2002-09-25
Mock trial tomorrow, posted at 7:31 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Wow, two entries in one day. This is my first breather of the day, and I guess I feel like writing.The pace of the school year certainly picked up significantly this week. It was very sudden, and right now I feel fairly swamped. I'm keeping up with the work, but barely. I was at school about 14 hours last night, and about 11 today. My classroom is a busy time this week, and that has coincided itself with an abnormally busy week full of responsibilities outside of my classroom.
Tomorrow, I do the Of Mice and Men mock trial. This will be the fourth time I attempt the trial in my short teaching career, and I think I get better and better at it every time. It seems like quite a few of my students did one in middle school, so a few of them have been telling me things their old teacher did that I'm not doing. Oh well. Maybe next time. I think it'll be good, nonetheless. The planning day, which was today, is one of those days where I feel like one of those circus performers that spins plates on poles, and has to keep them all balanced and spinning or one of them crashes and the whole process comes to an end. No plates crashed today, but it definitely makes for an exhausting day.
Also today, the students had to prepare for our first Socratic discussion of the academic year. Last semester was my first with Socratic discussions, and I really enjoyed it. I basically give two points for a comment with textual evidence, one point for additional comments (as long as they respond to what another person said), and take away points for interruptions. I got to the point last year where I could totally step back and let them just go.
This was my first time attempting it with this group. I collected the planning sheets at the start of class during the drill, and was disappointed that not everyone turned it in, and only about half of all the kids completed the necessary work. I quickly graded them on completion and following directions, passed them back, and said, "Those of you who prepared for the discussion may participate. Those of you who did not will sit quietly until the prepared students finish with their discussion." Boy, were they squirming during the discussion. At the end, I said something to the effect of, "Thank you very much to the participants. Hopefully the rest of you will remember what it's like to want to say something and not be able to, and decide to come prepared next time to class."
I'm not generally that mean, but I thought the situation called for it. The kids were getting a little lazy, even if I had given a lot of homework this week. They've got a three-day weekend this weekend and I don't (long and boring teacher inservice on Friday), so I'm bitter and need to give them work to make up for it. Just kidding. It was important stuff.
I love these Socratic Discussions, though, and even the 15-minute taste of it I gave my classes today reminded me that I want to continue to develop ideas for it and really integrate into at least a three-times-a-week type of activity. I told them today that, "Don't look at me when you speak. You should be focusing on what your peers have to say and think. After all, we're just a bunch of friends talking about a book." And every time a kid did look at me when they were speaking, I would look down, or start staring at the ceiling. It got to be pretty humorous.
So, yeah, the mock trial of George for the murder of Lennie is tomorrow, and that's also the day the state comes in for their Instruction Audit. It's something that is targeted in urban schools, which sucks because isn't there enough red tape we have to deal with in this bureocratic system? I'm quite sure non-urban teachers feel this way, too, I guess. I'm not too worried, though. I'm well-planned. I'm just a little concerned that they won't think that my mock trial features enough cognitive warmups or whatever educational jargon crap terms are in vogue right now.
Tomorrow is also a meeting with my supervisor and my last year's supervisor, to review that I have started my portfolio. On one hand, I'm okay with it. I'm used to the portfolio evaluation system now, as crappy as it is. But I also worry that last year it was made easier on me because I was a first year teacher, and they'll expect more out of it this year. Remember, this portfolio does not evaluate my teaching, but rather my record keeping skills. Thus, it sucks as an evaluation tool as far as I am concerned. Hopefully the meeting will go well. I spent many of my free moments today getting it ready for my 10:15 meeting. It also sucks that tomorrow I will have to give up my planning period to have a meeting, as I'm sure I'll be fairly exhausted in between mock murder trials.
In addition, I've been trying to get ready for Outward Bound, by way of thinking about sub plans for three days. The thing about being a teacher is that it's almost more work to be absent than to actually be there. Sub plans suck. Especially for freshmen who need stuff to keep their hands busy so they don't act up.
**
One good thing about today: as far as I'm concerned, today is the first day of the TV season. Rae Ann said in my guestbook the other day that for a lit geek, I sure watch a lot of TV. It probably seemed like it based upon my strong Emmy convictions, but I don't think I do watch that much. I watch maybe 10 hours a week, which I don't think is excessive, but I guess I could be wrong. But I definitely do get passionate about my shows, because the best TV shows are like good literature - they use the episodic nature of a television show to create realistic characters that you care about and feel like you know. This is certainly not the majority of shows on television, and I'm certainly not into dumb sitcoms or much into reality shows. But good dramas - and the good sitcoms, which are rarer - can be just as satisfying as a good read or a fine film.
And, tonight, the TV season starts for me. The humorous, bittersweet Ed returns. It will make me think of Jeremy, who got me into the show, and with whom I discussed where in the world we can find women just like Carol Vessey, except without the old man obsession. I hear Daryl "Chill" Mitchell joins the cast tonight, and I remember him from The John Laroquette Show, which I enjoyed and had a great cast. I hear he had a motorcycle accident and was paralyzed. That will be odd.
Then, The West Wing will return. It certainly had its moments last season (like the line, "In case you're wondering later, the moment when I decided to kick your ass was 'Boy, crime. Boy.'"), but that season didn't hold a candle to its first two. The season was negative in tone, and bereft of the optimism and idealism that flowed through the show's first two seasons. The campaign is now beginning, so I'm not sure if there will be a return to idealism, but I'm still hopeful there will be a return to high quality.
The television season helps to ground me. Oddly enough, it's one of the things that helped get me healthy after years of unhealthy behavior while in college. I get into TV shows and watch them, and am tired by the time they are over, and go to bed at a reasonable hour. I get up and work out, have my day, and repeat. A pattern is good for me. TV helps. It gets me away from this damn computer(!). And sometimes it can be extremely satisfying.
By the way, if you're curious, these are the shows that I watch every week: The Simpsons, Alias*, Six Feet Under, The Practice, Boston Public*, 24, Ed, The West Wing, Law & Order*, Friends, Scrubs, Will & Grace,andER*. A * denotes that I try to watch that show every week, but sometimes miss it because I'm tired or what not. I'm also trying to get into The Sopranos, and am anxiously awaiting the return of Andy Richter Controls the Universe, which is probably the funniest show on TV.