The First Weekend

I spent most of my weekend relaxing, but also preparing for the next week and the rest of the year.

Saturday, Cat, my wife, and I went on a date. We were finally able to see the final Harry Potter movie, afterwhich we went to a nice Italian restaurant. Cat teaches English also at another Oklahoma City school. (We steal ideas from each other on a regular basis.)
In addition to some great together time, I began reading a book on education entitled Unschooling Rules: 55 Ways to Unlearn What We Know About Schools and Rediscover Education written by Clark Aldrich. Can't say that I'm all that impressed with the book or the author's program. He takes the standard line that our schools, as they now exist, were designed for a more linear Industrial Age and don't fit today's non-linear world. Many of his recommendations seem to be more doable for home schoolers. (In fact, he seems to feel that only home schoolers are doing a good job of educating.) Aldrich recommends having children work with live animals, and not just pets! He also calls for children to work as apprentices or interns to get real world experience. One could do that if one had one or two children to education, but it's not really something I can use in my line of work.

Next week I begin to add more content to the curriculum. I'll still be working on the Rituals and Routines, but the 11th graders will be working on study skills like note-taking and graphic organizing. The 12th graders will start on early British literature. Beowulf here we come!

Trying a Reading Program

I'm going to try keeping a regular reading program, something like an hour a day minimum or 100 pages a day. I would like to increase the amount of reading I do, and I've always done better if I set goals. Right now I am reading Johnathan Franzen's novel Freedom
In one hour, I read 31 pages. I don't know if that if particularly slow, but it seems like it is. I have been reading the novel off and on for a while, so part of my reason for setting a reading goal is that I might be able to read the novel before my 60th birthday, which is a year and 2 months away right now.

Students Back In School Today

Pride and Prejudice 2005

Today was the first day back for the students after the Christmas break. I'm going to have the Seniors read Pride and Prejudice while my regular Junior class will read Red Badge of Courage. My Honors English Juniors will be reading Huckleberry Finn.

The Red Badge of Courage starring Audie Murphy and Bill Mauldin

The Juniors will also be competing in an essay contest Oklahoma sponsors each year on Abraham Lincoln. I'm going to give an in-school prize and submit the best entry for the state contest.

Illustration from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

As if I weren't busy enough, I'm going to try to start a Young Democrats club. Our school is about 80% African American, and with Barack Obama doing so well in the race for the White House, I think this would be an opportune time to get the school's students interested in the political process.



This should be an interesting New Year