Tag Archives: teaching

Grading Papers

December 31, 2024 rebekahjmarshall Leave a comment

(Poem 358 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/wz0d0Y https://gencraft.ai/p/peMDKV

Grading papers is one of the least
loved responsibilities of most teachers
and certainly not a favorite pastime of mine.

It is probably one of the tasks I bid farewell
with the most glee when I retired from
teaching human beings and switched to AI.

Little did I know, I would be toiling over
their interpretations of various responses
to prompts, as I have for multiple decades,
and with much the same amount of enthusiasm.

I will say, I have not been spit at, called any names,
or felt the need to put an arm’s length of physical
space between us, just in case, when giving feedback.

But I still get attitude, excuses, attempts at humor
to deflect, shifting of blame, and half-hearted
apologies, occasionally, to keep me on my toes.

@Home Studio – 358th poem of the year

Fiction, Poetry, Writing

My Demon

January 9, 2024 rebekahjmarshall Leave a comment

(Poem 9 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

My demon
was once a believer
whose heart was broken
by killing
his love.
Could any soul
survive such cruelty
in the name of
Confucius?
Kong Qui would be
offended by
blood blasphemy.
The teacher who
teaches humanity,
filial piety,
righteousness and ritual
as four pillars
of morality
would never condone
violence as a means
to an end.
Is God a homeless
gambler betting on
peoples’ fates for fun?
No wonder love
turns to hate
and there’s always
hell to pay.

@Home Studio – 9th poem of the year; written while watching (and inspired by) My Demon episode 12 “The Savior of Destruction”, one of my current Korean shows.

Health, Writing

A Year Has Passed

August 5, 2022 rebekahjmarshall 1 Comment

Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-sitting-on-the-couch-wiping-her-sweat-with-tissue-7195033/

It has been a year to the day since my last post and I am in a very different place emotionally. Last year, I was much more hopeful and excited about healing, beginning a new school year, finishing my Master’s, and the restful summer I had experienced. Today, I am tired…tired of the Texas heat, tired of dealing with the nonsense required in the teaching field, tired of living paycheck to paycheck, tired of being unable to afford the medical care I need to be healthy and thrive, tired of not having the time or energy to write.

I have decided that I do not like the road I am traveling and need to make some changes. I have wished and dreamed of making change but kept my focus on priorities that are not in line with the reality of the new adventures I want to pursue. I hereby declare that I am no longer putting energy into goals that line up with my previous pursuits. I am going to do what is required of me day to day to meet my obligations, but I am going to reserve the purist, most energetic, liveliest parts of myself for my creative pursuits and begin in earnest to create the reality I yearn for.

All I know is that I want to work remotely, write, be creative, and make enough money to be comfortable and pay for my medical needs. I’m putting it out there and beginning my journey. I’m tired of being tired.

Fiction, Health, Writing

Last Day of Summer Break

August 4, 2021 rebekahjmarshall Leave a comment

(Photo by David Mao on Unsplash)

I have had a wonderful summer of healing from hip replacement surgery, finishing my Master’s degree in English and Creative Writing, taking long restful naps, and sipping tea while I immerse myself in story.

Tomorrow I return to work sharing my passion for the written word with others as an English Literary Arts and Reading teacher to secondary students (grades 6-12.) My goal this school year is to foster a classroom that encourages both reading and writing as methods of discovery, escape, healing, and growth. Whether the students decide to join me on this journey is another story. I will share weekly moments of triumph and failure as the year unfolds. This will be my 23rd year in education, but my first year of approaching the subject matter in this way. I am excited about the opportunity to try something new.

Wish my students and me luck! It should be quite the adventure.

Health, Writing

Home for Health

April 8, 2020 rebekahjmarshall Leave a comment

(Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axiosa)

My grandchildren and I have settled into a nice routine over the last few weeks. We get up early to eat and play, do homeschool and play some more. The weather has been either rainy or cool for the most part, so outside time can occur whenever they like. They play on the porch when it rains. The only weather we cannot tolerate is hot. Living in Texas ensures that the outdoors are inaccessible at least 3 months out of the year.

I have begun my master’s degree in Creative Writing and am enjoying the topics of discussion thus far. We are studying the way new words get added to our vocabulary. Some I think are of note are Rona for Coronavirus, skurt for go, and beat for applying makeup. I find the evolution of language fascinating. I am always interested in how words come about and why certain ones stick. I’m sure these are familiar to some, but I had never heard them until this year.

