we do routines and chorus scenes
2007-03-28, 10:11 p.m.

A cool conversation that happened yesterday in my Education class:

Friend from Class: Hey, are you alright?
Me: Oh, yeah, ha, I'm fine, I'm just--whoa--totally spaced out right now, HA. Ha. (ugh. awkward.)
FFC: Haha, oh okay, yeah--I saw you walking to class just now and you had your headphones on and you looked so angry! And I was like, that's not like Melissa at all, cause you're, like, the bubbliest, happiest person ever!

I just wanted to share that because I think it's indicative of how much things have changed since freshman year. It felt so good to hear descriptors of myself that were familiar: bubbly, happy, funny. I may not believe all of these adjectives to be true about myself, but I'm used to hearing them, and it's comforting to know that I'm still "Me," after all.

For the record, I had been looking particular stressed out (and probably angry) that day because I had found out that advising for registration had already begun and that I was late to sign up for an appointment with my adviser. I also found out that I have no idea what classes I am going to take next semester. No idea. Right.

Then afterwards, of course, was Spamalot, which was, for lack of a better term, fuckin' awesome. You'd think the jokes would be stale for me, having seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail like, 12 times. I think I laughed so hard I like, embarrassed Laur, Tovah and Julie. Sorry, guys.

...

Pictures!

Tovah, Julie, and Laur squishing on the speedline! We're on our way! Whee!!

A totally legal picture of the stage, pre-show.

Another one of these dumb pictures-we-take-ourselves-that-never-turn-out-cute.

****

Springtime is total mania. Love, or at least fleeting infatuation, is in the air.

Do you guys remember "Ben"?

Go ahead and read that entry. I know you don't remember him, really.

Anyway, after that day, we started talking more and we are acquaintance-friend-types. It's nothing too intense, no fireworks went off or anything. He's just an all-around cool guy.

Then he went ahead and cut all of his long hippie-hair off, and he looks pretty fricken good. I had thought he was an interesting and intelligent individual (ooh, assonance!) before, but now that his jawline and facial structure is more apparent, I'm even more intrigued.

So, basically, I'm trying to figure out how shallow I am.

Any thoughts?

I have to stop talking about this though, because ever since my cousin who lives in the PHILIPPINES found my diary online, I've been convinced that ANYONE can find it if they really try. So I've been really paranoid about writing about like, you know, boys, and any people who are still alive. So yes. Digressing.

I observed Melanie (co-op teacher Melanie, not my 15-year-old sister!)'s 8th graders today, and of course they were taking a test today, as well. It's fun the first time, but watching a bunch of kids take a test for 80 minutes is not nearly as thrilling the second time around.

If anything, I'm getting a good schooling in The Way Things Really Are.

Melanie's College Prep juniors are supposed to be working on almost an honors level. But these kids, due to an inefficient administration and poor placement suggestions by a previous teacher, are stuck in a class that they don't care about.

If this were the movies, she wouldn't "give up" on the kids, right? She'd find some way to break through to them, right, maybe by using clever curriculum changes, like teaching poetry through contemporary music, or by taking them on field trips to actual college classrooms and then treating them to a fancy dinner, or something.

But what's really happened is this: she spent a lot of time trying to get these kids to care and do their work for the entire first marking period. And when it became evident that no one complained when she handed out C's and D's, she didn't say a word. So now these kids are barely passing the class, but it doesn't matter to them, anyway. And now it doesn't matter to her, either.

Do I agree with this tactic or philosophy? I don't know. Do I understand what happened to make this tactic or philosophy necessary? Absolutely.

Melanie is no Jaime Escalante. And I'm not saying every teacher has to be one. But it should be every teacher's personal mission to make their class not only functional, but memorable. I want my students to know what they're going to be able to do with the material they learn in my class today, tomorrow, next year, and for the rest of their lives. Maybe that's too much to ask.

****

Tomorrow at 4 pm we choose housing. I'm skipping my class for the THIRD time to do this. So we'd better get what we want. Townhouse please! Cross your fingers for us!

That's all folks!

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