Erika S. teaching

Pan Fan or Pun Faan

This is how I felt after a kid asked me today if he could get all his missing work for the quarter that just ended yesterday.

Happened again when a kid asked, “Ms. Schenck, have you graded our essays yet?”  The essays were due that period.

Happened again when a kid emailed me his essay, then emailed me again to say, “it’s not done yet”.

Seriously though, I love these kids and I’m glad I even get to experience these insane reactions at my job.  Much better than experiencing one emotion (bordom) over and over and over everyday.    Thanks kids, for keeping it real and making it interesting.

In the same humor vein, please, please check out this blog, Singing Pigs by a teacher in somewhere, USA.  In particular, check out this amazingly hilarious post as well as this one.

Erika S. outfits, teaching

Hey, Miss! What can I do to raise my grade?

“So..Miss? What can I do to raise my grade?”
“Ummm….you can do your work for once because right now it’s too little too late buddy, you’re shit out of luck let’s see what you are missing and hopefully you can complete it by the end of today, which is when I have to turn in grades.”

It never fails: on the day grades are due, a full 3 days since my deadline for turning in late work, I always get some kid who tries to complete all their missing work in one fell swoop. It’s not going to happen buddy. What is going to happen now is bi-weekly progress reports.

This is me leaving school late in the evening, but not even close to being the last one out– head cut off because no one is ever cute after such a long day with teenagers.

necklace: unicorn crafts – scarf: who knows anymore, it’s hella old and actually pretty boring – dress: old madewell that is finally on sale (never mind, they’re sold out) – cardigan: j.crew – coats (that’s right, I’m wearing 2 now since it’s so cold): marmot and h&m (old)- tights and hidden heat tech shorts underneath: uniqlo – boots: boutique 9 – same old same old bag: freitag

Erika S. outfits

this is my basics jam

My style sensibilities have been changing…and it’s veering closer and closer to a uniform of purely neutral basics.  It’s like I’m heading back to white rice territory, after years of trying to make the most interesting and complexly flavored fried rice out there.  I’m cutting out the fluff and I’m crawling back into my comfort zone, the safety of neutral colors in classic cuts and fits.  It makes getting dressed much easier, faster and stress free.  You can never be too over dressed or underdressed with basics, otherwise the point of having basics would be defeated. Right?   On this note, I just got back from shopping for basics at the most basic of stores with zero creeper hipster appeal, Uniqlo.  The moment I walked in to the store today, I was thinking, yeah, this is my JAM!!  I had just left Zara, which assaulted me in all its trendiness with everything black/army green/oxblood and covered in studs/mean animal faces/leather sleeves.  Uniqlo with its stacks of logo-less, glitter-less, graphic-less, simply cut clothes was refreshing and welcoming.  This is what I picked up today, all of course at teacher-friendly prices.  For more of a basics guide, check out this post by refinery29, where they pick apart the basic basics, through the ages.  Technically, I fall into the 30’s category, but can barely afford the 20’s category.  Big poo.

 

Boring?  Or classic?  Either way, these items came home with me because they went perfectly well with what I wore out shopping today.  My everyday basic outfit, jeans and a tshirt, with my going-to-be-with-me-for-the-next-10-years-just-like-my-other-one-was Freitag bag.  The boots come and go, get swapped out with black flats, flip flops or converse, and some days lipstick gets thrown in the mix too.  For the most part though, this is it: my everyday basic outfit.

glasses: warby parker – t-shirt: alternative apparel – belt: gap – jeans: madewell – boots: ecote via urban outfitters

Erika S. outfits, parties

Going Out

B and I actually “went out” friday night, meaning went out to a place that didn’t involve our couch. Amazing really, considering that for the past few months we’ve spent just about every weekend on our couch, drinking wine and watching movies.  All domestic and shit.  This domestic and shit phenomenon is a common thing among teachers – in bed by 10pm, awake by 6am and forced to be perky by 8am when the kiddos walk in your classroom door.  So by the time the weekend rolls around, all you want to do is marinate on the couch hugging a bottle of wine.  If anything, you might head out to the local bar with your other teacher buddies, drops some cash on beer and unhealthy bar food while you discuss dropping knowledge on shared students.  This Friday night however, B and I had a plan – we had an invite to a Punch Party at B’s friend Darren’s house in the Lower East Side.

