Pausing Briefly to Catch My Breath

We are back down to two working thumb drives again. Both of the purple ones have wandered off, and the black-and-yellow one and the blue one have stopped working. I might be able to reformat the blue one, but I think I tried that & still had problems... it's early. I can't remember ;p

Anyway, before I go and drop a chunk of change on a handful of those little suckers, I need to have a better way of keeping track of them. Plus I'm sick of stuff being left out at the end of the class period. So I'm thinking about initiating a token system.

I had bad dreams last night, but apparently it was my subconscious doing some housecleaning (goodness knows that the real-house needs it... but I'm trying to avoid thinking about that) as I woke up with an idea.

First of all, some background info: We're on 4x4 semester blocks - four 90-minute class periods a day, but the classes only last one semester. I get a whole crop of new students after winter break! WOO.

Also, we have a rotating 25-minute break period. Break is after first block on Monday, second on Tuesday, after third on Thursday, and after fourth on Friday. On Wednesday we have club meetings instead of break. Anyway, it's nice because (1) barring medical emergency, there is NO reason for students to need to go to the restroom during class, because there's PLENTY of opportunity during the day, (2) students who can't come after school to get make-up assignments or extra help can come during break, (3) forgot copies? yay break! and (4) (the best part) BREAK DETENTION. Regular detention is mostly an inconvenience, because the student has to arrange for transportation. But break detention is a PUNISHMENT, because all of your friends are out in the commons area chowing down on candy and chips or playing ball in the gym or hackysack outside. And you're NOT.

The only sucky thing about it is that on the day break falls after your planning period, you get to supervise. Let me tell you, few things are duller than watching teenagers chat about NOTHING for half an hour. ;p

Anyway, I'm thinking students will put their names on three popsicle sticks. Then, whenever they need to use a Journalism item - whether it's the class schedule book, a phone book, a disk, a disk drive, a flash drive, whatever - for each item they want to take out of the cabinet, they give me a popsicle stick BEFORE going to get it. After they put the item(s) back, they can have their popsicle stick(s) back.

If, at the end of the day, I have anyone's popsicle stick, that student gets break detention. (Students who leave their OWN materials out will ALSO get break detention.)

I'm hoping this will make it easier to keep track of who has what, but also encourage the little ninnies to PICK UP AFTER THEMSELVES. Grr.

Image thanks to http://www.hobbysilicone.com/

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EduCarnival v2 - Issue 13

No cut-tags this time, and no frills. I'm floundering through our Frankenstein unit and I have NO IDEA how we're going to get six flats done - not just the 48 pages, we'll have that, oh no, it has to be in six flats. AURGH.

And none of them will be our people pages, because there's NO way we'll be able to have the portrait images in time. Eff.

And my journalism students cannot punctuate. Or follow directions AT ALL, it seems - HOW difficult is it to center bylines in the first column of the article?!

Fortunately there is a cheer-up just ahead: carnival articles! yey!

siobhan curious presents choose gratitude posted at classroom as microcosm.

Darren presents Classroom Visits By The Principal posted at Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher.

Scott Palat presents Choosing the Right College or University with AcceptEdge | posted at TutorFi.com.

Mister Teacher presents Bars, and Pictures, and Tallies, oh my! posted at Learn Me Good.

Joanne Jacobs presents Math teaching without the math posted at Joanne Jacobs.

Miss Eyre presents Murderers' Row posted at Life at the Morton School.

oldandrew presents Health Versus Education posted at Scenes From The Battleground.

Pat presents Lessons I Learned from Knitting posted at Successful Teaching.

Bruce presents Overcome the biggest barrier to good writing: time posted at A Blog about Writing Clearly.

Mr Teacher presents Sex, Ed?! posted at Mr Teacher.

Jim McGuire presents Learning to Read, Adult Style posted at The Reading Workshop.

teachin' presents Sure isn't. posted at I'm a Dreamer.

Liam Goldrick presents Using Value Added to Assess Teacher Effectiveness posted at The Education Optimists.

Darren presents Principal Injured In Food Fight posted at Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher.

You can submit your blog article to the next issue of EduCarnival v2 by using the handy-dandy carnival submission form. Past carnivals and future scheduled editions can be found on the blog carnival index page.

If you are interested in hosting an upcoming carnival, please email me at uncomfortableadventures (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Technorati tags:
education, teaching, educarnival v2, blog carnival.

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EduCarnival v2 Issue 12

(I hope I'm counting right!)

I don't know if it's the season or the weather or the deadlines or the flu, but lately it's seemed like the days are just rocketing past. I blink and it's the weekend and the dishes and laundry and grading and leaves and bills have piled up and need to be taken care of NOW. I blink again and we're halfway into the next week and I haven't promoted the EduCarnival nearly as much as I meant to, and while I've been reading and bookmarking posts I meant to comment on those bookmarks are now how many weeks old?

Don't get me started on deadlines for the newspaper and the book...

But it's nice to host again! (Gives me a semi-legitimate reason to avoid emptying the dishwasher...)

Click 'Continue' and read on!

Joanne Jacobs presents Hip-hop as old-school teaching tool posted at Joanne Jacobs.

Last week's host, teachin', presents Bellwether posted at I'm a Dreamer.

