Sugarland - Life in a northern town

Good song; I knew it as sung by "The Dream Academy" on one of my many "Pure Moods" CD's...go ahead, make fun. But I dig the Sugarland version:)

I'm Not Ready

to go back to school. I was talking to my husband tonight, and I'm convinced I'm a huge glutton for punishment, a masochist, if you will. I'm a fairly shy person and don't like to talk in front of people much...so, why did I choose to teach? I ask myself that all of the time. It's 10:05 p.m., and I'll have to stand in front of my class in just under 10 hours after being gone for a week. I could puke right now if I thought about it too hard. Every time I get up in front of that class it's like jumping in cold, cold water...not the one toe at a time business...just jumping in. It gets a little easier, but I'll never be totally okay with it. Whew, I feel a little better. Goodnight.

P.S. I'll try to post more over the next few weeks, and I've not kept up with my fav bloggers of late...Ano, BG, Jar, and all the others I follow. I hope you all had a magnificent Thanksgiving! What can I say, I'm a blog slacker.

A Little Less Serious...

My last post depressed me, so I'd like to talk about something fun-ny. I love E's "The Soup". Joel McHale, the host, is a pretty hilarious guy. The show's premise is to make fun of all of the completely lame, brain-damaging sludge on television...funny smart; I like it.

For Those That Pray...

I won't get preachy, and I'll try to stay off the soap box, HOWEVER, this town, county, state, country, and world needs to start and/or keep praying hard for our youth. As a teacher, and a fairly new one at that, I admit that I get "beat" down...seriously...by the teenage drama, attitudes and, at times, downright disrespect coming from some of them. But, then I talk to them, hear their stories, and although not a foolproof excuse to "act a fool" as some say, many of these kids have it rough. Why does the young man who can only think of getting out of school to work care one stinkin' iota about the literature that I try to get him excited about? He may enjoy a story or two, but he couldn't care less about literary elements or connections through centuries and genres; Edgar Allan Poe-lease...ya know? Then there are those who have experiences beyond their years; I worry about these kids. I pray for these kids, and I hope our nation wakes up...soon!!! Why do all of them need to be college bound?...what if they WANT to just work? They know there are options out there for them, but some do not want to go to college, and some will do just fine without it. But every student will not graduate with a perfect GPA, go off to college, begin a great career, and lovingly thank their past educators for inspiring and motivating them, and THAT'S GOTTA BE OK!!! My job as a teacher is to know and teach my content area and try to instill a bit of learning passion and reinforce life skills along the way. But what would be wrong with adopting an educational system of choice? When a student reaches 16, they choose...college or technical/workforce. My mind has been bogged down with worries and frustrations regarding the seemingly lacking system. I hate to tell ya, W., but sooo many kids are getting left behind due to being pulled kicking and screaming from one grade to the next. All I can say...again...for those that pray...do so tonight, today, right now; something's gotta give.

So, I may have avoided the preaching, but the soap box lost some paint on that one.

Hilary Duff - Reach Out - Official Music Video (HQ)

Lizzie McGuire has, to put it mildly, grown up.

Makes It All Worth It!

We just finished "The Crucible" on Wednesday, and for their final test, the students had to formulate three questions of varying levels of difficulty and ask them of one another while sitting in a circle of 10-12 students. They were to carry on conversations about the text, and they did a phenomenal job for their first time. What got me, though, was reading the comment of one student regarding what he'd learned from the activity. He said he learned that his fellow students could care about an assignment and was surprised by how well their conversations went. A positive, pro-learning comment. I tried not to make too big a deal of it, but I did write a big "YAY" on his paper...a big drop in my unceasingly draining bucket...Thanks, DW.