Thursday, February 25, 2010

Be nice to my sub! I have a family ceremony to attend. I might be back, so be good. . .you never know when I will emo into the room expecting greatness.

Word of the Day: filial

Holiday of the Day: National Chili Day!

Gifted English II: Othello; finish the Act II questions. You may then watch Act I and part of Act II on the video, with careful fast-forwarding. I am leaving specific instructions for the sub. (Second period: you have a quiz, remember?)

AP Literature and Composition: Written response to a DBQ; this one is about Charlotte Bronte. AWESOMENESS PERSONIFIED. I love this prompt; love, love, love.

Epic Fail/Update

Dear Students,

Let's do the negative part first, then move on to Optimism Now!

If a substitute ever does something that you KNOW isn't part of the lesson plan, you have my permission to get up, walk next door to Mrs. Nicoll's room or across the hall to Mrs. Alami's room, and tattle. The substitute instructor I had yesterday violated about four rules when she decided to not follow my lesson plan, acquire a DVD player from the Media Center (!) and show Taming of the Shrew all day long--which is NOT part of my scope and sequence. When she wasn't discussing fashion magazines with you.

Now, I know beggars can't be choosers, and I certainly didn't plan to get an epic level of stomach flu that has made me wish fervently for a vacation from myself, but c'mon. I was fifteen kinds of furious today. Then, the sweet little sub who showed up today kept assuring me, "You will be SAT-is-FIIIIIIIED," so I hope that worked out, fire drills notwithstanding.

And please forgive the bitter tone and tenor of this post. I feel icky.

Now, on to GOOD THINGS FOR YOU!!!

1. Bright Futures will be handled Monday or Wednesday in the AP classes; you won't have to do much but show up and get the information. You will be able to handle your financial aid online and monitor your own account, so above all else do NOT lose this vital data. Hang on to your username and password in about six different places, as it is very difficult to get DOE to redo either.

2. Hamlet test is officially on Tuesday.

3. Progress reports go home tomorrow, but they are inaccurate and unnaturally skewing higher than actual averages in some cases. Which gives you two options: revel in the joy and avoid being grounded, or ask me for a printout of Where You Really Are.

4. Poetry reading is tomorrow after school in 313 with Covert/Hilley co-hosting. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Project X-Mas has taken a hit from my recent illness, and we need to redouble our efforts if we want to reward the custodial staff. I will meet with Mary Claire and Katie tomorrow to re-establish our efforts; we need to collect from every classroom, club, and organization on this campus to make this work. Any and all ideas are welcome.

Sophys: Edusoft Benchmark Testing is Monday/Tuesday; for those of you in academic trouble, this presents two golden opportunities for ten points extra in the gradebook. And then we are moving on to finish our Satire/Media Literacy/Snark Unit, preparatory to Shakespeare, which I swear will change your life.

Thanks and happy Thursday; TGIF tomorrow! Much love to all of the peeps.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Today is the FCAT Writes! First period will be as normally scheduled, after which everyone will report to their testing location. Seniors: You will NOT have third period today, but will stay in second period until the test is concluded. Sophys: Good luck on your test.

In light of recent events that have made me seriously question the logic of being a public school teacher, please allow me to reiterate some basic principles for functioning in 313:

1. Listen when I am speaking to you.
2. Turn off AND put away all electronic devices in class.
3. Do your work to the best of your ability and with integrity.

That last element is the most important; as the school year winds toward the conclusion, even the most diligent among you are losing focus. Friday's events will NOT be repeated or I swear I will run screaming into the hills and leave you to fend for yourselves. I am a firm believer in second (and even third) chances, but I am growing weary of chaos management, which second period in particular seems to relish.

Please think before you act. Every action has consequences. I take full responsibility for crafting an environment of informality; I was trying to create a safe place in which you could express yourselves. it is becoming increasingly clear to me that self-expression is not a problem for some of you, but self-restraint is. It would be unethical and irresponsible of me to allow this to continue, so expect regular reinforcement of expectation henceforth.

That said, here are the lessons:

1st Period Gifted English II: Othello Act II review and final tips for FCAT Writes!

AP Lit and Comp: John Keats, "When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be" and "Urn."

Here is the first poem, a sonnet of significant dolor:

WHEN I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain,
Before high piled books, in charact’ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen’d grain;
When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face,	5
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!
That I shall never look upon thee more,	10
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love!—then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.

What is Keats most sorry to abandon? What seems to be his central fear? How does our knowledge of his plight add to our reading of this poem? What kind of sonnet is this?