I'm reporting live from the second half of the summer semester. Here are a few, brief statements about Summer 3 (it used to be called Summer B, which I think makes a lot more sense, but let's stick with their nomenclature here, okay?) thus far:
1. It's really hot outside (this is not school related, but important nonetheless as the heat has an effect on nearly everything everyone does).
2. Bobby and I are looking for a house to possibly purchase and then, you know, move into. This is a frightening and confusing endeavor, made a lot less so because Patrice is really knowledgeable and (perhaps more importantly?) calm. She makes me feel better about the whole thing. This also is not technically school related, but it affects me as a person, and therefore as a teacher, and is therefore relevant.
3. My classroom right now is a) dark, b) cold, and c) loud (it's loud in a buzzing electricity kind of way). The room is rather like a refrigerator. This doesn't make teaching incredibly easy. My kids are always on the verge of napping.
4. I'm expecting them to read a novel in a week and a half. We start that next week.
Were those four points informative? I hope so. I just read "The Things They Carried," (the short story, not the story collection) for like the millionth time. We're going over it on Wednesday. I've found that students usually really like this short story (although, hm, I think they like stories that deal with violence in general), so I'm expecting the discussion to go well.
It's strange to be done with my work week on Wednesday. I still have work to do Thursday-Sunday, but I can do it at home, and it certainly doesn't take nine hours a day. I'm not entirely sure I've been using my free time as constructively as I could, but then, I think I'd feel this way no matter what I did with my free time. That is to say, I have a tendency to be rather hard on myself, which is perhaps not surprising to you at this point (that is, if you either a) know me at all or b) have read my other entries).
I haven't been writing lately, however, and that's rather distressing. I go through bouts of self-doubt that keep me from writing. In a sense, though, I write constantly because I'm always grading and commenting on student work, but duh, yeah, of course that's not the same thing.
The literary journal Spring Gun is going to be publishing a short story I wrote. This is exciting. Here is a link to their Web site. I'm not sure when my story will be posted, but I'll keep you posted in case you are interested. http://www.springgunpress.com/
