Student in the Teachers' Lounge

Ever since I took over my class three weeks ago, my Wednesday lessons have all been crappy in terms of planning, execution and - ahem - classroom behavior. In fact, last week I ended up shedding a few tears of self-pity after a particularly challenging hour. It just wasn't my day and I ended up feeling exhausted and disappointed in myself.

Luckily this entry isn't about last week, though! Today was a very decent day, especially considering it was a dreaded Wednesday. I was prepared with a lesson that I knew was at the right time and level for the class. (It was a revision lesson for narrative essays that are due soon). It helped a great deal that most of the students in the class had done the work required of them. Most of them had their rough drafts ready to edit. It was so nice to see that they actually wanted to work on their writing. Believe me, that does not always happen! And for most of the hour, we had a sustained, functioning classroom! What more could any reasonable teacher ask for!

I have to admit that I'm looking forward to finishing up this unit on narrative. I've struggled quite a bit with how to construct these lesson plans and teach narrative writing. Next up is a unit on short story which, to me, just seems more interesting. I love short stories and I think they're great for students for so many reasons. Besides the fact that they're short, which is good, they're also usually packed with imagery, mood, suspense and all that other wonderful literary stuff. In other words, good things come in small packages.

Which brings me to the poll:

What are some of your favorite short stories that would be appropriate for high school students? Please email me or leave a comment with any and all suggestions. I'm trying to compile a nice big list filled with classics, contemporary, multi-cultural, multi-genre, etc. Suggest it even if you think it's obvious.

Cheers,
-G

I was laying on a gold sheet spread out on the pavement, looking up at the migrating ducks and listening to Blonde Redhead. It was a perfect night.

Me, Lesley and Carlos journeyed (with half the city it seemed) to Randall's Island tonight to see Arcade Fire and etc. If you've never been to Randall's Island, it's basically this huge field that has concerts. To get to it, you have to take a train into Harlem and then hop a bus. It sounds like a pain, but it really was easy.

When we got there, Les Savy Fav was playing. I haven't seen them in years, and I thought fondly of my old friend Rachel back in Arkansas who first introduced me to them about 10 years ago. It's hard to believe they've been around that long! After them, we were treated to a peaceful, meditative set by Blonde Redhead. It was right around sunset, I was eating overpriced french fries and enjoying one of the last beautiful days in this Indian summer we are having. T-shirt weather in October is strange and ominous, but at least today, it was appreciated.

I've never seen LCD Soundsystem, but we own their CD. I never expected to enjoy their set as much as I did. The singer, what's-his-name, had the perfect banter - a combination of silly and witty. I hate it when singers talk too much and say stupid things; this guy did none of that. He just kept giving shout-outs to his friends and telling the crowd he was glad to be home. It was really cute.

Finally around 9:30, the headliner took the stage. I have loved Arcade Fire for years and for some reason never made it to one of their shows. In fact, once in San Francisco, I was supposed to go to two shows in one night - them and Sleater Kinney. I never made it to Arcade Fire, though, because SK was so good, I couldn't bear to leave. Well, needless to say, it was worth the wait. They put on an amazing show and sounded wonderful, especially considering how late it is in the tour and how tired they must be. They played a lot of songs I love plus my number one favorite, so I was very happy. My buddies and I danced and sang along with thousands of other New Yorkers.

After the show, we parted with Carlos and walked across the tri-borough bridge to get to the 6 train. It was pretty fun, actually, and there were literally hundreds of us shuffling across the freeway. I'm sure some of the people in the cars whizzing by were a little freaked out. We descended into Harlem at around midnight - thousands of pasty indie rockers "across 110th street" - and met up with the lame bus-takers. Eventually we made it home, very pleased with our journey.

I think as I sang and jumped around tonight, some of my stress leaked out of me like a ghost. It's been a crazy month since school started, and I needed this release. Those of you who have the opportunity, go to a show and quit thinking about the real world for a few hours. It does wonders for the soul.

-G

From Kimani and Miss Davis...

It's finally fall! I have been waiting for this day for a month - the day when room 424 doesn't feel like a swampy sweatpit. Today we opened the windows and let in the fresh air. The students seemed happier and full of life. For advisory today, we went out and messed around in the nearby park. Most of the boys played football while others hung out, sent text messages and one of our talented kids took pictures with my camera. This pic of me and 11th grader, Kimani, is a result.

Today was a fun day, although I'm not sure how much I like teaching first period. On one hand, it's over before you're fully awake. On the other hand, everybody's sleepy and half the students are absent or late. Today we were in the computer lab writing fractured fairy tales. As usual, my students cracked me up with the things they wrote -as off color as they were. ;)

This weekend I plan to RELAX as much as possible. I'm staying in tonight and watching lots of TV. Tomorrow I'm meeting a good friend for brunch. I think my next entry will be about how much I miss brunch, which to me, is totally a San Francisco thing. I almost never eat brunch anymore and that's a crime!

Also tomorrow night I'm going to see Hotel Casseopeia at BAM. It's a play written by Charles Mee and directed by the extraordinary Anne Bogart. I've been looking forward to seeing this play for a long time. Hopefully it will be good!

Enjoy your weekend, everyone, and go out and soak up these fall temperatures that are FINALLY here.

Is it me, or is year two completely different from year one here at Steinhardt?

For those of you who are in the program with me, how does this year differ for you? For those of you who are thinking about applying, this may help you gain insight into what it's really like to be in a two year education master's program.

For me, last year was a dream. Almost every class from day one challenged me as a learner and to some degree, a person. Let's talk about Inquiries. I remember feeling like my brain was literally expanding the day I walked out of that first class. Here I was in school again after many years talking about BIG concepts - learning, how we learn, white privilege, differentiated teaching, etc. It made my head spin but in a great way. Many of us also took Educational Linguistics. I remember our teacher asking us on the first day: What do you want to learn about educational linguistics. My response: WHAT IS IT?!! And I did learn - about speech communities, teaching English language learners, dialects and all kinds of other things. And let's not forget Dramatic Activities in the Secondary Classroom. I had no idea there were that many techniques I could use to educate young minds. When I finished that class, I had an entire journal filled with activities and I felt so much more ready to teach.

This year is different in significant ways. I call this year "application year." Not because I'm applying for jobs - which I will be next semester - but because I get to apply all my knowledge through student teaching. And let me say this. Student teaching will test you in ways you can't even imagine. And let me give you some advice. Pay attention year one. Write everything down and organize it in such a way that you can access your notes easily. Because when you get into the classroom and you are teaching any subject - you are going to need to rely on every single thing you learned in the first year.

I've talked a lot on this blog about my adventures as a student teacher. I'm curious about what challenges and fears you guys might have. Please leave a comment, tell a story, give some advice for other readers. Let's start a conversation.

Can you believe it's already midterms? What's going on with this semester?! In a way, it's taken eons to pass and yet, here we are with that unprepared feeling that settles in around this time.

I wonder how many of us are on track. I feel like my life is like an endless game of musical chairs where I never have quite enough spaces for all the things I HAVE to be doing. You know what I mean? As soon as I get on top of one class/responsibility, I see a gaping whole somewhere else. So I just keep shuffling things around hoping it's enough.

Recently I started a weekend class called Teaching Through Drama. It's taught by well-loved professor, Chris Vine. I find that he has a wonderful ability to synthesize pedagogy with practical teaching. I would recommend this class to anyone who would like to incorporate more dramatic activities into their teaching. The only challenge for me right now is that the class is on Saturday and Sunday for about 8 hours each. Hence, I now have a 7 day work week! Am I going to completely lose it? We'll see! Stay tuned!

In the ongoing chronicles of my student teaching life, I've had some minor success this week with Poe's "Tell-Tale Heart". The students seem to be enjoying and understanding it. I have managed to only use three short stories so far and the unit will be over soon. Where does the time go? I feel like I could teach short stories all year!

Well, happy midterms everyone. This weekend, take a break and go see the Program in Educational Theatre's performance of The Eumenides, directed by professor Nan Smithner. Word is, it's going to be great!

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending opening night of the program in Educational Theatre's "The Eumenides." I can honestly say it was one of the best shows I've ever seen at NYU.

Professor Nan Smithner's take on the show was a deconstruction of different translations. She embedded flashback sequences and utilized her skills as a physical theatre director to fuel the show. As a result, the performance hit you in the gut - it was alive.

The very basic story is that Orestes has wronged the gods and the furies are chasing him, tormenting him until they demand a trial for his crimes. The furies really stole the show in this production. They are simultaneously one character and separate ones. Of course functioning as the Greek chorus, they finish each other's sentences and think with one mind. But these furies managed to develop little idosyncrasies that distinguished each one. The direction for the furies was extremely physical, and it was part of the fun to watch them writhe around and represent these other-worldly creatures.

The unexpected part of the show for me was that it contained so much humor. In fact, among the tragic moments, there was a hidden joy in the work itself. I felt like each person on stage was enjoying themselves so much - even the terrifying Clytemnestra - that I was pulled in willingly to this strange world. The trial scene with the addition of Athena was a highlight, as well, with its audience participation. Suddenly we became the citizens who were sentencing Orestes to his fate.

Check out The Eumenides this weekend on Friday, Saturday or Sunday in the afternoon. It's the perfect Halloween show and not to be missed.

-G