Ganesh's Trunk: maybe it's wisdom inside, or maybe it's snot.

My Success Story

Oct 31, 2009
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I wish I had one amazing success that really stood out. Sadly, having thought about this impending blog for a long time, I still haven't come up with one of these. I do, though, have a series of smaller successes. Among the top of these is the mix of opinions that has grown around me among the children of my school: "mane, he makes us work--all we ever do is work up in here" juxtaposed against "you're my favorite teacher". I've managed, though not perfectly, to create an atmosphere that is both rigorous and lax--hardworking and yet without the aspects of "professionality" that I believe are less appealing. I let my kids peak their minds, even if negatively about me, I laugh, and I play...and we friggin work.

I have several students that I didn't figure I'd get along with based off of our first interactions. One of these, a girl who in the third week cried because she wanted to get out of my class and found she couldn't: "that man--he don't care about me--I told him I couldn't work 'cause I had a headache and just said 'it don't matter'"... now I can joke with this girl. She tries to cheat often in my class...but I catch her at it...and I deal with this in a congenial way. Another student, K, though he was immediately one of my favorite students and one of my students with the most promise, he was one who squandered his talents (in drawing, dancing, rap, sports, and what I imagine to be EVERYTHING else) and slept through class. He kept up an aloof gangsta mentality that was supported by his best [worst' friend], who was also in my class. I didn't know exactly how to get on K's good side. A couple days ago, K was eating a peppermint in my class and accidentally got it lodged in his throat. I waited to see if he was actually choking, then applied the heimlich when it was evident that he was. Since then, he has improved his work ethic in my class by 300%. The third of theses student is that same best/worst friend of K. Dc for the longest time came to my class with no other purpose than to be a badass... insubordination, refusal to work, threats, both veiled and open....I can't even explain what has caused Dc's progression from this state, yet now, though he is still rough around the edges, don't get me wrong, he is not a model student by any means, he is civil, shows up on time, and he completes his work.

All this success, meagre though it may be, still stands mitigated by an equal amount of failure. I am happy though in what I have done--not content enough to hold steady I feel my students are really learning. I feel that ALL of them are learning. And this is a very good thing.

Does Homework Work?

Oct 22, 2009
3 comments

On the whole, no, I don't think so.

If homework helps, it simply polishes those who already have a good standing with the material. In most cases, those who do not understand the material as well--those who need the most help--will give up in the middle of doing their homework. And if these students who have the furthest to go with understanding their assignments COULD improve their comprehension with homework, the bigger question would be "Why do we need the teachers then?"

Hazing

Oct 22, 2009
2 comments

You can't have communitas without first experiencing liminality. Go read some Victor Tuner.

Hazing is a fact of life, and in many regards it is a necessary human institution. We build such rites of passage into all our institutions. Though, for these highschoolers, puberty should be enough of a shared hell to need not some contived support as a "slut list", I can't say that I find the problem to be that serious.

Any institution of liminality will seem vulgar, violent, or demeaning from the outside perspective. To some on the inside of this system i may even seem as a such-- but those who are unable to mentally cope with such things are in my view mored flawed than those who are behind the "bullying".

The fact that some girls are disappointed if they are NOT on the 'slut list' is enough to tell me that some of the students and a majority of the parents at this particular school are over-reacting. If the more insightful students have realized that the hazing was a selective process--one that seeks not to further infringe the unpopular but instead to put the most socially favored of the freshman girls through an experience that they would normally not have--then who are we to find the system that abhorrent.

There are some things we should remain ignorant of.

Hazing

Oct 22, 2009
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You can't have communitas without first experiencing liminality. Go read some Victor Tuner.

Hazing is a fact of life, and in many regards it is a necessary human institution. We build such rites of passage into all our institutions. Though, for these highschoolers, puberty should be enough of a shared hell to need not some contived support as a "slut list", I can't say that I find the problem to be that serious.

Any institution of liminality will seem vulgar, violent, or demeaning from the outside perspective. To some on the inside of this system i may even seem as a such-- but those who are unable to mentally cope with such things are in my view mored flawed than those who are behind the "bullying".

The fact that some girls are disappointed if they are NOT on the 'slut list' is enough to tell me that some of the students and a majority of the parents at this particular school are over-reacting. If the more insightful students have realized that the hazing was a selective process--one that seeks not to further infringe the unpopular but instead to put the most socially favored of the freshman girls through an experience that they would normally not have--then who are we to find the system that abhorrent.

There are some things we should remain ignorant of.

I had to euthanize Loreli today.

Oct 18, 2009
2 comments

it was kinda sad.

The three week apotheosis. It approaches.

Aug 31, 2009
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I recently implemented a three week plan to better my organizations skills and harness my creativity in the classroom.

The results have already proven explosive, the data trend points to only one possible outcome, and the process, now begun, seems irreversible...

Upon my personal realization, I've given my North Panola MTC colleagues notice, and it's only fair I give y'all the same:

In three weeks time, at the current rate of personal growth, I expect a golden transformation. A glowing apotheosis. I, Brent Bonds, will have become a teaching god.

Already, tremors today were felt as far away as Hacks Cross. There were some injuries sustained in Coffeeville.

Early reports attributed the dangerous rumblings to sudden activity of the Meeman-Shelby fault, but it was later confirmed the seismic waves were indeed only the transmutations of the sheer awesomeness of my third-block lesson on antecedents. The injuries occurred just after I moved into Compensatory Reading, focusing on summaries.

The wheels are set in motion. There's nothing to be done.

There are things you should do to prepare and protect yourself:

Shield your eyes.
It would be folly to turn a corner and risk seeing me with your bare mortal eyes, due to the blinding white glow of my educational genius. If you have dark sunglasses, I recommend you keep them on your person at all times. Stowing a welding mask in a duffle-bag may prove an invaluable precaution.

High SPF sunblock and lead-lined clothing would not be a bad idea, either. Remember the value of a refrigerator. It may save your life.

Protect your ego.
It is only natural that you feel a little inadequate in my presence. Fear not, little ones. I beg you to try and see me still as only a man, laughable as though this may seem. I ask for your own sakes that you don't try to hold yourself to my standard. You are only human. Remember this.

Go on with life as usual.
Don't feel you have to change. McDowell, you may still bump fists with me. Francis, you should still feel completely comfortable disagreeing with absolutely everything I say. Heinz, you may feel free to continue to challenge me to Scrabble games. I will continue to let you win, as always, keeping your sense of confidence foremost in my mind.