Long overdue

It’s been much too long since I last posted anything of substance, and now that I have a minute, I can’t ignore the urge to fill you all in on my life as of late (and, to be honest, I need to purge my mind a bit).

Work (this will be long; I’m lame, I know)
At the end of first semester, the other Civics teacher left. A long term (and amazing) sub was brought in, but I was put in charge of providing her with detailed lesson plans (the likes of which I haven’t written since undergrad), materials and support. I got paid an extra $85/week, which was nice, but maybe not quite comparable. We hired a new teacher and he started two weeks ago. It’s been good and I’m excited about him, but it is still an awful lot of work for me. I no longer have to provide detailed lesson plans, but I’m still giving him materials and weekly plans to follow. Plus I meet with him for at least a half hour every day to troubleshoot, etc. So, you know, it’s a lot.

We also started the annual Civics research project two weeks ago. For this project, students are assigned an influential, but not as well known, African American political figure to research. I gave out all of the assignments (112 students, thank you very much) by matching the students reading level to the difficulty of the resources we had available on each figure. Lower readers got assigned people like Shirley Chisholm and Ralph Abernathy while “advanced” (our advanced readers are really reading at or just above grade level, but everything’s relative) readers got folks like Angela Davis and John Lewis. We guide the students through a week of research and then through a week of writing. Rough drafts were turned in Friday and final drafts were due today. The final product? A five paragraph essay arguing that the assigned political figure deserves to be memorialized and a proposal of what the memorial should look like and why. It’s a kick ass project, but DAMN am I glad it is over.

Economics is pretty much rocking my world this year. I revamped the curriculum map so it is 2 weeks of intro stuff, 3 weeks of micro, 3 weeks of macro and 2 weeks of globalization/distributive justice. Today we were analyzing the impact of supply and demand on industry by looking into the 1996 drop in beef prices after Oprah’s show on mad cow disease and the kids totally got it! I introduced the lesson/concept with a discussion of Jay-Z’s boycott of Cristal champagne and not only was it the most engaged they have ever been, but, stepping outside of myself to watch the interaction, it was pretty entertaining. I mean, here I was, as white as can be (I was wearing a flouncy skirt, heels, a short sleeved sweater and a wide headband!), pacing around the front of the room, quoting obscure rap songs and talking about Jay-Z’s clubs and such. My kids think I’m nuts, but I’m good with that, especially if it keeps them from glazing over.

The AP Government exam is six weeks away, minus the week of spring break, and I am STRESSED OUT. We have to finish the judicial branch by next Friday and then I will have four weeks to teach a unit on Public Policy and one on Civil Rights & Liberties. And, G-d willing, I’ll have one week left for the world’s craziest review session. This is what happens when your exam goes from being one of the last one’s scheduled to the very first one given. But, hey, you know, pressure can be a positive motivator. Or something like that.

Life (sometimes it’s hard to remember this exists outside of work)
Spring has sprung in DC and my calendar has filled accordingly. It’s so much easier to be motivated to actually do things when it is nice outside. It’s supposed to get “cold” again this weekend, but even still, life is looking up.

Last night I went to see Janeane Garofalo (spell check’s REALLY upset by her name) do stand up in Virginia. She was hilarious and also very easy to relate to. Maybe that’s because I have a lot of mildly neurotic and/or anti-social tendencies so I could relate. For instance, when she was talking about how irrationally annoyed she gets when the phone rings, I was right there with her. Same goes for how sad she feels when no one calls. What can I say? We’re complex women, Janeane and I. J But seriously, if you’re smart (which all of you are) and political (which most of you are) and liberal (which, again, most, although not as many, of you are), you should check her out if you get a chance.

Last week I went to see The Roots and Lupe Fiasco perform in Baltimore. It was maybe the best concert that I have ever been to. Scratch that. It was the best concert that I have ever been to. Our seats were in the second row, which was sometimes disconcerting, but always pretty damn cool, and the show was just amazing. Lupe was good, although the squealing, screaming girl behind me was driving me nuts (yes, I’m sure that if you just yell “you’re hot” or “I love you” a little more desperately he will come down, seek you out and take you back with him ::sigh::). The Roots, though, they were nearly indescribable. They are performers and they are damn good at what they do. They played for nearly two hours and there were so many amazing moments. I usually get bored at concerts, but not this one (okay, maybe by the end I was a little distracted by my aching feet). If you’re into hip hop (or really, if you’re into good music), check them out when you get a chance. Especially if you get the chance to check them out live.

Summary (for those of you who like to skim/skip)
It was rough there for a while (I definitely had a major meltdown on Monday night), but things here in DC are going well. I am pretty much continually amazed by how good I can be at my job. I am just as often amazed by how much I have to learn, but I try to see that as a good thing. I don’t see as many of my friends out here as often as I’d like, but the improved weather should change that and it’s not like I never see them at all. My roommate and I are in the midst of an extended period of good times. My family’s doing well or holding steady. There are some things I need to get back under control – I haven’t had time to go grocery shopping in over a month, I haven’t gone to the gym in two months, I stay up too late and don’t drink enough water, but now is not the time to dwell on all of that. The sun is out. The temperature is up. And I am bound and determined to see the silver lining for a bit longer. Hope the same is true for you.