Week in Review 03.25.18

Those who know me well won't be surprised as I proclaim today is nine months til Christmas. I always use the 25th of the month as the official countdown to my favorite holiday. I receive mixed reactions when I post the announcement on FaceBook, so I'm curious... Are you as excited about this festive celebration as I am ... or do you tend to proclaim bah-humbug?

Today is also Palm Sunday, and while I wish the temperatures were warmer here in the Midwest, I am grateful the snow of the Northeast by-passed us this year.

The picture to the left is a throwback to 1999 when our local church performed the passion play: The Victor. Our entire family participated in this meaningful portrayal of Jesus' final week before the crucifixion. We have fond memories of this collective experience.

A Recording for Posterity

I'm not sure anyone would be interested in reading this little rambling, but I want to record this for posterity's sake.

In my English Comp class yesterday I tried a new idea.  I had originally asked students to bring in an example of a "bodacious beginning" - that is, an introductory paragraph that grabs the reader's attention and inspires them to want to read more.  I think this is imperative for any writer (as I tell my students - you WANT me to want to read your essay; not rely on the fact that I HAVE to read your essay).

This exercise is useful because it teaches students the variety of ways to grab a reader's attention:  begin with a question - or a statement that causes the reader to form his own questions - or a very short, direct sentence that leaves the reader hanging - or beginning with the climax of the story that draws the reader into the action.  There are a variety of ways to "hook" the reader - and the students seemed to learn more about writing by reading good examples.

But the twist to this assignment was that I asked students to bring in an example of an introduction that they did not find particularly inviting.  Now they thought they were going to compare and contrast the two, but instead, I asked the students to rewrite the rather dull introduction by making it more inviting.  You should have heard the moans and groans.  "This is hard!" they exclaimed.

But you know what?!  They DID it!!  They utilized what we discovered in the previous discussion and they actually improved the introductions.  They discovered that asking a question is a great way to hook the reader.  They managed to entice us to want to read an Algebra II text.  They learned that restructuring paragraphs or sentences can have a profound effect on the reader.

Sometimes my classroom experiments fall flat. But yesterday - it was engaging for both the students and the teacher.  And this, I feel, is worth recording for posterity's sake.

Another Year Begins....

While I do not necessarily feel that I was born to teach, I do feel that I was born to live the academic life.

From the time I was a junior in college and constantly asked the proverbial question, "So, what do you want to do when you graduate?" I would answer ---- I would love to be a professional student.  See, I have always loved to learn.  I never really enjoyed the assessments, and I truly hated the standardized tests, but I was born to be a life-long learner.

It only took me about two decades after my college graduation to realize that teachers are indeed professional students.  And I have been quite blessed to have the opportunity to pursue this vocation, despite my lack of qualifications.

But aside from the learning aspect of this profession, I have come to the conclusion that my internal clock is based on the academic year.  Oh sure, I celebrate December 31st with the traditional toast and the obligatory list of resolutions, but I consider my TRUE New Year's Eve today ---- the last day of summer before another academic year begins.

I will get little sleep tonight - not from worry, but from great anticipation of what this new year will hold.  I will meet new students and become reacquainted with past students.  And as far as I am concerned, we all start with a clean slate - myself included.  Mistakes of the past are behind us, and a bright future lies ahead.

And for the first time in several years I feel as though I am teaching only the classes that I am well-equipped to teach - and it feels DIVINE!  I will no longer be donning my "super teacher" cape with nine preps a week, but I will reap the benefits of time leftover to pursue personal interests.  And while I know that this year won't be perfect - there will certainly be frustrations along the way - I also know that this year feels right.

Yes, today is somewhat bittersweet, as I do enjoy my summer freedom - but tomorrow will begin a new chapter in life - and that is worth a stomach full of butterflies.

An Answer to Un-asked Prayer

I am in a good place.

It took a while to get here - and I know I can always improve but....I am in a good place.

I won't go into much detail here, although perhaps detail will be forthcoming, but suffice it to say that I have maintained a good writing regimen since February.  I have maintained my morning pages via 750words, and in February I also developed a devotional routine, which has me reading two different devotionals at YouVersion (Rick Warren's - Decade of Destiny, and Joyce Meyers' - Promises for your Everyday Life).

While my summer was far from perfect, I must admit that this writing routine, coupled with Patti Digh's Verb Tribe for Teachers, helped me to maintain perspective and find peace - something that has been lacking in my life and I have wanted for years.

I went to our teacher in-service yesterday ready to start the year.  I was teaching more classes than I wanted, but I knew that retirement was a mere three years away, so I was willing to continue.  I adore my school - I love the administration - I respect the families - and like most of the students :)

But yesterday I learned that life could be even better than I ever thought possible.  And again, without too many distracting details let me just say that I went into the meeting prepared to teach my full course load and I left the meeting lighter and freer than I ever anticipated.

There was a teacher there who wanted more classes - and who was more than qualified to teach the classes that I felt most inept.  It was a win-win situation --- for the two teachers involved as well as for the students.

I never bothered to pray for my teaching schedule to be reduced.  And yet....I desperately wanted it to be reduced.  I have wanted it to be reduced for two years.  At this time in my life I feel as though I have too many other interests to pursue:  writing - photography - a greeting card ministry.  And as I have heard so many times before:  if not now....when?!

And then I received this little love-gift from God.  Without asking for it in prayer - He knew my need and granted the desire anyway.  How awesome is that?!

I am now teaching the classes that I truly feel called to teach:  Brit Lit - Yearbook - Grammar - English Comp.  Just the sound of those classes makes me tingle with excitement.  Yes, this is indeed going to be a GREAT year.

Of course, I will no longer be known as the "super teacher" --- the one who maintains 10 different preps in the course of one academic year.  And while I never did it for the accolades (I truly do love to teach).....I must admit that those accolades boost the ole self- confidence.  And I must relinquish that crown to other "super teachers"  But I believe that this, too, is a life lesson.  I am doing what I am supposed to do:  nothing more and nothing less.  And there is great comfort in that.

I am learning that I am indeed...enough.

I am retiring....

Tomorrow is the teacher in-service.  This is the "official" start to the new school year.  My official start, on the other hand, was Monday when I conducted a three-hour grammar review for in-coming students - and that start continued today when I administered the required grammar proficiency test.  The in-service tomorrow will be from 8:30 - 3:00 and then Thursday night is back to school - when we meet with the parents of each class for a whopping 8 minutes to try to explain all that we plan to accomplish over the course of this academic year.

I am normally quite ready for school to start again - and I must admit that I do have some anticipatory butterflies in my stomach that accompany this fresh new beginning.  I still enjoy shopping for school supplies (there is nothing like the feel of a brand new spiral bound notebook or an unopened back of BIC pens just waiting to document snippets of truth gleaned over the course of the year) -  but this year feels a bit different.  Perhaps it is because my summer was filled with angst that never quite allowed me to fully relax and recuperate from the past academic year.  Or perhaps it is because last year was a challenge on so many levels that I am a bit leery of what this year may hold.  But mostly I think....it is because I am preparing myself for retirement.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this profession - calling -vocation.  It sought me out...and while I did not willingly heed the call, I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to make a difference in children's lives.  But for quite sometime now I have felt that it is time to move on.  Last May I gave notice - three years' notice - and let them know that I will officially retire May, 2013.  This feels right for a variety of reasons, but mainly, I will be 55 years old and that is a very respectable retirement age.

