why be nervous?

My university supervisor came in for her first visit, and I choked. Not literally, although that would have been a lesson the students would remember for a long time ("dude, did you see his face turn blue?!?!?"), but as I introduced the lesson I jumped in 3 or 4 steps beyond where my lesson plan said I would and uttered several more ums and uhs per minute than acceptable. I did recover nicely, if I do say so myself, and the rest of the lesson went well. The students got a little antsy and the volume went up (so say her official supervisor notes) but it was just before recess...

I need to power up the video camera this weekend so I can see myself teach. I'm sure I'll be appalled -- does the camera really add 20 lbs? and increase forehead depth by several inches? and cause that tie to really clash with that shirt?

...

MT out again Mon and Tues, so I'm desperately reading many science chapters to review/prepare the class for a test Tues, and introducing "Mini-Society" as well, which sounds cool. Wonder if I can convince them to name me Supreme Dictator for Life?

smarter than a 5th grader?

passed along from my smartest friend and his Math Teacher wife:

There are 7 girls in a bus. Each girl has 7 backpacks. In each backpack, there are 7 big cats. For every big cat, there are 7 little cats. The bus driver is not on the bus at this time.

Question: How many legs are there in the bus?

This is not a trick question (easy for him to say...), it is a real math problem, so "a bus doesn't have legs" is not any part of the answer.

any ideas?

When I copy/re-write anything like this, especially up on the white board in front of the class, I get OCD/paranoid I'm spelling words wrong, or omitting a word, or accidentally spelling some word I'll get calls from the parents about -- for example, do not abbreviate "after school session" !