Treading water

For several days now at work, it seems like I’ve been treading water.  In addition to embracing a RISC vision or standards-based instruction and changing to a trimester schedule, our school is also undergoing NEASC re-accreditation. (I choose not to hyperlink them because I suspect the RISC approach will go by the wayside eventually, and we all know what NEASC entails.)  I wonder if every school experiences a new direction every year or per new principal or is just my school?  A week ago, we also found out we needed to have a district wide writing prompt, so during our workshop this afternoon, we spent one hour grappling with new NEASC assignments because we have lost so many teachers, and the other two reading and scoring writing prompts. Rush rush rush. So much of our “professional development” time goes to administrative business instead of actual teaching. 

But enough.  The colors are gorgeous right now, and I’m heading home to downeast this weekend.  

Tra lah lah.

Oh well...

Here's a list of things I did not get to this weekend:

• Freeze my kale from the garden
• Write mom a thank you letter
• Plan the autobiographical unit for the sophomores
• Create a plan for the college essay
• Finish painting the fence
• Make carrot soup
• Make chicken soup (husband has cold)
• Make chocolate chip cookies
• Wash and straighten hair...weekend not over, stay tuned.
• Start the progress reports.
• Fix blog layout.  (What happened to my picture of Elvis?)
• answer emails
• answer Facebook

And there's more, but I'm in a hurry...
So what have I been doing, you ask?
Well, I did manage to start Russel Baker's memoir.  And I did see Robin Hood.  My husband now has a crush on Cate Blanchett.  Despite his crush, I've wanted to be Cate since her film with Ralph Finnes (before Elizabeth).  Film was absurb.  Despite absurdity, I remember how much I love English history-and French, and always seem to forget.  I intend to take a look at the politics surrounding King John...

Elvis Lives!

I’ve nothing eventful to report except that I’m thrilled at some of the profiles I’ve received in the non-fiction class; however, I’m dismayed at some of the choices students have made for their independent reading:  A Child Called “It “?  Didn’t you read that freshman year?  No one wants to read Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America??? Then again, our library doesn’t offer all that much non-fiction and a few students have realized that waiting for inter-library loan to come through is a convenient excuse to avoid deadlines.  On a positive note, one of my non-readers has found a book on Elvis and he is reading!!!  I don’t care if he hasn’t bothered to turn in his profile. He's reading! Thank you, Elvis! (Image borrowed from Google Images.)

Remember when?

I’m finally getting caught up again on some correcting and lesson planning and looking at the article on hyperlinks gets me thinking about my own computer literacy and when it began exactly. Using Outlook confused me initially. When I began temping in New York City, I have to laugh at how dim I was, perhaps because I was working with a PC, which tells you to click on “Start” to shut down? When I had to give another employee a message, I simply walked down the aisle and peered over a cubicle. Very soon, she tiptoed down to my cubicle and told me that they used email to communicate all messages.

The article mentions that in 1980 few people were using computers for writing prose, and I am reminded that I didn’t purchase my first computer until 2000, twenty years later. I remember feeling so behind during the nineties until I bought my first laptop (a Sony Vaio…at vast expense). And then I used dial up. I don’t remember how slow it was because eventually I had wireless.

Getting lost in hyperlinks does make sense, though. When I read an article with hyperlinks, it is simply out of curiosity when I use them, and I wind up reading losing myself in another blog or article. For example, I was reading from one of my favorite blogs, Digby, then followed a link to a blog I’ve heard of but never read, Suburban Guerilla. I think from there I clicked on something else and read a great blog condemning Sarah Palin. Reading hyperlinks takes time. Then again, I find it useful when I want to know where additional information can be found.

Today's Musings

So I went to the local library to do some work and when I see the wall of magazines, I just can’t help myself. “Just a few minutes,” I say to myself. “I had a full day, I can indulge.” So I pick up a copy of the latest Vanity Fair. Why do I care about Lindsay Lohan? Well, I do. She was adorable in the remake of The Parent Trap. She looks like a young Ann Margaret. I haven’t seen Robert Altman’s Prairie Home Companion, (title)but I hear she sings with Meryl Streep. I wanted to read some other articles about Sarah Palin and how her inner circle is becoming even more dysfunctional, (I guess), and another about Frank Sinatra, but, library was closing. And there’s no internet café near my place; good thing because I wasn’t getting anything done.

In class, seniors are finishing the rough drafts of their profiles. All the examples we've read to them and discussed all seem for naught. Only a few are moving beyond the interview sheet I gave them and are finding a “unique perspective” of their partner.

I realize I need to teach/encourage more prewriting strategies, one of the areas in need of improvement. My prewriting involves just sitting and writing; fiddle dee dee, no preplanning for me. But this method requires a lot of rewriting.