Carol Richtsmeier presents The Richie Hata’s Club, T-Shirts & Interesting Emails posted at Bellringers.

ms. understood presents Ancient Greece posted at Teacher, I Don't Get It.

Mr Teacher presents Rate your teaching posted at Mr Teacher.

Mrs. Chili is hosting a seminar on teaching research over at A Teacher's Education.

Mr Teacher presents Spelling disaster posted at Mr Teacher.

Pat presents Getting Your Administration On Board posted at Successful Teaching.

Mamacita presents Happy Hallowe'en. Eat Up. Sing Along. Read Up. Jerk Down. Smash. Freeze. Blow Up. Enjoy. posted at Scheiss Weekly.

Jane presents Colorado Inventor’s Showcase 2009 – DaVinci Institute Teaches Inventors How to Market Ideas posted at Steve Spangler's Blog.

Sarah Garb presents Dead Class Pets: Little Baby Tampons posted at Dead Class Pets.

Darren presents Languages Spoken At School posted at Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher.

Joel presents How Do We Show Our Students That We Love Them? over at So You Want to Teach.

Bill Ferriter presents The Torrid Pace of Change over at The Tempered Radical.

John Spencer presents Searching for What Was Lost over at Musings from a Not-So-Master Teacher.

Tense Teacher signed up for NaNoWriMo over at Tense Teacher.

Roller Coaster Teacher did as well, and is well on the way already!

Rob Jacobs presents Dumber Together over at Education Innovation.

Sarah suggests a Teachers Anonymous group over at Confessions of an Untenured Teacher.

Ms. Paste could use some encouragement over at I Teach, Therefore I Am.

Mr. B is reading good books and thinking about them over at Docere Est Discere.

Betty was frustrated by a parent who complained before getting details over at Timely Teacher Talk.

List posts:

Barbara Williams presents 100 Skills You Should Learn (for Free) While You’re Unemployed posted at Online Degree Programs.org.

Diane Steward presents Top 25 Social Media Sites for College Students posted at Undergraduate Degree.

Rachel Lynette presents Creative Writing: The Really Long List posted at Minds in Bloom.

Sophie presents Crucial tips about College Accreditation, learn how it will affect your wallet posted at Sophie's Blog.

Robert Damone presents Highlighting 10 Creative Professors Teaching at Online Universities posted at Online University Data.

Sophie presents 7 FAFSA Myths-Don't Lose this Money posted at Sophie's Blog.

And, since this is Issue #12, I am linking back to my Dirty Dozen, for those who haven't seen it already. And for those who have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the list!

You can submit your blog article to the next issue of EduCarnival v2 by using the handy-dandy carnival submission form. Past carnivals and future scheduled editions can be found on the blog carnival index page.

If you are interested in hosting an upcoming carnival, please email me at uncomfortableadventures (at) yahoo (dot) com. (Mamacita, I know you commented - have you emailed me? I think I may have deleted it by accident.) And if you're on, pester me to get it set up at BlogCarnival. I haven't kept that updated as swiftly as I'd like!

Technorati tags:
education, teaching, educarnival v2, blog carnival.

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Not Writing, Once Again

Shortly after the most recent time that I hosted the EduCarnival, something happened that sent me into an anti-writing sulk. [Brief tangent - if you know me in person and want details, call me. Don't particularly want to discuss things that made be not want to write, you know, IN WRITING. Blech.]

Truth be told, there are a bojillion things I would rather do than write. There are only a very few things that come in behind it - grading, dishes, and putting away the laundry being the big ones. [And mowing the lawn. But I don't do that, anyway, so it doesn't really come into the picture.] [I like including my meandering thoughts this way. I'm not sure why, but it's fun. Also it makes the post longer, as though I actually have something to say. Neener!]

However, in my kettle o' faults, it seems that stubbornness is more powerful than not-writing, so now that I've had my sulk and am (mostly) over it, here we go again. [I've started tagging my images in Picasa with the url I got them from so that now I can use an image I've used previously and not have to find it in my list of posts to give credit for it. In theory.]

I got called into the AP's office this week because during an informal observation (our school was a training ground for administrators practicing with a new form) my observers noted that I didn't have my standards posted. I was relieved that the problem was something easily correctable, but a wee bit frustrated that there was no other feedback for me. Rats! I guess the rest of it must've been ok... still... would've been nice to have some additional specifics.

Journalism is frustrating me. While having the online program is nice in theory, there are a few kinks.

(1) There is no way to upload a list of student names. They're connected to the photos. Sooo, either you can upload them sort-of-automatically with the portrait CDs, or you have to type every. single. one. in. by. hand. And it's a form, so copy-paste is NO help. The portrait CD thing would be fine if our portrait sessions had not been PUSHED BACK MORE THAN TWO MONTHS OH MY FRIKKIN GOD. Our retakes aren't until December 10.

December 10.

I really don't even want to think about how we're going to get this done, but I'm seriously stressed.

(2) Students with accounts can log in and work on images and/or pages from home. This would be great, if they actually did. There's a little button I can click to get a list of activity on the site. It's useful... and perpetually depressing.

I think I have finally figured out my regrets. I don't know if the first two count, because I don't think there's anything I could do about them.

First of all, I wish I wanted to write. I wish I enjoyed writing. I have tried everything I can think of, and it's still a chore. Almost every time I sit down to write, I have to make myself follow through. Heck, most of the time, I don't even want to begin, let alone follow through.

