Get Me Out of Here

So when I spent the summer of 2001 in England, I discovered Grantchester Orchard. It's a hike from Cambridge. (Literally, you have to walk there on foot through pastures.) When you complete the journey, though, you end up here.



Full trees, quaint tables, and a little stand that sells tea and scones. What could be more pleasant? Good tea, delicious scones and cream, and a good book. If heaven doesn't feel like this, I'm not interested.


Rupert Brooke immortalized this place in his famous poem "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester."

And clever modern men have seen
A Faun a-peeping through the green,
And felt the Classics were not dead,
To glimpse a Naiad's reedy head,
Or hear the Goat-foot piping low: . . .
But these are things I do not know.
I only know that you may lie
Day long and watch the Cambridge sky,
And, flower-lulled in sleepy grass,
Hear the cool lapse of hours pass,
Until the centuries blend and blur
In Grantchester, in Grantchester. . . .


Now each time I read Rupert Brooke (even if it's another poem), I always remember the breeze through the trees and the beautiful simplicity of an afternoon at Grantchester Orchard.


Today we read "The Soldier" in my British Lit class. You know the one; "If I should die, think only this of me: / That there's some corner of a foreign field / That is for ever England." Gaining a force of its own, it can move any English major to tears...or at least give you chills and remind you, "This is why I read!"


I am reading it aloud to my class of sleepy seniors when I hear a loud slurping from my right. One culprit and his morning milkshake are to blame. The class snickered a bit and I glared. When he clulessly said, "What?" I explained that he was managing to "slowly slurp every last ounce of litereray passion from my soul."


Oh that I had a time machine! I'd be 20 years old again with no students and no papers and no bills and no responsibilities. I'd be sipping tea beaneath the orchard trees this very second.

Mental Health Day

So it's been 200 years since I've last posted (nothing like the use of a good hyperbole). I've been busy busy busy doing all sorts of things but mostly drowning in my school work. I'm afraid that I've lost any readers I previously had as a result of my lengthy break from posting, so I am making an attempt to come back.

I have a substitute today, so I am posting at home - midmorning on a weekday. A rarity. I hadn't missed a day all year, not really on purpose, it just happened. My intention was to grade all morning. (I'm behind as usual.) And then I wanted to do some Christmas shopping this afternoon. Last night, however, I arrived home at the lovely hour of 7 pm which is far too late when you get to work at 7:15 in the morning. I decided that I need the mental health time more than the grading time at the present moment, so here I am.

My new plan? Post on my blog, clean my kitchen, go to the gym, come home to shower, meet the husband for lunch, and go Christmas shopping. Notice anything about this list? Ummmm, it is normal stuff that normal people should not get excited about, but I am taking a day off to do these mundane things. I know I can't complain; I am the one who chose my profession, and I am generally satisfied, but seriously.......This is far too much information, but I've been wearing the same toenail polish since September if that gives you an idea of how much time I spend on myself in proportion to how much time I spend on my job. We won't even discuss shaving the legs.

That being said, there are many bloggers out there who are just as busy as I am, and they manage to post frequently. (Andi, Carrie, and the all-powerful Dooce just to name a few.) I like blogging, and I like your comments via the blog or in "real life" for those of you who know me, so I want to keep it up. Perhaps I should move it up on my list of priorities.

On another note (since this is a somewhat bookish blog after all), I would love your suggestions on books to add to my Christmas list. Books are always the longest category on my list every year. C'mon, even you lurkers out there who read and don't leave comments whould have something to say for this one. Give me one or two really good books you've read in the last year, and I'll add them to my list. One good thing about my profession? I am about to have two solid weeks of uninterrupted "me time" which means lots of me reading time!

So, fellow bookish folk, any suggestions?

I have no excuse.

It's admittedly been a long time since I've last posted, and I have been busy, but who hasn't? This is always the time of the school year when I fall behind on doing the things I want to do because I become so overwhelmed with the daily grind. I'm giving myself a slap on the wrist for getting behind on my blog writing and my blog reading.

So what's new?

Well, I am teaching Macbeth to my British Lit students, and I had forgotten how much I like that play. It's so rare that you find a text in Brit Lit that actually has strong female characters, so I am enjoying these few days if for that reason alone. We just finished Book IX of Paradise Lost, and prior to that, only one kid knew what "patriarchal" meant, but now they all do. [Insert evil laugh here....] And yes, that will be on the unit test, boys and girls.

In other news, I have begun a great new book which I bought on a whim last weekend at a used bookstore, and I highly recommend it. There's so much to talk about, I wish I knew someone else who is reading / has read it. Anyone? I am thinking of this read next. Any reviews or advice on that one?

