Silence, Snow, The Bible, and Education

Join me in a brief moment of silence as I hope for a snow day tomorrow.

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Thank you for your support.  This time, my prayer isn't quite as selfish as it typically is.  Since I've had walking pnemonia and a lung infection, I spent most of last week going home and going to bed.  That meant that all of my grading sat in my basket and received no attention whatsoever.  Now I have a LARGE stack of grading that needs some attention and a limited amount of time to grade it in.

For those of you pointing out that I should probably be grading instead of blogging:  please note that I take two hours at home to myself just to relax.  I've found that I have a much better disposition and peace of mind if I will take that time.  Sometimes part of that time is devoted to laundry or general house cleaning.

Today, some of it has been devoted to getting my bedroom together.  My new bed arrived today and that meant I needed to move out the tables we were using for night stands to get the real night stands in place.  Now I'm washing bedsheets so I can make the bed for the first time and enjoy.

I'm also trying to figure out the layout in my living room.  We bought a loveseat, couch and big-man chair because I wanted as much seating in this room as possible.  Now I'm trying to figure out how to arrange everything to make the best use of the room.  Feel free to come over and advise.

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I've been reading 1 Samuel (not with as much dedication as I should have) and I've been noticing quite a bit about that guy named Saul.  He freaks me out...mostly because I'm afraid I see myself in him.  Sometimes I just take matters into my own hands and do what I want because it seems like the right thing.  I don't wait and "keep my appointments with God."  I throw spears.  At people.  Usually ones I love.

I had rather hoped characters like Samuel or David would reflect who I am. 

Saul wasn't always a villain.  David isn't always a saint.  There's a lesson to be learned there.  I'm praying I get it.

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English III has been working through Romanticism and they've just gotten to Gothicism.  I love it, because before I introduce what it is, we read "The Masque of the Red Death."  Then I ask the students to draw the layout of the rooms and explain the allegorical connotations of that layout.  It's hilarious to watch them get frustrated, yell, erase half of their papers and then determine that they are going to beat me at my own game.  Days like this are what make teaching worthwhile.