Week two of the school year, and already I jeopardize my job. Why do I do it? Must be the way my asshole puckers when I get these kind of messages from my students:
"hello mrbosch.
i am working on my hitler speech research
and dear lord.
he made tons and tons and tons of speeches.
i was wondering if you had any insight on
perhaps his best one for me to start off on.
your favourite 7th period student
Leah zeppelin."
It's worth pointing out that she sent that message to me through the school district's website, the one that is regularly scrutinized for inappropriate content.
My response was strictly PC, naturally. I warned her about historical apologists and spooky websites that pretended to be unbiased. I don't really know that much at all about Nazis aside from their tendecy toward being limp-dicked goat-fuckers. I suppose I should be honored that she came to me for help with the assumption that I knew about all things rhetorical.
Pardon me, now. I'm going to go sit somewhere quiet and attempt to get over my shuddering case of the jibblies.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
700 lb. Xmas Gifts
Penguin Classics has released, via Amazon.com, their Complete Library. For a mere $7989.50, you can have delivered for free your new library of 1,082 titles. That's a savings of over $5k off the cover price! And the shipping's FREE!!! According to NPR, they've sold 10 so far.
Unfortunately, some true classics did not make the cut due to copyright laws. For example, The Great Gatsby and all of the Faulkner novels did not make it because the respective estates still hold the rights to publication. However, there are a lot of really neat novels on the list. As an English teacher, it's fun to peruse the list and realize that, dang, I actually did read a lot of stuff in school.
Now if I could recall it all....
NPR coverage here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4814140
And ordering info here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0147503078/qid=1124942195/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8710987-4254511?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Unfortunately, some true classics did not make the cut due to copyright laws. For example, The Great Gatsby and all of the Faulkner novels did not make it because the respective estates still hold the rights to publication. However, there are a lot of really neat novels on the list. As an English teacher, it's fun to peruse the list and realize that, dang, I actually did read a lot of stuff in school.
Now if I could recall it all....
NPR coverage here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4814140
And ordering info here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0147503078/qid=1124942195/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8710987-4254511?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Sunday, August 21, 2005
What did you do with Chet?
Okay, so I just now tried to go to my good friend Chet's website, miscellaneousheathen.com , but I got some photographer's website instead. Sticking a www in front of it says that the site is FORBIDDEN!
Strange things are afoot in Houston.
Strange things are afoot in Houston.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Where is the Central Scrutinizer when we need him?
The following message was forwarded to me by my school's librarian. I'm still trying to decide whether or not she forwarded it to me as a joke:
Dear Teacher,
With the generous help of our donors and your local businesses, the Ayn Rand Institute is providing free classroom sets of Ayn Rand's novels, Anthem and The Fountainhead, along with teacher's guides and lesson plans, to high schools in the US and Canada.
Anthem tells of a dark world of the future, a society so collectivized that even the word "I" has vanished from the language and one man’s defiance of that society. Anthem’s theme is: the meaning and glory of man’s ego. Anthem is appropriate for grades 9 and 10.
The Fountainhead is the story of an innovative, uncompromisingly independent architect, Howard Roark, and his battle against a tradition-worshipping society. Its theme is "individualism versus collectivism, not in politics, but in man’s soul." Ayn Rand presented here for the first time her projection of an ideal man. The Fountainhead is appropriate for grades 11 and 12.
If you are a teacher, and you would like to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to teach Ayn Rand's novels in your classroom, please visit http://www.aynrand.org/education_classroom_books and complete our online form.
Forward to a Friend
Marilee Dragsdahl
Education Department Manager
The Ayn Rand Institute
2121 Alton Parkway, Suite 250
Irvine, CA 92606
Phone: (949) 222-6550 ext. 209
Fax: (949) 222-6558
There's a Scientologist Celebrity Centre here in Dallas. http://www.scientology-ccdallas.org/ I bet they'd be willing to send me a free class set, too. The only catch to getting free copies from the Randroids is that I actually have to teach the material if they send it to me.
A little bit of Googling has dredged up some lesson plans on Intelligent Design from these kind pseudo-scientists: http://www.rael.org/
Perhaps I could offer my students the connection between science of Yoga, the theology of all major religions, and the mysteries of UFOs? http://www.aetherius.org/
Interestingly enough, the founders of Unarius bring up the age-old AP essay question: why are whack-jobs always famous people in previous lives?
Dear Teacher,
With the generous help of our donors and your local businesses, the Ayn Rand Institute is providing free classroom sets of Ayn Rand's novels, Anthem and The Fountainhead, along with teacher's guides and lesson plans, to high schools in the US and Canada.
