Pencils, an annoying necessity.

     I have a love/hate relationship with pencils.  I work as a paraprofessional in a grade school, so I am around pencils and use them all day.  I like writing with a perfectly sharpened, new pencil that still has the eraser on top.  The problem is, when they become dull, it is almost impossible to sharpen them!  One of two things happen--either the wood comes up the point and won't sharpen away, leaving the user with 1/2 of a pencil tip or the pencil sharpens beautifully, but then as soon as you go to use it, the lead falls out. I have thrown away more pencils because they wouldn't sharpen. 

     The other issue is the sharpeners; none of them work properly.  The hand held ones become dull very quickly.  The wall mounted ones would work properly, probably, if the district maintenance/janitorial stall didn't insist on putting them up incorrectly.  The way they hang in my district is so that the narrow, end where is shavings are suppose to collect is towards the wall.  Leaving the shavings no where to collect, causing them to get caught in the grinding mechanisms and dulling them.  I have tried to put them back correctly, but the kids all think it is wrong and immediately fuss with the sharpener trying to put it back.  Electric sharpeners sound like a nice idea and usually work very well, the problem is they too break and need replacing after a time and the district and the teachers neither one wants to spend the money. 

     The end result of all of this is endless dull pencils that don't write well made worse by sharpeners that don't sharpen well.  I think more time is wasted by staff and student alike by messing with pencils and trying to find one that writes.  As a new parent (years ago) I purchased my child 48 (yes, the required number is 48!) of the high quality pencils knowing that having quality pencils are important.  The problem was that the teachers all dump them in a collective bin, so you have no incentive to purchase good quality pencils and believe me almost no one does.  Even the pencils that used to be good now seem to be cheapened.  Parents wonder how it is possible to run through so many pencils, well now you know.  A good number of them get chewed up just trying to sharpen them; another large amount get tossed because they just won't sharpen; and finally there are those students who break pencils either for fun or because they are frustrated. 

All schools should be Scent-Free Schools

     People, I've noticed, love to smell good and surround themselves with artificial scents!  They apply scented hand creams, liberally douse themselves with perfume, they spray air freshener in bathrooms, and use those scented plug-ins or the electric wax warmers.  The problem is that most of these scents aggravate people's asthma.  I work in a school and notice as I walk the halls that almost every room has some different artificial scent wafting out.  I see that this is a problem that I don't understand why it hasn't been taken more seriously.

     Schools have done a really good job keeping the schools safe for food allergy sufferers.  The problem is those children with asthma aren't being given the same consideration.  It is well know that artificial scents and perfumes cause aggravate asthma and cause an asthma attack, which like a food allergy attack, can be life threatening. School districts need to ban the use of artificial air freshers and perfumes at school for the health of the children attending.  I know it will be a hardship for some, all those sweaty bodies packed in a hot classroom (phew), but think big picture.  What is merely annoying to you can be causing someone else to struggle to breathe and it is really hard to learn when you can't breathe. 

Wednesday Night Sucks!

For the most part, I try to be positive on this blog.  Although, my husband seems to think I am not positive enough--to that I say too bad.  This is my blog and I write in it what is on my mind and what is important to me.  I am not trying to make people laugh.  Not that I have many readers to worry about anyway. 

So tonight, I write what is annoying me.

*  Having only 1/2 hour at home before I have to leave to take the kids to choir practice.
*  Finally get home from errands and kids activities at 7:45
*  Having to stop at the allergists, the library, office max, and four trips to church in one night.
*  Only having 45 minutes to get a kid with ADHD (who's medication has long since worn off) to do 30 minutes of homework in 45 minutes.
*  Having to eat frozen dinners because I have no time to cook.

I just got home and was in such a bad mood that I decided to take a few minutes to relax and calm down.  So, instead of doing the right thing, I let my son go play his Wii instead of doing homework.  We may not even get to the home work.  To that I say, Oh Well (Imagine how Katy Perry says it in "Last Friday Night (t.g.i.f)," which I am listening to right now.)  Sometimes you have to let things go. 
I'm sure that yes, there are lots of people that have similar busy nights.  My questions is Why?  Why is a lifestyle like this necessary?  Why are we so busy?  I'm tired.  I have two kids, two dogs, three rabbits and a fish to take care of.