Snitching, Chess, Moving and the Six-Foot Beard

In my junior classes we analyzed an editorial by Leonard Pitts in which he calls those in the African-American community who promote what he calls the "Stop Snitching" culture "weak and cowardly". I always manage to get a lively discussion out of this essay and today was no exception. Even my typically rowdy 4th hour class were engaged in the instruction.
On Monday we take the 3rd quarter (and final) district benchmark exams. This is the one that will be used by the district to make judgments of our school's progress. I hope that my students will take this exam more seriously than they typically do. It is hard to get them to realize the seriousness of these tests and the forces that are moving behind them. To them, it is just another boring exam that they are forced to take. They have been taking the state EOIs more seriously since these tests determine whether or not they graduate.
Had a interesting incident at The Village Library Chess Club. A man named Jim came in for the first time with a woman named Barbara. Jim introduced himself as a chess lover of long standing. However, the most remarkable thing about Jim was that he sported a 6 foot long beard, which he had tied up in short bundles. His beard sort of reminded me of an Edward Lear limerick I learned as a child.

Jim promised to come back, and I will get more of his story later. He played a couple of games with the kids there, which was a real help.
We will probably spend much of this weekend moving stuff around, trying to get our two new family members, Cat's sister Romona and our granddaughter Skylar's rooms set up for them. This means getting my desk, our two computers and the table they rest on, out into the living-dining room area. It will be a moving experience.