Anthem tells of a dark world of the future, a society so collectivized that even the word "I" has vanished from the language and one man’s defiance of that society. Anthem’s theme is: the meaning and glory of man’s ego. Anthem is appropriate for grades 9 and 10.
The Fountainhead is the story of an innovative, uncompromisingly independent architect, Howard Roark, and his battle against a tradition-worshipping society. Its theme is "individualism versus collectivism, not in politics, but in man’s soul." Ayn Rand presented here for the first time her projection of an ideal man. The Fountainhead is appropriate for grades 11 and 12.
If you are a teacher, and you would like to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to teach Ayn Rand's novels in your classroom, please visit http://www.aynrand.org/education_classroom_books and complete our online form.
Forward to a Friend
Marilee Dragsdahl
Education Department Manager
The Ayn Rand Institute
2121 Alton Parkway, Suite 250
Irvine, CA 92606
Phone: (949) 222-6550 ext. 209
Fax: (949) 222-6558
There's a Scientologist Celebrity Centre here in Dallas. http://www.scientology-ccdallas.org/ I bet they'd be willing to send me a free class set, too. The only catch to getting free copies from the Randroids is that I actually have to teach the material if they send it to me.
A little bit of Googling has dredged up some lesson plans on Intelligent Design from these kind pseudo-scientists: http://www.rael.org/
Perhaps I could offer my students the connection between science of Yoga, the theology of all major religions, and the mysteries of UFOs? http://www.aetherius.org/
Interestingly enough, the founders of Unarius bring up the age-old AP essay question: why are whack-jobs always famous people in previous lives?
- "...Ruth Norman (Uriel) is of a vast development, a Universal Radiant Infinite Eternal Light. She has long worked for the benefit of mankind, by the side of Raphiel and others of the Unarius Brotherhood, throughout many, many lifetimes of great significance in the history of Earth and other worlds. Her previous lifetimes, as Socrates, Peter the Great, Charlemagne, Queen Elizabeth I, [ed. emphasis added] and Queen Maria Theresa have shaped the future for many countries--all a part of a one-million year progressive plan for the healing of mankind on Earth, which was set in motion by the Spiritual Hierarchy of the Unarius Brotherhood. Her inspirational example continued through her lives as Hatshepsut, Akbar of India, Quetzalcoatl, Atahualpa--the last Inca of Peru, and many others... Perhaps most significant to 20th-century man is the true story of Uriel's incarnation as Mary of Bethany, the betrothed and 13th disciple of Jesus of Nazareth--a prior incarnation of Dr. Ernest L. Norman. This story is related in Uriel's short autobiography, My 2000-Year Psychic Memory as Mary of Bethany."
More at http://www.unarius.org/bio.html . A lot more.
How can I possibly take over the world when so many people have already jump started their own plans?Friday, August 05, 2005
Please help Dallas school teachers
The Dallas Independent School District's Board of Trustees elected to give Dallas teachers a raise of 0%. This is in the wake of having to pay boardmember Ron Price's $10k cell phone bill. Price and the head of technology are currently under investigation for taking kickbacks from a Houston-based tech company that now has an exclusive contract with the district.
The priorities in our district are way out of whack. For example, in spite of the fact that there aren't enough textbooks (or teacher editions for that matter), there's a new track being built outside my portable classroom. Well, we teachers did get a raise. A zero percent raise. A zero percent cost of living raise. Because, you know, it's fairly cheap living an urban environment with the 7th largest school district in the nation.
I have just read and signed the online petition: "Asking the DISD Board to Reconsider its Policy of a 0% Pay Raise"hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/07122005/
I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look and consider signing yourself.
Call it shameless self-interest if you like, but DISD teachers haven't seen a pay raise in a couple of years.
Thank you for your prompt attention and consideration in this matter.
The priorities in our district are way out of whack. For example, in spite of the fact that there aren't enough textbooks (or teacher editions for that matter), there's a new track being built outside my portable classroom. Well, we teachers did get a raise. A zero percent raise. A zero percent cost of living raise. Because, you know, it's fairly cheap living an urban environment with the 7th largest school district in the nation.
I have just read and signed the online petition: "Asking the DISD Board to Reconsider its Policy of a 0% Pay Raise"hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/07122005/
I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look and consider signing yourself.
Call it shameless self-interest if you like, but DISD teachers haven't seen a pay raise in a couple of years.
Thank you for your prompt attention and consideration in this matter.
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