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Author Archives: Mark E.P. Roberts
Urban Education Is…
Two weeks ago, on Thursday and Friday, teachers in my building attended a mandatory morning program on reaching students with Asperger’s syndrome. I have three in my various classes, and, based on my experiences, the different proclivities described could not … Continue reading
Lessons Learned
Last week, preparation dominated my classroom. In English III, we are about to begin reading The Great Gatsby. Working together and in groups, we first explored F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life, and then the “Jazz Age” he christened. We talked about … Continue reading
That Man Behind the Curtain
As my generation used to say back in the ’70s, my second period AP English Language class “is a trip.” On Thursday, half of the clan found the funds to attend a college fair, so I put aside my planned … Continue reading
Tumbling Walls and Other Obstructions
“Self-determination” is such a powerful word. Like all hybrids, it blends two components into one, and here the result outshines its parts. With the outbursts of freedom and “people power” still resonating over the Tunisian and Egyptian sands, it is … Continue reading
The Gathering
Grades were due last week, and report cards mailed on Friday. I hate grading. I know assessments are important. I use them to determine whether or not my students mastered the skills in question. They help me refine lessons or … Continue reading
Tagged advocates, assessments, grading, high school
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Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
My mother loved Cannonball Adderley’s “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!” From the opening chords of Joe Zawinul’s arresting composition, the tune tackles you with the composer’s plaintive Wurlitzer electric piano and Adderley’s triumphant alto sax. Whenever my mother heard it, she stopped … Continue reading
Tagged adversity, Cannonball Adderly, Crucible, Horace
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The Man with the Golden Voice
“I don’t like her,” one young lady in debate class says about the ninety-year-old mother of Ted Williams, the homeless man with the golden voice. Williams was recently “discovered”on the side of the exit ramp off Interstate 71 in Columbus, … Continue reading
Sticky Truths
I yelled at some of my English III students on Friday. I wasn’t too emotional about it, and my voice only rose a decibel or two, but I let them know their work effort disappointed me. I had assigned Act … Continue reading
2010 in review (a blog report I received)
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever. Crunchy numbers A helper monkey made this abstract painting, … Continue reading
Teachermandc's Blog 
Pillar to Post
This week was short and sweet. Students in all my classes arrived prepared to learn, and our school finally had its first bona fide Black History assembly. My students all wanted to know how the Carnegie Corporation and Education Writers … Continue reading →