Day 44- "When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemmingway

Today is the last day of the grading period. It is also the day I handed back the senior's first essays. There was very little joy in Mudville today as I pretty much lectured my seniors for being lazy and not taking the first paper seriously. The vast majority of the errors for this paper were based on sheer laziness. I made a pictorial of screen shots with step by step directions for the students to follow to format their papers for MLA formatting in Google Docs. I also included how to format the bibliography. Only 6 out of 110 students followed it. When I asked the classes why they didn't follow it, they all said they forgot or just didn't care. I bet they care now. To prove my point that following directions makes their lives easier or better, I gave them a "screw you" test for bell work. The "test" consisted of 20 random pure nonsense questions. The first question told them to read the entire test before they answered any questions. The last question says do numbers 1 and 2. After about 2 minutes, I told them to stop doing the test, and if they were still working, then they didn't follow directions. To a T, about 50%-60% of my classes were still working on the test. Most of the classes were a little shocked I did this to them, but I believe my point was made. Follow freaking directions!

I handed back their essay rubrics (all were submitted online via Google Docs), and the classes went to the IMC so they could all view the comments I made on their essays and I could have a dialogue with the students who had questions on my comments and wanted more feedback. Overall, it was very productive. I also received a note back from a student on one of the notes I made, and her note to me made my day.  This student was 2 days late, so I had to take a percentage off of her essay. Also, the essay grade dropped her to a class grade to a C, which was the first C she ever had on a report card. The note said, "I like how mean you are, it honestly helps. Thanks." Sometimes, maybe, just maybe, what I do does make a difference.

Day 43- "Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn." John C. Maxwell

Black days are always very easy and welcome. My first period class was Read 180, and the students did a word challenge based on their vocab words. My second period is my class that can struggle to keep on task, but 2 students were absent today, so it really made the class run much smoother. Today was the lesson on thesis statements, and they did a fairly decent job. They probably came up with the best thesis statements as a whole group, so I'm hoping they can do the same for their own personal thesis statements for their paper.

Tonight, my soccer team played the #1 team in the state. We lost 2-1 on a heartbreaking goal in the last 2 minutes. The boys played fantastic, and despite the loss, I'm very proud of them.

Day 42- "Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis." Manfred Eigen

So last night was a long night as I didn't home from Bloomington until after 11:00. Also, losing sucks. It was our first loss of the season, and we played like absolute poo. I hate losing. I guess its a good thing that, including club and high school soccer, it was only my 6th loss since January. As cool as that sounds, it doesn't make it any easier. Oh, and today was a white day, so lemon juice was poured into my gaping wound of a day.

First period was the College Go class for that group since we didn't meet yesterday. For my other classes, we discussed thesis statements for an evaluation paper. Every class had a fantastic discussion about how to narrow a thesis statement, make it debatable, and make it as specific as possible. I went over a few topics and how to come up with a solid thesis statement, then I let them develop 3 thesis statements in groups for the legalization of marijuana and the issue of government surveillance. Each class come up with some great thesis questions and statements, and I was very happy with how the lessons went. I then gave them the list of topics they are allowed to choose from for their evaluation paper and gave them a guide to help them develop their thesis question and narrow it down. I also showed them a couple websites on opposing views in context and a pro/con website that has a plethora of information on debatable issues. I just hope my class tomorrow, who is my wild bunch, can mimic the success these classes had today.

Day 41- " You know a lot of people go to college for seven years." Tommy Boy

Since I didn't work yesterday, today is my Monday. This really shouldn't affect me at all since my life is dictated by cycles of red-white-black days, and I rarely know what day of the week it is. I know that today is a red day and I have a soccer game in Bloomington; beyond that, its all a mystery.

This week is College Go week, which means that many Indiana colleges have waived their application fees. Also, a magazine was distributed to all the English classes with specific information regarding college, planning for college, and preparing for college. Every year during this week, I go through the magazine with my seniors and let them spend a day in the IMC to apply for college or do whatever else they need to do, such as FASFA applications, ACT/SAT registration, or just research a college. The vast majority of students actually took this time to use wisely and I was able to help them and answer many of their college questions. I discovered a few years ago that not many of my students have much guidance on their future, so this time is very helpful for them.

I only have 7 essays left to grade of my 110. I should really finish them, but I seemed to have lost my motivation. I believe he is reading a book somewhere or getting caught up on Game of Thrones. I envy him.

Day 40- Sick Day

I took a sick day today. It was a black day, so no new material was to be taught. Its probably the best day to miss, but also my easiest day of the cycles. Oh the catch-22.

Day 39- "We've been fighting a long time. We are out numbered by machines. Working around the clock,without quit. Humans have a strength that cannot be measured. This is John Connor. If you are listening to this,you are the resistance."- Terminator Salvation

I have been making my white days easier recently. My first period class was, as always, a repeat of my classes yesterday. It actually was probably the best discussion of all my classes on the tablets vs textbooks article. This class is always an enigma as to how they will perform on any given day, but today they were a pleasant surprise. The rest of my senior classes were in the lab to do a writing assignment where they summarized the debate topics we discussed about the text vs tablet article. They had to mention 3 pros and 3 cons, and my goal was to see how they organized their writing. This will come into play later.

My Read 180 lab class had the privilege of taking an "assessment" on a reading about rats. This was assigned, and yes I do mean assigned, to our English classes by our professional development team. Not best practice, but choices are limited at this time. This was suggested to be bell work for most classes, yet in talking with a few teachers, this took their classes 20-30 minutes, and it took mine 40. Sometimes I feel the disconnect between non-classroom educators and classroom educators grows daily. Next week's cluster should, as always, be interesting.

Day 38- "This debate is stirring up a lot of excitement." The Great Debaters

Today I was fairly happy with what my English 12 classes did and how engaged they were. In keeping with our theme of evaluation essays, I put the class in 6 groups. I gave everyone an article from procon.org that compared and contrasted the use of tablets vs. textbooks in schools. Everyone was assigned to read the article, but 3 of the groups were assigned to highlight or mark in some fashion the pros of the article while the other 3 were tasked with finding the cons. They read the article individually and made a list of their top 3 pros or cons depending on their group's task. Then, I had them discuss their top 3 in their group and as a group come up with a consensus as to the groups top 3 pros or cons. After the group consensus, I then paired each pro group with a con group and they had to tell the opposite group their pros or cons. Afterwards, I gave them a chance to debate with each other and see if as a whole group or pro and con they could come to a consensus. Only 1 group in all 3 classes came to a consensus. I then listed on the board the top pros and cons of each of the groups, and as a class we discussed other pros or cons that the article didn't mention. I wanted them to see that personal preference may play a role in a person's decision on a debatable topic, but both sides of the topic have relevant information and argue fine points.

Day 37- "Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul." Billy Madison

School today was fairly routine and easy as it was a black day. My first period English class was the lesson from yesterday on finding pros and cons from articles. This class, which is usually a bit squirrelly, did a great job with this activity today. Read 180 and iPass went as scripted, and I was able to get quite a bit done on my prep, despite it being a shortened day. In the Read 180 lab, the students read, then typed a "final draft" of their narrative stories. I had them type them so I could read them, and next we will take them and add more detail to them.

Day 36- "Define irony: Bunch of idiots dancing on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash." Con Air

Today was a quick day. White days always seem to move quickly because I go non-stop, but today seemed quicker than usual. Block 1 was a listing and discussion of debatable topics. This class came up with an excellent list, but I reaffirmed today that this class is not capable at all of choosing their own groups. All my other senior classes can, but this class just does not have that capability. All my other senior classes were on a new day, and I was more like Virgil today with those classes. Keeping with our pro/con paper theme, I gave them an article on social networking that had data about the pros and cons of using a social networking site. They had to read the article, then discuss in small groups the pros and cons they found. Then, we shared out as a class what information they found from the article. The classes did a fairly good job of this, and as a class they found every pro and con. This was a little challenging for some because they wanted to insert their own opinions into the discussion, but I made them stick to strictly what they had read in the article. As an individual assessment, I had them read an article written in a similar fashion about the effects of video game violence on teen behavior, then they had to list 5 pros and cons they found. This was ironic because by sheer coincidence, today was also the release of Grand Theft Auto 5, a video game series that has been blamed for violent youth behavior. I wish I could have this was planned on my part, but it was a true coincidence.

I looked in my Google drive to see how many students had submitted their papers, and save for one class, it appears most of my students did. My second block class seemed to not understand when a paper is due considering I had 12 out of 26 students turn in the paper. My hope is they will finish quickly so they can hopefully earn a decent score. I may be calling a few of them down during iPass. I am stuck between wanting to have some of them come to iPass and make them finish the paper, but they are seniors, and its time that school stopped holding their hand and treated them like an adult. Many of them are adults and have jobs, and college is less than 12 months away. I will make a few parent contacts, but its time for many of them to accept responsibility and be ready to join the real world. Now, I need to do my responsibility and find time to grade these 110 essays. I'm very hopefully the electronic submissions will speed this long, and at times brain numbing, process up.