I still have three more years to teach - and I hope to impart as much knowledge as I ingest.  This year I plan to try to the concept of the "flipped classroom" - which will be a huge learning experience.  Next year I will drop the freshman English class in order to free up some time from grading all those papers.  And the following year....well, that will be the last hurrah.

I am ready.  But I am determined not to wish my life away.  I look forward to the classes I will teach this year:  English 8 (with 16 students); English 9 (with 10 students); Brit Lit (with 7 students); Yearbook (with 7 students); high school grammar (with 7 students); and college level English Comp (with 13 students) ---- but I also look forward to a new chapter in my own life.

1.8.12 - Sunday Salon

It has been a VERY long time since I have participated in the Sunday Salon, and while I would like to promise myself that this is the start of a weekly habit, I know my track record too well to make that commitment.

This week marked the return to the routine.  All the holiday decorations have been put away again for another 11 months, and the back-to-school regimen began in earnest.  I have made good on a few resolutions, but I am trying not to overdo it.  Slow and Steady wins the race is my new motto.

Teaching:
This semester will be a drastic change in schedule for me.  Without going into too many details, I asked and was granted a one semester sabbatical from teaching my most challenging course:  9th Grade English.  I think the stress and strain of last year (having 9 different course preps, taking care of my ill mother, and eventually dealing with her death) has taken its toll on me.  I have little patience, and in this particular classroom, I had none. But I am indeed so blessed to work for a caring and compassionate administrator who saw my need and was willing to fulfill my request.  It took a while to find a suitable substitute, but at 4:00PM on Thursday afternoon --- when classes were to begin at 8:30AM on Friday --- a final decision had been made.  I spent Friday early morning gathering course materials to hand over - and for the first time in my life I benefited from my OCD organizational tendencies!  In just one hour I had assembled 90% of all the handouts and lesson plans that I believe she will need.

In addition to that schedule change, my Tuesday/Thursday class dropped enrollment to just two students this semester.  And as fate would have it --- all of us have first hour free on Monday - Wednesday - Friday.  So what this means for me is that I will be done teaching at 1:30PM on these days and I will have Tuesdays and Thursdays totally free.  And my schedule on Fridays is amazing:  I teach Brit Lit 2nd hour and 8th Grade English 5th hour.

For the first time in the 8 years I have been teaching, I feel as though I can have a personal life during the school year - and I am so excited!

Personal:
So what do I plan to do with all this free time?

• Well, for one thing, I hope to blog more regularly.  I hope to start maintaining a list of possible blog post ideas and then cull from that list on a weekly basis.  
• I hope to develop an exercise routine that helps keep me fit.  I am not looking to run any marathons or bulk up muscle mass.  I just want to firm up the flab and walk several times a week. 
• I hope to not only write my daily morning pages, but I want to begin to hone my writing craft.  I tend to use 750words.com as a journal, documenting life events and personal feelings - but I do not give much thought as to how I write.  I want to work on my creative writing projects on a regular basis.
• I hope to focus on photography as a creative means of escape.  So far this week I have taken a picture every day for the 365 Project and I am glad to have persevered.  However, the pictures are definitely more journalistic in that they document how I spent the day rather than creative expression.  BUT...slow and steady wins the race and I have promised myself that I will enjoy the journey and not add undo pressure.  

Reading:

In order to help me complete the above resolutions, I read Women's Retreat Book by Jennifer Louden.  In that book she outlines some ways in which women can organize their own personal retreats that can last anywhere from a half-hour lunch break to a long weekend excursion.  The greatest insight I learned from this book is that a retreat is purposeful.  I have had plenty of days of alone time, but I tend to fritter the hours away.  A retreat has structure - and intent.

So my plan is to reserve Tuesdays for school work:  lesson planning, outside reading for certification (the topic of another post), and grading - but Thursdays will be a day off.  A day for intentional retreat or fun creative play.  I hope to scrapbook some more (I really enjoyed Christmas recipe album project) - perhaps try quilting once again - schedule my own mini read-a-thons - or conduct a nature photo shoot.

So while the end of the holidays is marked with a certain sadness that the celebration is over - for me, it is also the time for a fresh start.  This week will be a full week of school - which is followed by a long weekend due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.  For me, that will be a five day break and one in which I not waste away.

A Glimpse into my World....

So this is finals week; the week that I have dreamed about since February.  Today I completed two finals and have all grades calculated and ready to post.  Only four more classes to go.

Tomorrow is the final class for my college level English Composition class.  Teaching a college level class has been a dream come true - and I truly could not have asked for a better group of students to serve as my guinea pig class.  There have been a few bumps in the road - most notably our second semester is about 3 weeks longer than that of the college with which we are affiliated - and I have misjudged a few units of study.  Irregardless, these have been valuable lessons learned for yours truly (I have many ways in which I plan to tweak the syllabus next year) and the students have been quite supportive the entire time.

These final four weeks have been spent filming narrative stories that the students wrote at the beginning of the semester.  They quickly learned that filming takes much longer than planned - and so we have culled twelve stories down to three - down to just one.  We finished filming last Tuesday - worked on edits in class on Thursday - and plan to show the final version tomorrow after the final.

In my own corny way .... I want to let the students know how much I love them, how much joy they brought into my life, and  how I wish only the best for their future.  So...I have decided to have an Academy Award presentation in class tomorrow.  I found these lovely chocolate "oscar" lollipops online that I ordered in advance, and today I wrote award certificates to commemorate a job well done.  I had asked students to brainstorm different award categories last week - and today I compiled the top three for each student (which they will read on the front of the envelope) and then I selected the one idea that I thought best epitomized that particular student.

I hope to stop by Walmart tomorrow and purchase a couple of red towels to serve as the red carpet (I have no budget - so I must try to make do and this way I can use the towels this summer).  I can't decide whether to download Academy Award winning songs to play throughout the presentation - or if generic music would suit the mood well enough.  I have time to decide - the final is not until noon.

Anyway, this is just a bit of insight into my wacky mind - and my ability to create more work for myself.  I hope the students enjoy my insanity --- as it is truly from the heart.

TSS - 1.30.11

Is anyone else surprised by the date?  I can't believe that we are already heading into February.

The snow that was forecasted last weekend totally passed us - I mean, we did not even see a flake and they were predicting close to 6 inches of the fluffy stuff.  On the one hand I was grateful that we did not have another snow day, but on the other hand I lost faith in meteorology.  I simply cannot understand how they could be so far off the mark.  We had a high of 48 degrees on Friday - springtime weather - and most of the snow melted.  HOWEVER....they are predicting another snow storm tomorrow that is supposed to produce an ice glaze on the roads before another 6 inches should fall.  Welcome to the Midwest!

