A7 Inside and Out

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
Today was dress like your favorite teacher day. John Clark decided to dress as me, although as he put it "a much younger and more handsome" me.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
Students today participated in my 18-year tradition of writing thank
you notes to staff members who had helped them in some way. The assignment is not original with me; I borrowed it from a graduate professor at Glassboro State who said he borrowed it from a professor of his.

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
Same assignment here as for Honors. Sometimes students struggle to come up with thank you recipients, but the teachers really like getting the notes.

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
On this day in 1919, twenty-two-year-old William Faulkner
published his first prose, a short story entitled "Landing in
Luck." It is a lighthearted tale about an air force cadet's first
solo flight, and it gives little sign of the style or fame to
come, but the autobiographical details behind its telling are
pure, playful Faulkner. They also might make the author worthy of
his hero's description as "the biggest liar in the R. A. F."

WRAP IT UP
"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving," writer W. T. Purkiser once said. To look at what others have said about the holiday, click here and type Thansgiving into the search box.

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
There's still a half-day to go before the break, but most of us are focusing on the turkey holiday. Click here to learn more about the origins of Thanksgiving.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
A final in-class day for college admissions editing. All editing now will have to be done outside of class.

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
We watched a National Museum of Art video on noted black collagist Romare Bearden in preparation for creating our own Can't You See the Real Me collages in early December.

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
Socialist writer of the noted muckraking novel The Jungle Upton Sinclair died on this date in 1968 after authoring more than 90 works.

WRAP IT UP
Romare Bearden had this to say about artists: "Practically all great artists accept the influence of others. But . . . the artist with vision sees his material, chooses, changes, and by integrating what he has learned with his own experiences, finally molds something distinctly personnel."

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
Spirit week begins today, with three days of crazy costumes. Days like today - wacky hat day - can lead to disruption, but the students like it.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
Editing continues on our college admissions essays. A few students have made quite good progress.

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
We shared our one-week day-in-the-life journals. Some daily reports were sketchy, but some were quite detailed. In fact, some students said they learned more than they needed to know about the exploits of their fellow classmates.

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
Charles Darwin's noted book outlining the theory of evolution The Origin of Species was published on this day in 1859.

WRAP IT UP
Journal writing empowers us to express difficult feelings in a safe and private way. It allows us to come to terms with our life and struggles at our own pace and in our own way. Your journal is always there to receive your thoughts and feelings.

In addition to giving us a chance to express ourselves and reduce stress, regular journal writing provides a way to make sense of life events, find meaning in them and learn the lessons they have to teach. Because journal writing helps us to focus inward, it fosters coming to terms with who we are and regaining a sense of control. Journal writing also helps people to make good choices by clarifying their thoughts.

American dramatist Tennesse Williams captured the link between words and writer when he said "If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it."

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
For teachers, a topic of conversation is the stalled contract talks with the school board. We have been working patiently without a contract since September, but talks apparently hit a major snag this week. A union meeting is set for Monday to decide what action should come next.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
Here's a final website site for college admissions essays, a site heralded as the best on the internet by both the New York Times and the Washington Post.

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
For our final (for now) in a series of senior credos, here is a lighter look at what one senior believes.

I believe in the fact that stupidity takes over most people
the moon is made of green cheese
the Wizard of Oz knows everything
the Jersey Devil exists
the pen is mightier than the sword
immortality, aliens, superstition

But the belief than one "man" created everything is stupid

I believe in love at first sight
I believe in good conquering evil
I believe in spaghetti tasting better the next day
fairies, homosexuality, eloping

And I believe in music having an influence on people
-- Suzannne DiBenedetto (11-14-03)

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
On this day in 1694 Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet), the French author of the classic Candide was born. Few could have predicted his Age-defining stature, but apparently
the young Voltaire showed every sign of becoming, as biographer
Theodore Besterman puts it, "one of those over-life-size
personages who seem perpetually to attract equally extraordinary events." He would be applauded and attacked for most of his life,
and it is hard to find a portrait of him in which he is not smiling.

WRAP IT UP
Voltaire definitely understood his world and attempted, through his writing, to change it. Here is a more modern quote linking the ideas of understanding and change. "If you want truly to understand something, try to change it," Kurt Lewin said.

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
The final day for parent conferences and a first for me. I had no parents. That means I met with a total of nine parents for the three days. When you consider I have 80 students, that certainly isn't a great percentage. Maybe the fact that all my students are seniors enters in to the reduced showing.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
Yet another website to help with composing that college admissions essay.

