High School Math
Teacher
Ultralight Aircraft Pilot
Amateur Space Historian
Independent Movie Director
First Week of School
by Joe Maness
08Sep2009
Today I found out the classes that I am teaching this year:
Period 1: Geometry (10 Students)
Period 2: Geometry (6 Students)
Period 3: Prep Period
Period 4: E202 (11 Students)
Period 5: Algebra 1 (16 Students)
LUNCH
Period 6: Algebra 1 (7 Students)
Period 7: Algebra 2 (4 Students)
Wow! I have a few students that I see twice a day, so my total is less than 54 student total. I'm used to about 25 - 30 students per class, so this is great!
I've got some great students (with just a couple of exceptions!), so I am really looking forward to this school year.
Century High School
by Joe Maness
04Sep2009
On Wednesday, Sep 2, I was offered the Math Teacher position at Century High School in Los Lunas New Mexico. I was honored to be selected, and I accepted.
I signed my contract today, and I start next week after the Lobor Day weekend. I'll find out what classes I have next week. I know that there are seven 53 minute periods. The last school I was at had four 90 minute block periods, so this is different.
Century High is a very small Alternative High School. It's so small, that I'm the ONLY math teacher here! I'm looking forward to meeting my students and (finally ) getting the semester started.
Advancement to Level 2 Teacher
by Joe Maness
20Aug2009
I found out that I passed by Dossier, and so I now move on to Level 2. My Teacher License is now good until 2018; I do intend, however, to move up to Level 3 before that. That will require another Dossier and a Master's Degree, so I'll have to start all of that next semester.
I would like to give a shout out to Val Omerigic at the Los Lunas Teacher Resource Center, and Smith R. Frederick at UNM with all their help with my dossier. I really could not have done it without them!
Now on to the job search!
Level 1 to Level 2 Dossier
by Joe Maness
01Jun2009
Well, I turned in my Dossier at 10am this morning. I was done and out the door by 10:30. Now it is just a matter of waiting.
I should know whether I passed by August 15, which is a long 2.5 months away! If I don't pass, then I don't get to be a teacher anymore, so that will suck. I would then have to wait 3 years before I could come back to teach.
Here's hoping that I pass!
Congratulations to our 44th President!
by Joe Maness
20Jan2009
Barack Hussein Obama became our POTUS at noon EST (10am MST).
My 2nd Period Geometry class did an Algebra Worksheet, then I turned the TV on to watch the coverage of the Inauguration. I just had to put on my Navy Flight Jacket during the swearing in. Then I proudly saluted our new POTUS, even though I had really saluted the TV!
My students could not understand the history of today. I reminded them of segregated water fountains of last century, but I believe that most of my students don't really think it is a big deal that a non-white male has taken over the Presidency.
Hmm. Maybe this is a good thing? Have we succeeded in teaching the next generation that racism sucks?
In related news, one of my students had asked me why I had voted for McCain if I liked Obama so much (I commend the right wing in making it un-thinkable that a guy that served proudly in the military could ever vote for the liberal, socialist Obama). So I (gently) told my student that I had voted for Obama and that making assumptions often leads to the wrong conclusion.
105th Anniversary of Powered Flight
by Joe Maness
17Dec2008
105 years ago today the Wright Brothers flew an airplane for the first time in recorded history. I consider this event one the most (if not the most) important moments in history. Humans have dreamed of flying for thousands of years. And now the dream has come true.
I find it so amazing that humans now take powered flight for granted. No one even thinks twice about a flying machine overhead. Yet barely a hundred years ago, that same sight would have cause quite a stir.
My brother and my father and I all took turns flying our ultralight airplane on December 17, 2003, the 100th Anniversary of powered flight. That was so cool, piloting an airplane on the 100th anniversary. We sold the airplane since then, but I'm looking forward to flying sometime soon.
Obama is a Brain
by Joe Maness
09Dec2008
I NEVER watch Meet The Press (MTP) on Sunday mornings because I am so sick of the gottcha questions that they ask the Democrats, but not the Republicans. I think that it is soooooo funny that all of a sudden, all the pundits in the Traditional Media are now calling for fiscal responsibility; so where were they when our current President was spending irresponsibly?