Second, I wish I wanted kids. Mostly because the Hunk would make suuuuch an awesome dad, but also because as a woman and a teacher to boot, there's this sort of general expectation that I want some of my own. And I don't. And I realize that my reasons are totally selfish and I'm sure I would love them and maybe that would change my selfishness but... it doesn't matter. I'm not going to decide to have children based on the hope that I'll be delighted once they're here. That just seems bass-ackwards to me.

Finally, and perhaps the only one that's an actual regret, I wish I'd started dancing earlier. I really enjoy it. And I missed out on years and years of not getting to enjoy it. Not that I had a miserable life or anything. Didn't know what I was missing.

But that's a little sad, right there.

Anyway. I realize that this post really hasn't had a coherent main idea - mostly I've just been rambling - but... don't care. Or, I do, but not enough to change anything.

At least I wrote something.

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Educarnival v2 Issue 11

Issue 11 is up and running over at I'm a Dreamer Teacher. Teachin' has clearly made good use of that "extra" hour to put together a fantastic edition! Thanks for hosting :D

We're back here next week. You can submit your blog article to the next issue of EduCarnival v2 by using the handy-dandy carnival submission form, or by emailing me at uncomfortableadventures (at) yahoo (dot) com. Past carnivals and future scheduled editions can be found on the blog carnival index page.

ETA: I knew I'd written this... somehow it got dated 'October' automatically... I hope everything's ok with our computers, because I don't remember which one I used to type it up!

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Brother, Can You Spare a... Dollar?

I hate asking for things. I almost always feel like I'm pestering and/or imposing upon the person (or people) I'm approaching. See, I am pretty darn good at saying NO. But I know that often others are uncomfortable turning people down, and I don't want to put people I like in that position unnecessarily.

Like yesterday when I asked our registrar if she'd print up address labels to the parents of our seniors so that I could mail out forms for the senior yearbook ads. As I was leaving after thanking her profusely, I kind of overheard her asking our head secretary, "was she really that nervous about asking?"

Well, yes!

HOWEVER.

Sometimes it's worth it! If I can get 5 new donors to give $1 to my project by SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, I earn $50 towards it! Sounds like a good deal to me.

Because of where I teach, I already qualify for Gates Foundation fund matching - I'm kind of hoping that the $50 is match-able, but I'm not holding my breath. *grin*

So, if you'd like to help, pop on by! If not - well, thanks for reading! ^.^

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EduCarnival v2 Issue 10

This week's edition of the EduCarnival is up over at I Want to Teach Forever, hosted by the wonderful Mr. D!

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The Good, The Bad, and...

For reasons I don't completely understand, I can't seem to help pushing myself into frustration. "Good" is never "good enough." No matter what I'm doing, I'm always looking for - and often finding - ways I could do better.

In some ways, this is very helpful. My students are working harder and learning more than they have in previous terms. Because of the projects I've had funded through donorschoose, I have more materials even though we had NO supply money this year.

But the flip side is that I end up pushing myself to the point of exhaustion (or past it) more often than is healthy. And I have an incredibly hard time enjoying success - or forgiving myself for failure.

Am I asking too much of my students? Or have I set my expectations too low? I feel like I'm constantly measuring, weighing, judging what I do, and it never comes out right.

Most of my feedback comes from my students, and it always annoys me. I feel like when they say good things they're playing nice, or else I haven't been challenging them enough, and when they gripe, they're complaining about having to work. Or it might be their mood that day, or hormones, or any of a number of outside influences. I don't expect them to know (beyond guessing) what strategies I'm even using, let alone how well I'm implementing them.

I have some fantastic work samples from our unit on Macbeth, and I'd love to see what other English teachers think about how well the assessment aligns with the standards and what level of understanding they feel the work shows. Dear God, I wish we had time for that.

But we don't. So I reflect pretty much by myself, while feeling like what I really ought to be doing is finding the USB drives that I need for Journalism (they fell out of my bag sometime during the week), or putting away the papers and books that I left on the kitchen table after we moved some furniture around, or emptying the dishwasher, or grading the Macbeth quizzes, or... oo, I hope there's nothing in the washing machine, or it's liable to be ucky.

There is always, always so much to do. And I feel guilty for not getting enough done.

I hope to goodness this is just PMS or something.

Image thanks to http://www.topnews.in/

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Educarnival v2 Issue 9

Updated this afternoon on Facebook: there is NEVER ENOUGH TIME to do all the things I want to do :(

(I have, however, scrounged up enough time in the past three days to read Bloody Jack books 7, and then 1-4. Must stop by library again tomorrow...)

Time feels like it is just ... racing by isn't fast enough. Hm. Have you ever stuck your head out the window of a car that's going REALLY fast, and it not only makes your eyes water, but it sucks your breath away? It feels like that. I'm bleary-eyed, everything's fuzzy and whirling by me and I can't get but a gasp of breath here and there.

I haven't been keeping up with my 21 Days to a Novel, I was supposed to post yesterday and completely didn't, and I'd really meant to have the EduCarnival done last night so it could auto-post this morning. Didn't work. Family was in town and, well, that was just more important.

OTOH, I did manage to survive The Hell That Is Photo Day, and that's gotta count for something.