Being the adventurous pair that we are, Scott and I have opted for a Friday night in, so I'm off to open a bottle of wine now. We are saving money and resting up before our big concert tomorrow night. Hope all is well in the blogosphere, and I will be reading reading reading to catch up with bloggy friends.

Happy weekend.

In case there is any doubt that educators have the most difficult job in America.....

too much too soon

I've witnessed two bizarre humorous slightly disturbing situations already since I've been back at school. A colleague of mine was alerted by a student that there was "something in the boys' bathroom that should not be there." When said teacher went to check it out, he finds a DVD entitled "Good Assternoon" with some fabulously trashy naked girls on the cover. He of course used extreme caution in disposing of the item without actually allowing it to make contact with his skin.

Episode #2 - Another teacher-friend of mine is handing out textbooks to her class when a girl returns hers to get another one because that one has "something in it." Being the smart teacher she is, my friend waits for all the students to leave before investigating the issue, and what did she find? A condom. Not just any condom, people - one that appeared to be used.

I laughed at these situations heartily, partly because they didn't happen to me. We all made our fair share of comments. ("eewwww," "at least they used protection," "at least they had their English book with them")

But then later I heard some freshmen discussing A Night in Paris (aka Paris Hilton's film debut) with more information than they should know at 14. My point in telling you this? I feel archaic making this comment, but kids know way too much way too early these days. Many of the students I teach are probably more knowledgeable about sex - kinky sex - now than I was at 20, 24, who knows, maybe even now. My worry is that kids are not mature enough to deal with it.

The same kids who gasp and freak out when I refer to literary characters as being sexually active are having sex themselves. A lot of it. Is there something weird about that?

Curiosity is a natural thing, and I know I teach kids who are literally a bundle of hormones, but it seems as though they are learning too much too fast, and they don't know how to handle it. A quick search for statistics will tell you:

• In the next 24 hours, 2,795 teenage girls will become pregnant.
• More teenage girls are having sex than boys. (maybe they feel more pressure to act grown up, satisfy upperclassmen who flatter them...I don't know.)
• According to the CDC, 65% of new HIV cases this year will occur in people under 24.
• Currently, 32 states do not require any type of sex education.

My point is....is there really a problem here or are people like me just reading something that's not there? If there is a problem, who is a fault? Parents, schools, the media, the kids themselves who are not taking responsibility?

Weigh in. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Need. Sleep. Already.

Quick update - I will post something a little more reflective over the weekend.

• I have 146 students. At the moment, all of the Jennies, Christies, and Maddies are looking just alike, but I'll manage to figure it out soon.
• I have 32 ninth graders in one room during the last period of the day. Enough said.
• I am already loving British Lit....and that's when we are only on Beowulf. I'm getting a good vibe from my students in that class, and I think it'll be a good year.
• I wore new shoes on the first day of school. BAD idea - lots of blisters. (But let's be honest, I looked cute.)
• I must have done something horrible in a past life because I am looking at year number 2 of being the yearbook advisor.
• I have 95 summer reading tests to grade right now, but instead I am blogging and thinking about starting a new fluff book. I have no shame in the fluffy book department right now. Reading Beowulf and grading papers leave me sorely needing some fun.
• Okay. More later. I'm off to have a glass of wine with my chick lit.

A Sad Farewell

My summer is over.

I know for you non-teacher folks out there, it's "so what, you cry baby with 9 weeks of vacation in the middle of the year." But seriously, it is a very difficult adjustment.

This week was full of little tasks I had to complete to be ready for the year ahead. A highlight was definitely spending my Georgia Teacher Gift Card. (I totally thought that was an election year ploy, but it's back and I'm grateful for that!) Every teacher in the state of GA gets to spend a $100 Visa gift card on classroom supplies. My tally: lots of fun bulletin board stuff, 5 reams of colored paper, bright and cheerful post-it notes, class sets of highlighters, fun grading pens, a wire sorter for my desk, and sticky-tack to hang posters. I really love shopping for office supplies. Weird, I know. The ridiculous thing is that I will spend more money when you include hand sanitizer, tissues, instructional supplements, etc. throughout the year. Crazy!

Anyway, this time of year is always bittersweet for me. In one way, I am predominantly really sad to see summer go and return to my 5:30 a.m. alarm clock and Sunday night panic of the school year, but at the same time I like the "fresh slate" feeling of August. I feel lucky that I am in a profession where I really get to start over every 12 months. New kids, some new material - change is always refreshing.

