The Curse of the Bleeding 8th Graders
My classroom was cursed, and then the curse returned. Read on for the full story.
I have been teaching 8th grade for almost 11 whole years now. In this column, I share my thoughts on teaching itself, the 13-year-old semi-human lifeforms I work with, and public schools. I will probably tell some funny stories. I may occasionally get emotional. And you will get a behind-the-scenes look into my classroom. No, teachers do not get plugged into a charging port in the school basement each night after the kids leave. They do get to come home to their families, and sometimes they write about the adventures they have and the shenanigans they witness during their long, tiring days in the classroom.
My classroom was cursed, and then the curse returned. Read on for the full story.
Middle school students say some… amazing… things.
April was National Poetry Month, but in 8th grade Language Arts, mastering the use of poetic devices isn’t necessarily the most important thing about the poetry unit.
A teacher’s-eye-view of standardized testing in 8th grade.
The hidden gem of the French New Wave, Le Combat Dans L’île gets a lovely Blu-ray from Radiance Films.
This fall, Ani DiFranco brought new Righteous Babe labelmate Kristen Ford to Iowa City, where Jeremy Glazier enjoyed an incredible evening of artistry.
This week Christopher Long grabs a bag of bargain vinyl from a flea market in Mount Dora, Florida — including You’re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic, the classic 1979 LP from Ian Hunter.
Bob Pomeroy gets into four Radio Rarities from producer Zev Feldman for Record Store Day with great jazz recordings from Wes Montgomery, Les McCann, Cal Tjader, and Ahmad Jamal.
Bob Pomeroy digs into Un “Sung Stories” (1986, Liberation Hall), Blasters’ frontman Phil Alvin’s American Roots collaboration with Sun Ra and his Arkestra, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and New Orleans saxman Lee Allen.
Roi J. Tamkin reviews A Darker Shade of Noir, fifteen new stories from women writers completely familiar with the horrors of owning a body in a patriarchal society, edited by Joyce Carol Oates.
Mandatory: The Best of The Blasters (Liberation Hall). Review by Bob Pomeroy.
Feeling funky this week, Christopher Long gets his groove on while discovering a well-cared-for used vinyl copy of one of his all-time R&B faves: Ice Cream Castle, the classic 1984 LP from The Time, for just a couple of bucks.
During AFI Fest 2023, Lily and Generoso interviewed director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, whose impressive debut feature, City of Wind, carefully examines the juxtaposition between the identity of place and tradition against the powers of modernity in contemporary Mongolia.
Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO (American Laundromat Records). Review by Laura Pontillo.