Teaching:
This was our first full week of school since before Christmas break!  Between snow days and MLK Jr holiday, we have really had a difficult time getting into the swing of second semester.  So as you can imagine, I am struggling in most classes to stay on task.  There are some projects that may have to go by the wayside, but I am confident that all critical course material will be covered.

I am finding that I truly LOVE teaching English Comp.  In another life I would have majored in English in college (rather than French), gone on to pursue a Masters in English, and then (hopefully) obtained a job as an adjunct professor at a local college or university.  I truly enjoy teaching the upper level students; we learn from one another and the classroom environment is always energic.  Most of these students are high school seniors, and at a time when most seniors are mentally checking out, these students continue to be excited about the film project at the end of the year.

Photo Credit

Since our school calendar is about five weeks longer than the college from which the dual credit is offered, I was struggling with how to fill the time.  In December, through some random brainstorming, this class decided that they would like to write a film script, shoot the film, edit it, and present it to the student body.  I tried to let them know how much work is involved in a project such as this -- especially when senioritis is bound to kick in sometime around March 1st -- but they were determined to make this a reality.

Over Christmas break I revamped my second semester syllabus to focus on the project.  Their first major writing assignment is a narrative short story - with the idea that they would develop this short story into a film script later in the semester.  They were also told to think about limited characters (since we only have twelve students in the class) and a setting that be could recreated on school grounds (since we will not be doing many off-site field trips).  These stories are due in two weeks.

Students also need to complete a major research paper this semester.  I limited the scope of the paper to their choice of a novelist or film director.  Students are to select one or the other and research the life and the historical time period in which they wrote/directed.  Students are then to select one major work, read/watch it, and analyze it for narrative writing techniques (those who chose a director will also include analysis of film angles and lighting for effect).  Students will then meld these two portions into one 8-10 page paper.

Once the research paper is due, at the beginning of April, we will then begin filming the class narratives (for time and space considerations, students will choose three out of the twelve scripts to film).  That will give us about five weeks to film and edit and then hopefully have a school assembly and show our finished projects the second week of May.

It is rather ambitious --- but I am encouraged by their constant enthusiasm and willingness to stay a few minutes after class each day to discuss the possibilities.

Reading:

I am continuing my re-read of Little Women.  I tend to only read this at night before I go to bed and since I only read for about twenty minutes before my eyes start to droop, this is going to be a rather slow read.  The story has definitely picked up as far as conflict goes, and I am definitely enjoying it more now than I did in the beginning.  I am reading this book on my Kindle and have discovered that obtaining new batteries for the Kindle generation 1 is rather difficult.  I think I might have to resort to ebay.

Anyway....I am finding that as I read this novel I am constantly reminded of Pride and Prejudice.  While I realize that the stories are different - there are some similarities in the characters.

• Mrs. March is raising four girls alone while her husband is away at war; Mrs. Bennett is certainly more worried about her five daughters' future than her husband (he is often absent, escaping to the library by himself to avoid family relations).  
• Mrs. March is far more respectable, however (Mrs. Bennett's busy-body personality adds humor to the book, but I have little respect for her as a parent).  BUT...I do find Marme's lessons for the girls a bit too preachy for my personal taste.  
• Jo of Little Women reminds me of the outspoken Elizabeth of P&P.  Her tomboy ways are reminiscent of Elizabeth's long walk to Netherfield, which yields unfavorable commentary from Caroline Bingley.
• Amy, the youngest daughter of the March family, reminds me of Kitty --- rather immature and self-centered, but willing to learn from her older sisters.  
• Beth March, the sweet, unassuming middle child, is similar to Mary Bennett in that they both focus on music as a means of expressing themselves.  I much prefer Beth's humble personality to that of Mary, however.  
• I think Meg is rather her own character in Little Women -- somehow a mix of Jane and Elizabeth.  She is not as sappy sweet as Jane (I'm sorry, but I just can't handle Jane's ability to only see the good in people), and she is more outspoken.

I would be curious to know if anyone has noticed these similarities between the two novels, or am I the only one who feels this way?

Personal:
Last week several of you commented that you would like for me to post my reviews of photography books (and other non-fiction reading material).  I will definitely make a point of doing that in the near future.  I am working on a post that will showcase all the photography books that I actually purchased - which is but a small percentage of the ones that I reviewed from the local library.

I am also quite interested in learning how to combine my photos and writing into some type of artistic expression.  I have done major research on photo manipulation, mixed media art, and art journaling.  Again, I have reviewed many books from the library, but have also added a few to my personal library.  I have also discovered some beautiful magazines published once a quarter by Somerset Studios:  Artful Blogging and Journaling, both of which I have savored reading every page (to see the numerous magazines published by this amazing company visit this site).  I will also work on a post to showcase this interest as well.

My most recent library acquisition - and one in which I read (and took notes) in about two hours was Keri Smith's How to be an Explorer of the World.  A fellow teacher mentioned this author in passing on Monday and I immediately did a search.  My local library had this book available, and I have Living Out Loud on hold from the inter library loan.  In essence her books describe how to relate to the world around you in an artistic way.  This book focused a lot on collecting things of personal interest and then truly analyzing them, rearranging them, finding patterns that are first invisible.  A couple of the ideas that I plan to try include:

• Go to the local hardware store and look at the paint chip cards.  Find colors that resonate with you.  Take the cards home and then write the memories that surround that particular color.
• Take a walk around the neighborhood and discover 'accidental art' - that is, stains on sidewalks, or discarded trash. Learn to see the beauty in the life around you.
• Walk aimlessly -- take a walk, intentionally doing the opposite of what you think you should do.  Want to right?  Turn left instead.  Want to stay on the path?  Walk through the field instead (provided it is not a private yard).  This one is a bit outside my comfort zone at the moment - but I could see where it would provide a lot of artistic inspiration (getting out of thinking only with the right side of the brain)

Writing:
This continues to be a New Year's resolution that remains dormant.  My "old" self would have said that if I did not make good on it by February then I had failed.  My "new" self says that it is not a failure, it is just a temporary delay.  I continue to read blogs about the writing process and I do hope to at least begin daily journaling soon.

I must tell you of a fantastic site that Jenners mentioned on her blog the other day:  Book Drum  I am absolutely enthralled with it and wish that I had more free time in my life at the moment. In essence it is like a Wikipedia for books.  Anyone over 18 years old can become a contributor and the point is to provide extensive background information about literature.  They currently have several book profiles already completed, with a list of several hundred (?) more that they are interested in adding in the future.

Currently there is a tournament going on (with a first prize reward of 1,000 pounds!) where contributors sign up to complete an extensive book profile between now and April 30.  This would be pure escapism for me.  To read a book page by page - researching unusual words to add to the glossary section - or finding photos to add to the setting section in order to bring the descriptions to life - or adding trailers to the content area for readers to gain another perspective of the narrative or characters - or adding background information to the bookmarks section to reveal valuable insight for a more complete understanding of the novel. (all links are to content found for the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which I am currently teaching in the 9th grade class.  I have already found some very useful information on this site that I plan to use in the classroom).