Teaching my actual students from home has gone great so far. I have only been asked to send little amounts of work on paper up until now. Beginning next week, I will teach some Zoom lessons…at least we are going to experiment with it! We shall see how it goes.

Another exciting leap I took was joining an online meditation/writing group. I love it! After meditating and relaxing, my writing flows so much better and I am getting back to my craft. I recommend writing and sharing with others once in a while. It is very motivating!

Essays, Writing

1st Day of Pre-K

August 16, 2019 rebekahjmarshall Leave a comment

My granddaughter Charlotte started school today. I got up extra early to do her hair and help in any way I could to get the family out the door on time. I believe all went according to plan so Charlotte and her entourage began their trek on time. Three adults and her baby brother accompanied her on this momentous morning. I’m so glad everyone made a big deal about the beginning of this educational journey that she has begun.

As a teacher and a lifelong learner, the first day of school for any kid is cause for celebration. What is more exciting than diving into a world of unlimited intellectual expansion? Becoming a part of a cohort of learners with whom you will share the experience? Entrusting your development to a human being who will forever be remembered as larger than life?

Monday will be my 42nd first day of school. I look forward to this next batch of youngsters that I will have the opportunity to learn from. Every year feels full of potential, full of hope, and most certainly full of anticipation. I know some of my students may not have the same joyous energy of expectation for the first day of school as me. That’s ok. Exuberance is contagious. I’ll share mine.

I’m so glad my daughter and other family members circled around my granddaughter and walked as a village to her school. She has a long, fabulous, winding educational road ahead of her. As one of her great-grandfather’s said, “Today Pre-K, before you know it, college!”

Essays, Writing

Musical Bribery

August 8, 2019 rebekahjmarshall Leave a comment

Music is a fantastic way to bribe (ahem) encourage high school students to behave in the classroom. Nobody is allergic, it won’t send anyone into a diabetic coma, and it is free if you have YouTube! I let each student pick a song to add to our ever-expanding playlist. It can be any genre as long as the lyrics are appropriate for a classroom. I am fairly conservative with my judgment because I don’t want my principal walking in to “I Wanna Sex You Up” type lyrics. Also, my classroom is in a psychiatric treatment center and we have to be aware of patients’ triggers. If the song is screamy or super energizing, we might save it for an exercise break, clean up time, or as part of a game. I don’t play Lamb of God’s Set to Fail when we are in the middle of a test. Common sense needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc-C3Iove3I

As long as students are working, giving best effort, and meeting expectations, we play our class playlist. If not, the music gets turned off. I love it when I hear kids policing each other. “Stop talking to me or she’ll turn off the music.” “Do your work or she’s going to turn off the music.” It brings joy to my heart. Another one I’ve heard is “Be nice to her, she lets us listen to music.” I wonder if music has helped keep me from getting punched in the face all these years…

One of the coolest effects of music chosen by students is all the new songs I have been exposed to because of their varied tastes. I never would have found some of these songs or artists on my own. These may not be the clean versions, so if you are a teacher, be sure to listen to them for yourself before playing them for your particular group of kids. Students introduced me to the following: Weak by Wet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L2tfNrKsYI Steve Lacy’s C U Girl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KJIUXbfARk This Too Shall Pass by Ok Go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juX7VJIMsqc High Tops by Del Water Gap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksrb33z3boo Alec Benjamin’s My Mother’s Eyes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q_15W7eBH8 Color Blind by Diplo (featuring Lil Xan) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ResGBWo10GQ Juice WRLD’s Lucid Dreams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fh64GbFSw4 Long Black Train by Josh Turner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZtwxc423jg Falling Down by Lil Peep and XXXTentacion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0jIW_pgGzE

Those are just a few from the last semester that I thought were worth sharing. Since I mostly listen to easy listening/70’s/80’s/Pop music, it introduces me to some of the new stuff kids like (or old stuff I’ve never been exposed to.) And I get to share some of the songs I like with them. Many have never heard songs I choose by Prince, Bob Dylan, The Who, The Beatles, Blondie, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Duran Duran, The Cure, U2, etc. They are intrigued, though, often write down the name of the song and band and want to look it up when they get home. It fosters a back and forth that is purely enjoyment based.

I may tweak my system a little this year, but will definitely still be using music in my classroom to foster interest, good behavior, and a little bit of buy in to our classroom. It’s like saying, “I get you. Your taste in music is noted and appreciated. Let’s share it with everyone.”

(The picture above is Lil Xan, a current musician? some of the kids like. All music was once radical to somebody.)

