Monday, Sept. 06, 2004
School year starts tomorrow., posted at 8:02 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com I begin my 4th year of teaching high school English in this city tomorrow.New things:
1. A new principal. The old one wasn't well-liked, but I didn't mind him. Let me do my thing, rarely if ever talked with him other than "hi" in the hallway, and that was pretty rare in itself. I've only ever really known one principal, so this will be an adjustment.
2. Two new preps, although one isn't really all that new. My first semester of teaching, I taught 9th and 10th grade English. Since then - five semesters in a row, or two and a half years - I've taught only 9th graders. Sure, I taught a 9th grade skills course one year, but pretty much it's been the same. I love the 9th grade curriculum (I wrote it) and enjoy 9th graders, but I was ready for a new challenge. They've given me two. I'm now teaching Honors 9th graders (instead of "regular") and "Regular" (we call them "College Prep") 11th graders.
3. Lots of new texts to teach - The Bride Price, Lord of the Flies, MacBeth, The Fifth Child, Frankenstein, Othello, Fagle's Odyssey Translation. I'll be busy.
4. 166 students, all at once. Last year, I felt overworked with 140 students at once, and only one prep. Now I have two preps and 26 more students. That's budget cuts for you, I guess. When I started teaching here, I taught 75 kids at once, but courses were on a semester basis then and now they're on a yearlong A/B schedule, which I hate.
5. First time not starting out the year with Of Mice and Men, which always provided a nice, easy entry into the school year. I'm sort of regretting my big campaign to remove it from the 9th grade curriculum and put it into 10th...
I'm very excited about tomorrow. I hope I'm able to sleep. Being in front of the classroom is where I need to be.