A teacher's mood has a distinct effect on the way she grades an essay. She's much more likely to let things slide on a good day...
Students who actually try hard all the time are rare, and the few who do are really appreciated.
One little "this is dumb" is sometimes interpreted as "you are a complete failure, and your life's work amounts to nothing."
A student who makes a mental leap all on his own, such as the one made today in my 7/8 Lit class, is like a life ring out of that meaninglessness.
The end of the quarter is incredibly stressful, since everything that has been procrastinated on (i.e. grading) is suddenly due all at once.
Teachers actually talk about more than teaching in the teacher's lounge.
"What do you think?" sometimes means "I'm going to stall for time while I think up a good answer."
Other times it means the teacher has a rock-solid answer, but wants to give you the joy of figuring it out on your own.
She's probably not going to let you know which.
Teaching takes a ton of emotional energy because teachers actually care a LOT about how their students do.
It's totally worth it.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Books Read in 2009
Sooo, Derrick's list (of HUNDREDS) of books read inspired me to publish mine as well. I love book lists! So here, in chronological order by date completed, are the books I read last year:
1. That Hideous Strength - CS Lewis
2. Home to Holly Springs - Jan Karon
3. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
4. The Cathedral - Hugh Walpole
5. Hannah Coulter - Wendell Barry
6. Gentian Hill - Elizabeth Goudge
7. Rest and Be Thankful - Helen McInnes
8. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart
9. The Return of Jeeves - PG Wodehouse
10. Let Sleeping Vets Lie - James Herriot
11. The Rosary - Florence Barclay
12. The Mistress of Shenstone - Florence Barclay
13. Breakheart Pass - Alistair McLean
14. The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
15. Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton
16. Miss Marple Short Stories - Agatha Christie
17. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
18. The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton
19. Kilmany of the Orchard - LM Montgomery
20. Barnaby Rudge - Charles Dickens
21. Carry On, Jeeves - PG Wodehouse
22. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
23. A City of Bells - Elizabeth Goudge
24. Howard's End - EM Forster
What a great year! And in typing all of those I kept wanting to comment. So here's my commentary.
Firstly, I blame Tolstoy and Dickens for the shortness of my list:) But they were worth it.
Secondly, I think my favorites of the year were The Cathedral, The Rosary, The House of Mirth, A City of Bells, The Scarlet Letter and Howard's End, two of which are perfectly happy, another two of which only attain a "troubled joy" (in the words of Nathaniel Hawthorne), and the remaining two of which are downright tragic. Eeeenteresting... I have yet to fully understand my love affair with sad books.
Thirdly, in my humble opinion I think I have attained a good balance of light and heavy reading:) But that, of course, is by my definition of heavy (anything written before 1900 - haha).
I was skeptical of Wendell Barry at first, but by the end I LOVED that book. He totally won me over. I would have added him to my list of favorites, but I already had a quarter of the total book list on there!
I didn't read anything I didn't like, although the Dickens book, which started out incredibly, dragged a little in the middle. But it redeemed itself in the end again:)
I'm really looking forward to teaching The Great Gatsby.
The Mysterious Benedick Society was the BEST children's book EVER! Really a young adult book, probably, I found it captivating and utterly winning even as a 29 year old.
Speaking of 29 year olds, both The Rosary and The House of Mirth featured a 29 year old heroine. I thought that was pretty cool.
Hurrah for reading! Now I'm all inspired about what to read this year. I'm planning to start Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott tonight. I've only read Ivanhoe, and that MANY years ago, and I just really really want to like his writing since I adore him as a person of history:)
1. That Hideous Strength - CS Lewis
2. Home to Holly Springs - Jan Karon
3. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
4. The Cathedral - Hugh Walpole
5. Hannah Coulter - Wendell Barry
6. Gentian Hill - Elizabeth Goudge
7. Rest and Be Thankful - Helen McInnes
8. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart
9. The Return of Jeeves - PG Wodehouse
10. Let Sleeping Vets Lie - James Herriot
11. The Rosary - Florence Barclay
12. The Mistress of Shenstone - Florence Barclay
13. Breakheart Pass - Alistair McLean
14. The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
15. Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton
16. Miss Marple Short Stories - Agatha Christie
17. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
18. The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton
19. Kilmany of the Orchard - LM Montgomery
20. Barnaby Rudge - Charles Dickens
21. Carry On, Jeeves - PG Wodehouse
22. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
23. A City of Bells - Elizabeth Goudge
24. Howard's End - EM Forster
What a great year! And in typing all of those I kept wanting to comment. So here's my commentary.
Firstly, I blame Tolstoy and Dickens for the shortness of my list:) But they were worth it.
Secondly, I think my favorites of the year were The Cathedral, The Rosary, The House of Mirth, A City of Bells, The Scarlet Letter and Howard's End, two of which are perfectly happy, another two of which only attain a "troubled joy" (in the words of Nathaniel Hawthorne), and the remaining two of which are downright tragic. Eeeenteresting... I have yet to fully understand my love affair with sad books.
Thirdly, in my humble opinion I think I have attained a good balance of light and heavy reading:) But that, of course, is by my definition of heavy (anything written before 1900 - haha).
I was skeptical of Wendell Barry at first, but by the end I LOVED that book. He totally won me over. I would have added him to my list of favorites, but I already had a quarter of the total book list on there!
I didn't read anything I didn't like, although the Dickens book, which started out incredibly, dragged a little in the middle. But it redeemed itself in the end again:)
I'm really looking forward to teaching The Great Gatsby.
The Mysterious Benedick Society was the BEST children's book EVER! Really a young adult book, probably, I found it captivating and utterly winning even as a 29 year old.
Speaking of 29 year olds, both The Rosary and The House of Mirth featured a 29 year old heroine. I thought that was pretty cool.
Hurrah for reading! Now I'm all inspired about what to read this year. I'm planning to start Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott tonight. I've only read Ivanhoe, and that MANY years ago, and I just really really want to like his writing since I adore him as a person of history:)
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