Monthly Archives: April 2013

Creative Responses to All Quiet

Posted on April 29, 2013 by jyourist

In response to their reading of All Quiet on the Western Front, my students created poetry, diary entries which contrasted with letters home, did drawings, a hooked rug (see below).  One student destroyed a copy of All Quiet, filling a … Continue reading →

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

Dear General Shinseki- part II

Posted on April 28, 2013 by jyourist

OK. I should have expected this. The students wrote their letters to General Shinseki on Thursday (see Dear General Shinseki) and they were more focused and on task than I had seen them all year. They were earnest and thoughtful. … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching, World War I | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Apparition HD grand finale – Klaus Obermaier & Ars Electronica Futurelab

Posted on April 27, 2013 by jyourist

(featuring Rob Tannen)

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“Eternity” by William Blake

Posted on April 26, 2013 by jyourist
Posted in poetry | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Dear General Shinseki

Posted on April 24, 2013 by jyourist

We have finished reading All Quiet on the Western Front and our last conversation in class about the book became a passionate discussion about how war seems to be such an absurd way of settling conflicts, especially in light of … Continue reading →

Posted in World War I | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Richie Havens’ teeth

Posted on April 23, 2013 by jyourist

At our 8th grade team meeting this morning, I mentioned that Richie Havens had died and half of my colleagues looked bewildered. One of my grey-haired colleagues said, “I guess you realize you are really old when you have to … Continue reading →

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Earth Day Gas Mileage

Posted on April 22, 2013 by jyourist

Traffic was really slow on Lake Shore Drive on the way home from school today. I’m not really complaining because the weather was absolutely beautiful and the windows were down letting fresh spring air circulate all around me. The lake … Continue reading →

Posted in cars | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Distillation and Demons

Posted on April 21, 2013 by jyourist

Distillation is the process of separating mixtures. As opposed to the process of reduction in cooking where the whole is cooked slowly and only moisture is removed, in distillation it is the impurities which are removed from a substance, as from … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, compassion, family, peace, relationship | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

“The Edges of Time” by Kay Ryan

Posted on April 20, 2013 by jyourist

It is at the edges that time thins. Time which had been dense and viscous as amber suspending intentions like bees unseizes them. A humming begins, apparently coming from stacks of put-off things  or just in back. A racket of … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, poetry | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

“Whiteness” is a construct

Posted on April 19, 2013 by jyourist

Today, as part of Professional Development Day, we invited Jackie Battalora in to facilitate a discussion of whiteness with our entire middle school faculty. She met with nine of us last year as we worked to grow our collective awareness … Continue reading →

Posted in equity, race | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments