michaeljarmer

#184: The American English Teacher Makes A To-Do List

The number and the analogy may have been different, but I swear I said to at least two of my colleagues today, “Do you ever feel like a web browser with 2,879 tabs open?” And both of these colleagues said the same thing: “All. The. Time.” If I could make a catalogue of allContinue reading “#184: The American English Teacher Makes A To-Do List”

#183: Brain Blimp

Brain Blimp I have painted a painting of you, a portrait, so to speak. I have painted your brain, or rather I have made a painting of your brain. It’s on the wing, so to speak. I’ve portrayed it not as bird but as blimp, powered by rocket box adorned with an eyeball andContinue reading “#183: Brain Blimp”

Melt The Guns

For those of you who have been following my project of listening to my music collection from A to Z and writing reflections on each album: no, I am not jumping ahead from D to X. Instead, inspired by a friend of mine posting this tune in Facebook on the day we learned of yetContinue reading “Melt The Guns”

Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume VII, Letter D

Ahh. The letter D. D is for Dali’s Car. D is for Miles Davis. D is for Death Cab for Cutie. D is for the Decemberists, Deerhoof, Destroyer, Devo, Neil Diamond, Thomas Dolby, The Doors, and Mike Doughty. Taking up only two small shelves, four little cubbies of the ikea compact disc cabinet, the DContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume VII, Letter D”

#182: Child’s Play

My boy has taken to video recording his game play and adding commentary over the top. He’s seen this on you tube. Some of his heroes are dudes who video- tape themselves playing video games, who have become celebrities of sorts; thousands of viewers can’t get enough of dudes playing video games filming them- selves playing video games.Continue reading “#182: Child’s Play”

#181: I Am From Jarmers

On the very first days with my sophomores in the new school year, I asked them to write some goals for themselves, things they wanted to learn or accomplish in the new year in English Language Arts. I gave them the spiel that often goals are stupid things because we allow them to slip awayContinue reading “#181: I Am From Jarmers”

#180: Another “Workable” Solution

It turns out that the brave colleague who volunteered to teach five preparations in order to relieve another colleague of a student load of 217 did not, after all, have to take on five preparations. Instead, two of her small classes were swapped straight across with two of the other teacher’s giant classes. These movesContinue reading “#180: Another “Workable” Solution”

#179: A “Workable” Solution

Today the English Department got together to figure out how to relieve a colleague of a student load of 217. That’s all I really have to say. The fact alone is enough. One of our colleagues was assigned 217 students. The obvious solution, hiring another teacher, is apparently out of the question. A school is given soContinue reading “#179: A “Workable” Solution”

Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume VI, Letter C

A wrench in the works for my project of listening to compact discs, one at a time, all the way through, touching at least once on every band or artist in my collection: I bought a new turntable for the basement listening lounge! I have been distracted this week by vinyl and paused my project toContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume VI, Letter C”