Torn

So, obviously, I really-really-really wanna go.

Thing is, of course, once again there's no money to SEND me. And thanks to medical bills and taxes (why the hell can't you deduct medical bills from your taxes, dammit? WTF, Uncle Sam?!) and our heat/air unit crapping out on us (in JULY, no less) we are even broker than last year.

Actually... maybe not. At least we haven't had to pay for car repairs AND a down payment.

It's up in Chicago, which is once again a bit of a drive. (And COLD! NCTE folks, what were you thinking?) But I'd be able to visit family over in Indiana, although I still feel it's a bit far for a daily commute, so I'd need to get a hotel room. And of course the conference ITSELF is a bit of an owie.

Is it going to be that different from last year? Will it really be as helpful, now that I've already gone once?

Essentially, is it worth giving up a trip to Disney World?

I just don't know.

Image thanks to http://www.ncte.org/

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Counting Down the Days

This year is devolving rapidly. So far we've missed three and a half days from the storms (and the other half of our half-day was mostly spent sitting out in the hall during the tornado watch) and we've had two delayed starts. We're scheduled for delayed starts on Thursday and Friday as well.

I'm almost surprised the students haven't started eating each other alive.

There's not a lot else to discuss in detail. Little bits here and there, really, is all.

* Prom was last weekend. I got fairly dressed up, though my hair is at an incredibly uncooperative stage. It isn't yet long enough to do anything with, and it just kind of sticks out in this 'fro that everyone says is adorable and I think is horrific. Fortunately, gel. Gel and an elastic headband from Walmart. Anyway, I wore my slinky black dress with silver sparkles that has a boat neck and a drape down the back and a slit that I didn't realize went QUITE so far above the knee, but fortunately it's well to the side so I can be discreet. And a pair of strappy back shoes that, while adorable, were not comfortable enough to wear while standing for hours at a time. And some crystal costume jewelry - dangly earrings and necklace and some bangles. Consensus? I clean up nicely. ^.^
* Cap and gown portrait proofs came back WITH NO NAMES ON THEM. I got them this afternoon; orders are to be returned by the 10th. Yeah, srsly. Not happenin. Fortunately I took my case to the AP who's been micromanaging everything and HURRAY! she totes took my side on it and now it is no longer my problem. Yey!
* Ad money is coming in and we're going to make budget. WAHOOO! The relief is exhilarating.
* OH! HUGE NEWS! My enormous book list got funded through DonorsChoose! YAAAAY! Unfortunately the books won't ship until the start of next school year. So I have to wait. (I hate waiting.) Still, YAY BOOKS!!
* Almost forgot! Isn't it Teacher Appreciation Week? We had a basket of individually-wrapped wintergreen LifeSaver mints set in the mail room for us. I feel so loved.
* Neither the crazy storms nor Osama bin Laden's death will be in our 'World Beat' supplement. Sadface. Wondering if there's a way that we can work them in without using photos we don't have rights to.

Lately I'm just trying to stay in the game. I popped in to #edchat the last two weeks but one of the things I hate, hate, HATE about Twitter is that the updates are set up to drop in top-down. So you read each comment left-to-right and down to the next line, but then to read the NEXT comment you have to look ABOVE the one you just read. It's awkward and IT SUCKS. And #edchat moves fast enough that I couldn't really follow the flow. So. Mih.

What's been goin' on with all y'all? :)

(See? Even this Damn Yankee can play at bein' a redneck!)

Image thanks to http://www.timetoteach-mhughes.com/

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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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Meanwhile...

I had a teachery-post kind of outlined, but I haven't really fleshed it out. Today I've mostly been recovering from yearbook camp, just kind of trying to digest some of the ideas we went over & how to make things fit. Our ladder isn't cooperating. I'm not sure how to plan for ads; never have been. If I set aside two signatures (32 pages) as usual, we don't have room to expand our academic coverage. Plus we didn't sell very many ads last year.

But I don't want to PLAN to accomplish less. I want to sell LOTS of ads. And lots of books. Because that means lots of MONEY!

