2026 is the year I complete the Hathaway Pentathlon: Mother Mary, DWP 2, The Odyssey, The End of Oak Street, and Verity. I’m ready. I’ve done my stretches.

Me during our discussion of Cry, the Beloved Country: When the narrator refers to the sickness of the land, he’s referring to more than just the drought impacting parts of South Africa. What else might he be suggesting? Students think for a bit…

Our superintendent just resigned.

My school has a population of over 4500 students because they refused to build a second high school in our small city. Meanwhile, we have had no lead principal since June 2025, and he was the 4th I’ve had in 15 years. Meanwhile our campus admin (we have four campuses) just quit after 2.5 years.

The week before spring break is never fun for teachers. Also by the end of the 3rd quarter, why do I have to repeat “Sorry my class is not an online course. What we do in the classroom matters. I’m not accepting any of this” this many times to honors students?

Post a gif of who you wanted to be as a kid. Perhaps obsessively so. I’d get to kiss Maxwell Caufield decked out leather? 5 year old me: yes please

☘️🍀☘️🍀

Mulch arrived today. Mulch day is the best day of the year, followed by power wash day, followed by any handheld chainsaw day, followed by first mow day, followed by first sprinkler day.

Ripley looks so sad. Probably sad for me because I have to clean this window every single day. Or she’s sad that I won’t throw more shredded cheese in the back yard.

Thank you for this poem. My English class analyzed this together. We also tied it to What Is College For by Diana Walsh Chapman. I didn’t show them your statement about the last line until their free write and with the prompt—so what IS that last line about? A great day with this class.

Today the hubs and I signed our estate docs and in order to occupy the dogs so our lawyer could walk us through the process at home and have our witness present who the dogs love, I threw shredded cheese all over the lawn like it was grass seed.

Ordered with @oldtownbooks.bsky.social !!!!

Hoppers has now entered my Pixar top 10 AND relates to the 2026 AP Sem stimulus package. I wonder if I can turn this into a field trip.

Hm. So according to the survey a majority of parents and teens think teachers should teach borderline illiterate teens AI literacy and ethical use. Let’s learn to read, write and think on our own first.

Going to emotionally torture the husband today by taking him to see Hoppers, catching the latest episodes of The Pitt and Shrinking (Derricks Don’t Die) and making him watch Hamnet

Man what a dance floor era this was. I remember asking a fraternity “dj” to play my maxi single of Un Break My Heart. He said no. But his frat bro said yes later upstairs.

One of my AP Sem kids, in all seriousness, asked me if I was a baby boomer today and when I say I almost snapped my own neck whipping it around in her direction in disbelief…miss ma’am, how many times have y’all asked me how old I am this month alone?

Recovering from planning, setting up, and hosting my final Winter Formal last night by finishing up George Saunders’ Vigil. I loved Lincoln in the Bardo and this is a great companion piece. At times funny, sad, thoughtful, and if ya like the afterlife, highly recommended

Memories of listening to Sedaka on family road trips—I know so many of his songs and they definitely get in your head and lurk there for a while. Hard to get out sometimes. Great. Oh, Carol just entered.

Yesterday I told me Leadership students, some who stay with me for 3 years, that I am stepping down from the program after 11 years. Victoria: “Nooooo! Is this because I got caught with alcohol at the football that time?”

I’ve done 12 short trips to Disney World since 2008 (9 w/students) but only one long trip (long weekends compared to a full week). Decided for 50th B day next year on fixing that so I should probably begin planning that now I imagine because that’s kinda the best part actually

Years ago I was at a pumpkin patch and some kids were asking their dad if they all could go watch the pig races and the dad said “if I wanted to watch a pig race, I’d chase your mother around the living room” and man, did she ever let him have it. Both laughing the whole time.

Which movie scenario should I plan on becoming reality in my lifetime: Terminator 2, Mad Max, or Wall e? I’m almost 49 so at best figure 30-40 years but my preference is only 26-31. The husband knows around that time to take me out back and whack me with a shovel.

In positive news, the 20 young women (and Axel) in my AP Seminar class could discuss books all day and sometimes we do when we should be preparing for our performance tasks. We had a great conversation about reading experiences we loved involving characters we loathed. All is not lost.

