I haven't posted in a while for two reasons.

First, school really sucks. My kids yell and make fun of me every day. The hallways are out of control (Speaking of, I think I caught a new security guard finishing smoking a cigarette or joint today. I couldn't prove it because he was at the end of the hall. However, it turns out the guy has done some time.) Pressure from my administration sucks. I'm exhausted during the week. I feel like I'm giving a bad impression of the situation when I blog about it. It bothers me when I reflect on my blogging sometimes. I don't want to reinforce negative stereotypes of what inner-city black people are like.

I also haven't posted for awhile because I have been busy with women.

So, I'm going to keep this post completely positive.

Coral Walker is a smiling, talkative, slightly overweight student who wears black shoes, black pants, and a white "A-rab" that usually bears pit stains. He is bookishly smart. The students would make fun of him if I was not in the room. Stefan Elleby is a comedic class clown of sorts who retains information as good as any of my students but reads and writes at 8'th grade levels. He knows current events better than I do. His phone rang in class the other day and he did a routine pretending it was Condoleeza Rice. Not a great student, but a very smart young man.

Coral and Stefan put on a show yesterday in third period. We were doing a mock trial of McCulloch vs. Maryland. Coral played a lawyer for the state of Maryland. Stefan played a lawyer for McCulloch which was representing the National government. They argued heatedly, interjecting their lucent thoughts on State vs. National powers with cracks on each other's hairdos. I laughed along with my students for the whole period. I loved my job at that point.

I used a "football system" in my eighth period today that worked really well. Each row was represented on the board at the 50 yard line. One inzone was titled "CANDY". The other was titled "PUNISHMENT (warning, referral, etc.)". The rows could move up or down depending on their behavior. It was one of the calmest days ever! Those kids love candy I guess. I'm going to offer granola bars next time.

In other good news, I'm going to San Francisco to see my family tomorrow. I cannot wait. I'm excited to get back to the West Coast and be with the people I love.