ok, I’ve been holding out on the news. It’s only because I wanted a few days for it to sink in. This fall I’ll be teaching drawing and design for Torrey Pines High School. I already feel welcomed by the staff, and I’m excited to be teaching art again! Torrey Pines [...]

I’m becoming an expert at short trips. This last Friday I flew to San Diego for six hours to interview at Torry Pines High School. The strangest thing happens to me when I fly into San Diego. I get this feeling of relief at returning home when the plane is landing. [...]

Here’s a bunch of randomness-
I ran about three miles today- pain free (but not sweat free!) it seems that my self-imposed physical therapy is working. =)
I missed three calls from someone….Mr. no number. I have been haunted by this random calling person- who I never get to talk to, and doesn’t leave a [...]

I’m glad that I paid attention to the fine print on my newly acquired California teaching certificate. It sates that I need to take and pass their CBEST (California Basic Educational Skills Test). It’s part of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind legislation that requires that public school teachers are “highly quilified”. [...]

I like filling out forms. This week I’ve filled out dozens of applications to school districts and while I like answering questions like, “if there were no restrictions placed on you, what would you do with your life?” and “Do you think that a teacher can be too empathetic? Explain”, I do [...]

where does the time go? =) I’ve been sitting at this computer since I got out of school today- applying to colleges and working on the new version of www.smilinglaura.com and I’ve set myself a deadline. I’m sharing it with all ya’ll so that I’ll keep on schedule! The launch will [...]

It has been 9 months and 15 days since the California Commision on Teacher Credentialing received my application. Today, I was honored to find that I have successfully jumped through the right hoops and the State of California has found me worthy to teach in their state. My certificate arrived in a large, [...]

I’m a substitute teacher. I spend my days in random classrooms across this city handing out worksheets, putting on instructional videos, and mis-pronouncing students names. I understand and embrace the consequences of my position. Students are going to try to sneak out of class. Students are going to call me “Mrs… [...]

I work too much. I force a smile. I don’t realize until the warm evening sunset hits me that I’ve been coasting all day and out of 362 smiles, only 5 were genuine. This bothers me quite a bit. I don’t want to live a common life. I don’t want [...]

I’ve admired the work of Wayne Thiebaud for years. His paintings are elegent and simple. He achieves the most wonderful balance of sophistication and whimsey through his color choices and technique. If you’ve ever seen a Wayne Thiebaud painting, you’ve probably wanted to eat it as I have. He’s most famous [...]