As I told Jenners - I am not quite sure whether I should bless her or curse her for bringing this fantastic site to my attention.  I plan to make use of this often throughout the year - with the hope of perhaps profiling a classic novel myself one day.

Well, once again this post is far longer than I anticipated.  Perhaps I should consider doing a section a day - like Teaching Tuesdays, Writing Wednesdays, Reading Weekend.  What do you think?

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

TSS - 1.16.11

Well, we are trying to thaw after the winter storm last week.  While the Midwest did not experience the record-setting snowfall of the Northeast, we did have about seven inches and sub-zero temperatures, which resulted in two glorious snow days off school.  I must admit that I was ready to get back into the school routine by Wednesday, however, and while I love a good day off every now and then, my lesson plans really can't easily accommodate another, so I hope all other storms occur over the weekends.

Personal:
I actually used my snow days to their full advantage.  I watched Fellowship of the Ring, which has been on my to-do list for over a year.  After a couple of slow starts ( I fell asleep after about ten minutes - which is my typical posture when I watch a movie), I actually finished the movie Monday night and liked it far more than I thought I would.  I think my step is to watch the extended version (which I understand is significantly longer and closely follows the book) and I then I might be prepared to try my hand at reading the books.

I also started scrapbooking again - a favorite hobby of mine which I have ignored for nearly four years.  As is my typical fashion - I do have a deadline that I need to meet, which is why I initially started this project - but I am working  hard at learning to enjoy the activity rather than focusing purely on the goal.  I have made albums for each of my children when they graduate high school.  This is an album for them to take when they move away from home and it basically summarizes their life:  one two page spread for each year of their life.  I definitely have a scrapbooking style with which I am comfortable - very symmetrical, simple and clean.  While I know that I eventually want to try to spread my creative wings and branch out into other scrapbooking styles, I think I will enjoy the comfort zone on this project.

In my post earlier this week I mentioned that I would like to reconnect with my love of music once again.  I tend to maintain silence in most everything I do - and while I need silence to fully concentrate on some activities (reading and grading, for example), I am thinking that too much quiet is not good for the psyche.  I know that some are enthralled with the concept of the iPod -- downloading their favorite music to have readily available 24 hours a day.  But my problem is that I have been too far removed from the music scene for so long that I have no idea what I consider my favorites anymore.  So.....I have started listening to Pandora and am truly enjoying their selections for my specified preferences.  I am starting to make a list of songs that I may like to have on-hand to download to my iPod in the future, but for now I am more than willing to let the Pandora experts select my music for me.

Teaching:
The start of a new semester is always exciting for me - I guess it is that proverbial clean slate with infinite possibilities.  I think the one class that has inspired me the most so far is the 8th grade grammar class.  As I have mentioned before, this class focuses on the mechanics of grammar and writing - and the literary element is a year long study of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Last Friday I showed three different movie interpretations of Act I scene i - in order to give students the idea that there is not one right way to perform Shakespeare.  His lack of stage directions is actually quite liberating.  This past Friday we discussed those three interpretations:  what we liked, what we disliked and what we might like to incorporate in our own presentation.

As a result of this class discussion they have decided to present a modern-day rendition of this play.  Some ideas that have been bantered about include a New York City setting - with Theseus and Hippolyta as corporate CEOs of rival companies.  Central Park would serve as the forest, and communication devices such as cell phones and GPS systems could be included.  I think they are showing tremendous creativity and I am very much looking forward to the development of this idea.

Reading:

I also followed through on another promise to myself and I started reading Little Women this week.  And, as seems to be the case with nearly every endeavor these days, I had another epiphany.

I must confess that after the first chapter I was really not enthralled with the book.  It was just too perfect.   All the daughters got along (which is NOT the case in my own household); they are thrilled if the only Christmas gift is a small bouquet of flowers; and they truly revere their mother(?!)  I don't know....it was that it all seemed too simple.  And then it dawned on me:  I long for the simple life, or so I say.  And yet here I am reading about that lifestyle and I find that I am bored.  What does this mean?!  Could this mean that I truly do not want the simple life after all?  Or could it mean that I need to learn to slow down long to read about the simple life before I can ever hope to have it myself?

I chose the latter interpretation.  I have continued to read the book and am now on Chapter Four (scrapbooking has taken up most of my free time this week).  Now that I have postured myself to believe that I am reading about a lifestyle that I wish to emulate, I am thoroughly enjoying the book.  In fact, I think that the proper way for me to read the book is probably at a rather slow, non-rushed pace.  That would be keeping with the simplified theme that I am trying to adopt at that late stage of life.

Writing:
I have not progressed as much in this area as I would have hoped, but ideas are percolating.  I think I worked so hard during NaNoWriMo during the month of November, which was quickly followed by the chaos of December (finals and holiday preparations) that what I thought would be a month long sabbatical has actually resulted in a two month break.  I have begun a daily devotion journal that I (so far) have maintained, but that is not a concentration on writing; that is a concentration on spiritual growth.

I hope to soon re-incorporate the morning pages that Julia Cameron suggests as a mandatory exercise in order to free the brain for creativity (I am also working my way through her book, The Artist's Way, as well).  I have also started to revisit my Degas novel.  I know that I still have research to do, and ideas to formulate, but I sincerely want this to be my NaNoWriMo novel of 2011.  I think if I allow myself to keep this on the back burner - that is visible but not a priority - for this next semester, I will be ready to do the necessary research over the summer which will equate to a well organized outline by the end of October.

No, I am not as focused on writing as I would like to be, but I am trying to be kind to myself and allow this break to not be the end of an interest, but rather, the beginning of a very long journey together.

TSS: 11.14.10

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around here, even if maybe it doesn't look much like it yet.  The week started with bright blue sky, puffy clouds, and temperature in the 70s, but by the weekend a cold front had moved through and now we have cloudy skies, blustery winds, and temperatures in the low 40s.

Tomorrow is my brother and sister-in-law's birthdays, which means in a month I will be celebrating my birthday, and then Christmas will shortly follow.  I must admit that I love this time of year.  I haven't started listening to Christmas Carols (even though one of the radio stations began playing them on November 1st), but now that the weather has turned chilly, I am in the mood to think about this festive time of year.

Personal:

I treated myself to a trip to Archivers earlier this week.  I rationalized that it was for "research" for my book, but in reality I wanted to get some ideas for Christmas projects.  I love daydreaming about all the scrapbook pages that I can make to turn our family memories into keepsake gifts, and I imagine crafting Christmas cards and matching tags to decorate thoughtful presents under the tree.  But for some reason I seem to enjoy daydreaming about the projects rather than creating them.  I never make the time to complete them once I get home.  Why is that, I wonder?