After 30 min of rifling through my closet, B hassling me to hurry up and 5 outfit changes, I resigned myself to the going out basics.  Skinny black pants, a basic t-shirt, black boots and red lipstick.  There is still a whole bunch of exciting things going on, while still being basic enough to not feel like you’re out on a sartorial limb.  This is my new go-to fashion philosophy:  Basic, reliable and comfy but with a few interesting details.  My two details for the night were my new hard-ass studded booties and a new lipstick, Red Square by Nars.  All together exciting enough for this increasingly fashionably lazy teacher out on a Friday night.  Didn’t even bother putting in contacts or changing my ever present teacher-bun-hair!

glasses: warby parker beckett – jacket: two year old madewell, but similar one here – flannel: uniqlo – t-shirt (which I looove, btw) & booties: zara – belt and pants (got mine on super sale): j.crew – necklace: f21 

Erika S. outfits

No really, what is this?

What the hell.  Seriously.  I knew I was in for winter weather, and I’ve been in winter weather –> snowboarding in Tahoe for the past decade-plus.  I’ve been in slush conditions so wet that boarding down the mountain it felt like the snow was grabbing onto my snowboard, sucking it down.  None of this has prepared me for my first nor’easter storm, hot on the heels of Hurricane Sandy.  What is up with this rain snow sleet wet-gloppy-masses-of-half-frozen-snow pelting me on my 20 min walk to the subway (thanks to Sandy cutting the D train short).  I swear, there was no direction you could head in where the snow-rain-slush was not coming at you head-on, sticking to every surface, drenching you underneath the new mounds of snow collecting on your half frozen body.  When I finally got in the door of the apartment, B ushered me to the bathroom to stand and drip while I peeled the layers off.  

Before all this I was at school, hugging my space heater, cozy as heck in my super warm sweater dress, wearing my “wtf” face.

jacket and boots: last year’s h&m – sweater dress: 3 years ago’s gap – tights: uniqlo – rain/snow/sleet/slush boots: hunter, on sale from nordstrom rack – rain coat: last year’s anthropologie, also here and here

Erika S. outfits

Layers

I’m forever discussing the weather – It’s cold (40˚’s) now in New York.  Due to Hurricane Sandy, our school’s boiler is out, meaning no heat.  I can see my breath in my classroom in the mornings. Thanks to my trusty space heater,  the 4-5 layers start coming off by the afternoon.  Today is PD (professional development) day, no students.  Instead of classes, we talk about rigor, final products and incorporating reading, writing and speaking into math and science, in a way that may or may not leave time for the math and science itself.  I started the morning off with 5 layers and ended the day with just 2.

puffy coat: marmot – jacket (on sale now in stores): co by urban outfitters – cardigan and belt: j.crew – flannel shirt last seen here: uniqlo – jeans: madewell (same jeans, different wash) – scarf: unknown/crossroads – sneaks: converse

Erika S. fun stuffs

trends

It’s official.  Everything is ok in the world now, I’ve got a lipstick that matches my shirt.  Hello, the fall 2012 “ox-blood” trend.  You are on me.

This new lipstick cost me $2.59.  That’s right, this creamy, non-gloppy, evenly pigmented, non-grandma smelling and smooth lipstick is totally cheap.  Even cheaper if you have a $3 off a $5 beauty purchase at Taget coupon burning a hole in your pocket.  $5.59 regular price Rimmel lipstick in Bordeaux becomes a $2.59 steal for me.  YAY.