Notes

After the first two weeks I can confidently say that this year is both monumentally better and frustratingly worse depending on the focus of conversation. The administration, while not inept and flaky, is detail oriented and almost comically serious. There is not much assistance for classroom disruption and there are a lot of memos. The students are an eclectic bunch - out of six classes I have one that is as horrific as last year, three that are unbelievably fantastic and one that appears to be so intelligent that I am pretty sure I have yet to teach them anything they didn't already know. This mix is going to require a lot more work out of me, but hopefully will generate fewer headaches.

Although I have never seen "The Wire" I just read a NYT article on the new season. Seeing as the focus on four Baltimore city middle schoolers I am - needless to say - extremely intrigued. Perhaps there will finally be an accurate portrayal of urban schools. I know the focus of the show is drugs not schools, but we need something to offset the Dangerous Minds view.