Anyway, I did find a few Christmas papers and embellishments to add to my collection, as well as some supplies to use in Mandy's Open House album.  Most notably, there was an entire section of Harry Potter merchandise which was difficult to ignore.  Mandy has already purchased her ticket to the midnight showing of the newest HP movie release, and now I told her she must take pictures so that I can use these supplies.  For those of you who scrapbook, do you find that you buy the decorative elements first and then stage a picture in order to use them?  I think that this is perhaps the sign of an unhealthy addiction (*smile*)

Teaching:

It was an uneventful, although somewhat frustrating week in the teaching world.  The computer lab did not have internet all week, which makes Computer Apps a difficult class to teach.  Grandparents Day was so popular that the 4th hour class, which was scheduled to take a test over Fahrenheit 451, was cancelled because not everyone could get through the lunch line in time.  Missing this class as well as last Friday's class has put my syllabus in a bind.  And then of course students, as well as teachers, are anticipating the Thanksgiving break and therefore find it more and more difficult to concentrate on academics.  I am grateful that we only have one more full week of school and then we can take a holiday for a few days.

On a positive note, I took advantage of Barnes and Noble sale last weekend that offered one game free if two were purchased.  I managed to find a couple of Christmas gifts, and the free game I chose was a small, compact dice game called Rory's Story Cubes.  I had never heard of it before, but it turned out to be a better "purchase" than I ever anticipated.  The game comes with nine dice, and each side has a different picture/icon.  The object of the game is to roll the dice and quickly develop a story using as many of the pictures as possible.  I tried this first with my creative writing class and they LOVED it!  They developed competitions to see who could use all the pieces in the shortest amount of time.  And of course, their stories were inventive and quite entertaining.  Sometimes spontaneous purchases can be the best!

Reading:

This is the time of year when the new reading challenges for 2011 are being formed and advertised at one of my most favorite blogs, A Novel Challenge.  Some people are so creative and have taken reading to a level that I never imagined before starting this blog.  I fail miserably at challenges:  My imagination is always bigger than my reality and I constantly seem to run out of time, or at times lose interest in that particular genre.  But will that stop me from signing up for a few more next year?  Of course not!

I would love to participate in the Thankfully Reading Weekend challenge 2010, which takes place over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but I know that my time is already being pulled in too many different directions during those few short days.  Between holiday baking, Black Friday shopping, NaNoWriMo wind down, and essay grading, I doubt I will read more than a few pages each day.  I did participate last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I have already decided to sign up for The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge hosted by Michelle at the True Book Addict and takes place from November 26, 2010 - January 6, 2011.  I know .... I hear you ... Are you kidding, Molly?  You haven't written a book review in months, why on earth would you sign up for another challenge?  Well, the answer is simple.  I decided last year that I wanted to begin a collection of holiday books that I would read each year.  I may not read all of the books every year, but I would re-read a few each year to help put me in the holiday mood and remember the hope and love that it represents.  I don't think any of these books are dense literary masterpieces, but rather they are light, sentimental stories that are sure to bring a warm smile to my face.  I have about a dozen of these books on my holiday shelf and I think reading a bit each night will be the perfect way to prepare my mind and heart for this special season.  

I plan to sign up for the Mistletoe level (that is, read 2-4 books), although I secretly hope that I can achieve the Christmas Tree level (reading 5-6 books in the required time frame).  Do you have any favorite holiday books that you might recommend?  

Writing:

This has been a great week of writing for me.  As you know, I am a goal oriented, put your head to the grindstone, singularly focused kind of gal.  I know that several of my November nights will be spent preparing holiday dinners or grading research papers, and so I have tried to focus all my free time this week to adding to my word count for this work-in-progress.  As of Saturday night, I have a total of 39,197 words with the goal of having a total of 40,000 words by the end of the weekend.  I must admit that I never thought that I had that many words in me (and I am only about half way through the story), and I do feel a sense of accomplishment.

I have learned so much about me and about life in participating in NaNoWriMo  - and very little of it has to do with writing a novel.  I have learned that writing from an outline is incredibly useful for me!  I will finish a chapter and have no idea what to write next; but when I look at  my timeline (which I have developed as scene cards in Scrivener and absolutely love it) - I am right back on task again.  I always thought true writers would experience "stories just writing themselves" - but I am glad that I did not rely on that method.

I have also learned that I have more free time during the week than I ever thought.  I manage to find two hours or more each night to devote to writing, which has opened my eyes to what I can accomplish once NaNoWriMo is over!  What if I focused on my holiday crafts with this kind of determination?  What if I devoted two hours a night to reading?  What if I took an hour each day and practiced photography skills?  I am not sure how I have been wasting my time --- but now that I have found the time, I do not want to "lose" it again.

Lastly, I have learned that the experts are right (duh!)  Writing every day is liberating and it hones my craft.  Even if what I am writing is a crappy first draft (paraphrase of Anne Lamott) - I am able to practice pacing, detailing, showing vs telling, natural dialog, dealing with real life feelings and emotions in a fictional setting and receiving clarity of the situation.  I do not think this story will be of much interest to anyone but me, but that is ok.  I am still enjoying it, and I still look forward to writing the next chapter.  

I am a terrific at starting long-term projects, but somehow never finishing them.  I either grow bored and lose motivation,  or the project seems so insurmountable that I create distractions that prevent me from  completing the task.  I am committed to completing NaNoWriMo this year, and it feels good.  I hope it is a step over that fear of completion hurdle and I can begin to tackle other long-term projects with the same sense of adventure.

TSS: 10.17.10

This has been a rather low-key week.  Parent-Teacher conferences on Wednesday meant fewer lesson plans to create, but resulted in sheer exhaustion at the end of the day.  I saw a different family every fifteen minutes from 8:00AM until 3:30PM, and while it is always nice to put a parental face with a student's name, meeting so many new people is wearisome for an introvert like myself.

Teaching:

While I was not in class much this week, I did manage to have quite a bit of grading to accomplish.  I try to balance my grading schedule so that I am not overwhelmed, but somehow this week I had two different classes turn in rather extensive papers.  In an effort to follow my year-long mantra "Work Smarter, not Harder" I am trying to grade a few papers every day rather than all of them at once.  So far I have stayed on task.

As is my typical fashion, when I have an idea I tend to zoom full speed ahead.  Such is the situation with NaNoWriMo.  Not only have I decided to attempt this challenge myself, but I have solicited interest among my students.  I have organized an extracurricular "club" where these budding novelists can come and share ideas, frustrations, and successes.  So far about ten students have registered and I am thrilled!  Students do not need to write the required adult goal of 50,000 words, but they do need to settle on a word count that would be a true challenge for them.  I envision us meeting about once a week in person and then online in a discussion board forum.  This will certainly put the pressure on me to strive to complete the challenge - as I will have my own students constantly inquiring about my progress.  See what I mean?  I zoom full speed ahead without thinking of all the possible consequences.

Reading:

I have continued the focus of my NaNoWriMo read-athon weekend to extend through this week.  I quickly skimmed the book, This is the Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley.  Vivienne mentioned this little book on her blog and I thought it would be worth a quick glance prior to the month of November.  Since I have read several books on this topic over the past few months, there was not a wealth of new information here, but it was a good summary of the key elements.  I still know that my biggest struggle (besides the fact that the mushy middle is not at all fleshed out) is that inner critic that will want to examine every punctuation mark and search for just the right word.  