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
Here's another sample of our senior credo poems:

I believe in the responsibilities of mankind
The importance of life
The fact that there is someone out there for everyone
The existence of life after death
The pain and heartache felt for a lost one
Success, independence, fate

But the belief that you don't need an education is unthinkable

I believe in cherishing friendships
I believe in the fact that everyone must die
I believe in forgiving but never forgetting
Integrity, wisdom, strength

And I believe in the fact that everyone has a reason for living.
-- Kyra Byers (11/14/03)

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
On this day in 1934 Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour opened on Broadway. The play was based on a student-teacher
scandal in Edinburgh in 1809; although banned in some cities for its lesbian overtones, it began the string of hits that made
Hellman one of the most popular playwrights in mid-century
America -- and eventually brought her into collision with Senator
McCarthy.

WRAP IT UP
As we continue to strive to define that oft elusive thing called education it is good to periodically examine the thoughts of some of the greats such as Aristotle. "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it," the Greek philosopher said.

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
Tonight was a second opportunity for parents to meet with teachers. I only had four parents, the smallest nightly turnout of my career. Of course, the fact that the conferences were held during a driving rainstorm obviously had something to do with the small turnout.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
We began editing our college admissons essays. Here is an introductory website on that topic.

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
Collage clipping and designing continue. That gives us a great chance to share another senior credo poem.

I believe no one is perfect
dreams are tommorrow's reality
bad things happen to good people
life is what you make it
losing isn't the end of the world
love, courage, integrity

But the belief that young mothers can't be good mothers is ridiculous

I believe in love at first sight
I believe in myself
I believe in keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer
heaven, strength, wisdom

And I believe you should live everyday as if it were your last because tomorrow isn't promised today
-- Ashley Wagner (11-14-03)

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address, arguably the most noted speech in American history, at the dedication of the national cemetery on the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa. on this date in 1863. Two years later the Civil War would be over and the rest, as they say, is history.

WRAP IT UP
We have been exploring the question of who am I all year. President Lincoln had this to say on remaining true to who you and what you believe: "I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside me."

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
Today was the first day of parent-teacher conferences. Five parents showed up to meet with me. That may not seem like a lot, but we still have two more days to go.
Check back for a final count.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
We examined the poem "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Although Dunbar wrote his poem specifically for African-Americans, it has universal implications for all people.

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
Students began clipping art out of magazines for their Can't You See the Real Me collage. Work got done, but the enterprise left the room somewhat messy. Oh well, that's what a broom and dustpan are for.

COMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWN
On this day in 1865 Mark Twain published "Jim Smiley and his
Jumping Frog," giving him first fame and the centerpiece for his
first book; it also established the yarn-spinner persona and the
gullibility theme that Twain would mine for his entire career.

"What might it be that you've got in the box?"
And Smiley says, sorter indifferent like, "It might be a parrot,
or it might be a canary, may be, but it ain't -- it's only just a
frog."

WRAP IT UP
Our college prep students have spent much of this month creating Who Am I? and Credo poems. Speaking of poems, Canadian author Margaret Atwood, who was born on this day in 1939, remembers writing her first poem at sixteen...: In this poem, "In the Secular Night" Atwood recalls what it was like to be 16, lonely, and alone.

In the secular night you wander around
alone in your house. It's two-thirty.
Everyone has deserted you,
or this is your story;
you remember it from being sixteen,
when the others were out somewhere, having a good time,
or so you suspected,
and you had to baby-sit.
You took a large scoop of vanilla ice-cream
and filled up the glass with grapejuice
and ginger ale, and put on Glenn Miller
with his big-band sound,
and lit a cigarette and blew the smoke up the chimney,
and cried for a while because you were not dancing,
and then danced, by yourself, your mouth circled with
purple....

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
On this day in 1919 American expatriate Sylvia Beach opened her
bookshop-library, "Shakespeare and Company," in the Left Bank
section of Paris. It was an intellectual and social center for
the international literary community for decades; it was closed
when a Nazi officer wanted Beach's last copy of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake and "liberated" after the war by Ernest Hemingway.

You may be wondering what the owner of a Paris bookshop is doing in our A7 blog. Well, Ms. Beach, the operator of arguably one of the most famous bookshops ever, spent some of her formative years right here in Bridgeton.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
We began examining the concept of masks and identity by analyzing James Ensor's painting "Still Life with Masks." To learn about the strange Belgian artist and view more of his works, click here for a list of Ensor links, including the words to They Might Be Giants version of "Meet James Ensor"

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
It was a final day of reading Bob Greene's Be True to Your School: A Diary of 1964. Students will now be responsible for compiling a 7-day journal of their own activities using Greene's best-seller as a model.

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
Film director Martin Scorsese was born on this day in 1942 in Flushing, New York. Scorsese became one of the film industry's best-known filmmakers while remaining distanced from the Hollywood establishment.

