Chana Life

No Scrubs

2009-12-18T08:52:00.000-08:00

One of my students, Christine Werner, produced and directed this little project. Making thes lip sync videos are a great way to learn how to use iMovie.

New Stop Motion Video

2009-10-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

This is a video we just finished in class. It's for a contest to make a commercial for James Gurney's new book, Imaganitive Realism.

Aw, how cute...

2009-09-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

All of my students have read the student handbook and they've all heard my lecture about inappropriate subject matter at the beginning of the term yet I keep finding things like this when I clean my room. It's really amazing how the drug culture has become so important to so many of my students. This was on a transparency, presumably destined to become a silkscreen. It's actually kind of funny and subversive. It kind of reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw the other day that said something like, "the hippies wanted to change the world but all they do now is smoke pot and play frisbee golf". I think the Care Bears might as well get high all the time because, as a group, they have become culturally irrelevant.

4:20

2009-09-15T09:40:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of every term I ask my students to please refrain from creating images that advertise or glorify drugs and every term I have to deal with students who missed or ignored my request. I try to be as open as possible to a student's self expression needs. Being drug related alone is not enough to disqualify a project. If a student were to create something that actually said something thoughtful about drugs or drug use, I think I'd be inclined to defend it. Unfortunately the only thing that the pieces I get are trying to say is, "I am a drug user". It makes me sad.

Year One Dance Video

2009-08-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

I did this move a few years ago. It is posted on YouTube but they took the music off because I don't own the rights. I just want John Doe and Exene Cervenka to know that the making of this short film was not a commercial venture. If you like the song you should buy the album, "Wild Gift" by X.

Comment heard at Chana recently...

2009-05-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

A couple of teachers at Chana were joking around, giving a student a hard time about something. The student responded by saying, " I hope blair witch happens to you guys!"

I have to say, it was one of the funniest non sequitur responses that I've heard in a long time.

Claymation

2009-03-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

This is short film with a bunch of animation experiments we made in film class this term.

Wierd Questions

2009-03-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the lack of posting lately. It has not been because of any lack of activity around here.
The other day a student asked me if I would use my credit card to purchase some piercing needles off of eBay for them. I was assured that I would be paid back. I declined.

Snow Day!

2009-02-13T10:59:00.000-08:00

Auburn's elevation is about 1200 feet. It does snow sometimes but we rarely get enough to close the schools. Today was one of those rare days. I live well below that elevation so I had no clue that we would be closing until I was up in the thick of it. I had been at school for about forty five minutes when I got an email from my wife telling me that the school's auto-dialer had called informing me that school was closed. I didn't mind too much. I was happy to see Auburn covered in snow!

Phone Trouble...

2009-02-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

This note showed up next to the break room phone the other day. For some reason it struck me as funny.

Unfortunate Escalation

2009-02-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

This is an example of how things sometimes get out of hand around here.

During my fourth period I noticed a student who was present but not enrolled in the class. I asked him what class he was enrolled in and he told me. I then asked him to please go there. Explaining that he should obviously be in the proper class and that if he was going to cut, he should do it elsewhere. I don’t like providing a refuge for kids who are cutting. He said okay but then didn’t move from my class. After a little coaxing, I succeeded in getting him to leave. At about that time our campus fortuitously monitor walked into the room. I apprised him of the situation and suggested that he might want to make sure the student made it to his class or, barring that, to the office. The campus monitor chose to take him to the office.

It happens that this student has a history of cutting class so he had to see our vice principal. The student ended up getting sent home for the day. When he was informed that his dad would be picking him up he became upset and left the room. The campus monitor gave chase. It was sort of a low speed chase on foot. The student was being told repeatedly to return to campus as he was walking away. The student made it across the street and started walking around the pond in the park. At this point our school resource officer showed up heading the student of by walking around the pond in the other direction. The resource officer ordered the student to stop and the student fled. The officer grabbed him and there was a scuffle that ended up on the ground. By this time the campus monitor was on the scene and the student was subdued and returned to the office.

This little adventure went from a simple case of cutting a class to resisting arrest in about half an hour. Most students agreed that this should have been an easy situation to avoid.

a typical friday in 4th period

2009-02-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

So, I've never contributed to something like this before, but the idea of sharing a little tidbit now and then about what we experience here at school - as teachers - intrigues me. I feel like this is something worth sharing with everyone...
On a typical Friday, during this third term, my already extremely low enrolled fourth period class (9 students... a shade more than the average home-schooler!) is usually down to about three! Why?, one might ask. Well, 6 of my students (that's right, two-thirds) attend "Anger Management" sessions during that class every Friday!
Needless to say, I'm usually really nice and easy going with my 4th period Mondays through Thursdays!

Art Room Safety Video

2009-02-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

Here's a little instructional video we made last year to keep us all a little safer.

Staff Meeting

2009-02-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

Every other Wednesday we have a staff meeting. I always bring a small Moleskine sketch book so I can "take notes". Other staff members who happen upon this post should know that I'm a trained professional and as such, am quite capable of listening and giving input while drawing.