I also started reading Round Robin, the second book in the Elm Creek Quilt novel series by Jennifer Chiaverini.  I picked up this book as "research" for my own novel.  My NaNoWriMo book will focus on female relationships, in particular the sandwich generation of the protagonist being the caregiver for her two daughters as well as of her own mother.  The stress of dealing with these domestic issues causes her to reach out to a former circle of girlfriends called the Stitch Group.  Since Round Robin also focuses on female relationships in the context of quilting friends, I thought it would be a great place to start.  The book is structured in much the same way I envision for my story, and I am learning how to develop character stories in the midst of the overriding narrative.

It is funny.  My literary interests lie in suspense/thriller or literary fiction - but I find myself drawn to writing "chick lit" --- a genre that I have never desired to read.  At first I was confused.  Why would I not be inspired to write a book that I enjoy reading?  Why am I motivated to write a book that I would typically ignore?  But as I read this quilt series (yes, I do plan to read others) I have discovered that chick lit (at least as it is defined by this book) is MY life. I read to escape - so why would I choose to read a story about the life that I want to temporarily flee?  But the old adage - write what you know - is true.  This is my life - all the bumps, twists and turns, and there is story here that I need to tell.  Not that I need anyone else to read --- I just need to narrate.  I am hopeful that once I get this story in writing - I will be free to explore other creative writing adventures.

Personal:

The weather here in Kansas has seen a slight warm-up - so while many of you are writing about cooler autumn temperatures, we are experiencing a sunny weekend with temperature in the mid-80s.  I am now ready to say good-bye to these summer days and welcome more seasonal weather.  I did take advantage of the sunshine, however, and went to the park to take some photographs.  The leaves are still not at peak color in the Midwest - I am guessing maybe next weekend would be better - but I still enjoyed walking in the sunshine and watching families picnic at the water's edge and fly kites in the grassy plains.

In reading through the blogs this morning, I was inspired by two particular posts.  One post came from the Shutter Sisters where the day's photographic theme is:  What I need Now.  Their selected photograph is a simple mug of hot tea.  I haven't decided how I might capture "what I need now" in a photograph, but I think it is a thought-provoking assignment.  What would your photo be?

Another post that caused me to pause and ponder can be found at Sunday Scribblings where the week's topic is simply Harvest.

As a teacher I live my life in the planting season.  I desire fertile soil to plant the seeds of knowledge.  Some of the students come to my class with a thirst for learning:  their parents have prepared them well and they are ripe for planting.  Some students need a little more work:  perhaps a bit more encouragement, as they have already experienced one too many failures in their short academic career while others need more discipline as they have not yet discerned how to manage the priorities of life (delayed gratification has not yet entered their vocabulary).  A teacher's planting season is but 9 months, while the harvest season does not come for several years.  If we are lucky we might see the sprout of knowledge by May, but more often than not, the true harvest is not realized until after graduation - long after our diligence is passed.  

Sometimes this can be discouraging.  The harvest makes the hard work of planting and maintenance worthwhile.  When you miss out on the harvest, it is difficult to remember that the sacrificial work and intense frustrations of sowing are ever appreciated.  But sometimes, every once in a while, a former student will take the time to come back and say hi and give me a glimpse of the harvest.  When they return as successful college students or career-minded graduates, it is rewarding to know that the seeds have indeed sprouted, grown, flourished and will now be shared with the next generation.  It is nice to hear that the high expectations that I set in class have helped them to achieve their personal goals in life.  And somehow this small glimpse of the harvest motivates me to return to the classroom with a renewed spirit that will carry me until the next time.

TSS: 10.10.10

The media has reminded me all week about the uniqueness of today's date - and the fact that it falls on a weekend for new brides to secure as a magical wedding anniversary. I must admit, however, that when I wrote it this morning I was not thinking of the date's special qualities but rather of the radio jingle of my youth when living in New York:  10-10 Wins.  In either case - I hope that everyone experiences a beautiful fall Sunday.

Personal:

This has been a good week.  I define "good" as nothing out of the ordinary happened, lesson plans worked well, student issues were kept to a minimum, and nightly grading was manageable which allowed for some much-needed down time.  I am still crazy enough to consider participation in NaNoWriMo in November, so much of my evening activities have centered around preparation for that event.  I have researched online successful NaNoWriMo tips and I have tried to read a bit of plot development and character sketch exercises.  In addition, I mentioned the idea of organizing a student NaNoWriMo event at my school and I think I might have about six or seven students join me in this insanity.  As you can tell, I am a little singularly focused at the moment.

I did manage to begin my Christmas shopping yesterday.  This was not a planned event - but I guess I was in the right place at the right time:  the moment where ongoing sales match my mental mood.  Bath and Body Works is having a sale on their 3-wick candles and I thought I might purchase a couple of new fall fragrances for the home.  Well, in addition to the large candles, they are also having a sale on the smaller version of the  four new holiday fragrances:  $5.00/each.  I think that a small candle and a bookmark would be the perfect sentiment for each of the administrative staff at school.  I also think it might be a nice gift (perhaps paired with a Starbucks gift card) for each of my teacher's aids.  It feels good to have the first gifts purchased, and  I am almost ready to start playing Christmas Carols (just kidding --- sort of)

Teaching:

As I mentioned above, this was a good week in all classes, but two class periods were particularly rewarding.  I am thrilled to see that my 8th grade class is starting to release their inhibitions and starting to embrace their inner Shakespeare.  On Wednesday I had each student select any character - any speech (as long as it was a minimum of 6 lines) and rehearse those lines for 10 minutes.  The goal was to perform "over the top" in front of the class.  WOW --- they did great!!  I think hearing everyone else practice and strive to be "too much" gave them permission to let go and just have fun.  Hopefully they all realized that if everyone feels "silly" and is uncomfortable, it takes the pressure off.

In 9th Grade English I tried a new idea to help with literary discussions.  I have one class that has a very difficult time staying on task.  Some of the students can get off topic at the drop of a hat and bringing it around to the original question is a constant uphill battle.  I read about this idea in the book, Speaking Volumes by Barry Gilmore - and adapted it slightly for my own needs.  

I took 4 large sheets of butcher paper and put a different discussion topic at the top of the page.  I also included some suggestions for relevant discussions on that topic.  For example, we are studying Fahrenheit 451 and the 4 main topics included:  Happiness - Society - Foil Characters - and Writing Style.  Each student received a different color marker (I only have 12 in a class, so this was not difficult) and were told to use that color the entire class period (this was so that I can monitor who said what - which encouraged full participation and appropriate comments).  Students were divided into pairs (for the class of 8) and threes (for the class of 12) and given 10 minutes to "discuss" the topic.  They were not allowed to talk, and they had to support their answers with textual references.  After 10 minutes they moved to another sheet - given another 10 minutes to read the commentary already written, and begin their own discussion OR add to the previous conversation.  This continued until every student had the opportunity to write their thoughts on each topic.

