Today I "met" my homeroom class for the first time in over a month. And did they revert back to their former behavior in a flash. We were supposed to be watching videos related to Black History Month for a whole hour, but many students (e.g. all but one) did not take the activity seriously.

Aujourd'hui, j'ai rencontré mon classe titulaire pour la première fois depuis un mois, pour regarder des filmes célébrant le mois de l'histoire africain-américains. Regrettement, les élèves avaient les mêmes attitudes et comportements que la dernière semestre, et rien n'a été accompli.

I'm glad it's the weekend. The sleep deprivation gap had gotten to me this week when I was figuring out what material to teach, and spending a lot of time doing it (to the early morning hours).

I have more thieves in the classroom this term. Really, I wonder how long I can go without locks on any drawers. Things stolen from my classroom this month: two large chocolate bars, a handful of Starburst, two AA rechargeable batteries, four magnifying glasses. I have a vague idea of who they are but of course I can't say with certainty.

Ugh. Tomorrow is Presidents' Day, which means that for most Americans, it's a holiday. (In Canada, my home province of Alberta has Family Day.) It is also Parent-Teacher Conference Day in Hoke County, which means that it's not a holiday for teachers. Nope, we don't get any holidays until spring break (mid-April).

Today, gasoline prices are around $2.20 per gallon in Raeford, and my favorite station in McCain on NC 211 is charging an astronomical $2.33. BUT, in Gaffney, SC (not too far from Charlotte) you can fill up your tank for the wonderful price of $1.77 per gallon. What's going on?

Today was the first time I have been in the presence of snow in Raeford. It happened at 9:35 in the morning. A few girls in my class started screaming so loud you would have thought they had hit the jackpot. In any case, the snow had all melted within an hour, and life was back to normal. Except for the smell in the boys' restroom, which smelled conspicuously of marijuana.

Two weeks into the second semester, and I'm back to working seven days a week at school. We have finally finished Chapter 1 - an introduction to earth science and the SI (metric) system. A little unfortunate that meters, liters and kilograms don't work very well with American kids. At least most of them know scientific notation.

Super Bowl XL takes place in Detroit today. An American classic that I will miss because school is in the way.