Sunday, July 25, 2004
Where did the summer go?
Tomorrow, I report to Roswell High School for what I affectionately call New Teacher Torture. "New Teacher" includes anyone who has not taught in this district even if you have 4 years of teaching experience. I'm trying to remain optimistic, but past experiences with such "training" has proven to be quite painful. Frequently they involve workshops on how to perform the massive amounts of administrivia that teachers must do in addition to the actual teaching, prep, and grading. The only thing worse than doing the paperwork is talking about it for hours. Then you have the workshops on innovative teaching techniques conducted by people who do not work in classrooms on a daily basis and invariably fail to use effective teaching strategies with us, making us even more skeptical of their ideas. On top of that, teachers tend to be the worst students. We are highly critical of whomever is "teaching" us and like to be the center of attention. We, therefore, zone out, work on other things, or just talk.
But really...I'm trying to be optimistic. They are providing breakfast each morning, I look forward to meeting the other new teachers, and I hope to get some lesson plans done during the more boring workshops. I'm also looking forward to setting up my classroom. That has always been one of my favorite pre-planning activities. The great thing about teaching (to me) is that even though I get burned out by the end of the school year, I'm always ready and excited to go back in the fall. My summer did seem a bit short since I spent part of it teaching in Alaska and planning a wedding, but I'm thankful for the three weeks of vacation I did get, and I look forward to starting my new job!
Tomorrow, I report to Roswell High School for what I affectionately call New Teacher Torture. "New Teacher" includes anyone who has not taught in this district even if you have 4 years of teaching experience. I'm trying to remain optimistic, but past experiences with such "training" has proven to be quite painful. Frequently they involve workshops on how to perform the massive amounts of administrivia that teachers must do in addition to the actual teaching, prep, and grading. The only thing worse than doing the paperwork is talking about it for hours. Then you have the workshops on innovative teaching techniques conducted by people who do not work in classrooms on a daily basis and invariably fail to use effective teaching strategies with us, making us even more skeptical of their ideas. On top of that, teachers tend to be the worst students. We are highly critical of whomever is "teaching" us and like to be the center of attention. We, therefore, zone out, work on other things, or just talk.
But really...I'm trying to be optimistic. They are providing breakfast each morning, I look forward to meeting the other new teachers, and I hope to get some lesson plans done during the more boring workshops. I'm also looking forward to setting up my classroom. That has always been one of my favorite pre-planning activities. The great thing about teaching (to me) is that even though I get burned out by the end of the school year, I'm always ready and excited to go back in the fall. My summer did seem a bit short since I spent part of it teaching in Alaska and planning a wedding, but I'm thankful for the three weeks of vacation I did get, and I look forward to starting my new job!
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Summer Reading
Students dread it and I drool over it. Have you visited the summer reading tables at Barnes and Noble lately? Stacks and stacks of books that some teacher somewhere read, loved, and decided that teenagers would benefit from reading during their summer break. I can't help but feel sorry for these students. I must admit that my heart sank a bit as I looked at the dull covers of the three that I need to read for the classes I'll be teaching, and I'm an English teacher! Of course, I loved the books once I started reading them, but even I'm not convinced that your average teenager will enjoy these books or even be able to motivate themselves to finish them.
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons--heartbreaking and inspiring story ideal for Southern Lit fans.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson--a well-written, engaging true story about murder at the 1892 World's Fair! An interesting perspective of an important historical time-period in the US.
Jubilee by Margaret Walker--haven't started it yet--I'll get back to you later...
I'm a bit torn about the whole summer reading thing. I understand the importance of stimulating young minds during the intellectual void of summer pool time and video games, but forcing them to read works that they might not appreciate as much as the English teachers who choose them tends to create in students an antagonism toward reading and literature before the school year even begins.
Oh well, for now, I'm enjoying the excuse to indulge in three good books and recommend that all of you check out the summer reading tables sometime soon. Although the books are torture for teenagers, they are actually pretty enjoyable for those of us reading them by choice!
Students dread it and I drool over it. Have you visited the summer reading tables at Barnes and Noble lately? Stacks and stacks of books that some teacher somewhere read, loved, and decided that teenagers would benefit from reading during their summer break. I can't help but feel sorry for these students. I must admit that my heart sank a bit as I looked at the dull covers of the three that I need to read for the classes I'll be teaching, and I'm an English teacher! Of course, I loved the books once I started reading them, but even I'm not convinced that your average teenager will enjoy these books or even be able to motivate themselves to finish them.
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons--heartbreaking and inspiring story ideal for Southern Lit fans.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson--a well-written, engaging true story about murder at the 1892 World's Fair! An interesting perspective of an important historical time-period in the US.
Jubilee by Margaret Walker--haven't started it yet--I'll get back to you later...
I'm a bit torn about the whole summer reading thing. I understand the importance of stimulating young minds during the intellectual void of summer pool time and video games, but forcing them to read works that they might not appreciate as much as the English teachers who choose them tends to create in students an antagonism toward reading and literature before the school year even begins.
Oh well, for now, I'm enjoying the excuse to indulge in three good books and recommend that all of you check out the summer reading tables sometime soon. Although the books are torture for teenagers, they are actually pretty enjoyable for those of us reading them by choice!
Monday, July 12, 2004
Becoming One
Well, it's official. We're married. The ceremony and the reception(s) were better than I could hope for--reflective of our personalities and glorifying to the One who brought us together.
Thanks to EVERYONE who helped make it happen (and put up with me and my stress in the process). Thanks to our families and friends who were amazing, supportive, and generous in giving us such a special day. Thanks to our church community for decorating and playing music and loving God with us! And thanks to Caribou for providing coffee cups and napkins at the wedding and a table for us to meet each other for the first time 11 months ago.
For pics from the honeymoon, check out Adam's blog.
Now...back to the real world...
Well, it's official. We're married. The ceremony and the reception(s) were better than I could hope for--reflective of our personalities and glorifying to the One who brought us together.
Thanks to EVERYONE who helped make it happen (and put up with me and my stress in the process). Thanks to our families and friends who were amazing, supportive, and generous in giving us such a special day. Thanks to our church community for decorating and playing music and loving God with us! And thanks to Caribou for providing coffee cups and napkins at the wedding and a table for us to meet each other for the first time 11 months ago.
For pics from the honeymoon, check out Adam's blog.
Now...back to the real world...
music
fiction
- Sophie's World Jostein Gaarder
- Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand
- The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco
- Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
- War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
- I'm sure I'm forgetting many!!!
things above
- The Consolation of Philosophy Boethius
- Desiring God John Piper
- Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis
- The Ragamuffin Gospel Brennan Manning
- Jesus with Dirty Feet Don Everts
random
- metanoia
- runner's world
- relevant magazine
- jane austen society
- tununak
- appalachian trail conference
- espn
blogs
archives
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