The Classics 101

I love to read. My total favorite genre is sci-fi, but having been an English major and now being a Language Arts teacher, I have had to read a lot of "the Classics." And you know what? I actually like them. I mean, they are classics for a reason. But I also like to read them, because it makes me feel smart. I know that everyone wants to feel smart, educated and in the know, but not everyone has the time or inclination to read books written centuries ago. And since I am a teacher, I thought I could teach you all something about the Classics.

I have just finished reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. It is loooooong! As you can probably guess, it is about a man named David Copperfield. It is actually about a baby, boy, teenager and man named David Copperfield. The story starts the day he was born and continues to describe everything that hapens to him until (by my best estimate) his late twenties. Aside from being long, it is a good read. It has a lot of drama, some action and quite a bit of humor.

It is really about the emotional growth of Copperfield, through many trials and hardships. As a youngster, he has a horrible string of bad luck, with an evil step-father, the death of his mother, and abandonment at a young age. Yet, he endures, and his basic goodness and moraltiy is formed. After that, he has some good fortune for a time, living with a kind aunt. Throughout all of this he meets the characters who later come together in unexpected ways to create situations in which Copperfield must show what he has become and stand up for what he believes in. He still is not perfect. He marries the wrong girl, not out of any wickedness, but simple inexperience. By observing others around him, he realizes his mistake, but is honest and good, so he stays with her until she dies young. This gives him a second chance. In the end, he uses what he has learned to make the right decision the second time around, and there is a happy ending.

So now, when you are a part of a conversation that turns toward David Coperfield, you will be able to follow along and perhaps chime in, without makng the mistake of saying, "Did you see the time he made theStatue of Liberty disappear?" If you have any specific questions about the book, or if you have read it and want to add to what I've said or offer a completely differing opinion, please comment. And stay tuned, coming next: Mansfield Park.

Budget Problems

You may have heard that California is having a budget crisis. It's true: our schools are broke. We do not even have enough money for such essentials as textbooks. In fact we may not get new books until 2016. No, I'm not exaggerating. The state board of education is not requiring schools to buy books between now and then.

Yet today at our weekly staff meeting, we all recieved training in a new internet educational program that the district has subscribed to. What's worse is that, as usual, no one on staff was asked if we wanted this or would be willing to use it. I had never heard of it until last week. Had anyone asked me, I would have strongly suggested that we don't waste our money on it. The program is set up with tests and games to review each of the state standards. It is made to be used online, but teachers can also print out the tests for students to do on paper. In our district, most students do not have internet connections at home, and I only have four student computers in my classroom. So, I would have to mainly use the print function and give students worksheets. But if I'm going to do that, I might as well use the materials that come with our curriculum. If students do use the program online, the teacher can view a report of results for individuals or for the class, but the interface and information layout did not seem all that helpful.

If this program is not madatory, I will not be using it. I am afraid though, that since the district paid for it, they are going to expect me to show them results. This is on top of the academic vocabulary program that they are requiring us to start this year and the graphic organizer program we implemented last year. I guess with all of these programs that they've spent thousands on we won't have any time to open those outdated textbooks anyway.

Today was the second day of school. I guess the first two days have been successful. I was pretty much ready to go each morning. The students in my first two classes have been really well behaved. As with last year, I'm not totally sure if they are well behaved students, or if they're just a bit scared of me, because it's the first day. I try to be pretty strict the first couple of weeks to set the tone. My third class is my RI class and again they seem like they will be the most trouble. I do not think they will be as difficult to handle as last year's class. They mostly do whatever I ask of them, but they are quite talkative. I do have that class right after lunch, so they just need to learn to settle down.

This year, I have my prep period at the very end of the day. It is so tiring. I have one fifteen minute morning break and a thirty minute lunch, but I don't really get a rest. I have to run to the restroom, scarf my lunch and get ready for the next class. By the time I have my prep, I'm too tired to really think about what I have to get done for the next day. The good thing is, though, I can clean up and organize my room during seventh, so I can leave right at 3:00.

I really think I'll have a pretty good year. Sure, there are some things I would change. But I know there are plenty of people who have way suckier jobs than I.

Update

I know that it has been forever since I posted, so I feel like I should let you all know what is going on. And that is... not a whole lot. I have actually been staying pretty busy, but it is nothing exciting. In the middle of July, I spent a week at a training on ELD (English Language Development) instruction. Most of the information was just review to me. I did pick up a few strategies that I will use in the classroom, especially for teaching vocabulary. The next week, the Language Arts department from my school got together to get started on our pacing calendars for the year and to create benchmark tests. I would not call it fun or exciting, but we did get quite a lot done. The best part of all of this was that I am getting paid for it. Then, yesterday I went to a one day training on a program for teaching writing. Most of the teachers at my school already use it, so I just wanted the introduction to understand what it is about and to pick up the terminology, so that I can review with my students what they have learned in previous years and how it relates to current assignments.

The new year is coming up pretty quickly. We have two days of in-service on the seventeenth and eighteenth. Then the first day of school is on the nineteenth. The way the schedule stands now, I will have two, two-period classes of 8th grade ELA, then one of eighth-grade-only RI. My prep period is scheduled for the last period of the day (BOO!). But that could change anytime until about the first week of September.

I don't think I will have any exciting tales to relate for the next two weeks, but I will post after the first day of school to let all of you know how it goes.