the most wonderful time of the year?

i went back to the gym today for the first time in...a while, and i'm too tired to really do a real blog. so, here are some pictures of my classroom:

the first one is about as close to bulletin board land as i get. the blank side is where i post the bell schedule, usernames and passwords for turnitin.com (a program that checks for plagiarism) and other important info) and on the right side i put up fun facts. i have my student aide change them about once a month. i try not to touch the bulletin board. also, next to the clock i have a sign that i inherited from my grandma that says "this sign signifies absolutely nothing at all. it merely exists to take up space and waste the reader's time." the best part is that since it's by the clock, most students read it every day, and then i've wasted their time. i figure it makes up for all of my time they waste with poorly written essays.

the second (and i'll take a moment now to apologize for my screwed-up formatting--i don't know how to fix it so the text surrounds every picture. if anyone does know, help a sister out) is my desk area, or as i like to call it, "the holy of holies." students ARE NOT allowed behind my desk under any circumstances (unless they're a student aide), and when they ask why not, i can simply respond with, "you're not the right priest and it's not the right day." unfortunately, only my jewish students and the really hardcore christians get it.

picture number three is the view from my classroom door. the door at the back goes into our department workroom, which means i have easy access to the bathrooms, copy machine, fridge and microwave. score! the whiteboard is on the same wall as the door, so you can't see it, but a whiteboard in the summer is pretty boring--there's not much to write on there with no students.

the last picture is something new i did this year. last year, on one of the last days of school, i had each student take a piece of cardstock and complete this sentence: "I wish someone had told me..." it was their chance to offer advice to my future students with little bits of info that would have made my class easier. now, some of the ones they turned in were stupid, and some were about life (i don't think those kids understood what i was asking for), but most of them were good. there were a lot along the lines of "read everything ms. nolan assigns, because there will be a quiz," "vocab quizzes count for more than you think and you need to study," and my personal favorites that had to do with "ms. nolan wins." i put all of those up today so they can see it when they come in on the first day.

also in the last picture is my collection of toys that sit on my book case. they're always shocked that i have a justin timberlake puppet from the No Strings Attached album, but i think they're mostly jealous. the other stuff is mostly random gifts from students: a hippie nutcracker from my student aide because, according to her "she needed to buy it for someone and she knew i'd appreciate it," a russian doll from one of my russian students, an abominable snowman (who growls when you press his stomach), the trophy i dropped on my foot, resulting in a broken toenail that still hasn't grown back (it happened a year ago). most of the debate trophies stay in the head coach's room, but the president last year said she had enough trophies, and this one had special meaning to me. also is the BFF pillow from the same kid, because we decided we were "besties" last year at a tournament.

so, this might be the most boring post ever. sorry. maybe tomorrow i can post lesson plans! that'd be exciting! adriane - if you really want me to, i can throw one of those tests up there. maybe i will. any requests? The Scarlet Letter? Huck Finn? Brave New World? In Cold Blood? Death of a Salesman? The Crucible? The Great Gatsby? Transcendentalism? Or I could just put some final exams up there. Let me know. (ha! now you have to comment! and i can see who is actually reading this. because i can just call sean and gwen to tell them these things...)

today is august 17. day 6