Mr. Locke’s Classroom

Accross the state of Texas today a collective sigh of relief goes up from students, teachers, and administrators alike as the Language portion of the TAKS is done and gone, at least until next year. I will now resign myself to eagerly awaiting the results with the rest of the school–I think we really did [...]

I had the honor of watching the first Romeo & Juliet Performance Projects today. Several were very good, a few were hard to watch, but all were worth the while…Among my favorite moments were: Daisy and Joe with a “cool, mellow, laid back” Balcony Scene Gisela, Olivia, Maribel, and Janet with a “street brawl” fight [...]

I hereby call to order the trial of the People of the State of California vs. George Milton for the alleged murder of Lennie Small. The accused pleads innocent on account of “I hadda do it. I just had to.” The Honorable Judge Locke is now presiding. You are either on the prosecution team or [...]

The Pearl: Between the Doctor, the Priest, and the Pearl Buyers, Steinbeck is trying to make a point here about the effect that power, money, and greed can have on a person. Any thoughts? The Red Pony: There’s a sort of symbolic relationship here between Gabilan (the horse) and Gitano (the old man). See if [...]

Of Mice and Men (Chapter One): In the first chapter, Steinbeck lays out three of the novel’s major subjects: loneliness, dreams, and inequality. Anybody notice any of them already? Grapes of Wrath (Chapter Three): This is one of the most famous chapters in the novel. The turtle is a symbol, a metaphor for the Okies [...]

I’ll take a brief digression from babyland (though he’s in my arms as I blog–one handed,that is) to ask how Sunset High School managed to get along without me today? Was the substitute at least of the human species? And who won the Academic Decathlon Jeopardy challenge? I’ll post an entry tomorrow on the Steinbeck [...]

After careful consideration, and almost one week of observing several of next year’s freshmen at Project Pass, I have come to a decision. I have decided to keep the class of 2007. You will all have to take English I again next year, and Mrs. Grimes can wait. I know that you will (as all [...]