Death is such a major part of this life, but it is still depressing, especially when you have to read about it and hear about it a lot. Four of the five books I have to teach are about death or at least it is a part of the books. I'm now teaching Night by Elie Wiesel, and there's lots of death in Julius Caesar. And...
Heath Ledger died today. I really kind of liked him as an actor, though not all of the choices he made. He was older than I had thought, but still young. He was 28. Overdose, they think.

The Adventure Begins

I graded my first papers today. I didn't assign them, but they were multiple choice and easy to grade. Soon, this will not be exciting, but right now, it is.

I keep forgetting to pick up my lunch from the cafeteria at dinner. I hope they don't stop making it.

I was going to go curling with a group of people, but I was back and forth between whether I could or wanted to go, and it ended up that I couldn't get back from church and lunch in time, so I missed them. I'm a bit disappointed, but I think it's for the best. I have a lot of little things to do today, but they need to be done. It will be good to have a low-key day.

I had to be up early yesterday and take my teacher subject area tests. They went OK, and I made it there and back safely. My washer fluid, however, froze, which is not good. It is bitter cold up here. In the negatives, I think.

The new student union is open, and it is very nice. I'm excited for the new snack bar/coffee shop.

Tomorrow is a half day at school because of Martin Luther King Jr. day. I'm happy for that, as I'll be able to do more errands and get to places on campus before they close. This will be the first regular week that I'll be at school, as they just finished finals this past week. I have checked out almost all the film versions of Julius Caesar and plan to watch some of them to see if I like any of the versions to show scenes to the students. Also, I have background materials for The Jungle. I want to see how Upton Sinclair got his info on the meat packing industry. That will be a very interesting book to teach. It has so many issues packed into it, issues that are still relevant today: prepared food (now, it's hormones and hydrogenated oils), political corruption, poverty, prostitution, unions and scabbing for the unions (writer's strike), alcoholism, etc. There will be no dearth of discussion in this unit. I'll need to learn how to and be able to direct it in a profitable manner. I probably won't teach for at least another week, as I'll be observing. Hopefully I'll be able to help with grading and other things like that. I need to work on names and faces the most though.

Blessings to you all.

First Day

Today was my first official day of student teaching, though I didn't do any teaching, I simply observed and read a book. The new semester starts on Monday, so this week is finals. I am reading Julius Caesar, The Jungle, and Farewell to Arms. I really like Julius Caesar, and Farewell to Arms is OK. I'm not a big fan of Hemingway's style. The Jungle, however, is depressing. It's a very good book, but it's hard for me to read books that are so emotional because I get into them and I know that the characters are going to get steamrolled and cheated and hurt, and I can't do anything but read about it. That's the point of the book, to make you outraged and upset and shouting for change. And it worked. They changed and regulated the meat packing industry after that book came out. I do not agree with socialism, but a changed needed to be made. That book, and I'm only on Ch. 4 is almost enough to make you vegetarian.

I can't wait to get more comfortable with the school and the teachers and the classes. Things are still really new and I'm not real sure of myself, but they will fall into place. The Lord is faithful, and He will help me through.

Finally

I have not posted because I first wanted to finish my grad school application, and it is done! I'm not sure how I feel about two of my essays, but they are done. Yay! I want to be accepted so badly. I'll just have to wait until March. In the mean time I'll try not to think about it. Student teaching will keep me busy enough. I am worrying about it. It looks like so much work, but the Lord reminded me that this is His will and it will be OK. He is so faithful; He answers my unprayed prayers.

So, I'm back here. I can't wait until more people come back. It's not all that fun by myself. :-) The girls come in tomorrow for rush. That is always fun to watch. :-)

Break is so much more fun when you don't have things hanging over you. Grad school. Student teaching. I have a more professional wardrobe now, though. Shopping is fun, but I don't have the shop all day and still feel fresh stamina. I wear out, especially if I can't find anything. I think I get sensory overload with all the different colors and patterns and choices.

Christmas was good. I forgot my camera cord, so if I decide to post pictures, they'll have to wait. My cousins are cute. I get to see them once a year, and it was especially fun to see my 2 year old cousin. Two is probably my favorite age to play with/watch. Most people say the terrible twos, but I think it's such a fun age.

I find that my posts are mundane.

My high school English teacher offered to let me teach any lesson I want to, and I think I've found an O. Henry story that will be really good. It's about different people telling the Jack in the Bean Stalk story in completely different ways. It's good and entertaining. I really like O. Henry's stories. I like American authors. Many people don't think that American authors are very good, especially compared to English authors. Part of that is because America is a young country. If I was going to write a thesis, I would write it about the search for a national literature in America. I wrote a paper on this topic for Jacksonian America, and I think it was my favorite paper. I found that my favorite topic is literary history. For me, the two can't be separated. You can't truly understand literature if you don't understand what culture and time period it was written in was like. If you don't know what Romanticism was, Romantic literature won't make as much sense. Candide won't make much sense if you don't know the optimism of the time that it was written. If you don't know what the Russian Revolution and comunism in Russia was like, then Animal Farm won't be real clear. I love literature. I really like words and using words. Language is an amazing and powerful tool. Too often we are careless. Very careless with it. There is a reason why the Bible warns against the tongue. It is small, but powerful.

Christmas Wrapping

My brother uses zip ties when he wraps his presents. How else can you keep the gift bags closed?