shakespearean transition

Lately, there have not been a lot of inspirational moments in my classroom as I feel like we are still working on getting the basic procedures and good habits down, but today there was a little light bulb so I thought I would celebrate it.

As we went over the basic format for a three paragraph essay today, the subject of transition words came up. I explained that transitions are words that signal to the reader that you are moving from one point to the next and they are important because they lend clarity to your writing. The class was giving examples of different transitions words they could use like first, then, next, also, in conclusion, in addition, furthermore, secondly, and lastly. Then I remembered one of my favorite lines from Much Ado About Nothing. The crazy fool of a constable and the comic relief, Dogberry, brings some criminals before the Duke. His explanation of their crime and his use of transitions is absolutely hilarious:

Dogberry: Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified unjust things; and, to conclude, they are lying knaves.

After we established the fact that the transitions were all jumbled up, we had a good laugh over the fact that he found six ways to say, "He lied." I love it when we can use humor and Shakespeare in a lesson. (By the way, if you haven't seen Much Ado About Nothing, you need to asap. With Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh you cannot go wrong. Michael Keaton plays Dogberry and is hilarious.)

two thumbs up

I realized recently that I have done a surprisingly small number of movie posts of late in spite of all the good movies I watched in the recent past. I intend to remedy this tonight!

Recommendation numero uno: Me and Orson Welles
Barrett and I heard about this movie back in December but missed it in the theater and have been waiting for it to come out on video. When that day finally came, we were not disappointed. We both agreed that this is one of the best movies we have seen in a long time.

The movie is about Orson Welles' early career in theater (post-radio and pre-film) directing Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in the early 1930s in New York. The acting in this movie will knock your socks off. Orson Welles is played by Christian McKay who we recognized in a Masterpiece Theater later (which proves he is actually, really good). More than once throughout the movie we had to stop and remind ourselves that we were not actually watching Orson Welles. The movie also stars Zac Efron who does an impressive job as a young high schooler who dreams of being an actor/singer/writer/artist, and his role in Wells' play is supposed to be his big break. Efron is both likeable and very believable in this role. I loved him! The plot of the movie centers around Welles' eccentricities professionally and personally as you watch the director of theater develop into the man that will direct the greatest movie of all time. There are some wonderfully smart references throughout the film to Orson Welles' work in Citizen Kane and The Third Man. The only complaint that I had with the film is that I think Richard Linklater (the director of the film and one of my favorite directors) could have done more artistic choices with the cinematography, but Barrett disagreed with me on that point. The movie is well-written, interesting, and engaging. I highly recommend this movie especially if you are a film history buff or a Citizen Kane fan.

Recommendation numero dos: The Messenger
We heard about this movie watching the Oscars and loved it.

The Messenger stars Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson and is about the soldiers in charge of informing families when they have lost loved ones. As the subject matter suggests, the movie is very intense and very personal. The camera work, while hand-held, is effective at creating an up-close and personal tone at very intimate, intense moments. The chracters in teh movie are complex and dynamic, and the acting is stellar.

Recommendation numero tres: An Education
This was another one we saw on the Oscars and had to see.

An Education takes place in England in the 1960s and tells the story of a young, naive girl who befriends a cultured, worldly man, falls in love with him, and gets a jarring lesson in life. The plot of the movie is very intriguing and takes a few small but unexpected turns. One of the best parts of this movie is definitely the sets and costumes; the clothes are to-die-for. The cinematography is also beautiful. Carrie Mulligan and Alfred Molina are awesome in this movie, but the real star of the show is Peter Sarsgaard as the playboy. His charisma wraps everyone in the movie including the audience around his little finger. Plot-wise, I think there were a few things that would have made th movie stronger: namely spending more time developing Jenny's (Carrie Mulligan's) relationship with her teacher and her relationship with her friends. But some of the deleted scenes help solve this. This movie is very enjoyable and engaging--a must see.

paper airplane arsenal

Some of you may remember my eraser bullet arsenal post from yesteryear. Well, on Friday while I was doing the inevitable new seating arrangement after the second week of school (when kids have gotten a little too comfortable with their neighbors and, thus, have gotten chatty), I found this in one of the desks. . .

a veritable paper airplane arsenal, all meticulously lined up and ready for action.

Notice that there hasn't been enough time to fill the desks with trash or clutter, but there has been enough time (apparently) to make 13 paper airplanes. Seriously? I never cease to be amazed by children's ingenuity and craftiness especially with school supplies.

one job, three persons

I have a strong recollection of thinking my first year of teaching that I needed two other people in my classroom full time in order to do my job properly and to its fullest extent. First, I needed a bouncer to manage the discipline and stand next to troublesome children with muscles bulging and face glaring to keep them in line. Second, I needed a secretary to make sure all the papers got passed out, taken up, forms filled out, filed, and turned in properly (and maybe to help out with a little grading). With the help of these two capable yet imaginary individuals, I could do the fun part: teaching! Oh to focus all of my attention on academics. . . (sigh). . .

