Procrastination Makes for Good Blogging
1 Comments Published by Michael on Sunday, August 20, 2006 at 3:54 PM.
At the bidding of Jamie, who being a newlywed and still finding time to blog, which of course shames me all the more for my lack of doing so, I decided I should give an update things. I have begun several different entries over the last couple of weeks, but I could not bring myself to finish them. Right now I am sitting on the couch, watching Tiger win his twelfth major, watching Julie nap, and attempting to research the Paleolithic Era for my freshman english history class in the morning. Nothing makes for motivation to blog better than studying history, and so here I am.
As you might have guessed, judging by my choice of Sunday afternoon activities, school has begun, and for those of you whom I have not spoken with this summer, I am no longer at Christway Academy, and God has faithfully delivered me from the clutches of the evil 6th graders. My life-blood has been restored, and I am teaching English and History to a smattering of 8th-12th graders at St. Alban's Episcopal School in Arlington.
It has already been much more challenging than last year. For the first time in my life I am teaching a block schedule, which means that I have to fill 1 1/2 hours per class, as opposed to the lessons that I planned last year for just under an hour. Even stranger is that they STA has entrusted me to design my English curriculums entirely. The freshman and I will be studying ancient literature this semester, beginning with Hesiod, touching on Homer, and ending with Plato and Augustine. They seem less than excited about the prospect, but hopefully they will learn to enjoy it. With the seniors things should be a little easier; they will be reading Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and possibly Bradbury before Christmas, and then they will get the privelege of reading Dostoevsky and Tolstoy in the Spring. It is daunting writing curriculum for the first time, but it will hopefully become more and more comfortable.
I almost forgot; none of you will ever believe where I teach my classes. My classroom is literally a basketball court! Last year the school took over a group of buildings built by some megachurch in the 1990's, and I am in a part of what was once a state-of-the-art youth room. It sounds like a dream come true, but if you think it is hard to control a group of kids in a regular classroom, try doing so in a gym. It is far from an ideal teaching environment, but I am working on using the space to my advantage. Pretty funny, though.
I better get back to work, but I wanted to let you know that I am still alive and doing fine. Talk to you soon,
michael
As you might have guessed, judging by my choice of Sunday afternoon activities, school has begun, and for those of you whom I have not spoken with this summer, I am no longer at Christway Academy, and God has faithfully delivered me from the clutches of the evil 6th graders. My life-blood has been restored, and I am teaching English and History to a smattering of 8th-12th graders at St. Alban's Episcopal School in Arlington.
It has already been much more challenging than last year. For the first time in my life I am teaching a block schedule, which means that I have to fill 1 1/2 hours per class, as opposed to the lessons that I planned last year for just under an hour. Even stranger is that they STA has entrusted me to design my English curriculums entirely. The freshman and I will be studying ancient literature this semester, beginning with Hesiod, touching on Homer, and ending with Plato and Augustine. They seem less than excited about the prospect, but hopefully they will learn to enjoy it. With the seniors things should be a little easier; they will be reading Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and possibly Bradbury before Christmas, and then they will get the privelege of reading Dostoevsky and Tolstoy in the Spring. It is daunting writing curriculum for the first time, but it will hopefully become more and more comfortable.
I almost forgot; none of you will ever believe where I teach my classes. My classroom is literally a basketball court! Last year the school took over a group of buildings built by some megachurch in the 1990's, and I am in a part of what was once a state-of-the-art youth room. It sounds like a dream come true, but if you think it is hard to control a group of kids in a regular classroom, try doing so in a gym. It is far from an ideal teaching environment, but I am working on using the space to my advantage. Pretty funny, though.
I better get back to work, but I wanted to let you know that I am still alive and doing fine. Talk to you soon,
michael
Hmm. Just a TAD different than your situation at Christway, I'd say. :) Hope you find time to Blog now that teaching is more demanding of your schedule. I know you will do great. Keep us updated.