I feel like this French Revolution unit has gone on forever!! You probably feel that way too. I know my kids do. By the time I actually finish, I will have spent about 4-5 class periods on it. BUT, we have had three snow days over the last two weeks, and so I keep having to push things back, rearrange things, etc. So it ends up being WEEKS of French Revolution, even though it's just 4-5 class periods.

And the whole unit is CRAP. Just crap.

Well, maybe not all of it.

I think they get the causes. But I don't know that they get the rest of it - why did it get more radical? Why did it, anyway? How on earth did they get to the point where not only did they behead the king, but 40,000 other people?

Oy.

I love giving tests on Fridays.

Especially when I'm giving the test during the last period of the day.

Very restful.

Haven't posted in a while. Been struggling under the pressure of the French Revolution. One of my students asked when I was establishing the causes of the revolution: "If things were so bad, why didn't people revolt?"

There's really nothing I can say that would add to that comment, so I won't say anything, how's that?

One more week, just about, until winter break. Since I last posted, we had one more snow day (actually, more like an ice day - we had freezing rain - rain that is rain when it is falling, but turns to ice when it hits the surface - which is something I hadn't come across until I moved down here.), so we've already used up all our snow days for the year. And it's still December. Oy.

So now my B day students will be ahead of my A day students in World History. That drives me crazy - it's not symmetrical! (which I don't think I spelled correctly, but get over it!)

Random thought: One of my colleagues got me hooked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so instead of doing tons of work on my snow days, I was watching the first season and parts of the second on DVD.

'Nuff said.

Ok, so I think my digital snow dance was too powerful. We're getting tomorrow off too.

And of course, while I brought home a bunch of work with the plan of having TODAY as a snow day, I wasn't planning on having not only Friday, but the rest of the weekend. Won't be able to do much besides long term planning, and I can't even really do that. I suppose I shouldn't complain, it'll be like a forced vacation. Hmmm. Guess I'll get all that holiday shopping done.

Ha! The snow dance worked. I'm goin' back to bed.

snow!

snow!

snow!

(my digital version of the snow dance...)

Ahh, the day before Thanksgiving. I really need the vacation. I've decided to take a break and not do any work over the four day weekend. I need to relax (as several of my students and friends could probably tell you!). The plan is to get some books read (what a concept - reading for fun!!), see a movie (maybe even two!) spend time with the family...hey, that sounds like it's exactly what a vacation should be.

Of course, I've just lied. Because I am taking one class of tests home to grade, because I need to hand those back on Monday morning. And I probably will bring home my stuff on the French Revolution so I can get those lessons set, at least so I have something to do in class on Tuesday morning. It would be unseemly to stand in front of my first period with no lesson whatsoever (and before you start to think that I have a five day weekend with no classes on Monday, I don't, we're on a block schedule, which means that I have my students every other day - sort of like even and odd days. So today we have 1st, 5th, 7th and 8th period, and on Monday we'll see 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th period. Yes, 8th period every day - it's a shorter, embedded period that we see every day. The theory is that we end up seeing them as much as our other classes over the course of the week. In reality, we see 8th period as much and then about an extra third, or so. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating, but we do see more of 8th period on average than our other classes. Hm, I think that there should be the end of a parenthesis around here somewhere. Ah, there it is -->)

So, apparently I'm babbling today. I can accept that.

My students are all working quietly at their desks on the American Revolution timelines. It's very nice when they work like this, makes me feel like I'm doing my job right. We'll see how 7th period is - they usually have more energy (having had a chance to have lots of sugar, plus it's over lunch, so before lunch they are hungry, after lunch they're hyper from all the sugar).

Now I know how Peter the Great got "the Great" on the end of his name. Betcha didn't know this.

"He ... made men better looking."

But, he "also improved education by setting up academies."

Not nearly as impressive as making men better looking though.

I'm just beginning to enter what is probably the toughest unit in World History 2 to teach: The French Revolution. It's so complicated and there's so much going on that it's difficult to know what to include and what to leave out. I took a course on early modern France, and seem to recall that we did spend a good deal of time on the French Revolution, but unfortunately, I don't have that luxury in this course - by the end of the year I have to get through the end of the Cold War. So the question is, how do I teach the French Revolution? I think this year I have already done myself one favor, and that's setting up some of the conditions that existed in France that led to revolution. But I am a little intimated by the content.

Made it through first block. Thank god for Starbucks.

"Caffeine is the glue that holds me together" (I have a magnet that says this on my blackboard)

Soooooooooooooo tired today.

Went to a student performance last night. It was really good, there are some talented kids in this school, and the drama and music teachers are extremely good at bringing out that talent. However, I didn't get home 'til 10:45 last night. Which meant I didn't get to sleep until 11:30. When you wake up at 5:30 that's just not happy. I really hope I can keep it together enough today to teach the Enlightenment. If I were giving a test today, that would be one thing, but not today. I actually have to be awake enough to explain Hobbes and Locke and Rousseau...oh, and Voltaire, who's difficult enough on a regular day. Oy.

Things I should have learned by now and probably never will...

Bringing home work is never a good idea. Oh suuuure, I have all sorts of plans to get these great lessons planned at home, and to do all kinds of research at home. Besides, it's much more comfortable at home, and I can wear my sweats, and I can't really do that at school.

But at school I don't have a Playstation2.

Or the four thousand books I want to read.

Or my tv.

Or my comfy bed.

Of course, I still have a computer. Which is its own little joy in time suckage.

On the other hand, maybe I will get some work done tonight. Miracles happen every day, so I'm told.

