no outlet but this blog

I just finished First They Killed My Father by Luong Ung, and I'm floored. It seems that's how I'm learning my modern world history these days -- by reading memoirs of people in other cultures doing great things. Their voices, you know.

Moods. How can JH be so involved in class one day and unresponsive the next? I put him out of my room today. JH would not stop chatting with his groupmates and then would grumble about how he was always being picked on when I called him out. The constant chatter in my classes has been irritating me, and it felt good to start doing something about it. Who's next? I get lax because the students at this school usually do what you ask. So when they talk so much that it distracts from the class, I first wonder what other way can I ask. I wondered aloud one day in the cafeteria at lunch and MR, a student who isn't always the most respectful, answered, "Well, you're the teacher." She's right. I think my personal classroom mood reflects the school staff's mood.

I have these ideas for developing a truly interdisciplinary high school curriculum. I see so many connections to math (especially math), social studies, and English in what I'm teaching in Physical Science, and it just calls for interdisciplinary. I don't think I was meant to be a one-subject teacher, measured by my interests and abilities. We've got to think outside the subjects entirely. Have a health class which is interdisciplinary, an environmental science class which is interdisciplinary, a financial literacy class which is interdisciplinary, and so on.... The thing with attempting this is that you have to make sure you cover every subject's objectives in the process. I could start by looking up the state objectives, then ask my fellow teachers when they cover what.... Am I up for it now, or is this more of a summer thing? Is it something I can do on my own, too?

I know for a teacher, appreciation is few and far between, but I would like a little right now. I do this much because I truly believe in education and gain satisfaction from doing quality work, not because --

I could run on inspiration and appreciation. I'm trying to keep it positive. I guess the smile is more automatic than I'd like it to be sometimes.