Friday, June 6, 2008

Moving to the Tenth Grade

It looks like I'll be heading up to tenth grade with many of my current students. That is a good, since I can continue to get the struggling students ready for Nevada State High School Proficiency examinations. I hope that those who did not choose to do much this year will experience an epiphany over the summer and come back ready to engage. It's hard to teach writing to those unwilling to write.

Still, the overwhelming majority of the final essays I received showed at least a moderate amount of improvement from those I received at the beginning of the year. Students did pick up skills along the way, even if they failed the class. That's a good thing, because I have heard that summer school English classes are easy to pass and I'll be kicking them into high gear at the beginning of next school year. Can anyone say, "First-quarter research paper and presentation on a creation myth of your choice?"

(I was also voted "Goofiest Teacher," "Most Popular Teacher," and "Most Involved Teacher" by my colleagues in the Freshman House. Those three and a buck-fifty will buy me a coffee at Denny's. I didn't get "Hottest" or "Best Dressed," which made me ponder my ragged mortality once again.)

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