Blurry Thursday

iPod morning commute music: Lynyrd Skynyrd: Leonard Skynyrd (Box) disc 1 (1991)
Southern rock, arguably at its best. Ronnie Van Zant and crew could write, sing and, with three guitars, play. Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama are probably the songs that come to mind the quickest, but as this box set proves, all their music is really good rock and roll. Van Zant's 1977 death, along with two other members of the band, in a plane crash was a sad end to a great band.

Last night, a sales rep (and friend) from one of the textbook publishers took me out to dinner. We had a fun visit, trading stories of growing up as well as our Japanese experiences. I don't think we'll be using any of her company's textbooks next year, though we used one this year.

Choosing new textbooks is a part of my job that I hate. If you get saddled with a bad book, it makes your life and your students' lives miserable. For the last two years I've been stuck with a horrible textbook that I used with my junior high students. I thought I could cover it in one year, but it was so difficult to work with that I had to slow down and make it a two-year text, over 8th and 9th grades.

Now I need a book for 7th graders (hopefully for just 1 year) and one for Sophomores (lasting through their Junior year). Moving into Computer Aided Language Labs (CALLs) from next August, I really feel the need to find textbooks that can utilize the new equipment. This is especially hard in the junior high.

Anyway, today has been a bit blurry after last night. With luck, today's teachers' meeting will be short, and I can get home and rested.