A Book for Me!

I have little time to read anything that doesn't have to do with school. And I actually did my first review on one that I didn't read for pleasure but more to relate to my students. So, this past weekend (after the Razorbacks beat LSU!) I read Sense and Sensibility. I love historical fiction and I really enjoy Jane Austen. After watching the biographical movie this summer, I decided to re-read Pride and Prejudice, but I had never read SS until now. This is a bit darker than PP, but I kind of like it that way. It is the story of three sisters and their mother who must adjust to a small income after the father dies and they are forced to leave their estate with their half-brother. Then, of course, comes some hard times, love, lovers scorned, and eventually everyone ends up happily ever after...except maybe for Willoughby. This is one of those that I could read over and over and never get tired of it, though not one that will continue to change for me each time I read it as so many others do. It's not overly inspirational...but it is a place to go and half the enjoyment of reading for me is the escape of the everyday world. It is one of those books that my grandmother used to call 'feel-goods': it makes you laugh, probably cry, but at the end you are probably smiling (and crying too!)

Thanksgiving!

It's so nice to have the full week out! I've never been out a whole week at Thanksgiving before and I must say it's wonderful. I even had two glorious days at home by myself before my daughter got out at Monticello. Things should be better when we go back to school too. They instituting a no tolerance policy at my school against insubordination and disrespect towards teachers. This has been a SERIOUS, SERIOUS PROBLEM...I cannot emphasize that enough. Most of the teachers are holding our breath because we really hope the administration follows through with this. We are tired of being treated like idiots by our 7th and 8th grade students and then NOTHING happening when we write them up. This pregnant woman has had it and I am way too hormonal to have to put up with it. So hopefully they will get it out of their systems before Monday and the rest of the year will go much more smoothly.

Twilight

I started out reading this book for a few reasons. First, I tend to be very ‘old school’ in my reading. When I find a book that I like, I tend to read it to pieces. For instance, I am on my fifth copy of Gone With the Wind, having read it for the first time when I was ten. I thought with the Twilight series I could launch myself into a fresh, new something that wasn’t terribly brain taxing. Another reason was to relate back to my students. As a 7th grade teacher, this is the only book, along with its successors, that my girls willingly open. Finally, I wanted something outside the box for me for my book review.

Honestly, I could hardly sit through it. I do not know if I started out with a mental block or if it is the material. I’ve never been into vampires but I had been told that the series doesn’t really pull it in that much until the later books, and it focuses on the love story. Well, there was more than enough of both for me.

Basically, this teenage girl, named Bella, moves from Arizona to live with her father in the rainiest city in the U.S., Forks, Washington. She wants to blend in, get through life, try not to be miserable…although that pretty much seems to be an oxymoron for her. Blending in doesn’t work so well because she meets this apparently fantastic, gorgeous, perfect teenage boy named Edward. But Edward is not exactly a teenager and he is far from normal. He is a vampire, as is his family, and they are basically what you would call ‘nice vampires’. They do not drink human blood. Edward and Bella become highly attracted to one another. It becomes a constant back and forth ‘I want to be with you, but not hurt you, get hurt, hurt someone else…’ ‘Oh, I long to become a vampire so we can be together forever.’ For me it is excruciatingly painful to go through this revolting love and pain relationship that the two have. It does knock some of the notions of vampires out of the park though…and the pun is intended. Vampires are supposed to be horrible, evil, vicious, bloodsucking creatures who want to drink the blood of every human being they see. Not Edward and the rest of the Cullen family. No, they are reasonably nice, polite, baseball playing vampires who drink the blood of camels. Probably the most refreshing part of it for me is that the vampires can do something so mortal and human as play baseball. They even have their very own vampire baseball league. Hysterical.

Can I say that I recommend it? Not really, but my opinion is pretty biased. However, I am glad to be able to use it as a relation tool with my students, which is really why I started the book in the first place. I don’t know if I’ll make it through the other three though.

Civil War Journals

My Arkansas History classes have been studying the Civil War. I don't have the time I need to do the subject justice, so to give them some 'hands-on' experience, I have assigned Civil War journals. They had to make up a character, decide what that character's role would be, where they live, which side they were on, etc. Each day, their bell work is a different writing prompt that they had to respond to. It was interesting to come up with something generic enough each day to suit everything from Abraham Lincoln to Confederate soldiers to a plantation owner's daughter. I had to change it up a little after I saw how creative the kids were in coming up with their characters! But I didn't mind at all...they got into this project more than anything this year. The funny part is I came up with this at the last minute to extend their thinking into the subject a little more and the things I have spent hours and days planning weren't nearly as productive.

By the way, my favorite one came from one of my pre-AP girls: she was a plantation owner's daughter who had two brothers fighting in the war. One brother got injured and a nurse had written to tell them he had died because they didn't have the medicine to help him. She became a spy and a smuggler for the Confederate Army to make sure that she could help others like her brother. All that came from my description of female smugglers who used to sew pockets in their petticoats to hide medicine!

Pregnancy and Teaching

Whatever made me think I could teach, do MAT, and be a wife and mom all at the same time...yeah, still haven't figured that one out. So to make my life easier...I'm throwing pregnancy into the mix. I'm almost 10 weeks, so I'm really hoping that the morning sickness and constant exhaustion slacks off a little soon. It didn't with Olivia, but, you know, I can dream. I have discovered two things that seem to make it easier to get through the day however. The first is Powerade-blue only. I drink one of the 32 oz. Powerades everyday between 1st period and lunch. Supposedly B6 helps, and it's in there...who knows? The second thing is my 6th period class...

Bless their precious little hearts-there are only 7 in that class so we are a little more relaxed anyways. But those 7-they are a handful when they get going. Since they found out I'm not alone, they are so protective! They jump on other students for misbehaving in my class- "Don't you know high blood pressure is bad for her baby!" It's hilarious! They have also learned that at 1:15 every single day I am going to yawn and stop talking for just a minute. It must be funny to see-I stop, yawn, take a couple of deep breaths, and seven heads turn to make sure I'm on schedule (it's also their half way shot-their class ends at 1:35). Most of my classes would be out of control in the one minute I need to recharge, but these kids are like my little protective guardian angels. They sit there good as gold, waiting for me, then at 1:36 I'm good for the rest of the day and we keep going. Anyone who walked in would think they had walked into the Twilight Zone (these kids usually spend a great deal of time with the principal). But it's all part of the day for my 6th period.