counting down

ohhhh, it's that time of year when even the teachers of the world start counting down. i've got...three, four, four... that would be eleven days left to teach this year. that's a good thing, because these kids were a hard bunch. can you believe that? most people wince at the fact that i CHOOSE to work with middle schoolers. yes, there are less nuts years than others. and this wasn't one of them. that, coupled with the fact that we've wrestled with a horrible administrator for two years, makes the impending summer even sweeter. (said administrator resigned.)

so we have silent sustained reading for the kids sixty minutes a week, twenty for every homeroom class and forty that rotates week to week through the core teacher's classes. i have found that i really am not good at finishing books. it is with this in mind that i have been determined to start finishing books and to start finishing books that aren't young adult fiction. because besides being a middle school english teacher, i am, afterall, a real adult. so far i've finished of mice and men. now i'm onto the sun also rises. which i have had a hard time sticking to. but i'll be damned if i shall abandon it and send it to the depths of other abandoned books such as white teeth, one hundred years of solitude, sea biscuit, and on and on. i guess i prefer hemingway's short stories and later work. this one is seeming really choppy and too detailed to me. what should i try next? any suggestions? since i'm not really sure that anyone reads this (because i write SO often) that's really a piece of bait to see who my DEDICATED friends are =) well, and to see what you all are reading currently or have loved in the past. not that stephen and i don't have stacks of books here to check out.

just finished my shakespeare unit for the year. did you know that i totally love shakespeare? here is a link to pages i made years ago for the kids. you know, just in case you have some spare time to read up a little on the bard. the comm teacher and i have them work in groups to put on a midsummer night's dream, lines memorized, costuming and all. in the end, it is one of my favorite things to teach. if you have even more spare time, make sure not to miss the insults. they are great! The most infectious pestilence upon thee...

what else. i feel like i've gotta make this worthwhile since i'm here. i'm actually anticpating that i'll post more during the summer when i have some time to think.

but the truth is that i have shit to do. again, tony k. and todd generally have meaningful blogs, so you can live vicariously through them (like i do) until i have something of substance to say. so sorry...

i need to ask, before i go, a question on the mn political situation. does anyone know when we can start rallying for someone to run and BEAT our fair governor? a democrat would be especially nice.