TSS - 1.22.12

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It has been a good week.  Although that is in large part due to the shortened work week due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.  I could definitely get used to teaching just two days a week!

Teaching:
I have tried to keep relatively silent about school this year; first semester was difficult.  But I just had to share the excitement in my yearbook class.  I don't remember if I reported here or not, but somehow I consented to co-teach the year book class with the art teacher - neither one of us having any experience in yearbook whatsoever and with a staff of only three underclassmen who were equally inexperienced.  It made for a stressful first few months of school.  Fortunately I was able to negotiate a delay in the delivery of yearbooks until August, which meant that we had no deadlines first semester,  This was indeed a blessing.

However the great news is.....we now are a staff of twelve students!!  Many of these students are juniors and seniors - and two of them have actually worked on yearbook in the past.  What a joy it is to arrive in class and see students working on assignments without having to be prodded or coaxed.  I feel confident that we will meet our deadlines this year - and that the end product will be a quality one.

Photography:

photographs taken week of
January 15-21, 2012

I completed the Finding Your Eye online course this week and while I would love to register for the next session immediately, I am using great restraint.  I have already registered for the Slice of Life project - which will begin on February 6th, and I think that is probably all I can handle this semester.  I believe this new course will help me to truly find the beauty in everyday life - and I am very hopeful that I will continue to develop my eye for photography.  Perhaps I will be able to take the subsequent Finding Your Eye course this summer.

I have managed to take a photo every day this month except for one.  While it would be easy for me to declare an early failure in the 365 project - I refuse to allow my perfectionism to rob me of fun in this journey.  So I continue to keep on keeping on....

My photographs are absolutely nothing to write home about, but they do represent what I have experienced each day.  And perhaps that is what the project is supposed to do for me this year:  serve as a visual journal.  And perhaps next year I can focus more on creative composition.

Writing:

Nicki was the topic of my
travel writing essay this week

I am so far enjoying the travel writing class with Dave Fox.  Last week we had to speed journal four different entries - and I chose to share two with the class.  It is rather intimidating to put my writing out there for total strangers to critique, but I knew in order to get my money's worth for the course, I would need to be willing to take a risk.  I was pleasantly surprised that others enjoyed the writing, and I received some positive comments from the teacher as well.  It definitely encouraged me to continue.

This week we had to write a travel essay that focused on just one particular incident.  The goal was to write an essay that was between 500 and 800 words.  I learned that my daily blog posts during that trip truly helped me to recall details that have dimmed over time.  I also learned that I need to work on prioritizing details - as my "finished" essay was about 910 words.  I am anxious to hear feedback, but ready for some constructive criticism to help me move forward in my writing endeavors.

Reading:
Well, once again this has taken a backseat in my weekly activities.  I am no further in the Harry Potter series (about page 50 of the first book), but I have skimmed some photography books, most notably Photo Idea Index by Jim Krause, and Exploring the Light by Rick Sammons.  I also picked up a copy of How to Write a Sentence; and How to Read One by Stanley Fish.  I can't remember where I saw this recommendation, but so far it is an enjoyable read - both as a writer and as a teacher of writing.

In Brit Lit we are beginning the study of Pride and Prejudice and while I have read this book at least five times, I am looking forward to re-reading this classic with the class.  It has been a while since I have allowed myself to relax in Jane Austen's description of Regency England, and I look forward to reacquainting myself with long lost literary friends.

I hope that this week finds you well and warm.  Our cold snap was apparently temporary, as we are now to have a series of fifty degree days.  Hardly seems like winter this year, but I am not complaining.