Monthly Archives: January 2011

Modified Traditional Bargaining–Any bets?

Posted on January 31, 2011 by jyourist

I will be serving on my union’s negotiating team for our next contract. There will be six of us negotiating with three representatives of the administration. Both sides have agreed to a new approach in negotiations called MTB or Modified … Continue reading →

Posted in school, work | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

The whole picture of them

Posted on January 29, 2011 by jyourist

I have been working on grades all day—writing narrative assessments about each one of my students. I will probably be working on them all day tomorrow too.  Though it is a lot of hard work and a piece of me … Continue reading →

Posted in school, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

8th grade Signs

Posted on January 28, 2011 by jyourist

Every Friday I run a club called “Short Films.” Today I showed this romantic short (above). The kids loved it. LE slowly rose out of his chair into a standing position as the movie reached its climax. He is a … Continue reading →

Posted in romance, school, short films, Teaching, videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“In the evening we shall be examined….” Thomas Centolella

Posted on January 27, 2011 by jyourist

“In the evening we shall be examined on love.” -St. John of the Cross And it won’t be multiple choice, though some of us would prefer it that way. Neither will it be essay, which tempts us to run on … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Yo, nation-builder

Posted on January 26, 2011 by jyourist

As I was walking down the hall today, I bumped into TJ, who was shoving books into his locker. He smiled and said, “Ms. Y, you are a nation-builder.” “Yes I am,” I answered. CL, with his blue knitted hat … Continue reading →

Posted in school, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Virginia in the waves

Posted on January 25, 2011 by jyourist

I have always been intrigued with Virginia Woolf, as much with the dreamy stream of consciousness of her writing as with her life and dramatic death (putting on her overcoat, filling its pockets with stones, so she would be weighted … Continue reading →

Posted in art, artist, authors, books, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Spread the word…

Posted on January 24, 2011 by jyourist

Indeed! Adopt-a-word. This is a plea from Oxford Dictionaries/ Oxford University Press: Each year hundreds of words are dropped from the English language. Old words, wise words, hard-working words. Words that once led meaningful lives, but now lie unused, unloved … Continue reading →

Posted in reading, words, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Are we making the case already?

Posted on January 23, 2011 by jyourist

It’s a book by Lane Smith, illustrator of The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs…..Are we making the case already?! To little kids?!?

Posted in books, reading, technology | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Dancing Lincoln’s evolution

Posted on January 22, 2011 by jyourist

We have been studying the evolution of Lincoln’s thinking about Reconstruction by examining five documents: Lincoln on Colonization (8/14/1862), The Emancipation Proclamation (9/22/1862—1/1/1863), The Gettysburg Address (11/19/1863), The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (12/8/1863), and his Second Inaugural (3/4/1865). This … Continue reading →

Posted in creativity, performance, school, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

8th grade dance…

Posted on January 21, 2011 by jyourist

And I’m one of the lucky chaperones!

Posted in dance, school | Tagged , | 2 Comments