An fair warning, though. This blog will soon include less discussion of books read for fun and more discussion (begging for advice) on teaching and reading and writing dilemmas. Thanks to all of you for your comments this summer as I have delved into the blogosphere. It's been fun, and I am determined to keep it up as the mad rush of the semester begins!

The best part of going back? Back to school shopping, of course. I'm acquiring some hot pink ballet crocs that should be here any day. I'll definitely be posting a picture.

The miserable countdown has begun.

A distinguished (now retired) colleague of mine once explained that the portion of the school year between Spring Break and the end of the year could be described as "a freight train to Hell." I kind of feel the same way about the end of summer.


It seems as though Fourth of July marks the turning point for those of us here in Georgia. It's there to warn us that we will be back at school in one short month, and the days just seem to roll by at an uncontrollable pace from that point.


There's nothing you can do but watch in horror as your calendar gets closer and closer to THE dreaded day.


Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I can't imagine doing anything else, but there is nothing like weeks of hot sun, poolside reading, and hours of leisure time. It really is a shock to the system to go back on a schedule of any kind.


This is probably why it has been so difficult for me to start reading school books. I need to review some texts to teach British Lit and there has been a new summer reading book added for one of my courses, so I have needed to get on that as well. This past Tuesday seemed like the perfect day to do so. It was rainy outside, and I had spent my day grocery shopping and cleaning up a little around the house.

I made myself a pot of Earl Gray and sat down to read a bit as I could hear the rain falling. Both of my dogs were sleeping soundly at my feet and all was well. A while later, the dryer buzzed, and I walked upstairs to fold a load of laundry. When I returned maybe 5 minutes later, this is what I found:









Can somebody please explain how this.....



.....can do this?

I read so slowly when I read for school becuase I am making notes and "digesting" the material in order to teach it. Notes. On. Every. Page.

Gone.

[For the record, it was Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and I have another one on the way. Despite my frustraition with that little mishap, I'm excited to teach this one, and I love that it relates so well to the age group I am teaching.]

I guess next time I should leave my book on the counter or something. Apparently the coffee table if not safe from the wild destruction that is my dog.

a little shopping

I am teaching British Lit next year for the first time, and I really wanted a couple of posters for my classroom. I've done a little browsing on Cafepress.com, and I have actually found more t-shirts and bumper stickers than posters - not helpful for my situation, but I had to share them.

First we have this....

And then there's this.......
And last but not least.....

Proof That English Teachers are Real People, Too

I remember one time that I was using some audio recordings of Julius Caesar to help my students understand it, and one of them raised his had to ask me if I rode around in my car listening to literary recordings all the time. The whole class thought it was far funnier than it really was, of course, but I assured him that I usually listen to real music - if one can fathom that. [Now as an aside, yes I do like books on tape occasionally, but I didn't feel like that was the time to reveal that information.]

My point is that many of my students probably think I live under my desk - which is generally they way I like it to be. Proof, however, that I am normal?.......CHICK LIT!

Let's be honest, as fun as it is to look at literature from a more critical perspective and dissect it, it is equally as fun to read a juicy story that makes you laugh out loud. This great suggestion came courtesy of a friend. (Thanks, Kristen!) It is a perfect summer, forget-about-school novel.

This book is about a young woman who begins to post journal entries on the Internet to pass the time at her mundane job. The journal entries are truly funny and interesting, so lots of people begin to read them. This situation is complicated because she sort of stretches a few details or "rearranges" things in her life to seem a bit different than they really are. She is okay with this because she really sort of sees her task as fiction writing. A mysterious man begins to write to her, though, and she finds herself suddenly wishing she had been honest so that this promise of a relationship could develop. What ensues definitely keeps the pages turning, and there are some really funny moments with a genuinely likable narrator. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it's a perfect by-the-pool summer read.



The first entry that she posts is a funny remembrance of playing with Barbies and her Donny and Marie collectibles who had holes in their hands so that they could hold stuff. I had to include some of it.


"Donny was wearing plastic tighty-whiteys. Seriously. There was an extra ridge of plastic that went around Donny's waist and legs. There was no bulge.....He also had a hole in his hand, but if you did it just right, you could stick in one of Barbie's spiked heels in the hole and have him sniff Barbie's shoe. Donny and Marie didn't have the money for rent, so they lived off their love in a Buster Brown shoe box. Only a ten-year-old can create an incestuous Mormon celebrity relationship and have it be romantic. [....] One day the Barbie without a head convinced Donny and Marie to put pink and blue Life pegs through the holes in their hands. The Barbies pretended the pegs were hits of acid and got the Osmonds to think they could fly." (Ribon 2-3)