We had a home game tonight against Franklin Central, our only game of the week. We played a very solid game and won 2-0. I was thrilled with our effort and how we bounced back from two mediocre games on Saturday. We are currently 10-0-1, have 8 straight shutouts, and a state best 2 goals allowed, both of which game in our second and third games on communication issues on corner kicks.

Day 35- "That's debatable." The Office

I was fairly happy with how today's lessons went. Read 180 was the same as always, so not much new going on in a scripted class. In English 12, we started discussing what debatable topics were. I had the classes come up with a list of debatable topics that they could write a pro/con paper on. I was surprised at the depth of topics some of the classes came up with. There was, of course, the staples of legalizing marijuana and lowering the drinking age, but most classes also suggested topics such as later start times for schools, the pending altercation in Syria, corporal punishment, gun control, and minimum wage. They showed they actually pay attention to their world and aren't as lazy and as laissez-faire as they seem.We also discussed fact vs opinion of statements that could be confusing. The statement that stumped them the most was that milk does a body good. They have heard this their entire lives, so they assumed it was a fact. This led to a good discussion on how what we hear isn't always fact, even if we are inundated with it.

Today was also D-Day for their papers be doing. I had a quite a few who didn't have them finished on time. I'm not sure if they didn't think I was serious about the deadline or just thought they could BS me with excuses, but I heard many of them today. I have a feeling that many of them will be shocked with their grades on this first essay, and not in a good way.

Day 34- "Do I feel lucky?" Dirty Harry

Today is black Friday the 13th. Thankfully, this day did not live up to it's ominous name. Black days are an amazing gift, especially after a late night in Bloomington the night before. This was a fairly uneventful day as my first period was Read 180, then my English 12 lesson I taught yesterday, iPass, prep, and the Read 180 lab where the kids started brainstorming for their narrative paragraphs they will write. The English 12 class also got a kick out of all the grammar errors how a simple comma can completely change a sentence. With the seniors having their papers due on Monday, I had a large number of students request iPass passes to work in a lab or my room, and as far as I could tell everyone showed up to their assigned area. They have been given ample time to write their essays, but I have a feeling many have waited until the last minute. I haven't even started grading their essays yet, but I have a feeling many of them will be shocked with their grades.

Day 33- "Did you eat a lot of paint chips as a kid?" Tommy Boy

I'm exhausted, so this will be short. Its never a good night when I get back to school from a game as the 2nd shift custodians are leaving, and I know I'll be back before the 1st shifters arrive. In my English 12 classes on this white day that my never end, we discussed grammar error in sentences and how it can be the difference between being nuts and feeling them with the proper use of your or you're. Also, we talked about how putting a comma in the proper place could save Grandma's life or stop a baby seal from being clubbed. It was a fun lesson, and the kids had a riot with it. I actually had to walk out of my last block "night class" to regain my composure. It was a merry time had by all. Hopefully, they can apply what they learned today and save lives with grammar.

In soccer, we went to Bloomington South tonight and won 3-0. We played a truly complete game, and it made this late night easier. I am not sure it will make the early morning any better though.

Day 32- "Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do. But like most impolite things, it is excusable under certain circumstances." The Wide Window

Today, my lesson was one I stole from Joe who I did the Hoosier Writing Project with. We did peer review of the seniors essays all based on questioning as a reader and not worrying about grammar correction. I will not post the lesson on here, but if anyone ever reads this and they want it, I'll gladly pass it along. This lesson was by far the most effective peer review I have ever had my students do. They were able to review 6-7 papers, which meant they received feedback from 6-7 people on their papers. I instructed them to use the information and feedback they received to drive their future writing and their revisions of this essay. The activity went very well, and I would say almost all of the students took it seriously and did a great job with it. I was very happy with how smoothly the activity went, and I think I can make some improvements from what I learned from it today and make it even better.

Day 31- "An elegant solution for keeping track of reality." Inception.

