Monthly Archives: January 2012

Roses are red….

Posted on January 31, 2012 by jyourist

Parent/ teacher/ student conferences are happening next Monday and each individual 7th and 8th grade student is responsible for leading their own. They are in charge of letting parents and their advisor (me) know how they are doing in each … Continue reading →

Posted in school, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The power of story

Posted on January 30, 2012 by jyourist

IB just sent me a link to this video. It is up for one of five animated film awards in the next Academy Awards. The power of story —transporting, transformative.

Posted in animation, books, transformation, videos | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Those winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden

Posted on January 29, 2012 by jyourist

Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. xxx I’d wake … Continue reading →

Posted in family, poetry | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fado and writing narrative grade reports

Posted on January 28, 2012 by jyourist

Today I am hunkering down writing grade reports for my students. JB is upstairs in his studio working on his art. JB has put some Fado music on. Fado music is a portuguese genre of music with lyrics that are mournful and … Continue reading →

Posted in music, school, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Repairing the world

Posted on January 27, 2012 by jyourist

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established by the UN seven years ago, commemorating the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Shoah Foundation, founded by Steven Spielberg, after the filming of Schindler’s List, is an archive of over 52,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in story, tikkun olam, tolerance, transformation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Back to the Future

Posted on January 26, 2012 by jyourist

This is nostalgia gone viral. These images are everywhere on the net, but maintain their power touching some archetypal spot, deep down, that is compellingly engaging and haunting, connecting us to those most human issues of time and aging, impending death, … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, photography, transformation | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Thank you, Horatio Bat man

Posted on January 25, 2012 by jyourist

Presently we are in the midst of learning about the period of Reconstruction. We have immersed ourselves in lots of primary resources, challenging and sometimes obscure, at least to 8th graders–texts which reflect sophisticated vocabulary, complicated syntax, lots of double … Continue reading →

Posted in art, artist, history, school, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Just in case you missed it….

Posted on January 24, 2012 by jyourist

He has my vote (as if there were any question otherwise). ( In case the video above is not working, click here.)

Posted in politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

At the nexus between night and day

Posted on January 23, 2012 by jyourist
Posted in photography | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“Hunger for Something” by Chase Twichell

Posted on January 22, 2012 by jyourist

Sometimes I long to be in the woodpile, cut-apart trees soon to be smoke, or even the smoke itself, xxxxx sinewy ghost of ash and air, going wherever I want to, at least for a while. xxxxx Neither inside nor … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment