Erika S. outfits

Joyful Learning

Some sociology PhD candidate should do a study on working in education and the use of buzz words.  I swear there must be a correlation between the use (or over use) of buzz words and the administration ladder.  The kicker is that every district has their own set of buzz words.  I’m imagining with every new chancellor/superintendent, the buzz words change.  In SF, the buzz words were data, accountability, informed instruction, and joyful learners.  Today’s theme was joy.  As in my joy Division shirt, joy in iced coffee, and joy in getting my classroom set up and ready for the first day of school.  Also, joyful in the fact that my jeans were still white at the end of the day.

joy division

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My two favorite things lately:  A birthday lipstick from B’s mum, sent all the way from Perth & a mini-Darwin figurine from my co-teacher Pam.  He’s the shit and the lipstick is bright and joyful.

joy division4

glasses: warby parker – tshirt: a present from my bud grace, but can be found here – jeans: uniqlo – shoes: saltwater sandals – lipstick: australis

Erika S. outfits

Acceptable in the 80’s

I’ve got hugz for you if you were born in the 80’s, the 80’s.  Yeah.

I’m back!  Or rather, my classroom’s back!  Today was the first day of planning week at my school. The big guns start coming in on September 9th, so we’re spending the next few days looking at curriculum maps and STAs (standard-learning target-assessments).  My brain is turning on again.   I decided to bust out my 80’s shirt today – a F21 knock off of the various jersey type t-shirts worn by my fashion idol jayne min here and here. Granted, I’m a year late on this trend, but…whateves.     It’s not quite my year (spot on ’80!), but it’s close enough.

acceptable in the 80's

acceptable in the 80's 2

acceptable in the 80's 3

glasses: warby parker (my third pair!) – tshirt: f21 – skirt: super old banana republic – shoes: worishofer

Erika S. outfits

Peas and Hearts

Intensive week ended, and it’s bittersweet.  Of the all the kids we taught to blog, two have been keeping up with it into the next week post-intensive.  Yay Celeste and Cathy!  The school year is winding down, only 16 days till my kiddos take their Living Environment (biology) regents exam.  Regents exams are a double whammy: kids have to score a 65 or above to graduate, and my performance as a teacher is evaluated based on how many kids pass.  So what happens?  I stress out insanely about getting through all the material and the last few weeks are a mad dash to get through the standards.  Also, I stress out about the kids who are failing the class, which is attributed to a lack of motivation to complete assignments obviously is becasue my curriculum is not engaging enough nor is it rigorous enough.  Since apparently good teachers know, there is a correlation between increased rigor and engagement/buy in.  Seriously, I’d like to see the data for that.  I have my own informal data from my classroom and it shows that the harder I make an assignment, the less the students are motivated to complete it.  I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is.  I just don’t know what the answer is.

I’m going off on a depressive tangent here, so I’ll stop and instead write about a shallower topic…clothes!  I’ve love, loved this corduroy pea coat for the past 8 or so years and it’s about to get packed up for the summer.  I love the cut and how the collar pops up when I button it – keeps my long neck shielded from the wind.  peas

peas2

peas3

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glasses: warby parker – coat: super old gap – sweater: old j.crew – jeans: old f21 – shoes: frye

Erika S. outfits, teaching

Personal

One thing I’ve learned in the past 4 years of teaching (which is not very long) is that you can’t take much personally. It was a hard lesson to learn in my first year (when one of my students stole my laptop and sold it on the street within 15 minutes), and even into my second. Kids are more concerned with what’s going on in their own lives than with yours. This means, if they didn’t do HW, it’s not because they don’t like you. Instead, it’s because they were up late last night with their own real life soap opera. If they take your pencil, it’s not because they don’t respect you. Instead, it’s because kids can’t keep track of their own writing utensils and their back packs are like black holes. You as a person are not even on their radar, let alone significant enough for them to care about potentially hurting your feelings with their careless actions. The same thing kind of goes for teachers. So don’t take it personally, it’s not all about you. Instead, it’s all about the kids. That is all. personals2

On a brighter note, I got NEW SUMMER SANDALS!!! They are taking some breaking in, especially at weird spots on my ankles with slight bony protrusions. I love them and they were a splurge (thanks, tax man for paying out my interest free loan!).

personals6

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glasses: warby parker – top: anthropologie (soooo soft and perfectly drapey, similar in material) – jeans: bdg – shoes: sweedish hasbeens via madewell

Erika S. outfits, teaching

Thinking aloud – the teacher outfit

Thinking-aloud: a strategy used by teachers to teach reading comprehension or problem solving.

I’ve never tried the “think-aloud” strategy in my class.  I saw a teacher model it once and it felt awkward, silly and uncomfortable.  Then again, that teacher was generally awkward, weird and uncomfortable socially anyways.  Go figure.

Like a good teacher should, I thought that maybe I should at least try this strategy at least once before throwing it off as gimmicky.  So here goes: Think-aloud – the teacher outfit version.

Damn – hit the snooze 2 too many times.  panic!  brush teeth, wash face, pee and Hmm..it’s overcast outside, and my app claims it will be 48°F out today – warm!!  Oh crap it’s late – panic! what do I wear, stare at closet, WHAT DO I WEAR? panic!  coffee. I’m going to need 11 cups today.  cooooooffffeeeeee.  load the thermos.  what do I wear?  oh eff it, same old black jeans on!  oh yeah…I like that t-shirt and it’s dressier than just a t-shirt, it has “leather”!  edge!  k. k. k. k. k. now what else do I need…belt, shoes.  I’m tired of boots and it’s “warm” out – yay favorite oxfords!  I’ve missed you.  crap, they dont match all the black….uhhh…sweater!  solved.  warm, soft, brown, present from an ex-boyfriend.  slap concealer on spots brought on by burrito and beer binging in SF last week, where’s my grape soda flavored lip balm?  coooooffffeeeeee.  shit, if i dont leave now, I wont have time to organize before classes start.  grab puffy coat, throw bobby pins in hair, keys! bag! cooooooffffeeeee.  hustle.

the edge

the edge2

the edge3

the edge4

the edge bass bellingham

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glasses: warby parker – sweater: j.crew – t-shirt: zara – belt: gap – jeans: bdg – shoes: gh bass – watch: fossil

Every lesson needs an assessment, so here’s the exit ticket:  Using evidence to support your answer, predict which item from friday’s outfit will most likely be incorporated into the look for Ms. Schenck on monday.

Yup, think-aloud still feels silly, awkward and uncomfortable.

Erika S. outfits

Orange you glad?

I was happy to be back in SF last week, but I’m also happy to be home.  It was a week filled with friends and also included a three day snowboarding side trip in Tahoe (the kids picked up on the irony of heading to Cali to find snow – I got a lot of comments on that today).  There really is nothing like San Francisco air (except maybe the water!).  Spring break is already around the corner, and I’ll be getting another breath of fresh air when Aimee comes to visit!

orange you glad

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This wrinkly top is an old one from Madewell.  I have a slight obsession with the color (burnt sienna?), but the material seems to harbor smells.  TMI?

glasses: warby parker – sweater: uniqlo – blouse: madewell – tank (underneath) & jeans: f21 – boots: steve madden – belt: j.crew – necklace: my mom’s hand-me-down

Erika S. outfits

empty days

It’s vacation and I should be grading lab reports. Instead, I’ve been lounging, cooking and eating. Lab reports can wait, I guess.  I got myself a new bag – a wannabe Alexander Wang bucket bag for a small fraction of the price.  Thanks to “fast fashion”, I can indulge in designer aesthetics without the designer price point.  Considering I’ll probably get sick of this bag within the year and just go back to my trusty Freitag tote anyway, I’m cool with the semi cheap-o construction and materials.   OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
beannie: topshop – glasses: warby parker – jacket and purse: h&m – puffer: marmot – jeans and sweater: uniqlo – booties: steve madden (my fast fashion version of the Isabel Marant Dicker boots)

Erika S. outfits, teaching

mad easy.

In effort to avoid looking like I was attending a funeral today, I threw in some reddish/maroonish/berryish colored tights.  The tights just happened to match my maroonish booties – a happy coincidence.  To complete this berry theme, the boots and tights also matched my not-so-new-anymore-since-I-wear-it-all-the-time-now Rimmel ‘bordeaux’ lipstick.   Some kid today said that I actually looked a bit “teacher-ish” except for the red tights and boots that elicit a “omg I love your shoes” type response.  So….the trick to looking like a teacher is: bun, glasses, black dress, black cardigan.  Thanks, kid for the fashion advice.  I’ll remember it, because unlike you (for now), I am good at listening (most of the time).

glasses: warby parker – circle scarf and necklace: h&m (I think, it’s hella old) – cardigan: j.crew – dress and tights: uniqlo (last year) – booties: ecote via uo

By the way, my lesson today was on graphing.  As in what is a graph, which is the X axis, how to graph using a table and identifying the independent vs. dependent variable.

Kid: Miss, this is maaad easy!  Why are we doing this?

Thinking to myself: Yeah, it should be ‘mad easy’, considering they’re in the 10th grade.

Me: If you think it’s so ‘maaaad easy’, then why was your graph hella wrong on the cellular respiration lab?

Kid: What’s ‘hella’, miss?

Mental note: replace ‘hella’ with ‘mad’ from now on.

Erika S. outfits

variations on a theme

look familiar?  yup, I’m full on outfit recycling like crazy now, something I never really did in the past.  I used be inspired/care enough to come up with different ways to mix up what is in my closet.  Not so much anymore, as I’ve been sticking to my work uniform of black jeans, a button down and booties.  At least I now have a new button down to throw into the mix, never mind that it’s from the same store in the same cut.  It’s a new color!  The elfish booties – an Anthropologie find on black Friday, on sale with an extra 25% off!  And I didn’t even have to deal with crowds at my sister’s neighborhood shopping area in DC.  They make me feel like Arwen, where in reality they probably make me look like Elf.



glasses: warby parker – scarf: present from my sister – cardigan – j.crew (similar) – shirt: madewell (similar color)- belt: gap – booties: anthropologie