Wow . . . brain full
Apr. 14th, 2004 10:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liamstliamLife is just a blur lately.
Two more days of school until Spring Vacation, something every at school needs.
Kids have been really wiggy this week, so I took today to do "Rock and Roll History. Played several songs with historical references and will finish them tomorrow after the tests. Played Springsteen's "The Rising," which is about a firefighter during Sept. 11, and "Sweet Home Alabama," for its references to Watergate, etc. I also did the whole "American Pie" spiel about it being a history of rock and roll from 1959's death to The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, until 1969 or so, when McLean started writing the song. (Extra credit question: Who was the fourth musician who "lost" the coin flip and had to drive instead of taking the ill-fated flight). I'll also do "Volunteers," from Jefferson Airplane and Credence's "Fortunate Son," among others.
More info on "American Pie" at:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie/
Friday will be my last day in my current room. We are doing HVAC renovations, and I am moving around the corner. This has been going on all year, now it's my turn.
Watched the Senior Class make literally thoursands of dollars tonight on a pasta supper and raffle. Patriots' tickets went for $365, Red Sox tickets were well into the hundreds and they sold maybe two dozen or more "surprise" gifts at $10 apiece. Took a lot of work, but they really made out well.
Really looking forward to May in the U.S. History classes. Will be doing Civil Rights and Vietnam much of the month. Perhaps my two favorite subjects, and two topics that the kids usually get excited about. (And teaching about Vietnam is rather fitting right now).
Finally, besides doing the rock and roll stuff today, I did a little preaching. A hockey star (17) is dead and his girlfriend in on life support after they overdosed on Oxycontin and Klonopin. They are both from Charlestown, Mass., which is about 20 minutes from here and very close to Boston. They were both apparently great kids from godd families. Both went to well-respected Catholic schools. We have had a couple of young men just out of our high school day because of heroin overdoses. Pretty scary stuff.
More info at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/04/14/specter_of_drugs_haunts_charlestown/
Two more days of school until Spring Vacation, something every at school needs.
Kids have been really wiggy this week, so I took today to do "Rock and Roll History. Played several songs with historical references and will finish them tomorrow after the tests. Played Springsteen's "The Rising," which is about a firefighter during Sept. 11, and "Sweet Home Alabama," for its references to Watergate, etc. I also did the whole "American Pie" spiel about it being a history of rock and roll from 1959's death to The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, until 1969 or so, when McLean started writing the song. (Extra credit question: Who was the fourth musician who "lost" the coin flip and had to drive instead of taking the ill-fated flight). I'll also do "Volunteers," from Jefferson Airplane and Credence's "Fortunate Son," among others.
More info on "American Pie" at:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie/
Friday will be my last day in my current room. We are doing HVAC renovations, and I am moving around the corner. This has been going on all year, now it's my turn.
Watched the Senior Class make literally thoursands of dollars tonight on a pasta supper and raffle. Patriots' tickets went for $365, Red Sox tickets were well into the hundreds and they sold maybe two dozen or more "surprise" gifts at $10 apiece. Took a lot of work, but they really made out well.
Really looking forward to May in the U.S. History classes. Will be doing Civil Rights and Vietnam much of the month. Perhaps my two favorite subjects, and two topics that the kids usually get excited about. (And teaching about Vietnam is rather fitting right now).
Finally, besides doing the rock and roll stuff today, I did a little preaching. A hockey star (17) is dead and his girlfriend in on life support after they overdosed on Oxycontin and Klonopin. They are both from Charlestown, Mass., which is about 20 minutes from here and very close to Boston. They were both apparently great kids from godd families. Both went to well-respected Catholic schools. We have had a couple of young men just out of our high school day because of heroin overdoses. Pretty scary stuff.
More info at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/04/14/specter_of_drugs_haunts_charlestown/
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-04-14 08:45 pm (UTC)One of the strongest impressions an assignment ever made on me: my history teacher handed out the lyrics to "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel. Our assignment was to define or explain as many items listed in the song as we could, and provide an analysis of the meaning of the chorus.
I got 112 on it, my teacher was so impressed. In fact, no one in the class got lower than a 96, because we were all so involved in it, trying to do a good job.
It would make one hell of a final project :)
no subject
Date: 2004-04-15 03:33 am (UTC)I know a number of teachers who use it.
Liam
**raises hand** oooh ooooh oooh!
Date: 2004-04-14 09:52 pm (UTC)Beatles trivia is really more my forte.
*********************
On a more somber note... it just kills me to hear about the ODs. I just heard about two other (unrelated) fatal overdoses just yesterday at my 12 step meeting. As a recovering addict myself, I'm grateful to be alive today, and pray every day for the addict who still suffers, as well as their families and loved ones. Very scary stuff. Preach away. PLEASE! and thank you. If only one kid hears you, it's worth it.
Re: **raises hand** oooh ooooh oooh!
Date: 2004-04-15 03:33 am (UTC)Liam
no subject
Date: 2004-04-15 07:31 am (UTC)*******************
We have a very lucky, if foolish, young man here at our school that came very close to dying this past Fall from an overdose. I wish I could say that I believed his behavior had changed after that experience. Again, I teach in an upper-middle-class rural school filled with "nice" kids, yet apparently, according to the "experts" who deal with this stuff, heroin is more popular than pot here. Scary, scary stuff!!
no subject
Date: 2004-04-15 12:52 pm (UTC)http://www.teacheroz.com/fire.htm