But anyway, I was not the only person who kept busy over the last few days. Oh no. Sure, the Hunk stayed home this year (last year he came along as a chaperon because there were BOYS that went). But he didn't just sit at home and do nothin.

Nope, he went out and got this:

The still shot just does NOT do it justice. The upper light shines through the fan, giving a soft fluttery effect, and it also fades between red, blue, and green.

It looks like a frickin Christmas tree.

However, with the lights on, it's this:



That's our new computer, boys and girls. And yes, it really is supposed to look like that. The fan is on top. All the device ports are on the front, which is super convenient. No sides (so you can see inside it! but mostly to help keep it cool). And there's lots of twinkly lights!

With the squat, roundy-ish shape and the 'legs' sticking out from the sides, it kind of reminds me of R2-D2.

Lemme tell ya, after I saw that, I felt NO GUILT WHATSOEVER about having dropped a fat chunk of change on some new clothes last week.

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How We Dress: Classy or Classist?

Today is Friday, so I have the opportunity to wear jeans and a T-shirt if I'm wearing school colors or a "school shirt." Monday through Thursday, teachers are expected to dress "professionally." And I've often wondered...

Why are jeans considered inappropriate for business? I'm talking about pants, not shorts or cutoffs. No rips, no tears, no stains. What is it about this particular weight and weave of cotton that marks it as 'inappropriate'?

With my salary & where I live, I'm not suffering. But at the same time, I don't like to waste my money. Why do so many districts demand that teachers wear clothes that are uncomfortable, impractical, and expensive?

I typically wear a pair of Addidas Gazelles or brown Dr. Marten oxfords. They're comfortable and in good repair. I've never had anything said about my attire. But technically speaking, I'm fairly sure that my shoes go against the teacher dress code every day.

I've also recently purchased a pair of dark blue jeans. Primarily this was because (alas) I've gained some weight and my "skinny jeans" didn't fit anymore, so I only had a single pair that fit. But, well... I wore them last Thursday, paired with a nice sweater. Just to see what would happen.

I felt like such a rebel!

And of course nobody said a darn thing. I don't even think anybody noticed.

So what's the deal? Obviously, we should be clean. And neat. And modest. And what we wear should reflect that. But I really don't think jeans or sneakers have anything to do with that. You can have skirts, blouses, pants, or 'dressy' shoes that are completely inappropriate. And you can have jeans and sneakers that are quite sensible.

Are we mature adults or not? I think schools should be able to say "what you wear should promote a positive image of this school and education in general" and leave it at that.

Image thanks to http://www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk/summer

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Reminder

On the off chance that someone at my school actually reads this blog:

Do NOT go around singing "We're gonna go a Ninny Whirl" or you will totally out yourself!

(But a little doo-dah here and there will probably go unnoticed.)

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Objectionable Themes: Twilight

I don't know if the Twilight books really are a bad influence. Teens today are pretty aware of implied meanings, even if they don't know what the heck you mean by "author's intent" or "inference" or even "theme." However, in her wildly-popular series, Meyer does present ideas that I object to as normal and even acceptable.

First off, let's brush past the minor quibbles:

You know it's True Love because you can FEEL it. *eyeroll* Wot evar. Of course it's not like every love is the same, but it's certainly easy for all sorts of other stuff to masquerade as Tee Ell Eff. Meyer isn't alone in this one, either, and I don't know if that makes it less annoying or even worse.

Look, I am about as cynical as they come as far as Le Romance, and I fell for this one. The little sister of my first serious boyfriend (a month? six weeks?) asked me how you know if it's really love and I actually told her - no joke, this is word for word (I remember because it's haunted me ever since) - "You just... know."

Gag me with a fork. Gag me with a fork with sharpened tines. PLEASE.

Wealth & materialism. I think a lot of books aimed at women do this these days; it's like if the authors drop in a few brand names, they don't have to DESCRIBE things. *eyeroll*

Now for the more serious matters...

Near the top: Idiocy as some sort of virtue. Doing stupid stuff because you supposedly can't think straight because your mind is focused on how OMG IN WUV U R!!1! is not a good thing. This doesn't mean that being in love is bad, or that passionate love is bad, just that being a moron should not be presented as a good thing.

Near the top, and related to the above: Paternalistic condescension. Apparently, girls who are in love should not be trusted to make their own decisions; they need someone to make decisions for them "for their own good." Learned helplessness has been spoon-fed to females for generations as some sort of laudable lifestyle choice, so Meyer isn't solely to blame, but it's not a good thing, either. What's even worse is that Bella apparently can't be trusted to make her own decisions, thus reinforcing the 'correctness' of the idea that every girl needs to be taken care of by a Real Man.

Related, and probably the one that's most important overall: Doubletalk, AKA "Passive-Aggressive BS". Bella is able to act as sexually aggressively as she likes, because Edward won't let things go too far. More than one girl I've talked to has said "he loves her too much to take advantage of her!" News flash, ladies: if you are making out with a guy, telling him how much you want him, and you think he's supposed to want you, yet say no to sex, YOU are taking advantage of HIM! Especially if you don't TELL HIM THIS.

Real life DOES NOT WORK THIS WAY. Ladies, remember: Edward is NOT HUMAN, and this (not the sparkly skin or unusual diet) is the clearest evidence of that!

Like it or not, because of the different biological and social consequences of sex for women and men, it is women who are the gatekeepers to sex. And until/unless there are drastic changes in our culture, it's likely to stay that way. I find this ironic, because physiology would suggest the exact opposite.

Drumroll...

Topping the list: Bella's treatment of Jacob. Maybe she can't help how she FEELS, but she has complete control over how she ACTS. Srsly! We DO NOT need another story with vapid female characters who are ruled entirely by their emotions and are incapable of acting with any sense because of HOW THEY FEEL.

Image thanks to http://flickr.com/photos/boopsiedaisy/843648479

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All right, all right!

I admit it. I'm procrastinating.

Ugh. I've been on top of things ALL WEEK, and now it's Friday, and I've got two assignments to hand back in first period, and I haven't responded to them. Plus I haven't written the pop quiz they're supposed to take.

It's times like this that I do wonder why I don't just march through the lit book and the supplemental materials. :P

It's the freewriting that's got me stuck. I've responded to three sets and I've got one more (the other assignment will go quickly). And... I just feel like I'm not responding intelligently anymore. Like there are these pat responses: "this is confusing," "this is interesting but it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of what you're saying," "neat idea - can you think of examples to use for support," and so on.

How do you give unique, individualized responses to 100+ journal-like-things? Can it be done?

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Auto Erotica

Before you start to panic, this is NOT a post you need to worry about being NSFW (unless you've got images turned off in your browser, which could cause folks to jump to some incorrect - though intriguing - conclusions).

This is the Tesla Roadster, and I want one. Dear God, I want one. Not that it remotely replaces the Ferrari Enzo as my car smack of choice, but isn't it just incredibly yummy?

First of all, it is named for Nikola Tesla, who is just about the coolest scientist EVAR. Pretty much everybody knows about Thomas Edison, who gave us incandescent light and the phonograph. But the AC that powers your house is from Tesla (Edison favored DC, which we use in battery-powered devices).

And let's be completely honest: the guy made mad science sexy, yo. Just look at that faint hint of a smile, and the sparkle of knowledge in his eyes.

Second, it is completely electric, which means NO GAS. It's also a good candidate for conversion to solar. In fact, Tesla Motors already offers a solar panel for the Roadster that purportedly generates up to 50 miles of battery-free travel per day. However, it does not sound like the solar panel can be used to charge the battery. That will be the final major step for solar travel; after that it's just working out the kinks.

Not those kind of kinks! Tsk. Really.

But alas! the Roadster sells for around $100k, so I will not be getting one anytime SOON. Even so, I think it is safe to say that while our next car may not be a solar vehicle, the one after that almost certainly will be.

Image thanks to http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/03/tesla_roadster_goes_into_production.html

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