getting personal

one way to make people read your blog is to write about them, or friends of theirs.  this post is going to be an update, from my perspective, of how my friends are faring after 4 weeks of teaching.

my goal is to be more original than a quick update from them, and more exciting.  i'm trying to walk the line between things they wouldn't tell you in the typical conversation, and things they wouldn't want me to say.  line-walking rarely succeeds.

alphabetically, shall we?

Alison Roberts.  probably will be the most uncomfortable with me doing this, and probably for the best reasons.  Alison teaches 8th/9th Latin at Glendale Prep, and has few complaints.  she has a knack (bordering on need) for seeing everything that happens as a positive.  this is valuable, because it's true that our perceptions can dictate reality. but, it's also a little dangerous, because she can have trouble realizing when something really isn't good.  for example, i've teased her quite a bit for volunteering to be an assistant cross country coach.. which means morning practices throughout the week AND weekend! it's gotta be some swimmer complex..  still, her loyalty to her new school is impressive.   Great Hearts expects teachers to help with extracurriculars, and since Glendale doesn't have a swim team, she found another area in which to contribute.  she's probably done the best job of getting into community outside other Hillsdalians.  her main trouble is just lately, being forced to watch (via Facebook) her younger friends restarting their lives at Hillsdale without her, which obviously is normal for any graduates who had an incredible college experience and incredible non-senior friends.  i think she may be afraid that teaching Latin could get boring, but whether that's admittable, i don't know.  also of note, she's a young single Catholic teacher at a school with more than a few young single Catholic teachers of the opposite sex.  though it's not a perfect comparison, i feel obligated to pass on someone else's observation that Alison's experience with the Glendale Prep staff "must be something like what Lynzy Elzinga experienced at Hillsdale."  the main problem i see is a vast majority of Hillsdale's guys were scared to talk to Lynzy...these guys' approach to women is slightly more direct than either of them experienced at Hillsdale, i imagine.

Jon Gregg.  the only one of us teaching upperclassmen in high school, and the only one prepping for three classes: 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th maths (8th/10th are the same material).  he's doing fine, though,  naturally.  Glendale Prep started a few days earlier than the rest of us, and Jon had himself a pretty awful first day experience: he forgot to wear a belt, came back for it during second period to find himself locked out (with no cell phone), went to the apartment office to get a key, but got in only to eventually realize that Tom had worn his belt that day.  to top it off he burnt his fingers badly cooking his meal .  still, all of that happened on Day 1 and he just focused on how well the in-class experience went compared to the rest.  he had a little trouble with writing his first test (and most of us did) — his kids couldn't finish it in class.  it wasn't a big deal, i only mention it because i'm sure there are people out there wondering if there's anything Jon can't do.  he is also coaching the Glendale middle school volleyball B-team (there is a C-team too, to his credit).  he doesn't complain, but i think there are things he'd rather be doing.  still, Jon is really good at realizing how things are and making the best of it.  Tom and i talk about coaching football pretty often, and Jon usually has a good way to tie in our experience teaching how to pick up a blitz with how many girls cried that day at his practice. in addition to the normal teacher/coach commitments, he's also been figuring out how to manage a serious and seriously long-distance relationship, AND watch Twins games online (though they're like 100 games back).

Laura Golden.  she has the most odds stacked against her, and might be having the hardest time.  that's not to say she is struggling, but rather that her accomplishments are that much more impressive.  her and Michele both work at Trivium Prep, a first year school.  that means that none of their students are used to the Great Hearts approach: dress code, discipline, work load, etc. (same goes for Michele). BUT, Laura is teaching 6th fine arts and 7th lit/comp.  so not only does she have to deal with more problem students than the rest of us, she has to teach them grammar.  Laura teaching grammar is like me teaching Ancient History.. not only that, but Laura probably feels the most displaced.  as you know, she's a Southerner (as is Alison, but Al had 6 months to get used to the idea). Laura was planning on moving to Nashville up until a month before getting hired here. Southerners are known for close families, and Laura's closest family is the farthest away (in South America for five weeks).  that being said,  Laura has some things going for her.  she actually had teaching experience before we started (unlike myself, Tom, or Michele).  she has Lynzy moving in with her and Michele by the end of the month, further enhancing her long-time dream of adventuring to a new place with college/life-long friends and rejecting the "real-life" doldrums.  and she has her priorities straight. she made the first and biggest purchase of the gang so far — a 42" flatscreen and surround sound system.  right now her biggest concern is finding somewhere to watch Auburn football, since her cousin is the starting quarterback and she doesn't have cable.