Rachel Lynette presents Comparing the Book to the Movie posted at Minds in Bloom.

Liz Nilsen presents Another Resource For Gender Equity in STEM « STEM-ology posted at STEM-ology.

ms. understood presents Top 5 Real Life Moments from Parent Teacher Conferences posted at Teacher, I Don't Get It.

Sarah Ebner presents Are children being over-stimulated? Should there be less "fun" in the classroom? posted at School Gate - Times Online - WBLG.

Shelly Terrell presents What Works: Cooperation vs. Competition | Teacher Reboot Camp posted at Teacher Reboot Camp.

Richie presents Thing 1, Thing 2 & Fish Clappers posted at Bellringers.

chris presents CLEP Test posted at Distance Learning Education Degree.

Chris Wondra presents The Future: Where ?winging it? becomes best practice posted at We Teach We Learn.

Jim McGuire presents Why Student Blogs are So Valuable posted at The Reading Workshop.

Khan presents What to Expect in A Grad School Interview posted at Higher Education and Career Blog.

Darren presents I Missed A Day, Do I Still Have To Take The Test? posted at Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher.

Glowing Face Man presents Ambiguities in Mathematics posted at Glowing Face Man.

Liz Nilsen presents No Black Tie Needed posted at STEM-ology.

Your Humble Host presents Status Update a few posts below this one.

And what's this? Only one list post this week?

Kaitlyn cole presents 100 Open Lectures All About Africa | Online Colleges posted at Online Colleges.net.

But it is just LOVELY to browse through all the reflection that everyone ELSE has been doing! Click on 'Continue' (below) to read the posts! As always, if I muxed something up but good, email me at uncomfortableadventures (at) yahoo (dot) com to get it fixed :)

Next week's carnival will be hosted by Tom DeRosa over at I Want to Teach Forever. As always, you can submit your blog article to the next issue of EduCarnival v2 by using the handy-dandy carnival submission form. You can also email the lovely Mr. DeRosa at teachforever (at) gmail (dot) com - it helps if you put 'Carnival Submission' as the topic for the email.

Past carnivals and future scheduled editions can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags:
education, teaching, educarnival v2, blog carnival.

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Boo to YOU!

I don't think I will ever get tired of Disney World! We went there last weekend - drove down Friday after school, and drove back on Tuesday.

We went to Epcot on Saturday and found out that the food & wine festival was going on. I'd like to do that sometime when we've got gobs of money. I'd love to snack my way around World Showcase, but at roughly $5 a pop, we'd need to save up for it. Plus we had a lunch reservation at the Morocco pavilion, and I wouldn't want to spoil my appetite!

The demographics were definitely different - lots and LOTS of college students. I figure it was probably fall break at both FSU and UF - we saw quite a bit of garnet/gold and orange/blue gear. Also, Sister Hazel (from Gainesville) played a couple of short sets at the amphitheater, and Better than Ezra (from Tallahassee) had performed earlier in the week.

On Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom in the morning and Hollywood Studios in the evening. I still can't believe there's never a line for Star Tours! I love that ride SO MUCH. Expedition Everest is probably my favorite ride overall - sit on the left-hand side of the coaster and then as you go up the first big hill look to the left. You can see Spaceship Earth pretty easily, and I think the white pointy building might be Space Mountain, but I'm not sure. The distances don't seem right. It's twisty-turny, there's lots to look at, and it has a great story!

The Hunk says his favorite ride is the Aerosmith rollercoaster, and I've gotta admit that one's a lot of fun too. It's INCREDIBLY FAST, and there are speakers in the headrest that play clips from their best-known songs. But at the same time, because it's so fast, the ride is over in no time. :(

Even more than the rides, though, I think I like the music. We got to see the Jammitors, Voices of America, and Mo'Rockin' at Epcot, the Caribbean band (I forget the name) at Animal Kingdom, and at the Magic Kingdom we saw the ragtime piano player at Casey's several times, as well as the saxophone group, the Dapper Dans, and the Main Street Philharmonic marching band. It's just so neat to talk to the performers about what they do and how they first became interested in music.

Disney as a whole is pretty awesome, but I think the Magic Kingdom does a great job of defining the Disney experience. It truly is the most magical place on earth. Big Thunder and the Haunted Mansion just feel so familiar to me - Space Mountain, too, though we didn't get to go on that because it was still being refurbished.

And everybody smiles. (Yet somehow it's not creepy.) It's like all of these storybook friends have been waiting here for you, and you can go and talk to all the minor characters and find out their stories. The Main Street characters are an absolute trip! I don't know that we saw anybody at Epcot or at Animal Kingdom, but we did catch an improv comedy skit at Hollywood Studios, and I know we'd seen non-movie characters there over the summer. I had dressed up in a peasant blouse and my green swirly skirt and had some fun chatting with the Main Street cast. I would love, love, love to do that some summer!



(Hi, Scoop!)

One thing I really missed was getting to see Wishes (the Magic Kingdom fireworks show). We were there for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, and they had a special show for the event. It was pretty cool, because they shot the fireworks off from different sites so it covered the sky over the whole park. The finale was sooo bright it was like daytime for a few seconds! But... I think I like Wishes better.

Fortunately, there are a bojillion of 'em on youtube, so just about any time I like I can sing along and get ALL SNIFFLY. (I always do!) ^.^

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Status Update

Lordy, I hardly know where to begin.

