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D'wayne the bathtub, I'm dwonding!

Another rainstorm has landed. According to the weather service, it will keep raining until the 19th of January. If so, that would break the record for Western Washington for longest stretch of rain without a 24 hour break. I'm so glad I've made the decision to stay in this area... maybe this is why I haven't found a house yet.

The poetry units continue. The sophomores are focusing on the nitty gritty of poetry. Literary analysis is a prennial favorite, right? I feel for the students - I, too, used to say "why can't the authors just say what they mean instead of hiding it?" How do you get students to make that shift?

The freshmen are concentrating more on the writing aspect. Yesterday they wrote metaphor poems. Basically, they have to write a poem about themselves. However, instead of describing themselves, they have to find an object in the classroom to use a metaphor. I collected a few extra things to have on hand, but really I have a huge of crap in my already. The students choose pretty mundane items, but in really interesting ways. Broken blinds waiting to let the light in, books not wanting to be judged by their cover, televisions always trying to entertain everyone, bubble gum sitting under the desk unnoticed. The best was a Kleenex box who's work was never done. Every time it tried to relax, someone came along and pulled out another kleenex and put it work. Read into that one all you want...

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Are you going to be at OSPI in Seattle next week?

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