Lauren Demianiuk.  irrepressible, this one.  she's having a significantly different experience than the rest of us.  Lauren is a 3rd grade teacher at Veritas Archway.  she has her own classroom, and a teaching assistant who's probably twice her age.  she spent a large percentage of her classroom budget on a 6' x 9' map of the world, and has never regretted it.  she has the same 29 kids for the whole day (five classes plus change).  her stories are completely unlike our stories.  i don't know how excited she was going into it (i think she'd rather have older classes and teach German), but she is giving it everything she's got.  she's definitely logged the most hours working at her school, of any of us.  i've told her to relax because she can't mess up third-graders, but she's not settling (she is, however, planning on teaching them Kafka?!).  just last week i gave her and Jon a tour of my school, and the main thing she noticed were things in the 5th-grade classrooms that she didn't have.  honestly, she probably obsesses over it a more-than-healthy amount.  the classroom teachers have a lot more preparation (five classes compared to two-three), but a lot less grading (29 kids compared to 88+).  besides aiming at being the best third-grade teacher at Great Hearts, she also has jumped right into other areas that i haven't even given thought to yet.  she's had other faculty over to her and Al's place for dinner (one time i even got invited!),  and she's managed to maintain a decent workout regimen (last i heard).  although they were both a little too obsessed with being perfect for each other at the very beginning, Lauren and Alison make a great roommate duo.  they've invested everything in their respective schools right at the start, but unfortunately that means we see them the least.

Michele Philbrook.  i have the least information to speculate on with Michele, which i just realized.  she was the last hire, and teaches 6th grade American History and 7th Fine Arts at Trivium Prep with Laura.  though she hadn't planned to teach, she is well-equipped to teach fine arts.  in fact, i think she may like it because it legitimizes her as an artist in a way..  she is artistic but often feels like she has to prove it, which makes sense in her case..  she was an art minor (and i had to ask to verify that, which proves my point haha).. and some of her friends are well-known for being artistic, so she's been in their shadows to some degree.  but if she can teach art and do a good job, that's worth a lot, both in her head and others'.  part of being artistic means that Michele complains about everything being chain stores in Phoenix.  i make fun of her because she seems to have decided that without leaving the freeways much..   since Laura and Michele teach the same kids, it's also been really valuable for Michele to see that she can have the same amount of (or more) control over a classroom as Laura.  those two have an additional difficulty.. there are only seven faculty at Trivium, and they are all new.  they are making curriculum as they go.  everyone else has way more help (at least available), for sure.  they both really like their headmaster, though that's true across the board as far as i know.  Michele is closest to home of anyone, apparently close enough for her brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law to drive down this weekend! gotta be nice..  overall, i give Michele a solid B+.  wait, since when am i grading anyone? nevermind.

Tom Sawyer.  by all appearances, Tom is having the easiest and the hardest time right now.  he is teaching 8th and 9th maths at Anthem Prep.  he knows the stuff he's teaching, and he has a pretty efficient approach to homework.  that means minimal time prepping/grading.  he also helps coach football, but to the degree that he can skip practices when convenient.  it's a good system.. he also just ended a serious relationship about two weeks ago.  that's where the hardest part comes in... when you feel like something isn't working, but both people in the relationship are really good people and want the best for each other, it's never an easy decision.  you're going to second-guess everything.  and Tom is probably the existential-est crisis-er that i know...not a good combo, but he's doing okay.  last Saturday a group of us went on a Goodwill spree/scavenger hunt for his birthday, and part of the challenge was to buy something for Tom that he had to wear during the school week.  he's taken on the role of weird math teacher spectacularly, so showing up to school the day before parent's night wearing a matching orange-flamed suspender/tie set did not elicit inordinate amounts of surprise from his classes.  he did get reminded of the teacher dress code by his headmaster though, for at least the third time.  several times a day, Tom will walk though the apartment saying "smoke break?" with varying degrees of urgency or excitement, and sometimes anger if we deny him.  he likes company on smoke breaks, and i think i might like having an excuse to smoke.. we've had some really great conversations during those uncomfortably hot sessions outside on our porch, of course with Jon, too, when he's not on the phone with Casey (obligatory shot, sorry).


i've gotta finish this.  Scottsdale had an R&R weekend, which means no homework is assigned, which means i gave tests Friday, which don't have any material to cover tomorrow.  i'm planning on making up a lecture on what the liberal arts is in all four of my classes.  we'll see what happens, eh?  after i spontaneously gave Michele a grade, i decided it would be a great way to end this monstrosity of a blog. fitting.  controversial.  and entirely objective.

Final grades for the first half of the first quarter!!
Alison: B-
Jon:  A-
Laura: B
Lauren: A
Michele: B+
Tom: B+
Me? C+ and coming on strong!