year of the brat.
first of all, happy chinese new year to all!
so lets see.
i'm supposed to update about motherhood and teaching and all that. but i sit down to do it and get overwhelmed. because its so much. and its been so long. and i have no time because i'm a student, a teacher, and a mommy.
so teaching. yes.
i teach 3 11th grade AP us history classes at crockett high school.
let me just say that crockett high school where i teach is not like anderson high school where i graduated.
for example,
in an AP/IB classroom at anderson we had a teacher who would play music for us while we worked on assignments. one day he put on a loud, festive beatles song and left the room while we worked.
now one might assume the a group of teenagers would be happy for such a cool teacher. not us. we were AP/IB kids at anderson high school. as soon as the teacher left someone got up and turned down the music so that we could more effectively work. somebody said, "thank you!"
(ok i admit this story might actually be suzy's. i might just be mentally transporting myself there. i'm not really sure. regardless, the story is true).
in my AP classroom at crockett i have two students who recently had a baby together. i give quizzes over each chapter that have only 10 questions and are true/false. twice i even put the exact questions on the board two days before the quiz so students could look out for the answers while reading. 80% of my students make 50s. wtf.
anyway i've been trying to be a good teacher. one that slyly makes them learn. i usually assign them the chapter and a reading guide i make for them so they can built a basic foundation of names/facts/dates/places. then in class we do fun activities.
for example,
we were learning about industrialization and the subsequent living and working conditions. so i made up roles for each student, with half of them unionized workers, and the other half company men. then we held negotiations about working conditions and whatnot. the kids chose the issues, acted it out, negotiated, fought, went on strike, fired all the workers, and figured out why socialism was so appealing. it was a freakin blast.
and teachers?
teachers are dirty gossippers. you know how teachers entertain and comfort themselves in their off-time? by talking about you and what a slutty suck-up and/or dimwit you are.
anyway. i have this whole rant about educational inequity, useless and sometimes demoralizing administration, and disrespectful students who have no sense of accountability or personal standards.
but those will really have to wait.
and motherhood? i wouldn't know. i miss it all because i work all day and then go to school at night. but sometimes when i get home jason has cute videos of all the new developments i missed. its sad, but temporary. and at least she doesn't have to go to daycare.
so here are some camera phone pictures to tide you over:
ps hang out with me. im getting better at figuring out how/when to do that.
-e.
so lets see.
i'm supposed to update about motherhood and teaching and all that. but i sit down to do it and get overwhelmed. because its so much. and its been so long. and i have no time because i'm a student, a teacher, and a mommy.
so teaching. yes.
i teach 3 11th grade AP us history classes at crockett high school.
let me just say that crockett high school where i teach is not like anderson high school where i graduated.
for example,
in an AP/IB classroom at anderson we had a teacher who would play music for us while we worked on assignments. one day he put on a loud, festive beatles song and left the room while we worked.
now one might assume the a group of teenagers would be happy for such a cool teacher. not us. we were AP/IB kids at anderson high school. as soon as the teacher left someone got up and turned down the music so that we could more effectively work. somebody said, "thank you!"
(ok i admit this story might actually be suzy's. i might just be mentally transporting myself there. i'm not really sure. regardless, the story is true).
in my AP classroom at crockett i have two students who recently had a baby together. i give quizzes over each chapter that have only 10 questions and are true/false. twice i even put the exact questions on the board two days before the quiz so students could look out for the answers while reading. 80% of my students make 50s. wtf.
anyway i've been trying to be a good teacher. one that slyly makes them learn. i usually assign them the chapter and a reading guide i make for them so they can built a basic foundation of names/facts/dates/places. then in class we do fun activities.
for example,
we were learning about industrialization and the subsequent living and working conditions. so i made up roles for each student, with half of them unionized workers, and the other half company men. then we held negotiations about working conditions and whatnot. the kids chose the issues, acted it out, negotiated, fought, went on strike, fired all the workers, and figured out why socialism was so appealing. it was a freakin blast.
and teachers?
teachers are dirty gossippers. you know how teachers entertain and comfort themselves in their off-time? by talking about you and what a slutty suck-up and/or dimwit you are.
anyway. i have this whole rant about educational inequity, useless and sometimes demoralizing administration, and disrespectful students who have no sense of accountability or personal standards.
but those will really have to wait.
and motherhood? i wouldn't know. i miss it all because i work all day and then go to school at night. but sometimes when i get home jason has cute videos of all the new developments i missed. its sad, but temporary. and at least she doesn't have to go to daycare.
so here are some camera phone pictures to tide you over:
ps hang out with me. im getting better at figuring out how/when to do that.
-e.