Has it been 4 months?!!?

So sorry about my absence. I have had a busy couple of months and life is finally beginning to settle back into place again.

A quick summary:

The school year ended well and I moved about 2 days later.
I proposed and she accepted on May 27th... (pictures on the photo blog).
We got home on May 30th.
Football started June 1st.... and has ran 5 days per week since.
I met with my fellow English 12 teachers on June 7th and spent the summer planning... and I'm still planning...
Football officially started on Aug. 4th, meaning 14 hour days at school for me...
School started Aug. 14th.... and I'm enjoying it!

Hmm... what else.

Well, I'm going to really enjoy teaching British Lit. this year, I have decided that much. Although I'm not extremely familiar with the material, I love the history aspect of this literature. We'll be teaching virtually straight from our textbook, which has most of the great literature (Beowulf, Cant. tales, Robinson Crusoe, Macbeth... among many others). Sure, there's a lot that'll be left out, but interested students will experience much of the famous world lit. during college.

Time to enjoy the last day of my weekend. Don't expect much out of me this fall, since I'm coaching football and teaching a new subject... at a new school.... plus the whole wedding thing. Life is kind of hectic but I'll figure it out.

So tomorrow marks one week....

..... and I've yet to hear back from my "new" department chair.

I'm not sure whether to be frustrated, angry, ... or to just keep waiting. I know I sent the email to the correct address, since it was given to me by the principal. I'm hoping that she hasn't responded to me because she's still trying to sort out the exact schedule that I'll be teaching. Of course, I only asked about perhaps having a copy of the curricula for the course along with a few questions about major pieces of literature that are taught.. I didn't think this would be too tough or bothersome.

I could keep waiting I guess.. maybe she'll get back to me this week.

I've also settled on the decision to accept the offered position to be the Freshman Head football coach. It's more of a title than anything else, but I'll gain a little more responsibility than I have had in the previous two years. It'll be fun.

One week ago, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this, but now I'm eager for it. Maybe it's because it's different.... or because it comes with a new environment... or maybe because it's just a new challenge for me to attempt. I've already started putting things together for next year... and I'm still trying to finish up this year.

Needless to say, it's an exciting time for me...

I'd really like to know "exactly" what I'm supposed to teach next year though.. I'm feeling a little bit lost in that area...

Well....

..... I got the job.

... and I'm awfully excited about it.

As it stands at the moment, it seems as if I'll be teaching 6 sections of English 12 (but the schedule is still a little up in the air).

The school operates on a modified block schedule, so although I'm teaching 6 classes, I'm still only teaching 24 classes a week, as compared to the 25 that I teach now. Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, we teach all 6 classes for 50 minutes, but Wednesdays and Thursdays we teach 3 classes each day for 75 minutes. There schedule is a little cooky, compared to what I'm used to, but I suppose I'll get used to this one too.

So here's the problem: English 12 consists of both composition and British Literature.... and I know NOTHING about British Literature. So for those of you who know a little bit about it... tell me! What books are typically taught in this sort of classroom? What poems? Essays? Historical documents? Any ideas?

I've contacted my new Department chair, but she hasn't gotten back with me on anything yet, so I'm still patiently waiting. It's been 4 days now... which irks me a little, but she is dealing with creating schedules too, so maybe she wants to finalize some stuff first.

We don't have a British lit class at my school, rather, it's a World Studies class, which is a bit different. I have collected a lot of materials from those teachers though, but much of the literature is coordinated with our Social Studies department since these classes are taught in a English / History block.

The positive aspect of it though is that it's a year-long course, so I'll have plenty of time to mix the composition connection with the literature. There will still be the mandatory essays for seniors, all of which I've taught these past 2 years, and there will be a bunch of literary analysis essays, which are pretty easy to teach too (and grade). I can also imagine how I might organize a semester too, so I think I've got a little bit of an idea about all of this....

I did take a British Lit class in college, but it was primarily centered around poetry. I also have a huge Norton's Anthology of British Literature, but I haven't looked at it in several years. And just my luck, it's in Indiana right now too.. .. so I can't get a head start.

But I know virtually nothing about British Literature..... and this isn't good. So I need the help of all of you Educators out there... I NEED INPUT!

