Book 7 of 2010

This has been sitting on my shelf for awhile and I read it over Spring Break. And, yes, it's a graphic novel or comic or whatever you want to call it, but I enjoyed it and I read it, so there.

7) Invincible: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman (and Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley)
Invincible is a new teen superhero whose dad fits into the Superman archetype, except this time Superman has a mustache and he goes by Omni-Man.

Book 6 of 2010

I finished this book on the furlough day before returning from Spring Break. The only reason I finished it was because it was required reading for my Educational Psychology class.

6) The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls recounts her childhood with two sisters, a brother and parents who are so out of their gourd nuts that it's amazing that any of the kids amounted to anything, let alone one being a published writer.

Episode One: On Thesis Writing

This is my first attempt at a podcast. I discuss my thesis and what I plan to write and how I plan to cover various topics that deal with teachers and their use of technology, specifically, social networking and its place in the classroom.

I'm okay, you're crazy.

As I finally feel as close to 100% as can be expected for the first time since early February, I'm now left with the monumental task of grading a ton of assignments that are backlogged while also attempting to get my own homework done for the Master's degree I hope to earn by the end of May. Come June, my brain will probably ooze out of my ear due to over exhaustion. 

Frosh
Wednesday and Thursday were spent presenting scenes from Act IV. This is a project that I revived this year, and I'm really glad that I did. In the last few years, the ninth grade classes I had couldn't handle the self-governing nature associated with group work, and the end-result culminating from it would often be disappointing and subpar from a majority of the groups. That was not the case this year. A very clear majority of the students had original ideas for their interpretations of Act IV's scenes, and even if the final product did not come out as squeaky clean and perfect as they intended (due to varying factors), I was still very much impressed with what I saw. There are some tweaks I'd like to make for next year, but I think it's a tremendous moment as a teacher to see a project come to fruition and then to get excited about the possibilities of how to improve the assignment for the future.

Seniors
We're heavy into existentialism at this point and hopefully you're almost through with part one of The Stranger, if not well into part two. The Sisyphus essay by Camus will make you think, and each paragraph in it allows for the possibility of a whole period's worth of discussion. I really hope you start to make connections to the philosophical ideas we've been discussing, looking at how existentialism and the finite time available in life, applies not just to The Stranger but also to what we look at next. Reread it a few times, too, because I guarantee you'll find something different to think about with each fresh look.

Day of Action

The budget cuts our district faces are extraordinary this year. As a protest to these cuts, there will be a rally outside of the campus during the morning before school on Thursday, March 4. Teachers wearing black with bandage strips as a show of solidarity against the disproportionate cuts education faces in the wake of the state budget crisis. While education takes up 41% of the state budget, the public school system has been charged with 60% of the impact. Besides increased class sizes, earlier start times, and a lack of proper staffing in many vital areas for next year, many teachers, administrators and classified staff will find themselves on the chopping block due to these cuts.

Ultimately, my job will be harder to do but that's the least of my concerns. I spent today at a workshop that constantly reiterated that teachers need to put the students first. These cuts put the students last in so many ways. I plan to protest on Thursday because teaching is not just a job nor a career but something for which I have a tremendous passion. Teaching matters to me. I'd like to keep doing it with the support necessary to do it well.