There is like one child in each of my honors level English 10 classes that can hold a conversation about books. Any book. Books in general. Books they like, don’t like, read, never read, want to read, refuse to read. One. Out of almost 30 in each class. It’s sad. They’re obvi my faves.

This is a fun little read, break from some of the other books…well, not a break, but it really depends on the floor and room I’m in.

Going to the Jade concert and there is nowhere to sit. Please keep me in your thoughts tonight.

When people post about their “forever valentine” Me (on the inside): that’s what you said about your last husband Also my husband posted that same phrase so what do I know. I posted about torturing future neighbors I have yet to meet with Madonna art in our guest bedroom visible from their house

Wuthering Heights (2026)…meh. The girls next to me apparently had never seen a movie before and didn’t know you didn’t have to vocally respond anytime anything happened on screen.

US Figure skating and American expectations did to Ilya what gymnastics and American expectations did to Kim Zmeskal in Barcelona.

First haircut since Aug. Anyway, got this text, literally replied within 30 seconds and stopped a conversation with colleagues to do so. I don’t know if my response is helpful or..but also I don’t care. I mean about my hair, not about whether I’m helpful. She may also be ai

LOVE 2 days of testing when fellow staff members call in “sick” and don’t tell anyone so everyone is doing double duty or don’t do the bare minimum of the expectations.

Another two days of instruction lost to two full days of testing

Pairs skating is so nerve wracking!!! But Kam and O’Shea!!!!

Husband is out of town for V day and not that we actually really do anything ever for holidays, he’s out of town, so we are got the last two tix to the 7 pm showing of Wuthering Heights on the 13th…Galantines Day. Twill be…interesting.

I hate winter so much. I hate layering clothes. I hate that this snow is going to be here likely to March. I hate that anywhere warmer is not a state I’d actually want to live in. There are some cities, yes, but not the states. I also don’t want to grade these shitty essays. I bought donuts tho.

Hm. Another non wig from Juicy. Why has Michelle not said anything? That was a terrible episode. Get rid of the contestants rating each other.

Ugh we have an actual full day of school tomorrow after weather cancellations and “synchronous” virtual learning (sure, Jan), and delayed starts. Meanwhile, mentally I’m still here where nothing matters and money isn’t real:

Introduce yourself with the name your parents almost gave you.

Before the snowcrete storm a little child 9th grader told me to “shut up fa**ot!” when I asked her to go to class (she’s never in class). She immediately got suspended. She was supposed to be suspended today due to the storm but but but…

Since I’m about 75% done with @stephenking.bsky.social ‘s Insomnia (which I’m surprised I haven’t read before since I know we had it in the house growing up), picked up a couple at @oldtownbooks.bsky.social (last read Hemingway novel in 11th grade) and Lincoln in the Bardo is a fave so…

Today when I was buying my Saturday morning donuts, Cindy at our local custard/donut shop asked if I was enjoying that mint Oreo pint I bought two days ago like, ma’am, you think that didn’t go down in 30 minutes?

Cinema and modern American culture Literature and the formation of sexual identity Shakespearean Tragicomedy and romance Made into Movies Before TV 1895-1955 (Mid to late 90s—English major and a film studies minor cobbled together through English, lit and cultural, and American studies courses)

The question of the episode is whether Michelle will bring up that Juicy has only worn tiny lil wigs or no wigs. (Aside from RDR live but that was a character) I want to see some hair-ography from her as I bet it would be incredible.

❤️

This snow and ice is really fucking with my lesson plans as one, the district won’t let us assign work or assess anything,two, kids won’t do anything anyway, and three, logging onto Canvas counts as “engaging with the teacher in synchronous learning”…

Watching the city build mini Mt. Everests on every street corner with blocks of ice so you actually need spikes, gear and a Sherpa to cross the street or to simply turn the corner on the sidewalk.

Back from Disney late Monday. Tuesday morning got the old ax out to dig out my car and driveway from all the ice. Also my mother in law is in town so this has all been very therapeutic.

64k steps since arrival, two parks, 29 teenagers making solo videos of singing the theme song to Mickeys Runaway Railroad and posting them to the group chat because I challenged them to earn a homework pass thinking none of them would actually do it…one brave kid—Nico—did it first and then 1 by 1…

This was extraordinary: crushed pineapple, avocado cream, spicy mayo, crush potato chips…soooooooo good. Terra Treats snack stand at Animal Kingdom. @ptklein.com