Since we ran out of time, we will complete this activity on Friday.  I will put the sheets of paper on the wall and we will analyze the discussion:  the different conversations - questions raised that were not fully answered - and the legitimacy of this exercise.  I was thrilled with the results - and hopefully the students learned that they can actually stay on task and still have fun.  

Reading:

Well, as most of you know who are a part of the book blog universe --- yesterday was the fall read-athon.  I absolutely LOVE these focused weekends where hundreds gather privately to read, but share publicly in twitter conversations, reading challenges, and blog posts.  I did not officially join this go around, but I did participate in my own small way (you can see my posts here, here, and here -- if interested).

While this was an unusual read-athon for me, it was exactly what I needed.  And while I had hoped to make some progress with the RIP challenge, I did manage to make a book purchase in honor of that event.  Half Price Books is having its annual teacher/librarian appreciation sale and I simply could not pass up that kind of opportunity.  In browsing the clearance section I found a terrific anthology of American Gothic Tales which pairs quite well with the anthology of Victorian Ghost Stories I purchased in clearance a few years ago.  Perhaps my buying habits are trying to tell me something:  at this time in life I don't have to read a full-length novel in order to participate --- I can just read a couple of short stories to get into the thriller spirit of the season.

TSS: 9.19.10

Well, it has been another quiet week on the blog.  Life was not overwhelming this week, in fact, it was gloriously routine, but I think I am still drained from the events of the beginning of the month.  I did not come home and fall asleep on the couch, but I did come home and veg on the couch.  Perhaps this coming week I will have the energy to avoid the couch altogether and do something more productive - like escape with a good book or work on my own writing skills.

Blogging:
It seems that during this season of life my blog routine seems to concentrate on the weekends.  I try to read as many of your blog posts as possible on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and then I try to write my own post(s) in the afternoon.  The blog reading this weekend showed me that I am not the only one who is struggling with finding balance in life that includes blog writing, blog visiting, and blog commenting.

Nicole had a fabulous post that summarized my "bloggy" feelings perfectly.  I DO read a lot of blogs, but I simply do not have the time to comment on each and every post.  While I love the idea of continuing a blog conversation with my cyber friends, the reality is that I don't have time to respond to comments made on my own blog.  I LOVE them - I READ and CHERISH each and every one of them (except for those pesky Spam comments - which I will discuss in a moment), but my life would be totally out-of-whack if I commented on all of them.  I hope you understand - and I hope you take the time to read Nicole's post, which is so much more eloquent that what I have just blurted here.

Along these same lines Lynne posted this morning about Blogging without Obligation - which apparently was as popular a subject in 2007 as it is today.  I will ask you to visit Lynne's blog to read all that this button entails, but essentially, it gives us the freedom to make our blog what we need/want to make it.  And while I would love to post everyday, read 4 or 5 books in a week and immediately post well-written, thoughtful reviews, the truth of the  matter is that is not a possibility right now.  For someone who naturally accepts guilt for any situation, I need this visual reminder that it is ok if the blog is what it is - and that it is not what my unrealistic expectations tell me it should be.

Random Thought:
Does the lack of new posts signal the spammers to visit your blog with increased regularity?   I initiated the comment moderation function on the blog about six months ago when I seemed to be inundated with spam.  That seemed to do the trick and up until this week, I have only had to delete a couple of comments a week.  This week, however, I have had multiple comments A DAY from spam artists and I must say that it is rather annoying.  Is anyone else experiencing this phenomenon?

Teaching:
Well, classes have been in session for nearly a month and we are now in FULL SWING - and what I mean by full swing is that there are papers to grade, tests to grade, novels to read (re-read for me), and parental communication to delicately write.  I have three wonderful Teacher Aids this year who can help with the grading quite a bit - but the buck does end with me and that it is always time consuming.

I did have a fun experience with the iWrite class - the class where they are to write a 12 chapter novel in a year.  We are having a TON of fun - but not quite doing all the required work in the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum.  I have now decided that we will do the worksheets in class - helping one another flesh out characters and potential conflicts, rather than requiring it as homework.

I do like to try to give the students some time at the beginning of class to exercise their creativity and found this exercise on the internet that they absolutely LOVED.  One student - my star "artist" - went to the white board and drew a square that represented the four walls of a room.  The students were then told to design this room.  I did not tell them what kind of room it was - how big it was - where it was located.  Just - design a room.  OH MY WORD --- 30 minutes later they had created an elaborate study/den that included not only props but characters, and the design continued to the front yard with added landscape and mythical creatures.  They used the entire white board and complained that they did not have more space.  They asked if we could keep it up and continue the adventure the next class period.  It was one of those times when an idea for a lesson is actually better in person than it was on paper.  It was awesome!


Reading:

Well, I continue to fail miserably at reading challenges.  As much as I LOVE Carl's RIP challenge, I have just not been motivated to read any of the books on my list.  I blame this ongoing feeling on that of general malaise and remain optimistic that this is not a life-long condition, but rather, a brief interruption.  I hope to return to my old reading self shortly and still participate in this challenge, even if it is at a slower rate than I had hoped.

One event that I would LOVE to do is participate in the read-along of The Historian.  This book has been on my TBR bookshelf for several years and I even had it listed on my original RIP reading list.  While 100 pages a week would not normally prove to be much of a problem for me....for some reason this year it seems like an impossible goal.

I did however pick up a book that I had put on reserve at the library, A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves.  I know that I discovered this title on one of your blogs, but darn if I can remember who it was that recommended it.  If it was you....please know that I am forever in your debt!  This book is absolutely PERFECT for me and where I currently reside on my writing journey.

The book is divided into 12 chapters - one for each month of the year.  There are 12 Writing Principles that are highlighted for each month, as well as very practical advice to help hone the writing craft.

In addition, each chapter also offers a writing prompt for every day of the month.  I have always struggled with prompts because they are typically focused on the 'creative' side of writing and quite honestly, my brain draws a complete blank once the prompt is read.  These prompts, however, have the opposite effect for me.  As I was reading them my mind instantly imagined a scene or a memory or a possible life application and I WANTED to stop what I was reading and start writing immediately.  I also loved the fact that there was no right or wrong way to write about these prompts.  If I want to use the prompt to write a scene for a fictional story, I can do that.  If I want to write about a memory from childhood, I can do that.  If I want to imagine what life might be in five years and write about a personal dream, I can do that.

I feel as though I have finally found a book that will allow me to be the writer I desire to be.  I have finally reconciled the fact that writing (for me) is not wasted time, but rather vital to my journey of self-discovery.

This speaks to me....

Today has been a difficult day.  It started at 4:00AM when we got a call that my mom was found outside her apartment complex, dazed and confused.  She is now resting comfortably in the hospital where she can be  monitored, but I fear we are entering a new phase of life and one that I am not looking forward to.

A former student of mine sent me a link on facebook yesterday and it reminded me of this video I watched last summer.  It speaks to me - provides motivation for difficult days - and I hope that perhaps you might enjoy it as well.