What sorts of "literature" might I be able to incorporate in a British Literature classroom?

Job Update

Still no job back in Indiana, but I'm still waiting patiently, hoping more interviews will come in the next few weeks. Most schools back there are just starting Spring Break this week, so that means contract offers should start to come out to teachers in the next few weeks for the 08-09 school year. People are going to have to say yes or not to those offers... which means that positions will start to open up in schools and admins will start their searching.

I do have a lot of connections back in northern Indiana though, which helps me quite a bit.... but I could always use some more... Anybody out there want to help me find a job?

I still have a good feeling about the interview from a few weeks ago, but nothing is certain. It would be awesome to land that job, given the resources that I'll have to teach with, but it's out of my control at this point.

I officially resigned my football position yesterday. They knew it was coming, but I spoke with my head coach and let him know my plans.... they've got a replacement already in the loop. I still need to talk to a few other people though before I put in anything with the school.

One thing that I'll never be comfortable with is resigning from a job without the prospect of having another one waiting for me....

Next week will probably be pretty quiet... so I guess I'll just keep sitting on my hands......... waiting.

One's circle of Influence

I was tagged with this meme from Mr. B-G. The meme's task was to "find or design a graphic that depicts the one idea you hope your students leave your classroom with."



It's a very simple image, but this is one of the major motifs within my classroom. Having taught 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 12th grades, I've seen a vast array of personalities among my students, but one thing that all of them seem to understand (with a little nudging throughout the year) is their circle of influence. What can they do something about?

All teenagers get wrapped up in drama and the concerns of others, and this affects everything from their attitude to physical well being. On the first day of school every year, I remind them that they can only control themselves.... take care of that first and everything else will come along in time. When students take care of the things that directly affect them, then they will be less concerned with things they cannot change.

Inside of the classroom and on the playing field, I try to stress this with kids. So many people in this world get so wrapped up in the concerns and outside influences in life that they become overwhelmed with it all and forget about themselves. It's good to consider all of that, but in the long run, we can only take care of ourselves and the things within our circle.... everything else is just details.

I also talk about choices quite a bit in class, which are directly related to our circle of influence. On my board I have this quote from Denis Waitley, who is a motivational speaker and author:

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.”

This year, I chose this one, although I've had other quotes about choices in the past, depending on my audience. I usually wait to put it up until after the first quarter grades go out, and I drive home the importance of what we "choose" to do to all of my students, but specifically to the kids who've chosen not to do anything in class.

If we choose to do nothing, then we'll always get what we've always gotten, but if we choose to be proactive, even aggressive when necessary, with our choices then things will change. The question for my students then is what do they want out of life... do they want to sit and do nothing and have nothing and get nothing or do they want to go out and pursue the opportunities presented to them and take advantage of the positive options that they have in life?

It's a very simple idea.

I'm not tagging anybody for this meme, but you're welcome to steal it. Thanks B-G.

So it's been over a month...

.... and I haven't heard any news from anybody other than Carroll H.S. I'm not too concerned, since I know schools generally don't start actively searching around the end of April, but still, it would be nice to hear something from somebody else. I think I've got about 10 applications floating around Indiana right now. I will know more from CHS though in about two weeks, since I'm scheduled to have an interview on the 19th. Hopefully it'll be something good....

It's been a tough week or so on the teaching front. Aside from the load of grading that took up my entire weekend, some other things have happened too. Late last week, one of my students was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, which I've been told is a pretty serious disease. Apparently, it's just a disease that kinda creeps up on people without a lot of known "causes". Based on what I've found out from the nurse and his mother, it sounds like he's got a rough road ahead in the next several months. Towards the end of March, Travis will be having a bone-marrow transplant (assuming his sister is able to donate) to see if the production of blood cells can get straightened back out, but he will not return to classes this year. His hope is to walk at graduation with his class. It would certainly be nice to see.