Scorsese grew up in New York's Little Italy, where he later set many of his films. A sickly child with asthma and other health problems, Scorsese developed a vivid imagination. He spent a year in seminary intending to become a priest, but later dropped out and entered film school at NYU, where he took bachelor's and master's degrees and later taught. While still in film school, Scorsese made several award-winning short films.

In 1973, Scorsese's first notable film, Mean Streets, was released, featuring Harvey Keitel. The film, set in Little Italy, received great reviews but bombed at the box office. During the next few years, Scorsese directed several successful movies, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1975) and Taxi Driver (1976), which won the prestigious International Grand Prize at Cannes. Other well-known Scorsese films include Raging Bull (1980), nominated for Oscars for Best Film and Best Director; After Hours (1985), which won the Best Director award at Cannes; and Goodfellas (1990).

WRAP IT UP
I know I have loved books all my life, but few loved books as much as Sylvia Beach. Speaking of the importance of books, transcendental writer Henry David Thoreau once said: "Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations."

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
Today was put-your-best-foot-forward day, as 8th grade students from our sending districts of Lawrence and Downe townships toured BHS and listened to representatives of various organizations explain what activities are offered here. The seniors told the prospective freshmen that although their are negatives about BHS, the positives definitely outweigh the downsides.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
We continued our exploration of our self-identity unit by discussing barriers that people put up to keep others from truly knowing who they are. How many can you list?

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
We shared the results of our credo poems and quickly came to the conclusion that they were profound, fantastically interesting and extremely well-crafted. Here's just one example from Romaine Williams, who when he isn't in English class can be found calling signals as quarterback for the Bulldogs football team. You might not consider a quarterback as a prime candidate for the title of deep-thinking poet, but after you read his composition you may change your mind.

I believe that the past is the future
That kids are the future
That souls live forever
That technology improves everyday
That sex is not everything in life
Wisdom, Respect, Courage

But the belief that world is ending is stupid

I believe that you can do anything you put your heart and mind to
I believe that if you live with no emotions you have no life
I believe that water runs forever
Pride, Leadership, Honesty

And I believe that you need bad days to remember the good ones.
-- Romaine Williams (11-14-03)

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
On this day in 1851 Herman Melville's Moby Dick was published
in the United States. The British edition had been published the
previous month, with a botched ending; the American edition
corrected this, but even if the American reviewers read to the
end they sided with the British, who dismissed it as "so much
trash belonging to the worst school of Bedlam literature." Many
see the book's reception as a turning-point in Melville's life.

WRAP IT UP
Speaking of identity, author Robert Terwilliger had this to say on that subject: "Committing yourself is a way of finding out who you are. A man finds his identity by identifying. A man's identity is not best thought of as the way in which he is separated from his fellows but the way in which he is united with them."

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
The search is on for a staff member or members to chair the upcoming Middles States evaluation, which is now set for the spring of 2005. To learn more about Middle States and what is means, click here.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
We looked at the problems of the college admissions essay as outlined in the new book School of Dreams: Making the Grade at a Top American High School. The book captures the hopes and fears of studentsd attending Whitney High School in California, which according to book blurbs "delievers SAT scores to die for." Of course, with high achievement comes high pressures, both of which are detailed well by author Edward Humes, who spent a year immersed in the school and its culture. Here is a review of Humes' book.

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
More journal writing prompts:
-- If you had to choose the color that describes you most accurately, which color would it be?
-- If you had to name the most terrifying moments of your life so far, what would it be?
-- If you could be guaranteed one thing in life besides money, what would you ask for?

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
On this day in 1797 William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor
Coleridge began a several days' walk in the Quantock Hills of
Somerset, during which they would conceive "The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner."
The original goal was a gothic pot-boiler to
help pay for their vacation; left in Coleridge's hands, the tale
evolved from a quick money-maker to a consuming, five-months'
labor, within which lay many of his philosophical and
psychological concerns.

WRAP IT UP
Novelist, poet, and essayist Robert Louis Stevenson, who was born on this date in 1850, once said: "To become what we are capable of becoming is the only end in life."

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
At our afterschool staff meeting, we learned that BHS is going to establish a career pathways program here next year. Reduced to its simplest description, the new pathways will repackage suggested courses so students can work toward a career goal. For example, the English Department will be offering a communications pathway that will feature courses in publications, TV, and speech and drama. According to proponents, the new design will increase the number of students attending post-high school training.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
It was day two of our exploration of tips for making college application essays better. The most important tip is to be yourself. As an advisory from UCLA states: "Your perseonal statement is the best tool you have to show us the individual gifts you have to offer ... an opportunity for us to see the real you."

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
In addition to composing their personal credos, students continued journal writing.
Among this week's entries:
-- If you could personally have witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have seen?
-- If you could receive one small package this very moment, who would it be from and what would be in it?
-- If you had to lose one of your five senses, which would it be?

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
Neil and Me was written by Scott Young, the novelist-journalist father of
rocker Neil Young, who was born on this day in 1945. This is a different
sort of book than the recent Jimmy McDonough biography, Shakey.
In this excerpt Dad recalls hearing about Neil's famous "Rust
Never Sleeps" tour:

I remember him phoning me from the ranch early in September
to tell me. When he has a new idea that excites him, there's no
doubt about his excitement - it has to imbue everyone around him
with the idea that no matter how unusual the concept it will
work. He told me about giant amplifiers, how the roadies - "I'm
calling them Road-Eyes" - would be dressed in hooded cowl-like
garments, with flashing red eyes under the hoods. I'll be, like
sleeping under one of the amplifier lids when the lights go up,
like a child sleeping, and then....well, I hope you'll see it."

WRAP IT UP
Speaking of Neil Young, perhaps the most famous line from any of his songs goes like this: "It's better to burn out, than to fade away." I wonder, as Neil ages, if he still feels that same way.

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
It's back to BHS after a five-day break. We are all wondering where the time went.
November is a strange month for schooling. With the state teachers convention, holidays, and 3 days of parent-teacher conferences, we don't have a full week of school in the entire month.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
We began a two-day look at tips for compiling that most dreaded of essays - the college application essay (also sometimes called the personal statement).

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
We compiled a list of things that we believe in for our personal credo statements, which will be part of our Can't You See the Real Me collages.

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
On this day in 1948 twenty-five-year-old James Baldwin left the
United States on a one-way plane ticket to Paris. When he
returned three-and-a-half years later - not for long - it was
with the manuscript of Go Tell It on the Mountain, perhaps the noted black author's most famous book. It was certainly the book which, Baldwin said later,
made not only fame but mental health possible: "Mountain is the
book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else."

WRAP IT UP
Today is also the birthday of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., who was my favorite author when I was attending Villanova University in the early 1970s. Vonnegut once said, "True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country." For us 50+ baby boomers, that quote is becoming all too true.

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
Yeah. It's out of here for a well-deserved five-day break. That's teachers convention, a regular weekend, and a Monday celebration of Veterans Day. See you when we get back.

FOR (YOUR) HONORS EYES ONLY
We again examined several tips for good writing. Two of these were:
-- avoid confusing pronouns
-- avoid dangling modifiers

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
Using the poetic art book i live in music by Ntozake Shange and Romare Bearden as a a starting point, we discussed the importance of music in people's lives. This lead to an assignment where students are analyzing the lyrics of a favorite song.

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
Art Garfunkle, one half of the musical duo Simon and Garfunkle, was born on this date in 1941. After many years apart, the duo is again on tour with a Philadelphia appearance set for early December. Honors students will be examining the lyrics to the Simon and Garfunkle hit "I Am a Rock" later this year. Click here for an advance look at those lyrics, as well as much more information about the artists.

WRAP IT UP
Speaking of breaks from work and vacations, Dorothy Canfield Fisher once had this to say on that topic:"If we would only give, just once, the same amount of reflection to what we want to get out of life that we give to the question of what to do with a two weeks' vacation, we would be startled at our false standards and the aimless procession of our busy days." That sounds like something worth thinking about. Maybe I'll do just that after our break.

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking

THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE
I think every student has probably wondered at one time or another what it is like to be a teacher. Well a new book, Losing My Faculties by Robert Halpin, offers a vicarious chance to do just that. Click here to learn more about Halpin's cuttingly observant effort to detail what it really means to be a teacher.

FOR YOUR (HONORS) EYES ONLY
We examined several tips for better writing. Three of these were:
-- write in the active voice
-- maintain parallelism
--substitute vivid verbs for vague verbs

LIGHT MY (COLLEGE PREP) FIRE
We began composing I Am pattern poems. In a pattern poem, a student creates a poetic composition following a model and specific guidelines. Our pattern poems will be judged on how well they capture us. They will be an integral part of the Can't You See the Real Me collage which will be submitted at the end of the month.

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
Comedian and actor Dennis Miller was born on this date in 1953 in Philadelphia. Miller got his start in comedy after college, and got his big break when he was discovered by Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels at a Los Angeles comedy club doing a standup routine. He spent six successful seasons on SNL as the “Weekend Update” anchor before he was “outta there” to pursue other projects.
Miller is currently guest starring in a recurring role as a wisecracking teacher on the Fox TV series Boston Public.

WRAP IT UP
Speaking of teachers and teaching, French critic Anatole France had this to say on the subject: "The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards." However, as anyone who has ever taught knows, that sounds much easier to do than it actually is.

Well that's it for today. So - until next time - keep on reading, keep on thinking