So last Sunday morning I'm watching MTP because BHO is on for the full hour. Man, it sure is nice to watch a President who is so sharp. He answered every question thoughtfully and honestly. I was VERY impressed.
However, Tom Brokaw is an idiot. I'm sorry, but he is. He asked BHO if he had quit smoking. BHO answered that yes he had quit smoking. Then Brokaw comes back with something about how he had fallen off the wagon, which means that he really hasn't quit after all! BHO told Brokaw "fair enough", and said that he isn't doing too bad, considering the stress of running for POTUS. I just thought the whole tone of the question was bad.
BHO kept his poise, answered every question, and showed Brokaw what a REAL POTUS looks and sounds like. Go Obama!
More Americans Are Center-Right?
by Joe Maness
09Nov2008
According to Karl Rove, President-Elect Barack Obama won because he ran a center-right campaign in a center-right nation.
Let's take take a look at reality, shall we? In the image below, red represents counties that voted more Republican this year than in 2004 ...
As you can see, this map shows us that that the Republican Party has been reduced to a regional party.
Wow, I'm so afraid of Karl Rove.
Barack Hussein Obama: Our 44th POTUS
by Joe Maness
Friday, 07Nov2008
Congratulations to our next POTUS and to our next VPOTUS Joe Biden!!!!
Now it is time to brag. This is my prediction of the Electoral Map as of 08Oct2008:
It looks like the only state I may have gotten wrong was MO. As of today, some news orgs have NOT called MO, and we are still waiting on the call from CD2 in NE (I picked that one for Obama!). If they both go to McCain, then I still get 50 out of 52 correct (I'm counting DC and NE CD2).
Not too bad. I just wish my Mom could have seen this.
RIP Carmen Maness
by Joe Maness
Wednesday, 29Oct2008
My mom passed away last Tuesday (07Dec1930 - 21Oct2008). She was 77. She is survived by myself, my sister Mary, and my brother Mike. My Dad passed 2.5 years ago. Death sucks.
On a positive note, the school that I work at (Los Lunas High School) really came through for me. I did not know what to do with all the Parent-Teacher conferences that had been scheduled for that week. So my department head, Yvonne Griego, just took over. She got a counselor to take my conferences, then she found some teachers to take over my classes. I have NEVER felt so much at home in ANY work environment.
THANK YOU LOS LUNAS HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!
Thanks also to Etta Cavalier for taking my conferences, and Diana Benavides for volunteering to take some of my classes. Thanks also to Yvonne Griego (again) and Laura Jaramillo for showing up to my Mom's services. I also want to give a special thanks to Theresa Baca-Watson for taking some of my conferences and providing a shoulder to lean on.
To the principal of the school, Claudia Krause-Johnson, your staff is AWESOME! This school is really a community, and I'm proud to be part of it.
Goodbye Mom. We love you and miss you very much.
What If?
by Joe Maness
Saturday, 04Oct2008
It is the 51st anniversary of Sputnik. Ironically, everyone at the time thought that by 4Oct2008, humans would be thriving in space. Instead, we get a retiring space shuttle with no good replacement for several years, an international space station that can only be crewed by less than 5 astronauts at a time, and "regular folks" having to purchase (for $20M) their way into space.
How pathetic.
What if we had kept going post-Apollo? What kind of world would we be living in right now?
The Traditional Media
by Joe Maness
Tuesday, 16Sep2008
I am in shock. The Traditional Media is actually calling it pretty accurately. Way back during the 2000 POTUS race, the Traditional Media led the way with the "Al Gore invented the Internet" meme. Then, in 2004, the Traditional Media led the way with the "John Kerry faked his Purple Hearts" meme.
But I have noticed something different this season. Both sides stretch the truth every so often. This year, however, I have seen one side doing it more than the other side, i.e., NOT fair and balanced.
And the Traditional Media is calling it correctly. Unbelievable. I wonder if they feel a little guilty.
Dems Poised to Win?
by Joe Maness
Tuesday, 02Sep2008
Barack Obama hit it out of the ball park last Thursday night. The Dems are united and ready to go. So what are we all talking about? The Governor of Alaska?
McCain needed to get everyone to NOT talk about Obama's speech, and how great the Dems are, etc., etc. I say: Mission Accomplished!
