So close, yet so far

Sophomores, tomorrow is the big day...all that your WHAP-ness in Humanities has been culminating towards. You are ready. You have been diligent. You have been studying. You may look like this:

Michael Scott probably wouldn't pass his AP tests, but you will.

So take tonight and concentrate on the areas where you feel a little lost. Stay focused and diligent, and if nothing else, just find comfort in the fact that in 24 hours from now, you'll be done with the test and almost on to the weekend! YOU GOT THIS. We have faith in you.

Freshmen, today we wrapped up our comparison of poetry and rap by juxtaposing the themes of Tupac's "Dear Mama" and "Mother and Son" by Langston Hughes, who is AMAZING. Both poems express some of the turmoils of growing up in difficult environments and the effect a parent can have in fighting to get through those struggles. If you enjoyed reading "Mother and Son" and want to explore more of Langston's stuff, this is a really good resource.  He's such a talented poet who strongly evoked the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance, and I hope you are able to study him more as a junior. Don't forget to bring a black marker and old book/magazine/newspaper for tomorrow that you are comfortable destroying! 

In case you need a quick distraction, my best friend, Emily, sent me a link to my new favorite Tumblr (and by new favorite, I mean the only one I look at). It's called Children with Swag; if you think kids dressing like hipster adults are adorable, this is for you. I mean, come on, this girl is precious. 

I think the look on her face says, "Mom, why did you force me to dress like a biker who's going to dance class?"

Good luck tomorrow sophomores! After you crush the test (or just give up), walk out of the room all fierce like this. 

Happy Wednesday friends! 

-Virdin

If you believe in yourself, you will know how to ride a bike!

How you feeling sophomores? Countdown is on...bring your game faces! We hope that boot camp has been beneficial for you; don't forget to utilize all of the resources for you on the website, the packets you've been working on, and the materials you received in your AP testing room. In the meantime, I've invited some dear friends to motivate you...

Totally kidding, I've never met these kids in my life. But how could this not pump you up?! SO CUTE.

As for the freshmen, we explored rap as poetry in class today. While it was too brief an exploration for my liking, we hope that you were able to draw some similarities between the two methods of expression. Rap and poetry both share an emphasis on general flow or rhythm, frequent uses of figurative language and rhyme, and the desire to convey a thought-provoking message. You know that Stanton and I really just loved the chance to talk about rap in class, or argue about rappers we think are important. Just as a fun little visual, if you ever wondered which rapper or hip hop artist has the largest vocabulary, here's a chart you can look at (or buy if you really wanted) which shows the artists that utilizes the most extensive word choice. The Roots are at the top of the list!

Lolz. 

Don't forget that you have a grammar check tomorrow, freshmen! Get your apostrophes and your semicolons ready.

Keep on truckin' through the mass chaos that is your study packet of notes, sophomores! GO GO GO!

-Virdin out

Can't Stop the Feeling...of stress.

Happy Monday friends!

This is no ordinary Monday. It is the Monday to mark all Mondays, because it is the week of your AP tests. Many of you have already dominated AP Euro and Calculus (although why anyone would willingly take Calculus is beyond me...don't tell Mrs. Zhong I said that). Whether you've already entered intense stress levels or not, you're probably about to hit them in the next day or two, so just keep your head up and focused. We know this week will feel incredibly long and exhausting, but it will be five days and then it will be over. OVER. So focus and embrace the stress. Relish it. YOU GOT THIS. And if you need a pep talk, you know where to find me (and you know I'll actually do it).

The philosophy of studying. Avoid fire. 

Cookie dough is always good for stress. It's how I survived finals week in college. 

Freshmen, tomorrow, your "I am Waiting" poems are due...Stanton and I are so excited to see what you all come up with. Today, we continued our study of poetry by exploring the idea of an elegy, or a poem to honor someone who has passed away. Talking about elegies always reminds me of my favorite of all time, "O Captain! My Captain!" I guarantee you will read this in AMSTUD, so I won't ruin it for you. Just know it was written for Abraham Lincoln and provides the backdrop for one of my favorite movie scenes of all time (from Dead Poet's Society)...

See! Poetry is everywhere!

In case you weren't aware, JT, the myth, the legend, the wearer of broad-brimmed hats, and so much more, has come out with a new song. Honestly, if I could advise anything to you while you study for AP tests, it would be to take a three minute study break and dance like no one is watching to this song. Seriously. You have no idea how helpful a good dance break is for the brain. Try it and see.

You can do it friends! Keep on working hard.
-Virdin

The time of Death and Contagion is upon us.

Some thoughts on AP testing week this coming week. 

I imagine this is how many of you feel heading into AP testing week. 

AP Test = Cat

When someone asks you how you think you did on your AP exam.

I think this about sums it up, eh? 

We know that many of you are entering a dark, dark place where all you can see is your AP test this coming week. This is only exacerbated by the fact that many of you have already taken at least one AP test. All the rest of us ask is that you don't drag us down into your private Hell. We're all well adjusted and enjoying life. Leave us alone. 

Now that that is out of the way...

Ninth graders, Virdin and I hope that you are getting in touch with your feelings while you write your poetry. You cannot imagine how hard it is for us not to stretch poetry into about a month long unit. We love the poems! 

In honor of Mother's Day this Sunday, here is a fantastic Billy Collins poem about moms:

Don't forget that you have a brief reading from your literature book (516-518) due Monday. And, your "I Am Waiting" poem is due Tuesday. We cannot wait to read them. FEELZ.

Because fashion is important too
I've read several items recently that said that mom jeans are now back and super trendy cool. I keep trying to explain this to Virdin, but she's resistant. Hey, you cannot fight pop culture. So, go out this weekend and get yourself a sweet pair.

