Teaching & Learning

I wonder if by making the kids read this article, you could change their study habits and improve their grades? Hmm. (from the NYT)

The End of Summer

It's Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end of the summer. Of course, there are still a few weeks until the equinox, but we're definitely on the slow slide into cool weather and shorter days. Summer weather is done -- no more 90 degrees days, I think. Last night, the temperature dropped into the 50s, which made for some nice sleeping weather. (Sleeping weather, though not actual sleeping, unfortunately.)

Have been spending spare time knitting -- lots of baby hats, since I know at least 6 people who are pregnant. Also spending time pulling together a new version of my philosophy of education statement and some actual good, solid cover letters, ones that say what I want to say about education and teaching. The 2009 job search was such a wild, desperate adventure; I would prefer not to do it that way ever again.

What questions do you ask (can you ask) to find out if the administration/supervision situation is good or nutty ahead of time? This is the next sort of thing to figure out. Now that I've had really good supervision, I would like to continue that. I've been spoiled, in a way.

Ma'am

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/weekinreview/29angier.html

Reminds me of the first time I got ma'am-ed:
After moving to southern Maryland, I was in the classroom and one of my 10th graders said something borderline rude. I gave him the hairy eyeball and a warning that he had crossed the line. He answered back, "Yes, ma'am." It seriously took me a minute or two to figure out if he was messing around. Having come from New England, I had never been "ma'am-ed" before. It continued to drive me nuts for a while, like not being allowed to open my own door if I got there first, but eventually, it wore me down. Now I just resent it because I still want to be a "miss," which is an age thing, not a politeness thing.

Once

I was famous once: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/stories/5682258

Sheesh

It's been a while, huh? Much like some friends who are recommitting to the blogging, I shall try, I shall try. Latest accomplishments?
- A few good dates. Though said dates ended in the classic, "You're great, but...", I still had fun. :)
- Sewing to fix some clothing issues. Bought a skirt a few months ago which is now too large in the waist, thanks to losing some weight from running. On the advice of friends, I made two button holes in the waistband & threaded through a piece of 5/8" double-faced satin ribbon. Ta da! Drawstring & skirt that fits better.
- Bought a different skirt last week, which promptly had an issue with one of the side seams. Now, however, it's also fixed. Whipstitch, dude.
- Scheduled an audition for a local choral group. Yes, I'm a choral snob (thanks to my high school & college choral conductors for that one), but I'm also ready for the fun and companionship of singing again.

Emily Dickinson

I took a class on Emily Dickinson in college, one of the best classes I took. We met at her house (!) in Amherst, MA. I learned a ton and having access to her house & the Evergreens next door was an excellent side-effect.

ED seems to be pretty popular these days, with a few articles published in the NYT recently:
- "My Hero, the Outlaw of Amherst"
- "The Poet as Gardener and Tigerlily"
- a slideshow on the ED garden exhibition: "Emily Dickinson's Garden"

Getting pretty excited to head back to my very own campus for my 10-year college reunion. So many lovely people will be there!

Still Running...

Though I have not posted about anything recently, I have still been keeping up with the pursuits of knitting, running, and working. :) Perhaps working is not so much a pursuit as a necessity.

Nonetheless, after two or three weeks stuck on Week 4 of the Couch-to-5K training program, I was getting frustrated. No results = no good. I decided to take a big rewind after the time change and begin again. This was one super-excellent idea!

I have been running again for about 5 weeks and finished Week 5, Day 2 today. That's two 8-min runs, for anyone who is keeping track. The mileage is steadily increasing and so is the total time running. Whoo!

/self-congratulatory post :P