Class of 1064, Duncan High

Feb. 15: This year, the teachers have been pushed to use Marzano's non-linguistic approach. We had a special session on it yesterday during planning. I've always used those techniques, for example, having the students translate a Spencerian sonnet into modern English and copy it inside folded construction paper to make a schmaltzy Hallmark greeting card. I've had students do board games, decks of cards, posters, even a Beowulf yearbook page, on which the pictures of Beowulf, Hrothgar and Grendel appear, and the students must fill in their Clubs and Organizations ("The Future Slaughterers of Denmark"), nicknames, etc. Although this was not a pure cut and paste and color activity, it required some nontraditional creativity. Last night, I was inspired after the session and made a mock Yearbook spread for MacBeth, with a senior ad page on one side and a list of high school history for the students to fill in on the opposite. (The real MacBeth, whom Shakespeare used as a model for his play, lived in Scotland in the 11th century, which is why he is from the "Class of 1064.") They will staple the pages inside a spread-open folder and decorate the cover as a high school yearbook. When the presenter sent a survey today asking for responses to this Marzano technique, I included in my comments that it gets expensive for teachers to provide posters, colored pencils, glue sticks, construction paper, scissors and crafty items for their 180 students, not to mention the black and white and color printer cartridges needed to keep printing things such as a MacBeth yearbook page, and would the school consider helping out with the expenses of ongoing non-linguistic techniques?

I'm overjoyed at the prospect of a long weekend. Today was a half day at school for the students. On half days, they send the teachers out in the afternoon for further training in the teaching of writing, which I desperately need (ha), but I enjoy the companionship with adults, which is minimal during a typical school day. They say loneliness is the biggest complaint given by teachers who work in the secondary schools, because they never see other adults. Planning periods are never common, and during them, teachers are too busy to socialize or even compare syllabi.
But anyway, I left school at 11:30 to go to the workshop, had lunch at Carey Hilliards with two colleagues on the way, and then attended the workshop. They usually let you out early. When I pulled in the driveway, it was only 3:30! I'm never home at 3:30, except on Professional Learning Days.

Will it be pizza or Chinese tonight?