Time home = time to reflect

It is really amazing what a couple of days and nights spent at home can do for the body and mind. I feel reconnected, rejuvenated, and reinvigorated. Maybe it was the fresh air, the fresh faces, or the fresh conversation, but I'm ready to head back to Houston with a new mind set. I have a job to do, and I don't think I've been doing it very well. If what I am doing is so important, and unique and impressive, why don't I feel that way every day?  Each lesson I plan should be important, unique and impressive. Each student should feel important, unique and impressive. Every MINUTE should be important, unique and impressive. OK, I know every minute is pushing it, but it's the goal and I don't feel like I've been meeting that goal.


Back to Houston, and back to the grindstone.

I'll miss you, Portland.

What's For Lunch

On Fridays, I assume the role of Teacher on Lunch Duty. This entails me walking around our very crowded cafeterium (cafeteria + gymnasium), making sure a food fight doesn't erupt. Friday is by far the best day for lunch duty because the principal puts his iPod on shuffle and connects it to the speakers. He has great taste in music, and the kids seem more mellow. Some dance a little, which makes us laugh, and time flies by when you are singing along. 

As I was walking around and monitoring my students' eating habits, I started to make notes of what they were eating. Here is a short list, with items that are served at school in blue, and items brought from home in green:

• Some sort of fish patty 
• croutons, cheese and ranch dressing all mixed together 
• a big bowl of chicken salad and white bread and doritios 
• flaming hot cheetos and a yummy looking browny
• breakfast burrito 
• unidentifiable meat on a bun 
• soup
• madagascar cupcakes
• disney princess cupcakes
• a jar of peanut butter
• more flaming cheetos
• sandwich

Yummy, no?

P.S. The Mountain of Grading keeps growing.

Make like a tree...

Bio-Diversity


I miss the season of autumn. Houston doesn't have a real autumn, but this false, pseudo, not-real autumn that consists of sunny days with highs in the low 70s, and no beautiful fall colors.

I remember walking across campus with one of the Hawaiian students at UP freshman year (Robbie), and seeing him see the colors for the first time. It was really magical to see his eyes light up and just stare at the colors. I miss the cherry trees and the color of red that they became.

Thanks, NYT, for bringing me some autumn, and some fun.

AIDS and Blood Diamonds

I'm trying to piece together some interesting outside resources for my students for when we study Africa. I want to them to write a paper either about Blood Diamonds, or the AIDS epidemic. If you know of any great books, movies, articles, or anything else, please let me know.

Cheers,
Ms. Redman

I lost count of what week it is

It's Monday morning, and I'm not exactly prepared, but it's OK. My students are going to be starting a new unit this week studying Asia. I'm pretty excited for them, since it means that I'm going to show Slumdog Millionare, and we are going to study the war in Iraq and the middle eastern conflict. This unit will be big on writing!

I'm getting so excited for Thanksgiving, I can't even explain it. I cannot wait to see my family.

:) New Seating Chart = Genius

7th period has been driving me crazy for about 14 weeks. Today, I put them in a new seating chart and LIFE.IS.GOOD. Students are more engaged, it is quieter, and I'm not shouting over people.

I just hope 8th period takes to their new placements just as well.

Water + Computer

And you can guess what happens.

:-(

At least it's not my Mac. It was the school Dell. Those things are pretty much rocks, so hopefully, once it dries out, it will be just as crappy as it was when I got it.