TSS: A New School Year

I have been rather silent on the blog this week.  It's not that I planned this little hiatus, but there just wasn't enough time in the week to accomplish all on my to do list.  I anticipate this same predicament over the next two weeks as I settle into a routine of teaching, grading, writing lesson plans, and updating websites for 9 different classes.  It is very easy for me to develop tunnel vision - and to think that 'I will never have to time to do anything fun again' --- but I am trying to maintain perspective.  I know that once I settle into a schedule, that I will find pockets of time to do the things that I want to do, like reading, scrapbooking, and blogging.

This week was spent giving review sessions and administering tests for the grammar pre-requisite mandated for all new students.  On Tuesday I had 18 students take the test, of which about one-third passed.  On Wednesday we had teacher meetings that lasted from 8:30 to 3:30.  While I love the in-service topics and the opportunity to become reacquainted with colleagues, it does make for a mentally exhausting day.  On Thursday I spent from 9:00 - 3:00 setting up my classroom (YES -- I actually have a classroom with a window this year, rather than the chapel which was nicknamed "the cave" by students due to do its dark, cavernous environment).  I returned to school Thursday night for the Open House which lasted until about 9:30.  Many families came - which is always a positive sign - but again, it was a physically and mentally draining evening.  Friday was spent making necessary copies for the first day of school and finalizing lesson plans for the first week.  I also decided that I would do the bi-monthly Walmart and Sam's Club shopping before life became too chaotic.  Now I can at least rest in the fact that we do have food and toilet paper in the house.

Many of you were quite encouraging about the school's declining enrollment situation.  In July I shared that numbers were low and it appeared that despite the fact that I added two classes to my schedule, I was actually going to experience a dramatic cut in pay.  I am very pleased to report that while the final numbers are not yet tallied, it does appear that my class sizes will generate a salary very close to what I earned last year.  This is truly an answer to prayer.

My personal goal this academic year is to "work smarter, not harder"  As I shared before, I am prone to tunnel vision, which manifests itself into workaholic tendencies.  While there is a certain amount of preparation  that I MUST complete in order to be an effective teacher, I also know that I have gone overboard on more than one occasion, at the sacrifice of my personal life.  I have investigated the concept of Holistic Grading this summer, and I think this will aid me in this pursuit.  This is  the one area of teaching English that I truly loathe - giving a quantitative grade to written assignments.  I enjoy reading the students' work, just not grading it.  Hopefully this will help me reduce the stress of this aspect of my job.

Another way that I hope to accomplish the goal of "working smarter" is that I have enlisted the help of two stellar students to act as my teaching aids during 2nd and 6th hours.  While delegation is a personal weakness, I have decided that I must hone this skill if I truly desire to have more free time.  It may take me a while to learn to let go of some of the control - and to learn to manage others' time - but I am committed to making this work.

So this is a summary of how I plan to spend the remaining days of August.  I will probably not have as much free time as I would like to update my blog - or to visit your sites - but please bear with me.  I am committed to developing a schedule that allows me to be efficient, responsible, and happy --- and that definitely includes participation in the book blogging world.

TSS: Happy Mother's Day

It is actually Saturday morning as I write the Sunday Salon post because tomorrow I will be attempting to fix a Mexican dinner for a Mother's Day gathering.  My brother and his wife are visiting from out of town, and I think it will be easier and less stressful if we just plan to eat at home rather than brave the crowds at a restaurant.  My mom's favorite meal is cheese enchiladas, so we will be celebrating her special day as a Nueve de Mayo event this year.

I am hoping to go to the Nelson Atkins Museum with my brother and sister-in-law later today; he is the true artist in the family and both of them are quite knowledgeable about the subject.  I, on the other hand, know precious little except for the recent research into Impressionism, so I am hoping that this will be an educational as well enjoyable outing.

This week marked the last week of school, with next week culminating the academic year with final exams.  This was a very hectic and emotional week for me, hence the lack of posts on the blog.  For those who are interested....here are the two highlights of the week.

Each year I do a rather cheesy, but heartfelt presentation in my British Literature class.  Most of them are seniors and will be leaving the school for good, so I offer a "graduation" ceremony of sorts.  At the beginning of the year students in the class write a Knightly Tale to correspond with our reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  Students learn that there are 10 primary characteristics of a knight, and a true knight must possess 8 out of those 10 traits.  In the course of the assignments students learn that knights come in all shapes and sizes, and in reality, all of us have knightly potential within us.

The ceremony is structured around this lesson.  I create certificates that list the 8 traits --- one of which includes "a knight must have a peerless weapon" - and I give each student a metallic silver #2 pencil with the words "peerless weapon" imprinted on the side.  I tell them this is to help them achieve all future academic goals.  I think try to bestow one "admirable trait" for each student -- that is, one characteristic that I feel is unique to them and what makes them special.  In the background I have a variety of songs playing that incorporate the theme of "moving on" in life:

• My Wish by Rascal Flatts
• I Hope You Dance by LeeAnn Womack
• Good Riddance by Green Day
• Fix You by Coldplay (my all time favorite song)
• 100 Years by Five for Fighting
• Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel
• Defying Gravity from the original cast of Wicked
• Graduation Song by Vitamin C

At the end of the ceremony I read aloud Dr. Seuss's, Oh, The Places You'll Go, and then send them on their way.  I think it was a success this year.  I heard a student say to a friend that she could hardly wait to leave high school and up until this point she never gave it a second thought; but now, she is a little sad to say good-bye.  I do not mean to make the students sad, but I do want them to realize that they will be missed.

Puck and  Oberon

This ceremony took place on Wednesday afternoon, and if that wasn't enough of an emotional roller coaster for one week, my 8th grade class gave their final production of A Midsummer Night's Dream on Thursday night.  They have been working on this play the entire year and they did an absolutely AMAZING job!  From the vast amount of memorization, to the creative costumes, to the imaginative sets, and to the over-the-top acting the performance far exceeded my wildest expectations (and I am known as a teacher with high expectations).

Fairy and Titania

The parents seemed to enjoy the production, the principal had some very kind words to say, and I think this will be the start of an annual tradition.  In fact, I have already had a group of 7th grade students ask if they were going to have the opportunity to perform the play next year.  This was sweet music to an "old" English teacher's ears.

The truly wonderful benefit of the plan was not the lavish production, but the fact that these 8th grade students have NO FEAR of Shakespeare.  They LOVE the Bard.  Some even want to read more of his plays over the summer.  I have goosebumps just thinking about that possibility.  So for those of you who teach --- let me just say that the only way to teach Shakespeare is to require the students to get out of their seats, get outside of themselves, and to act it out.  What a marvelous opportunity!

Demetrius, Hermia, Lysander, and Helena

Well, I am sure that this is far more information than you cared to read about my past week.  But I felt that I needed to offer an excuse for my lack of posts.  Next week will require some grading, and then I will have 12 weeks off to devote to all things literary.

The Mechanicals:   Quince, Bottom and Flute

Happy Mother's Day!