Teaching
Sweet Taste of Success!
Given the fact that this past week marked my second week of Tuesday through Thursday insomnia, I’m now well rested and ready for another challenging week at school. I also can reflect on last Monday when I first learned that my educational critique, “Monochromatic Butterfly,” had been published by the Texas Observer–three days earlier than I had … Continue reading
Labor Day Weekend 2011
I cannot remember the last time I spent both a Friday and Saturday night at home…even during the two and half months when I first moved to Austin and was unemployed, I managed to go out to the free events. Yet, after work on Friday, I swam laps, came home, warmed up dinner and finished watching … Continue reading
Gymnastics of Natural Disasters
This morning, I attended my usual 10 am bikram yoga class. The instructor welcomed us to class and stated that we must have come to practice hot yoga in order to cool off! After completing yet another invigorating bikram class, I confirmed that today’s scorcher would top 100 degrees, the maximum temperature for bikram yoga. We’ve … Continue reading
Starting School
I’ve definitely ended my fantastic summer vacation the right way–by looking forward to the upcoming new school year with as much ease as I possibly can. My classroom is as decorated as I want it to be, I’ve got lesson plans for the first week and I’ve previewed my class rosters. The most important thing … Continue reading
Back to School: The Soft Opening
During the middle of the summer, I thought I would burst into tears when this day had finally come, but I’m remarkably at peace with going back to school tomorrow. Granted, it’ll be orientation week, which means that I’ll be semi-vacationing without students. Plus, I’ll be able to enjoy at least an hour-long lunch, unlike … Continue reading
Monochromatic Butterfly
Since I’ve dedicated this summer to being a full-time artist, my main creative outlet has been writing since I work my second novel daily and nearly everything I read somehow flavors that manuscript. Additionally, I finally found the time to reflect on my first two years of teaching at an Austin public school, which has been the most … Continue reading
Lost in the Days/Daze
I love the part of summer vacation where I start to lose track of the days. Thank God, I have a smart phone where I can input all the things that I’m going to do on a calendar! I made up my mind not to work, study nor change apartments over the summer; so now … Continue reading
Summer Vacation’s Here!
My last day at school was this past Thursday and despite sitting through a “never-ending” full faculty meeting (something which hardly ever happens, given the size of our faculty), I managed to complete my checkout process after the meeting by 10:30. And just to show that I cannot stop being a teacher “cold turkey,” I’d … Continue reading
Takes Two to Tango
Fire drill pranks…food fights…final exams. Yes, this school year’s coming to an end. I was so anxious to be over and done with this school year, that I took it upon myself to write the final exams for both the science subjects that I teach–much to the surprise of the other teachers since we were … Continue reading
Tornadoes & Technology
I’m not a gadget person. I don’t rush out to buy the latest geegaw. On the other hand, I don’t have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the latest technology. Something just has to breakdown. That alone is enough to motivate me to toss my technological dinosaur into the tar pit (acutally the proper … Continue reading