But I can honestly say after completing four years in the classroom, that I enjoy the "training" aspect of my job because it implies that education is more than books and writing; "education is a life" (one of Charlotte Mason's four pillars of education). By spending the time to teach and train children in every aspect of their lives and behavior, I get to take part in a much more complex and developed picture--the picture of a person growing not just a brain. So yes, I am my own bouncer and I kind of like it. But I could still use a secretary.

reflections on a school bus

One morning during in-service, our headmaster reminded us of God's work in West Dallas by giving us an update on the school bus situation since our bus was on its last legs and were were in desperate need of a new one. "God is doing mighty work on the school bus front," he began as he told us the story of how God led a family to donate the money for a second, much needed bus. This news gave me a renewed sense of wonder at God's divine and mighty work in the smallest details of our lives. Why would the Creator of the universe, the King and Priest of mankind, care about the West Dallas Community School bus? But he does. He is concerned about every detail of our lives and provides for us in big and small ways--each is equally miraculous.

As I reflected on the significance of the school bus to the everyday life of our school and on God's mighty provision in big and small ways, i was filled with a sense of God's purpose and design for us at West Dallas Community School. The mission of the school is "to provide students with a challenging educational experience designed to help them know, love, and practice that which is true, good and excellent and to prepare them to live purposefully and intelligently in the service of God and man." The mission of the school bus to provide transportation for children to go into the outside world to learn about and see God's Creation and return safely to their homes in West Dallas. In short, the bus is our means by which students go out and experience God's world and the means by which God's blessings go out from our school into the neighborhood and the entire city.

I will never forget the clear vision God gave me of our school while riding the bus (the old, un-airconditioned one) one afternoon in May 2009. As we traversed through the neighborhoods and housing projects bouncing over speed bumps, it was clear that this area was full of darkness and despair. In order to keep this bus-full of hot children occupied and orderly, Mark Rusk, the bus driver called on one class at a time to lead the entire group in a song or recitation. And there were were, traveling through the projects reciting poetry and singing songs in turn. We sang everything from Lift High the Cross to So Long, Farewell from The Sound of Music with some Robert Louis Stevenson poetry and nursery rhymes thrown in as well. The children's voices filled teh bus and carried our the windows and into the neighborhoods. I watched the faces as we passed. In some cases I saw utter bewilderment at this busload of sweetly singing children and in others I saw a ray of hope.

God cares about our school bus because that is one of the literal means by which he is delivering hope to a dark and desperate place and it will allow us to do his work more effectively. I was reminded this morning by one of my fellow teachers of the passage in Ephesians 6 about putting on the full armor of God. I had never really noticed or thought about the fact that the gospel of peace is actually worn on our feet ("having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace"). All of a sudden, I thought about the school bus as our shoes allowing us to walk out and bring the gospel of peace into the housing projects of West Dallas and the city as a whole. I am so humbled by God’s provision and the reminder of his unbelievable generosity to his servants.

I had the pleasure of riding the new school bus today. We listened to The Velveteen Rabbit read by Meryl Streep and a whole assortment of hymns. Here are a few pictures from this afternoon.

peek-a-boo

Kayla
little eyes
long day

grading movies

This weekend I was rudely awakened to the worst part of going back to school for teachers: grading! I loved evenings at home during the summer with no grading hanging over my head. Alas, (sigh) those carefree days are no more. But in order to lighten the burden of the red pen, I turned to some of my staple grading movies. A few months ago my mom posted about her "down comforter" movies (i.e. those movies that you know you can curl up with on a rainy day). Well the educators need a list of movies that they can turn on when the grading gets laborious.

My criteria for grading movies is simple.

1. The movie must be of the highest quality, especially the music and the script. A truly excellent film can inspire the most uninspiring tasks. The music and script are of particular importance because your eyes will not be on the screen but on paper so the sounds must be captivating.

2. It must be a movie that I know so well that I am not even tempted to lift my eyes to the screen because I have seen it so many times that I know it by heart. When you know a movie this well, you are not distracted by what will happen next or by the images on film. It is like sitting in silence in the car with an old friend, just perfectly content being together.

Without further ado, my grading movies are. . .

1. Sense and Sensibility: This is my number one go-to grading flick. The movie is perfect and so comforting and inspiring.

2. Little Women (with Winoma Ryder): This movie is great in the winter since it open at Christmas and always reminds me of hanging out with my sisters. (These two movies make up a sub-genre of films that I am a sucker for. Barrett lovingly named the genre "Women Writers Overcoming All Odds." I always like those flicks.)

3. Meet Me in St. Louis: This movie is a favorite from my childhood and always makes me happy (except the Halloween sequence which still scares me). The colors, costumes, and music are classically awesome. I love popping this movie in around any holiday since it goes through all four seasons.

The longer list. . .
If I had to add a few more to the list, they would be Oklahoma, Princess Bride (can't go wrong with a 90's classic), Much Ado About Nothing, Singing in the Rain, Master and Commander, and Say Anything.

happy first day of school!

Nothing says "first day of school" like a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.
(Hopefully, all of you got the You've Got Mail reference.)