So the Patriots are out. I guess I miscalled that one. However, I did call the number of points for the Patriots (34). I just had the Colts scoring a few points fewer than that instead of a few points more. But the Red Sox open spring training in about a month and all will be well in the world again.
The Oscar nominations are also out. A few surprises. No best pic for Dreamgirls. I'm actually in agreement that it did not deserve a nomination, but I am nevertheless surprised. It will probably take the two supporting categories for Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. And maybe a couple others (Art Direction, Song). In lead actor I was happy to see Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson and Leonardo DiCaprio for Blood Diamond. I figured DiCaprio to get one for The Departed, but he is indeed better in Blood Diamond, so I guess they got it right. I fear both will lose out to Forest Whitaker though.
I still believe Babel is one of the most overrated pics of the year. And it may very well win the big prize. Reminds me something of how I reacted to The English Patient. All that buzz and hoopla, and I found it to be just so-so.
Today I'm off to see what all the hype is over Peter O'Toole in Venus. That is, after a mind-numbing peformance of Lord of the Dance. The next biggie on my list is Letters from Iwo Jima, followed by Pan's Labyrinth.
And the big news....
At 1pm on Friday I took over the position of English Department Chair. My now retired predecessor brought me into the office, asked if I felt he had cleared enough out, and handed over the keys to the kingdom. I walked with him to the principal's office. The principal thanked him for 35 years of service, including seven as department chair. There were handshakes, and then he was gone. He left with a bottle of champagne (from another teacher), a book (from me), a few mementos from his desk and office, and 35 years of service and thousands of students to be proud of.
As for me, I had to stay in the principal's office for my first official sit down with him. We talked about what the first week would be like, how I planned to manage the chaos that will ensue on Monday morning, and about the leadership style I would offer in this new position. This was my second big meeting of the day, as earlier Friday morning, I had done something similar with the superintendent downtown in the central office.
The rest of the day I spent integrating my brain with literally volumes of information. MCAS standards and performance goals. Citywide objectives for 2007. Vertical alignment plans between high school and middle schools. District standards for personnel evaluation and supervision. Personnel files for the sixteen people in my department. Those are interesting. Some of them are about 3-5 pages in length. Others could fill books.
Then I did some of the small detail planning that will make the next week as smooth as possible. Reassignment of classes and classrooms to different teachers. Shuffling of new semester class lists. Changing the master schedule in the principal's office.
Then I went back in on Saturday. Becoming department head means I drop from five to two classes. Which means my (former) classroom would be wasted on me. So someone else gets to move in. So I spent some time packing up that room. Didn't finish, but I'll be back at it Monday afternoon. Then I did some moving into the office. Again, still a work in progress.
So I guess this marks something of a new chapter in life for me. I know it marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of my school. I am the first of a new generation of educators to step up into a leadership role. In the next few years, I will certainly be joined by many others. I can feel the symbolism of the moment, mostly because my superintendent and principal keep reminding me of it. It's very exciting, but yet challenging. I feel ready for the task, and obviously my superiors feel the same.
On with the new chapter...