This was probably my easiest day of the school year so far. Not going to lie, I needed it. My first period Read 180 class was the start of a new unit, so it was just background videos and a little bit of discussion. My sole English class that met began typing their essays, and my Read 180 lab class spent the class time reading and then perusing the library to find interesting books and what other types of reading there is available to them at school. My iPass period was full today because I had quite a few students who wanted to come and use laptops to type their papers. I'm not sure how much work they all accomplished, but they were given plenty of time to type this first essay, so there should be no excuses for it being late. I do enjoy iPass for this reason, and it gives me time to check in with struggling students, but at times I'm not sure its the sacrifice of my daily prep. I work every single minute of my prep and I still feel like I do not get much accomplished. It's hard, and I'm exhausted. I currently live my teaching live three days at a time. I am living in 3-day cycles and my days of the week have turned into colors. I need to check my totem.

Day 30- "Are you watching closely?" Prestige

White Mondays rival white Wednesdays in the longest day of my week category. Part of that is due to picking up O from his soccer practice after my soccer practice, but both days pretty much suck.

With it being a white day, my first class was a repeat of my Friday classes where we discussed conclusions. I think this class did the best job with their group conclusions and understanding how to write an effective conclusion. I won't know until I grade their individual writing of them, but as a whole, they seemed to do the best job. My other senior classes began writing their essays today. I was a little shocked at how many of them couldn't follow or refused to follow the MLA format handout I gave them. I think most of them didn't take me seriously as to the format because not many of them were using the handout. Following directions is important kids. They have a week to write their papers, and we are going to peer review the papers on the next red day. I'm excited to try the peer review activity that I learned at the HWP this summer, so hopefully it will go well. 

For my Read 180 lab, I did put in place an activity I learned at the HPW. I had the students find a partner and then turn a desk so one partner faced the SMART Board and one faced away from it. I then put a picture of some street art on the board, and they had to describe in vivid detail to their partner what they saw. The street art pictures were optical illusions, and there were many other details in the picture. I wanted them to learn how what they see and what they write and say are different, and they need to be as descriptive as possible in their writing so the reader can get a clear picture of what is being described. They really enjoyed this activity, especially discovering the cool types of street art. For those who care, these are the images I used:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNkWomvSXHv7ZyKXW1OKmtMQzEc4NfJSHO2II-Ezd-QJvcJ0QY0UhXy1i1-dkOj2DOqASF2KjJaLBwI0VQtapiv1A2IjKtQqedKxGKSl9lqmkfSl1gZHJTFlJrPRWhXjAoIOrvVO9gZwD/s640/3d+Street+Art02.jpg

http://clinock.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/banksy-graffiti-street-art-flower.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llbpzqj8AH1qipk8io1_500.jpg

Day 29- "I'll see you again. This side, or the other." The Town

Today was the last day of prep work before the students started their first paper. I showed them MLA formatting, then I showed them a PPT that gave them a step-by-step pictorial of how to set up MLA formatting in Google docs. If they can't follow this handout, well, then maybe they need to take a class on how to follow directions. After the paper dress code was established, we discussed conclusions. We discussed how a good conclusion wraps up an essay, and we went through strategies to make a conclusion effective. I had them get in groups and write a group conclusion based on a silly introduction I wrote on origins of bowling, then I had them read an essay written by a high school senior. I blacked out the conclusion of this essay, and I instructed them to write their own conclusions based on what the read and the elements of a good conclusion we discussed in class. Hopefully, they will do well.

The highlight of the day was something unexpected. In all my classes, I have students read something aloud to the class at the beginning of each class. They have signed up for this, and they do it twice a semester. I tell them they can read anything that is school appropriate. Some choose parts of books, some read song lyrics, some read a few quotes that they like, and others read material they have actually written. Today's reading will go down as one of my favorites: a student read a letter her brother had written her from prison. I was amazed at the courage this girl showed to read something so personal to her classmates. She told us she received the letter three weeks ago and hoped to receive another soon. She told us she misses him, and this is their only form of communication. Times like these remind me that no matter how stressed or tired I am, I have nothing to complain about and some of my students truly have very difficult lives. I have a very blessed life.

Day 28- "I don't need easy. I just need possible." Soul Surfer

iPass and prep back-to-back on this black Thursday were extremely welcome. I'm exhausted and need a break. I have personal and sick days, but it would be so much more work to not be at school. I will forge on and sleep when I'm dead.

In Read 180, we recently finished our unit on survivors. Bethany Hamilton was one of the survivors the students read about, so I decided to show them "Soul Surfer" and do a comparison of the film to the non-fiction story we read. We watched the first part, then discussed the similarities and differences between what they saw and what they read. They did a great job of analyzing the similarities and difference they found.

