No real reason for the post today, other than I just felt like writing.

Back to work on Monday; classes resume Tuesday.  For the first time in a while, I'm going to be without a student teacher in my classroom.  In some ways, that's good... it'll be good to be "back in charge," so to speak.  I've unfortunately had to put some things on the back burner so my last student teacher could get some requirements for his program out of the way, but now I can "get things back on track," I guess.

It was good to travel back East and see my family.  Had an interesting experience on the return.  Our train out of Chicago was delayed by seven hours due to a freight train derailment in Aurora, Illinois.  Aaron was the most put out, complaining that he didn't think he'd make it home in time to do his laundry so he could go "clubbing" with his friends the next day.  We ended up leaving Chicago around 9:00 p.m. instead of our original 2:00 p.m. scheduled departure time.  Shortly before our train began to move, the conductor came on the intercom to apologize for the delay and to inform us that a worker had died in the derailment.  Aaron, who had been sitting in the observation car, came back to talk with me.  He was humbled somewhat, and we discussed how his perspective changed once he'd learned there was a death involved... suddenly his laundry didn't seem that important anymore.  It was a good lesson for him, and for me and for Kyle as well.  I did my best to maintain a "make the best of it" outlook, realizing that there was no sense in being upset or angry over something which I had no control, and getting upset with the employees also made no sense.

I did get some reading done, and I've been able to get some done since we got back, though not as much as I wanted to get done.  (Then again, is there ever really "enough" time to read?)

*sigh*  Just had my line of thought broken by an argument between Aaron and Kyle.  I guess I'll finish later.

Remembered why my impulse to write today was so strong.  One year ago today, Aaron was in the hospital after being hit by the car.  We talked about it a little at dinner.  A lot has happened since then, and in a few weeks, Aaron will start taking courses at the local community college. He's come so far... we're all truly blessed.

I got an email today... turns out I'm getting another student teacher after all.  She won't have as big a role as my last one did, and she'll only be in once a week, but it will be good to have one nonetheless.

It should be a busy time for me once we get back.  I have to develop a curriculum for a class called Theory of Knowledge, an IB class that combines cross-curricular studies with philosphy and ethics and a few other things tossed in as well.  I'm really looking forward to teaching it next year.  It takes a look at how we come to know things and attempts to answer the question regarding the responsibility we have to do something with that knowledge once we have it... very Zaadz-like, really.  ;-)  If it helps, there's a great site that details the course here.  I'd be interested to hear some feedback on it, if anyone is interested.

There's a new Neil Gaiman audio e-book story for free (woohoo!).  A Study in Emerald originally appeared in the short story collection Fragile Things. It's described on the Harper Collins site as "Alluding to both the Sherlock Holmes canon and the Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos, this Hugo Award winning short story will delight fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, and of course, Neil Gaiman. A Study in Emerald draws listeners in through carefully revealed details as a consulting detective and his narrator friend solve the mystery of a murdered German noble. But with its subtle allusions and surprise ending, this mystery hints that the real fun in solving this case lies in imagining all the details that Gaiman doesn’t reveal, and challenges listeners to be detectives themselves."  Added bonus: it's performed by Neil himself.

You can get it here.