First of all, I meant to post yesterday and I didn't. I guess I could've written something up during planning period, but I think I was grading. (I'm not sure. I'm still barely awake and it's hard to remember.) Wait - yes - I was. Not actually grading papers, but correcting corrections I'd made in the online gradebook. It's been fighting with me something fierce this year.

First of all, I had a number of students turn in make-up work, which I graded, put in the computer, and returned. Then, on the day AFTER grades were due to the office, I had a bunch of those same students come to me and ask why they had zeros for their make-up work. I'm not sure WHY they didn't save... and, well, it really doesn't matter. I'm going to have to re-do them. Along with filling out paperwork now that it's past MY due date. (But I think I'm going to hand the paperwork off to the students. You want YOUR grade changed? here's the form. ;p)

Then I had three students whose averages were below 50 (the lowest grade we're allowed to give for the first half of the term so that students don't 'log out' halfway through). So I changed those - but apparently I had the wrong column of the program active and changed the term average, not the marking period average.

*sigh*

This week was pretty much a total loss for my English IV class. I'd hoped to be done with Macbeth LAST Friday, and we haven't even finished Act IV yet. AUGH! We had three days at school and I didn't get them ONCE for a full period. Quite frustrating.

Journalism has gone a LOT more smoothly. We have a system for sending everyone out on interviews that seems to be working well. The boundaries are (1) no class is interrupted more than once per period, unless that teacher asks the journalism students to come back later on in the class, and (2) only two days of class time were given for preliminary interviews - this is down from three or four days last article. I'm hoping to move to just one next time.

The idea is that we choose articles Monday, plan out the angle, figure out what we need to know, and from that choose ten potential sources and what we're going to ask them. Tuesday we go do interviews. Rough drafts are due at the beginning of the period Wednesday, and during class we conference in small groups. Homework Wednesday night is to determine which sources we need to revisit for more depth or additional information. On Thursday we'll re-interview. Final drafts, correctly formatted, will be due on Friday.

I need to wrap this up. I really wanted to write about our trip to Disney, but my parents are on their way here and there are clean dishes in the dishwasher, dirty dishes on the counter, clean laundry in the dryer and on the spare bed (which they need), still-packed suitcases and bags in the living room, pizza boxes left out, papers and notebooks and DVDs piled up on the kitchen table...

OH! and I didn't get to post yesterday evening because I was IN A CARNIVAL. But I think THAT will get its own post as well. ^.^

TTFN, darlings!

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EduCarnival v2 Issue 8 (for real, this time)

The EduCarnival is NOT here this week - it's over at Bellringers! Richie is her usual delightfully clever-charming-witty self, and I'm just tickled that she was the first stop on our tour. (Also? Don't forget to congratulate her on her NEW BOOK!)

Sorry about the number mixup. This is why I teach English, not math. ;D

If you're interested in hosting, please email me at uncomfortableadventures (at) yahoo (dot) com to let hem know! I'll email ya right(ish) back. All I'd ask is that you continue to be patient with me as I pretend I know what I'm doing with BlogCarnival. ;)

Expect a new "real" post TOMORROW, as it is Friday, and I will actually, you know, BE HERE.

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AST Playshop

Some days are more frustrating than others. I get SO TIRED of asking / telling students to listen without interrupting, to put snacks and drinks away, and to follow the dress code. Seriously! And what's especially frustrating is that it's not like they're being defiant (up until it becomes an issue when I mention it - then I get attitude). For the most part they're not even really being rude - just inconsiderate and/or thoughtless. Like they go to save the practice yearbook page they've been working on for thirty minutes and realize they're not sure how and all of a sudden it's MRS KEYS MRS KEYS HOW DO I SAVE THIS? when I'm in the middle of helping someone else. They don't even realize how wrong they are when I stare at them as though they've got lobsters crawling out of their ears.

I need to get a ticket dispenser...

ANYWAY, that's mostly a tangent. Yesterday several of the actors from the New American Shakespeare Tavern (in Atlanta) came to our school and worked with my seniors on Macbeth.

I hope to have some photos to upload soon; more behind the cut for now.

They started by getting everyone into a circle... sorta... We did a little movement with "spirit fingers... JAZZ HANDS! ... spirit fingers... JAZZ HANDS!" and then the Wave, which got them making some noise as well.

Then they went around the circle and had each person say either "bloody," "bawdy," or "villain." They did this a couple of times, first just saying it, then encouraging the students to do something with their hands and facial expression. And THEN they said, "okay, if you said 'bloody,' go over in this group, 'bawdy' in that group, and 'villain' stay on stage." (I think.) Anyway, it was pretty cool that the students were counting off by three and didn't know! Mwahahaha!

Next, they practiced acting with Shakespearean insults. These weren't the mix-n-match kind; they were actually lines from plays. (We'll get to "what? You egg!" soon... hee hee! I wonder if they'll recognize it...)

Running short on time.

Ok, then each group practiced two condensed scenes, focusing on interpretation - not everybody had a speaking part, but we had interactive scenery! More on this later.

Finally, we wrapped it up and the groups performed their scenes in order. Much applause! There was a little time at the end for a short Q&A with the actors.

I'm going to ask the students to reflect on it in their Writer's Notebooks today.