My sole English 12 class today discussed introductions, and it was probably the most effective lesson I taught on the subject. I guess the 4th time is the charm. Now, if only I could get that class to turn in their freaking homework, I would be getting somewhere.

For the Read 180 lab, we did another day of marathon writing. They students really like this, and at times I'm not sure they realize they are actually writing more in one period than they probably did all of last school year. This is also a great way for me to get to know my students better and I'm always surprised what I learn about them.

In soccer, we played our nemesis Perry Meridian tonight. We played our best game of the season and probably the best game we have played since September of last year and won 2-0. Its much easier to sleep after a win, but right now, sleep may not be an issue, no matter what.

Day 27- "Call me Ishmael"- Moby Dick

For a white Wednesday full of teaching, this was a pretty solid day. In English 12, I covered introductions and effective leads. I was able to put into practice the lesson I taught this summer at the Hoosier Writing Project, and I think it went fairly well in all my classes. I combined the lesson I used last for teaching introduction and I bettered it by using my demo from the HWP and what I learned in that amazing 13 days. For this lesson, we discussed as a class what makes a good beginning to a book or movie and what elements of those really captivate us. I then showed a few different types of leads in movies, and we talked about what made them interesting. I then asked them to tell me if they could remember any books they have read in school or for pleasue (um yeah, right) and how they began. There were very few examples since the vast majority of my student's daily intake of words comes from Twitter, but almost all of them remembered how To Kill a Mockingbird begins. They read this book as freshmen, and even the ones who claimed they never read a word of it remembered how it began with Jem having a broken arm. We discussed how to turn these concepts from books and movies into an interesting introductory paragraph for an expository essay. I showed them a model introduction I wrote if I was writing an essay on a destination as will be their first assignment. To end class, I had them write an introduction for their essays. I told them this didn't have to be perfect introduction and they should revise their writing anyway, but I want to see if they have the correct elements for an introduction. I'm hoping I don't see any of these introductions on their actual essays because that means they are at least revising in some way. Baby steps I guess.

Day 26- "I thought you looked like Christmas morning."- Mr. and Mrs. Smith

I'm going to be off all week. I have a hard enough time knowing what actual day it is, but since this week starts on a Tuesday, I might as well not even try. I know today was a red day, so I guess in the SHS world that is about all that matters.

In Read 180, the students took a vocab quiz and we discussed the answers. Fairly mundane. In English 12, we discussed word choice and how use more descriptive words instead of good, bad, nice, fine, like, etc. I showed a couple Ted Ed videos, discussed some real life examples of slang and cliches and how they can be misinterpreted, and put the students in groups to come up with a list of words they could substitute for good or bad. An example I gave them was a guy and a girl go on a date where they order pizza. The guy says that the pizza was good. His date asks how she looks, and he replies she looks good. I told the girls their date just used the same word to describe them that he used to describe his pizza. The girls didn't really appreciate being compared to a pizza, so I think the point was made. The students came up with very descriptive lists for both vague words. I ended the classes with an exercise where they had to made sentences more concise, eliminate cliches, and remove slang. Hopefully, in their writing I will see less informal language and more vivid, descriptive language.

Day 25- "Excellent. But you learned a lot, right?"- Inception

Well, this posting isn't happening until Monday night, which is Labor Day. Friday night I literally passed out on my bed before 10 p.m. with my shoes still on. It was the end to a very exhausting week. I am a night owl, and with my occasional insomnia, even being in my bedroom before 10 p.m. is the rarest of all occasions. I slept for 10 hours that night, which is probably as much as I slept the previous two nights.

Friday was an easy, almost boring day. The first class was Read 180, and we went over some grammar corrections in the small group part, and the students worked on the computer software during their computer time. During English 12, this group went to the library to do research for their destination topics. I had many students come to me for iPass passes to do research during that time as well, and according the records, almost all of them showed up to do it. There shouldn't be any excuse for my classes not having their research done. iPass and prep followed, and I was able to get my lessons all planned out for the next week. The last period was my Read 180 lab, where the students read and I had time to conference with them on their paragraph writing assignment. Some are getting it, others aren't. I am not sure if its laziness or lack of skills. I will keep forging on to find out.

The day ended by going to the first home football game of the season. We left after the first quarter when the game was pretty much already in hand. I took a few pretty cool pictures of the night's festivities. 

The Labor Day weekend was more eventful than I had anticipated with sick kids and an attack by some very angry hornets. I'm hoping that wasn't a sign of things to come this week.