There are a few more profile pieces (or just pieces) that I want my students to read; one by Sarah Vowell called “Shooting Dad” and another about Mr. Rogers that was in Esquire (?) by Tom Junod. One student started the Vowell piece and said it was boring. I’ve heard her on NPR; she’s not boring!!! It never fails that I take their comments personally. I also want to give them pieces that might challenge them, such as a piece in The New Yorker about Phillipe Petit, the man who tight rope walked between the Twin Towers. I might show them part of the documentary to entice them to read the profile. Bait them…I have also assigned a memoir/autobiography of their choice. It feeds into the narrative/college essay unit, we will attack soon.

The Kat

Just felt I had to add his picture.  Look at the purrrfect symmetry of this face. Call me the cat lady, (I'm not shy about it.), but I grew up with more catz than you could count.  My brother named them all after the Boston Red Sox.  He lived outside the coliseum in Rome and spent many hours feeding the cats deeming himself, "The Cat Man of Rome." There is a memoir I've always admired but haven't read in years called, My Five Tigers by Lloyd Alexander, about his five cats, of course. Even if you are not a cat person, it's a lovely read.

On separate note, my mother gave me, The Water is Wide, by Pat Conroy, a memoir of his early years as a teacher working on an island off South Carolina.  I never cared for   The Prince of Tides, but this is so well-written.

Happy Friday

I'm afraid to jinx myself, but so far, my classes seem to be starting off on a positive note.  It has been several years since I've taught younger students, and I recall classes as lively and rowdy and many times difficult.  (Then again, I was new.)  Unlike the seniors I've taught for several years now,  most of my sophomores complete homework.  All students have the best intentions in September, but I am impressed with their enthusiasm.  One of the ELA standards the sophomores must master by the end of November is  the poetry standard.  When a teacher mentions poetry, many tend to shut down, but these guys are hanging in.  Monday, we will look at imagery in a Phillip Booth poem, "First Lesson."  In the nonfiction classes, we've read some interesting profiles, one called "Quiet Depravity" about the comedian Sarah Silverman, in The New Yorker and a superb piece entitled "The American Male at Age Ten" by Susan Orlean.   A Writing Project colleague gave me an edition of The Best Teen Writing of 2009  and we read a moving piece by 18 year old Lauren Youngsmith that combined the profile with a narrative about a family tragedy.  The idea behind this unit was to allow the students to interview each other (a nice way to begin the year) then write a profile.  I encourage them to think about the overall unique quality of their subject, but some of them draw a blank.  I also emphasize to find the humor in their partner's responses.  Ideally, I want them to mimic some of the pieces we read.  I'd like to follow up the profile with having them interview someone outside of the school, perhaps create a documentary or podcast, but I'm not sure if we have time.  Today, I learned that one of my senior students really hates writing.  The ed tech accompanying him couldn't help, so I suggested he drag images from Google that represented his partner.  He knew that his partner had a "creepy little sister," so I typed the exact words into Google and came up with some great pictures.  This seemed to be the trick to get him working.  I want him to include captions for each image.  I suspect once the rest of the class learns of what he is doing, creating a scrapbook?  A collage?  They will want to create one also.

Back to work.

I return to the blog.  This trimester, I am teaching a new English course entitled nonfiction.  Last year, the three 12th grade teachers all taught homogeneous classes of British Literature.  Just when I began to find ways to make Beowulf accessible to non-readers, the curriculum changed to  electives.  Students now choose between Drama, Brit Lit and nonfiction.  Nonfiction certainly offers a wealth of possibilities but
the department did not have any extra funds for ordering new texts, so  I am photocopying a lot of material. 
In addition to this new course,  I am  trying to incorporate some of the RISC standards-based philosophy.  In short, I'm wrestling with a lot of new stuff.  I'm thinking now about requiring my students to read magazine articles and blog about  them weekly, so that they continue to meet or work on one of the required reading standards.  Stay tuned.

Catching up!

The great part of long road trips is that I can catch up on my reading.  I found the article "How to Write a Better Weblog" enjoyable and wish I had read it before writing my first blog.   My writing style tends to be conversational-chatty, and composing takes me a long time.  How can I expect my own students to write well while blogging if their own teacher struggles with maintaining clarity when writing quickly?
I'm still pondering what sort of blog might work in some of my classes.  As I mentioned before, the demand for computers in our school is high and access is limited.   I look forward to connecting with other teachers who have successfully integrated blogging into the classroom.

It's Too Darn Hot...

Still figuring out the blog, but finding a few moments to blab.  Typically, the template options are overwhelming.  So much to choose from.  Oh, if only I had the time to play with a background every day.  I just love all the colors.

A few comments about work:  It's hot hot hot.  My school has gone from
a block schedule with 80 minute classes every other day to 50 minute classes every day.  The heat  adds to the difficulty adjusting to this new schedule.   I look forward to reading others' experiences juggling the return to school and initiating the blog.

My first blog ever!

Here I am.  I wish I had more time to explore, but school starts tomorrow and
I must meditate...