Uh, they don't look like moms. 

Final selection for our week's soundtrack

Oh man... we getting crazy today. One of the most electric performs in rock and roll history, Tina Turner. This woman is a force of nature. Soak it in. Here is "Proud Mary"

#nofilter #instagramyourtheme #canyoustudytoomuchforap #dontyouhatehastagswithallyourbeing

There is a little known level in Hell that Dante describes as solely for people who take pictures of their food. 

Chekov and Marquez will haunt our dreams
Ninth graders, I have no doubt that I am going to be terrorized by the ghosts of these two authors since we asked you to make an Instagram page of the theme you found in their respective stories.

quote = awesome; facial hair = even more awesome

There is no way that literary giants of this magnitude are going to let this slide. But, I ain't skeered. We will do whatever we can to make canonical literature relevant!

Remember to bring your annotated story to class tomorrow. You may use it while you work on your in class writing.

The Bataan Death March is beginning to feel familiar, no?

Sophomores... how we doin'? We know that the slog through everything we learned last year is rough, but we hope you find it useful. I have been pretty happy with what you seem to remember. I guess last year wasn't a total waste of time. 

Continue to supplement your cram packet and get a feel for the areas you feel weakest. Remember, you shouldn't be studying everything equally. Know where you should focus. 

Back to our regularly scheduled program

How much did you love that new Radiohead song? So good...

But, we established a theme for this week, and by God, we're going to keep it. Let's return to our strong female vocalists. 

We're going to keep it old school today. One of the first great vocalists of the rock and roll era, Janis Joplin was the Blues personified. A true Flower Child as well; she lived so many of the values of the 60's counterculture. Sadly, like so many of her peers, she died young or drug and alcohol abuse. Her is Janis Joplin with "Piece of my Heart".

 

Winter is coming... (I've actually never seen an episode of Game of Thrones, but that saying sounds foreboding as we get closer to the AP tests)

I've never seen the show, but I know this feeling. 

Whooooo! 
We're inching ever closer to the days of pain and suffering, or, as it is more commonly called, AP test days! I know a few of you are taking Calculus, but that's your fault. Next time, save yourself and just randomly cut off one of your hands; equally painful, less of a time commitment.
But, we do have AP Euro at the end of the week! Yee haw!

Siddiqui should wear her costume on test day!

EHAP people... we know you're going to DOMINATE. I am sure that the raw, uncut fear is starting to trickle into your bloodstream. By Wednesday evening, it will become a tsunami of abject terror. EMBRACE THE FEAR! Become one with it. Master it. You can do it!!!
I'm not really sure what happened there... I got a bit carried away. Anyway... good luck

Long division
As our schism rolls on, please remember to consult the calendar that corresponds to your life.

10th graders, you have your cram packet check coming up on Thursday. Yes, this is a daily grade, but, more importantly, we're trying to help you get ready for your test in about a week. So, maybe you shouldn't waste $92 of your parents money by blowing off the AP test as actually preparing.

9th graders, we hope you're enjoying the ELA Nirvana we have created for you. So much literature... so many feelz. I hope you enjoyed the short story you chose. They are personal favorites. Chekov loves to just mess with your head... bloody Russians. And, I'm pretty obsessed with magic realism. If you enjoyed the Gabriel Garcia-Marquez short story, I'd like to direct you to two of his novels. I cannot recommend enough 100 Years of Solitude. It is life changing as far as I'm concerned. It is unlike any novel I've ever read. I would also recommend Love in the Time of Cholera. It is excellent as well. 

How can you not want to read something by this guy? 

 A significant detour in our soundtrack this week. 
I know that Garafola will come after me for a typical patriarchal move by pre-empting a week of powerful female singers with an all male band. But... THERE IS NEW MUSIC FROM RADIOHEAD!!! It was all I could do not to pass out from joy in the middle of class today. You will literally become a slightly better person by just listening to this. And, of course, the video is twisted genius.

Isn't mitosis just a schism on a cellular level?

See... it's like the Biology EOC test AND our class schism.
How cool is that? 

Did you miss us? 
Okay, this is 100% my fault (that'd be Stanton, by the way). If you noticed absolutely zero blogging last week, that was my fault. Life got the best of me, and I couldn't even. I am truly sorry to our faithful readers out there (especially those of you following us from eastern Europe).

Mr. Stanton < Life

Parting is such sweet sorrow

So, we're officially going through a trial separation. It really is hardest on the kids. But, I think we can reconcile and put aside our differences; maybe sometime around May 13? 

9th graders, you are firmly entrenched in English class-land; 10th graders, you wander the building like the Israelites looking for the Promised Land of a 5. Wait, that makes us Moses. That's a lot of responsibility. Plus, I cannot even read Hebrew. 

Remember, despite the split, CE's roll on, and we all have our Isms Projects due on May 23. We are totes excited about the work you're going to do on these, so don't let us down.

I think this is Virdin's Isms Project from her time at Jasper. 

Our soundtrack this week
In honor of Queen Bee's (that'd be Beyonce for all you heathens out here) concert here in Dallas next Monday night, I thought we'd take a tour of some of the more powerful female vocalists in popular music history. These are the ladies that changed everything. 
There is absolutely no doubt where to start this week. The Queen of Soul... Aretha Franklin. I don't even know where to start with this woman. She was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame as part of its inaugural class. She is a national treasure. And, she will blow your socks off when she sings. Her voice just breathes fires and drips emotion in every note. You have been warned. Here is my personal favorite, "Chain of Fools".