Atop that, yesterday, another student at our school, who is also a football player and wrestler, was in a severe car accident and, based on all reports, could lose the use of his leg. While on his way to school, a man ran a red light and hit the driver's side of Adam's vehicle, causing a compound fracture in his femur, 7 fractures in the shin-area between his knee and ankle, multiple torn ligaments in his knee, hip, and ankle, along with a pretty severe cut on his forehead, causing a lot of blood loss before they were able to airlift him to the hospital. He didn't have his seat belt on, unfortunately. Until mid-afternoon yesterday, there wasn't much of a pulse in his foot, prompting doctors to prepare to amputate it. After the help of some specialists and surgery last night (6 hours worth) doctors were able to repair the compound fracture, which now sports a number of pins and a steel rod, and they were also able to get a pulse back into his foot, which means that he gets to keep it, provided that the blood continues to flow. He'll likely have a several more surgeries in the next few days to repair the other fractures in his lower leg, as well as many of the ligament tears he experienced as well. He'll have a tough go of it over the next several months before he'll be able to walk again. I'm sure he'll persevere, since he's an extremely active young man who has overcome some pretty terrible circumstances to be successful, but, nonetheless, he has a difficult hill to climb.

I'm sure these two kids, both Seniors, would appreciate your thoughts and prayers in the coming weeks and months. They certainly have some trying circumstances to overcome as we head towards the end of the semester and they head into the rest of their lives.

So here it is....

The "exciting" news that I was referring to in my last post.... several weeks ago... but you'll have to jump down a little ways if you're only here to find that out.

Lately, it seems as if blogging simply isn't a priority in my life... never has been I suppose, except for November when I went 30 odd days in a row.... don't expect that again. School's back in full swing, wrestling has packed my schedule, and track begins on Monday. I'm staying busy doing everything but writing, and I've enjoyed it quite a bit.

Wrestling officially ended for me today, with my last practice, but the kids go for another two weeks. We're into our State championship meets these last few weeks, so as the JV coach, I don't have to go through all of the practices this week.... plus track is starting, so my priorities have changed now..... and I'm a lot more excited than I was with wrestling.

We're getting into our nice weather now, if you can say that the average weather of sunny an d 60 and nightly lows of 40 aren't "nice", so I'm pretty excited to be able to spend time outside again. Track will be fun too, since I really enjoy spending time in this weather, plus I enjoy running and I get to coach hurdles, which I love too. It'll be nice to get a bit of a tan too... if I can keep from getting fried come April and May when the temps start hitting the upper 90s..... ;)

School is in full swing right now too, which is nice since I'm not "lecturing" about writing techniques and grammar stuff and the kids are actually learning by doing now. The grading isn't fun, but I've only got 63 comp. students this semester, compared to 150 last semester, so it's a bit easier.

My freshman are just finishing up their Short Story unit, which I've enjoyed. I think they're finally getting the hang of writing literary analysis essays (and doing discussion) too, so the amount of thinking in my classroom has moved up a few notches too.... at least in the majority of my students.

We're going to start reading Old Man and the Sea this week, and I can't wait. I'm approaching it a little differently this year by showing the movie in conjunction with the reading. I hope that by showing little sections of the movie every few days, the kids will be a little bit more connected to the literature. We'll see though, this is something new for me to try.

IF YOU'RE ONLY INTERESTED IN THE BIG NEWS, IT STARTS HERE....

I'm moving back to Indiana this summer.....

So when my Indiana teaching license expired in 2007, I decided to renew it and see what happened. When I reapplied, Indiana ended up giving me a 5 year license, which I didn't expect (since I have never taught in Indiana and there's a mentor requirement which I didn't figure would be waived), but they did. My first license there required 3 years of teaching, a 2-year mentor program, and about 90 hours of professional development classes. Since I've never taught in Indiana, I didn't figure they'd accept my 1 year mentor program or 230 hours of professional development from Arizona. Lucky for me, they did... so that got things started for me.

I've applied to a number of different school corporations and surprisingly, I've already got an interview set up. I don't figure to hear much until April or so, but that's fine. If all else fails and I can't get a job, I'll just go and get my Master's Degree... I need to do it sometime.

So there it is.... we'll see what happens over the next few months. Hopefully I land a job as wonderful as the one I have now at a school with an equally awesome staff. If not, I guess I'll figure something out.

So Becca and Lara, there it is....

Well, I made it....

