The heaters still don't work. On Tuesday, we were dismissed at 1pm. Yesterday, we had a snow day. Today, the students were dismissed at 11:45 am. What a strange string of events, albeit an exciting one as well. Apparently some classrooms are so cold that students are wearing hats and gloves during class. Mine, however, is like a sauna; I have to keep the windows open for a little bit of ventilation.
Apparently they have to clean out one of the boilers, or something like that, so we were told to remove everything from next to the radiators and then to vacate the building. Apparently steam can force itself out and destroy things in front, and even injure people if it comes out forcefully enough.
I'm lucky, because my first prep is all in the morning, and my second prep is all in the afternoon. The fact is, I haven't seen that second prep since Monday, but the rest of my classes are all on the up and up. And those Juniors could probably use a break from me anyway. Or maybe vice versa.
Awesome lesson today, by the way. Kids are comparing a passage from frederick douglass with a poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca. Tomorrow, they're writing a BCR comparing the symbolism of Douglass looking out into the Chesapeake and seeing the white sails across the blue water, and it reminding him of freedom, with Johnny Cash's song "Folsom Prison Blues," when he hears the train a comin' and the whistle reminds him of freedom. I might even play the song for them. Might. I'm still not sure if I'm into subjecting them to country music, even 2 minutes and 23 seconds of it.
Hell, why not?
Mental Health Break
-
This week’s dog vs cat debate comes to a head: (Hat tip: Neetzan)
10 minutes ago
4 comments:
That song is awesome. What about showing the film, showing him writing/singing the song? As for country music, you may get some initial groans, but why not open their minds some, expose them to something they might not otherwise listen to? I used to show "O Brother, Where Art Thou" in conjunction with teaching The Odyssey, and by the end the inner city/urban students I taught were singing along to some of the most old timey country/bluegrass music I've ever heard . . . "I am a man of constant sorrow . . ." It was awesome. Good luck with Johnny Cash.
http://jimmysantiagobacaconman.blogspot.com/
Gotta wonder why some schools with the on again/off again heat get the early dismissal while others in the city are told to just move the kids around to the rooms with heat. What are the criteria here?
"Folsom Prison Blues": As a country song, it's very accessible and I don't think the film is necessary. Oddly, my mother played that album a lot when I was a kid, and I always had an image of him playing in an open-air setting, in the prison's yard or something. I was taken aback when the film showed him in a small-ish room indoors.
Post a Comment