Ramblings

For all of you who think that Southaven will be a piece of cake, I have some news for you. I went to visit my classroom on Wednesday of last week, and much to my dismay, I discovered that my chalkboard was a thin piece of film slapped on the wall. I kid you not. If I knew how to post a picture on this blog, I'd show you. There are large pockets of air (about the size of the palm of my hand) scattered all over the film. There are also several areas right in the middle of the film that are torn away revealing what looks like corkboard. When I tried to write on it, the chalk just broke and it left no mark.

As I walked further in the room, I discovered the corporal punishment paddle sitting on my desk. Not only is it an instrument of physical abuse but it had some obsene drawing on it too. I could not believe it. Anyway...my classroom is a real dive. I didn't really expect much but at least you guys who are in the Delta have real chalk boards. One of the things that I love about this program is that it forces you to become creative. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to write on this year but I'll think of something.

And what's with schools having separate buildings for different subject areas? The science classes are held in a completely different building than the main high school. Is that normal for the south? In the north, you'd never hear of such a thing. I kind of like it. While it may be isolating, I think it will also be a bit more peaceful.

I don't know about you guys but when we did that question and answer session on Friday, I started to get pretty nervous. I highly doubt that I'll be able to get much sleep the night before school starts. In fact, I can't wait until about the beginning of October when everything begins falling into place. My students and I will be in our routines and I'll actually know my way around the school. Gosh, at this point it seems as though it will never feel that way but all things come with time.

So anyway, this blog may seem really disjointed and incoherent. For that I apologize. I really can write. I promise. We'll see what I churn out next.

Hasta!