Isn't it curious that one good experience with a class can outweigh the bad morning one has had...

For some reason I was really grumpy today. Probably because I didn't get enough sleep this weekend as I should have (hey, Harry Potter on Saturday night, late show, can you blame me??). Plus I was a little irritated that I was the only one at my book club who read the book...not that any of this is an excuse.

But then there were the students questioning my grading of their assignments. Sometimes that makes me want to scream! Ok, not just sometimes, always. And there was the carefully planned lesson in fourth period that ended up leaving me an extra 25 minutes. Thank goodness I had an essay that I wanted them to work on tucked away! Otherwise I would have looked like a right idiot standing up there with no lesson.

Ah, but then my secret pal gave me chocolate. Bless my secret pal, whomever that might be. It was as if they somehow knew that today I would need chocolate.

And then my 8th period was actually on task, well behaved and the lesson worked fabulously! (the self same lesson that left me with 25 extra minutes in 4th period). The funny thing is usually my 4th period is the better AP Psych class, and 8th period is the one that leaves me saying to myself at the end of the day "I'm a horrible teacher, why am I doing this?" Well, I exaggerate, it's not actually my 8th period that does it to me. Usually it's the period before it, my 7th period that does, and that spills over into 8th period and by the end of the day I'm questioning whether or not I'm good at what I do. Right now, as of this second, I'm having one of those "I'm an AWESOME teacher" moments. And it's all because the lesson worked really well in 8th period. They paid attention, they understood what was going on, and when they didn't, we were able to work it out as a class. How often does that happen? Not often enough, that's for sure!!!

So, in being reflective about my practice, I should pause to wonder what was different about 4th period and 8th period. Why did the lesson work better in 8th period than it did in 4th? I'm sure it's any number of factors having to do with time of day (4th is right before lunch, they're tired, hungry) (although 8th is the last period of the day, they're tired, hungry), combination of personalities (one of my more disruptive (and less able, frankly) students was out today), the fact that I had had chocolate...and I think also, the fact that 8th period was the second time I was doing the lesson. In 4th period it was more like a dry run, and 8th was the full show, as it were.

Something to ponder, as always.

Under the heading of "I did not know that!":

"Catherine the Great also gained some territory - she was able to wipe Portland off the map." (she meant Poland. A common mistake, I always confuse Portland and Poland).

"Louis XIV's nickname was Louiey" Yes, but only his closest friends called him that...

Not quite on the subject of teaching or school (ok, definitely not on topic)...

This is probably blasphemous, so I will preface it by saying I love the Lord of the Rings, I'm a huge fan, thought the movie was awesome, etc., etc., etc.


BUT

I'm listening to the movie (I'm working on a test for my online students, so my back is to the tv) and I'm noticing something. Most of the movie seems to be a whole lot of screaming of names: FRODO!!!!!!!! GANDALF!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and "NO!!!!!!!!!"

Hmmm.

My students crack me up 2:

"Why is it so quiet in here?!"

"Because we're doing our work! Are you?"

My students crack me up. We're starting our unit on the Scientific Revolution. I told a little piece of trivia about my dad living in the same dorm building at university that Isaac Newton did. I even specified "Not at the same time!" and yet, still, one of my students said "Were they friends?"


Oy.

One of my students never takes notes in class, mostly pays attention, although sometimes he puts his head down and sleeps. He is one of my favorite students, actually. He is intellectually extremely gifted, he is incredibly mature in so many ways, and still a child in so many others. I personally like him and want the best for him. He said to me one day in response to my query about a project he didn't turn in that he was taking the class for the pursuit of knowledge and not just for the grade. If it were any other student I would say that he was trying to pull one over on me. With this student, I would say that I probably believe that about 85%. Maybe 80%. It's only a small part bull and the rest of it is the truth. However, that doesn't prevent me from worrying about him and his performance in class. He did amazingly well on the first test, especially considering that he told me he didn't study. So what's the problem? The problem is that I'm worried about him. He seems a little bit more sullen these last couple of classes. He's his normal ebullient self outside the classroom, but during class he is not. So I worry. Is he just tired? Not motivated? Not challenged enough by the material?
And there's the constant worry that I'm having such a hard time getting over: Could it be that he doesn't like me? Ths is an issue that I battle with a lot as a teacher. I know intellectually that it doesn't matter if they students don't like me. As long as I teach them. But I still can't seem to get over the feeling that some students don't like me, and it bothers me! Oy. It shouldn't bother me, I know it shouldn't. I really hope that's an issue that goes away with more experience teaching (this is my fourth year).

So, back to my student. I'm not sure what to do about it. My main concern is his inability to complete and turn in assignments. It's all fine and good if you do well on the tests, but if you don't turn in essays and projects, it's going to hurt your grade. He understands that, I know he does. And he seems willing to take the failing grade. Yet I still find myself worrying about it.

Why is it that when a student says they are going to come after school for help, invariably they don't? Actually, I know why that is, it's because they forget. They have so many other things on their mind that they can't remember to do everything. Of course, here I am, thinking that I have this foolproof system. Make them sign up themselves on the sheet, ask them to write it down, they won't possibly forget. Silly me. What do you mean, history isn't the most important thing in their lives! Hmph.

Here's the first post to my new blog! This is very exciting. I'm hoping to use this as a way of processing my days as a teacher in high school. A bit about the classes I teach: I teach Advanced Placement Psychology, World History 2 and World History 2 online.
I teach in a fairly well-to-do (upper middle class) school district on the east coast.