.... through the first week of the 2nd semester AND through the PF Chang's Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon. My time was 2:38:07, which I'm pretty proud of since I haven't actually "ran" since the Monday after Thanksgiving, and even then, I think it was just three miles. I ran the first 7 miles without stopping and then walked about 1/4 of every mile afterwards. I'm surprised that even with the walking, I was able to finish so quickly. But this just goes to show all of you, that it doesn't take a whole lot of serious training to be capable of running some solid distances. The human body is certainly the most amazing machine ever created.

School went well this week too. I got a good group of seniors, so I'm pretty excited to actually get started with them. My freshman seem to have come back with a little more maturity than before they left too, so that excites me. It should be a good semester.

Other exciting things have happened too, since I last posted, but that will have to wait for another day. I need to lay down and rest my legs.. they ache like crazy right now!

And so it ends.... and it begins anew.

"Winter" Break is almost officially over and I can't say that I'm all that happy about it. The last two weeks were unbelievable, so to get myself back into a routine isn't going to be easy.

I spent 12 awesome days back in Indiana with my family and friends, and honestly, it made me miss home quite a bit. I like it out here, but nothing is the same as "home".

Back to class tomorrow and that means two new groups of students, and three classes that are exactly the same..... well.. nearly the same. I think I'm losing two of my Freshman, but adding 64 seniors... for the second semester sections of Senior Comp. This will be round #4 for me with the Seniors and I'm pretty sure that I've got the class down pretty well now. It took me all of about 2 hours to plan out my entire semester... day by day... so that must be a sign that I finally know what I'm doing. I'm looking forward to the new group of Seniors in every way except for the number of them. I think 34 kids are registered for my first hour class..... and I only have 30 desks in my room right now. I'm not entirely certain what I'm going to do about that come tomorrow morning. I think my classes are pretty balanced though, so it should be a fun group to work with.

So here we are... at the end of one road and the beginning of another. It should be an interesting semester... for a number of reasons.

On the path....

... towards home.

And let me tell you folks, it's been a long day.

The scheduled finals happened just as planned, and to be honest, I'm thoroughly impressed with the way my students did..... almost a 70% average on the District's final exam. Yes, this sounds ridiculously low, but over the last 4 years this same final has been used, 9th graders among the four high schools have an average of 65%. If my kids get 5% above the average, I must be doing something right... I hope.

I'm certainly not teaching to the test because they'd be getting scores a whole lot higher if I were. It's not like I don't have a copy of it in my planning binder.... I know what they're expected to learn.. and I cover it, as we should per the state's 9th grade standards... but I know that I can still do better and so can my kids.

So I'm happy that they were able to score so well. My Seniors scored a 66% average, which is about 3% higher than my last group of Seniors to go through... Based on talking to another Senior Comp. teacher at school, my kids' scores were about 1% higher than his... so I'm happy. The average on that final has been around 63% over the last few years.

If nothing else, all of my students scored better this year than last year, so it shows that I'm doing better with teaching the skills necessary, although there's still plenty of room to improve.

Of course, after finals, the real trouble began. Since I'm in transit to Indiana, I had high hopes to get out of school before noon so that I could finish packing and the such before heading to the airport around 4. But, as computers tend to do, the one that scans and reports our final grades went down.... keeping me at school with nothing to do on the last day of the semester until around 2:45. I was on the verge of walking out because I didn't know how long I'd have to stay beyond my contracted hours... and I had some more pressing obligations.

But it all worked out.

Spent an hour more than I should've in Phoenix before flying to Vegas for a scheduled 4 hour layover... that turned into 6 hours. The weather on the east coast is screwing me up all the way out here. Our plane is from New York and couldn't get off the ground on time.... so everybody else is pushed back.

I get to Cincinnati in about 4 hours and then get another layover before the little puddle (full of ice, so I hear) jump home.

It's been a long day, but I'm on the path and heading in the right direction. Twelve days of rest will serve me well, since I've kind of worn myself thin with full-time coaching and teaching obligations... since last May.

I'm ready for the break, and luckily enough, my head Wrestling coach gave me the opportunity to spend it away from the team and with family.

So, here I am waiting to see my family, but although it's been a long wait, I know I'll appreciate them more when I see everybody in the morning.

Merry Christmas - remember the reasons behind it!

Until next time...