We had no idea anyone was buried there!

This is an artist’s conception of the Mount Pleasant High School football field Friday after an electrical transformer blew, knocking out the stadium lights.

Brothers!

In an earlier post I presented a list of character traits, and readers could decide which description and corresponding punctuation mark best matched them.

Not content with self-identification, Blogthings offers an online quiz: What Punctuation Mark Are You? Answer five questions and click Submit. No registration, no e-mail address needed. Find out which punctuation mark is you and what personality traits you may not even know you possess!

What goes around, comes around …

Civil War planes? Lemme know how that works out…

And you wonder why…

After years of being blasted into a net, the human cannonball went to the circus owner and told him he was going to retire. “But you can’t!” shouted the cigar-chomping boss. “Where am I going to find a man of your caliber?”

As it turned out, the human cannonball who replaced him was hired and fired the same night!

A blonde goes into a coffee shop and notices there’s a ‘peel and win’ sticker on her coffee cup. So she peels it off and starts screaming, “I’ve won an RV! I’ve won an RV!”

The waitress says, “That’s impossible. The biggest prize is a free lunch.”

But the blonde keeps on screaming, “I’ve won an RV! I’ve won an RV!”

Finally, the manager comes over and says, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken. You couldn’t have possibly won an RV, because we didn’t have that as a prize.”

The blonde says, ‘No, it’s not a mistake. I’ve won an RV!’

And she hands the ticket to the manager and HE reads…

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.
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‘W I N A B A G E L’

The alternative learning strategies used at Kim’s school were sometimes controversial.

Special thanks to Cybersalt!

Grandma and the Computer

The computer’s swallowed grandma
Yes, honestly, its true.
She pressed ‘control’ and ‘enter’
And disappeared from view.

Its devoured her completely -
The thought just makes me squirm.
Maybe she’s caught a virus
Or been eaten by a worm.

I’ve searched through the recycle bin
And files of every kind.
I’ve even used the Internet
But nothing did I find.

In desperation I asked Jeeves
My searches to refine.
The reply from him was negative,
Not a thing was found online.

So, if inside your ‘In Box’
My Grandma you should see.
Please ‘Scan’, ‘Copy’ and ‘Paste’ her
In an e-mail back to me.

Special thanks to Cybersalt!

What would we do without bubble wrap? This wonderful plastic packaging tool has fallen from favor as we convert to more environmentally friendly materials, so it’s not as readily available as it used to be. But teachers in the late spring know another use for bubble wrap — we smash those little cells one at a time to ease the frustrations of trying to accomplish an inordinate amount of work before the Last Day of School.

Enter the Web, once again to make life a little easier for teachers. Now we can smash the plastic wrap virtually. True, we don’t get the feel of the plastic in our hands. But the satisfying sound of popping bubbles can help anyone get through those last few highly demanding days.

• Bubble Wrap — Try Manic Mode, and be sure to request a fresh sheet.
• Rapid-Fire Mode
• Different color, different sound, same stress relief!

When I need a laugh break, I like to visit LOLcats and I can has Cheezburger. Today’s pun comes from the latter site, but both are good for a few minutes of stress reduction!

A colleague posted to the Talkie listserv:

I have taught freshmen English for eleven years; I love my freshmen, but I am ready for a change and a new challenge. Consequently, I have asked to teach senior English next year.

I well know the needs, fears, and desires of freshmen. Help me prepare for seniors by giving me your impressions of their needs, desires, and fears.

My response:

• Freshmen fear seeming childish.
• Seniors are confident enough to reclaim childhood every once in a while.

• Freshmen need a lot of direction and guidance.
• Seniors like you to show them the big picture and let them figure out the
  rest.

• Freshmen mix multiple comma splices and run-on sentences in with their
  fragments.
• Seniors do, too, but when you point it out, they say, “Oh, yeah, I’m bad
  about that.”

• Freshmen have to be taught how to ask for help.
• Seniors have to reminded that they can ask for help.

• Freshmen, given a creative project, will say, “EXACTLY what do you want?”
• Seniors, given a creative project, will say, “Can you make this due on a
  Monday instead of a Friday?”

• Freshmen love compliments.
• Seniors do, too; but they won’t let you see it.

• Freshmen fall asleep in class because they were up late gaming.
• Seniors fall asleep in class because they were up late working (or
  parenting).

• Freshmen don’t want you to contact their folks when they’re in trouble.
• Seniors don’t care if you contact their folks; it’s been done before.

• After Spring Break, most freshmen turn into very interesting young adults.
• After Spring Break, most seniors shut down.

• You spend a lot of time helping freshmen with the transition to high school.
• You spend a lot of time helping seniors with the transition to the multiple
  unknowns of life.