All hail the sun. Nothing like eleven degree weather to encourage a bunch of teachers to start their internet engines revving in hopes of finding a cheap ticket to a sunny place far, far from the depths of the moaning, moody mass. But such searching and commitment leads to the sad reminder that those with whom we might travel are fellow teachers thus rendering the vacation obsolete. In many ways what we need to break from is one another.

My students are learning to thumb their noses and enjoying comparing sword lengths with one another so I suppose that means that Romeo and Juliet is somewhat successful thus far. A few complained of the boredom factor but several piped up with pride at understanding the basic message that a lonely teenage boy might want to crash a party in hopes of seeking out the girl of his dreams. They also seemed to perk up at the notion of Diana, Goddess of chastity and the whole concept of the nunnery (where’s a girl to go today)?

The AP brand child was knee deep today in Things Fall Apart, teaching one another the finer points of imperialism, cultural relativity and questioning the limits of Western Feminism. I was pleased that they are beginning to teach one another while I am merely a spectator of sorts—like a friend with privileges.

I taught them “Coyotes” and they laughed that they had howling sounds in their heads all days. It was an effective song to use as a guide to understanding archetypes and legends. I think.

We trudge on. The spring semester is so bearable comparably speaking. I can only hope that it feels this way in March and that I do make it somewhere sunny.