Image thanks to http://www.freewebs.com/palatium/

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Minor Discomfort

No, not THAT kind, sillies!

We are fortunate enough to have an individual staff bathroom in each teacher workroom. There's also one in the office and one in the media center. Each one has a toilet, a sink with insanely high water pressure yet minimal output - splash city! - one trash can, a paper towel dispenser / shredder, a light switch, and a fan switch.

The toilet paper dispenser was one of those annoying ones that only spins once before it catches. Fortunately, we called down to the construction teacher and he took a hacksaw to the little pin that kept it from rolling freely. Mwahaha!

But, well, I don't think I'm overly sensitive in having some basic expectations for my "personal time."

(1) Turn the light off when you're done. It's not like there's ANY danger of turning the light out on someone else! And with as tight as money has been lately, it's more important than ever to keep the energy bill low.

(2) However, leave the fan ON. This one frustrates me, because I can totally see how people want to conserve. But. There is NO other ventilation, and it's a small room with water fixtures. Even when there's no obvious reason to turn the fan on, it still gets kind of musty. Ick!

(3) Prop the door open when you leave. As above; leaving the door open helps keep the room ventilated. Of course, there are some times when you want to AVOID sending the air from the bathroom out into the teacher workroom...!

And last but not least -

(4) If the door is closed, either wait for the person to come out or knock gently. This one is a dealbreaker for me. I cannot adequately describe the sudden, intense PANIC when I'm in the bathroom and I hear the doorknob rattle, because GOD forbid, any of a number of issues with the latch can result in sheer MISERY.

We're not teenagers, here, people. (Anyway, I'm not.)

Now it's off to go edit tomorrow's EDUCARNIVAL! Next week the EduCarnival will be hosted over at Bellringers ... if I can figure out how to make that work...

Wish me luck!

Image thanks to http://www.reallysarahsyndication.com/

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What it means to be a person

So I've been reading a book I got from the library recently that reminded me of one of my favorite books.

In We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, the author explains the genocide in Rwanda through interviews with survivors. One thing that really struck me about it was how the Hutu perpetrators were apparently able to convince themselves that the Tutsis weren't people. (Not really.)

And that just really bothers me. REALLY!

Dehumanizing the Vulnerable is about the way privileged groups use language to change the way others think of "undesirable" groups. There's a chapter for each of several metaphors. In We Wish the Tutsis are repeatedly referred to as "cockroaches," which would probably go into the chapter on people as vermin. If vermin isn't a good fit, you can go with disease, garbage, property, or any of a number of other possibilities.

How delightful.

It bothers me in stories, too. I get really uncomfortable with action movies where the protags mow down scores of nameless thugs. World of Warcraft has been really inconsistent; I just completed a quest where my character had to atone for killing a group of NPCs out of revenge (on a previous quest). However, earlier on, my character captured a spy who was scheduled to be executed, mouthed off to one of the officers, and the officer just flat-out killed him!

And I was thinking about it last week as we began Macbeth; it seems to me that the very first scene is pretty much to show you that the witches are eeeevil: they have demon familiars, after all. And my students have been really quick to condemn Lady Macbeth.

How - HOW - do people convince themselves that other people aren't people? I seriously don't get it. I'm not even sure why it bothers me SO MUCH.

At a foundational level, a person's worth doesn't come from race or class or social standing or ability or even behavior, but simply from being human. (There's more to it than that - I take my car to the mechanic to be fixed, not to the hairdresser!) My students think it's weird, but they don't really get in my face about it.

Images thanks to http://www.goodreads.com/

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Making Connections

I had THE best conversation about Macbeth yesterday (Friday) after school with a student who stopped by to retake a quiz. She still wasn't remotely ready - was convinced that one of the lines referenced in the quiz was said by the Thane of Cawdor (you know, the one whose execution is mentioned at the beginning of the play?) so I told her to study over the weekend & come see me before school on Monday.

It is now 11:11. I'm wishing for the same thing I always do (but of course, I can't say what it is, because that would ruin EVERYTHING).

Anyway.

I don't even know what brought it on; we just went through and read the parts together. Macbeth is a play I love for its lines - and we're not even to the really juicy stuff, like the sleepwalking scene, or when Macduff finds out about his kids.

Is Macbeth really reluctant? is he wrestling with guilt or methodically plotting, making contingency plans? Does his wife convince him to commit the murder, or is he letting her "lead" him, so that she's as thoroughly involved as he is? Do you think she really could have killed her own child? or Duncan? ... she didn't, after all, and Macbeth DID...

We were there for nearly an hour and a half, reading the funnest parts and talking about different possible interpretations and what that would mean for the story. (My poor Hunk napped in the car outside!) As we were packing up, she said, "Wow, Ms. Keys, now I'm actually excited to find out what's gonna happen next!"

Just before she left, she made me PROMISE that I would let her re-re-take the quiz Monday morning. hahaha... she is as much of a grade-grubber as any of 'em. Wants to be an honor graduate because it looks good, and it'll help her get into a Good College. (Can't let an older sib outperform her!)

It amused me, yet bummed me out a little, because here we had a BLAST exploring the story... but when it comes down to it, the grade is what matters.

