This week

I'm excited that this week I get to start a novel with two of my classes. I'm also a little perplexed about how to deal with a few things. I'm a big Agatha Christie fan. I've read most of her books. We are reading And then There Were None. I love mysteries, love Agatha Christie but this is a hard one to teach to my class, not just because of the things that don't translate that well with age, but because of the overtly racist nature of the book. I agree with teachers who say that we don't want to shy away from that part of history, but it will take some explaining. Besides the fact that the books original title is "Ten Little Niggers", there's also derogatory comments about Jewish people and the phrase "a nigger in the woodpile" appears a couple of times. I also think it would be easier if there were more black students in my class, but there are only a few, which makes it more awkward. I'm planning on doing a whole discussion on racism before we start.

I'm also being evaluated on Tuesday. Every one has told me not to stress about the evaluation, that it's no big deal. But in my other schools it has been a big deal. I think my plan for the evaluation is good, so hopefully it will go well. I did plan the evaluation for my birthday, which may not have been the best idea, but it made sense at the time. Oh well, the most stressful part of the week will be over Tuesday at 9:10.