Thoughts on 2012

From: about.com

There's less than two hours left in 2012: how did we do?

I would divide my year in two.  I spent my spring semester at one school, teaching two class, working as the school's IT guy and being a department head.  The teaching part was relatively easy.  For the first time in my teaching career I was teaching material I had taught before, and I was in a computer lab.  The hard part was being the IT person: I was constantly bombarded with requests to fix things and I often had no idea about what to do...very frustrated.

Over the summer, I switched schools to have a little shorter commute (and hopefully, better students).  I went back to teaching full-time (3 classes), which I hadn't done in three years.  I found myself as busy as I was during my first year of teaching.  I had three preps, and every class was new to me or had new curriculum.

Things that have gone well:

• Final project assignments
• Teaching photo editing
• Motivating students to shoot video

Things I could have done better:

• DECA sponsor
• IT guy
• Teaching writing
• Incorporating reading

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it comes to mind the most quickly.  Later, I'll ruminate about what my goals for 2013 should be.

Bowl Money

I just came back from the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, and had a fantastic time.  I went to the game, did the touristy stuff and then came home.

One of the highlights for me was buying tickets to the game.  I know that sounds strange, but hear me out.  My alma mater wanted me to buy tickets through them for $72 per.  The bowl itself was selling upper level seats for a minimum of $20.  Stubhub?  8 lower level tickets for $10 apiece.  Guess which one I picked?

I'm not sure how much longer that bowls can keep up this system of forcing schools to sell 10,000+ tickets at wildly inflated face values.  Smart fans aren't going to pay those prices, and some fans are losing interest in attending bowl games altogether.  The bowls, schools and conferences need to sit down and hammer out a more reasonable way to make bowl trips palatable to fans.  I love to support my school and I love to save money--why can't I do both when going on a bowl trip?

You Don't Know Bo

Right before the Christmas break, I showed my students the ESPN documentary on two sport star Bo Jackson.  The video probably held their interest longer than nearly all of the ones I've shown in class this semester.

Bo Jackson was getting hugely popular when I was in high school.  I remember the tackle that ended his NFL career happened my senior year of high school.  He was definitely a marketing force when it came to cross-trainers.

It was interesting that so much of the video revolved around stories of Bo doing something remarkable. I remembered a few myself: the Monday Night Football game versus the Seahawks, the home run to lead off the All-Star Game, breaking a bat over his knee and gunning down Harold Reynolds at the plate.  Bo was definitely the shooting star--moments of brilliance, but a career that was way too short.  Of course, some of my kids wanted to know if he was in the Hall of Fame--I guess that's the highlight-infused culture we live in today...

Man of Many Talents

I'm especially impressed with people that are multi-talented:  singers that write their own songs, actors who can direct, athletes who can play more than one sport well.  Hugh Jackman is the embodiment of a multi-talented actor.

Let's see: action movies, check. Broadway, check.  Tony Awards, check.  And now, Les Miserables star.

It was interesting to see my students' reaction to Jackman crying and then lifting an obscene amount of weights to get in shape for his Wolverine role.  It's almost like they couldn't reconcile someone being emotional and strong...

If We Make It Through December

From: coolclips.com Before I started teaching for the first time, one of my teaching friends told me that teaching would get easier every year. Well, it hasn't. In my seventh year, I have three different classes to prepare for. Two of those classes I have taught before, but they have been re-written, so it's like teaching brand new courses. And the third class is something I haven't taught before. One of my students asked me if I was going to be teaching until I retire. At this pace, I don't think so. If I keep having to work till midnight 10 months a year I will re-think this whole teaching deal. Isn't there an easier way to do this?