Sunday, March 28, 2010

TSS - 03.28.10

Well, this week was the return to school after a glorious, albeit wintry, spring break.  And oh my, what a week it was.  I must say that I can deal with student issues far better than I can deal with parent issues (I guess I expect students to act like kids...but I have higher expectations of parents).  Anyway, suffice it to say, I am ready to get through these next seven weeks of school and have a nice, long, holiday break.

I spent the day yesterday trying to plan my grading for the rest of the semester.  I have a little break between now and April 15 (and yes, I did intentionally plan to take off the weekend of April 10 for the read-athon!), but I will then be grading nearly non-stop for a month!  Here is a sampling of what I have to look forward to:

  • 15 Hobbit exams that include short answer questions and a literary essay
  • 3 journalism articles for each of the 15 students in English 1 (total of 45 articles)
  • 33  British Literature research papers that are to be between 8 and 10 pages long
  • 15 original mystery stories to be written by my 7th graders (probably 3-5 pages long)
  • 19 Grammar finals (7 page test) plus  literary essay
  • assorted finals for computer apps, British literature, 7th grade, and English 1

So, I plan to fully relish in the next two weeks.  The weather is supposed to cooperate, and this week we are to have sunny weather with highs in the 70s.  I plan to go to my island retreat and read, write, and take photos.

I am progressing nicely with my required summer reading.  I have finished Walden (which I have decided that I need to investigate Transcendentalism a bit more - I am fascinated), Frankenstein (I absolutely LOVED this book and can hardly wait to read it again), and am currently about half way through The Scarlet Letter (this is a second read for me and I am also thoroughly enjoying it as well).  I think I will try to read some of the shorter selections during my busy grading period:  Rime of the Ancient Mariner, selected works from Edgar Allan Poe, and Song of Myself by Whitman.

Can I tell you how excited I am for the next Dewey 24 Hour Read-athon scheduled for April 10?  I am thrilled that I was able to adapt my grading to allow me to have the entire weekend free.  I have already decided that I will not read anything that is teaching related or for my summer school class.  This is going to be a weekend for ME - and I will only read books that are pure relaxation.  I plan to develop a potential reading list this week (I have Good Friday off, which means a nice long weekend) and will perhaps make that my posting for next week's Sunday Salon.

While I have absolutely NO business bringing new books into this house .... I simply could not avoid the Half Price Bookstore coupon sale this week.  Most of the bargains that I found are related to writing - so I feel as though I can justify that spending since it is "for school" - but I did find a few that I know I will personally like to read at some point and time.  I will try to write a post about this recent buying spree early this week.

The sun has finally decided to peep out from behind the week's worth of clouds, and I am feeling better already!  I hope to spend the rest of the day finishing lesson plans for the week, reading the Scarlet Letter, and fantasizing about the fun I will have during the read-athon.

I hope this finds all of you in the spring spirit and I wish you wonderful week ahead!

15 comments:

  1. Molly, I LOVE your plan for the 24 hour read-a-thon ... no work, just fun reads for you. What could be better??!??

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  2. Still, even with all that's facing you, it seems like it would be fun to be an English teacher... minus the parental problems though!

    Your plan for the readathon sounds perfect. I still don't know where I'll be, so haven't planned anything yet. Anyway, have a great couple of weeks before all the stress hits!

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  3. Even though I've never taught, I've been friends with lots of teachers through the years and I have always maintained that parents are the worst part of teaching. Sorry you've had to deal with that!

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  4. Sounds like a wonderful plan! And it's great when the weather cooperates for spring break.

    My Salon:

    http://laurel-rainsnowsaccidentallife.blogspot.com/2010/03/sunday-salon_28.html

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  5. Molly, I am so glad that you had a good break, but my oh my you are heading back into the thick of things! We are just at the start of the third term here in Ontario so I have been taking it easy and playing some catch up. I have a bit of marking I need to finish from before MY break (oops) and we have been doing reno's so I've fallen behind a bit. I think the students are enjoying the break from homework however as I play catch up!

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  6. Just reading about all that grading makes me blue!

    I'm hosting a giveaway on my Sunday Salon post today. I plan to give away two $10 gift cards to Amazon on Easter Sunday. I hope you will stop by and sign up!

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  7. Parents are ten times worse than the kids, having been a Girl Scout Leader. Ugh! And your grading schedule sounds pretty grueling. You totally deserve the Read-a-thon! I think my daughter and I are going to participate in it, at least for some of it. It will be my first one, and I'm already starting to plan my reading list!

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  8. I think it is great you are taking the Read-A-Thon and using it just for you!!! You deserve it after all the papers you need to read! YIKES.

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  9. You do have a very busy next few weeks and totally deserve to do the read-a-thon just for fun!

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  10. Sounds like you had a busy and eventful week. No need to apologize about the new books --we understand...LOL

    Have a great Week Molly!

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  11. Glad you're doing the Readathon, Molly! I just signed up too - this will be my second time. I'm not planning to do anywhere near 24 hours, but I'm hoping for at least 10-12.

    Have a great week!

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  12. You deserve a little "you" reading time! Enjoy it, and have a great week!

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  13. Almost every teacher I know maintains that parents are the worst part of teaching (and coaching!). Someday I will read Frankenstein! I'm halfway there - I bought it at the library sale last year...

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  14. I didn't mind the parents when teaching, I hated the politics within the school more.

    My you have so much marking there. I hope it doesn't take you too long.

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  15. I can't imagine doing the 24-hour readathon, for the simple reason that I don't think I can devote that kind of time just to reading (and I LOVE to read!). I'd be thinking of other stuff I have to do, I fear.

    As a teacher, I think you'd enjoy my current read, "I promised you Daisies," by Robert Banjamin. It's part 2 of the trilogy "Imperfectly Ordinary: The Life Journey of an Unacknowledged Gifted Child. It's a classic tale of ill-fated young love played out against the backdrop of Boson in the late 1960s. And you really can experience the sorrow that can follow an unacknowledged gifted child into adult life.

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