2012 Reading Challenge: Why Buy the Cow

This is a challenge to read a certain number of totally free downloaded books. May be difficult for me since I have no kindle or nook and no iphone or ipad, but I've got me free kindle for PC app
(and a Nook for PC) so I am ready to go.
Perhaps this will spur me to purchasing one of the readers for myself.....maybe Santa will provide for me?????
Anyone game to join the challenge? Link to Why Buy the Cow reading Challenge

Since I've usually read only in print format I'm going to start off with the minimum:
Coupon Clipper = 12 books

Maybe I'll be able to upgrade to penny pincher (24 books!)
Who wants to take me on?

2011-12 academic year start up

Well my resolve to keep up my blog has failed yet again. This school year is another heavy one for me-- 5 preps, 2 of which have no set text. I seem to spend half my life looking for things for these 2 lower level text-less classes to read!

Weekends are filled with essay correction and all that stuff. It's impossible to finish 5 classes worth of papers and other assignments during the paltry "prep" periods! Then there's all the housework to catch up on and the errands................sigh. I WANT A LIFE!!

Freshly Brewed: Valentine's Day

Freshly Brewed: Valentine's Day: "Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Valentine's Day is a big thing at my little international school. The kids all come prepared with roses a..."

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Valentine's Day is a big thing at my little international school. The kids all come prepared with roses and chocolates or heart-shaped candies for each other and their teachers. (Yes, I'm talking about high school kids!) The Student council does a big fund-raiser by selling and delivering hand-made cards and candies (even singing valentine's!) and running a chocolate fountain at lunch. Everyone is encouraged to dress up in red or pink and white (rather than our school uniform). Teachers had better be prepared to have something slightly special to hold their students' attention!

Grade 9: Just by luck we were doing the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet-- how perfect was that! My students are mostly not native speakers of English, and Shakespeare can be hard going for them. I found a wonderful set of support activities for lower ability students at teachit.co.uk-- some matching things and other activities that get the kids looking critically at sections of the text. Today, after a bit of eye rolling at the "Romeo, Romeo" one students asked "Just why is Romeo and Juliet so popular anyway?" Good question, which since it came from one of them rather than from me, will be an excellent one for them to formulate an answer to as we continue through the play.

My AP English kids, who are currently working on argument, were rolling on the floor at "Love is a Fallacy" This is a great little story and good review for logical fallacies. We watched a modernized video version from Mutlimedia-NY which is available as a free download. then looked at the original 1951 text, discussed the fallacies and answered some questions.

My other groups read NY Times articles about love accompanied with "My Perfect Mate" or other pre-reading surveys. There's a nice NYTimes lesson plan using My Coy Mistress which fit in with the group doing poetry.

Don't you just love the Internet and wonderful resources like New York Times among others!

All in all a satisfying day. Too bad there is no romantic evening for me. I spent the weekend working on curriculum documents and now I have a stack of essays to be graded and another set of drafts to be commented on before tomorrow comes. :-(

Teaching

My school is not the strongest academically; we're not the most organized or the most established. Things don't work line clockwork here-- chaos and frustration sometimes spice our days. That said, the students are marvelous! What are the the "creme de la creme" of academia? Heavens no, far from it in fact! Rather there is a bond between students and teachers and between the students that I have seen at only few schools. We are a unit; we are "in it together."


Thailand has a traditional "teacher respecting" day (Called "Wai Kru" in Thai). It's a formal ceremony of some traditional chants and speeches about respecting and honoring teachers. Our students had the main role in organizing our school's first formal version of the ceremony this year. After the formal speeche3s and presentations of flower arrangements, the seniors sought out the teachers of their subjects and did some special more private presentations. Pictured here are one of the group shots and one shot of the seniors presenting garlands to their Social Studies teacher.

Freshly Brewed: Confessions of a Facebook Addict

Freshly Brewed: Confessions of a Facebook Addict: "This past weekend I let a pot of spaghetti sauce burn on the stove. Where was I? Online, making sure the food I was 'cooking' in Cafe Worl..."

Confessions of a Facebook Addict

This past weekend I let a pot of spaghetti sauce burn on the stove. Where was I? Online, making sure the food I was "cooking" in Cafe World didn't spoil, where else!!

How long has it been since I last posted?????

I swear it was just a few months ago-- really!
Should make this a New Year's resolution-- not to keep up a diary blog really, but to do some type of writing at least weekly. I do after all teach writing; time I started practicing what I preach.