Saturday, May 24, 2008

Flip-flops and trains

I realize that I'm a bit old-fashioned in some of my ways, but when did flip-flops become appropriate attire to wear at formal occasions? Last Saturday I was at the high school graduation at the school I was teaching at this past year. Out of twenty-five or so girls in the class, only four wore shoes other than flip-flops. Of course, the girls weren't the only ones dressed so casually. One guy also wore flip-flops and several of the guys wore shorts and shoes with no socks. It really hasn't been all that long since I was in high school and I've been to many other high school graduations since I graduated but this was the first one I've ever been at where most of the girls wore flip-flops and most of the guys wore shorts. I guess that's what happens when the school has no real dress code.
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This past Thursday was the last day of attendance for the students at the high school. It was an exam day and most of the students had turned in permission slips that allowed them to leave school after they finished with their last exam. Five minutes before the bell was to ring for the end of the day the intercom comes on. A train was stuck on the tracks near the school. The only way I know of going home was by crossing those tracks. "We've been told that the train will probably be on the track and blocking the crossing for two hours." I burst out laughing for two solid minutes. It was either that or cry.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Fences and Indiana Jones

Yesterday in one of my English classes we were discussing the Robert Frost poem "Mending Wall". When asked what they thought about the ambiguous ending of the poem a female student responded, "You can't borrow sugar or anything from a fence."
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I took an informal survey with some of my students. Out of about 110 students, only 8-9 have ever seen an Indiana Jones movie. I find that rather depressing.