iAmRiedel

Freshman (Part 6, End): Epilogoliloquy

iAmRiedel — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:21:53 +0000

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. - Buddha I had a student ask me once, “Why do you write?” At the time I found it to be an unusual question; and not one that I had ever given much thought. “I don’t know,” I said, “why do you [...]

Freshman (Part 6, End): Fade to Black. Sort of.

iAmRiedel — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:56:11 +0000

One thing that I have learned over the years—perhaps in spite of myself—is that there is still quite a bit that I don’t know. Surprisingly (unbelievably, perhaps, to those who know me,) I’m okay with that. In fact, I have found that, in the grand scheme of things, I don’t need to know much; but [...]

Freshman, Part 6: End (Intro)

iAmRiedel — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:46:36 +0000

I have always had this thing about responsibility. It is a big part of who I am and it was a big part of how I taught. What it boils down to is this: you alone are responsible for yourself and for your actions; what you do, how you behave, what you think is your [...]

Freshman, (Part 5: If You’re a Parent, It Probably is Your Fault): So, you say you don’t know where he gets it?

iAmRiedel — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:39:32 +0000

Drugs are nothing new when it comes to teenagers and high school (I believe we’ve already covered that.) And new substances to abuse and new methods of delivery are found, discovered or developed all the time (my personal favorite continues to be Co2 canisters huffed from a seltzer bottle. Genius. Dangerously retarded, but genius nonetheless.) [...]

Freshman, (Part 5: If You’re a Parent, It Probably is Your Fault): Hot pennies will burn you. Really.

iAmRiedel — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:13:09 +0000

As the photography teacher, I had quite a bit of expensive—and dangerous—equipment in my classroom. There were chemicals, cameras, light-boxes, dryers, tacking irons, adhesives, x-acto knives; plenty off stuff with which to cut, poison, and paste your hands together (not to mention set fire to the building or bankrupt your parents). So, quite obviously, safety [...]

Freshman, (Part 5: If You’re a Parent, It Probably is Your Fault):Why your 11 year old freshmen is Not a genius

iAmRiedel — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:47:48 +0000

I had quite a few students pass through my door while teaching. Some I really liked; some, not so much. And others, I just never understood. The one’s that I did not understand were, arguably, few and far between, but (perhaps because of this) were almost always unforgettable. One of the most difficult to forget [...]

Freshman, Part 5: If You’re a Parent, It Probably is Your Fault. (Intro)

iAmRiedel — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:20:18 +0000

For as much damage as stupid teachers do, their numbers are still remarkably low. In fact, ever single day, tens of thousands of brilliant minds walk into classrooms all around the world and require of their students a level of thought and behavior unmatched by society at large; so a few idiots in the bag [...]

Freshman (Part 4, Those Who Can, Teach. Those Who Can’t Teach, Suck.): That guy over there … he does it for the chicks.

iAmRiedel — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:10:43 +0000

When I was a kid we had a few teachers in my high school that (it was rumored) liked to have “personal” relationships with some of the more “advanced” female students. There were stories—some quite descriptive—but, as far as I was concerned, that’s was all they were. Insinuation, innuendo, etcetera; sure, some of the stories [...]

Freshman (Part 4, Those Who Can, Teach. Those Who Can’t Teach, Suck.): Why you never bring porn to school

iAmRiedel — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:30:15 +0000

I have never been a big proponent of mixing your personal life with your professional endeavors. For one thing, there is no graceful segue; and for another, it almost always leads to trouble. Personally, I prefer enigma rather than enunciation. In fact, for the first year that I taught, most of my students didn’t know [...]

Freshman (Part 4, Those Who Can, Teach. Those Who Can’t Teach, Suck.): Tell the suicidal kid it’ll have to wait until Monday.

iAmRiedel — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:35:41 +0000

As a teacher it was easy to become disenchanted with the reality of the system. And a part of that system—which made it easy to loose faith at breakneck speed—was the guidance department. After my first few months it had become apparent that the guidance department was just an inappropriate name for something that was, [...]