Today was my second day of school, although I dont actually teach students until tomorrow. Monday was a day of meetings and setting up, and today was freshmen only. Luckily, for the time being I am back to teaching all seniors, and no freshmen (as I did last year). This is a break for me, since now I only have four classes to prepare for instead of five. I am teaching general English, college prep English, honors English, and public speaking. For me, the funny thing about teaching is this: I LOVE being in the classroom, reading stories, talking about writing, and having discussions with students--basically, all the things I am supposed to do in my profession. What I abhor is all the politics involved in education--special ed, consolidation conversations, data, state assessments, etc. I truly believe if the average citizen had an idea of what Bush's "No Child Left Behind" truly entailed, they might think this program even more ridiculous than the war he's started in Iraq. Unfortunately, it seems like politics always takes the forefront, and we tend to forget about cultivating minds and forming relationships. Oh well . . .enough venting.
My classroom is ready to go for tomorrow. Some of the books I'll teach this year are THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, A SEPARATE PEACE, HAMLET, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (a great Agatha Christie mystery), IN THE HEART OF THE SEA (a true shipwreck story--excellent), THE LONGEST WINTER (a new text for me this year--a book about a platoon during the Battle of the Bulge, and consequently one of the best all around books I have read in years!), and PRIVATE PARTS by Howard Stern. I love his usage of the semicolon in his ornate passages. I'll also throw in some poetry, a term research paper, and the college essay unit that is always fun. I truly love teaching English--I just wish I got to do it more, without having to deal with a bunch of other crap (sorry . . venting again)
I love getting back into a routine . . .. the toughest thing about being a teacher, I think, is that you constantly have to change routines, and I am a creature of habit. Tonight Amanda and I went for a nice walk, discussing the zoo from NJ coming this weekend. Also, we cannot wait to go back to Camden for some more fun
More to come soon . . .
2 comments:
My favorite part about being a teacher was the two weeks in december, week in Feb, week in april, and three months off.
My favorite part about teaching is our new Macs that Al really seems to love.
Oh and Mrs. Rodenbush's sweet ass.
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