i have a set of guidelines that loosely direct the decisions i make in my life.

they've been fine, but i didn't realize until i read these that i could use an infusion to shake up the way i look at things.

these are courtesy of ben zander- you have to take a risk ( Read more... )

there's a kid in my 8th grade class ( Read more... )

i'm annoyed ( Read more... )

one of my classes is currently of the "mc teaching" variety: we have a scripted text book that i just follow, and a self paced computer program that the kids pretty much use independently. if only (or even mostly) taught this class, it'd drive me bugfuck, but i've only got one period of it, so i can devote my creative energies to my other class ( Read more... )

i recently went to visit a fellow teacher during lunch. it turns out that she is reading to kill a mockingbird with a bunch of her 6th graders during lunch. i'd never read it, and asked if i could join their group ( Read more... )

it's kind of funny how things change ( Read more... )

me, getting ready for parent conference night:


( Read more... )

i was going to write about fighting the system to do my job better, about doing the right thing rather than the easy thing, but i'm just too worn out.

instead, here's a picture of my new toy:


( Read more... )

in some recent comments, someone mentioned how nice it was to have external validation ( Read more... )

two years ago, during my first year in a middle school, my principal observed my classroom for my performance evaluation. she scheduled me for an emergency conference immediately afterwards. she informed me that she thought that i should seriously consider alternative careers. this was *after* i had gone to her for help in learning to manage a ( Read more... )