2002-05-07
Week starting off slowly, posted at 12:35 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com I'm trying to shake this crummy mood I'm in, but I can't seem to. The weather, which is threatening to cancel our baseball game this afternoon, isn't helping. Neither is the heap of work I need to complete very soon.My main problem right now, though? I haven't worked out since Friday. I somehow managed to oversleep this morning despite going to bed at 10pm. Not working out makes me feel very rundown and strips away the confidence I need to trudge through another day.
My kids have been excellent today. With every moment of my free time being lapped up lately by jaunts to NYC and coaching baseball games and meetings about softball that no one else offers to go to, my lessons have been substandard this week. I decided to show them a portion of Zora is My Name! today, and they loved it. You could hear a pin drop in here.
I plan on making the rest of this week pretty good, though... I'm planning a Socratic Discussion tomorrow, which both I and the kids love (gotta come up with topics, though), then plan on a couple of assignments to go with Zora's essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me." (It's a great essay, by the way. You should be reading that instead of this dreck.) Since 89 of my 90 students are Black (and that other one is Latino), I'm thinking about having them look at Zora's experience in the jazz club in which she really feels her race, and to write an ECR about a time in which they really felt their race. I then think I'm going to have them create their own "me bag," just like Zora explains at the end of the essay. They can get a brown lunch bag, bring in three things in the bag that explain who they are, and then present it to the class. I think that would be a cool Friday activity to do. I don't think I do enough "fun" stuff.
Of course, my principal, if he knew, would ask me what a "me bag" has to do with increasing scores on the statewide and citywide standardized tests.
So, yeah, I think this week will get better. I'm going to the gym tonight, even if the game keeps me here until 7. Kristin's coming this weekend, and I'm excited about hosting her for a few days. My next house concert is with her and is May 17. I'm going to three concerts this weekend - Melissa Ferrick on Friday night, Kristin's show on Saturday in the basement of a church with an a capela group that is supposed to be pretty good, and Dan Bern on Sunday night.
By the way, does anyone have a cute team name for a bunch of (mostly) teachers playing softball? My idea of the "Problem Students" was shot down. There are no limits. I'd love it to be something marginally educationally-related, because I think it would be funny. Any ideas? Let me know.
Also, does anyone have a suggestion of where to get a guestbook in which I can reply on the guestbook? I'm loving all the guestbook messages, but can't seem to find the time on my sloooow computer to respond to them all. I've seen some of them around that you can respond to right on there, but now I can't remember where.
Hope everyone is well. I gotta get back to grading