Looong overdue.

I love how I created a new blog so that I could happily post in an anonymous fashion, only to update this even less often than the old one. Go me.

I guess I should talk about student teaching! I'm really happy with my experience so far. The kids are polite, personable, intelligent, and curious. I was nervous about teaching 11th and 12th grade, since I'm barely older than the students in those grades, but it's really worked out well thus far. The students actually look younger and smaller than I was expecting. Although I guess I must take into account the fact that I graduated from a football factory. The 11th and 12th graders I went to school with were definitely more... hulking.

My co-op teacher is very, very helpful, and she seems to have quite a lot of confidence in me. She took the day off today to do some medical stuff, and she seemed totally sure about leaving me alone with a substitute. I actually did more with the classes than he did! I know how things run by now, and the students are used to seeing me, so I figured I'd take the initiative and take over.

I've been trying my best to be involved with the school on all different fronts. I'm selling tickets at all the home football games, and I'm chaperoning a dance at the end of the month. Actually, tomorrow night, I'm representing my co-op at parents' night! She already had plans, so I volunteered to come in and talk to the parentals who show up. Sometimes I don't know whether I'm ambitious or insane.

So far, the best parts about this school are the students' attitudes, the early let-out time (we're done at 2:25!), and the classroom freedom teachers seem to be given. There are a few things that would keep me from applying at this school for a long-term position, however. Official statistics say the high school's population is 95% white, but I think it must be even higher than that. I need a little more cultural diversity, personally. I know the students are still all unique and that they each have something different to offer, but still, I prefer multigrain bread over Wonder Bread, thankyouverymuch. Also, it seems to me that most of the teachers have been at this school for quite some time, and naturally, cliques have formed among them. I think it would be tough to be "the new teacher" in this particular school.

I've also detected hints of racism from both students and faculty members, but I'm not sure how much of a problem that is yet. I know that bigotry is present in any school, to some degree, but I have a feeling it may be pretty widespread in this district. We shall see.

I'm really impressed with my performance so far. For one thing, I'm proud of how alert and energetic I've been for how early I've had to wake up! It's very dark at 5:00, haha. I haven't learned all of my students' names yet, but I'm working on it. I talk comfortably with the other teachers and staff, and I'm friendly with the students in the hallways. They seem to like me a lot, which makes me feel good. I'm not as lively and goofy as my co-op, but I think they appreciate my sense of humor, even though it's a different brand of humor. I think they also like the fact that I recognize the names of the bands on their t-shirts!

So yes, things are good in the educational neighborhood. Hmm. That wasn't funny at all.

In other news, I gave myself a sore throat today by singing along to Fall Out Boy at the top of my lungs while I was stuck in a traffic jam. It's a unique way to relieve stress.

Speaking of music, John Mayer's new album, Continuum, is excellent. It has a mature, polished sound that must have been waiting to get out. The album has a bluesy slant, but the songs are nicely varied. His voice sounds so smooth, and his guitar solos are better than ever. As always, it's pretty dark; even the catchy songs have sad themes. I think it'll turn out to be a favorite this fall.

Last week I started reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. It's one of the best novels I've ever read. His prose is incredibly interesting and suspenseful. I don't really read crime novels, but I'm totally impressed by this one. I can't wait to read more of it.

I guess that's about all I have for now. I'm teaching The Great Gatsby next month, so I'm in the process of rereading it. I should probably get back to that. Hope you're all doing well in cyberland.