Neglecting

I have been neglecting my blog for quite some time. The main reason is that I chose to accept the offer of an overload for this semester. That means my beloved second block 85 minute prep is gone. I had it made. The night before every school day, I could get enough organized or planned to manage first block. Then I relied heavily on my second block prep to get planned for my other two classes (and to get anything graded from block one). That is how I have survived for the past five or six years.

Now my beloved second block prep has been replace with 31 freshman. I'm compensated very well for my time, and the class is quite excellent. I wouldn't be surprised to see 15 of these students in my College Comp I class when they are juniors.

But it makes for a very busy day. Really, lunch is my only break time - other than dashing to make copies during passing time. And sometimes I just pack a sandwich and work in my room.

It also helps that my last two classes are the same: College Comp. So I only really have three preps, which is far better than four.

The overload has actually helped me become more organized and efficient. I simply have no other choice.

Kenz and I have a new Sunday afternoon routine. She accompanies me to my classroom (spending any time at all in my classroom on the weekend is something I haven't done in years). She will cuddle up with her blanks on the floor, use my coat as a pillow, and watch a Scooby Doo movie on my MacBook while I spend a couple hours organizing (I'm amazed at how the stacks pile up) and copying.

The truth about being a teacher is that it's a bit like being a farmer: there is ALWAYS something to do. I never seem to have enough copies ahead of time, so I could spend days just copying stories and assignments. I can always correct something (though I've tried hard to cut down on the fruitless busy work I've been guilty of in the past. No more crossword puzzles and word jumbles. They might help pass the time or keep a kid busy while reading a chapter, but they really learn zero from them). I can always concoct a new quiz or story guide. There never seems to be enough time to read (I'm still trying to finish Stephen Johnson's most excellent Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Invention, but now I have two new books: The Flat Classroom and The Digital Divide waiting in the winds. Then there is the constant tweaking and revising of my curriculum. Speaking of that, there is never ever enough time to align standards and complete our curriculum maps. Then there are the constant student emails and texts to respond to. There are the teachers I follow on Twitter tweeting new ideas and links to awesome articles . . .

There just isn't enough time in a day or weeks in a school year.

So a couple hours on Sunday get my room clean and organized for the week. And, for the most part, I get my copies made.

Another saving grace has been my aide this quarter: KoKo. Every second block she shows up to help me out whether it's making copies or organizing my assignments or correcting quizzes and story guides. She has been a life saver.


So in a round about way, that's why my true posts (other than some interesting videos I find or infographs) I have not posted as much as I would like on this blog.

Oh yeah, it could also be that I'm now running two other blogs: Everything Bad is Good for You and TKM. The former is for my College Comp II class, and the latter I just whipped together to model for my freshmen as they begin reading novels.

So I guess I've just been neglecting this blog, but check the others out if you can.

The day is coming - and I truly believe it's on the horizon - where, especially if we actually become a 1:1 school, where my students will do a majority of their classwork on blogs that I monitor. I truly believe at Lincoln we are living by Congressman George Miller's statement to the National Press club several years ago when speaking about the government report called "A Democracy at Risk": "Education is rapidly becoming a process, not a place." How much fun would that be?