:: p-dog ::

Yes, I am still on blog vacation, but I'm grading a stack of essays and just had to share this "paragraph."

What is should be: an 8-11 sentence paragraph (from a response to literature essay) about personal connections the student could make with a story we read.

What it is (vebatim):
third of all is what, I have in common with the narrator and their is three things, I have in common, and it is one a dog and another is that, I love my dog very much, and third he is very good at dog love.

!!

:: Leslie H - 5:31 PM - ::

The extent to which keeping a journal has reduced my blogging is a little alarming. I'm not alarmed that I'm blogging less frequently, you understand. It's just becoming clear how this did become my personal journal. I'm not sure that's really a positive thing. So I think I'll just call November blog vacation so I stop feeling twinges of guilt. We'll see how December goes. I might miss my audience. :)

What am I thinking. We lapsed Catholics can never stop the guilt. But to sooth my conscience I have put up new pictures in the Hijinks album.

So, here, picture Bryan and I in this park instead of updating blogs.


(in Fremont's central park, 2 weeks ago)

:: Leslie H - 8:47 PM - ::

Long time, no post. I know, I know. Life has just been humming along, little to report. I'm also trying the not-so-novel technique of writing in a journal that is not posted on the internet for every stranger to read. Don't know what's come over me.

I do sort of love this website, though. Sorry Everybody, from Americans to the world. Check out the gallery. God bless the Internet.

:: Leslie H - 9:39 AM - ::

The first issue of Fischer's new newspaper is finished. I'm so proud of the kids.

:: Leslie H - 5:41 PM - ::

It is cold and dark at Fischer. I have been here since 7:30 and will stay until 8:00, waiting for parents who do not come. End of quarter conferences. I was too busy for breakfast and forgot to bring a lunch, so I just had my first/only meal of the day--half a hummus sandwich and a small soup from Togos.
It feels strange to be here. The same feeling I would get as a student when I was in an empty school, putting together the newspaper on a Saturday or at some meeting late. Slightly naughty, slightly cool.
I could just be delerious from lack of food. I drank two cups of coffee with no breakfast, and I was jittering around the room this morning. I think I scared my yawning students.

I am sad that Bush won. Because I will not be able to watch the news for a week. Because I thought that I had protected myself by believing that Kerry couldn't win, but I was wrong. Because I let myself start to hope when I heard about new voters signed up, horrible headlines from Iraq, millions of people marching, unlikely people beginning to doubt Bush (Dad), even early exit polls.

But something mean in me is happy that the Bush administration must now claim full credit for the trainwreck that is Iraq, for the lost jobs and weak economy, for the frightening deficit. There can be no passing responsibility to Kerry, or to anyone else, given the now-even-more-Republican Congress.

I printed the New York Times lead article about the election today for my students, and we read it together and talked about what it meant. I told them that those who were 14 now would be able to vote in the next presidential election. I am happy with myself for reading with them and teaching them about this election, so that the news meant more to them as they watched it. So they had a clue what was meant by "electoral votes" and "provisional ballots." I heard one of them explaining to another student the difference between the popular vote and the electoral college. Rock on.

There was much wailing and gnashing of 13-year-old teeth here today. Finally I am in the political majority. The famed Mr. H, with Bush stickers still blazing on his wheelchair, went the whole day with a towel draped over his shoulder to smugly offer to weeping Democrats. Ha ha. Ha.

:: Leslie H - 5:26 PM - ::

Despair.

:: Leslie H - 1:37 PM - ::

Vote, vote, vote, vote.

:: Leslie H - 7:02 AM - ::