Truth, Tech, and Teaching

The 2017-2018 school year has come to an end for me. This one went by REALLY fast. (In fact, each year seems to go faster than the last. I'm not sure how I feel about it.) The last month of school has been a frenzy of grading the last projects and assessments of the year, attending school events, keeping stir-crazy kids under control, and worrying about how everything is going to get done. There is a sense of urgency to the end of the year that's different from any other time of the year. So many work items come due at once. The last report card is given out on the last day of school, so all work from the quarter has to be graded and recorded by a deadline. (And in Catholic primary school, 8th graders get out three weeks earlier than everyone else so the urgency starts with them and goes on until the end of the year.) I have to complete a goal progress summary at the end of the year, which means time spent designing assessments for the students on my chosen goal, giving th

I'm a little late to the party in my analysis of the recent Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. (The end of the school year grading rush has been hitting me hard the last few weeks. I'm finally getting a lull now with only one week left of school.) But back on Saturday, May 19, I was one of those faithful royal fans who got up at 4:30am to watch coverage of the wedding on TV. Prior to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011, I didn't really pay much attention to the British royals. I remember Princess Diana's death in 1997, but since I was only 9 years old I didn't fully appreciate the magnitude of that event. I remember my mom got up early to watch the funeral and she was very distressed about it all, but I was too young and I didn't know enough about the Royals to understand it all. Over the years I remember hearing occasional news stories about Princes William and Harry, their father Prince Charles, and the Queen of course, b

I'm nearing the end of Christmas Break and will be going back to work on Monday (January 8). I was supposed to start back at school tomorrow, but dangerous sub-zero windchills in the forecast led to school being canceled tomorrow and Friday. Now I get two extra days of break plus the weekend to enjoy before going back. Among other things on my to-do list, I get extra time to finish some grading - oops! - and take down my Christmas decorations. (Which will be on Sunday so at least some decorations stay up until Epiphany.) This post is meant to express my various rambling thoughts from Christmas Break. I hope they come together into a cohesive theme. People tend to comment that teachers "have it easy" because they get so much time off for summer, Christmas, Easter, etc. Although for me, and most teachers, I devote so much time to my work during the school year that I need all this time off to catch up on all the other areas of my life. Christmas break in particular is the