in the weeds

It's awfully early in the school year for me to be this far behind, but I am. And here is an explanation; not an excuse, just an explanation. It's 4 in the morning, the air conditioner has broken for the third time this month, the stacks of papers strewn about my dining room mock me daily, and I am in the weeds.

"In the weeds" is an idiomatic expression that means overwhelmed, overdone, stretched to the max. We all hit it at one point or another. I've just never hit it in September before.

I do have a plan, and will be caught up with the grades and recommendation letters by Monday, September 13. But for the record, here is why I am in this sorry state right now, and why you (or your child) is getting a great education in room 313 each day (I think!) but not a heck of a lot of feedback just yet.

1. I missed pre-planning due to tonsillitis, and never quite recovered.

2. Found out I was allergic to penicillin, and never quite recovered.

3. That turned into the cold I currently have.

4. I am still way over class limits right now, and 99% of my students have turned in their work.

5. Due to budget restrictions, teachers are expected to do more and more with less and less.

Yes, this is self-pitying, and ranty, and I need to build a bridge to get over myself. But I just wanted to clarify that while I may be behind in grading, I am totally on top of my lessons, have written 17 college recommendations, graded 84 essays, tutored over a dozen kids, and offered community service hours. Hopefully, in the grand scheme of the universe, this balances out a little bit.

In the meantime, I have become a human weedwhacker and am struggling to get out of the weeds. Have a lovely day, everyone. I'm working on it!

Progress Reports Third Quarter

Progress Reports should go out Friday during fourth period. That means that we teacher-types have to submit your interim averages by 7:00 a.m. Friday morning. That also means that you student-types need to make sure that you have all of your make-up work completed in a timely manner so the grade can be reflected on your progress report.

To date, I still have one student needing to take the Frankenstein test and two students needing to take the Julius Caesar. And there are other holes in the gradebook, too. Please check ProgressBook and see if your average seems low; I'll be glad to give you a printout of what might be missing. And I plan to stay after pretty much every day this week for make-up work opportunities.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Happy Monday!

Gifted English II: Icarus Unit continues, after a comprehensive review of the 120 literary terms. We will have a multiple choice mastery test on Thursday. You need your Icarus packet and the yellow textbook, which should still be under each desk for your use. Last week we had Classic Rock Day, and now we are going to analyze the Auden poem as well as the Plath piece on the front of the packet. So much winged flight, so little time. . .Please note that graded work is in the box to be picked up; I will stop class early to distribute. If you need to make up an assignment please see me early in the week to ameliorate the woe.

AP Lit and Comp: TP-CASTT Analysis of "Preludes;" 5th period had made some serious headway in analysis on Friday and now we are going to tackle this difficult piece together as happy learning communities. The MacPaper is due on Friday, October 23 by 3 p.m.; we started drafting it last week in class and several of you have already approached me with terrific ideas for analysis. While we are Macpapering, we are going to start our introductory lecture materials on Hamlet; I want to to remind you that Hamlet is available in the lit anthology, but if you want the No Fear version (which some of you really appreciated re: Macplay) you need to go get it, like, totally, like, now. I have a few paperback versions of Hamlet available on a first-come, first-served basis. Hamlet is far more dense and difficult to understand than its Scottish counterpart, but it is worth it and will really shift your thinking about the human condition. (In fact, if you only read two things this year to prepare for the AP exam, I'd suggest Hamlet and Heart of Darkness, but I'm not saying that the other texts are valueless--ask Morgan H. from last year's AP class, who maintains that any AP question can be answered with The Awakening.) Literature can be life-altering, people, so keep reading.

Love to all; enjoy the rest of the weekend! Fall has finally arrived, albeit for a brief visit.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Project X-Mas students:  We need to deliver more jars to new classrooms and offices this morning, so please try to be in my classroom a little before nine a.m. so we can accomplish this important work.

Also--today is the second Senior Blood Drive.  I think it is vitally important to donate blood, but please try to schedule your appointment to not conflict with your AP classes.  

Gifted English II:  After Author of the Day, we are going to finish "The Lowest Animal" by Mark Twain in the textbook, after which we are going to answer some questions related to the satire inherent to the essay and address A) characterization issues in Candide, and specific things to look for, B) introduction of themes in a satirical film that we are going to be evaluating (read:  written analysis!) and C) returning a pile of graded work, including the CMC essays that a handful of you may wish to re-submit.  I am almost completely out from under the pile of paperwork that landed on me when my family needed the majority of my attention, and I need to schedule some make-up work with some of you.

APees:  We are going to go over the four passages from last week's multiple choice test, and look at specific strategies for addressing some of these questions.  Afterwards, I'll return the Hamlet Act II and Act III quizzes and begin discussing elements of Act IV.  If you were absent on Friday you need to pick up the next focus paper assignment ASAP.