End of an Era (Again)

From: chapelboro.com

I grew up watching an 8 team ACC, so I remember all the grumbling from the Tobacco Road folks when the conference expanded to 12 teams in 2005.  The main issue was that the four schools in North Carolina weren't going to play each other twice a year in basketball.  I understand that complaining, and think the league could have kept home-and-homes if they were to realize that no one cares if BC and Virginia Tech don't play twice a year.

I wonder how this new 15 team league will operate.  The future conference schedules have already been released, and it's bad enough that every team doesn't play every other team in its conference every year--we're long past that point.  The new ACC is so big that players won't even see every venue in the conference by the time they graduate.

In the new world (post-2003) of conference alignment, it's poach or be poached, so I don't blame the ACC for bringing in three new teams.  But I wish there was more of a commitment to having every team in the league play each other more regularly than they are planning to, especially when there is a way to do it.

You're No OJ, Aaron

Note to aspiring (alleged) murderers: if you plan on murdering someone, here are some things you may avoid:

• Being seen on multiple surveillance cameras with the deceased the last night he is seen alive
• Leaving spent cartridges in the rental car
• Taking selfies with a Glock in your hand
• Having character issues that cause NFL teams to refuse to draft you

Other than that, Aaron Hernandez did everything just fine!

How NOT to Apologize, Take 2

From: cnn.com

Dear Paula Deen,

After admitting in an open court that you use the "n" word, instead of compounding the error by blaming your upbringing and your age, just apologize and say you said something stupid and you won't do it again.  You may even get to keep your job if you do it right.

Sincerely,

2013

How NOT to Apologize, Take 1

From: celebritynetworth.com

What is it about the Steubenville rape case that brings out the dumbness?  First, it was the blame-the-victim comments from my students.  Now's it Serena Williams and her "mis-quoted" self.  Of course, she had to apologize, but I wonder if someone had to tell her to do that.  Serena sounded like she had pretty clear opinions on what happened.

The money quote:

“Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I don’t know. I’m not blaming the girl, but if you’re a 16-year-old and you’re drunk like that, your parents should teach you—don’t take drinks from other people. She’s 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn’t remember? It could have been much worse. She’s lucky. Obviously I don’t know, maybe she wasn’t a virgin, but she shouldn’t have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that’s different.”

End of the Year Musings

From: discoveryeducation.com

What did I learn this year?

1. Be mean (aka take cell phones).  The phones were out of control this year, to the point of kids taking videos of outbursts in my class.  Next year, there's going to be a cell phone jail.
2. Teaching three new classes in one semester will drive one crazy.
3. Kids are kids.  I left my old school to get to a better one, but I still dealt with the crazies (and not as many smart kids--they took the AP courses).
4. Administrative support makes a difference.  It was rare that one or more principals was not on my hall during class change.  And they actually enforced most of the rules!
5. Some parents correct their children's behavior.  I didn't think I was ever going to see that one.

What a Waste

From: recruiterchicks.com


So we are about to finish our testing period, which took 11 days to complete.  We started with some English II common exams before Memorial Day, and then kept testing and testing and testing.  We've been testing so long that the seniors have already graduated...and we're still testing.

These last two days of school have been for makeup exams only; athletes that can't afford to miss any more days are around, too.  Other than that, our school is empty.  I had four of my students today, which was great, but...we still ran ALL of the busses we would for a normal school day.  Even if the bus had NO students on it, it still had to make its rounds.  The cafeteria workers still had to fire up the school lunch machinery and we still got paid for a full day of "teaching."

Is there not a better way to do testing?  Do we really need 11 days of testing when most kids only have 4-5 classes?

Just Study!

From: insulinsinvolved.blogspot.com

We're at that time of the year where students determine 25% of their grade in a single day: the final exam.  Logic would tell you that a student should spend a great deal of time studying for that exam, and should work hard in class when a teacher provides time for review.

Yes, logic.

Yet no matter the year, the class, or the school, the vast majority of my students seem to find reviewing a task that they can gaff off because "they'll do fine."  In fact, more of them are interested in doing makeup work that affects less than 5% of their total grade than having anything to do with preparing for  that final.

Yes, logic.