1st Semester Final Exams

Final exams are here for 1st semester and I think overall this semester has gone pretty well. I think a number of my students who were failing are trying very hard to get some make-up work in so I think my failure rate will drop a bit. I'm really pleased with the number of papers I received from this last assignment. My student teacher Chris takes over a couple of classes officially next week so my teaching load will drop a bit. I think I made the final exam challenging but not overly difficult. If they paid attention at least some of the time, they should do well.

Another senseless murder

We found out this morning that a former Farragut student was brutally murdered last night. His name was Rocky Uriostegui. He was walking down 23rd pl last night when someone drove up in a red SUV, got out, walked up to Rocky, and shot him multiple times in the head and chest and then drove away. Police are speculating that it may have been a result of fueding between gangs but there's no indication Rocky was a gangbanger.

As if this cowardly act was not bad enough, there were apparently several witnesses to the shooting but somehow no one saw anything. The cowardly attitude of "don't snitch" seems to be more important that putting a murderer in jail.

Congratulations dirtbag. You killed an unarmed kid for no reason whatsoever. You'll get away with it too because the people who saw you do it refuse to speak out. At this moment its hard to figure out who I despise more.

Happy New Year

I hope others had a warmer New Year's than I. My wife and I spent the holiday in Minneapolis where the temps were in the single digits. We had a lot of fun, but it as flippin' cold!

This year is going to be very exciting for me. I just started grad school officially yesterday and there is already a lot of work. Research and reading must be done. Later this year, my first students from three years ago will be graduating. I started my teaching career when they were freshmen and now they're almost done. Very cool.

Resolutions? Go to the gym... lose some weight... be healthier... be a better husband... be a better teacher... we'll see.