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.
Blood, guts, and kicking butt in France — it’s the age-old story of Shakespeare. Carl F. Gauze once again enjoys the salacious violence and complicated plot points of Henry V, in the moody dark of Orlando Shakes.
Infidelity, agoraphobia and Ice Capades. Carl F. Gauze attempts to find an answer to the question “How Florida can you get?” in The Great American Trailer Park Musical at Theater West End.
Jeremy Glazier catches Ian Noe at the Rust Belt, where they discuss putting Between the Country together, some of the influences that affect Noe’s songwriting, and his dislike of EPs.
Christopher Long scores an absolutely ravaged vinyl copy of the 1977 self-titled debut from Karla Bonoff at a Florida flea market — for FREE!
Carl F. Gauze reviews this comprehensive look at the early works of Muppets creator Jim Henson by Craig Shemin.
Robert Pomeroy tracks down a long lost album on the web and catches up with two other bands on Facebook.
On today’s New Music Now, Judy Craddock talks to our musical guest, Nora O’Connor, about her solo album, My Heart, and the captivating new music she’s listening to right now. Tune in for great music, and more ’90s references than you can shake a scrunchie at.
Writer Kazuo Kasahara and director Kôsaku Yamashita transcend genre conventions to create the memorable film Big Time Gambling Boss. Phil Bailey reviews.
Frank Bello’s new memoir Fathers, Brothers, and Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, and Anthrax takes us from a New York childhood, to Anthrax stadium tours, to fatherhood with the charming informality of a conversation with an old friend. Then I’m Gone, Bello’s first solo EP, provides accompaniment. Joe Frietze reviews.
Savvy shopper Christopher Long scores a dodgy-looking copy of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young classic, Déjà Vu, on fairly decent-sounding vinyl — for just 50¢.
Carl F. Gauze caught a certain trio of android warrior sisters at the Enzian’s Robotica Destructiva premiere.
Brevard County showed their support for music in the community as nearly five thousand people attended the 2022 Space Coast Music Festival.