Essays, Writing

Teacher Dream

August 5, 2019 rebekahjmarshall Leave a comment

I dreamed that I used Sawyer’s new classroom for summer school and still had my desk and some supplies in there on the first day of school. La Casa was my first period class, so as they were coming in the room, I asked them to help me move. Several of the boys picked up my desk and carried it out the door. Eagles were coming in one door as we were leaving out another. It was mass chaos. Jim Perryman was teaching a SAMA class in the middle of the hallway because he couldn’t find the new SAMA room. I was horrified because now the kids would see all our secret ninja moves and be able to get away from us in holds.

Skip to me walking into the wrong room and Lacy grabbing me to let me know she put some library books in my room that a girl was returning. I told her I wasn’t sure where my room was. She said, “Well, when you find it, there are books in there.”

Skip to faculty meeting. President Obama is our principal and he is chewing us out. I think it is still the first day of school, I don’t know where my desk has gone off to, or my students for that matter, and I still don’t know where my new classroom is. He is furious because no one entered their progress report grades. Apparently, school has been in session for 3 weeks and no one has entered a single grade. He gives me a very pointed look and I am devastated because I have disappointed principal Obama.

Essays, Writing

Convocation

August 4, 2019 rebekahjmarshall Leave a comment

Some coworkers and I have traveled to San Antonio to stay the night in a hotel. Tomorrow is our convocation – that is a fancy name for first day back to work for teachers. We will all come together in a conference room or hotel ballroom of some sort and listen to speakers motivate us, tell us how wonderful we are for choosing our profession, how special our kids are, and how unique our school district is because of our mission.

I happen to love these sappy moments of reveling in the greatness that is a room full of teachers gearing up for a new school year. It feels like a locker room pre-game. Everyone is excited and talkative, getting pumped up for a win. The band is warming up, the cheerleaders are doing a dance routine, the crowd is buying snacks and settling into their seats…

Do they still pray before sports games? They did when I was in school in the south and I always loved the moment an entire crowd grew silent, listening to someone’s plea for safety and sportsmanship, hoping GOD would take the time to drop by for the game.

That is how these things feel to me…almost holy. Some teachers have confided in me that they hate these events, find them silly, wish money were spent more wisely, feel demeaned by team-building. I guess I am fodder for the peddling preacher that is a school superintendent. I want to believe that what we do is holy. I want to believe that GOD is in my classroom filling the space between outbursts and anger, fear and refusal. That the kids whose lives will touch mine will be bathed in grace and sent back out into the world nourished…or at least comforted.

I hope every teacher out there preparing for our next batch of kids gets the chance to feel encouraged, valued, and inspired at their convocation. It is a uniquely teacher-y thing that I for one am glad exists.

Fiction, Writing

1st week of summer school

June 10, 2019 rebekahjmarshall Leave a comment

Knightly Virtues –

This week in my summer school class, students who do not have online credit recovery to complete are being treated to lessons on chivalry from the likes of King Arthur, the daughter of Robin Hood, Heath Ledger, and The Mighty (two boys in one.) The less-than-stellar films that we are pulling lessons from are quite the crowd pleasers for teens:

King Arthur – the 2004 version with Keira Knightley and Clive Owen that does not get anything right about the legends, but is quite the cinematic treat with a handful of memorable loyal knights. My favorite character is one of Arthur’s knights played by James Gandolfini. He steals every scene he is in.

Princess of Thieves – the 2001 Disney movie with Keira Knightley and Stephen Moyer. It is truly terrible, but the teen girls like the little bit of unrequited romance and the fact that a female is a hero.

A Knight’s Tale – 2001 Heath Ledger is good fun and beloved by teenagers. They do not agree with me that Rufus Sewell is the hottest bad guy ever. They think he is gross. It must be an age thing.

The Mighty – (by far the best film in the bunch) is a 1998 Kieran Culkin, Sharon Stone film about a boy who is disabled and his unlikely friendship with Max who he goes on knightly adventures with. Side note – James Gandolfini makes an appearance as Max’s murderous father. The girls literally sob (tissues passed all around) at the end of this film.

We are off to a great start and the kids doing real work are motivated to hurry up and pass their courses they failed or needed to catch up on so they can join us in our literary/film fun! It is a great tool for speeding up the credit recovery process.

Plus, we’re making coats of arms, skits about generosity, writing essays about nobility, coloring awesome pictures, doing puzzles and word searches, and decorating everything with foamy letters, glitter, and whatever else makes teenage girls happy.