I guess it's hard to overcome years of indoctrination - and, let's face it, human nature in that we LIKE to look good in comparison to others! - in one afternoon. But I hope that as she continues her studies she won't forget what it was like just to be immersed in a brilliant story.

And I hope that somehow I can create that kind of experience for the rest of my students. Few - if any - of them would be willing (if able) to give that kind of time. And as challenging as it was, it's a lot easier one-on-one than with a classful.

But it'd be nice...

Tangent: I cry every single time I watch this video. We're going back over fall break and I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Image thanks to http://www.eharborinc.com/blog/

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Digging In My Heels

If they get NOTHING else out of reading this play, I want them to be able to read dramatically. Lord, I am SO SICK of listening to monotones!

We're talking about the ways that actors show emotion in tone of voice and facial expression. They don't want to do this. They don't want to perform the play (they say), they want to read it out loud in parts during class. And they want a study guide with questions that have answers that can be found directly in the text. And the test should be taken directly from that study guide.

!!!

I am SOOOO against that. It astounded me that they were willing to say that - and, in fairness, I'm pretty sure they realized that, because they prefaced their comments with things like "I don't want this to come out the wrong way, but..."

I don't blame them - they're certainly not dummies. It's safe. It's predictable. And it's what they're used to, which is what frustrates me the most.

They want to be sure they'll get a good grade - and with the least amount of work possible. I can dig that. I really can. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to just let them memorize a bunch of crap that they can forget for the rest of their lives. It's a waste of time - mine as much as theirs - and I don't want MY time wasted!

So I think we reached a compromise. They will read the play on their own and do thinking-work that helps them understand it and will prepare them for dramatic reading and/or discussion. They are free to use tools like Cliff Notes / Spark Notes or other supplemental texts to help them understand. (The lit book has summaries of each scene.)

The next day, those who have completed the thinking-work to my satisfaction will be allowed to participate; those who don't will be sent to another teacher's room to finish it on their own.

They want me to give them an easy way out. And I'm not going to. I'm NOT.

Image thanks to http://www.siue.edu/~ejoy/

Also: due to class on Thursday nights, which I'm stressed & tired enough that I'm skipping tonight, I'm changing my post schedule to Sun/Tues/Fri next week.

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Educarnival v2 Issue 6

Whew! I was really worried that I wouldn't make it. We're coming up fast on the end of the nine weeks and I keep hearing, "Mrs. Keys, can I still turn in (name of late assignment here)?"

With that in mind, if you are at ALL interested in hosting next week's carnival, please email me at uncomfortableadventures (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Mister Teacher presents Well at least I haven't heard THAT! posted at Learn Me Good, saying, "Good to see the carnival back up and running!"

Liam Goldrick presents Superteacher To The Rescue! posted at The Education Optimists.

FizzSoda presents Studying Spanish: A Painless and Fun Method posted at Spanish Langauge Studies: Ira Riklis.

John Mastro presents The Lifelong Benefits of Music Education posted at John Mastro.net.

John Mastro presents Should Kids Read 20 Minutes a Day? posted at John Mastro.net.

teachin' presents At least he doesn't have hairy palms (yet) posted at I'm a Dreamer, saying, "So glad it wasn't what I thought..."

Pat presents On the Playground posted at Successful Teaching.

Carol Richtsmeier presents Stopping the Big Fat Stupid Head Timer posted at Bellringers.

Marjorie Morgan presents Jessica Watson posted at GO! Girls Outdoors, saying, "Jess is taking a year off school to attempt a solo sail around the world, and to beat the record for the youngest to complete the journey!"

ms. understood presents The Day in Short posted at Teacher, I Don't Get It.

hall monitor presents School Students Sing Praises of President Obama posted at DetentionSlip.org, saying, "Controversy arises when students praise the Prez."

Mr. Teacher presents At Least I Haven't Heard THAT over at Learn Me Good.

Liz Nilsen presents Core, core, and more core posted at STEM-ology.

Gin G. presents A Nations Wealth posted at Sense Scribe, saying, "Learn about a nations economic strategies for home and people. Read more."

I don't know if it was just because I powered through everything at once (didn't get to work on this over the weekend as we ALSO had newspaper deadlines), but it seemed like there are a LOT of list posts this week:

Carol Brown presents 100 Awesome Bookhacks for Students & Bibilophiles posted at online classes.org.

Deidre Laverriere presents Top 10 Free Open Courseware Directories posted at Online University Rankings.

Sidney Phipps presents Top 10 Free Resources for Digital Learners posted at Online University Reviews.

Alex Filley presents Top 10 Free Open Courseware Classes About Health Care posted at Masters in Health Care.

Gene Desrosiers presents Top 10 Free Open Courseware Classes about Healthcare Policy posted at Masters in Health Administration.

Dickon Ervin presents Top 10 Free Open Courseware Classes for Teachers posted at Masters in Health Education.

Wikholm Nelida presents Top 10 Free Open Courseware Classes About Science posted at masters in health science.

Mayra Forbes presents Top 10 Free Open Courseware Classes About Statistics posted at Masters in Health Informatics.

Ayomide Astley presents Top 10 Free Open Courseware Classes About Nutrition posted at Online Masters in Health.

Susie Cortez presents Top 10 Free Open Courseware Classes About Criminal Justice posted at Online Masters in Criminal Justice.

