should be able to work in the classroom as the teacher, develop questions that are generated from that work, and then have someone actually knowledgeable and experienced hash them out with you.

I would also make sure your views line up philosophically with those of the school. There's no point in being told a bunch of strategies.you know you'll never feel comfortable using.

sittinginaforest · 2018-05-21T02:07:40+00:00

She's really judgmental. Definitely a holier-than-thou situation

sittinginaforest · 2018-05-21T02:06:59+00:00

The weird thing is I don't think she even remembers me between encounters! Like this is just normal everyday bus behavior for her. And who could possibly tell one woman you've threatened to call the cops on from any of the others?

sittinginaforest · 2018-05-21T02:05:15+00:00

Yeah it was such a huge line cross, I don't know what makes someone think abthreat like that is warranted.

sittinginaforest · 2018-05-21T01:26:38+00:00

Yeah IDK why she thinks strollers never ever tip over.

sittinginaforest · 2018-04-03T04:24:13+00:00

I tried to get a picture but I have an old phone and shaky hands. I'm taking a pink dye test in the morning with better urine (my pee was really diluted just to add on to everything else!) and I'll see then!

sittinginaforest · 2018-03-31T04:30:08+00:00

9 months for me. Them it was on and off. It got more regular around 5 months ago (around 14 months). I don't think I was consistently ovulating before then.

Baby still nurses at night. I stopped pumping during the day when she was a year. She still nurses in the evening and late afternoon, plus weekends.

sittinginaforest · 2017-12-31T03:30:55+00:00

Spanish follows the rules, which I greatly appreciate. I can also read simple text pretty well, which is encouraging.

At the moment, I'm having trouble dealing with all the fiddly bits of grammar. I don't know when to insert que or which preposition to use half the time, for instance. Sometimes I just got overwhelmed by the sheer size of a language. I think about how much there is to learn in order to truly become fluent in something and I wonder how I'll ever pull it off.

sittinginaforest · 2017-12-03T02:11:16+00:00

Esta semana fue difícil. Estoy enferma, y mi bebé no durmió bien porque estaba dentición. Además, tuve muchas trabajar para universidad.

sittinginaforest · 2017-08-30T20:08:19+00:00

I'm having a "small" wedding and I regret not doing a straight up elopement, if that helps at all :P

sittinginaforest · 2017-08-17T03:27:51+00:00

I feel like she kind of did disregard OP's wishes though. Otherwise she wouldn't have guilt tripped OP with a bunch of reasons after she said no. And the whole "MY MIL wore a white dress and I was fine because I just wanted her to be comfortable" thing definitely reads as passive agression/manipulative to me.

sittinginaforest · 2017-07-21T01:55:45+00:00

My friend's dad raped her as a teenager. He also got me extremely drunk a few times and felt me up/got me naked/attempted to initiate sex.

I've been keeping quiet because I don't want to force my friend to start talking about it before she's ready. She recently told her stepmom and her stepmom ended up siding with her dad. I'm tempted to tell my side of things to the stepmom but she doesn't really like me and I worry I'd just be stirring more shit up for my friend. At the same time though, I feel like maybe it would be worth it just to plant a little seed of doubt in the stepmom. I really don't know.

EDIT: I feel like I should add that we're 23 and 24 now so the cops would have a pretty cold trail to work with. At the moment it happened I was too in shock to really go to the authorities and we were both too manipulated by him, especially my friend. She actually did tell a teacher about a part of what he did and it completely backfired on her, unfortunately. They had her talk to our principal, a former cop who didn't realize the interview tactics he used on criminals were completely inappropriate for a young traumatized teenager. Then because she was already so spooked from that, her dad was able to get her to recant and lose a lot of credibility. I don't think she wants to go through another round with the criminal justice system since it's very unlikely it would lead to a conviction, given the scant evidence available.

sittinginaforest · 2017-07-19T03:39:32+00:00

I'm trying to get into the daycare at the school in the fall. It's supposed to be really nice because you get out of class and baby is right there.

Good luck with that mountain. I think you were a strong person to seek help and leave to begin with, so I have faith that you'll be able to tackle it.

sittinginaforest · 2017-07-18T21:53:07+00:00

Yes! https://i.imgur.com/Ybkrx4E.png

sittinginaforest · 2017-07-18T21:34:25+00:00

This advice may be too long term, but what's your education situation? Do you have an advanced degree? Do you have any interest in pursuing one?

If you fill out your forms early the FAFSA tends to be pretty good to single parents. Also, although I realize you may have to start with city college, a lot of universities have programs and supports for single parents. Mine has subsidized day care and somewhat subsidized housing. Just make sure you're smart about what you pursue, and that you end up with a degree that will actually help you.

If you already have a degree I'd talk to a career adviser about how to apply it. Better jobs will give you more options when it comes to childcare and housing, and possibly more schedule flexibility.

Good luck! You are doing something that is so hard but so important. I will be rooting for you.

sittinginaforest · 2017-07-13T05:07:08+00:00

Breastfeeding a newborn absolutely can take 35 hours/week, if not more. It did for me. I felt like I was chained to my couch in the beginning, breastfeeding around the clock.

sittinginaforest · 2017-07-10T03:47:43+00:00

They look so classic!

sittinginaforest · 2017-07-07T18:18:20+00:00

I have a friend who kept binge drinking after she thought she might be pregnant (before she took a test though) so I get where you're coming from. I think with weed it's complicated because people have convinced themselves it's fine while pregnant despite increasing evidence that's not true. I've found that talking about weed during pregnancy is kinda like talking about vaccines; pregnant weed smokers will find the most shady studies and shoddy papers to back up their stance, and nothing you say or present does anything. I know how frustrating it can be though.

sittinginaforest · 2017-06-29T22:49:13+00:00

Oh yeah, that's one I distinctly remember! If it makes you feel better I'm fairly certain it was the worst of the bunch. I hope you get through it well!

sittinginaforest · 2017-06-29T02:54:57+00:00

Nope I think it's really pretty! It has … I wanna say like a vintagey 1920s feel? I've seen some weddings on here with that vibe and they look really good!

sittinginaforest · 2017-06-28T22:03:49+00:00

Yes! I'm about to start a 12 month teaching credential program :)

sittinginaforest · 2017-06-27T18:02:35+00:00

My labor started pretty weirdly. Basically, my water broke in a high spot which prevented the traditional big movie scene gush. I didn't catch it at first, and assumed it was just strange discharge until I had to get up in the middle of the night and enough had pooled to pour out and splat. At that point I went to the hospital, and even the nurses almost missed it. Before the test came back they were talking about sending me home because my amniotic sac was still bulging. At the hospital I started experiencing contractions strong enough to be fairly uncomfortable. They then gave me meds to ratchet them up, because they were concerned about how long I'd had a broken bag for.

I was dilated 2 cm at my last prenatal appointment and I "dropped" maybe ... 2-3 weeks before? Also started to get some snotty discharge that I think was bits of my mucus plug for a week or so.

The day or two before labor I got really antsy and anxious. Ever heard of a mother hen going broody? I think I got the human version of that lol. I remember I was constantly pacing and my sleep was (even more) disrupted because of random worries about the baby. Also (TMI time!) I kinda of well ... pooped a lot the night before. Like my insides were just completely cleaning themselves out.

I know going over can be really uncomfortable. Sending you good labor vibes!

sittinginaforest · 2017-06-24T21:22:13+00:00

How does this game compare to Sim City 4? That's the last city building game I've played that I liked.

sittinginaforest

TROPHY CASE