I didn’t keep my December resolution…obviously. I haven’t had a working computer for two weeks now, and I HATE trying to type on my tablet. My new computer should be here in the next few days, and I will be able to unleash the torrent of posts that have been backing up. hahahahaha I am looking forward to digging into Mr. M’s latest issue. We are getting some similar pressure around these parts too, and I am resisting it. So are several of our wily veterans. This one really fries my bacon. More tonight, when I can hijack the boy’s computer. Before I get back to work, I just have to share the post that was supposed to happen on Christmas Eve. We were hanging out at my parents with one of my brothers and his family on Christmas Eve, and my dad puled out a sheet of Christmas-carol-themed Wacky Wordies. And we started shouting out answers, trying to be the first to solve each one. About halfway down the list was a picture of what looked like a “wise man” with a puzzled expression looking at a child in a manger. There was a big question mark. “What Child
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(I’m referring to teaching, of course, although the same is true for living through it, if only because it’s half as long. And I get to still say junior high instead of middle school because ours is still only a two year school.) I ended my previous post by saying that one of the biggest eye-openers of my student teaching experiences way back in the day was that I decided that I liked teaching junior high better. I know that high school teachers (do any of your kind stop in here?) will scoff, and non teachers might not see that they are two different species, but I like the junior high animal better. Obviously, in public school, the range of diversity is even greater than that of dogs. (Aside: I read somewhere that there is more variation in the size, shape, and abilities of dogs than in any other species. Update: I guess it only takes the flipping of a few genes to cause such variations in dogs, which is why it has been so easy for humans to breed so many sizes and shapes is such a relatively short time.) Anyway, with so many variations in (and intermingling of ) the
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I thought eighth graders might be more…what’s the word I’m looking for? Not mature. God, no. I just thought that they MIGHT have a bit more savvy, maybe be a little more “together” than my seventh graders, many of whom still think they’re in elementary school and put only their first name on papers. No date. No period. Anyway, I was thinking that maybe I’d have a whole class full of kids like my servants. You know, my hand-picked eighth graders who can actually follow directions and think for themselves and figure stuff out, and not bug. Alas, this is not so. I forgot that last year’s geniuses are THIS year’s geniuses in eighth grade. And I was SO looking forward to gloating at the eighth grade teachers about having their turn with the glueiest (yes, that is now a word…because I am using my English teacher’s license to make up words and have them be words) crew I’ve had in years. And now I’m stuck with a class of them! Actually I mostly like this class. They just have very little self control. They are actually worse about the reflexive “I’m sorry” than my seventh graders. But I finally
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Eighth Grade: Finished with Nothing But the Truth. Pretty much all of them liked it. I do only have one class of eighth graders, but for my first time through this book with students, I’m pretty stoked with the response. I’ve talked to some former students whom I thought would have liked the book, and they gave it the thumbs down. I think it validates my “it’s all in the delivery” theory. Just like reading The Outsiders aloud. Final projects came in today, so we’ll see whether that translates into a good final product. We’re reading “Flowers for Algernon” now. Man, I love that story. I still remember reading it in a sci-fi anthology back in the day, and going, “Whoa.” We’re about a third of the way through. Charlie just saw through his “friends” at the factory after they got him drunk for the second time. The kids are all suitably outraged (“I want to punch those guys in the face!”) and saddened (“How mean!”). But “______’s a card when he’s potted!” might become a thing in this class. (Go read the story again.) We took Rorschach tests and made up stories for a couple of plates from the
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First off: I’ve been a little scatter-brained lately. My PU’s 50th wedding anniversary party thing is this weekend, and we’re leaving tomorrow for my high school stomping grounds; the suburbs of Sacramento. My dad sent me a load of pics to put together into a slideshow for the party. Most all of them brought back the required memories, but there was one photo that used to be legendary in our family. Sorry if I’m going all “circle time” on you, but I thought I’d share. I always have been a magazine lover, but I’m not really a car fan any more. I’m about 2 or so in the pic. The kids were all, “You were reading when you were two years old?” “Pretending to anyway.” These days I sort of have a phobia about getting my picture taken, so I haven’t had a new pic in the yearbook for 3 years. I was going for having the one from my first year last until I retire, but somehow that one was lost a while back. The yearbook crew ambushed me while I was eating lunch that year, and they’ve been using that one ever since. I tried to get the yearbook
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We had an open mouth quiz on chapter 8 today. One class has several boys who have a new phrase they’re trying out. Personally, I sort of like it. 4) On p127, we get an example of what seems to be foreshadowing. What is it? a) When Two-Bit says that Darry will kill him if Pony’s really sick. b) When Two-Bit says Darry could be a Soc. c) When Pony says he has a helpless feeling. d) When Two-Bit calls Pony chicken. e) When Pony says he’ll be well by tonight. “OK, number four. What’s foreshadowing?” The class takes care of that one for me. Most of them laugh, and one says, “I was wrong.” (Pony’s line at the end of chapter three, and a beauty example for them of foreshadowing.) “Oh yeah. Ok, so it’s C, right?” “True that.” “Number six. Darry, I mean Dally (they always mix up those names), right?” “True that.” (me, doing some “refocusing” of a gentleman off to the side) “‘Clark,’ could you focus your comments on the questions? Open mouth only applies if that mouth is talking about the questions.” “True that.” “And I think we’re done with that line, for today at [...]
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