teaching and learning

My photo
i've been in love ...

Saturday, June 14, 2008

gO 'BAMA!

Watching college football on a slow Saturday night at the Yacht Club bar and one regular turns from the television in disgust to ask for another Coor's Light and shout ...

"Only thing I hate worse than niggers is Alabama."

The room was filled and nobody said a thing in response. Just kept watching the game ... and drinking their beers.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

mo' drama


just had a moment and wanted to share.

wasting some time this afternoon and checked the ol' myspace page. had a friend invite from one of my students - definitely not the first. this one in particular is not in my class but is in my drama club. a club that was non-existent prior to this year, which i started and by the end of the year had anywhere between 20-40 kids at every twice-per-week after school meeting. we put together four "shows" this past year and i thought they were all pretty good. you can see some of our clips on youtube. we have a blast and in a school dominated by sports with no other after school organizations some kids have really seemed to find their niche here. its an amazing group and i'm excited about our plans for next year. i've had more than a few text or call so far this summer asking if we can get together over the break to start working on our upcoming performances.

so, reading this student's myspace page a bit, i noticed this section in their info ...

"Drama Club. Okay, call me a dork, but drama club has recently become.. my life. literally. I eat, sleep, and breathe drama club. It's my favorite thing about school, and i'm always 100% commited to it. Since i've joined drama club, i've become a completely different person. I've found my escape from the world, a place where i can be anything i want to be. Everday that i go to my drama club meetings, i can walk into the room without feeling like people or staring at me, or judging me. I've become more confident. The thing i love most about drama club though, is the people who are in it with me. I've gained so many friends, people that i never would have even imagined being friends with, and i've made friends with some of my enemies, just from being in drama club. We're a family, and i know that they all love me the way i am. I can be myself in drama club, and no one judges me. I'm so thankful for Mr. Doyle, because if it wasn't for him, there would have never been a Drama Club at Moss Point High School. And i would still be the shitty person, and have the shitty friends that i had in the past. I never want to go back to the person i used to be.I'm finally happy with my life."

i also had another invite, this one to join the Drama Club group that a bunch of them have created and use to post pictures, videos, etc of our shows and rehearsals. they crack me up and make me cry ... again, definitely not the first time. below are some pictures of the crew ...