Nancee Dietrick presents Top 10 Free Open Courseware Classes about Career Management posted at Masters of Nursing.

Anne Simone presents 100 Best Blogs for Econ Students posted at Online Universities Weblog.

Susan White presents 100 Incredible, Cutting-Edge Lectures for Medical Professionals posted at RN Central.

Kathy Wilson presents 100 Best Blogs for Photography Students posted at online classes.org.

Kathy Wilson presents 100 Free Tools to Make Your Teaching More Entertaining posted at Online Schools.

I'm about to call it a night. Email me if you'd like to host the Carnival next week (or later).Remember, a blogger who hosts gets to read lots of posts! (Although I'm not sure that works, because we ALL get to read them... hmmm...)

What about: a blogger who hosts gets ... first look at the posts?

The annoying rhymes will only stop when the Carnival hits the road! (Mwahahaha!)

You can submit your blog article to the next issue of EduCarnival v2 by using the handy-dandy carnival submission form. Past carnivals and future scheduled editions can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Note: if I do receive a request (or requests!) to host, I'll post the email to send posts to here, but you can ALWAYS use the form.

Technorati tags:
education, teaching, educarnival v2, blog carnival.

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How did I get here?

I have not forgotten! Last couple of days have been nuts, with deadlines for both yearbook (internal) and newspaper. I can't believe it's already after 9:00! It feels like I'm perpetually tired.

please, God, don't let me get sick.

The Carnival will be up tomorrow, but alas! it'll be in the afternoon. I haven't even looked at the submissions since Saturday. So I definitely have to get things in order.

Do I stay up and grade, or do I go to bed & put it off yet again? *sigh* sleep beckons... yet with grading looming over my neck, can I truly rest???

time to find out!

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Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go

People have been raving about this for awhile. I picked it up at the library for the second time, and read almost all of it.

The plot moves pretty quickly. And there's lots of action. And Manchee's voice is great - though I think I would've been more appreciative had I not already seen Up, which is even better for dog-voice. (Plus they visual-pun on "dogfight." So. Funny!) And the giant yeti-cows were intriguing.

I enjoyed the first... maybe... half of the book. I kept reading for awhile after that to see if it would get better. And then I flipped through, skimming for awhile, and finally just read the end. I gave it two stars on Goodreads, though apparently I'm a voice crying out in the wilderness. Either that, or I've just got no taste.

Spoilers within, as well as spoilers for / references to Hunger Games and Twilight.

The problem is, when you reveal that your first-person narrator is unreliable, you're encouraging the reader to be skeptical. As a result, (1) the characters' idiocy becomes much less acceptable, and (2) ditto for unexplained parts of the plot.

It is, of course, perfectly acceptable to ignore people who are speaking sense if ignoring them furthers the plot! wuhu! *eyeroll*

Somehow we are supposed to believe that about a quarter of a town's population was able to kill off or exile the other 3/4, while sustaining few enough casualties to keep the town running afterward (albeit in a more limited fashion). Gosh, isn't it convenient that they still had at least one doctor? one blacksmith? one carpenter? etc.

Also? There is apparently some form of mind control. At least I hope that's the explanation. It stays pretty much off-camera, but the only other explanation is that everybody is just peachy with following the Super Evil Villain. (The villains are such withered caricatures that they make Disney characters look like Hamlet by comparison.)

Also also? Don't even get me started on the repeated redshirting as an attempt to engage the reader emotionally. I didn't put up with it from Pullman, either - and he had armored polar bears in his story!

What nauseated me the most was the author's inconsistent stance on humanity. You can't KILL someone because that turns you into a monster. But it's okay to kill aliens because they're not people. But it's not okay to kill monsters who used to be people, because... I don't know why. Just BECAUSE, okay? (So be sure you make it look at least somewhat like an accident.)

GROW A SPINE, TODD! Good gravy - he reminds me of Bella! The whining, the sulking, the angst... except since he's a few years younger, the sheer idiocy is a tiny, TINY bit less egregious.

Hunger Games kind of ends on a cliffhanger, but it's more like it included the first chapter of the next book. It at least wraps up the primary storyline; Katniss survives (DUH) and heads back to her district.

This one? No resolution AT ALL. One of the major characters is severely injured and they make it to what they think is a safe place, and then - dun dun DUNNNN! - discover that it has been taken by the Super Evil Villain and the army of monsters-who-used-to-be-people. End of Book One.

My reaction? "FINALLY they DIE!"

I am NOT going to be reading the next book(s) in the series, as I have already written my own ending to the story and am convinced it's far better than anything the "real" author has come up with.

The more I think about this book, the less I like it. I haven't decided whether or not I want to drop it to one star...

Image thanks to http://library.scotch.vic.edu.au/blog/

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Hitting a Roadblock: Where's the Detour Sign?

Ugh. Just a couple weeks in and I'm already looking at missing my goal because I just can't think of anything to post about.

I don't just want to say "here's what we did blah blah blah," because I really want Epic Adventures to focus on reflection and exploration.

But I haven't given up yet! And besides, the Saturday post was a tough one last week, too. I think maybe it's because I have dance class, we often go out to eat, and then usually I take a big ol' nap in the middle of the day, and so it feels like the day's over and I haven't written anything. But the day really isn't over until a good bit later, cuz of the nap :)

We'll see what happens...

Wish me luck!

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